The ferocious and the fragile—Eren Jaeger didn’t just get good in Season 4, folks.
Spoiler warning: This article chiefly focuses on the material from the first 3 seasons of the anime & manga. And while it doesn’t discuss specific Season 4 events in detail, it does talk in general terms about some of the changes or possible changes we see when it comes to Eren’s personality and modus operandi in Season 4.
Though people may argue over his actions, something not in dispute for Season 4 is the exceptional writing for Eren Jaeger’s character. And he’s become very popular indeed amongst the fandom. The acclaim is well-deserved…but has it come later than it should’ve? I’d certainly say so. As both a character and a person, Eren Jaeger already deserved more credit.
This topic was largely kicked off for me by two main things. One was the question asked by some fans, as to why people have been all over the version of Eren we have in Season 4 of the manga (and now anime), while having such a negative or dismissive attitude towards the version we had in the first 3 seasons.
The other thing was the classic “dub versus sub” discussion. This time, regarding “Attack on Titan” / “Shingeki no Kyojin” (don’t worry—this isn’t going to devolve into a dissertation trashing either subs or dubs in general).
I. Preface Topics
Sub Versus Dub, and Kaji Yuki—the VA & MVP
First of all, let me say this much: I feel bad sometimes for how English-dub VAs [voice actors] tend to get dissed, and I actually have preferred the English voicing for some series, though most often I do pick the original Japanese voice acting for various anime series.
But that isn’t the case for me with “Attack on Titan.” While I actually do find some of the voice acting for the English dub quite appealing—Mikasa’s and Levi’s being my two foremost examples—it’s the voicing of Eren that’s the defining question for me.
Now, some people dislike the Japanese voicing for Eren, with one particular complaint being that he sounds too old in that version. Now, I will acknowledge I didn’t realize how young the kids actually were during most of the series until it was mentioned near the very end of Season 3; I had thought they were in their late teens, not so young as 15.
I do disagree with the complaint that Eren sounds like a “30-year-old man”…but, older than he is? Sure, I might give them that.
And from what I’ve listened to of it, the English voice definitely sounds more like a typical or even cliché teenage-boy protagonist.
For me this has been one of the issues with the English dubs—there seems to be a somewhat limited pool of voice actors to choose from with this work, and I keep hearing the same or similar voices come up.
On balance, I do believe that part of the reason myself and some other audience members find more appeal with Japanese voicing in general is that it’s because it’s not in our language, especially our primary language. When you’re talking about a language you’ve been speaking and listening to your whole life, you’re probably going to be better at picking up on nuances like tone, pacing, and other aspects of delivery. This is especially the case if it’s also more or less in the same general dialect you’re used to.
This reminds me of how it can be when you have people from different countries that speak the same language but different dialects. Besides the question of getting the accent itself right, you may notice very subtle errors in the cadence, the emphasis on specific details, and other minutiae that tip you off to the fact that this is someone from a different dialect doing an impression of another, rather than a native speaker. And sometimes there will be more noticeable issues like not quite getting slang terms correct or using expressions in a context that just isn’t normal for them.
Plus, I think dealing with a language that isn’t the one you’re typically immersed in automatically gives it an edge in sounding more unique and atypical to you.
The result of all of this is that I’m probably harder on English-language VAs than I am on the Japanese ones, because I have a better understanding of what does and doesn’t sound natural, believable, well delivered, etc. I suspect I’m also better at comparing voices and thus noticing the same or very similar voices when they come up repeatedly.
So I think it’s a mix of both objective and subjective issues when I end up feeling like the voicing in English-language dubs tends to be too generic at times, which is an issue I have with Eren’s English voice. A positive view of that could be that the voice is classic, and that it does get the job done effectively. He does indeed sound like a teenage boy, and with plenty of attitude.
I certainly don’t think it’s a bad or miscast voice. I think it works, and I am warming up to it some the more I listen to the dub.
The voice while he’s in the Titan…I feel like I need more comparison, though so far I do feel it may come off a little over-acted in English. And I’m not talking about the Titan roars/shrieks; those…well, let’s stay on topic: I’m talking about the speaking voices while in Titan form.
But while I need more comparison when it comes to how Eren’s English voice sounds when in Titan form, when it comes to regular form…?
Guys, for me, Kaji Yuki’s performance is unquestionably THE one, between the two options. And here’s why.
When I think of Eren…one of the phrases that comes to mind is “fragile ferocity.”
Yeah, he screams and yells a lot—to the point where it was actually taxing on the VA—but there’s more than just anger there, and this also true when he’s just speaking normally.
There’s this HUGE undercurrent of rawness and pain there, and there’s this constant sense that he’s not far from breaking down.
Not necessarily full-blown emotional collapse—although there is some of that present—but definitely being brought to tears. And not just in anger but also in the deep sorrow that’s intertwined with the rage.
Heck, the anger he does have might be the main reason the boy can cope at all and not just collapse inwards or go crazy; the aggression provides some amount of external direction to push the emotion in, versus turning it inwards or simply leaving it bottled up to turn him into a human pressure cooker (okay, even more of a human pressure cooker, because I’m pretty sure he still is one).
And for me, the Japanese voice captures that perfectly and brings in the acting nuance that works in conjunction with that of the writing to prevent Eren from incorrectly coming off as a one- or two-note ball of rage…and maybe indignation. He’s not simply that at all.
If you really want to understand Eren Jaeger, you have to understand that about him, and I feel like Kaji so perfectly captures the soul and complexity of Eren’s character. Yes, Eren truly is filled with rage, aggression, and outright hatred. But he’s not just a ball of anger. There’s a lot of raw pain and grief and fragility and sadness and frustration under there as well. And Kaji provides that, where you can feel some of those cracks and you realize how close this kid always is to breaking down.
That brings to mind some different moments like that with Eren.…
One example I really love is when the other cadets are questioning him about the Titans, and Eren has a flashback to what happened to his mother and gets sick to his stomach briefly.
It’s been several years at that point, and I’m sure he’s already had that scene replay in his head countless times, yet he can still have moments where the trauma and its emotions hit him severely and abruptly enough that he feels sickened and almost throws up. And that’s very much something from real life; the pain from things that haunt you on a regular basis can suddenly hit you with increased intensity, as though the wound were freshly inflicted.
And like I’ve said before, the boy’s been through enough trauma for several lifetimes before he even hits adulthood.
Another moment to highlight is that scene where he and other cadets are arguing and Eren is basically arguing why, despite the odds and the huge sacrifices demanded, a freer future is still worth fighting for, and that any scrap of hope and progress in regards to that truly matters and has value…and he suddenly finds himself tearing up in the midst of all of this.
[Between how good the voice acting is and how bad the Titan shrieks are, I’m frustrated that relative of mine doesn’t find subs agreeable, though my priority is trying to get him into the series at all. But agh, he’s just making himself miss out on the Japanese performances, especially Eren’s voice!]And Kaji truly excels in doing his part to make emotional scenes feel utterly real and compelling. You can find some clips online of him doing live vocal performances—like the scene where Mikasa confesses her feelings after Eren completely breaks down—and WOW. Both he AND his colleagues just KILL it. [Unfortunately, the version with subtitles for the dialogue was removed, so I’ll have to share the unsubbed form here, and just manually write out a transcript based on the Funimation sub.]
| Season 2, Episode 12, “Scream” |
| Eren: [hysterical laughter, devolving into agonized sobbing] Mikasa: Eren.… Eren: Nothing changed. You haven’t changed a bit, dammit! You’re still as useless as you ever were! Nothing changed! Mom.… I…can’t.… I still…can’t do anything at all. Mikasa: Eren.… That’s not true. Eren.… Listen…I need to tell you something. You’ve always…been at my side. Thank you. You showed me…how to live with purpose. Thank you. And you.… You wrapped this scarf around me. Thank you. Eren: [stands up] I’ll wrap that around you…as many times as you want. |
And this brings me back to what I mentioned in the prior paragraph, and something I’ve enjoyed about “Attack on Titan” specifically, and with anime in general.
Anime Versus Hollywood
Now, the world of anime varies wildly, and there’s plenty of mediocre and downright awful material out there.
But when it comes to the good stuff, I find that it does a better job at doing things that a lot of Western media has been bad at recently.
Take everyone’s favorite—or least favorite—phrase these days: “strong female characters.”
Some of you may already be cringing just seeing that phrase. But the kind of stuff I’m talking about really makes something great of it.
You have “strong female characters” who are formidable, successful, brave, authoritative, and often physically strong as well, but they can at the same time take great pride as well in being a wife or mother and being able to excel at a personal level as well as professional level. The two aren’t treated as mutually exclusive or as inimical to each other. And they don’t have to have a vendetta against men, or see them all as the enemy, or possess an inability or failure to have relatively normal and healthy sexual, romantic, and familial relationships with them.
Nor is there this need to portray men as a whole as weak, cowardly, woman-hating or whatever else just for the female characters to look excellent in comparison. You have different tiers of characters and you’ll definitely have ones that possess and display negative elements, but there’s not that need to tear down one sex as a whole in order to boost the other one. Both can excel, and both can also be awful people, and both can also have real flaws and grayness and be a mix of the good and the bad in varying proportions.
[Remember when one of the men heading up the Garrison Regiment was going to execute Eren on the spot? Female character Rico Bryzenska was right there alongside him, urging him on in that course of action.]And then with the men, you have guys who are unapologetically masculine and showcase classic traits of that as fighters and protectors and the like, but also display emotion and pain and have deep, touching bonds of friendship with either blood siblings or people who are unrelated but as close or closer than a blood brother.
The writers don’t act scared to have men break down and weep when there’s pain and loss and suffering, and they’re also unafraid to have men show terror in the face of the terrifying.
And you really see this in “Attack on Titan,” where characters of both sexes and of different levels of importance to the story—not only random background characters but also major ones—will be frozen and aghast in terror and revulsion at the horrors they witness and the sea of slaughter they’re thrown into the midst of.
It’s part of what makes these characters and this world have such a powerful sense of realness to them.
How much of a “stiff upper lip” would a normal person really have, especially their first time or two encountering something like a Titan? And it’s not just the civilians—what about the soldiers? Yes, they’ve trained and have also been educated about Titans, but there’s a massive difference between that and actually facing one in real life…especially with the added fact that you have actually made a pledge now to, rather than follow the natural instinct and flee, to instead move forward and actually try to take these terrifying fudgers on and get right up close to them and fight them.
And we get to see for ourselves that every ounce of fear felt is justified and then some! Things actually just get even worse than you expect. It turns out no one was even scared enough yet; people were suicidal with fear and still hadn’t seen the worst!
This is what we’re dealing with here.
And in the midst of this maelstrom of horror and terror and pain and a few glimmers of hope, we find Eren, who is such a mixed bag of traits. He’s aggressive, stubborn, very hot-tempered, and impulsive, and has an absolute vicious streak to him. But he’s also a trauma victim, a devoted friend and comrade, strongly empathetic, in some ways idealistic, and even the fury and aggression themselves are at least in part motivated by his strong sense of justice and the hatred and pain he feels in seeing himself and others wronged.
II. Meet Eren Jaeger
The Cabin Incident
What happened with Mikasa when they were both 9 actually gives us a really good display of multiple facets at once. Just the very fact he was that violent and also methodical at 9 is pretty terrifying, to be blunt. And remember, this is all prior the medical intervention—before Grisha ever injected him with the serum and before Eren inherited the Attack Titan and Progenitor/Founding/Coordinate Titan.
I genuinely believe that both Eren and Mikasa have been a little bit off from the very beginning—and especially Eren—and I also believe that they were intentionally written and portrayed that way. That’s actually part of why I have reservations about the prospect of their ever getting married, starting a family, etc. But that’s beyond the scope of this post, and instead I plan to discuss that topic at some point down the line. I know there are going to be very important moments involving the dynamics between Eren and Mikasa in Season 4, so that will probably be a more optimal time to discuss this.
But returning back to the bloody scene that took place in that cabin…that whole sequence of events was nothing to sneeze at. And especially chilling is how in the intervals between the action—that is, the quiet part after he kills the first two kidnappers, and then when he’s reunited with Grisha after Mikasa kills the third—he’s very relaxed and matter-of-fact as though nothing has happened. He doesn’t seem at all bothered, let alone traumatized, over what’s just happened overall, nor his part in it. He personally has just killed two people, plus quite nearly died at the hands of a third. And in both inflicting and receiving violence, it was done in very personal, intimate ways. This wasn’t shooting someone from a distance. He stabbed these guys to death.
I remember an instructor in…martial arts, self defense, something along those lines…commenting that you have to have a little evil in you to be able to actually use a blade effectively on another human being. And he was saying that as someone who taught such techniques.
Now, I disagree with that statement. But I think I understand where he was coming from and what he was trying to express. Unless you’re using a long spear or staff—which still isn’t going to give you a ton of distance—stabbing is something done at point-blank range. You’re right there, super close, and you are using your strength to drive a blade into another human being’s body with enough speed and force to severely wound them. And you get to see and experience, up close, the process and results of your work. You feel the resistance as the blade meets different types of tissue, maybe the fabric of their clothing, you watch the blood coming out and the tissue being severed, destroyed. You’re inflicting what will generally be large amounts of both pain and damage, and that’s even if they survive the injuries, which isn’t always the case. And you may have to do that repeatedly; one thrust of a blade may not be enough to take them out of commission and get things to a point where you can safely withdraw.
The more I’ve pondered stuff like that, the more I’ve realized that a blade may not be such a straightforward weapon for an inexperienced person to use in self-defense. It’s messy, it’s brutal, and there’s also the risk of accidental self-harm.
It certainly worked out for our dear Eren, though…he made short work of those guys, with no hesitation at all.
And I think it’s worth noting Mikasa’a initial reaction to him. After he gives the second guy the meat-tenderizer treatment, he then turns to her and very casually informs her that it’s sorted now. But our girl Mika looks more than a little freaked out as she watches this whole thing play out, and I think that’s a very sensible reaction on her part. Even if they appear to be on your side, it should give you at least slight pause to see someone exhibiting that level of lethality and aggression, especially when coupled with the sheer rage. There was very clearly anger in how Eren dealt with them, and although part of that I would attribute to just the dynamics of having to fight for one’s life, there was also a distinct element of rage separate from that. Don’t get me wrong here: This isn’t about presumptuously judging someone who’s just tried to help you; this is about exercising reasonable caution when you’ve just seen someone wielding a weapon in a burst of homicidal fury. Especially when this is a complete stranger to you, plus you yourself are still stuck in a very disadvantageous position.
YET.…
Yet there’s also how his very aggression was driven by seeing what had happened to the victims, and by his desire to save the one survivor. This child was courageous and a go-getter, and he also inspired Mikasa to fight for her survival and not just give up on life. And then afterwards, when Dr. Jaeger offered to take her in and she hesitated, Eren was very quick and casual and matter-of-fact about accepting her into the family. None of the hesitation or jealousy that you might expect of a young child. Nope, he was just like, “Hey, you don’t have a family to go home to anymore, and my dad just offered you that. What are you waiting for, silly?”
Even that classic gesture with the scarf—there’s actually a very sweet streak this kid has to him when you look at it.
The OVA: Consistent Traits, Warnings for the Future
Even in looking at the part of the “Lost Girls” OVA where Mikasa is featured…. Now, that whole bit is basically an alternate version of events, and it shows us how things would’ve gone had there not been some of the huge tragedies at the beginning of and preceding the canonical story. And while the events themselves are not the real ones that ultimately happened, I feel that this OVA is still valuable in terms of giving us character insight. Like we get to see what parts of Mikasa’s personality or psyche were more inborn and which were shaped by the trauma and possibly the triggering of certain traits unique to her Ackermann bloodline.
And with Eren, we see that he still has not only that intensity and aggressiveness, but also the kind and gentle streak, and that protective element that combines the opposing traits. As well as that deep, intense craving and drive towards freedom—or at least the concept of it. Once again sparked by Armin, no less.
I think this lends credence to what I said earlier about his already having a lot of this in him before he was ever injected with the serum.
This OVA is also very powerful because of that statement of how Eren is basically fated to death in either version of events—the alternate one and the actualized one—and that it resides within his very being in some way. And we see Mikasa’s determination to defy fate and prove that she can ultimately protect and save him.
That whole message is just…haunting, and I think we’d do well to keep it at the forefront of our minds as we face this final season and all that will play out by the end of it. And as a side note, I could be interpreting this incorrectly, but the OVA seems to suggest that the real Mikasa actually experienced this vision of what her alternate life could’ve been, as well as receiving that message about Eren’s being fated to death in any version of events. If so, that would help explain the degree of determination and arguable obsession she’s had with trying to protect him. Now she already showcased some of this before the vision, but it could’ve deepened those traits. I am curious here as to whether the Ackermann bloodline again plays a part in all of this and whether or not Mikasa has some degree of foresight ability, though it would almost certainly be to a lesser extent than Eren’s.
But returning to what we can learn of Eren’s mindset and deeper traits that exist alongside the more bristly ones, I briefly mentioned Armin a little while ago. Eren’s friendship with Armin, which actually predates his relationship with Mikasa, is another area where we can see some of the subtler facets of young Jaeger.
Armin Arlelt
These two boys definitely share a common bond in this curiosity they have and this drive to explore the outside world. In fact, it was Armin who actually opened Eren’s eyes and made him realize there was something more he could have in life beyond simply staring up at the birds and vaguely dreaming of soaring with them (I kind of wonder at this point whether Armin feels any regret over that, because he ended up unleashing something very few of us would’ve guessed. This will become vastly evident going forward.…).
But returning to their relationship, we also see plenty of contrast to them. Eren is nothing if not a fighter, while Armin is averse to conflict and in particular violence. His approach to dealing with fights is to endure. Essentially, Armin has grit—a whole heck of a lot of it!—but not growl (not much, at least….).
Passivity, pacifism…none of those really mesh with Eren. Yet when Armin explains his philosophy—that if he stands his ground and doesn’t give up, then it’s not a loss—Eren is actually intrigued and receptive. That doesn’t mean that he begins following Armin’s practices himself, mind you. But the two become friends—not a minor thing with Eren’s somewhat standoffish tendencies—and by the time Eren’s Titan powers are revealed and our core trio find themselves surrounded and under threat from the Garrison Regiment, we find out that Eren and Mikasa have long held Armin in high regard and trusted his insight. And despite the occasional venting, Eren actually admires Armin’s own brand of courage and strength, and does not consider him to be weak or a coward. And he trusts in and defers to Armin’s judgement.
I think it’s arguable that people don’t fully appreciate how significant this fact is. Adults don’t always show good judgement in accepting good counsel and knowing whose advice they can trust. And it can be especially touchy if ego gets involved, which seems to be a particularly common factor when it comes to interactions between males, though it absolutely can and does happen with other setups.
And Eren is a particularly hot-headed young man who definitely has some brash, impulsive aspects to his personality, and does still have a somewhat different outlook than Armin. I think there may also be a sense in which Eren has a leaning more towards following his instinctual and intuitive sides versus his intellectual, though he certainly has and makes use of both.
So for him to be able to put those things aside and count on and trust Armin’s judgement also speaks to something about Eren himself. And it isn’t just Armin he’s extended this trust to; Commander Erwin, Section Commander Hange, Captain Levi—Eren has placed his faith in all of them as superior officers and as guides on his journey.
Speaking of Captain Levi…it’s often through Eren and the other kids that we get insight into the deeper parts of Levi. Additionally, the more I’ve watched this series, I’ve started to realize the similarities that exist between Eren and Levi.
We’ll go into that more another time, but one instance that’s particularly relevant here is a scene that takes place between Eren Jaeger and Petra Rall shortly after Jaeger joined the Scout Regiment. Shortly after Levi drives home to Eren the importance of sticking to the parameters of the guardianship deal granted by Commander-in-Chief Dhalis Zachary, Eren expresses to Petra his surprise at finding Levi to be such a stickler for the rules.
Not Your Average Rogue
As I was writing this article, I thought back to that scene and realized how well it paralleled with my own experience of Eren. In that conversation with Petra, we find Eren having the same revelations about Levi that we as audience members end up having about Eren himself. Throughout the series, I’ve found myself feeling surprised by and so darn proud of Eren as I watch him interact with his teammates. With his temper and volatility and tenacity, Eren absolutely reads as someone who would be a rogue archetype. and don’t get me wrong—there IS some of that. However, Eren actually plays surprisingly well with others, and takes his position as part of a team very seriously. He’s surprisingly disciplined, and encourages the same of his comrades. “Distress,” the OVA about Eren and his fellow cadets on a training expedition, has a really great scene showcasing that, where Eren stands up to Jean in order to make sure the parameters of the exercise are followed, to preserve the integrity of the mission. There was something so kick-butt about that scene for me.
Funnily enough, the same episode also showcases Eren’s more impulsive and roguish tendencies, and the trouble they can admittedly cause. One thing I don’t want is to allow my fondness for Eren to blind me to or make me minimize his legitimate flaws and faults, and I’m actually glad that the episode didn’t gloss over that side of things, either.
And as if that weren’t enough, we even get some interactions with Armin where we get to see how Eren cares about and looks out for him, and it reinforces the fact that Eren does not see his friend as a burden. Even in a situation where he could justifiably say, “Hey, do it on your own,” he steps in and lends a hand and checks in on him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s not out of obligation or to gain advantage for himself, and it’s not done grudgingly. Armin is a deeply treasured friend, and his places of weakness are simply an area for Eren to step in and lend strength, and that’s what he does.
Whether or not that particular OVA is considered canon, I feel that it’s very accurate to the characters, and it definitely fits with what’s established in material that definitely is canon to the series. We also get great stuff with Marco there, so definitely check it out if you haven’t already. Same goes for the rest of the OVAs, of course.
And the more I consider it, the more I appreciate how Eren is a character who goes beyond some of the predictable archetypes. He showcases how these very contrasting and diverse qualities can all coexist within the same person. And my own similarities to Eren let me vouch quite confidently for the fact that this is not an unrealistic or impossible combo. I don’t know that it’s super common—maybe, maybe not—but I do know that it’s very real. A hotblooded team player who’s comfortable accepting others’ leadership and can actually be a stickler for the rules? Yup, we definitely do exist.
Actually, I feel a true sense of kinship with Eren—I see him as a deeply kindred soul—though, fortunately, I’m much milder in various ways than he is…before ya say anything, manga readers. It’s actually been both surprising and unnerving to see how personal and identifiable both this specific character and elements of the larger storyline have gotten as the series has progressed. I’m used to being able to relate to characters in different ways here and there, but I never expected to see this much of myself there.
And I think his core similarities to him have given me a little edge in being able to be patient with him and to understand him as a person (though believe me, I’m STILL puzzling this kid out right alongside y’all!).
III. Underappreciated: Perception Versus Reality
The Angry, Emotional, Teary-Eyed Teen?
It seems like the Eren we see for the first 3 seasons is pretty underappreciated, perhaps because people just think of him as someone who gets angry and otherwise emotional. But:
A. That’s extremely reasonable. The teen years are already notoriously volatile, and he’s a trauma survivor, several times over. We see adults freak out in this series as well. Heck, we find out that a couple of members from Levi’s elite spec-ops squad literally peed themselves their first time outside of the walls.
Funnily enough, Eren’s main problem when it comes to fear is that he probably lacks a sufficient dose of it.
You might label younger Eren as “edgy,” but the boy has ample reason to be that way and to be as emotional and volatile as he is. This child has personally been through enough trauma and tragedy for several lifetimes before he’s even 18. Plus he also ends up at least partially experiencing other people’s trauma and anguish via the memories filtering into his mind, as we’ve seen showcased a little already in the anime, especially towards the end of Season 3. This is what’s meant when you hear me say that he’s not only figuratively but also literally experienced several lifetimes’ worth of trauma.
And on a personal level, I can vouch for the fact that you stuff infinitely milder than what Eren has gone through can cause an enormous amount of pain and make just functioning on a daily and hourly basis far harder than it should be. I can’t even fathom how much Eren has suffered and is continuing to suffer, and I think that I and many other people, including many of the people who think he’s too angry or whiny, wouldn’t be able to cope nearly as well if we went through the same things as him.
In real life, people are driven to depression, addiction, and other issues after suffering less tragedy and strain than he has. I myself have gone through exponentially less than he has, and find myself in awe at how he functions so well. I find myself wondering about the little things, like how he can sleep well enough every night to do what he does. Struggling to find enough peace to sleep and avoid the problems that come with sleep deprivation has probably been one of the most challenging parts of dealing with symptoms from the c-PTSD spectrum (spectrum, as I don’t currently have a diagnosis of the full-blown condition; I only know for certain that I have quite a few of its various indicators). And we know that besides regular trauma, he also has further nightmare fuel due to the visions he’s linked to and inherited from his fellow Shifters. It’s already a small wonder that he doesn’t show more effects from this on a daily basis.
Intelligence
Another thing I would say to his credit is that Eren is actually more intelligent than folks realize during the first 3 seasons. He’s perceptive and shows better judgment than you’d expect.
I just feel like that aspect of him wasn’t really showcased as much as the other aspects. Especially since Erwin, Armin, and Hange were basically the core of our intellectual crew. They were the ones really focused on when it came to that—and deservedly so, for sure!
That said, however….
In Season 4 he’s definitely grown and developed as he reasonably should with having gained knowledge and experience, but it’s not like he’s just now become smart—he was already smart in a way that could literally be frightening.
As I said, I think that’s kinda downplayed in the first 3 seasons, but one of the times that they do show it is when he rescues Mikasa as a child. And remember, this incident happened BEFORE any medical intervention, as far as the anime indicates (I’m an anime-mostly who knows some amount of manga spoilers).
The way he ambushed BOTH of the first 2 attackers was more strategic than I’d expect from the average inexperienced ADULT, let alone a nine-year-old child. Ha, funnily enough, Eren actually has a line after the guy tries to lure him in where he flat-out says he’s not stupid.
And then there’s a bit later on where he’s thinking about that whole incident years later and kinda brushes it off and says he got lucky and that he didn’t really have good odds trying to take those guys on. Just the aspect of humility that he shows there and at other points is something you can’t take for granted. Especially when you consider his very aggressive, forceful personality. He’s the type you expect to have the flaws of being more cocky and also less of a team player, so I noticed and admired his ability to defer to others and restrain himself.
A more minor, everyday sort of example would be that one spat with Jean, where he easily resolved the situation after Jean decided to get physical with him.
The scene itself actually shows him reading the situation and opponent, being able to look past both Jean’s and his own anger, and then handle things. Not only does he pull a nice combat move strategically, he also makes a really nice verbal comeback by noting that the move is something he learned while Jean was busy slacking off. So he both shows Jean that he’s physically outmatched and chastises him for not taking their studies more seriously. The scene also shows how quick he is on the uptake when it comes to training, having promptly learned the very move that Annie had used on Eren himself earlier.
Yet another example would be his demonstrated proficiency in taking on Reiner in that martial arts battle.
Eren Jaeger the Warrior
That brings me to the whole topic of Eren Jaeger as a soldier and a martial artist. This is a realm where we see both his intelligence and his technical proficiency demonstrated.
Below is an edited version of a lengthy comment I was writing in response to a fellow author, who had brought up the topic of how the anime itself had dropped the ball some in explaining how much of a bond Eren actually had with Annie and why he had so much difficulty facing the situation when she was revealed to be a traitor:
Mm, I agree that they could’ve done a better job with that in Season 1. With the OVA, and I think the manga as well, it was made clearer that he’d had more interaction with her than with other random cadets in class, as she’d taken time to actually coach and tutor him in combat.
They also reference the results of that, as well: a line from a fellow cadet suggests that, aside from Mikasa, Eren had actually become top of the class when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
I really wish they’d kept stuff like that in. Besides the way it explains his relationship with Annie (and especially the fact that they reluctance can be mutually seen), it also traces a clearer path to how he ended up performing so well in certain fights, like that one big battle with Reiner, which remains one of my favorite parts of the freaking series, which I’m already crazy about as a whole.
I understand that the students were taught hand-to-hand combat—though, then again, a point was also made that only some even took it seriously, especially since it didn’t count for their grades, plus seemed relatively useless if they expected to be solely fighting Titans—but I was genuinely surprised by just how proficient Eren actually was in that battle, and I think at the time it had me wondering again about the training and just how hard the students were actually drilled on it.
The details related to Annie would’ve helped explain it. And I know Eren was in the Top 5 overall so would’ve reasonably been good in various areas (although come to think of it, that still doesn’t even count, as that type combat didn’t factor into grades!), but for me, especially as someone who really loves martial arts (and ju-jitsu is a particular favorite currently!), it’s SO cool for me to think that Eren actually has that as a particular area of gifting for him, and also that Annie was the one who helped draw out that dormant talent. [I may have said this already, but I’m really, really hoping that Season 4 will provide us with additional content similar to the Reiner battle or that little exchange with Jean.]
And maybe they downplayed Eren’s training because they figured it would be good to have the surprise element, but I think it would’ve paid off better to instead leave in those little breadcrumbs and then have them pay off in the Reiner battle. And the audience can then think back and remember the little hints that were dropped about the martial-arts thing.
Pretty sure Annie comments Eren “should” take it easy on her, not “shouldn’t.” This fits her insincerely calling herself delicate/fragile.
In this video explaining the real-life moves Eren is using, “chin” refers to a fighter’s ability to handle taking a strike, which you sometimes must do or risk for tactical reasons. Eren’s or Reiner’s “having a chin” basically means that they can successfully tank/absorb some strikes.
And as it is, with so much focus being on his performance purely as a Titan, it does seem like folks somewhat forget the whole deal about his being in the top rankings as a regular soldier/recruit, as well. A user on Reddit made a really good point about that whole scene where Levi explained the idea of how they would cut Shifters out of the nape, and the level of difficulty it would be to actually pull off that move. The fact that Eren later pulled off that exact precision move to extract Bertholdt—under circumstances even more stressful than average for him, at that (the situation with Armin, for one thing)—demonstrated that Eren had a high level of technical proficiency.
I remember how someone else blew that comment off as being a statement of the obvious since Eren was a top-ranking recruit, but I really do feel that’s something that tends to get lost in the mix.
As it is, I was someone who already quite liked Eren during the first 3 seasons and it rather frustrates and aggravates me that folks trash the younger versions of Eren and act like he only got good during Season 4. Speaking as an anime-mostly, I have seen enough of the manga to know that yes, he is freaking impressive as an adult, and I’m definitely pleased and proud of his progress there, like the way he’s improved his emotional control and is able to make stronger use of his analytical abilities because of that.
But he did not just magically and suddenly go from a nearly useless mess of a child to a stone-cold badazz in the 3 years since we last saw him (counting from the beach scene, since there was that extra year in the very last episode of Season 3. It’s been 4 years since the bulk of Season 3’s events, however).
In fact, for me that’s another way in which Eren resembles Levi, whom I feel he bears a more noticeable resemblance to as an adult now himself. But in the case of younger Eren, rather than the outward coldness that has given some people an incomplete impression of Levi, it has instead been a barrier of anger and tears that gave people an incomplete picture of Eren. And there was way more going on with both characters than just that (plus, they each had plenty of reason for being that way to begin with).
[Both men also share the dark commonality of having been labeled as being psychopaths/sociopaths by some fans, which I think is an EXTREMELY mistaken interpretation, and it deeply frustrates me every time I see it. But hopefully what I’ve discussed here should be enough to help dispel that notion when it comes to Eren.]
IV. In Conclusion: Eren—Then and Now?
Yes, in Season 4 things get crazy, and it’s basically this amazing multi-faceted chess game, with Eren very much in the middle of it and truly a man not to be screwed with; it sounds like his intellectual growth since we last saw him, aided by experience as well, has been truly impressive. I’ve heard the term “genius” thrown around, and while that’s a very strong term, the bits and pieces I’ve learned give me the strong impression that this is not an exaggeration.
In addition to the new look, Eren now has a different aura and a different manner of handling things, and thus feels more like a different archetype. I’m 1,000% certain that the anger and volatility beneath the surface aren’t actually gone, but it seems that he’s continued the growth path he’s already been on through the previous seasons, and now often takes a calmer and more methodical approach to tackling things. Some things I like to point people to in terms of picking up that aura/vibe are his eyes and expression in the S4 trailer. At the end of S3, he had this sort of empty, spaced-out look. Now his expression still has some of that, but instead of spaced-out, it’s now looks more focused—calmly, coldly, lethally focused and determined. It actually reminds me a lot of Levi and Mikasa. Zeke a little bit, as well.
Don’t get me wrong here: It’s not that it’s bad to like these changes. I’m super excited for them myself, and I think I’ll be more fond of Eren than ever in some ways…though I do miss some aspects of the younger him and the story dynamics in previous seasons already.
And I’d like to clarify 2 more things here:
A. Although Mikasa and Levi have been pointed to before as examples of stoic badazz characters, they actually are nuanced and well developed, as well, if you pay attention. But it is true that they also are examples of the general vibe of super-powerful, super-competent, characters who can casually wipe out their enemies and act almost bored by it.
B. I’m not actually saying that I think Eren is going to be devoid of the emotional variance this season. The impression that I’m getting is that it’s actually all there, and if anything he may be more intense and chaotic internally than he was before. And we’ll ignore or fail to notice that at or own peril. He’s simply gotten this additional layer of calmness and coldness on top of it now, which will be both welcome/impressive and unsettling/disturbing….
And it would be a real tragedy of the writing if Eren Jaeger actually were stripped of his emotion, as some folks think he’s been. As I’ve highlighted in this article, it’s actually the different emotional layers that he (amongst other characters!) has that I feel help make the show and character so elevated and superb and deep. He’s masculine and aggressive while being vulnerable and empathetic. He’s very violent but also very compassionate. He can be coldly vicious yet also weeps for the suffering of others. He’s arguably been suicidal at times, yet also has an incredible amount of willpower and drive to survive in general and also to accomplish specific goals. We would lose so much richness if all of this simply vanished.
Look, I understand that he could be frustrating and annoying at times in his earlier days. Heck, even other characters get annoyed with him sometimes, and Eren was meant to be a flawed character (still is!) and also a young one who still had plenty of learning and maturing to do. I’m not denying any of this. I definitely doubt the younger Eren Jaeger could’ve functioned with such poise as an undercover operative, as we’ve now seen him do.
But it ticks me off when people did diss Young Eren Jaeger and act like he was a terrible or mediocre and one-note character before, and is only good now that he’s become a super-slick juggernaut who makes models look like they’re slacking—Chad Eren, as a lot of folks are calling him these days.
Sure, it can be simpler and easier to root for a stoic badazz who can handle situations with greater ease than for a more vulnerable (both physically and otherwise) and emotional character who struggles and fails more.
But the reality that I see? Despite the changes, it seems many core elements of this character have remained and are the foundation for what he has and will become, so Eren Jaeger the man is in large part who he is—both good and bad—BECAUSE of Eren Jaeger the boy, not DESPITE him. Eren was already amazing both in terms of a character and in terms of a person.
I was nervous about whether or not I could finish this article in a way I’d be satisfied with, and I’ve had it brewing on and off for several months now. But, all in all…I feel good about it, and I’m happy to have it as part of my portfolio now. I really hope folks will enjoy this post—both folks who were already fans of this character and had wanted to see the beautiful writing for him given more credit and folks who’d previously thought he was just a one-note ball of untamed fury.
Of course, most of my content these days comes in podcast format. Want to keep an eye out for upcoming episodes? You can find links to many of the podcast platforms where the show is currently available, plus the subtitled/captioned YouTube videos, here: https://elink.io/98db231
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