Levi Ackerman

Levi Ackermann is the strongest and most talented soldier of the Survey Corps and is the leader of the Special Operations Squad. Levi with a dark past lived his life as a thug in the underground before changing his life in the Survey Corps, thanks to Erwin Smith who scouted him. Although very cold, distant, and strict, he has strong leadership skills that inspire the people around him. The main character of Attack on Titan, Eren Jaeger especially, respects Levi for his leadership and abilities.

Levi is often seen disciplining and controlling his subordinates through physical means, especially, Eren but all with good intention. His strictness in his lessons are all necessary when trying to instruct his subordinates who can potentially lose their lives due to simple mistakes within the battlefield. Being in such a high ranking position makes him feel responsible for the soldiers he leads and shows distress when they die.

Throughout the series, Levi is seen attacking Titans swiftly and effectively while having an expressionless face most of the time.

Character Background: Son of a prostitute named Kuchel Ackerman, Levi lived in the Underground. Kenny Ackerman, Kuchel’s brother takes Levi in his care noticing that his sister had passed away. Kenny taught everything he knew to Levi. He was especially skilled in the art of killing as Kenny was infamously known as Kenny the ripper. However, he wasn’t so heartless to let a child die, but not nice enough to be a parent.

Kenny teaches Levi how to survive in the underworld by, first, holding a knife and swinging it in addition to how to “get along with people”, “greeting people”, closing deals as the scene pans from Levi holding a knife and swinging it to intimidating people like a gangster.

One day, as soon as Kenny felt that Levi had learned enough of what needed to be learned, Kenny abandons Levi in the midst of a fight.

Personality: Ranking high in combat, initiative, and wits, Levi is a natural leader yet he doesn’t think of himself as one. He trusts Erwin Smith and sees him as a better leader figure than he is.

Although he is often viewed as indifferent, he shows his warmth through his actions and coming to the rescue to his comrades and friends. Through this backstory Levi seems to be unaware and naive of the world. He shows a general interest in what there is to come as a citizen of the surface. Being in the Survey Corps presented him with an opportunity to live a normal and respectable life while killing Titans.

In this part of the series, his only two friends Furlan Church (male, around 18 years old when he died) and Isabel Magnolia (female, around 17 years old aswell) are killed on the 23rd Expedition beyond the walls. Putting parts of the pieces together, it becomes clear of why Levi is the way he is. Having a disturbed past of his mother dying at a young age, growing up with his uncle who teaches him violence, being abandoned, and losing two people he was close to may explain his indifference to basic human experiences including death and killing.

Path to the Special Operations Squad Levi spends his adult life as a thug with friend Furlan Church and Isabel Magnolia. It is also revealed that he and Fraland learned how to use vertical maneuvering gear (possibly stolen) by themselves which presented a high level of skill and cleverness.

At first, Levi is approached by Nicholas Lobov, who threatens and bribes and him to kill Captain Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps. Erwin held evidence of Nicholas Lobov’s illegal activities and could if wanted to take him out of his high ranking position. Nicholas Lobov tells Levi to join the Survey Corps as a con to assassinate Erwin. The reward: Citizenship on the surface as all of them, Levi, Furlan, and Isabel were from the underground and possibly lived undocumented lives.

He is later pursued by the Survey Corps and Erwin. Ewin makes a deal with Levi. Levi’s crimes of his past as a thug would be forgiven in the condition of Levi joining the Survey Corps on the 23rd expedition beyond the walls. At that time, Levi was still a thug and lacked discipline however provided to be useful to the Survey Corps. While on the expedition, events quickly escalated and an abnormal Titan killed Furlan and Isabel. Levi as he took a detour on a plan to kill Erwin Smith, became the only survivor left, and ever since that day he can't get the image of the Titan's deep red eyes out of his mind.

Realizing that his friends have been killed, Levi spins into a killing rage and kills the Titan who took the lives of his friends. Erwin Smith sternly tells Levi that his plans have been foiled and the evidence of Nicholas Lobov’s illegal activities come to light and is now finished.

Erwin continues with “We’re going to continue Expeditions. You will come with me”. From here Levi makes the decision to continue onto becoming the best soldier and leader of the Survey Corps and gain a profound respect for Erwin Smith.

General information about the military inside the walls:

Humanity's defence against the Titans is a full-time, professional army trained to deal with the beasts. The military is divided into three divisions: the Scout Regiment, which explores outside human territory to hostile areas in a bid for expansion; the Garrison Regiment, which patrols and maintains the Walls, keeping Titans out and acting as the first to engage the Titans if the gate is destroyed; and the Military Police Regiment, the top-ranking soldiers who protect the Royal Family and maintain order within the Walls. Structure The military is divided into three divisions, each led by their own leader.

The Scout Regiment Ranked among the most elite soldiers, they are tasked with attempting to reclaim territory that has been lost to the Titans. Despite being the most well trained, they often come under dispute from those within the Walls and are constantly under threat of being disbanded since they suffer high losses, and usually fail to supply results.

The Garrison Regiment The Garrison is responsible for patrolling and protecting the Walls. They are set to the task of evacuating citizens and dispatching Titans in the case of an emergency breach in the Walls.

The Military Police Regiment The Military Police are in charge of keeping order inside the Walls and protecting the Queen. Due to their important function as guardians of the most important humans, only the top trainees from a graduating class are permitted to join them. Despite recruiting from only the best, they are shown to be corrupt and often incompetent due to the nature of their work inside the Walls, far away from Titans.

Qualities Though the army is full time and has protected the Walls for over 100 years, it is largely corrupt. The Military Police are thought to be the worst, as they actively avoid fighting the Titans, preferably staying alive in the interior. They are also responsible for the lack of technological advancement and various other issues inside the Walls. Under them is the Garrison, thought to be lazy, irresponsible, and cowardly, though, after the breach in the Shiganshina District, their tactics and personnel have achieved amazing improvements. The Scout Regiment are the least corrupt of the three, fighting only for the sake of humanity and reclaiming the land lost to the Titans.

Uniform / Equipment All members of the military, including the Cadet Corps instructors, wear similar uniforms consisting of a short, light brown jacket with the badge of the regiment on both shoulders, on the front left pocket and on the centre of the back, a light-coloured shirt, a dark brown sash around the waist covering the hips, white pants, and dark brown knee-high leather boots. The Scout Regiment members often wear a heavy, green, hip-length hooded cloak with the Wings of Freedom on the back, usually when conducting missions outside of human territory. Trainees have been observed to wear the cloaks, albeit without any symbols when conducting marches in the rain.

The main equipment of the military is the omni-directional mobility gear, which is also their main weapon used in conjunction with two snap-off blades attached to the hand grips. However, the Military Police often use muskets, since they mostly deal with people and rarely with Titans