If you already didn’t know, among all the animes I’ve seen Attack on Titan has a special place in my heart. It’s exciting and heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. Among all Attack on Titan characters, there are two that have captivated any fan’s heart. Ladies and gentlemen, today we’ll be talking about Levi Ackerman and Eren Yeager. They’re quite the opposite when it comes to character. Levi is calm and collected while highly charismatic, which comes in contrast with Eren’s hot head and chaotic demeanor.
This relationship goes beyond a simple superior-inferior dynamic. Levi’s disciplined nature often clashes with Eren’s impulsive approach to things. It’s like yin and yang.
in this article we’re gonna explore their bond, their resilience, and their shared dream of freedom, all that Attack on Titan is about.
Eren and Levi’s personality at a Glance
Eren Yeager is not your average main character. His story finds roots in being a rebel. Rebellion is a factor that’s both scary and necessary in a society. His reckless decisions often came from the freedom fighter inside him, putting him and the people around him in danger, especially Levi.
Who’s Levi?
Levi Ackerman or as I like to call him, Captain Levi is the squad captain of the special operations squad within the survey corps. He’s known to be humanity’s strongest soldier. I’m gonna go through certain traits in him that make him deserving of that name. Levi is a true statue of discipline, his words are something you can always count on. He is skilled and can kill as many Titans with both of his hands, But a key factor here is that he doesn’t obey anyone. Levi’s obedience is strictly limited to individuals he respects. people like Erwin. other than that he doesn’t just go around obeying any superior and he’s not scared of questioning authorities, which adds to his charisma. Despite Levi and Eren being polar opposites, their rebellious nature is a common ground for both of them.
Levi’s experiences from the past have planted in him this sense of responsibility and discipline, with a huge chunk of empathy towards humans that makes him a great leader in Attack on Titans.
Levi and Eren together
In my opinion, the relationship between Eren and Levi is like fire and ice. Levi’s icy demeanor and mindblowing fighting skills melts with Eren’s fiery personality and strong passion and creates the best duo dynamic in the series. I’ve never seen anyone hate both of them. If you’re an Attack on Titans fan, I can predict you’re either Levi’s fan or Eren’s. (I’m an Erwin girl, so we do have exceptions.)
These two’s relationship starts with Eren joining the military and later on the special operations squad. At first, Levi viewed Eren as a wild card that could possibly free humanity from Titans. He often got frustrated with Eren’s reckless behavior, which he thought would put his squad’s lives in danger. But he also showed a huge concern for Eren’s well-being. I personally think it’s because he gets Eren. Eren reminds Levi of the beauty of youth, and his forceful desire for freedom excites Levi without him knowing.
As the story progresses, there come moments that require them to build trust with each other. Eventually, Eren learns the consequences of his actions and Levi comes to a better understanding of Erens motivation behind his actions. This way they gain mutual respect towards each other.
I believe Hajime Isayama has done an excellent job of building the series off of Eren’s and Levi’s characteristics. It shows that true desire for something (In AOT’s case freedom) goes hand in hand with discipline and self-control. Eren had the passion and anger to save humanity, which I believe is the ingredient for change, and Levi knew how to cook the perfect meal with these ingredients, for he had the responsibility and sense of guidance. Together they could do extraordinary things, and they did.
Is the anime the same as the manga?
Even though the essence of their relationship remains the same in the anime, Eren and Levi experience more tension in the manga. The manga explores more layers of their friendship and dives deeper.
The anime often shortens things up for the sake of visual impact, while staying true to the story. If you want to have a better understanding of their duo I strongly recommend you read the manga too.
What do fans think?
Putting all the shipping aside, some fans view Eren and Levi’s relationship to be based on fear and abuse. Others believe their relationship has evolved into a mutual respect friendship over the years. I’ve found myself leaning more toward the opinion. In one of many fan discussions I’ve participated in, someone points out that Levi’s relationship with Eren and Mikasa is crazy similar to his relationship with Kenny. He shows a parental nature to all of them, always protecting them from threats.
The most beautiful thing I’ve heard which had me on the verge of tears was from a fans blogpost I read a few months ago. She wrote, “Levi’s disappointment in Eren showed that he actually believed in Eren in the first place.” I cried a good hour after reading this. It reminds me yet again how close they had become and how much of a family they’ve found in each other while fighting for their lives.
What do I think?
Watching Eren and Levi fighting together through the cruel world of Titans never leaving humans alone, I’ve realized you can count on friends in hardship. It doesn’t matter how different you are from each other, as Eren and Levi were like the moon and sun. But they shared empathy towards each other and knew the earth needs the sun as much as it needs the moon. There’s no wrong personality. We all need each other to overcome challenges.
It also taught me that passion alone is not always enough, it needs to be combined with discipline and hard work to result in success. As we watch throughout Attack on Titans how these people have used their desire for freedom as well as their logic and resilience to fight huge Titans. And they’ve won multiple times despite being a hundred times smaller than Titans.
