, named Eren Jaeger (Turkish:
Eren
Eren is a Turkish name which in today's Turkish has the meaning of "Saint".
Given name
* Ali Eren Beşerler (born 1975), Turkish footballer
* Ali Eren Demirezen (born 1990), Turkish amateur boxer
* Ali Eren İyican (born 1999), Turkish footbal ...
, "Saint"; German:
Jaeger/Jäger, "Hunter") in the subtitled and dubbed versions of the anime ''
Attack on Titan
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...
'', is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
and the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the ''
Attack on Titan
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...
''
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series created by
Hajime Isayama
is a Japanese manga artist. His first series, '' Attack on Titan'' (2009–2021), became one of the best-selling manga series of all time with 110 million copies in circulation as of September 2022.
Biography
Isayama was born in Ōyama, Ōi ...
. Eren is a teenager who swears revenge on enormous humanoid creatures known as Titans that devoured his mother and destroyed his town in the Shiganshina district in Wall Maria. In order to defeat the Titans, Eren enlists in the Military and joins the Survey Corps—an elite group of soldiers who fight Titans outside the walls and also study the physiology of Titans in order to know what they are fighting. As the story progresses, Eren gains the power of becoming a Titan later identified as . He has also appeared in other related media including anime and video games.
Isayama created Eren with the idea of a character whose fears and dreams were relatable but often clashed with his own darkness, resulting into multiple changes to his characterization. In the
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
adaptation of the series, Eren has been voiced by
Yūki Kaji
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Yuki, ...
in Japanese and
Bryce Papenbrook
Bryce Austin Papenbrook (born February 24, 1986) is an American voice actor and martial artist who has done voice work for Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, Animaze, Studiopolis and Scoffer Studios. He has voiced in several anime ...
in English. Both of these actors found difficulties in employing different types of voices based on how Eren grows up across the narrative. In the live-action film adaptations, he is portrayed by
Haruma Miura
was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama ''Agri'' (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film '' Koizora'' (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the foll ...
&
Ryota Ozawa
is a Japanese actor best known for his role as Captain Marvelous/Gokai Red in the 2011 ''Super Sentai'' series ''Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger''.
Filmography
TV Drama
Films
Stageplay
*''Fushigi Yuugi
, often translated as ''Strange'' or ''Mys ...
.
Critical reception to Eren was polarized, finding him too antagonistic and harsh for his age. Positive comments focused on the character's ideals and newfound powers as a Titan as well as his
character arc
A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to ch ...
. Reception has become more positive in later arcs of the manga and anime as he becomes a more ambiguous rather than heroic character, evidenced in the 2021
Crunchyroll Anime Awards
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards, also known simply as The Anime Awards, are awards given annually by the anime streaming service Crunchyroll to recognize the best anime of the previous year. Announced in December 2016, the awards were first prese ...
where Eren was nominated for "Best Protagonist" and "Best Antagonist" simultaneously, and went on to win in the latter category. Nevertheless, the character has typically proven popular within the ''Attack on Titan'' fanbase. His voice actors were praised for their portrayals of the character.
Creation and design
![Takanori Gomi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Takanori_Gomi.jpg)
Author
Hajime Isayama
is a Japanese manga artist. His first series, '' Attack on Titan'' (2009–2021), became one of the best-selling manga series of all time with 110 million copies in circulation as of September 2022.
Biography
Isayama was born in Ōyama, Ōi ...
created Eren to be "an ordinary youngster who gets paralyzed with fear" when seeing a titan rather than a stereotypical hotheaded protagonist often seen in
shonen manga. As a result, he was not given unit warrior talent in comparison to other members from the series. Isayama has stated that part of the reason he chose the name "Eren" for the character is because it sounds feminine, which would make it easier to remember. Isayama has stated that he has struggled in the past to make Eren feel "alive" when writing and has called the character "a slave to the story"
f Attack on Titan
Isayama stated that Eren's wish to go outside the city's walls is similar to his own. When he was a child: He lived in a rural Japanese town surrounded by mountains. One day, he wanted to go beyond the mountains, which reflected in the town surrounded by walls in the manga where Eren lived in the series' beginning. In retrospect, Isayama believes Eren fits the type of narrative he wrote for ''Attack on Titan'', something that Isayama managed to relate with.
Isayama has stated he paid particular attention to Eren's eyes when designing him, in order to make him stand out from the rest of the cast. He specifically chose to give Eren thin eyebrows instead of thick ones because he felt it would be "articial" to try to use thicker eyebrows to accent Eren's angry personality. Because Eren is an energetic character, Isayama chose to give him black hair so that it would be easier to draw speed lines around him when he is moving. The character's Titan form's physique was modeled after middleweight mixed martial artist
Yushin Okami
is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship.
Mixed martial arts caree ...
.
[''Attack on Titan'' manga, volume 1, interview "For the Titan version of Eren, I use martial artist Yuushin Okami's body as a model. My ideal is the physique of a middleweight mixed martial artist. I only use the shape of the body as a model."] Isayama has also identified
Takanori Gomi
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who gained international fame in Pride Fighting Championships. Later in his career, Gomi also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is the only Pride FC Lightweight Champion in th ...
's southpaw fighting style as a model used for Eren's Titan and the way it fights. Isayama originally intended for Eren to have known all along that he was a Titan. As he looked over previous chapters of the manga, Isayama stated that Eren's fight against the Warhammer was one of his favorite scenes.
Actors
Japanese actor
Yūki Kaji
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Yuki, ...
commented on how it was important that he should voice Eren's Titan form because he believes it is an extension of the character. He had a meal with Isayama after he visited the recording studio and the manga artist told him he found Eren quite a difficult character but complimented Kaji by saying "You know Eren already", which gave him confidence. Eren's characterization was briefly altered for the English dub of the series making him self-reflective and eloquent in some scenes.
Kaji described Eren for the second season as a person who never changes despite his growth, finding this trait important for the drama. The staff and him did not want to change the way Kaji changed Eren's portrayal in the making of the second season.
English voice actor
Bryce Papenbrook
Bryce Austin Papenbrook (born February 24, 1986) is an American voice actor and martial artist who has done voice work for Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, Animaze, Studiopolis and Scoffer Studios. He has voiced in several anime ...
got excited when he got the role of Eren as he was a fan of the show before it was announced that it would be dubbed into English. As a result, he viewed this as an advantage as he managed to understand the character beforehand.
For example, he could understand the delivery of several lines because he already knew of the anime's series of twists. Additionally, he saw himself prepared for the role's pressure due to his previous works in popular anime.
He was excited because Eren was different from his previous characters despite sharing a similar age and vocal range, he commented "It's a very raw sound. Some of the noises he pulled out of me were just disgusting. I loved it. I loved every second of it." Papenbrook noted how different was Eren from his previous role as noted in the delivery of emotions and notable screams.
There were three different kinds of voices he used for Eren: One for his kid persona, another deeper for his young adult self and a third "which was different from anything else." He recorded all three of those, and "there were noises that were required that were just disgusting and nasty."
While he saw Eren's screams as challenging, he believes it was not the most difficult he ever had.
Haruma Miura
was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama ''Agri'' (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film '' Koizora'' (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the foll ...
stated he was proud of portraying Eren in the live-action film, adding that he was surprised by being cast for the role. Due to the appeal of the series, Miura tried to stay true to Eren's characterization when working in the movie and hoped Asian viewers would enjoy his work. Miura found the shooting of the movie challenging including the training to move like the character. Miura aimed to show Eren's naivety traits when working in the movie.
Characterization and themes
Isayama describes Eren's personality as that of a child who uses rage as his motivation as a result of his weakness and failure to save his mother from the Titans. His retaliation against such pressures triggered all this fury, which led to a major introduction to the core of his traits. Many illustrations of him were brutal in nature due to his constant struggle against unforgiving surroundings. However, this hatred often combined with inexperience, causing him to act dangerously and recklessly charge ahead. Early in the series when Eren is revealed to be a Titan shifter, Isayama thinks he wrote him calmer than his original depiction. He did that in order to give fellow character Armin more determination as Eren relied on him in order to clear him of the military's accusation that he was an enemy to mankind.
Originally, Isayama was asked by his editor who Eren's rival in the manga was. While initially thinking about Annie, Isayama noted that there was no such rivalry between themselves and instead thought that Eren needed to overcome something to become stronger. Despite initial issues in understanding Eren, Isayama noted that the character reminded him more and more of himself afterwards, though he still found Eren hard to write. In later chapters when confronting Annie, Isayama wanted to give Eren more responsibility by making him suffer the powerlessness of his allies being killed by the traitor. Another major scene for Eren's arc involved how he realized his powers are not good due to how he was manipulated by his father Grisha and thought he should not live due to this guilt, especially when realizing he killed his own father as a child.
Talking more about Eren's rivalries, Isayama instead compared him with
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
from ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' as he finds fitting how both characters have an inner conflict with their darker personas. Isayama describes Eren's personality as an emotional complex; as his existing beliefs are gradually destroyed, Eren starts thinking about simply preserving himself as a new standard, and consequently acts on that way of thinking.
By the manga's 22nd volume, Isayama drew an image of Eren looking at the sea, something that motivated him during his childhood. However, Isayama stated that starting this moment, Eren and his friends began to mature and fill positions left behind by military superiors. Isayama said that viewing Eren as "dragged along by the story" had become the essence of his character, and that Mikasa and Armin had developed a habitual mindset of revolving around him and wishing to help him. According to Isayama, at first their mindset was favoritism, comparing Eren's relationships with Mikasa and Armin to that of helping one's relatives or siblings who are encountering hardship, even if onlookers question it. He stated that despite their similar ages, Eren, Mikasa and Armin had different states of mind and that their growth might involve their possible separation and even opposing one another. Stating that he did not see Armin and Eren being best friends forever, he further explores a personal writing style of rejecting the concept of a fated soulmate regarding Eren and Mikasa, often writing ideas about how the two would separate and respectively go through subsequent development and independence, although did not think it a necessarily good thing to portray.
Isayama noted Eren's characterization is different of what it was originally viewed by the fans; while originally wishing to see the sea as a dream shared with Armin, the truth was that Eren was never that interested in the sea itself. While Armin possessed a global-oriented curiosity and dreamed of the natural world outside the walls, Eren instead held only self-focused indignation towards the lack of freedom that mankind had to seeing it, causing an inner part of him to wonder if he was empty-headed. This resulted in gradual clarity to their diverging perspectives as Eren's grasp on the sea subsequently fades. Isayama further compared the trio of Eren, Mikasa and Armin to high school students who grow across childhood until graduating. He viewed the scene of the trio seeing the sea as an alternate ending to the manga.
At climax of the series, Eren's character arc takes a significantly dark shift following the announcement of his plan to eliminate all life outside of his island. When Eren reveals his motivations for committing mass murder was to make his friends heroes to Armin in the last chapter of the manga, the latter thanks Eren. In an interview regarding this scene, Isayama clarified that Armin was not condoning Eren's actions, but acknowledging that he was Eren's accomplice. Recognizing that reception to the final manga arc and last chapter was mixed, Isayama admitted that Eren's motivations and the story themes he wished to portray during the arc ended up being difficult to depict and that he regrets being unable to fully express those themes in the manga.
Appearances
In ''Attack on Titan''
Eren Yeager is introduced as a ten-year-old residing in the town of Shiganshina who dreams of joining the Survey Corps in order to explore the outside world beyond the walls. A year prior to the events of the story, accompanying his father Grisha to meet her parents, Eren saves
Mikasa Ackerman
The ''Attack on Titan'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hajime Isayama. The story is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls; a defense against the Titans, gig ...
from a group of kidnappers, which led to the development of his ideology at a young age. When the Titans invade Shiganshina, Eren is powerless as he watches his mother be devoured by one of the Titans and thus vows to kill every Titan henceforth.
Eren then enlists himself in the military, with hazy memories of last meeting his father while receiving a key to their home’s basement.
During his first mission at Trost, Eren sacrifices himself to save his friend
Armin Arlert
The ''Attack on Titan'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hajime Isayama. The story is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls; a defense against the Titans, gig ...
from being swallowed by a bearded Titan. Eren manages to transform into a Titan himself, proving his newfound strength worthy to fight for mankind. Eren earns a place in the Special Operations Squad, a branch of Survey Corps under Captain Levi. Eren is hunted by a female Titan but is saved by Levi and Mikasa. The Titan is later revealed to be his classmate Annie Leonhart, who is defeated by Eren but freezes herself. Upon being chased by more of Annie's allies, Eren awakens a power known as the , which he subconsciously uses to direct a group of Titans to attack them.
Soon after, Eren is sent with his friends to an isolated village while preparations are made for a campaign to retake Wall Maria. Eren is then captured by Rod Reiss, who reveals the Founding Titan was originally in his family for years since their ancestor Karl Fritz created the walls, and that the Reiss family used it to rule until it was stolen by Grisha. Grisha is revealed to be responsible for Eren becoming a Titan, passing the Founding Titan’s power to his son at the cost of his life. Eren's classmate Krista Lenz, who is actually Rod's child Historia Reiss, refuses to aid her father and frees Eren. Eren and the Survey Corps depart to Shiganshina to reclaim Wall Maria and defeat an army of Titans led by Zeke, the Beast Titan, and his subordinates Bertolt and Reiner, who are also Eren's classmates and the holders of the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan, respectively. With Shiganshina secured, Eren and his friends learn of Grisha's past once they reach the Yeager family basement: Zeke is revealed to be Eren's half brother and Grisha's first son, and the people within the walls are revealed to have originated in another nation named Marley. They learn that humanity exists beyond the walls and that their true enemy is Marley, while they live on an island called Paradis Island, and are a race called Eldians (specifically the "Subjects of Ymir"), descendants of the original titan shifter Ymir Fritz. They learn that in the past, Ymir Fritz’s power split into the Nine Titans that would be passed down to her people. This power was used to conquer and subjugate many races and nations, including Marley. Marley eventually overthrew Eldia, taking control of Seven of the Nine Titans before oppressing and demeaning the Eldians left on the continental mainland, using them as holders of the Titan powers as a means to conquer and subjugate other nations, just as the Eldian Empire had once done. Eren learns that he has a limited lifespan as a side effect of being a holder of two of the Nine Titans' power, including the titular , along with the Founding Titan, only having 8 years left to live.
Four years later, assumed to have been fending off Marleyan infiltrators with the new Colossal Titan Armin, Eren is leading the Survey Corps in an extraction of Zeke in Liberio following Marley having won its war with the Mid-East Allied Forces. Having his left leg amputated, Eren assumes the identity of , a former Marleyan military officer. During the festival held by Willy Tybur to declare war on Paradis, Eren responds with an attack, killing Willy and then devouring his sister to gain the War Hammer Titan's power. Eren's actions result in his arrest but he escapes with a group of Survey Corps members loyal to him called "Yeagerists", and he resumes his search for Zeke. Eren makes himself known to Armin and Mikasa, showing antagonism for his friends, and is ambushed by a group of soldiers led by Reiner. Eren attempts to reach Zeke to activate the Founding Titan's power, but is nearly killed by Gabi; Zeke saves his brother, turning out to be the one who has control of the Founding Titan's power, because as a member of the royal family that wasn't descended from the first King of the Walls, he wasn't brainwashed by the latter's will, and because Ymir Fritz, the source of the Founding Titan's power, was bound as a slave to her royal descendants. Eren convinces Ymir to help him after giving her the choice to make her own decision. Revived, Eren frees the Titans within the Walls and declares his intent to exterminate all life outside Paradis in order to protect his people, becoming the world's enemy; the Titans destroy much of Marley before a team led by Armin kills Zeke, stopping the Rumbling, and severs Eren's connection to the source of the Titans before Eren is mortally decapitated by Mikasa. The founder Ymir then removes her powers and cuts ties with the world after Mikasa kills Eren. After Eren's death, Armin recovers his lost memories of a conversation where Eren reveals his true plan, which was to have his friends being celebrated as saviors for killing him. As a result, all surviving Titans and Titan Shifters revert to human form permanently. Having destroyed most of the world's population and assets, he helped to prevent any major attempt of retaliation against Paradis or the Eldian race. His head is buried under a tree in a place only known by Mikasa and Armin.
In other media
In the parody manga ''
Attack on Titan: Junior High'', Eren is presented as a junior high school student who is obsessed with the Titans. In the visual novel ''
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls'' an alternative take of the character shows his relationship with Mikasa, who fears that, regardless of changes in history, Eren is fated to die. He is a playable character in ''
Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind'' for the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
. His Titan form also makes an appearance in the game. Jin Haganeya's visual novel ''Burning bright in the forest of the night'' has Eren and Levi as the leading characters. He also appears in the mobile game ''
Granblue Fantasy
(Japanese:グランブルーファンタジー, Hepburn: ''Guranburū Fantajī)'' is a Japanese social-network game and role-playing video game developed by Cygames for Android, iOS and web browsers, which first released in Japan in March 2014 ...
''.
Eren also makes an appearance in the parody spin-off manga ''
Spoof on Titan
is a Japanese 4-panel manga written and illustrated by . The series is a parody- spinoff of Hajime Isayama's popular '' Attack on Titan'' manga. It was launched in both Japanese and English on Kodansha and DeNA's manga app Manga Box on ...
''.
Following the manga's ending, the newspaper
Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
put a fake advertisement of Eren's character becoming part of a manga from the
isekai
is a Japanese genre of speculative fiction—both portal fantasy and science fiction are included. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person or people who are transported to and have to ...
genre.
Reception
Critical
Critical reception to Eren's character has been varied. Jacob Hope Chapman of
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
referred to Eren as "almost deliberately not a 'likable' protagonist, even by 15-year-old boy standards" due to reasons of being violent, impulsive, and not especially smart or strong. However, he liked that he inspires people by believing in his feelings, hopes, and dreams, making him the "heart of humanity". Theron Martin noted that while Eren initially has hardly any emotion besides anger, in later episodes he eventually does have emotions beyond that. Jeffrey Kaufman of Blu-ray.com calls Eren "a compelling character, and once a really surprising development crops up a few episodes in, he becomes even more compelling." Ken Iikura Anime Now highly acclaimed Eren for the way his emotions are shown in the series due to his constant rage regarding his desire to take vengeance for the Titans who ate his mother as well as his reaction to the discovery of the two Titans who have been posing as his friends. As a result, Iikura said Eren was more appealing due to his emotions rather than the powers he reveals across the series to fight. While acclaiming the episode "Warrior", the site ''MANGA.TOKYO'' praised Eren's interactions with Reiner and Bertolt due to the two latter characters opening themselves to Eren as enemy Titans but the three remains as calm until their eventual fight. The character was often compared with
Thorfinn from ''
Vinland Saga'' due to their similar struggles with getting revenge as well as how the same studio did of their own anime adaptations.
Kyle Charizanis of The Fandom Post found the anime portrayal of Eren's transformation to be amusing, starting from his "almost pitiful" look while declaring how he's going to kill all of the Titans. When the anime portrays him as capable of controlling his transformation, Charizanis adds "Maybe one day he’ll be able to contort his body to be used as a bridge, or heal other people’s wounds, or morph his arms into sharp blades like a certain other anime character." In the final anime episode, when Eren is fighting the Female Titan, he describes Eren's internal monologue as changing "from the usual violent determination to a kind of gleeful madness." and likens his tone to that of
The Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
. Elijah Watson from ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' magazine liked the plot twist of Eren's titan form turning on the other titans that he called it a
Worldstar moment. Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network was fond of Eren's Titan abilities as "there has not been anything as uncomfortable for me to watch as Eren chomping into his own hand, trying to transform. There is something visceral and real about Eren drawing blood from his own hand, and boy, it gave me the chills," and later praised his thoughts when fighting the Female Titan due to the portrayal of Eren's humanity despite being a Titan.
Other writers were more critical on the character. Nicoletta Browne of THEM Anime Reviews found him "a frustrating protagonist" based on how his angry fits and exclamations “can be seen as highly childish”. Elliot Gray of ''Japanator'' called him a "typical shonen manga lead" and instead found Mikasa and Armin more appealing. Similarly, Anna Neatrour from Manga Bookshelf called him “in many ways a fairly typical brash and opinionated shonen hero" and considered the manga design of the humans to be "drawn stiffly and not in proportion. For much of the time Eren and his comrades are yelling at each other, with facial expressions that don’t have very much variation".
On the other hand, Justin Wu from ''The Artifice'' saw Eren's hotheadness as a positive trait of the character.
Chapman found Papenbrook's child Eren forced but noted his performance once the character grew up was far better.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
found Eren started to have a notable
character arc
A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to ch ...
in the anime's third season as he learns from his past thoughts, but found it painful in comparison to other characters due to how harsh Eren is with himself. ''MangaTokyo'' acclaimed Eren's growth across the anime series' until the finale of its third season due to how he realizes the amount of enemies he has to face changing from having angry tantrums to a more collected mind seeking the freedom of his people. ''The Fandom Post'' noted that one of the major twists of the third season was discovering the relationship between Eren and Zeke, but lamented the narrative to focus more on Erwin and Armin rather than Eren and Mikasa. Another reviewer praised how the development of the characters and discovery of the truth behind Grisha also reflected on the childhood moments from Eren, Mikasa and Armin. For the final arc, Den of Geek and ''IGN'' noted that while Eren becomes a darker character due to his harsh interactions to Mikasa and Armin to the point he comes across as a fallen villain with Zeke being the apparent cause. IGN still remained ambiguous when he talks to Mikasa in a flashback about their bonds. The Fandom Post commented despite his aggressive comments, Eren's new characterization might include lies as some generate a major impact on Mikasa's feelings for her. His appearance as the Attack Titan in the final frames of the opening of the anime's final season were compared to that of
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animator, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating the anime series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' (1995)''.'' His style is defined by his postmodernist approach and the extensive portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotio ...
's ''
Shin Godzilla
is a 2016 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 31st film in the '' ...
'' movie (2016) by ''Anime News Network'' due to how threatening it looks.
Popularity
In the ''
Newtype
is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...
'' anime awards for 2013, Eren was voted as eighth best male character. In ''
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...
''s
Anime Grand Prix
The is an annual Japanese anime awards giving to recognize the best in anime of the previous year, decided by the votes of readers of entertainment magazine ''Animage'', published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. The Anime Grand Prix started i ...
2014 polls, Eren ranked as the fourth most popular male anime character, behind
Levi
Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...
who was voted the most popular. However, his Japanese voice actor ranked first among all voice actors, with Eren as his primary credit for that period. In the ''Animedia'' Eren was nominated for multiple categories including "Most Valuable Player", "Darkness", "Hot" and "Brave"; He only won the "Hot" award, but took high places in the rest. Anime News Network also listed his Titan form as one of the weirdest power ups seen in anime. In a ''Newtype'' poll, he was voted the 10th most popular male anime character from the 2010s. In July 2021, he once again appeared in the ''Newtype'' polls. At the
6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Eren won the award for Best Antagonist, while also being nominated for both Best Protagonist and "Best Fight Scene". The character's voice actor Yuki Kaji won the award for "Best VA Performance (JA)".
Eren is featured in a variety of merchandise. In December 2013, the
Good Smile Company
is a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products such as the Nendoroid and figma product lines, as well as scale figures. In addition to production and manufacturing, its business includes design, marketing and distribution. Its products are usuall ...
released the Eren Picktam! strap along with straps of other characters from the series. The official Eren Yeager
nendoroid
The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearance. T ...
and
figma were also launched after the series' success. These figures exist via a variety of figurine and merchandise companies. Eren's figma was released in May 2014, and the nendoroid was released in April 2014. In addition to figures,
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
has released Eren plushes, a smaller one in December 2013 and a larger one in July 2014. Eren Yeager, along with many other characters from the series, also has a dedicated perfume inspired by his character traits. His perfume was released by Koubutsuya in fall of 2013 along with the perfumes for Mikasa Ackerman and Levi. In an Akiba Souken poll, Eren was voted as the most popular character from the series with 50,143 votes.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeager, Eren
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