Armin Arlert

Armin Arlert is one of the main characters of the Attack on Titans anime and manga.

Armin is an elite soldier in the Survey Corps. He is also a childhood friend of Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman, and one of the two deuteragonists of the series. Although he appears to be among the physically weakest of the 104th Training Corps, his intelligence and strategic genius make him an invaluable asset, especially when paired with Hange Zoë.

In the AWA fics, Armin is a student at the AWA Academy and is part of Class 2.

Appearance
Armin has a boyish face, with large hazel eyes and a petite pointed nose which is always distinctly a bit red. His blond hair is style in a long undercut with bangs over his entire forehead. Armin has noticeably defined eyebrows and side burns, indicating of his age. His frame is, as it has always been, relatively small and lacking in muscle but not definition. He is noticeably a bit taller and holds an often pessimistic face. During the Attack on Marley, Armin is seen wearing a standard cloak for hiding purposes before he transformed, and his hair is now shorter.

As a soldier in the Survey Corps, Armin is seen wearing their revamped black uniform for the night raid on Marley.

As a teen Armin was rather short for his age, though he had a somewhat defined build. He had a round face with blond hair that is cut in the style of a bob and large expressive eyes with brown eyebrows.

In his childhood, Armin wore a long-sleeved single-buttoned jacket with a collared shirt, long dress-pants, and dress shoes. As a member of the 104th Training Corps, Armin wore the standard 104th Training Corps uniform with a white button up underneath.

Before the redesign of their uniform, Armin wore the standard Survey Corps soldier outfit. Underneath his short brown jacket, he had a white collared button-up shirt, similar to the one he wore as an adolescent. Like his comrades, Armin has supplemented his attire with a large green cape when participating in the expeditions outside the Walls and missions. He also wore long brown boots that reach up almost to his knees, as the other soldiers did.

Personality
Even when he was young, the naturally curious Armin had a deep fascination with the world beyond the Walls. As a child, he found and studied an illegal book about the outside world that was owned by his grandfather. He told Eren Yeager, his best friend, about the book and the information that was it contained. Armin was branded a heretic by other children for his unusual interest in the outside world, and was thus frequently picked on. Too timid to defend himself, Armin would often rely on his friends Eren and Mikasa Ackerman to protect him from local bullies. This, coupled with his frail physique, was a source of much shame for Armin, leading him to have poor self-esteem and to believe that he was a burden to others. Because of this, Armin has always been very eager to prove his worth. As a child, he hoped that one day he would be able to consider himself a true equal to his friends.

When Armin got older he enrolled in military training and after graduating he joined the Survey Corps with Eren and Mikasa. He enrolled in military training and later joined the Survey Corps for his own reasons. He wanted, first, to try to make a good and meaningful impact on the world, and second, to realize his dream to see the outside world. His curiosity has remained a strong personality trait from when he was young, driving him to do whatever it takes to ensure humanity's triumph over the Titans.

Armin continued to have low self-esteem during his training years and for a short while after graduation. During this time Armin considered himself to be useless due to his lack of physical strength and skill. However, soon after graduation, he came to learn that his mind is an equally valuable asset to the military, and that he can use his brain to help people. Consequently, Armin gradually gains confidence in himself and his abilities. Nonetheless, he can still be hard on himself at times. The fact that he is so willing to sacrifice himself to achieve a goal shows that he still does not value his own life as much as he should.

Abilities
Being physically weak, Armin is rarely assigned to the front lines and rarely uses his vertical equipment for direct combat. Instead, his greatest strength lies in his intelligence - innate abilities of deduction and strategy formulation, be it in a war room or on the fly. But Armin has a keen eye for detail, making him a remarkable field tactician, a trait that distinguishes him among his fellow trainees. His strategies help save his fellow soldiers numerous times and, more remarkably, he played a key role in deducing the identities of all the hostile Titan spies among the 104th Training. Initially, Armin's intelligence was hampered by a severe lack of confidence, but after acknowledging and nurturing this side of himself, Armin's potential as a tactician began to show, and even high-ranking officers took his strategic opinions seriously.

Trivia

 * The name "Armin" may have multiple meanings, either from an old German word meaning "whole," or "Herman," meaning "soldier."
 * His birthday, November 3, is celebrated in Japan as Culture Day. This holiday promotes academics, culture, and the fine arts.
 * Armin's blood type is O.


 * Armin is the only member of the current Squad Levi to not be in the top 10 graduates of the 104th Trainee Corps.