Sasha Blouse

Sasha Blouse is a character from the Attack on Titans anime and manga.

Sasha was a member of the Survey Corps and one of the few former members of the 104th Training Corps, of which she was ranked 9th best, that decided to join the regiment, upon coming into contact with Eren's strong desire to eliminate the Titans. A compulsive food hoarder with an overly polite way of speech, Sasha was from Dauper, a village in the southern territory of Wall Rose.

In the AWA fics, Sasha is a student at the AWA Academy.

Appearance
Sasha was a young woman with light gold eyes and brown hair kept in a ponytail that reaches the base of her neck. Her bangs are slightly parted to the left cascading down each side of her face and stopping around the middle of her neck. On missions, she wears the standard Survey Corps uniform with a light gray shirt underneath. When not on missions, she wears a simple long sleeved blouse with a skirt that slightly covers her boots. On some occasions, she even wears a sleeveless vest over her blouse. She has a slender figure and is of average height.

In the year 854, she had grown taller and her hair was shorter but with longer bangs, exposing more of her face. She wore the new black Survey Corps uniform with with belts and support rods for her anti-personnel vertical maneuvering equipment. She also carried a sniper rifle.

Personality
Sasha was a friendly, fun-loving girl with a compulsive appetite. Originating from Dauper Village, she had a local accent, but actively hid it out of embarrassment by using formal speech, even when conversing with her fellow trainees.

Initially, Sasha was shown to be somewhat timid and prone to make mistakes when under stressful situations. She was rather simple-minded and eccentric, but her intuition is very sharp; Sasha was also surprisingly courageous, and she was considered a wise judge of circumstances and danger.

Possibly due to her younger years of struggling to hunt and find food, Sasha had developed an incredible appetite; eating provides her with considerable gratification and relief, especially during times of great stress, and food is often the only thing on her mind when at ease. So compulsive in her desire to eat, she had proven willing to steal food from the infantry stores and/or kitchen and earned herself the nickname "Potato Girl" after stealing a potato and absent-mindedly explaining herself when her superior caught her. Despite her gluttonous tendencies, Sasha was a capable soldier and couldn't stand by when others are in trouble.

In the year 854, Sasha adapted to her role as a sniper, agreeing with Jean that, as time has passed, killing other soldiers had become easier. However, despite her newfound cold professionalism in the field, Sasha appeared incapable of killing civilians and especially children, exemplified when she had Gabi Braun in her sights yet could not take the shot.

Abilities
Raised as an animal hunter, Sasha shows high level skills in archery, horseback riding, and tracking. Sasha is ranked one of the top 10 trainees in her squad, implying good physical abilities. She was also commented to have a better sense of balance than some of the other trainees. Sasha's hearing is also very acute, to the point that she could detect an approaching group of Titans before many of her fellow trainees. As well as physical abilities, Sasha has good knowledge of wild animals and utilizing her hunter experience (shown when the Female Titanscreamed), she knew exactly what the scream meant (a distress cry; danger) and that they should be wary of it. She also seems to be athletic and useful with bow and arrow, injuring a 3m class Titan alone with just a bow. She is later shown to be able to disarm a person without any injury to the said person with archery alone.

Four years after reclaiming Wall Maria, she has proven to be very proficient in using bolt action rifles, fatally sniping down multiple Marleyan soldiers from a rooftop in only a couple of seconds and sniping a gunner through a narrow opening in the middle of a firefight. She is proven to be a skilled thief, as she often manages to steal food from the infantry storage without getting caught.

She contains at least a small amount of medical knowledge; being chosen to attend to Levi's wounds after he was attacked by Kenny Ackerman and the First Interior Squad.

Trivia

 * Hajime Isayama named Sasha after comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohento reflect the fact that he intended for her to provide a comedic element to the series.
 * An interview with Isayama's editor in Otomedia's October 2013 issue revealed Isayama originally intended to kill Sasha in Volume 9. However, he was persuaded to change his mind by the editor, who apparently went to the bathroom and cried when presented with the ending. This accounts for Sasha's absence during the majority of the Clash of the Titans arc, though she would later receive a stronger presence in the arc during its anime adaptation.
 * The official manga guidebook features original character design sketches that show Sasha's design was originally quite different.
 * Sasha's name is short for "Alexandra," which comes from the Greek "Alexandros," meaning "defender of humankind." "Blouse" (Brauss) comes from the German saying "in Sauß und Brauss leben," meaning "to live off the fat of the land," a phrase she herself quotes.
 * She was one of the few characters to survive an encounter with a Titan without using her vertical equipment.
 * Isayama stated that there is not any food Sasha dislikes.
 * Sasha shared a birthday with Dina Yeager.