Character Name: Levi Canon: Attack on Titan Canon Point: Chapter 61 Background/History:Wikia Personality: There are a number of things one could assume about a person with the lofty title of "humanity's strongest." Levi is basically none of them.
From the beginning, it's easy to see he's not your typical "hero" character. First, there's the immediately obvious: he's small. He looks disgruntled and sleep-deprived almost all the time. We have literally never seen him smile. He has a difficult personality as well: he speaks brusquely and often makes rude remarks - he curses frequently and tends to use informal/disrespectful speech. However, it's quite a bit easier to understand his personality when you learn where he came from. He lived most of his life in what is essentially a giant garbage can. A good portion of that time was spent being the protégé of a serial killer. The chances that one would emerge from such experiences as a normal, upstanding individual are pretty low.
Perhaps due to growing up in an underground slum, he's very neurotic when it comes to cleanliness: he's the very definition of a neat-freak. In fact, this is one of the first things we learn about him when he is introduced: after dispatching a titan or two, Levi notices he has blood on his hand and blade and immediately stops to wipe it off with a handkerchief, despite the fact that titan blood evaporates after a short time. Later in the story, when his squad arrives at the old Survey Corps headquarters, Levi wastes no time giving his first order: the place is filthy and he won't be having any of that, and immediately divides up responsibility for whipping it back into shape.
He places a very high priority on the chain of command and expects his subordinates to be competent and obedient (though he does acknowledge personal choice at certain times). If he's being a dick to someone below his rank, it's probably not because of that, but rather because that's just his default disposition. The strict nature with which he commands his current squad is for their own good and not because of any bloated sense of power. Even having that power, it's just not in his character to flaunt or abuse it. As for those who outrank him, he holds himself to the same standard: while he sometimes protests at first, he always follows orders from the commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. Levi does not have any particular talent for strategy, and he fully acknowledges this.
That said, despite his 2/10 official "teamwork" score (see abilities section), Levi is not that terrible of a leader. His original squad respected him immensely, and it wasn't just because of his reputation. He's not a lenient squad leader by any means, but neither is he flippant or disrespectful towards those he outranks. My interpretation of this score is that it's more representative of him actually working in a team, as opposed to leading one—unlike his first squad who worked together quite well, Levi tends to veer off and deal with things on his own. He does this even when he is leading a team, but only if he knows the others can handle it and/or he has no other choice; abandoning his squad is never a preferred course of action.
Mentally, his greatest strength is keeping a cool head in sticky situations, which is good since he's pretty much always in a sticky situation. The flip side of that is a perpetual state of emotional constipation, which lends itself heavily to him being an unpleasant person. He's not 100% ice queen all the time, but if you're looking for a shoulder to cry on, you might want to look elsewhere. Essentially, his personality is his greatest weakness—he has very few desirable traits and he isn't in any rush to change that. I mean, what's the point of being a friendly person when most of your friends are dead, right?
Add all these things up and it looks like a recipe for a fairly unpleasant person. It's true that he is tough to be around, and that he seems like an asshole on the surface. However, while he may seem to dislike people in general, he does not undervalue human life. While Erwin is more of the belief that the end justifies the means, Levi is far less tolerant of what is often little more than sending soldiers off to die, even if they’ve consciously joined the Survey Corps and thus “dedicated their hearts” to humanity. It’s for the same reason that he doesn’t act recklessly—he has lost countless comrades to titans, after all. Despite the hefty title of humanity's strongest, it's important to note that he isn’t prideful about it. He's perfectly aware of his own capability, but he isn't cocky.
This is a complex character who isn't always painted in a complex way. He's not just the stoic warrior guy, or the potty-mouthed bad boy, or the strict disciplinarian captain. Under a prickly (but squeaky-clean!) exterior, there is a genuinely good guy - sometimes you just have to squint to see him.
Levi | Attack on Titan | not reserved
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Character Name: Levi
Canon: Attack on Titan
Canon Point: Chapter 61
Background/History: Wikia
Personality:
There are a number of things one could assume about a person with the lofty title of "humanity's strongest." Levi is basically none of them.
From the beginning, it's easy to see he's not your typical "hero" character. First, there's the immediately obvious: he's small. He looks disgruntled and sleep-deprived almost all the time. We have literally never seen him smile. He has a difficult personality as well: he speaks brusquely and often makes rude remarks - he curses frequently and tends to use informal/disrespectful speech. However, it's quite a bit easier to understand his personality when you learn where he came from. He lived most of his life in what is essentially a giant garbage can. A good portion of that time was spent being the protégé of a serial killer. The chances that one would emerge from such experiences as a normal, upstanding individual are pretty low.
Perhaps due to growing up in an underground slum, he's very neurotic when it comes to cleanliness: he's the very definition of a neat-freak. In fact, this is one of the first things we learn about him when he is introduced: after dispatching a titan or two, Levi notices he has blood on his hand and blade and immediately stops to wipe it off with a handkerchief, despite the fact that titan blood evaporates after a short time. Later in the story, when his squad arrives at the old Survey Corps headquarters, Levi wastes no time giving his first order: the place is filthy and he won't be having any of that, and immediately divides up responsibility for whipping it back into shape.
He places a very high priority on the chain of command and expects his subordinates to be competent and obedient (though he does acknowledge personal choice at certain times). If he's being a dick to someone below his rank, it's probably not because of that, but rather because that's just his default disposition. The strict nature with which he commands his current squad is for their own good and not because of any bloated sense of power. Even having that power, it's just not in his character to flaunt or abuse it. As for those who outrank him, he holds himself to the same standard: while he sometimes protests at first, he always follows orders from the commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. Levi does not have any particular talent for strategy, and he fully acknowledges this.
That said, despite his 2/10 official "teamwork" score (see abilities section), Levi is not that terrible of a leader. His original squad respected him immensely, and it wasn't just because of his reputation. He's not a lenient squad leader by any means, but neither is he flippant or disrespectful towards those he outranks. My interpretation of this score is that it's more representative of him actually working in a team, as opposed to leading one—unlike his first squad who worked together quite well, Levi tends to veer off and deal with things on his own. He does this even when he is leading a team, but only if he knows the others can handle it and/or he has no other choice; abandoning his squad is never a preferred course of action.
Mentally, his greatest strength is keeping a cool head in sticky situations, which is good since he's pretty much always in a sticky situation. The flip side of that is a perpetual state of emotional constipation, which lends itself heavily to him being an unpleasant person. He's not 100% ice queen all the time, but if you're looking for a shoulder to cry on, you might want to look elsewhere. Essentially, his personality is his greatest weakness—he has very few desirable traits and he isn't in any rush to change that. I mean, what's the point of being a friendly person when most of your friends are dead, right?
Add all these things up and it looks like a recipe for a fairly unpleasant person. It's true that he is tough to be around, and that he seems like an asshole on the surface. However, while he may seem to dislike people in general, he does not undervalue human life. While Erwin is more of the belief that the end justifies the means, Levi is far less tolerant of what is often little more than sending soldiers off to die, even if they’ve consciously joined the Survey Corps and thus “dedicated their hearts” to humanity. It’s for the same reason that he doesn’t act recklessly—he has lost countless comrades to titans, after all. Despite the hefty title of humanity's strongest, it's important to note that he isn’t prideful about it. He's perfectly aware of his own capability, but he isn't cocky.
This is a complex character who isn't always painted in a complex way. He's not just the stoic warrior guy, or the potty-mouthed bad boy, or the strict disciplinarian captain. Under a prickly (but squeaky-clean!) exterior, there is a genuinely good guy - sometimes you just have to squint to see him.
(Get it? It's a short joke.)