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Eren Yeager|エレン・イェーガー|Eren Yēgā}}{{efn|name=Jaeger|In the Funimation translation of the anime, Eren's surname is translated as "Jaeger". is a fictional character appearing as the protagonist from the manga series Attack On Titan by Hajime Isayama.

Creation and design

Author Hajime Isayama stated that Eren's Titan form's physique was modeled after middleweight mixed martial artist Yushin Okami.

Appearances

The protagonist of the series. Idealistic, hotheaded, aggressive, and impulsive, Eren seeks to annihilate all Titans and explore the outside world beyond the walls. When he was 9 years old, he and his doctor father came across the bodies of Mikasa Ackerman's parents, having been murdered by slave traffickers. Alone, Eren tracked down Mikasa and killed two of her captors before convincing her to kill the third to survive while he was being strangled by the latter. Following his mother's death, Eren has a brief encounter with his father who entrusts him with a key to the basement of their house in Shiganshina, claiming that he must reach it by whatever means necessary, though it isn't revealed what is actually hidden there. He was ranked 5th in his trainee class, possessing no particular talent aside from his close combat skills. However, his resolve, determination, and sense of purpose ensured a steady improvement in his grades.

After he is eaten alive by a Titan on his first mission, another 15-meter class Titan appears in the Walls and is seen attacking other Titans rather than eating humans. It is later revealed that this Titan is Eren himself, and he believes this ability to be the result of injections given to him by his father after the death of his mother. He initially had little control over his Titan body, attacking whatever came into his view, but after physical and mental training he eventually gained full control. When the Titan's body can no longer be maintained, Eren emerges from the nape of the Titan's neck (the common weak point of all Titans), where his body is fused to the Titan. When encountering the Titan that devoured his mother years earlier during his kidnapping by Reiner and Bertolt, Eren suddenly develops a new ability to mentally control other Titans. After first subconsciously directing a group to kill and devour the Titan that killed his mother, he then directs the Titans to attack the Armored Titan so he and his friends can escape back to within the Walls. After being rescued, Eren is sent with his friends to an isolated village while preparations are made for a campaign to retake Wall Maria for good, by making use of his newfound power.

Reception

Critical reception to Eren's character has been varied. Hope Chapman from Anime News Network referred to Eren as "Eren is almost deliberately not a "likable" protagonist, even by 15-year-old boy standards. He's violent and impulsive, but not very strong like his best friend Mikasa, the paragon of human physical superiority. He's stubbornly opinionated, but not very smart like his best friend Armin, the paragon of superior human intellect." He continued commenting "He's a child at the bottom of the food chain, with no real talents or tools for survival, but very quickly he becomes "humanity's last hope." It's not just because Eren possesses a handy macguffin that he wins this position. The seemingly unexceptional Eren inspires friends, enemies, and eventually his whole species, because he still believes in his feelings, hopes, and dreams; even when he doesn't have the reason or the power to fight for those things, he will fight simply because he has them. He reminds humanity that this, not simple "survival," is the value they add to an unfeeling world, and they can't afford to endanger from within or let the Titans take it away from them. Eren is the heart of humanity, and humanity is a Special Thing that deserves to not only survive, but thrive". UK Anime Network commented on the impact the death of his mother have on the character as "Already frustrated by the lackadaisical attitude towards the Titans exhibited by those around him, the loss of his mother in the Titan attack only drives his determination to new levels, and thus these early episodes of the series see him and those close to him dealing with the personal aftermath of the attack before fast-forwarding to watch him take his first fleeting steps towards completing his military training and enabling his ultimate goal - the death of all Titans."

Blu-ray.com added similar comments, stating "Even Eren's predicament—he pretty much sees his Mom getting tossed down the gullet of one of the giants—seems to argue against any putative pro-conflict stance." He later praised the plot developments of Eren in the early episodes which surprised him. Otaku USA Magazine commented that "Eren and his transformative power an increasingly crucial weapon for humanity." Fandom Post praised Eren'd development in the anime's twenty-fourth episode as "Eren's search for motivation ends up being a venue for reliving key moments from earlier in the season." Chris Beveridge from the same site called him a "threat" due to how multiple characters view him and praised his incorporation to the Survey Corps. In the Newtype anime awards, Eren was voted as eighth best male character.

References

1. Cite error: The named reference voice of eren was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. "MTV Geek – Interview with Attack on Titan Creator Hajime Isayama". Geek-news.mtv.com. 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
3. "Attack on Titan BD+DVD - Part 1 [Limited Edition]". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
4. "ANIME REVIEW: Attack on Titan - Eps. 1-4". UK Anime Network. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
5. "Attack on Titan Part 1 Limited Edition". Blu-Ray. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
6. "Precious Territory: Moving on with Attack on Titan". Otaku USA Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
7. "Attack On Titan Episode #24 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
8. "Attack On Titan Episode #14 – 25 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
9. "Attack on Titan Wins Top Prizes in Newtype Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2014.

v t e Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
Media	Chapters Before the Fall Junior High Lost Girls No Regrets Spoof on Titan Harsh Mistress of the City
TV series	Episodes Season 1 2 3 4
Live-action	Attack on Titan Counter Rockets
Video games	Humanity in Chains Attack on Titan Attack on Titan 2
Music	Openings "Guren no Yumiya" "Shinzō wo Sasageyo!" "Red Swan" "My War" "The Rumbling" Endings "Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai" "Great Escape" "Akatsuki no Requiem" "Name of Love" "Akuma no Ko" "Under the Tree" "To You 2,000... or... 20,000 Years From Now..." Other related Epica vs Attack on Titan Songs
Characters	Eren Yeager Mikasa Ackerman Levi Ackerman

• Male characters in anime and manga