Armin Arlert is a character who doesn’t start out nearly as well-liked as the other two members of his trio, Eren and Mikasa, or even most of the other trainees at the time. However, it’s shown that where he may be lacking in physical strength, he makes up for it by his nearly unmatched intellect and ability to plan and strategize. Armin’s plans have even personally saved the lives of Eren, Mikasa, and himself when all of them were brought into question after Eren shifted for the first time.
Due to starting out as someone who doesn’t have as much to offer visibly as many of his peers, he pushes himself even harder to perform well, and he has a surprisingly good work ethic. Even with all of this positive growth, though, like all balanced characters, he still has moments that can ruin his likability for some fans.
10 Early On, He’s Too Timid To Defend Himself But Also Doesn’t Try To Change
Armin begins as a character who isn’t able to stand up for himself or his beliefs in the same way that Eren and Mikasa do. He’s often getting saved by them from bullies, and this dynamic leads him to develop a complex where Armin believes that he’s a burden to those around him.
Despite this, it also takes his character a while to attempt to enact any meaningful change. It can be aggravating at first seeing him acknowledge how far he is behind his peers and not trying to get better.
9 He Doesn’t Value Himself And Can See His Own Life As A Sacrifice
Armin doesn’t value himself very highly. This is referring to his willingness to sacrifice his own life in addition to his low self-confidence, as even when it seems like the latter is improving, the former doesn’t seem to change.
Armin is shown in the show to be a brilliant strategist who comes up with plans that have helped save many lives. Despite this, he doesn’t seem to understand how much value his own life holds.
8 His Level-Headedness Can Sometimes Make It Appear As If He Doesn’t Care As Much As Others
Being one of the more level-headed members of the cast, it’s often Armin who’s seen calming down Eren or restraining Mikasa in various situations. And while this is certainly a good trait for him to have within the group, it can also make him read as somewhat emotionless at times compared to other characters.
A good example of this is during Eren’s trial, where Levi was pummeling Eren and Mikasa moved to stop him, but Armin stopped her. It was necessary at the time and wouldn’t have done the group any favors, but Armin hiding his own concern in favor of balance within the group dynamic can make him come off cold.
7 He Believes That Humans Might Need To Forfeit Their Humanity In Order To Survive
Armin initially comes off like he’s one of the most positive characters in the series, but this isn’t really the case. It’s his curiosity involving the outside world that drives him to want to fight his way outside of the walls, not his belief for a brighter tomorrow.
He actually believes that it’s necessary in many cases for humans to sacrifice their humanity in order to survive. This is a way of thinking that doesn’t quite seem like it fits Armin, and it can come off as jarring given what else fans know about his character.
6 His Beliefs And Actual Reactions To Things Don’t Always Line Up With One Another
Despite Armin believing that humans have to give up their humanity in order to survive, this isn’t something that he can easily do. In actuality, he’s far too empathetic and emotionally sensitive to be able to put this into practice effectively.
He’s shown crying after taking lives when it’s absolutely necessary, and his kind heart often makes it hard for Armin to cope with the realities of his actions. And while this is tragic and can draw sympathy, it can also come across as hypocritical given how often Armin strives to stop the other characters from acting emotionally.
5 He Believes That It’s Better If He Dies Rather Than Be A Burden On Others
Right before graduation, Eren questions Armin as to which branch of the military he’s thinking of going into. When Armin responds that he’s following Eren and Mikasa into the Survey Corps, Eren questions his lack of physical strength.
Armin replies that he’d rather die than be a burden to others, but this thinking is flawed and can hurt others around him. By thinking that it’s better for him to die than it is to get support and help from others, it shows that he doesn’t understand how much he’s valued by those in his life.
4 If Titan-Shifting Powers Didn’t Exist, Armin Directly Gets Eren Killed
For some, it can be hard to redeem Armin after remembering that if Eren didn’t posses his titan powers, he would have died incredibly early on. The other members of Armin’s squad are wiped out, leaving just him and Eren.
Eren has to save Armin from being eaten by a Titan due to the boy freezing in fear, but it results in Eren being eaten instead. One of Armin’s main internal conflicts is that he doesn’t want to burden others, but being the cause of a character’s seeming death seems far worse.
3 He’s Ready To Leave Mikasa Alone And Commit Suicide After Believing They’ve Lost Eren
After Armin breaks the news to Mikasa when they believe Eren is dead, she immediately charges onto the battlefield without any regard to her supply. This ends with her stranded without enough gas to get away, and blades too dull to fight properly.
Armin rescues her, but then proceeds to try to give Mikasa his gas tanks and blades – all but one, keeping one to impliedly finish himself off. In a moment where they believe they’ve already lost Eren, his willingness to leave himself behind, and leave Mikasa completely by herself, comes off as cold.
2 He Suspects That The Female Titan Is Annie But Keeps This Information To Himself
Annie, in Titan form, spares Armin’s life twice and also has to get incredibly close to him in order to recognize him as someone she wants to spare. Due to this, it doesn’t take long for the highly-intelligent Armin to put two and two together and realize that it’s likely Annie.
Despite him realizing this, it’s information that he keeps to himself. And while he does eventually bring it up at a strategy meeting, it’s still questionable as to why he doesn’t do so earlier.
1 Armin Is Chosen To Be Saved Instead Of Erwin, Leading To Some Fan Resentment Against Him
It’s hard to forget a moment like the one where Levi is forced to choose whether it’s Armin or Erwin who has their life saved. If the decision was down to Armin himself, it’s noted that he instead would have chosen for Erwin to live.
In the end, however, Levi decides that it’s better if Armin is the one to survive. Though there are many reasons as to why Armin’s survival is beneficial, fans also can’t help but question the choice to let Erwin die, and many end up resenting Armin for being the one who lives.
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