Eren has been an outstanding protagonist in the complex world of Attack on Titan. But many fans questioned his motives as the series speeds through the penultimate battles among Titans, Eldian warriors, and Marleyan soldiers.
From Eren’s “Come at me, Reiner!” dialogue to that rock-hard metal opening of Attack on Titan’s Part 2 theme song, fans slowly see the mentality of an angry, confused, but battle-hungry man like him.
“Is Eren Yeager a villain or a true hero that AoT needed?” That is the real question that’s been bugging many fans.
We know that this discussion has been debated multiple times throughout the series. But now that Part 2 of the Final Season is upon us, this question surfaces itself yet again amongst many fans’ minds.
With a hot and debatable topic like this, I’m excited to discuss with you all how Eren’s morality and personality changed throughout the series.
Eren may have started playing the hero role during the first 3 seasons of the show; but in The Final Season, his character development slowly shifted to portray a mindset akin to a villain; thus, making him the unneeded anti-hero towards the series’ last legs.
The shift in his mindset did not happen overnight. He witnessed carnage after carnage throughout many battlefields.
He witnessed Carla (his mom) dying at the hands of an enormous female titan (Dina Fritz, whom Eren did not even realize was his stepmom until Season 3).
Then, he witnessed his fallen comrades from Season 1 died. He also witnessed how multiple titans killed one another just to feed on the humans they’d like to devour.
Moreover, through the Founding Titan’s memories and kissing Queen Historia’s hand, Eren acquired a vision.
In the vision, he witnessed how Grisha (his father) murdered the Reiss royal family in the ice cavern that’s secluded underneath the church.
These murderous and killing-spree grotesque sceneries are what he saw constantly throughout his teenage years. No wonder his mind is the first thing to crack (even just a little bit) amidst all these devastating and cruel moments.
What Makes Eren a “Villain”?
Eren’s “hero-to-villain” or “hero-to-anti-hero” transformation is caused by his personality change and broken mindset.
He must kill Paradis Island’s enemies, the Marleyans and the world, by activating “The Rumbling” of the Wall Titans to preserve the lives of his friends.
But, in doing so, his mind and heart slowly break throughout The Final Season. Despite these circumstances, his Founding Titan powers enabled him to endure a great deal.
Hence, instead of Eren’s mind being completely broken and Eren going completely off his rockers, he had a personality shift. This shift might not be the most likable one; in fact, it irritated some fans.
Here’s an example: Eren shouted, “I hate you, Mikasa” in Part 1 of Attack on Titan: The Final Season.
I’m a big Mikasa and Eren shipper myself, but Eren’s line at that table scene (when he was confronting Mikasa, Armin, and Gabi) hit many fans, including myself, hard.
At that point, I was ready to abandon the Mikasa and Eren ship line. And even when the episodes that followed the table scene didn’t change how I felt for the would-be couple, it did change how I viewed Eren from that point on.
My perception of him at that instant changed drastically because he said cruel words to his best friends. He’s no longer an anti-hero to me, but a villain whom I think AoT needs least of all.
You may argue that all this is just a basic argument. But my perception of Eren confronting his best friends at the dining table is that one scene that started my distaste of Eren even if it was just a tiny bit.
Then, Eren had that secret meeting with Zeke when he was a one-eyed beggar with a peg-legged when infiltrating Marley; he also became the leader of the anti-Yeagerists faction that bullied and beat up Head Instructor Keith Shadis (one of my favorite supporting characters of the series since Season 1), and he also agreed with Yelena and Zeke’s Euthanasia plans.
It became not too difficult to hate Eren when viewers see the misery that’s happening to all AoT supporting characters.
And Eren’s cold actions towards his friends and the Survey Corps do not help at all. Hence, why many fans of AoT viewed Eren more as a villain than just some random anti-hero.
Parallel to Eren’s character regression is how the “Keep moving forward” and “Dedicate your Hearts” ultimatums were tainted throughout The Final Season.
These phrases started as noble mottos that inspire frail Eldian soldiers to fight for Paradis Island’s survival.
But members of the Yeagerists faction like Floch and his crew tainted it by dishonoring the memories of fallen Eldian soldiers.
In addition, those mottos echoed with nobility, grace, honesty, truthfulness, and bravery whenever Captain Erwin Smith and the 10 members of the Survey Corps (from Season 1) shout these phrases to showcase their dedication to fight the man-eating titans.
But now that all-out war is happening in The Final Season, those mottos slowly acquire a different meaning to it. Eren’s Founding Titan is still moving forward, but this time, to assault and collide with Reiner’s Armored Titan.
What Makes Eren A “True Hero”?
Eren’s dynamic personality shift is the ultimate reason why he appears to be a true hero, and savior (so to speak), in the mindsets of Floch, Yelena, Zeke, and more importantly, Mikasa.
Despite Eren being constantly labeled as “anti-hero” or “villain” by the Eldians and Marleyans (and extensively, by the fandom), there’s still a boy hero living inside Eren.
Inside Mikasa’s head, Eren is still that boy hero and savior who saved her from those robbers and assassins that plundered the Ackerman home. That boy hero gave her that red scarf to keep her warm.
Now that they’ve both grown up, Mikasa chose to overlook the heinous crimes that her beloved Eren is doing. He chose to protect Eren from Armin’s punches even after he insults and badmouths her Ackerman bloodline.
The “true boy hero” is still living inside Mikasa’s mind. She may have served, protected, and loved Eren all her life.
And to this day, despite the carnage that Eren is planning, Mikasa still chose to hold onto Eren’s promise and the scarf he gave her when they were children.
As for Floch, Yelena, and Zeke, they have one thing in common: they perceive Eren as a savior or true hero who could liberate them from their miseries.
Floch is seeking Eren’s leadership because he possesses the Founding Titan. With the strongest titan on the Yeagerist’s side, there’s no military government that could overthrow Paradis Island.
Yelena worships Eren and Zeke. She believes these two could forge a plan to make Zeke’s Euthanasia Plan come true and solve all Eldians’ problems.
If the Eldians become infertile, they won’t have the reproductive ability to produce children possessing Titan genetics in them; hence, Eldians’ inability to transform into one of the Nine Titans and pass the Titan bloodline to their descendants. That’s “world peace” to Yelena, so to speak.
As for Zeke, he believes his royal bloodline can activate “The Rumbling” of the Wall Titans. But he can’t do it on his own. He needs Eren, the holder of the Founding Titan, to make his Euthanasia Plans come true.
The fandom could also perceive Eren as a “true hero” to a certain degree. But they might be biased and might only consider one aspect of a very enormous problem: saving Eldians, including Mikasa and Armin, from living a caged life.
If this is the only factor that’s being considered, then Eren is only a true hero for that solitary reason.
He’s an anti-hero because he’s the series’ protagonist doing all these heinous and gruesome crimes to save his dearly beloved friends.
He is still willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of Eldians, Marleyans, and the rest of the world just to save a few of his pals.
But, to become the true hero for a handful of friends, Eren must become the villain to millions of people.
About Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.
The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.
Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.
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