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Military Police Brigade

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/military_police_brigade_logo.png

The elite force that answers to the King, responsible for maintaining the peace. Their organization is infamously corrupt, and many recruits hope to join in order to take advantage of the safety and comforts it affords. Only the Top 10 graduates from every year are allowed to apply, meaning that the most talented are the soldiers least likely to ever have to face Titans (And that's just the main recruitment method, fraternization, favoritism, etc, all exist as an alternative to this). They are actually divided into two separate organizations — the regular branch, and the secretive Central 1st Brigade that operates directly out of the Capitol. Though most of the top ten cadets of the 104th Trainee Corps intended to join the MPs (as they had earned the right to do so), only Annie Leonheart ultimately joins, while the rest opted for the Survey Corpsnote .

The regular branch of the Military Police mainly oversee operations within the confines of Wall Sina, mainly engaging in escort missions and enforcing official summons to the interior within the Three Walls for matters related either to the Crown or the Military court. As such, and unlike the Survey Corps and the Garrison, they are unfamiliar with combat in almost all aspects. Lacking in leadership and purpose, and apart from the aforementioned corruption, the MPs are notoriously lazy and unconcerned with protocol, rarely if ever receiving punishment for their faults.

Contrary to the other branches, the Military Police saw no discernible improvements in response to the Fall of Wall Maria in personnel training, equipment or structure other than the creation of the Central 1st Brigade, thus keeping the regular branch stagnant, corrupt and isolated.


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Regular Branch

    General Tropes 
Tropes that apply to the Military Police Brigade as a whole.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Deconstructed. The military system in place makes sense on paper: the best and brightest defend humanity's center and the rest either maintain the Walls or go on scouting missions. This means ultimately the best soldiers are likely never to be where they're needed most, making them useless to the overall war effort. Additionally, any exercises that they do would involve drilling with their guns (as they are responsible for maintaining law and order) so the 3DMG skills that got them to the top are stagnated and see little further use because they're at the top.
  • Badass Army: They only accept the Top 10 recruits from the Trainee Corps, so their members are inherently the best and brightest the military has to offer... in theory. In practice...
  • Badass on Paper: ... it turns out that taking the people who got the highest scores in training and then never having them practice or experience real combat against Titans, ever, doesn't make for a particularly talented force. When actually forced to fight, they're closer to a Redshirt Army.
  • Break the Haughty: The Military Police are quite arrogant and condescending to the various other branches and, due to their status as the King's elite fighting force, freely abuse their power to other citizens. Therefore, once humanity begins actively fighting the Titans, their branch tends to get punished quite a lot.
    • Firstly during the Female Titan arc. Our introduction to their branch is watching a couple of officers selling weaponry for their own use then beating up Marlo when he confronts them about it. Then it turns out that one of their own is the Female Titan and a battle ensues within Wall Sina that the MP's are powerless to stop.
    • During the Clash of the Titan's arc after Eren is captured by the Colossal and Armoured Titans a bunch of MP's loudly voice how much better they would be at fighting the Titans outside. Levi decides to ask if they would like to join them and the MP's are forcibly enlisted into the Eren saving mission. Sure enough, once the operation is underway, the MP's become basically useless and are more or less used by Erwin as a Red Shirt Army.
  • City Guards: Though most of them slacked off during the hand-to-hand combat parts of training, so they're actually the worst at combating other people.
  • Dirty Cop: Its members don't hesitate to take bribes or sell government property for personal gain. The one that beats up Marlowe actually says that blatant disregard for the rule of law is standard procedure.
  • Drinking on Duty: Several officers are seen drinking (or on their way to a bar) in the middle of the day. Unlike the Garrison members that goofed off at the beginning, they actually do have better things to do, they just don't care.
  • Elites Are More Glamorous: Made up of the most capable graduates and the most highly-regarded branch, though they almost never have to go on elite missions to show off their badassery. They finally get assigned to re-capture Eren, and it turns out they're not so elite after all.
  • Evil Debt Collector: They're responsible for collecting taxes. The evil part comes from their habit of its members selling shipments of equipment (that the taxes paid for) on the black market for their own gain. They also regulate the food supplies, and if anarchy broke out due to hunger, they'd have all the swords and guns. A few blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments in the anime show (prospective) scenes of the Military Police Brigade killing peasants and forcing people to part with their valuables for a few potatoes if things came to their worst. Fast-forward many chapters: once many refugees from Wall Rose were forced underground in Wall Sina, these terrible things are dangerously close to coming and humanity is just one more disaster from anarchy.
  • Foreshadowing: During Trost the Trainees find several brand new boxes of flintlock rifles belonging to the Military Police Brigade. They were gathering dust. The Military Police Brigade turns out to be the most lazy and useless branch, so much so that they leave their weapons lying around.
  • Lazy Bum: A plural form. Already in their first major viewing, we can see Military Police officers drinking to their heart's content and playing cards, while neglecting their actual important duties for rookies who have no idea (and probably don't want to) on what to do or how to do it. Marlo and Hitch lampshade this perfectly.
    • The senior officer who briefs the mission to escort the Survey Corps party to the capital seems very unprofessional, telling the rookies to not be so serious with their greetings and even talking informally to them. When Marlo points out what enemies enemies they're escorting the party from, the senior officer simply states he's a "serious fella" and then drops all of the leadership onto him. He then says the senior officers are "real busy" and that the rookies should do the escorting themselves and try not to fail.
  • The Hedonist: Basically everyone's reason for joining is to enjoy a comfortable life in the Interior, except for a few keen individuals.
  • Paper Tiger: Their tendency to neglect any serious duties or training have left them the least capable branch, and Jean notes their members keep being devoured when they finally mobilize on the mission to rescue Eren. In comparison, the Survey Corps and Garrison are far more experienced and capable.
  • Praetorian Guard: Their purpose is to protect the king and his central domain.
  • Redshirt Army: Played with. Many members join to avoid becoming a Red Shirt. When some veterans of the Military Police Brigade finally wind up on the front lines in the mission to rescue Eren in Chapter 47, they start dropping like flies.
  • Rule of Symbolism: The unicorn on their crest represents how legendary its members are (being made up of the top 10 members of each graduating class). When we finally see them in combat with Titans, it turns out that their skills are legendary in the "nonexistent" or "mythical" sense of the word.
  • Secret Police: Their job is to protect the King and his domain by any means necessary. This job description gives them... quite a bit of liberty to determine what's "necessary".
  • Slave to PR: They're forced to uphold their public reputation and have to at least do their corrupt dealings when no one's watching. Hitch uses this to stop a corrupt officer from arresting Marlowe by implying that going further would have looked bad to the bystanders watching.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Of the military services. Say what you want about the Garrison and Survey Corps, they're never shown to be outright malevolent. Although the Military Police are on a whole more akin to corrupt thugs than they are to overt evildoers. Played straight with the Central 1st Brigade though, since they actually are just flat out evil.
  • Unicorn: The symbol on their crest, as shown to the right. It turns out to be more than appropriate, since the Military Police's skills in combat are just as much of a myth as unicorns are.
  • Unwitting Pawn: To the Central Branch, and the Government Conspiracy they serve. Most officers are concerned only with maintaining their own comfortable lives, and doing what they're told.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Not villains per se, but they're the most amoral military branch and still manage to maintain the best reputation of the three.
    • Somewhat downplayed as many people not in the Military are aware of the Military Police's corruption and abuse.

    Nile Dok 

Nile Dok

Voiced By: Anri Katsu (JP), Ian Sinclair (EN), Saúl Alvar (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 19 (Manga), Episode 14 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/270px-commander_nile_dawk_5141.png

"It's not my place to think about that. All I do is carry out the job given to me."

The Commander of the Military Police Brigade. He is known for using a laissez-faire approach to command, allowing widespread under-the-table corruption and profiteering to run rampant in the MPs (albeit he himself is a decent, but resigned man). He and Erwin were friends during their time as Trainees, and intended to join the Survey Corps together. He abandoned his friend in favor of marrying Marie, a woman they both loved, and started a family in the safety of the Interior. Though they come into conflict due to their positions, he is someone Erwin trusts enough to disclose sensitive information.


  • And Then John Was a Zombie: In Chapter 119, Nile, who had consumed wine tainted with Zeke's spinal fluid, is transformed into a Mindless Titan when Zeke enacts his yell at Shinganshina.
  • Beard of Evil: Subverted. Despite being the leader of an infamously corrupt organization... he actually seems to be a reasonable guy on decent terms with Erwin.
  • Career Versus Man: Gender flipped. He chose the woman, but this led to his current position as a dog for the corrupt Military Police.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He loves his wife and children dearly.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Downplayed. He was once Erwin's good friend and planned to join the Survey Corps with him, prior to abandoning his comrades by joining the Military Police Brigade.
  • Fatal Family Photo: He discusses his family with Falco, admitting he wishes he could see his daughters again. In the following battle, Zeke uses his Scream to transform Nile and the others into mindless Titans.
  • Happily Married: Being in the Military Police Brigade gave him the chance to become this, marrying his sweetheart and starting a family. He admits he doesn't regret his decision, and Erwin praises him for being able to achieve the happiness none of their comrades ever could.
  • Heel–Face Turn: He takes part in the ruse to see what the Monarchy would do, if Wall Rose was lost. When given the order to seal off Wall Sina and abandon the people of Wall Rose, he refuses to do so and sides with Erwin against the nobility.
  • Hidden Depths: The leader of the corrupt organization is actually a happily-married family man, and was once an idealistic young man that intended to follow Erwin into the Survey Corps.
  • Informed Flaw: The guidebook gives him a 10/10 in Cruelty. From what is actually shown in the manga, he is a mild Jerkass at worst.
  • Just Following Orders: See his entry quote. He doesn't question the shady doings of the Military Police Brigade's clandestine groups because they're outside his jurisdiction. He does have standards, though. When ordered by the nobility to seal off the gates between Wall Rose and Sina, leaving thousands to die, he and the Military Police Brigade refuse.
  • Love Triangle: He and Erwin both loved the same woman, he won.
  • Love Redeems: Downplayed. His love for Marie led him to abandon his comrades and join the Military Police Brigade. Still, he doesn't regret it because of the happiness his family brings him and Erwin even praises the decision.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: Oddly combines Obstructive Bureaucrat and a Reasonable Authority Figure. Despite first appearing arguing for Eren to be dissected and killed by the Military Police, his rationale (domestic stability) was evidently honest and appropriate for his job. He also seems to actually care about people he is responsible for and charged to protect. By holding Erwin's respect we can surmise he is, probably, not a willing party to the corruption or villainous Government Conspiracy plaguing his branch of the service.
  • Pet the Dog: When the Yeagerists imprison all the infected together, Nile takes an immediate interest in Falco and offers him encouraging words. At the first opportunity, Nile returns Falco to his brother's care and encourages the Marleyan Child Soldiers to escape because children don't belong on a battlefield.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: His job aside, he actually seems like a reasonable enough person and appears to be a pawn of the real villains rather than being their leader. He demonstrates that even obstructive bureaucrats still want or have families and live normal lives when off the clock.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: See above.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: A great portion of the coup consisted of convincing Dok of the corruption from the nobility at the very moment the ruse the military played on them is exposed. Upon seeing the ruthlessness of the nobility at the revelation, he supports the coup without a second thought.
  • Villainous Cheekbones: Not exactly a villain, but he's the head of an infamously corrupt organization and favored Eren being experimented on and executed.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Defied. He and Erwin were once close friends, during their time as Trainees. The tension between their Branches and the duties of Commander has resulted in their friendship being strained to the point of antagonism. However, they still respect and trust each other enough for Erwin to discuss sensitive information with him.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Towards Erwin, in Episode 25, calling him out on all the death and destruction his plan has caused.
  • Why Am I Ticking?: When Zeke screams in the Forest of Giant Trees, Nile realizes something is wrong and soon learns that the Marleyan wine he'd consumed was tainted with Zeke's spinal fluid. He and all the others become essentially walking time-bombs, prepped to become mindless Titans under Zeke's control.
  • Yes-Man: The man reason the Military Police is the way it is, is because Dok follows the orders of the Royal Government to the letter, knowing himself to be little more than a figurehead for whatever they want to do with the Corps. This, in exchange for the security of his family.

    Hitch Dreyse 

Hitch Dreyse

Voiced By: Akeno Watanabe (JP), Brittney Karbowski (EN), Rosalinda Márquez (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 31 (Manga), Episode 23 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/270px-hitch_close-up_5753.png
Click her post-Time Skip appearance 

"Yeah, this place is even more rotten than I thought it'd be. Of course, that's why I chose it."

A rookie assigned to the same squad as Annie, stationed in Stohess District of Wall Sina. She is an obnoxious and outspoken girl, who joined the Military Police Brigade in order to benefit from their corruption. She shares a room with Annie, and frequently pesters her antisocial roommate. She and Marlowe graduated from the 104th like the rest of the main cast, but they were not in the Southern Branch like the rest of the cadets shown, both ranking in the Top 10 of their respective branches.


  • Adaptation Distillation: In the manga, she accompanies the Survey Corps during the Uprising arc up to the fall of Rod's Titan; in the anime, in turn, she and Marlowe part ways with the Survey Corps much sooner, just after they give out a MP outpost's location.
  • Alpha Bitch: She attempts to be this towards Annie, but lacks the authority to be more than an annoyance. She doesn't actually seem to put any effort into it, though.
  • Ambiguously Evil: Hitch appears in the final chapter post-Time Skip among the now-nationalistic and warmongering populace. She is doing the salute, unlike Niccolo and Sasha's family who are obviously uncomfortable, but it's half-hearted and she's yawning, which begs the question of if she's really become a Yeagerist or just doesn't want to stand out.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: She expected the Military Police to be a cakewalk and basically enlisted to reap every benefit she could possibly muster from the corrupt system; she certainly didn't expect to be working for a government that is so corrupt that it treats human beings as cannon fodder, and that her boring, aloof, and sleepy roommate is a mass-murdering undercover Titan.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: She occasionally glimmers of a smart and competent soldier underneath her lazy facade. The official stats give her scores on par with Connie or Marlowe, except for Teamwork, including a notable Combat score equal to Eren. Basically, she could be just as capable as the 104th if she actually cared to try.
  • Broken Bird: She has a stark change of attitude following the incident at Stohess, becoming less cheery and growing more somber. Further down the line, the revelation of Annie as a Titan, and later, when Marlowe perishes at the Battle of Shinganshina fundamentally shatter her inside.
  • The Bus Came Back:
    • Returns in Chapter 59 along with Marlo, after having been absent since Annie's capture.
    • Makes a second return to the series in Chapter 110, as a grown woman.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Marlowe might have not been able to read between the lines as to why Hitch insisted he go back to the Military Police after the coup ended (coupled with a flashback image of her looking very worried), but according to his words, she probably kept up an Alpha Bitch air to her actions by berating him as a weakling trying to look cool instead of just saying she's concerned about him.
  • Character Development: After the Stohess incident, Hitch has grown more sympathetic of others, vocally criticizing the Survey Corps for the many civilian deaths they have caused.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Joins Levi's squad, though she's not as quick to offer her help as Marlo.
  • Color-Coded Eyes: Has green eyes. Accused of being jealous, but also playful and clever enough to defuse a dangerous situation.
  • The Cynic: In contrast to Marlo, she has a fairly negative outlook in life.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She was not a friendly person when she was a cadet, handling most of her relationships with marked sarcasm. After the timeskip, it appears that she became a personal friend of Armin, as they tend to visit the encapsuled Annie frequently.
  • Didn't See That Coming:
    • She expected the MP and the Nobility to be corrupt, but nowhere as corrupt as they actually are. Slacking off and taking bribes is something she expected, not suppressing the technological advancements of mankind and torturing and killing anyone who knows the truth.
    • She is flabbergasted at hearing that her roommate Annie, who she is trying to advocate for, is the Female Titan that attacked Stohess.
  • Evil Is Petty: Subverted. Hitch is a venial and selfish character who plays to the expectations of this trope. However, she does have a moral core that can be outraged by senseless deaths and sticks by her friends even at great personal risk. For example, she struck down Jean to "save" Marlowe while Levi was still in earshot.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She cares about both Marlowe and Annie, though her attitude doesn't lend to show it easily. She is one of the few characters that shows sincere concern about Annie's disappearance.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Invoked. Even she has limits to what is acceptable and uses her wit to defuse potentially troublesome situations that Marlowe brings on himself. She's neither sweet nor kind, but she has both of her feet on the ground.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Boris seems to think she resents Annie for having earned her place in the Military Police Brigade, more or less accusing Hitch of sleeping her way in. It's never made clear whether it's true or not, but Hitch is at least shown to have worried about Annie after the Stohess incident.
  • Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Bottles of alcohol can be seen in her and Annie's room, and she spends her time off-duty going into the Capitol to party. Even when she's on-duty, she tends to slack off and ignore her responsibilities in favor of having a good time.
  • The Hedonist: She's only interested in benefiting from the corrupt system and resents actually having to do her job. She's basically what Jean would have ended up as if not for his Character Development. This changes.
  • Heroic BSoD: She briefly has one upon learning that Annie was the Female Titan, sitting quietly in shock. When she asks about Marlowe's final moments, Floch bluntly states that Marlowe probably regretted everything. This leaves Hitch stunned, and she stumbles away in shock.
  • Hidden Depths:
    • She starts out as a selfish and lazy girl, and even mocks Marlowe for his idealism. But when she's captured, she turns out to be absolutely outraged over the civilian deaths the Survey Corps caused with their covert operation in Stohess, and calls out the members of the 104th over Annie's disappearance.
    • She is considerably more competent and intelligent than she lets on. Regardless of what Boris thinks, the fact that she is in the Military Police means that she graduated in the top 10 of her class.
  • The Hyena: Breaks into hysterical, condescending laughter whenever her squadmates try to talk seriously.
  • It's All About Me: Her attitude and motivations are rather similar to Jean's initial ones. However, she later shows this isn't entirely true when push comes to shove.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: For all her negative traits, she's deeply upset over Annie's disappearance and the damage the Survey Corps caused trying to capture the Female Titan, and fights to save Marlowe instead of running away like he told her to. She also shows anger at the damage and loss of life as a result from the incident in Stohess.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: She's unaware that Annie was the Female Titan that attacked Stohess District, and later it's further implied that she doesn't know that Annie was captured alive and is being kept underground in her crystal cocoon by the Survey Corps.
  • Mythology Gag: Just like in the gag Spin-Off Attack! Titan Junior High, she bashes Jean upside the head during their first meeting.
  • Only Friend: To Annie, who on her parting note thanks her for keeping her company for the long 4 years she was cocooned.
  • Pet the Dog: She's disgusted to see Marlowe get beaten up by his superiors for doing the right thing. After Annie intervenes, Hitch manages to convince them to not arrest him for insubordination even though she had nothing to gain from doing so, and could have easily done nothing like Boris and the others.
  • Pragmatic Hero: Invoked. She's the talk-first fight-later kind of person. She'd much rather defuse a situation by groveling than overstepping her boundaries and regretting it later.
  • Punny Name:
    • Both in English and in Japanese, Hitch ( ヒッチ ) is almost identical to "bitch" ( ビッチ ). Considering her personality...
    • "Bitch" is equivalent to "slut" in Japanese slang, giving the pun another meaning.
  • Really Gets Around: Implied. Hitch goes on a lot of dates and spent the Time Skip ranting to the comatose Annie about her bad luck with men. Boris believes that she's sleeping around with senior officers for better postings, but as this accusation got Hitch visibly angry it's likely untrue.
  • Shipper on Deck: After the Time Skip, she teases Armin about his frequent visits to Annie in her Crystal Prison. But she also admits she's happy that he continues to visit.
  • Ship Tease: Jean, Connie and Sasha assume she has feelings for Marlowe based on how much concern she has for him.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Assuming the others were right about her possible feelings for Marlowe, she fits this trope. She tends to act like a self-centered Alpha Bitch, but Marlowe is an upstanding and honorable guy (if blunt in his opinions).
  • Sleeping Their Way to the Top: Boris seems to think she did something inappropriate to earn a top rank in her class. However, the guidebook reveals her scores are pretty solid (along the lines of Connie's, who ranked 8th), making it rather doubtful.
  • Those Two Guys: With Marlowe.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Violently fights off Jean in a surprise attack when she thinks he's about to kill Marlowe.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: As an adult, she's mellowed out considerably and become friends with Armin. She also continues to spend time with Annie's crystal, and clearly misses her old roommate.
  • What the Hell, Hero?:
    • She tears Levi a new one over the Survey Corps' operation in Stohess, pointing out the civilian losses and how Annie is still missing. Levi, in his usual style responds to her anger by laying it all out, revealing the truth about Annie to her.
    • She berates Marlowe for diving head-first into the front lines of the Survey Corps at the first opportunity instead of trying to attain a more safe position like she did.

    Marlowe Freudenberg 

Marlowe Freudenberg

Voiced By: Tomokazu Sugita (JP), Todd Haberkorn (EN), José Antonio Macías (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 31 (Manga), Episode 23 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marlo_2428.jpg

"They'll learn that a man without reason is no different from an animal who defecates wherever it pleases."

A member of Annie's unit. He is an idealistic and hard-working young man, which causes others to dump their work on him. Like Hitch and Boris, he's a cadet of the 104th, but from a different branch than the main cast, ranking in the Top 10 of said branch.


  • Ascended Extra: Joins the main cast (and the Survey Corps) after the Uprising arc. In the end is subverted and he ends up as a dead Red Shirt. His squadmate Floch Forster becomes the Ascended Extra instead.
  • Adaptation Distillation: Like in Hitch's entry, Marlowe accompanies the Survey Corps until much later in the story during the Uprising arc in the manga. In the anime, he and Hitch leave after they give up the MP outpost to the Survey Corps.
  • Arrested for Heroism: Very nearly arrested for insubordination (which he technically was doing) when he catches a superior doing illegal dealings.
  • The Bus Came Back: Returns in Chapter 59 along with Hitch, after having been absent since Annie's capture.
  • Boom, Headshot!: Marlowe is killed by the Beast Titan's stone barrage, with the side of his head graphically exploding.
  • Butt-Monkey: His superiors dump their assignments on him, and his peers mock him as naive.
  • Brutal Honesty: Told Hitch he misjudged his improving opinion of her after she insisted he stay in the military police because it'd be easy from being recognized for their service during the coup. Which probably would be taken harshly even without pretty much everyone being able to see she was insisting that because she's worried about him and has feelings for him (Well, except Eren), so him telling her that probably rather hurt.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: He sides with Levi's squad and leads them to the 1st Brigade's base, intending to help rescue Eren and Historia. After the Coup, he's part of the wave of recruits that join the Survey Coprs for their push to retake Shiganshina, and is later seen during the battle proper protecting the Corps horses.
  • A Day in the Limelight: He gets one (along with Annie and Hitch) in the middle of the Female Titan arc. This doubles as A Day in the Limelight for the Military Police Brigade in general, since the audience gets a glimpse of how bad most of them are but not all of them.
  • Determinator: Not to the extent of Eren, but the way he holds to his convictions in spite of the odds reminds both Annie and Jean of Eren. Even when the Survey Corps loses its commanding officer in a frontal charge, he is the one that marshals his fellow recruits to keep advancing anyways.
  • Disappointed in You: His brutally honest assessment of Hitch also is an example of this, since he mentions that he'd expected more of her.
  • Establishing Character Moment: When his group is given a guard detail assignment, he questions exactly what they're guarding the Survey Corps from, showing that he's both earnest and insightful. This gets the responsibility dumped onto him for his troubles by his superior. A more subtle moment earlier is when they're all told to stop saluting towards their superior, but he's the only one not dropping his hand.
  • For Great Justice: His motivation for joining the Military Police Brigade is to protect the innocent, help the helpless, etc. He proves the strength of his conviction when he encounters Levi's squad, throwing his lot in with them the moment he realizes just how corrupt the government actually is.
  • Good Is Not Dumb: In-universe, he's regarded as foolish for wanting to change things, but he's definitely not an idiot, making astute observations that others either haven't figured out or just don't care about.
  • Good Is Not Nice: He's one of the few hard-working and well-intentioned members of the Military Police Brigade but it doesn't necessarily mean he's a kind person, saying what really needs to be said and calling the lazy members "scum" and so forth.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: His death and the deaths of everyone else in the charge enabled Levi to get the drop on the Beast Titan and utterly wreck his shit.
  • Hot-Blooded: Gets reaaallly passionate about making the Military Police pay for its corruption and laziness. Annie even explicitly compares him to Eren after his speech. Jean trusts him for the same reason, stating that he's an "idiot" just like Eren.
  • The Idealist: He recognizes the corruption of the organization, but truly believes in working within to change it for the better. Annie expresses admiration for his strong sense of justice.
  • Inherent in the System: Recognizes that things can only improve if the system itself is changed, and states he's fully prepared to get his hands dirty in order to gain the authority necessary to do so.
  • Innocently Insensitive:
    • Told Hitch he misjudged his warming up to her after he joined the Survey Corps but she insisted they should stay in the Military Police for an easy time. But she insisted that because she's worried about him and probably has feelings for him, so ouch.
    • When the Survey Corps gets fed a generous portion of meat prior to an operation, Marlowe innocuously remarks that he didn't know that meat was such a scarce thing outside of the Military Police. This presses Sasha's Berserk Button and rubs everyone else the wrong way.
  • Internal Reformist: Wants to change the Military Police Brigade by working his way up and instituting major changes to fight the current levels of corruption.
  • Jack of All Stats: At least according to the official guidebook, where he is above average in all stats, but doesn't truly excel in any of them.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: He holds to his beliefs while still being painfully aware that he is part of a screwed up system.
  • Love Epiphany: He finally realizes he might have feelings for Hitch when he thinks of her randomly right before he's slain by a barrage of thrown rocks.
  • My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: In a zen-like moment, he fondly thinks of Hitch before the battery of rocks from the Beast Titan decimates him and the Survey Corps.
  • Oblivious to Love: While many characters tease him about it, the idea of Hitch liking him doesn't cross his mind at all. Amusingly, Eren doesn't seem to get why either.
  • The Only Believer: The Military Police Brigade is quite corrupt, and even those who aren't openly corrupt mostly just want to use it as a way to live in safety away from the Titans. Only Marlowe believes in reforming the Military Police into what it's supposed to be.
  • The Power of Trust: His willingness to trust Jean earns him a place on Levi's squad.
  • Rousseau Was Right: He believes humans are inherently good, and the corrupt system is to blame for the selfishness and cruelty he observes.
  • Sacrificial Lion: The most prominent Survey Corps recruit prior to the Battle for Shiganshina, and the one who seemed to join the main characters as the Sixth Ranger. He dies like nearly everybody else during Erwin's final charge.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Constantly tries to point out and do something about illicit activities his superiors do even when it makes him pay severely for it. As soon as he realizes the upper echelons of the government are the true enemy, he throws his lot in with the Survey Corps and offers to help rescue Eren.
  • Secret Test of Character: Jean puts him through one, making it seem like he intends to execute both MPs and then dropping the knife so Marlowe can be armed. Instead of fighting, he tries to let Hitch escape and finally drops the knife in a show of his willingness to trust Jean.
  • Sudden Name Change: His last name is given as "Freudenberg" in the Guidebook, but in Chapter 59 his identification states his last name is "Sand".
  • Those Two Guys: With Hitch.
  • Token Good Teammate: He's considered the odd-man out by his peers, due to his strong sense of justice and desire to accomplish more than living an easy life.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Subverted. He was very close to shooting the two corrupt officers that just beat the crap out of him (for doing the right thing) but ultimately he can't do it. Annie even asks him if he's willing to punish the corrupt (even at the cost of dirtying his hands) like he declared he would just that morning.
  • You Need to Get Laid: The corrupt officers he confronts slip him a coin, and suggest he should use it towards this end.
  • You Remind Me of X: Annie and Jean have both compared him to Eren, considering him another idealistic fool. Jean uses this as his sole criterion for offering him a spot on the Levi's Special Operations Squad.

    Boris Feulner 

Boris Feulner

Voiced By: Yuichi Karasuma (JP), Micah Solusod (EN), Eduardo Martínez (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 31 (Manga), Episode 23 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/270px-dennis_anime_4853.png

"She's just back from seeing hell. No one gets over that right away."

A member of Annie's unit. He expresses sympathy for Annie's situation as a survivor of Trost and accuses Hitch of gaining entry into the branch through illicit means. He is a cadet of the 104th of a different branch from the main cast, ranking among the Top 10 of his branch.


  • Adaptational Attractiveness: He's a bit dumpy and plain-looking in the manga, but is fairly handsome in the anime.
  • Bystander Syndrome: Suggests everyone just "watch the show", when Marlowe confronts his superiors. Unlike Annie and Hitch, he does nothing to intervene and tries to stop Annie from helping.
  • Inherent in the System: He accepts the corruption of the Military Police Brigade as a matter of course, as people join for selfish reasons.
  • Lampshaded Double Entendre: When talking to Hitch. "There's only one way a woman like you makes it into the Military Police Brigade."
  • Pet the Dog: He tells Hitch to leave Annie alone, since she's the only member at their Headquarters to have seen actual combat.

    Annie Leonhart 

A rookie cadet hailing from the Southern Branch of the 104th Trainee Corps and the only cadet from that branch's top ten who joined the Military Police.

See the Annie Leonhart character page for tropes about Annie.

Central 1st Brigade

    General Tropes 
Also known as the Interior Police, a mysterious branch that operates out of the Capitol at Mitras, with little connection to the main branch. Their members and duties are shrouded in mystery, with even Commander Nile Dawk admitting he knows little about them. Responsible for guarding the many secrets of the government, their duties involve silencing anyone seen as a threat to their masters.

  • Achilles' Heel: Overlapping with Crippling Overspecialization. Their Anti-Personnel 3-D Maneuver Gear is more advanced than the stuff the Survey Corps use, but it also has a few flaws. Which Levi and co. exploit the hell out of in their final clash.
    • Unlike traditional 3-D Maneuver Gear, their Grappling hooks are fired from the hand instead of the hip. Presumably it gives them better control and maneuverability, but it also means they can't attack and reel away at same time since their guns and their grappling hook trigger mechanisms have to be facing the same direction.
    • Their pistols are single-shot and have to be reloaded after each use; they're also the only weapons they carry. This is problematic if they miss their two shots and their target is still fighting back against them.
    • There's also the fact that Kenny's squad are functionally assassins, not soldiers. They are most effective when eliminating their targets quickly and efficiently, but have trouble standing against trained combat veterans who are actually capable of fighting them on more than even terms in a more protracted battle.
  • Badass Longcoat: A ankle-length black belted-shut variant seems to be their default uniforms, particularly during covert assassinations. They are removed when they engage in battle however.
  • Boom, Headshot!: Their standard tactic seems to be shooting victims in the head, to messy effect.
  • Building Swing: Their gear is a more traditional grappling hook setup, linked to wrist launchers and their pistols.
  • Elite Mooks: Implied. One of the reasons why the top 10 trainees are almost always sent to the interior is presumably so that the Central 1st Brigade can comfortably handpick its members from the lot, meaning that they are the absolute best of the best.
  • Evil Counterpart: To the Survey Corps. and Garrison. While most soldiers use their 3DMG and double-swords to fight Titans out in the open, the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad uses 3DMG and Guns Akimbo to take out certain undesirables then disappear without a trace.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: At least one of the Interior Squad sent to capture Eren and Historia is visibly disturbed at the idea of killing teenagers like New Squad Levi, this hesitation gets her killed by Armin.
  • Government Conspiracy: They are directly responsible for enforcing the will of the true rulers, and dealing with any elements that threaten or question their authority.
  • Grappling-Hook Pistol: The upper portion of the weapon is a specialized pistol, while the bottom is a grappling hook launcher.
  • Gun Fu: They combine customized maneuver gear with Guns Akimbo to lethal effect, which are used with devastating effect against the Survey Corps, who are accustomed to blades.
  • Guns vs. Swords: Played realistically against the Survey Corps. The blades of Levi's squad stand no chance against the pistols of the 1st Brigade and are reduced to being picked off like flies. They needed dirty tricks to ultimately defeat them.
  • Guns Akimbo: Since their targets are humans, they dual-wield pistols instead of swords.
  • The Gunslinger: Their unique style of fighting, which is horrifyingly effective against humans used to only dealing with inaccurate and slow flintlock rifles.
  • Hero's Evil Predecessor: After the timeskip, the new Survey Corps develops upon their 3DMG-with-guns system and improves it greatly, allowing them to equip their 3DMG with both multiple-round pistols and Thunder Spears whilst removing most of the weaknesses. It also borrowed their Hit And Run tactics to shoot or bomb human targets then zip away.
  • Hunter of His Own Kind: While the other branches specialize in killing Titans, the 1st Brigade hunts down any humans who are a threat to the status quo.
  • Knight Templar: It is clear a few of them joined because they honestly believe they're making the world a safer place, while others joined simply because they like hurting people.
  • The Men in Black: The squad commanded by Captain Ackerman strongly resemble them, dressed in black suits and quietly operating in the shadows. They seem to handle quite a bit of "disappearing" certain individuals.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad leaves little mystery as to what their day job is. It's no wonder their existence is kept a strict secret.
  • Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: Their Anti-Personnel 3-D Maneuver Gear was designed with the intent of being used against the Survey Corps in case they ever went rogue.
  • Praetorian Guard: To the Reiss family, the true royal family.
  • Punch-Packing Pistol: The rounds can blow a pretty sizable hole in a target's head, since their intended purpose is to quickly put down human targets with no question that the victim is dead.
  • Secret Police: They operate in the shadows, quietly eliminating any "undesirable" elements within the Walls.
  • State Sec: Even Nile Dawk, commander of the main branch, knows little about them. He warns Erwin that there are "few laws" that can touch them, and it seems they have nearly unlimited authority in carrying out their service to House Reiss.
  • Throw-Away Guns: Averted. As mentioned above, one of the biggest weak spots of Anti-Personnel 3-D Maneuver Gear is that their guns are not interchangeable like the blades of Traditional 3-DM gear.
  • Walking Spoiler: Their existence leads to numerous revelations about the conspiracy within the government.

    Djel Sanes 

Djel Sanes

Voiced By: Masaki Terasoma (JP), Bruce DuBose (EN), Carlos Hernández (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 52 (Manga), Episode 38 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/djel_sannes_anime_character_image_5.png

"Your little organization's exaggerated titles ring very hollow, Survey Corpsmen."

A senior member of the Military Police Brigade, from the mysterious 1st Brigade stationed in the Capitol. He oversees the investigation of Pastor Nick's murder. However, Hange suspects he is in fact responsible for the priest's torture and murder, and is part of a conspiracy within the government.


  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Suspected of overseeing and carrying out Nick's torture, including tearing out his nails and beating him to death.
  • Didn't See That Coming: He thinks that his partner ratted out the 1st Brigade to the Survey Corps. He then lets it all out, only to find out that his partner hadn't said jack shit. Oops!
  • Dirty Cop: Hange believes him to be one, of a particularly sinister nature.
  • Fingore: Hange rips out and presents his fingernails to him on a plate.
  • Government Conspiracy: He is part of one, and carrying out the dirty work for his superiors.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: He attempts to justify his actions to Hange and Levi, stating that the conspiracy he serves allows humanity to live in peace. According to him, murdering the overly-curious, dissenters, and anyone else that otherwise threatens the status quo is the only thing that has allowed humanity to remain free from war for the last century. Except that the people he is shown killing were developing new weapons technology that would have allowed humanity to better defend themselves in the first place, making this justification groundless.
  • Irony: After some clever maneuvering by Levi, he is betrayed by the civilians he at least helped intimidate into acting as a kidnap squad for Eren and Historia, and ends up being tortured at the hands of Hange of all people. The look on his face says it all.
  • It Gets Easier: He knows his actions are horrible, but confesses he has come to enjoy hurting the weak.
    • A flashback shows he was on the verge of tears as he was being encouraged by a fellow officer to hurt or kill Erwin's dad, but by the present day he carries out even worse atrocities without even blinking.
  • Jerkass: He outright mocks the Survey Corps as Cannon Fodder whose job is to "solve the population problem within the Walls" (e.g. get eaten). He also nearly roughs Hange up when the latter doesn't leave quietly.
  • Jurisdiction Friction: He tries shooing Hange and Moblit away by saying that the crime scene is the Military Police Brigade's jurisdiction. When he gets contradicted that someone of his importance shouldn't be assigned to a seemingly low-level murder in the middle of nowhere since his squad is based in the Capitol, he retorts that a Squad Leader of the Survey Corps shouldn't be so interested either then resorts to more brusque methods of making them go away.
  • Knight Templar: He's fanatically devoted to the monarchy; Kenny notes that it kept him moving. He both revels in and justifies all of his acts (killing, torture, silencing people, halting technological advance) he states are not only fun, but he draws strength from them, fully believing what he's doing is right.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: What comes around, goes around. The Survey Corps wind up capturing him and torturing him the same way he did Pastor Nick for information.
  • Move Along, Nothing to See Here: Just routine police business...
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His killing of Pastor Nick is what kickstarts the Survey Corps uprising. He is also goaded into spilling the beans on the plans of the 1st Brigade.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: Hange and Levi brutally torture him, though it's not like he didn't deserve it.
  • Police Brutality: Resorts to physical threats when Hange doesn't comply with his orders to leave, requiring Moblit to step in and defuse the situation. He also tortured and beat a man to death.
  • Revealing Cover-Up: Took part in one.
  • Secret Police: His involvement in the case that he's introduced in hints that the Military Police Brigade is being used as this.
  • The Tooth Hurts: Hange rather graphically uses a pair of pliers to rip out a tooth while torturing him.
  • Torture Always Works: Averted. Physical torture fails to make him talk. It's the psychological torture that causes him to finally break, by having his comrade read a script outside his cell door to convince him that he's been betrayed by comrades that considered him an idiot and a zealot.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Blocking the advance of technology is necessary to protect the peace. Arresting, torturing, and murdering intellectuals, explorers, inventors, and those that otherwise present any annoyance to the status quo are all justified, as doing so maintains peace and order within the Walls. He states everyone should thank the 1st Brigade for allowing humanity to live free from war all this time.
  • Villainous Breakdown: He becomes hysterical during his torture, calling Hange and Levi monsters, and attempting to justify the tortures and murders he's committed over the years. He finally asks them to kill him, admitting that he's led a bloody and cruel life for the sake of the King.
    Djel Sanes: Within these cramped walls, do you know why war has never broken out? It's because the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands to protect the peace. A teacher too smart for their own good... A stupid couple who tried to fly... A whore from some ranch in the sticks! Humanity has only made it this far because we erased them! You should be thanking us! I've never seen anyone get more pleasure out of torture than you guys! You're monsters! But I'm not even afraid. I... I have... I have the King, I... I believe in the King and peace in the walls. That all the things we've done were justified... But... To think it hurt this much... Go on and torture me to death already. That's all I ever did with this blood-stained life of mine.
  • Walking Spoiler: He serves to introduce the internal threat to the cast, a conspiracy within the Capitol that murdered Historia's mother, forced her into hiding, and murdered Pastor Nick to cover things up.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He genuinely believes what he's doing is for the greater good of humanity.
  • You Killed My Father: Averted. It's implied by his ranting and the accompanying images that he took part in the killing of Erwin's father, Historia's mother, and both of Armin's parents. None are currently aware of his involvement.

    Kenny Ackerman 

Kenny Ackerman

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji (JP), Phil Parsons (EN), Gerardo Reyero (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 52 (Manga), Episode 38 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/315f9f2c_6cc3_497a_aa9b_573199a31d94.png

"Everyone I've seen... has been like that. Be it alcohol, women, or even God... family, the king, dreams, children, power... without being drunk on something, no one could have done what they did. Everyone... was a slave to something."

The captain of the 1st Brigade's Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad. A former serial killer that stalked the Capitol in decades past, he now kills for the sake of the government. He is the man responsible for murdering Historia's mother, and was once Levi's caretaker and trainer (and is later revealed to be his maternal uncle). Although he serves as the The Dragon to Rod Reiss, something beyond mere loyalty to the crown appears to motivate him.


  • The Ace: The man is a ridiculously talented killer with a tremendous body count. He's also highly skilled with his squad's 3DM gear, and is implied to be a crackshot with those hand-cannons of his. He even manages to put Levi on the defensive and corner him in fairly short order after Kenny and his men waste his entire squad.
    • Broken Ace: For all his strength, Kenny is clearly disillusioned with the world, seeing everything as a big joke and believes that everyone is mindlessly dependent on something in order to continue living, whether it be something tangible or not. His entire motivation for acquiring the original Titan's power in hopes that he could find real meaning.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The anime gives him a completely original scene during the cave battle underneath the Reiss chapel, where he singles out and duels Levi to a standstill for a bit.
  • A Father to His Men: To his own men, anyways. Everyone else can go to hell. A mentality strongly shared by his nephew Levi, actually.
  • Affably Evil: Kenny's ruthlessness is matched by his genuine charisma.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: He led a brutal life of persecution, was (perhaps unfairly) labeled a Serial Killer, was hunted his entire life by the government, only to come into the service of the monarchy and attempt to realize a dream of his which he would later find could never come true. He watches all his True Companions get wiped out and dies after telling his nephew that he abandoned him because he could never be a parent.
  • Ambiguously Evil: His stint as a serial killer was evidently in self-defense or in defense of his loved ones, and what he would have done had he obtained the Coordinate power is left unspecified. That being said, he goes into disturbing detail about what he was going to do to Uri Reiss' skull after he's killed himnote . To the degree that it sounds like he's done it before to some poor past victim.
  • Anonymous Benefactor: Kenny is the reason why the Royal Government and the Reiss family stopped hunting the Ackermans, as he became a personal friend of Uri Reiss some 15-20 years before the fall of Wall Maria. The people that benefited from it, Levi and Mikasa, were entirely unaware of this, as Levi was unaware that he's an Ackerman in the first place, and Mikasa was born years after the fact, when it had become a moot point (as a matter of fact, at the time Mikasa was a girl, it was more important that she was part of the Asian clan rather than of the Ackerman clan; it didn't become important until much later in her life).
  • Anti-Villain: He planned to take the Coordinate power to overthrow the Reiss family because he considers Rod Reiss a scumbag, and to protect his extended family. He's still a serial killer, though, and killed many in service of the Reiss family.
  • Arc Villain: Kenny is the more competent Dragon-in-Chief to Rod Reiss during the Uprising arc.
  • Ax-Crazy: He views killing as a hobby which so happens to be his favorite.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: With a black fedora and trench coat over it, while he goes around murdering people in very messy fashion.
  • Badass Family: Levi and Mikasa are related to him, and he raised and trained Levi from a very young age.
  • Badass Longcoat: A black trench coat, worn while carrying out murders.
  • Badass Normal: What Levi is to Titans, Kenny apparently is to people. Think about that for a moment. Levi himself flat out tells Hange and his squad that Kenny is every bit as deadly as he is, if not more so. Coming from the man who routinely slaughters multiple Titans within seconds of each other, this guy is no joke.
  • Beard of Evil: A scruffy one, accentuating his sharp features.
  • Benevolent Boss: While he controls his lower underlings through fear, he is surprisingly kinder to his personal squad, as they grew to share the same viewpoint of the world and thus worked towards a common dream.
  • Berserk Button: When Rod Reiss compares him to "a stray dog taken in by my whimsical younger brother", he threatens to blow off half his head, not because of what Rod said about him, but about Uri.
  • Blood Knight: Kenny flats out says he enjoys fighting and killing while he views it as a major hobby of his.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: As his constant hollering when he's flying around and fighting his nephew Levi is a large point to him having a blast while doing thrilling stunts.
  • Boom Head Shot: Deals them out like candy to his victims.
  • But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Refers to serial murder as his 'hobby.' Historia's mother was just a number to him.
  • Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: Loudly announces that he was taking a crap to the king. It's no wonder where Levi gets it from...
  • Celibate Hero: Kenny is no hero, but it is implied that Kenny took on a personal vow of celibacy from his belief that he wasn't worthy of being a parent. He says as much to Levi and swiftly dismisses Annie's claim to be his bastard daughter.
  • Cop Killer: Murdered a lot of Military Policemen during the time he spent as a Serial Killer. It turns out this was probably because they were trying to kill him and his family members. Ironically, he later becomes their leader, something Levi is quick to point out.
  • Curiosity Causes Conversion: After Uri's death, Kenny's curiosity of the King's Will inspired him to pursue his own agenda.
  • Dies Wide Open: Averted Trope. He dies with one eye closed from burn wounds, and the other half-open.
  • The Dragon: He appears to be this for the Reiss family, commanding the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad and relentlessly pursuing the Survey Corps.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: The Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad and the 1st Brigade, the primary enforcers of the King's will, are personally loyal to Kenny and his 'dream,' not Rod. Which effectively makes Kenny the most powerful man within the Walls.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Kenny and his squad are secretly planning on usurping Rod Reiss and obtaining the Coordinate's power for their own.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Usually borders on Black Comedy and he appears to be where Levi inherited his sense of humor from. It may be a coping mechanism for the brutal life he leads.
  • A Death in the Limelight: Chapter 69 expands on Kenny's backstory as he lies dying from the wounds he sustained when escaping from Rod's underground hideout. Levi arrives just in time for Kenny to confirm that he was the older brother of Levi's mother, but dies before telling anything else related to the Ackermans.
  • The Dreaded: Terrifies just about everyone who is aware he is not simply a fable, from the people of the capital, right down to his own men. His very aura intimidates the normally stoic Annie, who was left shaken after narrowingly fleeing from him. Even Levi fears him from their time together, and warns people that Kenny is probably stronger than him.
  • Dying as Yourself: He briefly considers using the Titan serum to save himself in Chapter 69, but ultimately decides he'd rather die as a human than risk becoming a mindless Titan.
  • Dysfunction Junction: This pretty much sums up his relationship with his nephew Levi. Although he genuinely cared about him, Kenny came to realize his presence was not a positive influence on the boy's life and promptly abandoned him, but not before he made sure Levi was adequately trained to survive on his own.
  • Enigmatic Minion: He's The Dragon to the Reiss household, but there are plenty of hints that he may or may not be in it for his own ends.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Brutally murdering Historia's mother right in front of her without a second thought, then preparing to do the same to her. Keep in mind, Historia is still very much a child at this point. The very next time we see him, he almost immediately rubs it in a seemingly helpless Historia's face. Once again, this is a grown man harassing a teenage girl about how he slaughtered her mother right in front of her.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Appears to be quite proud of Levi, and he spent his younger days trying to find and protect other members of the Ackerman family — he found Levi after trying to visit his prostitute sister, only to realize she had wasted away and died from an illness. He also seems to have been fond of Uri, Rod's younger brother who advocated hiring Kenny into the MP. He also values his personal squad, warning them to stay away from a rampaging Titan Rod.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • He takes a dim view of Rod's treatment of his family, especially Historia, and considers him a selfish prick.
    • By his own admission, not even he was cruel enough to let some little kid starve to death.
  • Everyone Is Related: He's Levi's uncle from his mother's side and he and Mikasa are distant relatives.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Levi, who has become the World's Strongest Man and the Hope Bringer of the Survey Corps, while Kenny himself has become The Dragon for humanity's corrupt government and a gunslinging assassin hellbent on killing his former student. When Levi warns his squad that facing Kenny would be as dangerous as fighting himself (perhaps moreso due to the guns), everyone is appropriately worried.
  • Evil Is Hammy: While pursuing Levi, he behaves as though he were an adult playing hide-and-seek with a child — dramatically posing and shouting out a corny line about Levi being a bad guy.
  • Evil Is Petty: Five years after murdering Historia's mother in front of the girl's very eyes, Kenny taunts her about it when they finally meet up again for seemingly no reason. He also makes plenty of jabs at Levi's height, and takes a few moments out of his day to belittle Reeves as he rapidly bleeds out in front of him.
  • Evil Mentor: To Levi, who would go on to become Humanity's Strongest, while he himself got hired by the Military Police's secret branch.
  • Evil Uncle: In his final moments, he reveals to Levi that he's in fact, his uncle. Levi is clearly hurt to learn so, as he likely suspected Kenny may have been his father.
  • Expy: His random outbursts, inclinations toward brutality, and a surprisingly sentimental side draws a lot of parallels with Trevor Phillips from GTA V. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Isayama is said to be a GTA V enthusiast.
  • Face Death with Dignity: He manages to have a meaningful conversation with his nephew Levi before he goes out, reflecting fondly on his friendship with Uri, his memories of his squad, and his dream that could never be.
  • For the Evulz: Why does he murder people? Kicks.
  • Family Eye Resemblance: He and Levi have the same eyes, especially apparent when they're squinting or enraged, which is almost all of the time for them.
  • Godhood Seeker: Kenny's goal in the series is to acquire the Founding Titan, which makes anyone who possesses it a god in all but name. A semi-benevolent example compared to others as Kenny's motivation for coveting the Founding Titan is because he believes it will give him empathy. Unfortunately for him, only a member of the royal family can use the Founding Titan to it's fullest potential, something he is not happy to find out. It becomes even more tragic on his part when it's later shown in the penultimate chapter that Ackermans are immune to Titanization, so even if Kenny had learned he could bypass the royal blood restriction as shown with Eren, he couldn't even become a regular Titan.
  • Government Conspiracy: He's directly responsible for cleaning up things for them, murdering Lord Reiss's mistress and Dimo Reeves.
  • Gun Fu: He engages in some impressive acrobatic stunts, all while dual-wielding pistols.
  • Guns Akimbo: Dual-wielding special pistols.
  • The Gunslinger: When using the 1st Squad's maneuver gear.
  • Hand Cannon: He wields pistols that actually look like miniature cannons that fire a single, highly destructive shot.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Hero's stretching it to its breaking point, but he seems to have been a more or less normal guy until the government kept trying to exterminate him and his loved ones. Given those circumstances, him being a Serial Killer could be a smear.
  • Hidden Depths: As revealed in his flashbacks, he is caring towards his family. Overall, Kenny is a... complicated person.
  • Hyper-Awareness: He is able to detect Annie following him and instantaneously sneaks up on her.
  • Hypocrite: He criticizes Rod for being manipulative and a shitty example of a father to Historia, but his own record isn't much better, if not worse. Though he did take Levi in and raise him, he was abusive to the point of Levi having "quirks" that remain into his 30s, and flat-out says he didn't really teach Levi anything beyond fighting and killing — usually with knives. Subverted, when he admits to himself, and later to Levi, that he could never be a father-figure. At least he didn't try to create the illusion of being one.
  • I Control My Minions Through...: Fear, it would seem. More than one person working for him has stated outright that he would kill them if they failed.
  • Image Song: In the anime series, "K21" is deeply tied to him, with the brutal rap song containing lyrics that describe his reputation and lay out his motivations, both upfront and hidden. The song's vocals don't quite play out during the Uprising arc, with its instrumental version, "K2-", playing in its stead as the leitmotif for the Interior Police. The song eventually comes out in full force during the War for Paradis arc, specifically when Levi, having inherited Kenny's ruthlessness, keeps hunting down Zeke despite Levi having killed his own entire Squad (that just got Titanized by Zeke through ingesting wine interlaced with his spinal fluid).
  • Impossibly Cool Weapon: His pistols have retractable grappling hooks built beneath their grips which function similarly to the 3D Maneuver Gear hooks. Unlike the standard gear, which tries to concentrate the pull on the centre of the body, Kenny and his men must reinforce their arms so that they do not get dislocated while in use.
  • I Die Free: In the end, Kenny finds that his desire for power has made him a slave just like Rod and Freida. So when he is mortally wounded, he decides to let it end.
  • Irony: He used to be the scourge of the Military Police, slaughtering them wholesale then disappearing without a trace. He's now the leader of the Central 1st Brigade, technically outranking even Nile Dok.
  • I Was Quite a Looker: Very dashing in his younger days.
  • I've Come Too Far: Despite his dream of becoming the Coordinate being impossible, he decides to help Historia do it instead after Eren decides that having Historia devour him is the only way to defeat the Titans.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His goal of becoming the owner of the Founding Titan's power is because he believes that in doing so he’ll develop empathy, which is something he desperately wants for himself to be capable of. He also deeply cares for his family, having raised Levi when he found that Kuchel, his prostitute sister/Levi’s mother, had died and effectively orphaned the latter (who was found filthy and starving next to his dead mother in her room in the brothel she worked at).
  • Jerkass Has a Point: By no means is Kenny a good source for moral wisdom, nor does he have any ground to stand on parenting skills-wise, but he is correct in his calling out of Rod Reiss being a selfish, manipulative asshole to Historia.
  • Just Between You and Me: He converses with Reeves for a bit before killing him.
  • Kick the Dog: See Evil Is Petty. Note: This is just about the first thing he does.
  • Knight of Cerebus: The Survey Corps face no real physical opposition during their uprising against the government, as they have Levi. Kenny's entrance is instantly followed by the death of half their men, and Levi states that his arrival was the worst possible turn for them.
  • Lack of Empathy: He dismisses all his killing as a hobby to pass time time, though he may have lied partially to get under Levi's skin. He does, however, regard all his killing as inconsequential to furthering his own goals. Interestingly enough, he believes the end to his goal would be the development of compassion and thus empathy by becoming the owner of the Founding Titan's power, and part of why he wants said power is to see if he could develop such a trait.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: He turns on Rod Reiss, declaring his now failed intention to take the Coordinate ability for himself to control mankind, and badly abusing Historia and Eren while he's at it, as well as Rod himself (though no one feels bad for him). Minutes later, Rod's transformation into a gargantuan Titan results in him sustaining mortal injuries.
  • Laughably Evil: Between a morbidly childish sense of humor and that… pose he does marching into a bar searching for Levi, he can be quite entertaining to watch.
  • Lean and Mean: Is one of, if not the, tallest humans seen in the series so far at 190 cm (or 6'3") and is quite lanky looking to boot. He's also 120 kilograms (or 265 pounds) heavy, meaning that within that lean frame is quite a lot of muscle. And while he may not be "evil" he definitely isn't nice.
  • Leitmotif: K21, a western-themed Boastful Rap about Kenny's background, reason for killing others, and introspection on whether the divine power he chases after will truly make him into a better person.
  • Living Legend: His killing spree is the stuff of legend, such that people doubt whether or not he really existed. Levi is shocked when he turns up in the middle of an important operation, alive and well, and the mission turns sour from the moment of his arrival.
  • Long-Lost Relative: Kenny mentions in his flashback coming across a distant branch of the Ackerman family in Shiganshina, which implies a connection to Mikasa.
  • The Men in Black: Travels around with a group of soldiers dressed in identical black suits, trench coats, and fedoras... murdering or kidnapping people for the government.
  • Mood-Swinger: Kenny can go from the Consummate Professional Captain Ackerman to the Psychopathic Manchild Kenny the Ripper. For example, he coldy deflects Annie's emotionally manipulate claim that he is her long-lost father, but later plays along acting as her "father" while in pursuit of her.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The squad he leads is the "Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad", not exactly the most subtle of names.
  • New Old West: He sports a hat, carries a pair of pistols capable of taking an adult’s head clean off, and judging by his entrance into a bar searching for Levi, apparently thinks he’s in a cowboy flick.
    Kenny: "FOUND YA! The law’s here to shoot down the bad guys! BANG! BANG!”
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His killing of the merchant Dimo Reeves causes the citizens of Trost to revolt against the 1st Brigade.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: He most definitely does not resemble Clint Eastwood... Also, he's a gunslinger, the role that Clint Eastwood built his career on.
  • Not Afraid to Die: Flat out states he refuses to let natural causes be what ends his life.
  • Obviously Evil: Lean and Mean? Check. Villainous Cheekbones? Check. Man In Black? Check. Very clearly up to no good, no matter where he appears? Double check.
  • Odd Friendship: With Uri Reiss, Rod's brother and the previous owner of the Coordinate before Frieda.
  • Offscreen Villainy: In his youth, Kenny was a super strong serial killer who targeted Military Police for decades in self defense of his family. We never really see this part of his life, but going by his rant about stuffing skulls with fecal matter, his murders were much more grisly than a simple bullet or slashed throat.
  • One-Man Army: Hinted to have murdered over 100 members of the Military Police, prior to becoming a commander in the 1st Brigade. He states Levi learned quite a bit from him, suggesting he's just as deadly as Humanity's Strongest.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: He receives a nasty-looking slash to the stomach during his anime-only duel with Levi that forces him to retreat, but this doesn't seem to affect his ability to stand or move in his next scenes, since this doesn't occur in the source material.
  • Parental Substitute: Was this towards Levi after his mother died, teaching him basic survival skills until he decided Levi could make do on his own. He later tells Levi that he left because he could never be a parent.
  • Perpetual Frowner: He always seems to be wearing a pretty fierce scowl.
  • Professional Killer: He's clearly an experienced killer, not even hesitating when his orders require him to kill a little girl.
  • Psycho for Hire: Even if he wasn't killing for the government, he'd still be killing for pleasure.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers an impressive one to Rod Reiss, listing all his crimes and emphasizing how he's been using Historia for his own gain after ignoring her existence.
  • Red Baron: "Kenny the Ripper", the title given to him when he was a serial killer.
  • Reformed Criminal: Subverted. He used to be an independent serial killer, but then he joined the Military Police... as a state-sponsored assassin for the sinister, totalitarian government.
  • Right for the Wrong Reasons: He comes to believe that his plan to steal the Coordinate power from the Reiss family was doomed to fail when he overhears Rod telling Historia that only individuals with royal blood can use it to its full potential, the story has shown that this claim has been proven dubious at best; However revelations of Chapters 86-88 all but state that only Eldians can wield the Titan powers, and Kenny being from a special breed of Eldians (the Ackermans) who are able to resist the Coordinate, wouldn't have been able to become a Titan in the first place.
  • Sadist: Flat out admits he enjoys his work, but his banter with Levi indicates that this is merely a mindset he developed to cope.
  • Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: He has a habit of saying out loud noises for his pistols, like "bang."
  • Secret Police: So secret, he doesn't even wear a military uniform.
  • Serial Killer: He used to be one.
  • Servile Snarker: He is one. To the king.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: Kenny's goal of obtaining the Founding Titan was doomed from the start. Even if he had learned that there was a way to bypass the royal blood restriction by being in physical contact with a Titan Shifter with royal blood, Kenny is immune to Titanization, so he couldn't even become a regular Titan which is a necessary prerequisite for gaining one of the Nine Titans.
  • Shared Family Quirks: Like Mikasa and Levi, Kenny wears a distinctive neck garment. (tie)
  • Shrouded in Myth: Considered to be a legend rather than a real person.
  • Slashed Throat: His preferred method of executing his victims.
  • Slasher Smile: He sports quite a hefty one when announcing his goal of becoming both a Titan and the new Coordinate.
  • Sole Survivor: The only member of the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad to escape the cave in alive. He dies from sustained injuries shortly there afterwards.
  • Speak of the Devil: Coincidentally, as soon as Levi mentions his first name, Kenny drops in and starts going to work.
  • The Starscream: To the Reiss family; his "dream" is to steal the Coordinate's power and use it for his own mysterious ends. With the heights the Coordinate's power can reach and Kenny's personality, him obtaining it is probably the worst case scenario. And considering that the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad outright stated that they follow his dream, it is possible that Rod only thinks he's running the show.
  • Super-Reflexes: He somehow blocks the blast from a twin-barrel shotgun Levi sends his way with a chair and dodges a surprise attack from Annie effortlessly.
  • Super-Soldier: In the process of delivering a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Mikasa, Eren claims that the Ackerman's superhuman physical abilities are the result of the Eldian Empire fiddling around with Titan science long ago and accidentally causing the entire Ackerman bloodline to possess the hidden capability to use the strength of the Titans while maintaining a human form. Therefore, naturally, this would apply to Kenny as well if true.
  • This Cannot Be!: Reacts this way when he finds out that only a member of the Reiss family can unlock the Coordinate's true power, meaning that his dream is impossible.
  • Tom the Dark Lord: This old, scruffy looking man, the man who slaughtered over 100 military police brigade officers, who trained Levi, the biggest badass we've seen so far, and captain of the 1st division of the Military Police, is named Kenny. We can assume it's short for "Kenneth" or something.
  • Tragic Dream: His goal was to become a Titan Shifter so he could absorb the Reiss family's power, or more specifically the genuine caring nature he saw in each of the previous inheritors. He believed that if he could do that then he could become a better person, one able to truly care about others. The revelation that this was impossible for him was painful.
  • Tragic Villain: It's implied he only became a Serial Killer because the government has actively been trying to wipe out him and the Ackerman bloodline off the face of the earth, forcing him to defend himself and his loved ones. Since then, he's come to enjoy killing.
  • True Companions: Was this with the rest of the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad.
  • The Unfought: Things seem to be cascading towards a final confrontation between Kenny and Levi, but circumstances conspired against it. Probably has something to do with us learning the reasons why Kenny did the things he did. He dies from hemorrhaging and major burns after Rod Reiss transforms into a massive, burning-hot Titan far too big for the cave he's in.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Kenny almost manages to catch Annie as she was tailing him and even caught a glimpse of her face. This, coupled with Kenny's obvious skills, means that Annie cannot gain any more intel on the Founding Titan's location. This leads Renier to conclude the Warrior Trio's only remaining option is to destroy Wall Rosa to inflitrate to the capital, thus leading to the Battle of Trost.
  • Unperson: Stated before killing Historia's mother that she never existed.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: According to his grandfather.
  • Verbal Tic: "Yo."
  • Villainous Breakdown:
  • Wham Line: "By the way, Reeves. Do you know a man by the name of Levi Ackerman?" Aside from the obvious, this is when you knew things were about to go downhill quick...
  • Would Hurt a Child: Yes. Yes he would. And probably has.
  • World's Strongest Man: He is considered by Levi, the in-universe official World's Strongest Man, to be more dangerous than himself, from having learned how to fight from the man himself. Indeed, Levi seemed more keen on fleeing than facing Kenny head-on during their first encounter, and Kenny never gets the opportunity to face off against the Survey Corps again.
  • You Have Failed Me: He seems to apply this to anyone under his authority, as both Dimo Reeves and an unnamed subordinate in the Military Police Brigade state that they'd be killed if they failed.

    Traute Caven 

Traute Caven

Voiced by: Saori Terai (JP), Stephanie Young (EN), Liliana Barba (Latin American Spanish)

Debut: Chapter 56 (Manga), Episode 38 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/caven_anime_character_image.png

Kenny Ackerman's second-in-command in the Anti-Personnel Suppression Squad of the Military Police 1st Brigade.


  • Deadpan Snarker: She trades banter with Kenny, asking him whether he died when Levi shot him out of the bar at Trost. Kenny is quick to point out that he'd not respond if he was dead, making the question pointless.
  • The Dragon: Kenny's. When he is not present, she leads her fellow Suppression Squadmates.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: She and the rest of Kenny's squad were wiped out at the end of The Uprising arc; either killed in the battle with Levi's unit, or crushed by the cave-in triggered by Rod Reisses' Titan Transformation.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Uses one of her maneuver gear's anchors to wound Hange.
  • Nerves of Steel: She nonchalantly asks her captain if he's dead after he is seemingly shot. She also does not panic despite the surprise tactics the Survey Corps throw her way and carefully adjusts her strategy accordingly.
  • No Name Given: Was never referred to by name until the reveal of her name by the Word of God in the Q and A in the March 2016 issue of Bessatsu Shonen.
  • No Questions Asked: In so many words, this is what she tells Kenny when he becomes commander to let him know that they are under his complete control.
  • Prophetic Name: The anime gives more clarity as to how she died, showing her get knocked unconscious by a falling rock as the Reiss Chapel falls around her. One of her squad mates shouts her last name as he sees her take the hit. With some sad irony, it seems the last thing she ever heard was "Caven / cave-in!"
  • Rousing Speech: Before confronting Squad Levi, she gives a speech to her squad, encouraging them to fight and believe in Kenny's dream.
  • Stopped Caring: Outright stated she stopped caring about humanity's struggle for survival after Wall Maria's breach. She only finds purpose again after rallying around Kenny's ambition.

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