Captain Levi "Post-Mortem" Ackerman: Attack on Titan and the Disaffected Hero Trope

WARNING: The following contains spoilers about Attack on Titan. Please read at your own risk.

I hate Levi Ackerman.


I didn’t always. Back when Attack on Titan was airing its first season in dub form on Toonami/FUNimation’s website, he was merely my least-favourite character. Sure, the other characters in-world were frequently screaming and running from giant monsters, but I’d act no differently in their position. Plus, they were rich with personality. They had real flaws, even when they were super-talented at defeating Titans (see Mikasa Ackerman.) But Levi? Levi was a stone-cold warrior so drone-like that he came off as boring.

However, as I began to think over what Levi represented, he started to grate on me. He was so good at what he did, so in the right constantly, that he felt like a male Mary Sue. A Gary Stu, to be more exact, except without the likability factor. I think the pinnacle of how much I hate Levi occurs with the first battle with The Female Titan, aka Annie Leonhardt, during the expedition to Eren Jaeger’s father’s cellar. As scouts were wiped out left and right, with the elites eventually being forced to take her on directly, Levi never once lost his composure. He never once showed signs of weakness, he never once questioned his own leadership, he simply led like he was prepping for this since day one.


And then the elite scouts were picked off one-by-one like flies, including Levi’s betrothed, by Annie, and what did Levi do? Zoom by their corpses as if nothing had happened in an attempt to save Mikasa and rescue Eren from Annie’s mouth. Not even a slight glimpse at his comrades’ bodies, not even a tear over the loss of Petra Rall and his chance at settling down, nothing. Not even his eventual sprained ankle warranted much of a reaction. It was the biggest middle-finger to a human response ever, and I hate it with a passion.

Levi’s quirk is one the internet loves, despite it not being natural. He’s basically a “disenfranchised badass”, a character who responds to chaos and despair by shrugging it off. It’s usually complimented by routinely snarky comments, much like a quipper who never knows how to shut up and be human. It’s one of the many complaints people lob against the MCU with its heroes, but even then they’re not emotionless bricks. Besides, Iron Man, Captain America and company have compelling reasons for being the way they are, many of which are shown via flashbacks or solo movies in-continuity.

I’ve heard defence of Levi’s behaviour as being a conditioned response to the harshness of battle, but even that doesn’t excuse his lack of emotion. A soldier so heavily battered by war would be scarred mentally, even if they don’t openly show it. You’d see it in their behaviour on and off the battlefield, and it’d eventually surface when the stakes are down. Levi hasn’t shown any hints of that either. As with everything, he even takes his pain in stride like it means nothing.

It’s also true that Levi’s compassionate, yes, and cares deeply about his fellow soldier, but even then he’s so stoic and brave (read “emotionless”) that it comes off as forced. Because there’s nothing natural or emotional about him, right down to his dub portrayal by Matthew Mercer. I know the internet happens to love this about Levi, but c’mon. Captain America, the literal paragon of righteousness, shows compassion too, yet he never lets go of his humanity. He gets mad, he has regrets, and he doesn’t always make the best decisions. He still feels human, so I’m willing to forgive his extreme righteousness.

So yeah, not a fan of Captain Levi Ackerman, and the only option at this point would be to kill-

-Well, shoot my mouth! It might actually happen! According to an article entry from The Latin Times, there’s a rumour that Levi might be killed off in Season 2 of Attack on Titan. It’s from August 24th, 2015, meaning it’s dated, and it’s not official, but I’d be more than happy if it happened. Because, as I’ve clearly outlined, I hate Levi. Besides, the show’s no stranger to killing off interesting characters. It wiped out Levi’s elite team in a single episode, and I loved all of them, so why not up the ante and kill off everyone’s favourite walking brick? Besides, it might actually force them to like a character with depth, like, I dunno, Eren?

Okay, that was a little mean on my part. But still, I would be more than game to see Levi die in Season 2 of Attack on Titan. My only hope is that Production I.G. and Studio Wit release said season this year. Seriously, the show recently snagged another delay! How many more can we have?! At this rate, it'll take forever to see what happens next!

Comments

  1. "I hate Levi for being overrated so he deserves to be killed off"

    Well too bad no one else agrees with your selfish statement. You just come across as really arrogant and obnoxious. Not once have you stated any valid reasons to back up your argument.

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    1. Considering that Levi isn't a real person, I'm not sure how it's "selfish". Maybe ignorant, but this is also an old post...

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    2. I agree with the above user that your views are selfish. You do realise how much conflict these kind of opinions
      cause ,expressed on these matters? Just because you hate a certain character doesn't mean you can officially write them off. I'm not mad you hate Levi. He won't be liked by everyone. It's the fact you know that he's a major factor in the show and you know it would leave a really damaging impact if he got taken out of the show completely. Too many characters have already been killed off, do you honestly think that killing Levi off would make the show any better? Well it won't. The show 's momentum would slow down and the direction would be meandering and lose focus.

      I don't like Reiner, but I don't deny that he's a really important character. In the manga, he has at least 5 chapters of leadership. As much as I don't like him, I don't wish for him to be killed off because it would destroy the current story's content. This is what you're doing. You hate a character and instead of just saying you hate them, you're so desperate for Isayama to kick the bucket with this character and look how popular you'll make yourself if that ever happened. I'm a huge fan of AOT but sometimes I am ashamed of the fandom and sorry to say, but you're a good reason for that.

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  2. Levi wasn't even in the first season that much. And by the way, he's not going to die so don't get your hopes up.

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  3. You are a perfect example of why the AOT gets such a bad name. I was fine with this up until the last sentence, which screams toxicity. You actually want a character's demise when the whole point of this show is that you DON'T want the characters to die. Even if you hate them, you are literally going against what the show is trying to do.

    What did Levi do in the first season that deserves him being withdrawn completely from the show? Oh right. He's stoic. So what? That's nothing to get angry about. He didn't show remorse or any emotions towards his dead squad? Bullshit. It was clear as day, when Petra's father spoke to Levi that he was shocked and devastated.

    The only valid reason I get for you hating him is what he did to Eren in court, however that was to get Eren out of a fatal situation. Also, Eren forgave Levi so in the end, you know that it was planned. If anything, blame Erwin since he was the one that told Levi to do it. In the later episodes, Levi saved Eren countless times and here's you saying you want him killed off for saving the protagonist rather than letting him die.

    You have nothing else to offer other than a meaningless rant. I also find you a complete hypocrite for shafting a character that actually has depth but let off characters that don't have depth. If you think that Levi's fanbase is toxic, well with comments like yours, is it any wonder? Isayama won't kill off Levi just because YOU want him to.

    I've seen Levi rants before but yours is the worst by far. You clearly did this to get a reaction and you got what you wanted.

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    Replies
    1. Hi. I'm sorry, but I didn't write this to get a reaction. I wrote it out of general frustration at the time. Do remember that this was also written 4 years ago, and a lot has changed since then (for one, I no longer care much about this show as is.)

      While I understand that a lot of people have been blasting me retroactively for this post, I do think that some of the comments have also been projecting their own toxicity on me in return. Not that I'm directly calling you out here, but it's something to keep in mind when you write your response 4 years later.

      Either way, I think it's interesting how this particular post is still making people angry versus some of the other, far more controversial posts I've written on this site. Perhaps that's more telling than "a meaningless rant", to which I apologize for regardless...

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  4. I mentioned before that I was fine with this article up until your last sentence. That's when all my respect got thrown out the window. I'm fine if you hate Levi, he won't be liked by everyone. But to wish for his death for no particular reason is just way beyond the line, and I see no real AOT fan ever saying something like that. There are characters that I hate, like Annie, but I wouldn't wish for her to be killed off. Take Levi out of the show completely and it will lose a huge impact. Imagine Wolverine being taken out of X-Men and Jon Snow being taken out of Game of Thrones. That's what it would be like with Levi being taken out of AOT.

    He's a major driving force of the show. Without him, Eren would have not become the stonger person he is today, nor would he have learned any life lessons, because what Levi went through is something he does not want Eren to go through in a recurring process. Eren highly respects Levi, don't forget that.

    I take it you haven't seen the next two seasons yet, and many characters do progress immensely, especially Levi and Eren. Season 3 Part 2 is what makes Levi an extremely compelling character to many. If you saw Season 3 Part 2 and still think your last sentence applies, I will honestly be shocked. In Season 2, he doesn't even take part in any action scenes, due to his severe injury in Season 1, so you may be pleased to hear about that. He was still needed to carry the story.

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  5. I still would like to hear your further opinions about this. How far have you read in the manga and if you have seen Season 3 or not.

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    1. I kinda lost interest years ago, especially after I read one of the major plot-twists of the Manga and was turned off...

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  6. Please watch Season 3, and Season 4 when it comes out. He has really good character development and you may even end up respecting him. I know a few people that didn't like Levi at first but he ended up being either their favourite character or their second favourite. You'll be surprised how well he progresses.

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  7. Delete this blog. Thanks to toxic posts like yours, the idea of killing off Levi is now going to be a reality. I have never seen any AOT character that anyone was so desperate to kill off. You are sick.

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  8. Read chapter 136. Then come back and say that your opinion about him still stands. I will honestly be really shocked if you did still feel the same way.

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  9. You're a fucking asshole. That's all I have to say.

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  10. Wow! You triggered a lot of morons in the comments...

    "They hated Jesus because he told them the truth"

    ReplyDelete

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