Why People Fall For Levi Ackerman And Why Is He So Popular
Ever since the anime Attack on Titan created by Hajime Isayama, has been aired and gained popularity, Levi Ackerman has been arguably the most loved character. Most Levi admirers are very obvious for their love of this man and just can't get over him.
Here are the reasons why Levi Ackerman is so popular and why do people fall in love with him so easily.
1. Levi Ackerman's appearance stands out and people are already copying his hairstyle
Despite most of the characters having realistic hairstyles, Levi's black hair and undercut has been popularized to the point where there are tutorials on how to achieve this specific hairstyle. What makes Levi's hair stand out despite other characters having undercuts, is that when animated, he looks very graceful.
2. People love Levi's height as he proves that short men can also be strong
Normally when you think of strong and powerful characters, they typically are extremely tall. However, fans were shocked when it was revealed that Levi was only 5'3". One would expect fans to not like Levi as much and favor the other much taller characters except it only made people love Levi more.
His height proves that short men can indeed be as strong if not stronger than taller men. It also makes him feel more human because he is not "perfect" in every area and has even expressed insecurity about it. Strong and powerful characters can be insecure sometimes and that makes them even more likable.
3. People are in awe of Levi's power and abilities
There is a reason why Levi has earned the title as humanity's strongest and rightfully so. He is an expert at using the 3DMG, which is a device used by soldiers to be able to swing around their environment.
The 3DMG is not the easiest device to master as seen in Season 1 Episode 3 where the main character, Eren Jaeger, is training in how to move in the 3DMG and has a lot of trouble stabilizing himself. As one character in this episode mentioned, "You may have the will but not necessarily the talent.", meaning that it takes a special kind of person to be proficient at the 3DMG.
Levi however, makes swinging around in the 3DMG look effortless and graceful as he was able to dodge bullets being shot at him with ease. It even took the animators a month to animate a scene of Levi swinging around the city because of how many details were involved.
Levi possesses the strength and skill to take down titan shifters by himself which is a notable feat as titan shifters have special abilities and have combat training compared to regular titans. Titan shifters such as Zeke Jaegar as the Beast Titan, known for being able to throw objects at a long distance and with high intelligence was no match for Levi.
Defeating the Female Titan in their first encounter is also impressive because this was the first time Levi fought against a titan shifter. The Female Titan is known to be very versatile as it has different abilities that other titan shifters have making this fight very astonishing to see.
4. Levi is caring about those around him
A first impression one might get when looking at Levi is that he is a coldhearted and serious person however that is far from the truth. In reality, he is able to put others before him by making tough decisions even if it makes him uncomfortable.
The first time we see Levi on screen is in Season 1 Episode 9 whereafter he kills some titans, he comforts a dying soldier by holding his hand and reassures him that he will obliterate all titans. What is important to note is that Levi hates being dirty as evident when he looks at his hand in disgust and sees that it's filled with titan blood. Even though the soldier was full of blood, Levi was able to put aside his disgust and held his hand in comfort without a second thought.
After it was revealed that Eren had the ability to turn into a titan, he was taken into custody by the government where they held a trial as to whether the Military Police or the Survey Corps would get custody of Eren. Levi decided that the best way to convince the government that the Survey Corps should have custody of Eren was by beating him up. This scene would then become one of the most famous scenes in the show.
At first glance, this action seems unnecessarily cruel on Levi's behalf however, his reason behind hurting Eren makes sense. Levi had to show the government that the Survey Corps was capable enough in handling Eren. The reason why it wasn't someone else who kicked Eren in the face, was because of Levi's title of humanity's strongest soldier and had to demonstrate that he was powerful enough to keep Eren in check.
According to Levi, had the Military Police gained custody of Eren, they would probably have dissected him and not make much use of him. Eren being in the custody of the Survey Corps helps increase humanity's chances at survival because there is a huge difference in power between humans and titans.
Having a human be able to turn into a titan is very useful to have especially as the Survey Corps aims to find out the origins of titans in order to prevent humans from becoming extinct. Levi knowing this only proves that he thinks of the bigger picture and will do whatever it takes to get to said picture.
Levi even asks Eren afterward that he hoped Eren didn't resent him which shows that Levi does think about people's feelings and that he is not heartless enough to hurt people without thinking much of it.
Season 1 Episode 22 might arguably be the best episode when displaying Levi's character. For starters, Levi had to see his squad that he had grown close to over the years, get slaughtered by the Female Titan. When he and the surviving soldiers were preparing to head home from their mission, they were suddenly chased by a horde of titans.
Levi, unfortunately, had to witness the corpse of Petra Ral, a member of his squad, be released as a way to slow down the titans. While he could have easily tried to recover her corpse, he chooses not to because he knows that the body was necessary for ensuring the other soldiers stay alive.
Later on in the episode, he sees a fellow soldier mourn the death of his friend and Levi decides to give him a patch that is found on their uniforms and claimed that it belonged to the fallen friend. The truth was that the patch actually belonged to Petra as Levi has a habit of collecting the patches of those he was close to when they died.
Again, Levi could have either ignored the mourning soldier or just give some words of comfort without having to give up his only reminder of Petra. However, Levi knew it is much more comforting if he lied to the soldier that there is a physical reminder that they once used to be alive.
5. Levi is always willing to carry burdens and comfort others
Levi definitely has the maturity and self-awareness to call people out on their beliefs or actions and that even includes his superiors. In Season 3 Episode 53, when the Survey Corps go to reclaim Wall Maria, they found themselves to be ambushed by the Beast, Armored, and Colossal Titan. With the Beast Titan killing off many of the Survey Corps each couple of minutes, Commander Erwin Smith finds it hard to make a plan that ensures everyone's survival.
The only plan he has in mind that would contribute to humanity's survival is by leading all of the scouts to their deaths as a way to distract the Beast Titan so Levi has a shot at killing him. The only problem is that Erwin's dream is to learn the truth about titans which that information lays in the basement of Eren's home in Shiganshina.
Erwin is not so eager to give up his life when he is very close to getting the answers he needs to which Levi responds with, "Give up on your dream and die." One would think that it's very inappropriate for one to tell their superior to die as well as to throw all their hopes and dreams away. Levi however, is taking full responsibility by forcing Erwin to give up his life because he knows in the long run if humanity hopes to ever survive, the Beast Titan needs to be slain.
Erwin also needs to be the one leading the death charge because all of the other scouts have become scared and discouraged due to seeing hundreds of people die by the minute. It would be unfair and impossible to ask for the scouts especially new and young ones, to charge to their deaths while their commander gets to sit back and not die.
Levi needed to call the shots because he knew that Erwin would do whatever he can to get to the basement and unfortunately that's not helpful for humanity.
6. Levi is able to see the big picture
One of the most controversial episodes has to be Season 3 Episode 55 where both Erwin and Armin Arlert, a close friend of Eren's who sacrificed himself in order for the Colossal Titan to be slain, are dead. Levi was trusted with a titan injection which allows for a human to be able to turn into a titan and should they eat a titan shifter, they will immediately gain their abilities.
This injection can even bring someone back from the dead. The problem is that there is only one injection. Levi believes logically that Erwin should be the one to receive the injection as he has many years of experience as a Commander, whereas Armin only has a few years of being a scout.
Levi tells Eren to keep his emotions out of the situation which shows that Levi understands how heartbreaking it is to lose a close one but you must not be swayed by your emotions as it can cause reckless behavior.
The only reason as to why Levi decided to save Armin instead was because Erwin unconsciously raised his hand and started to mumble about being in school. It was at that point where Levi realized that Erwin's only goal in life was to find out the secret about titans and once he achieved it, Erwin might not be so willing or motivated as a commander.
Armin on the other hand, dreams to see the ocean which is an area that is far beyond where the anime takes place representing how he wishes for freedom. Even though Armin lacks experience, he compensates for motivation which in the end is the driving factor to survival. Ironically, Levi had to keep his emotions away and had to accept the fact that a close friend of his had died and will never be returning.
Even though Levi possesses power beyond belief, at the end of the day he is still a human who understands the pain and struggles of others. He understands that the world is a cruel place and tries his best to make it a bit less scary for others. It's no surprise as to why he's such a fan favorite.