Armin Arlert is one of the main characters in Shingeki no Kyojin who plays an important role in the storyline. Personally, I think that Armin is an underrated character, even though he always tries to help those who are close to him or the Eldians in general. 

There are some fascinating facts that you probably didn’t know about Armin Arlert from Shingeki no Kyojin. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

1. One of the Geniuses in the Series

Armin is one of the most genius characters in the series. Lacking in physical prowess, he’s rarely assigned to the front line nor use his 3D Maneuver Gear. However, Armin’s biggest strength actually lies in his intelligence -- which allows him to come up with the best strategies.

Armin also has a keen eye for even the smallest details, which helps him become an exceptional tactician on the battlefield, an aspect that makes him stand out from his peers.

Armin has saved other soldiers on numerous occasions with his strategies. He even played a role in revealing the true identity of the enemies.

His level of intelligence might have been subtle before due to his lack of confidence. But once the other recognized him, Armin reached his potential as a brilliant strategist.

2. His Awareness of the Outside World

Even that he lived most of his early life behind the walls, Armin has always had a basic understanding of the outside world, including the beach, from reading the book given by his grandfather when he was little. The book covers all the details about the world outside of the walls.

That’s probably why Armin and Eren share a big dream of seeing the outside world.

3. Got Acknowledged by Erwin Smith

Armin’s brilliance is even recognized by the high-ranking officers, including Erwin Smith. All of his strategies, even those that sound ridiculous, were always taken seriously by the captains -- and they always turned out successful.

Even the commander and expert strategist Erwin Smith admitted that Armin Arlert is much smarter than him as he would have never come up with strategies like Armin’s.

During his last moments, Erwin Smith refused to be saved and asked the corps to prioritize Armin as he believed Armin would be much more useful in the future.

4. His Family was Executed by the Military Police

Earlier in the story, Armin revealed that his family was killed during a mission to take back Wall Maria. However, that’s not the fact. Actually, Armin’s family was executed by the military police, after attempting to leave the walls on an air balloon.

This story has been mentioned in the anime, in episode 2 of season 3, to be more exact, where a character named Djel Sannes admits to killing a couple trying to leave on an air balloon -- and they’re  Armin’s parents.

5. Eren and Mikasa’s Childhood Friend

This one may be common knowledge for any Shingeki no Kyojin viewer. Armin befriended Eren after he showed him the book about the outside world. 

Since then, Eren and Armin have been spending most of their time together, trying to find a way to get out of the walls to see the world they’ve been dreaming about.

6. Made It Into the Top Five in Academics

Given that Armin is someone who’s more than capable of devising the most brilliant plans, it’s not that surprising that he’s in the top five of the 104th Training Corps in academics. Armin is certainly not the toughest fighter, but he’s an exceptional strategist.

Armin has come up with numerous plans that turned out to be successful, including using Eren’s Titan to seal Wall Rose and revealing the secret of the Female Titan -- and devised a plan to trap her.

7. Didn’t Make It Into the Top Ten of His Class

Despite graduating well within the top five in academics, Armin didn’t get into the top ten of his class. The ranking is based on the combat performance of each candidate -- which is also the one aspect that Armin doesn’t really do well.

As a matter of fact, Armin’s the only member in Levi’s squad who’s not in the top ten.

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8. He’s Killed a Human

Before gaining his Titan power, Armin had already killed a human before. Armin inadvertently shot one of Kenny Ackerman’s cronies. After that, Armin got traumatized that he instantly felt nauseous afterward.

At the time, Armin he had never killed anyone or anything -- he’s only made a couple of slashes on Titans. So, it’s not that surprising to see how Armin got traumatized by the experience.

9. One of the Characters with the Best Character Arc

Shingeki no Kyojin is a series with great character development/arcs. One of the characters with the best arc is Armin Arlert. Armin may seem like a weak, timid, and useless character at first. But as the story progresses, Armin started to show his worth with his ability to devise brilliant strategies.

Armin also matured with his thinking after the time skip.

As a weak, helpless character who develops into an influential one at the end of the story, Armin is the most exciting character to see in the series.

10. Secretly Had a Crush on Annie Leonhart

Since the time skip, we can see Armin starts visiting Annie’s crystal. This indicates that Armin actually has a crush on Annie. According to some theories, the reason why Armin develops feelings towards Annie is that he inherits the Colossal Titan power from Berthold, which means he shares his feelings.

11. The Multiple Meanings of His Name

The name Armin is a German name, with various meanings such as “universal”, “warrior”, and “soldier”, which suits him really fine given that he’s a soldier. 

Hajime Isayama's reason for choosing the name Armin Arlert is that it sounds like the word “aluminum”, and is quite catchy for the audience.

Creators often have funny stories on how they come up with unique names for their characters.

12. Voiced by the Female Seiyuu, Inoue Marina

Although Armin Arlert is a male, he’s voiced by a female seiyuu named Inoue Marina. Marina has done voice works in well-known series, such as Momo in Boku no Hero Academia, Maiko Ogure in Kill la Kill, Eve in Baccano, Ikeda Asaemon in Gintama, and many more.

Inoue Marina’s voice suits Armin’s character -- an androgynous character who has strong empathy.

13. Often Mistaken for a Woman

Initially, some fans even thought that Armin is a female character, especially that he’s also voiced by a female seiyuu. Hajime Isayama also mentioned that the only girl that Mikasa would feel comfortable with was Armin. But later on, Isayama corrected himself and said that Armin is a male.

Armin gets mistaken for a woman has happened numerous times in the story, including the time when he disguised as Historia Reiss. And, the attempt was successful -- even the kidnapper was trying to harass him as he was mistaking him for Historia.

14. Not that Popular Among Fans

Despite Armin’s crucial role in the story of Shingeki no Kyojin, he’s actually not that popular among fans. In the first popularity poll, Armin ranked 10th. In the next poll, Armin did go up in ranking, although he didn’t make a significant leap -- ranked in 6th and 8th.

The reason why Armin isn’t that popular is perhaps his lack of courage and paranoid tendencies, which make fans prefer other characters as their favorites.

However, in the last season of Shingeki no Kyojin, Armin’s popularity began to rise due to his character arc.

15. His Birthday Coincides with Japan's Cultural Day

The last fact we have about Armin Arlert in Shingeki no Kyojin is that his birthday coincides with Cultural Day in Japan, on November 3. Manga creators often give their characters birthdays on the same day as Japan’s national days.

For example, in One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy’s birthday coincides with Children’s Day in Japan, which is on May 5.

So, those were some interesting facts about Armin Arlert in Shingeki no Kyojin that you probably didn’t know. From the list above, which ones are your favorite facts? Let us know in the comments below!

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