Jean Kirschtein

Jean Kirschtein is a graduate of the 104th Training Brigade, having joined the Human Army Exploration Battalion. He graduated 6th in the training period.

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Apparence

As a child, Jean was quite plump because he was fed by his mother's good food.

When he became a teenager, Jean was rather thin, measuring 175 cm for 65 kg. He has a rather broad face as well as brown eyes. His hair, of a rather pale brown, is rather short and falls in small wicks on his forehead. He has a separation of color on his sideburns: they are of a darker brown. His face is quite similar to Eren's but it is mentioned that he has a long face similar to a horse's.

As an adult, in 854, he became 190 cm tall but still thin. Like Eren, he has grown his hair a lot.

He is often seen in the typical uniform of the members of the different Battalions: consisting of a short leather jacket, a beige shirt, similar in color to the one he wore when he first appeared, a brown belt around his waist, white pants and brown boots. He had to imitate the young Jäger several times by pretending to be him. He then put on a dark brown wig.

Personality

When he was young, he was really kind, caring and sensitive to everything. He was really close to his mother and cried very often. Now, John is a very frank person and never hesitates to say clearly what he thinks. He is not shy about giving his opinion even though he knows that it would not be very smart to do so or that it could lead to a conflict.

John is also pragmatic: he has a strong tendency to expose himself to dangerous situations. He has openly admitted that he wants to join the Special Brigade, which is known for its comfort and the safe life within its walls.

During his time as a recruit, Jean was very boastful and frustrated. He was very easy to get on his nerves and was quick to resort to violence. John was also very cynical about defeating the titans, believing that humans didn't stand a chance against them. He openly mocked more idealistic individuals like Eren and thought that resisting the titans was a lost cause.

Although he is impatient, Marco considers Jean to be a natural leader because of his ability to understand others and to handle situations skillfully because of it. Indeed, during the Battle of Trost, Jean proved that he was capable of leading his fellow soldiers when they were distraught and rallied Armin and Reiner for an attack on the Female Titan, knowing that letting her go without a fight could endanger the rest of the Exploration Battalion.

Although he presents himself as boastful and proud, John is confident and shows that he considers his comrades true friends. He is horrified when he has to leave an ally who cannot defend himself and needs help to save himself and others. He also risked his life just to slow down the Female Titan and figured that if he refused, it would result in many more deaths. Jean later criticized Erwin's plan because he hid information from his subordinates for fear that there was a spy among them and felt that the plan did not justify the number of lives lost because of it.

John's first instinct is to always look at life with a cautious eye. He hesitated to accept Armin and Reiner's plan to use the Stealth Titan in their ranks and have him fight for them, and he immediately admitted that he had never trusted Ymir when she had obviously kidnapped Christa Lenz. On top of that, after the second appearance of the Dreadnought Titan, John was the one who motivated Eren to continue to fight for the victory of humanity, showing that he had slowly adopted the same ideal as the one he had once criticized.

Personal history

Jean comes from the Pink Wall, and more precisely, from a quiet town of Trost. Even though he lived in a peaceful house under the tender protection of his mother, Jean always wanted to live the comfortable life of a proud soldier of the Special Brigades in the Sina Wall district.

History

Bow of the 104th Training Brigade

After reaching the required age, Jean enlisted in the Human Army and joined what would be the 104th Training Brigade. During the day of his enlistment, Jean admitted his desire to join the Special Brigades and received a headshot from Chief Keith Shardiz for his troubles. That night, Jean met Eren Jäger for the first time.

The two hated each other and their respective ideals. Jean will improve well during her training, motivated by her ambitions and her dream to be in the top 10 to join the Special Brigades and surpass Eren.

Battle of Trost Arch

After the second attack by the Colossal Titan, Jean, along with the rest of the 104th's recruits, were sent to the front lines to face the Titans who had begun to enter the city.

Jean tries to take her frustrations out on Eren, but Eren orders her to pull herself together for the sake of their allies.

Later, due to the lack of supply, Jean is unable to fight at first. With Mikasa's arrival, he and the rest of the group rush to the supply headquarters.

When Mikasa runs out of gas, Jean takes the lead but quickly loses faith in his ability to take on the lives of others. Soon after, a soldier is eaten by the swarming Titans.

Seeing the opportunity, Jean recommends that everyone take advantage of the distraction and take a break at the military headquarters to refuel. Jean successfully leads the security group, but to his horror, several soldiers have been left to die because of his command.

When he finds the scared supply team in their corner, Jean becomes angry with them, shouting at them that they were responsible for the deaths of the soldiers who were killed.

Soon after, Mikasa, Armin and Conny arrive with the help of the Titan Assailant. Later, after Armin comes up with a plan to get gas from the supply room, he is part of the second group of them.

Jean manages to kill her assigned Titan. However, since Conny and Sasha had failed to defeat theirs, he tells the others to go help them.

He is seen with Marco later saying that he is not made to be a leader. He added that many people had died under his command. Marco told him that he was weak and that was why he was able to react and help others as a result.

After the refueling, he stayed behind with Reiner and Annie. After Reiner suggests going to help the Titan Assassin, John is very hesitant, thinking back to the fact that they had narrowly escaped death, and that he was not willing to risk his life again for a Titan.

Fortunately, they didn't have to, as the Titan in question collapsed shortly after attacking the Deviant that had devoured Thomas.

With surprise, he saw Eren emerge from the neck of the Assaulting Titan, and he was one of the first people to learn more about Eren's ability to transform into a Titan.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Trost, John finds the body of his friend, Marco, and he is clearly disturbed by the sight of his death.

Later, he and the rest of the soldiers of the 104th Training Brigade burn the bodies of their comrades in a large fire.

At that moment, John remembers Eren's speech, and Marco's compliment on his strength as a leader.

Mourning his death and remembering his words of encouragement, he asks the other soldiers what corps they are considering joining, and shaking his hands with clenched fists, he announces that he will join the Exploration Battalion.

During the graduation, despite the fear of what could happen to him in the future because he will meet more Titans, he joined the Exploration Battalion instead of the Special Brigades.

Bow of the Female Titan

After joining the Exploration Battalion, Jean confronts Eren about the role he will have to play, that of savior of humanity, and declares that he puts all his trust in him because he does not want to die. Jean participates in the 57th Extra-Muros expedition of the Exploration Battalion.

Shortly after the beginning of the expedition, Jean meets the Female Titan. He cooperates with Armin and Reiner to slow it down, believing that if they did not stop it, it would continue to eliminate more and more soldiers.

The three manage to confront the Titan, but are quickly overpowered and nearly die, but the Titan decides to continue on its way. After the fight, Jean desperately tries to find her horse.

With only Reiner's horse, he says that one of them will most likely have to be left behind. Fortunately, Christa arrives with Jean's horse.

While heading to the Forest of Giant Trees, Jean and the others are ordered to climb into the high branches to distract the Titans, so that they can't enter the forest.

John is surprised at how quickly the Titans learn to climb trees. While they wait, Armin confides to Jean his belief that their commander had suspected a spy among them. Jean questions the morality of such a decision, but Armin defends Erwin, stating that it was a necessary risk.

After the expedition fails, Jean returns to the safety of the Karanese District.

A few days later, because of his resemblance to Eren, especially in eyes and demeanor, he is chosen to represent him at his trial, leaving the real Eren free to participate in the operation to capture the Female Titan.

Skills and Competencies

John is very skilled at three-dimensional maneuvering, being able to maneuver well even on open terrain, which is considered extremely difficult. Jean is also an exceptional leader, as being weak himself, he can put himself in the shoes of others and make wise decisions. It is these qualities that have earned Jean his rank of 6th in the entire 104th Training Brigade.

He also appears to be proficient with firearms, at least with rifles, as he can be seen using them during the persecution of the Exploration Battalion. He is able to shoot people with great accuracy, without any intention of killing them, so that he can neutralize them.

Relations

Ms. Kirschtein

They were fused when Jean was a child. As a teenager, he is annoyed by his mother who continues to nurture him by making unscheduled visits to the 104th Training Brigade barracks where he is training to bring him his food. Despite appearances, deep down Jean adores her almost as much as she loves him.

Eren Jäger

They are often at odds with each other. At the beginning of the adventure, Jean said that he wanted to join the Special Brigades at all costs in order to live a "quiet" life. However, he finally chose to join the Exploration Battalion, among other things following his debate with Eren, and the latter's fine words. It seems that despite the fact that they are rivals and cold towards each other, John often knows how to put aside this rivalry to focus on the survival of humanity, especially when he recognized the hope that Eren represented as an intelligent Titan. He is, however, jealous of the relationship between Eren and his adopted sister, Mikasa Ackerman. Their relationship eventually improves after his time with the Tactical Squad, but it deteriorates again in 854 when he loses his trust in Eren after Sasha Braus, his best friend, is killed in the Battle of Revelio, which Eren caused, and he believes him to be responsible.

Marco Bott

Marco was Jean's best friend. It was Marco who encouraged him to accept his abilities as a leader. His death at Trost had a significant impact on Jean's psychology. In addition, Marco was always there for Jean in times of need, no matter what.

Mikasa Ackerman

Jean seems to have a "crush" on Mikasa, the moment he met him, he became nervous. Jean is a little jealous of Eren because of the attachment Mikasa has with him. He also seems to have a high regard for Mikasa and says that she is the only one in the brigade who is better than him.

Armin Arlelt

The two men are not really close because Armin is Eren's best friend, but they trust each other. They manage to share the same ideas which strengthens them. Armin proved his friendship by killing a human being to save his life.