Hump Day Husbandos: Reiner Braun (Attack on Titan)

It goes without saying that I tend to prefer some of the more questionable characters in our favourite stories, shows, you name it. Attack on Titan is no different because my favourite male character from it is most certainly not everyone else’s best boy Levi Ackerman.

Here’s to just how much I love, support and want to nurture Reiner back to being his healthy and happy self for today’s Hump Day Husbandos piece. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there, but I certainly won’t judge you if you’re not with me on this one!

Spoilers ahead.

Who is Reiner Braun?

Reiner was the second top member of the Southern Division 104th Training Corps squad alongside Eren, Mikasa, Armin and co, including Reiner’s closest friends of Bertolt and Annie. He would appear as one of the most reliable squad members in it, being both courageous and selfless in how he takes authority over and calms others down with his more than capable attitude as a protective older brother type.

Thanks in part to his big, burly build, his wholly protective sense of duty towards helping others can easily be seen in how he assists with his comrades in training – especially Eren – and how he even literally throws himself in the way to save others. See his dive to save Connie. But that was just Reiner not only fooling everyone around him but himself too. There was always something deeper and more complex going on with him.

Why we love him

I know what you are thinking. Reiner, a soldier who is responsible for thousands of innocent lives lost, trampled and ultimately ending up in the bellies of some awful looking Titans is my husbando of Attack of Titan. I simply find him so incredibly tragic and feel for his entire being as a result of everything he goes through.

This is because Reiner ends up being in a state of permanent shock, with his mind torturing him since the days he was a part of the 104th Cadet Corps — and even well before it. Losing his closest allies is bad enough, but the truth about him actively having a hand in destroying the lives of so many souls is obviously more than enough to send him on a severe mental decline.

Reiner had once wanted to be a hero; he was quite the emotional child and extremely naïve and idealistic. His true goal was to make his parents proud of him and acknowledge him. But his reality would instead be an endless, living nightmare with tragedy upon tragedy draining him of any sense of self-worth or desire to continue existing. The events of Attack on Titan quickly destroy his view of the world around him, all but eradicating who he once was.

He was called a mistake since his birth, was rigged to become the Armored Titan and is then forced to see through a mission due to his blind faith for his land. He forces himself through this as the supposedly capable leader that he was never cut out to be. And when he returns home as the only survivor, he’s lost those closest to him, betrayed the new allies he had made across years of bonding, and is still regarded as a burden by his family.

He is continuously monitored, and ignored when Marleyan generals discuss future Paradis Island invasions — something he has first-hand knowledge of. Let the poor man rest in peace!

Why you will love him

Reiner is a literal tank of a titan and man – he is cut down several times across the manga yet still manages to keep hanging on despite the top of his head literally getting blown off at one point. But while he may no longer care about his own life, he still fights on to protect those around him, especially the younger lot – see how he also throws his body in front of Falco to shield him after that fateful encounter with Eren after the time-skip.

Reiner feels permanent and incredible guilt as an adult due to his past. It is heartbreaking to see his mind fracture as much as it does ever since his dissociating after ordering for the death of Marco. He never catches a break when amid his numerous breakdowns and persistent survivors’ guilt is he sees other characters actively throwing their lives away to save him. The Galliard brothers are a particular handful in terms of the amount of trauma they give him.

His entire character is beyond tragic while being greatly complex and really well written. I mean, he was also brought up to believe that Eldians are the monsters despite being half Eldian himself. At the same time, it was never about him, but his desire to do everything he can to keep his best friends safe — something that he mostly failed at doing.

By the end point of Attack on Titan, I was actively hoping for Hajime Isayama to just put him out of his misery. I was instead pleasantly surprised by how his character got to turn over a new leaf by fighting alongside his old allies and finding a new purpose in protecting those who matter most – the children.

Maybe give him a more dignified final appearance though please – him sniffing Historia’s letter is a hard no from me. At least my favourite part of the manga’s ending is seeing him finally able to recover. Worth all the pain leading up to it.

Watch the show now on Crunchyroll before the “final” final season hits.

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