The latest season of Attack on Titan has made a bold and daring move that not many anime can pull off. To begin with, it was rather unique and mostly strayed off from the typical anime formula. Morality in Attack on Titan isn't black nor white, but more increasingly depressing shades of gray. Even the main character, Eren Yeager is not exempted from this.
In fact, he's currently and precariously tiptoeing the line between hero and villain with the show proving once again that it doesn't care about the viewer's notions of good or bad. Things just happen now in the anime and we've no choice but to watch in horror as we try to convince ourselves whether Eren is still a protagonist or now an antagonist. So which is he at the moment?
Updated January 9, 2022 by Sid Natividad: With Attack on Titan's anime ending fast approaching, it's high time to ask some of the important questions about the series once more: what has become of Eren Yeager? Is Eren a villain now? Or is he still that hopeful and fiery young lad who seeks to fix the world that took his childhood and peace from him?
Eren is undoubtedly still the main driving force in Attack on Titan, but the recent seasons have him going in a different direction. As such, breaking down his qualities should help some of the confounded fans seek an answer to their question of is Eren a villain or not.
14 Villain: He's Hurting The People Who Loved Him
For many Attack on Titan fans, it's difficult to see what's become of Eren Yeager. Near the end of the first part of Season 4, for example, he had a rather heartbreaking melee with Armin, one of his best friends and also a childhood comrade. On top of that, he also brought Mikasa to tears with some harsh (but arguably) true words.
Eren is discarding what little humanity he has left in him and at times, seems like he revels in deliberately hurting the people around him, particularly his allies. It's worth noting that he didn't care at all when Sasha died and even laughed. Moreover, he has no qualms about causing a civil war within Paradis and letting his countrymen die.
13 Hero: He's Still The Main Character
With that said, Eren is still undoubtedly the main character in Attack on Titan. The whole story still revolves around his struggles in setting the world of Paradis straight after seeing his mother get eaten by a Titan back in the very first episode. Attack on Titan is still Eren's saga.
While he seems to be losing sight of his friends, one can't discredit Eren's past actions, which are very much heroic. After all, he's the one who defeated and captured Annie and became instrumental in revealing Reiner and Bertholt's plans.
12 Villain: To Him, The Ends Justify The Means
There was a huge time jump that skipped a sizable chunk of Eren's development into a resentful and uncaring warrior. That's probably part of the reason why it's so hard to digest that Eren has changed too much and is now someone who believes that he's in the right.
Thus, Eren's plans revolve around piling up too many dead bodies and ruining too many relationships and trust in order to fulfill his goals. Eren's vision of a utopia involves laying out a foundation of genocide. That's not exactly an idea that future generations of Paradis might welcome.
11 Hero: His True Intention Is To Create Peace
As stated previously, and without spoiling what happened in the manga too much, Eren plans something big that will mostly benefit the people of Paradis and the Eldians. It involves a vengeful Eren finally saving his home sovereign for good in a permanent and bloody solution.
Eren's allies didn't like it, of course, as it meant killing nearly everyone that isn't a Titan. Hence, Eren wanted to use the Rumbling to finally free the Eldians and the people of Paradis from their cruel fates. It's either that, or a new war between Marleyans, Eldians, or the people of Paradis will ignite and result in even more deaths over the years.
10 Villain: He's Too Jaded
The idealistic and semi-innocent boy who had self-esteem issues is now gone forever. Eren Yeager has seen the horrors of war and while his body count was low up until Season 4, it's clear that the whole affair with the Titans has taken its toll on his psyche.
The result is that he no longer cares much about the world around him. Before, Eren would have hesitated to take any action that would lead to mass slaughter. Now, he's decisively cold and has become some kind of war junkie with a penchant for violence. Heck, his manga version is even worse.
9 Hero: He Still Stands For Justice
Eren hasn't lost sight of what he truly wants for his kind: retribution. After all, he and the Eldians of Paradis have been through, they deserve a world's worth of justice. Eren and many other vengeful Eldians in Paradis lost many who are dear to them all because the nation of Marley craved more power.
That is rather oppressive of the Marleyans, and that's not something Eran can turn a blind eye to given his power. Hence, despite being a certified war freak, Eren remains as the avatar of justice for Paradis and even soldiers like Floch share his sentiments.
8 Villain: He's Going Mad
The amount of pressure for someone his age ought to drive him insane, but surprisingly, Eren's kept a level head, somewhat. That is if one considers what's going on in his head. He's consumed quite a lot of Shifter Titans already and inherited their memories.
Who's to say whatever he saw doesn't affect him? Moreover, he already knows that his life is coming to an end. The most recent episodes of Attack on Titan have shown Eren seemingly struggling with maintaining his sanity and empathy for the people he once knew.
7 Hero: He's Willing To Make Hard Sacrifices
Eren is willing to make hard sacrifices. What kind of hard sacrifices? The kind that paints him as the monster the whole world expected him to be. Eren took most of the responsibility when he attacked first after Marley made its declaration of war against Paradis.
Sure, Eren inadvertently dragged Paradis into the spotlight but with the way things are going, he could easily take the blame and paint himself as an enemy of the whole world-- Paradis included. If that's the direction the anime is going right now, then Eren's plan may or may not be to paint himself as the main villain so that the world can unite against him and be at peace for a while. That's quite a sacrifice if it turns out to be the case.
6 Villain: Disregard For His Friends
Sasha's death was sorrowful enough even for those who have read the manga but Eren doesn't seem to think so. The best he could do was laugh at his friend's accidental demise. Come to think of it, Eren didn't even care at all that his friends might die in the process of rushing to his aid when he attacked Marley.
Eren might have been suicidal but he never involved his friends in such tendencies in Seasons 1-3. Season 4 sees his drastic transformation where he's almost unrecognizable and even saw some of his friends as tools or weapons.
5 Hero: He Doesn't Abuse Power
In hindsight, Eren is now the most powerful Shifter Titan in the series after having consumed three of them, all of which are considered as the most powerful types. If he wanted, Eren probably could have conquered the whole world by now.
After all, he's in possession of the Founding Titan and the Warhammer Titan; both are enough to become invincible. Any other clever character in anime could have become drunkenly ambitious with such powers. Eren at least seems to be following a plan for some sort of greater good or at least he thinks so.
4 Villain: He Killed Innocents
Then there's this deed, which is the most shocking series of deaths shown in the anime. Never has there been a more destructive and brutal episode since the Battle of Shiganshina District arc. Eren not only killed Marleyan officials but also other countries' ambassadors and the majority of the people in the audience.
That includes women and children. So Gabi's rage is a bit understandable given one of those underaged victims is her friend. Even Mikasa, who is a hardened killer with murderous instincts was shocked at Eren's collateral damage.
3 Hero: He's Doing The Eldians A Favor
The Eldians of Paradis don't exactly have any threatening enemy other than the Marleyans who control most of the Shifter Titans. Other nations still couldn't compete with the titans; that is also why the Marleyans reigned supreme as a world power.
Marley was the single biggest threat to Paradis' existence and the former's goal is to either eradicate or enslave all of Paradis. Eren attacking Marley and securing a strategic advantage against them shifted the scales into Paradis' favor and made the future a little brighter for the Eldians.
2 Villain: He Schemes Too Much Now
Back then, Eren was the dumb impulsive teenager who gets manipulated into every plot conceivable. Now, he's the one calling the shots along with his half-brother, Zeke. It's a surprising change of character, making Eren even less familiar or likable for some.
Some of Zeke's cunning has undoubtedly rubbed off on Eren and he's not thinking like his older brother. The way Zeke schemes paints him like a villain and with how Eren has picked that up, he's looks like he's on his way to becoming one or is already a villain.
1 Hero: He's Technically A War Hero
Last but not least, one of the reasons why Eren is still a hero is that he is one in the eyes of Paradis' people. His offensive against the Marley convene is well-appreciated by the citizens and he's definitely gained some following.
In the eyes of the Eldians of Paradis, Eren is a war hero who can keep ensuring that Paradis will win the war. With the number of medals and officers' heads he's bagged, Eren should have been promoted many times over if it weren't for his war crimes and insubordination. Still, whether he'll remain a hero or beeline straight into the villain role remains to be seen in the final remaining episodes.