The infamous (maybe?) courtroom scene! This takes place in—wait for it—a courtroom, in which he stands at ease on the sidelines as some kid is brought in in handcuffs and oh shit wait that's Eren. Almost everyone's in some kind of weird military uniform, including him. After Eren's chained to a post in the middle of the room, some old dude announces that this is a military tribunal. He then says that the people are divided between those who think Eren is a demon and those who think he's a savior. Thus, he'll be deciding which branch of the military to entrust Eren to: the Military Police on the other side of the room, or the Survey Corps, which is apparently the branch Levi himself belongs to.
The MP goes first. Their leader speaks on their behalf, stating their belief is that Eren should be examined and then quickly disposed of. He explains that Eren's continued existence could spell civil war due to the opposing opinions on what Eren really is. What is Eren, really? The words "titan power" certainly provide a clue, and MP guy continues (his name is Nile, whatever) to state that their plan is to extract information from Eren and then turn him into a martyr. At this point, another guy on the MP's side—someone in a weird, priest-like uniform—asserts that Eren should be immediately executed for getting around the "divine protection" of the wall. The head guy tells him to shut up and requests to hear from the other side.
The man to Levi's immediate right introduces himself as Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps. He then states that his plan is to bring Eren into the Corps as a member and use his titan power to take back Wall Maria. At this point another guy starts yelling about how the Survey Corps needs to stop playing at heroes. It's time for Levi to speak up.
He essentially calls the man a fat pig and accuses him of ignoring both his protectors and the people who would benefit from the Corps' efforts. This sets the priest-looking guy off, and he starts yelling again about how the walls are gifts from god and that people shouldn't lay their hands on them (he kinda hates this guy already). The man at the head of the room asks Eren if he can really be a soldier and use his power to benefit the human race. Eren says that he can, but then it's brought up that, during the recent mission, Eren (in titan form) swung at Mikasa Ackerman (wait, that's his last name, too! what a mystery). The girl in question confirms that to be true, but also points out that Eren saved her twice before that. Nile then jumps back in to say that he'd been investigating Eren's background, and he discovered that Eren and Mikasa murdered three adult robbers when they were only nine years old, and that Eren's humanity should be questioned. This causes a debate in the room between various people, but when Mikasa's humanity is also brought into question, Eren speaks up.
He tells everyone to leave Mikasa out of it, and then continues to talk about how pointless this all is, and cries out that everyone should just shut up and invest everything in him. This stuns the audience into silence, and just as the MP prepare themselves to take Eren down, Levi invites himself down to where Eren is chained and kicks him in the face.
Repeatedly.
One of Eren's teeth flies out. Levi just keeps wailing on him as the rest of the room watches in shock. Eventually, with Eren's head under his foot, he says that he believes pain is the most effective punishment. He also says that the lesson Eren needs to learn right now can't be taught with words. Then it's back to the beating until Nile speaks up to say this is dangerous—what if Eren gets mad and turns into a titan? Levi throws it right back to him, saying the MP are the ones who want to dissect Eren. In titan form, he killed 20 other titans before becoming exhausted, and he has the intelligence other titans don't on top of that. "But he's not my enemy," Levi says. "Is he yours?"
Erwin makes a proposal. He says that if Eren is put into the Survey Corps' control, he will pair him up with Levi as a failsafe; he'd be able to deal with Eren in even the worst circumstances due to his skill. The judge asks Levi if he can do it, and Levi replies that he can kill him, but there would be no half-measures. In the stands, the girl they called Mikasa is giving him an absolute death glare.
Before the decision is made, Nile asks Erwin what he will do about the people of the interior who think Eren is a demon. Erwin replies that they will prove that Eren is an asset on the next expedition beyond the walls, and that Eren's future can be based on those results. So, finally, the judge gives his order: Eren is to be placed with the Survey Corps, with the caveat that he could be back here in chains depending on how the expedition goes.
Shortly after the trial, Levi, Eren, Erwin, and two other Survey Corps soldiers are in a room. Erwin is apologizing, saying it would be well worth the pain, and that Eren has his respect. As the two shake hands, Levi crosses the room and flops unceremoniously onto the couch with Eren and asks him if he resents him. Eren says no, he knows it was a show. One of the other soldiers, who is wearing glasses, points out that Levi broke Eren's tooth, and asks Eren to open his mouth. His tooth is already growing back.
[01] courtroom (ch. 19, 11-end)
The MP goes first. Their leader speaks on their behalf, stating their belief is that Eren should be examined and then quickly disposed of. He explains that Eren's continued existence could spell civil war due to the opposing opinions on what Eren really is. What is Eren, really? The words "titan power" certainly provide a clue, and MP guy continues (his name is Nile, whatever) to state that their plan is to extract information from Eren and then turn him into a martyr. At this point, another guy on the MP's side—someone in a weird, priest-like uniform—asserts that Eren should be immediately executed for getting around the "divine protection" of the wall. The head guy tells him to shut up and requests to hear from the other side.
The man to Levi's immediate right introduces himself as Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps. He then states that his plan is to bring Eren into the Corps as a member and use his titan power to take back Wall Maria. At this point another guy starts yelling about how the Survey Corps needs to stop playing at heroes. It's time for Levi to speak up.
He essentially calls the man a fat pig and accuses him of ignoring both his protectors and the people who would benefit from the Corps' efforts. This sets the priest-looking guy off, and he starts yelling again about how the walls are gifts from god and that people shouldn't lay their hands on them (he kinda hates this guy already). The man at the head of the room asks Eren if he can really be a soldier and use his power to benefit the human race. Eren says that he can, but then it's brought up that, during the recent mission, Eren (in titan form) swung at Mikasa Ackerman (wait, that's his last name, too! what a mystery). The girl in question confirms that to be true, but also points out that Eren saved her twice before that. Nile then jumps back in to say that he'd been investigating Eren's background, and he discovered that Eren and Mikasa murdered three adult robbers when they were only nine years old, and that Eren's humanity should be questioned. This causes a debate in the room between various people, but when Mikasa's humanity is also brought into question, Eren speaks up.
He tells everyone to leave Mikasa out of it, and then continues to talk about how pointless this all is, and cries out that everyone should just shut up and invest everything in him. This stuns the audience into silence, and just as the MP prepare themselves to take Eren down, Levi invites himself down to where Eren is chained and kicks him in the face.
Repeatedly.
One of Eren's teeth flies out. Levi just keeps wailing on him as the rest of the room watches in shock. Eventually, with Eren's head under his foot, he says that he believes pain is the most effective punishment. He also says that the lesson Eren needs to learn right now can't be taught with words. Then it's back to the beating until Nile speaks up to say this is dangerous—what if Eren gets mad and turns into a titan? Levi throws it right back to him, saying the MP are the ones who want to dissect Eren. In titan form, he killed 20 other titans before becoming exhausted, and he has the intelligence other titans don't on top of that. "But he's not my enemy," Levi says. "Is he yours?"
Erwin makes a proposal. He says that if Eren is put into the Survey Corps' control, he will pair him up with Levi as a failsafe; he'd be able to deal with Eren in even the worst circumstances due to his skill. The judge asks Levi if he can do it, and Levi replies that he can kill him, but there would be no half-measures. In the stands, the girl they called Mikasa is giving him an absolute death glare.
Before the decision is made, Nile asks Erwin what he will do about the people of the interior who think Eren is a demon. Erwin replies that they will prove that Eren is an asset on the next expedition beyond the walls, and that Eren's future can be based on those results. So, finally, the judge gives his order: Eren is to be placed with the Survey Corps, with the caveat that he could be back here in chains depending on how the expedition goes.
Shortly after the trial, Levi, Eren, Erwin, and two other Survey Corps soldiers are in a room. Erwin is apologizing, saying it would be well worth the pain, and that Eren has his respect. As the two shake hands, Levi crosses the room and flops unceremoniously onto the couch with Eren and asks him if he resents him. Eren says no, he knows it was a show. One of the other soldiers, who is wearing glasses, points out that Levi broke Eren's tooth, and asks Eren to open his mouth. His tooth is already growing back.