進撃の巨人 (Shingeki no Kyojin) or Attack on Titan is one of the most popular anime series this summer, and for a good reason! Its story revolves around mankind’s struggle against Titans, mindless giants who have an unsettling resemblance to humans and have caused so much death and destruction that survivors were forced to retreat behind walled cities to continue living.
The series itself is tightly plotted and beautifully animated, but what sets it apart from the rest is its complex, incredibly sympathetic cast. Eren Yeager, the main character, is probably the angriest, most bloodthirsty protagonist to ever be given the role of a ‘good guy.’ His defining characteristic is his intense hatred of Titans, and his desire to kill them all—but he’s so interesting because he’s so different from what people normally expect a protagonist to be. When he joins the Scouting Legion, a military branch who have been tasked to explore the world outside the walls while battling Titans, we get introduced to a huge array of interesting, believable characters—and since this is a series with an enormous body count, the fans watch each episode worried that their favorite might not make it to the next. (This is a legitimate worry—they really don’t, sometimes!)
The biggest fan favorite is Levi, humanity’s strongest soldier and the squad leader of the Special Operations Squad. He first appears to be violent, crude, and unapproachable, but is later shown to be compassionate towards his subordinates. He’s also inexplicably obsessed with cleanliness and poop jokes, and that unexpected side of him has endeared him to a lot of fans. And I do mean a lot—he ranked first on a character popularity poll published in the Attack on Titan guide book INSIDE.
One of Levi’s most memorable scenes is when he wraps a towel around the lower half of his face and ties a kerchief to keep his hair back in order to tidy up an abandoned castle his squad was planning to use as a fort. The contrast between this act of domesticity and his reputation was really charming!
Since he’s such a popular character, it’s unsurprising that a lot of Attack on Titan merchandise feature him prominently. Good Smile Company has already announced that they’re releasing a figma of him, Sentinel has announced that they’re making a scale figure, and quite a few companies are making Attack on Titan rubber keychains. One of the most coveted ones are Kotobukiya’s rubber keychain set of most popular characters, including: Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha, Christa, Levi, Hanji, the Colossal Titan, and younger Eren, Mikasa and Armin. If you buy the set from Kotobukiya Japan, they’ll include a special exclusive keychain of Levi in his unforgettable cleaning outfit!
If you’re worried about how you’ll be able to get it, then worry no more! FromJapan can order it for you via Rakuten or Yahoo!Japan; just use the keywords ラバーストラップコレクション 進撃の巨人.
