Set in a dark, post-apocalyptic world where humans hide from enormous man-eating monsters in walled cities, Hajime Isayama's Attack of Titan is a story filled with complex, morally gray characters, and this includes the series' main character, Eren Jaeger.
In a recent interview with Polygon, Bryce Papenbrook, the voice behind Eren in Attack on Titan's English dub, explained his thoughts on the character's moral alignment and whether he is a villain or a hero. "I don't know. I haven't made a decision on how I feel about him," the actor said. "I think Attack on Titan does this very well. It builds this gray area, and every single episode just drives the story forward in a really meaningful way where it pulls you in one direction and then immediately flips the world the other way as you learn something else entirely. So I'm not sure how I feel about Eren as a viewer and a fan of the show."
He continued, stating, "as someone who has portrayed Eren, I know there are moments where he's said some really terrible things to his adopted family, to Armin and Mikasa. He's doing these things that a lot of people would view as horrific; killing people and attacking people and just being vicious and violent, and I don't fully understand why."
Papenbrook isn't the only one confused about the character's actions and ultimate role in the show; Eren was recently nominated for both Best Protagonist and Best Antagonist at this year's annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Attack on Titan: The Final Season - Part 1 was nominated in multiple other categories as well, including Anime of the Year, Best Fight Scene, Best Director and Best Opening Sequence.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season - Part 2 premiered early last month, crashing Crunchyroll for a short time as fans flocked to watch the first episode of the story's highly anticipated conclusion, and Funimation recently revealed that Part 2's English dub will hit the streaming platform on Feb. 13. Alongside Papenbrook, many voice actors have reprised their roles for the latest season's dub, including Josh Grelle as Armin Arlert, Trina Nishimura as Mikasa Ackerman and Matthew Mercer as Levi Ackerman.
A limited-edition Blu-ray release of Attack on Titan: The Final Season - Part 1, which will include bonus content like exclusive enamel pins and a 32-page art digibook, is scheduled for release on Feb. 22. Part 2 is currently available to stream on Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation, and will also debut on Toonami on Feb. 13.
Source: Polygon
