Attack on Titan, written by Hajime Isiyama, is one of the best-known pieces of manga ever created. The series is highly gory and filled with countless deaths. No character is safe in the verse. One popular character among fans is Jean Kirstein; however, the reason for his joining the Survey Corps is exceptionally dark.
Jean is very popular among the fans due to his bravery and confidence; however, the moment that made him join the Survey Corps was highly traumatizing, and how Jean overcame it is courageous and proves why he deserves so much love.
Why did Jean join the Survey Corps in Attack On Titan?
Every character in the series can choose between three units after graduation and becoming eligible to work. The options available are the Garrison, Surverp Cops, and the Interior Police.
Jean wanted to join the Interior Police since he did not like violence and wanted to live lavishly in the Interior of the cities. He has dreamed of it since he was a kid. However, he met Marco Bodt, who became his best friend during his training period.
They both grew a lot throughout the years. Jean was about to go to the Interior Police when the Collosol Titan broke the walls, and all the Titans came running through the city and started killing everyone.
Jean and Marco were assigned different roles, and he did not know that it would be the last time he saw his best friend.
When all the commotion was over, Jean discovered that Marco was killed in action, which led to a significant character development. His death became the reason Jean gave up on his lavish life dreams and decided to join the Survey Corps.
Impact of Marco Bodt’s death on Jean
It is evident that Jean could never recover from his death and still gets flashbacks. When Reiner tried to explain how things happened, Jean beat him to a pulp.
Despite not saying it openly, Jean has suffered a lot from the passing of Marco and, to this day, misses him a lot. However, he understands that he cannot bring him back.
But it was his duty not to let that happen again, and that is why he joined the Survey Corps so that the people inside the walls would not go through what he did.
Jean is also a very well-written character and one of the few people who saw Eren as Eren himself and not some monster.
Also, despite not liking Eren, he always takes a stand for him whenever someone tries to frame Eren in the wrong way.
Source: CBR