Does Armin Die in Attack on Titan? What Happens to Him?

One of the main characters of Attack on Titan is Armin Arlert, an Eldian who joined the Survey Corps and became its resident strategist. Due to Armin’s innate intelligence and strategic mind, he was indispensable as a member of the Survey Corps and was always there for the most important missions. Of course, he was also Eren’s best friend and always ensured his childhood friend was as safe as possible. But does Armin die in Attack on Titan?

Armin did not die in Attack on Titan but was about to die when he sacrificed himself to defeat the Colossal Titan during the Return to Shiganshina arc. He was supposed to die after getting burned. But the titan serum allowed him to become a pure titan, as he ate Bertholdt to become the new Colossal Titan.

Armin was able to survive what was supposed to be a sacrificial move was one of the biggest twists of Attack on Titan as he was chosen to live over Commander Erwin when Captain Levi was choosing who between the two needed to be saved. In that regard, he was given a second chance in life and could use it to save the entire world in the final arc. 

Does Armin die in Attack on Titan?

Ever since the first episode of Attack on Titan, we knew that Armin Arlert was one of the storyline’s most important characters, as he was Eren’s childhood best friend. He eventually tagged along with Eren and Mikasa to join the military and become members of the Survey Corps, as they were all inspired to learn more about what was beyond the Walls. And it was his innate curiosity and desire to see the rest of the world that motivated him to become a scout.

Of course, his time as a scout allowed Armin to utilize his intelligence even though he didn’t have the titan-killing talents that some of the other members of the Survey Corps had. His ability to think rationally and develop brilliant strategies and solutions made him indispensable to the scouts. And it was during the Return to Shiganshina arc he came up with an incredible strategy that finally allowed them to defeat Bertholdt’s Colossal Titan.

Using himself as bait after Eren’s Attack, Titan “accidentally” fell from the Wall; Armin got the Colossal Titan’s attention and used Bertholdt’s ability against him. The Colossal Titan could emit huge clouds of burning steam that used the titan’s flesh as fuel. As such, Armin devised a kamikaze attack that required him to attack Bertholdt head-on while the Colossal Titan was burning through its entire body.

So, while Armin ended up getting burned to a crisp by the Colossal Titan’s steam, Eren was given enough time to crystalize his Attack Titan’s body to cover up the hole in the Wall and use his ODM gear to attack the Colossal Titan from behind now that Bertholdt’s titan body no longer had the same kind of protection it had. As such, Bertholdt has defeated thanks to Armin’s sacrifice. But did Armin die?

After Bertholdt was defeated, Armin’s burnt body fell on a rooftop, and both Eren and Mikasa thought he had died. However, they realized that he was still breathing and that he could still be saved using the titan serum in Levi’s possession. The goal was to turn Armin into a pure titan so that he could eat Bertholdt and acquire the powers of the Colossal Titan.

However, Flock arrived with Commander Erwin’s injured body as the leader of the Survey Corps was still alive but was already dying. This placed Levi in a tough position where he had to choose between saving his commander or saving a young boy. Ultimately, Levi chose to save Armin not only because he was a smart young man that could help lead the scouts in the future but also because he realized that Erwin no longer wanted to be brought back to a hellish world.

As such, Levi gave the titan serum to Armin, who turned into a pure titan and ate Bertholdt. This allowed him to gain the powers of the Colossal Titan after he was healed from his injuries when he turned into a pure titan.

How is Armin still alive?

If you look at what happened to Armin when he got burned by the steam from Bertholdt’s Colossal Titan, you would wonder why he could still live through that. So, how is Armin still alive after what happened to him?

He didn’t survive getting burned by the Colossal Titan as he was about to die. The injuries were severe but were not enough to kill him on the spot, as there was still a little life left in him after he got burned by Bertholdt. However, Armin should have died if Levi had taken his time to administer the titan serum.

Luckily for him, Levi chose quickly as Armin turned into a pure titan, which allowed his body to regenerate when he obtained the body of a pure titan. After that, he ate Bertholdt and gained the powers of the Colossal Titan. They already knew that titan shifters could heal their bodies from severe injuries. As such, when Armin returned to normal after he ate Bertholdt, all of his injuries were healed due to the transformation into a pure titan and the subsequent return to human form when he acquired the powers of a titan shifter.

What happens to Armin?

As mentioned, Armin obtained the powers of the Colossal Titan and had 13 years left to live. He went on to help Paradis Island in its efforts to infiltrate Marley and learn more about their enemies from the mainland. Four years later, Armin was responsible for the deaths of countless people in Liberio when he transformed into the Colossal Titan in their efforts to rescue Eren, who had infiltrated Marley to make a statement.

However, when Eren went rogue and tormented the entire world after he obtained the ability to control the power of the Founding Titan, Armin was one of the first people to decide that Eren should be stopped because he and his army of mindless Wall Titans were now ready to trample the entire world to dust.

In the final battle, Armin transformed into the Colossal Titan to battle Eren, who had also emerged in the body of a Colossal Titan. While Armin was losing the fight, he bought Mikasa enough time to enter Eren’s titan form’s mouth to kill him once and for all. Eren’s death ended the Power of the Titans, as Eren succeeded in eradicating the titans from the face of the planet.

Due to Eren’s death, Armin returned to his human form and could no longer use the Power of the Titans. As such, the Curse of Ymir no longer applied to him as well as he was now allowed to live out the rest of his life without that 13-year time limit. He was also hailed as the hero that killed Eren Yeager. Years after Eren’s defeat, Armin became one of the ambassadors that brokered peace talks between the people of Paradis Island and the rest of the world, as the other nations were no longer afraid of the Eldians because they no longer possessed the ability to turn into titans.