Attack on Titan: What Race Is Eren Yeager?

One of the things that we know about Attack on Titan is that this is a series that actually explores racial differences between people because of how only the Eldian race possesses the capacity to become titans and that they are considered dangerous people due to this power. In that regard, Eren is out to free all his people from such a curse as he goes up against an entire world that sees Eldians as monsters. So, what race is Eren Yeager?

Eren Yeager is a pure-blooded Eldian since his parents were also Eldian. Grisha Yeager was an Eldian from Marley before he was exiled to Paradis Island. Meanwhile, Carla was born and raised on Paradis Island and was a descendant of the Eldians who moved from the old Eldia.

Of course, considering that only Eldians can inherit the Power of the Titans and become titans due to their connection to Ymir Fritz, Eren would have to be Eldian as well, as he possesses the power of the Attack Titan and, by extension, the power of the Founding Titan. And these powers were passed on to him by his father, who was also Eldian.

What race is Eren Yeager?

We all know that Eren Yeager is the protagonist of Attack on Titan and an antihero figure many people love and hate. And that is because he is simply a tragic figure with a story that dwells on sacrifice, hatred, and love.

Of course, what we know about Eren is that he has a specific goal in mind: eradicating all of the titans in the world. Part of his plan was to make sure the entire world hated him so that he could force the world to unite under one banner to go up against him. But, at the same time, we also know that he wants to protect his own people from those who want to kill them.

For hundreds of years, the Eldian race has been the dominant people in the world due to how only they could wield the Power of the Titans through their connection with Ymir Fritz, who was the very first titan. As such, only those with Eldian blood can wield the Power of the Titan and become titans or titan shifters.

Because of that, the people of the world hated Eldians. They became the subject of the rage of many different races, especially the Marleyans, who supposedly defeated the Eldians in a war more than a hundred years before the events of Attack on Titan. As such, the Marleyans went on to occupy the former nation of Eldia and treated Eldians like lower-class people due to the fact that they possessed genetics that allowed them to become titans.

It is the fact that the Eldians were oppressed that Eren sought to go up against the entire world as he seemingly wanted the Eldians to be free from the oppression of the entire world. So, does that mean that Eren is also Eldian?

Eren is a pure-blooded Eldian. And the fact that he is Eldian can be seen in how he can use the Power of the Titans and become a titan shifter himself, as he possesses the powers of numerous titans, such as the Attack Titan, the Warhammer Titan, and the Founding Titan.

However, Eren does not possess the blood of the royal line of Eldia because he initially couldn’t use the power of the Founder Titan without being in contact with a member of the royal family. So, while he may be of Eldian heritage, he is a common Eldian with no ties to the royal family.

Were both of Eren’s parents Eldian?

Another reason why Eren is a pure-blooded Eldian is the fact that both of his parents were Eldians as well. However, his parents had backgrounds that differed from one another, even though they were both Eldians.

Decades before the events of Attack on Titan, the Eldian king saw how destructive the titans were and how the Eldians were responsible for the deaths of countless people worldwide. That was the reason why he decided to take some of the Eldians from the mainland and establish a walled community on Paradis Island while erasing the knowledge of the past from the Eldians so that they could live lives that were secluded from the rest of the world.

However, some Eldians remained on the mainland after the nation of Marley annexed the old Eldian nation. As such, these Eldians were controlled by the Marleyans, who segregated them and treated them as lower-class citizens. The Eldians were forced to live in impoverished zones so that they would not mingle with the Marleyans. By extension, the Eldians rarely reproduced outside of their race, as the Marleyans saw it disgraceful to marry and have a child with an Eldian.

Eren’s father, Grisha Yeager, was born in Liberio, one of the segregation zones for Eldians. As such, he was born and raised by two pure-blooded Eldians. In that regard, he was an Eldian that was born in the nation of Marley. Only when he was exiled to Paradis Island as a rebel did he meet Carla.

In contrast to Grisha, Carla was born and raised on Paradis Island. Like all other Eldians born on that island, Carla did not know the outside world or that there were still humans living outside Paradis Island. As such, she never saw herself as an Eldian, just like all of the other people living behind the walls of Paradis, as they only saw themselves as the last surviving humans on the planet.

So, in that regard, both Grisha and Carla were pure-blooded Eldians that were born in different places. But like all Eldians, they were born under conditions that didn’t allow them to be free. And that was why Eren sought to fight the entire world, as he wanted the Eldians to be free from oppression and the curse that the Power of the Titans bestowed on them.