The Multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little. Or something like that. This is a quote taken from Marvel’s most recent Spider-Man movie, a quote uttered by Doctor Strange. Attack on Titan is, of course, not part of the MCU and has nothing to do with Marvel at all, but the topic of this article suggests that there might be an Attack on Titan multiverse somewhere out there. How? By explaining who Goth Mikasa and Nerd Armin are, we are going to see whether there is an Attack on Titan multiverse.
Goth Mikasa and Nerd Armin are two alternative versions of Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert who appear in the Attack on School Castes. This is actually a series of fake previews for the Attack on Titan manga, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. These two characters aren’t part of the canon storyline and imply that there is a larger Attack on Titan multiverse.
In the continuation of this article, we are going to tell you everything we know about Goth Mikasa and Nerd Armin. Now that you know who they are and that they actually do exist, we are going to tell you everything we know about them and their appearances in the Attack on Titan multiverse. Everything you need to know about Goth Mikasa and Nerd Armin can be found in this article.
Is Goth Mikasa real?
Depending on how you look at it, Goth Mikasa might or might not be real. The character is certainly an alternative version of Mikasa Ackerman who has appeared in the Attack on School Castes series. Attack on School Castes is actually a series of fake previews for the original Attack on Titan manga, all of which are written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series was published in each of the main manga’s volumes, from volume 21 to volume 34. The story of this series follows the misadventures of Eren Yeager and his friends as normal high school students.
In the series, Mikasa is portrayed as a Goth girl and is commonly known as Goth Mikasa (or Gothkasa). She is an absolute fan favorite and one of the most beloved characters from the series. So, is she real? Well, she exists and she has her story, so she definitely is real. But, on the other hand, the series was never part of the Attack on Titan canon and even Isayama acknowledged that these previews are fake. So, in a sense, she is also not real.
Does this mean that there is an Attack on Titan multiverse? Possibly, but that is more of a fan theory than anything else. We shall now list the stories in which Goth Mikasa has appeared:
A Few Words… Can Change Everything.
At school, Eren meets Jean Kirstein, who bullies Armin Arlert. Eren stands up to Jean and wins the admiration of Armin and Mikasa Ackerman.
Candid Camera
Eren, Armin and Mikasa approach Mr. Smith and Dr. Zoë to ask them about Levi, but turn away fearfully after discovering Levi’s cleaning products on them. Later, Eren is harassed by Levi and forced to help the janitor clean.
A Little Something Called a Ouija Board!
Mikasa and Armin persuade Eren to use an Ouija board with them. To everyone’s horror, the board starts moving and Marco admits that he was the culprit. When the board moves a second time, Eren implies that Marco was the one who moved it again. Armin and Mikasa are upset that he would make such a tasteless joke about a dead student.
End Roll
Eren, Armin and Mikasa watch a movie and share their opinions about it. Eren liked the movie and wishes to see a sequel with Armin and Mikasa, if there is one. Armin explains that the Titans existed 100 years ago and longs to see the secrets of the movie that have not yet been revealed.
Does Goth Mikasa appear only in the manga?
Until recently, i.e., until Episode 19 of Season 4 of Attack on Titan, Goth Mikasa was a manga-exclusive character but, as we have explained, even there, she wasn’t a canon character and was part of Isayama’s faux previews for the original manga. But, in the aforementioned episode, while Eren lingered on the line between life and death, he had a flash of memories from his own life and that of his Titan predecessors. A collage of those memories flooding in the aether contained the visages of two favorite alternative characters, Goth Mikasa and Nerd Armin.
This doesn’t mean that the two of them have become part of the main anime canon, but the producers have acknowledged the faux previews and in an act of fan servicing, they have included the silhouettes of these two characters in the anime. There are no further repercussions of this as far as we know.
Is Nerd Armin real?
Depending on how you look at it, Nerd Armin is both real and not real. In any case, the character is an alternate version of Armin Arlert, who appeared in the series Attack on School Castes. This title is, as we have told you, a series of fake previews for the original Attack on Titan manga, all written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Published in each of the volumes of the main manga, from volume 21 to volume 34, the story of this series follows the misadventures of Eren Yeager and his friends as regular high school students.
In the series, Armin is portrayed as a nerdy high school kid and is commonly known as Nerd Armin. He is an absolute fan favorite and one of the most popular characters in the series. So does he really exist? Well, he exists and he has his story, so he is definitely real in that aspect. But then again, the series was never part of the Attack on Titan canon and even Isayama has admitted that these previews are fake. So in a way, it’s not real either.
This might point to the existence of an Attack on Titan multiverse, but that is more of a fan theory than anything else. We shall now list the stories in which Nerd Armin has appeared (sans the ones we have mentioned above):
Bullying Isn’t Cool
Eren is constantly bullied by the students at school and does not know what is going on until Armin reveals that there are rumors that he did something to Historia. Historia is embarrassed about what her clique did to Eren, but will not admit that she made up the rumor. When he tries to confront her, she attacks him herself.
Don’t Believe Armin’s Twisted Words!
The video of Historia and her friends beating up Eren spreads around the school and leads to them being ostracized. At Armin’s suggestion, Eren approaches Historia in front of the whole school and apologizes to her for causing the confrontation to save her from ridicule. As he leaves, Armin begins to plan how to blackmail her for the favor she now owes Eren.
Does Nerd Armin appear only in the manga?
Until recently, i.e., until Episode 19 of Season 4 of Attack on Titan, Nerd Armin was a manga-exclusive character but, as we have explained, even there, he wasn’t actually a canon character and was part of Isayama’s faux previews for the original manga. But, in the aforementioned episode, while Eren floated on the line between life and death, he had a very strong flashback from his own life and that of his Titan predecessors. A montage of those memories lingering in the aether contained the visages of two favorite alternative characters, Nerd Armin and Goth Mikasa.
This doesn’t mean that the two of them have become part of the main anime canon, but the producers have acknowledged the faux previews and in an act of fan servicing, they have included the silhouettes of these two characters in the anime. There are no further repercussions of this as far as we know.
