implied mutual feelings of love between levi and hanji—an analysis based on chapters 126 and 132.
note: this is a more in-depth version of what I have posted earlier.
This post is an attempt to make sense out of Levi’s nuanced dialogue in chapter 132. But before proceeding please read this tweet first to understand the context of this post: link to original tweet
Please also read this analysis done by shunkani, explaining the nuance present in the original Japanese text.
it is important that you read the posts I’ve linked above because what I am about to say here is not gonna make sense if you don’t.
Like always, note that what I am about to say is only my own interpretation of the events and should not be taken as absolute canon confirmation.
In chapter 132, Levi has a line that lost its nuance in the English translation. As explained in the linked posts above, Levi comments on Hanji’s unrequited love for titans but there is an implication that a mutual love shared with someone else.
What if that someone is Levi? When you think about it, it is not farfetched to assume that it was him considering how close he is to Hanji.
Other than that, there is an incident in the chapters prior to 132 that presents a strong case on why Levi could be referring to himself. Yes that’s right—Hanji asking Levi to live with him.
Now I’ve seen people try to dismiss what Hanji said to Levi in the forest and insist that there is nothing possibly romantic with it and that Hanji was simply expressing their want to run away because they are tired so here is my take on it:
After tending to Levi’s wounds, Hanji says,
“Maybe we should just live here together. Right Levi?”
If Isayama only intends to have Hanji express their exhaustion and desire to run away from everything, why didn’t he just make Hanji say something like 《"I want to run away Levi. I am tired.“》 ?
Why did it have to be Hanji expressing their want to live together with Levi? It was like Isayama tried to hit two birds with one stone. He had Hanji say their desire to run away and also to be with Levi.
Another factor in this is Hanji blushing after realizing that Levi heard what they said. Again, some fans have tried to refute this by saying that Hanji blushes all the time.
Yes Hanji blushes a lot but also consider the context of the scene. For second let us pretend tha these two characters are not Levi and Hanji—let’s pretend that they are Character A and B.
Character A is with Character B, and the former thinks the the latter is asleep. Character A then takes this as a chance to voice out their feelings for Character B.
A few moments later, Character B brings up what Character A said. Character A realizes Character B heard their confession and so they blush.
I mean look at it, you could easily pretend that what happened in the forest was something that came out straight from a romance novel or a shoujo manga.
And come on are we going to pretend that the run away and live with someone to start anew isn’t a common trope in romance?
Another argument I’ve seen is that maybe Hanji was just embarrassed that Levi heard them expressing their want to abandon their duties. This one is very easy to debunk.
Remember the beginning of Uprising Arc? Hanji shows their hesitation to Levi in continuing the titan experiments with Eren because they are afraid that the MPs might go after the SC just like what they did to Pastor Nick.
In both situations, Hanji was trying to run away and evade something and Levi was present in both situations. But did Hanji blush after showing their want to run here? No they did not.
Then what else could possibly the reason for Hanji’s blush other than a hint for romantic feelings?
Next let’s talk about Levi’s response to Hanji.
Levi subtly implies to Hanji that he heard what they said by asking,
"If we keep…running and hiding…what will that get us…?”
Some say that this was Levi rejecting Hanji but I disgaree. To me what Levi said sounds more like a We can’t run away yet if we still have things to do.
Levi also said that because he is aware of Hanji’s strong sense of responsibility.
“I know you…you’re not able to stay out of the action…”
He knows Hanji would’t be satisfied in being a bystander.
Another thing to note here is that Hanji is the one who arrives at the conclusion that they can’t.
Levi himself did not really gave a direct answer—and that is expected from someone like Levi who seems to be awkward and inexperienced in romance. It is understandable if he was caught off guard with what Hanji said and thus couldn’t give a proper response.
Now getting back to chapter 132.
After seeing Hanji’s exchange with Pieck, Levi says:
“…So, four eyes. yet another love for a titan gone unrequited, I see.”
So like what had been explained in the posts above, Levi comments on Hanji’s unrequited love for titans but implies that there is mutual love shared with someone.
With what happened in 126 in mind, who would be the most reasonable choice for that someone if not Levi? What if this was Levi’s response or way of acknowledging Hanji’s words back in the forest?
Just think about it. Hanji gives Levi something like a confession and then a few chapters later Levi suddenly implies that Hanji shares a mutual love with someone. The connection between the two events is not really difficult to make.
Like I said earlier, Levi not being able to form a direct answer is expected considering he seems to be the type who would be extremely awkward at love. Maybe he just needed time to sort his feelings first. Another thing to consider is they are both soldiers in duty.
Also can we talk about how Levi suddenly decided to call Hanji “four-eyes” again? It was like Levi is making an effort to go back to those days of normalcy.
An ambiguous and vague confession is also something that is so in character of Levi because of his awkwardness with words. Another is because he doesn’t have to be direct with his words because Hanji and him share a deep understanding of one another.
Before anyone tries to brush this line off as nothing, I would like to point out that Isayama changed the kanji used in the dialogue in the volume release. This was pointed out in the tweet by @/kasumi_kasa as shown above.
The point I am trying to make here is that if this line is something we should just simply brush off, then why would Isayama bother making changes to it in the volume release?
The kanji in the original chapter release was 片思い but was changed into 片想い in the volume release. Both are read the same way (kataomoi) but just like what @/kasumi_kasa had explained, the kanji used in the volume release which is 想い, is indicative of a deeper form of love.
Also take note that the latter is an unusual way of writing unrequited love in Japanese.
Taking that into consideration and the implication of a mutual feeling with someone, does that mean Levi and Hanji share a deep form of love?
See the lengths Isayama is going through just for this one line? It really feels like the is trying to push something here.
Now onto Hanji’s side. If by any chance we are correct that Levi was indeed confessing his feelings to Hanji, then did the latter caught what Levi was trying to say?
In my observation, it is very likely that Hanji had caught on to it because of their seemingly flustered and hesitant reply towards Levi. The hesistance is present in the pause (the three dots) before Hanji’s dialogue.
“…We"ll be friendly in no time.”
Another thing I would like to point out is how Hanji suddenly diverted the subject.
This is actually kind of ironic if you think about it. In 126 Hanji was the one who is seemingly confessing and Levi was the one who brought up their duties. Here in 132, it was Levi’s turn to confess but Hanji was the one who brought up their duties.
My honest take on here is that it feels like Hanji was on the process of moving on and abadoning whatever feelings they had laid down in the forest so they could focus solely on their cause but then Levi suddenly drops something like this on them.
Hanji would be understandably flustered just like how Levi was in 126. Honestly in the end, both of them are just so awkward at romance.
So this is where I am gonna end this attempt at analyzing what was said in 126 and 132. I hope I was able to convey my thoughts properly. If you have made it this far then thank you.
If ever I am mistaken with my assumptions in here, it still doesn’t diminish the beautiful bond that Levi and Hanji share.
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