Kenny and Levi's relationship.

-A Thread-

#AttackOnTitan #ShingekiNoKyojin

Kenny looked out for Levi during his childhood and taught him the skills needed to survive in the underground city. He told Levi that he was a friend of his deceased mother. However, he eventually abandoned him due to believing that someone like him was not fit to be a parent.

Years later, they had an antagonist relationship due to being on opposite sides of the coup d'état.
When Kenny finally lay dying, Levi found him and the latter gave information about the Ackerman clan and revealed that he was really the older brother of Levi's mother.

Levi was shocked to learn this and questioned his reason for abandoning him. In his last words, Kenny stated he was unfit to be a parent, and Levi then watched solemnly as his uncle died.

Ackerman's do what needs to be done, it’s wired in them. That’s how Kenny and Levi easily faced off against each other, knowing it may end up in their deaths (though Levi seemed pretty unsettled by the idea of facing off against his mentor).

Kenny admitted that Levi was his pride and joy, though to someone who was about to die. It was possibly something he’d never admit out loud or to anyone, it just wasn’t his style, so he confessed it to someone he was about to murder.

Since Kenny was the one who taught Levi how to survive, how to live his life, this made Kenny a father figure. And as it is implied, had Levi known from the beginning he was just his uncle, it still wouldn’t be that. He wouldn’t be just his uncle. He’d be a father.

When Kenny left Levi once he saw Levi was fit to survive on his own, Levi felt abandoned and hopeless. From that moment on, he always carried with himself the feeling that he wasn’t good enough, that he wasn’t able to meet Kenny’s expectations and that’s why he left him.

Levi thought 'Kenny left because I wasn't able to live up to his expectations.'
This fuelled Levi’s purpose in his life. It’s this feeling of wanting to prove himself to Kenny that drove him to be the best he could be.

Feeling like he wasn’t good enough was a feeling that always bugged Levi.
When he met Kenny again, he could finally tell himself that it was time to do what he wanted since he was a child: prove himself to Kenny.

When they met on opposite sides, it was the perfect opportunity for Levi to attempt “to do something he’d wanted to do since he was a child.”
Levi surpassed him, he showed him that he grew to be good enough.

'Now that the two most important people in his life are both gone, what will Levi choose to do next?'
When Levi was finally able to be alone with Kenny, he didn’t hold his emotions back.

At the brink of death, Kenny confesses that he is Levi's uncle, explaining that he left Levi because Kenny viewed himself not fit to be a father. As a final gift, Kenny gives Levi the Titan injection that he stole. Soon after, he dies, sitting under the tree where he rested.

“Who were you to my mother? Why did you leave me?”
When he asked Kenny why he left him, his eyes are not shown. It is a trope in manga/anime that when the character’s eyes are hidden, they are undergoing emotional stress. +

In the anime, he can’t even bear to look him in the eye after asking that, even though he’s still holding his shoulder.

'On that day...Why...Did you leave me?'

In that moment, he both gained and lost a father figure.

Levi mellowed down a lot. I feel that Levi softened up a little after receiving closure from Kenny.