Okay, so the title should be the warning, but this is a long ass rant about my baby Armin Arlert. If you don't want to deal with my opinion, then scroll past.

Start Rant.

Okay, so we all know Armjn Arlert: the precious Cinnamon roll/baby of Attack on Titan. A very high percentage of the Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan fan base fucking love this precious being.

However, there is the ever present haters of Armin and it pisses me off.

"Armin is weak" "Armin is a cry baby" "Armin is useless" "No one would care if Armin died" "Armin is annoying."

These are the thing I always see haters say. And look at that, no solid evidence to back it up.

A lot of fans seem to believe that just because a character can't throw a punch or lift a box then that character is a useless and weak character. They completely over look the character's smarts.

Eren and Mikasa both say that if it weren't for Armin, they would have died.

Armin's quick thinking has saved not only Mikasa and Eren, but Jean, Connie, Sasha, and the others countless times and they all acknowleged that it was Armin's plan that saved them.

But ohhhh nooo, because Armin's physical strength is just below average, he's a weak and useless character. And because he had no confidence in himself he's an annoying cry baby.

I bet every single one of you have a friend or family member that lacks self confidence and needs that extra push just to make them feel like they belong in a room of just regular joes.

When you look at a friends drawing and hear them say "it's no good. It's terrible shit" do you look at them and say "you're right. You're art skills are terrible and you're a cry baby." No. You try to build them up and say something like "no way, this is a really good picture." Even if it is shit.

When your best friend refuses to sing because he/she thinks their terrible at it, you encourage them to sing anyways because despite what they think of themselves, you think they are pretty damn great.

The only difference between them and Armin is that Armin is an anime character.

Honestly, I think that Armin is the most relatable anime character of all.

He lacks self confidence and doesn't think he belongs anywhere, yet he can't imagine his life with out the people he insists he doesn't belong with. At least 80% of anime fans feel that way, thus the reason they watch anime in the first place.

But god forbid that an anime character be smarter than stronger. If an anime character doesn't have muscle, then they don't deserve to live. That's just how so many people see it.

So Armin's IQ size intimidates you so. Every character in Attack on Titan has acknowleged Armin as a great strategist.

In the OVA series, Attack on Titan Junior High, Sasha says- and I quote "A lot of people think Armin is a little kid and a cry baby, but he's actually really smart and very sweet."

So Armin can't lift a box and his punches don't pack a lot of power. But unlike a lot of people, he can think under pressure. He's a strategist.

A war is not won on strength alone. It takes an even balance of both strategy and strength to beat out your enemy.

Rant end.