Attack on Titan is a series rife with amazing and memorable characters that deserve all their plaudits, and then some. One such character, who seemed like a rather unimportant member of the Survey Corps until he showed his usefulness, is Connie Springer. He plays a major role in the arc where the Beast Titan is introduced, with his mother being one of the victims of Zeke Yeager's twisted experiments.
Connie is a surprisingly engaging character that fans absolutely love, with his reaction to Sasha's untimely demise being nothing short of heartbreaking. Even though he might be a popular character, there are a lot of things that fans don't know about Connie. The most fitting examples of the lot are mentioned below.
8 Isayama Portrayed Connie As A Kid On His Summer Break
Hajima Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan, has proven himself to be one of the greatest mangaka of all time. A big element that contributed to this is his solid character writing, with Connie being a great example.
In Isayama's mind, Connie embodied the attitude of a young kid who was on his summer break. This makes sense, since at first Connie had no idea about the horrors of fighting against the Titans. He only found out about these horrors after witnessing the conflict firsthand — a moment that scarred him for life.
7 His Name Has Several Meanings
Connie is a pretty common name, which a deliberate move by Isayama to make him sound more relatable. However, there are several other meanings of this name that most people might not be aware of, which relate to his character in the show.
The name "Connie" can be derived from the Celtic names Connor and Constantia, the former meaning "son of the wolf" and the latter standing for "conviction." Connie's surname, Springer, also roughly translates in German to the name of the Knight piece in Chess.
6 Isayama Chose His Last Name Because It Sounded Fast
Connie is one of the fastest members of the Survey Corps. His immense agility makes him a powerful force to be reckoned with, landing swift attacks and moving away before any harm can befall him.
This is a character trait that Isayama had in mind for him from the get-go. This is why Springer is his last name, since it communicates the idea of speed and agility.
5 He Cuts His Own Hair
Connie's hair isn't exactly the most complicated style around. It's just a normal buzzcut that anyone can do, including Connie himself.
In fact, this is precisely the case, as Connie actually cuts his hair by himself. It's a rather random fact about this character, but an intriguing one regardless.
4 He Joined The Military To Bring Glory To His Village
Connie's rather naive nature was prevalent from the get-go when he signed up to join the military. He had pretty simple reasons for becoming a soldier, thinking that his acts would bring fame and fortune to his village.
However, the horrors of war and the fear of Titans make him realize that the military is more than just a tool for attaining glory. So, in a spirited change of heart, he decides to join the Survey Corps and contribute to humanity's fight against the Titans instead.
3 Armin's Predicament Made Him And Sasha Laugh
During the Uprising arc, Armin and Jean decided to pose as Historia and Eren respectively. The reasoning behind this was an attempt to trick the corrupt members of the military, and let Erwin carry out his amazing master plan.
Unfortunately, Armin got the worst treatment of the lot when one of the creepy kidnappers started feeling him up, assuming that he was Historia. When he opens up about this to the group, he gets comforted by the sentimental Jean. Unfortunately, both Sasha and Connie can't help but laugh at his predicament, which is pretty sad indeed.
2 He Missed The Point Of Eren's Laughter After Sasha's Death
After Connie brought the news about Sasha's death, Eren asked if she had any last words. Connie responded with "meat," after which Eren let out a chuckle.
This sent Connie into a rage, who assumed that Eren was just laughing at the death of one of their close friends. However, that wasn't the case — Eren was actually laughing at the fact that Sasha let out one final joke before breathing her last. It reminded him of the time when Sasha was ravenously devouring meat, which was one of the fondest moments he shared with a character who suffered an untimely death.
1 He Was Created To Fill A Spot For The Top Ten Recruits
Most people would assume that Connie was one of the characters created by Isayama to play a bigger role in the grand scheme of things. While this did turn out to be the case, the fact of the matter is that Connie's origins were anything but glamorous.
Initially, Isayama thought up this character simply because he needed to fill up the top ten spots for the Survey Corps. It was only after this need was fulfilled that the mangaka wrote an interesting backstory for one of Attack on Titan's best characters. It turns out that sometimes great characters have humble origins.