TL;DR RANTS C:

C:

It makes me so mad when people so easily write off Mikasa as being obsessive towards Eren, or act as though she’s just another “strong female character”, and completely dismiss the complexity to her character, especially if it’s over something as stupid as shipping drama, because those people are missing out on one of the best fictional characters ever written. I think the process of learning and understanding Mikasa and why she does or acts the way she does is the best part of really falling in love with her. Just from watching the anime we know that Mikasa grew up living secluded away from any other person, let alone just living far away from any town or village. The only people she ever came in contact with was her mother, father, and Eren’s father, Dr. Jaeger. Her entire world and everything she knew consisted of her small home and life with her parents. All of that was taken away from her in an instant when she witnessed the murder of both of her parents right in front of her, then was kidnapped by the culprits.

Just watching Mikasa lifelessly lying on the floor of the home she was taken to by the three men, we can see that all of her fight, drive, and happiness was gone. Everything she knew and lived for had been taken away from her, and to put the cherry on top of the cake of sadness, she was ultimately going to end up being sold to some creep who would rape and abuse her for the rest of her life. It wasn’t until Eren, this boy that Mikasa had never seen before in her life, appeared and attempted to save her life.
When the third man was attempting to kill Ered, Eren knocked some sense into Mikasa, telling her that she needs to fight. In the manga, Mikasa mentions that when Eren wrapped that red scarf around her neck, he was giving her a reason to continue to live. Although she lost her old life, the Jaegers were offering her a chance to move forward, and it was Eren committing that simple gesture that made her see this. She hypothetically gained another mother and father. In the first episode of the anime, we see how all four of them, the Jaegers and Mikasa, lived. We can see just how many times Eren’s mother tells Mikasa to keep an eye on Eren, and to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble or get hurt. Knowing Eren we can already say that he was more than difficult because all he did was get into trouble, so the weight of no doubt being told to watch over him constantly, was put onto Mikasa’s shoulders. And to add to that, the last thing Mrs. Jaeger said to Mikasa was to protect him no matter what. Or something along those lines. When the titans invade Wall Maria and Eren’s mother and father died (father presumably dead) Mikasa literally lost her second family. If it wasn’t enough to lose her real parents, she also lost her adoptive parents. The only one she had left was Eren. He was the only family that hadn’t been taken away from her, so not only would that be reason enough for her to be fiercely protective over him, but the fact that Mrs. Jaeger’s last words to her were to protect him only further add to her “obsessiveness” over him.
Within the anime we see that most of the things Mikasa does is simply because that’s the direction Eren is going, or because it will keep him safe if she fulfills whatever it is she’s doing. HOWEVER, we also get to see some key character development from Mikasa, and it’s when she believes Eren is dead. Mikasa is seen to act more recklessly, as though she couldn’t care less if she were to make a mistake and die. And it’s because she doesn’t care. Erin is dead and she has no reason to live anymore, and we see her give up and accept death in one scene. But she doesn’t die or give up. She thinks back to what Eren told her when he saved her. “Keep fighting!”. Those words again make her see that there is more to live for. She comes to realize “hey, there are a bunch of my comrades whose lives depend on me fighting alongside them, but not just them, all of humanity is on the line here, and I just so happen to be worth 100 soldiers! Maybe I shouldn’t give up here” And she goes on to fight. Now obviously don’t get Eren’s words and Erin being alive and thriving confused, because the two are different and if you mix them up you’ll read this and think “well she did what she did because of Eren, she didn’t act independently”. I can agree with you that she didn’t just die because of Eren’s words, however she is actually moving forward and finding reasons to continue to live on without Eren being alive. And that is where she grows as a character.

Basically, moral of the rant here is that Mikasa is a beautifully written, complex, strong female in Attack on Titan, and people shouldn’t dismiss her or label her so easily before understanding her!