An Ode To Zoë Hange, Attack On Titan's Best Character
This post contains spoilers for "Attack on Titan."
The "Attack on Titan" manga ended in 2021, and the final season of the anime is imminent as well. Along this 14+ year journey, the series has given us plenty of memorable characters. There's the main trio: the hotheaded Eren Yeager, the weak-willed but clever Armin Arlert, and the cool Mikasa Ackerman. One of the series' best-developed characters is Reiner Braun, the Armored Titan. Despite his hardy exterior, Reiner is torn apart inside and has gone from hero to villain and back again. The series' consistently most popular character is Levi Ackerman (who we could get an "Attack on Titan" spin-off centered on), the bad-tempered Captain who, despite his small size, is humanity's strongest soldier.
However, my favorite character is one of Levi's best friends, and his polar opposite, Zoë Hange (aka Hans, Hanji, or Hange Zoë). Part of the Survey Corps, Hange is a scientist who wants to unearth the secrets of Titans — they love their work (per Kodansha Comics, Hange's gender is undisclosed, therefore I will refer to the character with they/them pronouns). Despite how much they love Titans, many of the most effective Titan-killing weapons, from the "Thunder Spear" missiles to the plus-size guillotine "Executioner from Hell," are products of Hange's dangerous imagination.
Voiced by Edward Elric herself Romi Park in the anime (and the inimitable Jessica Calvello in the English dub), Hange's presence always lights up the page/screen.
Personality enough for the whole cast
A lot of characters in "Attack on Titan" are stoic. It makes sense since they're in the military, but between that, their uniform designs, and their high casualty rates, it can be difficult to care about one soldier over the other. But not with Hange. They provide a break from stoicism; their personality is so big that it can't escape your notice. While Hange wears the same uniform as the other characters, their goggles (and later eyepatch) are some of the most distinctive fashion features any of the leads have.
Hange's go-to reaction to any sort of excitement is an overreaction, usually with screaming or jumping in the air. They're quite a motormouth too, and often when they're belting a sentence, the intensity of their voice (and Park/Calvello's performances) ratchets up the more they talk. Often Hange is so hammy they come off as oblivious. Between this and their sense of humor, they often steal a scene just by being there.
This is also why their friendship with Levi is such a smart pairing. Levi is the most sullen character in an entire cast of sad sacks, and he's often annoyed by Hange's antics. However, Hange never takes his insults to heart, and as the series goes on, they only get better at working together.
Part of that is because, beneath their goofy demeanor, Hange can be quite ruthless, at least to their enemies. During season 3, Hange and Levi partner to torture captured military police officers for information. However, Hange is only compassionate towards their comrades. In the side OVA, "Ilse's Notebook: Memoirs of a Scout Regiment Member," Hange discovers the journal of a long-dead Scout, Ilse Lagnar, outside the wall. They return Ilse's cape and the journal to their parents.
RIP to the GOAT
Alas, "Attack On Titan: The Final Season" finally caught up to chapter 131 of the manga, where Hange meets their doom. During season 4, they had been promoted to become commander of the Survey Corps. In that leadership, they were also the one who pushed for peace and brought an unlikely alliance to stop a horde of Colossal Titans from "Rumbling" the world. No good commander will order their men to sacrifice themselves for the greater good when they themselves are unwilling to. So, Hange gives their life to hold off the approaching Rumbling while the rest of the Alliance escapes.
Hange shares a last goodbye with Levi, who finally delivers a proper military salute, laying his fist on Hange's chest and telling them, "Dedicate your Heart." In previous seasons, everyone joked that the incautious Hange would meet their end thanks to a Titan. True enough, Hange dies a grisly death; they pick off some Titans with Thunder Spears but are ultimately charred to death by the resulting steam. Once they fall, their corpse is left trampled.
However, Hange awakens in what may be the afterlife or just a dying dream. Surrounding them is all the other members of the Survey Corps who previously gave their lives. With Hange having completed their last mission, they're welcomed to their rest with open arms. While it would've been nice for Hange to see the end of the story, they died in the company of their two loves: the Titans and their comrades.