Jin Liu

"'...'"Jin Liu is a primary antagonist, an Intelligent Titan, and a member of the Scout Regiment, leader of the Plague Squad. He discovered he was a titan amidst the first battle he fought in, and hid it from his fellow scouts. He was eventually approached by members of the Plague Squad and chose to join to prevent his death.

Appearance
Jin is one of the only Asians within the walls, a descendant of the Ackerman clan. He has very pale skin, dark eyes, and jet black dark hair cut short with a few pieces used as side bangs. He has a lean, muscular build, and strong bone structure. His lips are thin and heart-shaped, and he has a high nose bridge.

As a soldier, Jin wears the typical scout uniform, consisting of his beige jacket with the scout logo, the belts along his waist and body, and knee-high brown boots. His undershirt is white with black lining. Notably, he has a light birthmark on the right side of his forehead.

Personality
Jin is very cold and calculated, using his words sparingly. When he speaks, it is usually to make fun of his peers. He never shows an inkling of emotion, often just being annoyed by other people, who he considers petty. He stays very cool under pressure, analyzing situations very easily and usually being right about said analyzations. Jin is also arrogant, often dismissing others and putting up a fight when they try to question or scold him. While appearing cold and fairly passive-aggressive, Jin has a deep hatred for his rich family, upset they let his uncle struggle.

When he first transformed into a titan, he was very confused and baffled, showing his emotions and frantic nature for the first time. Jin doesn't care much for his friends or family but has a special place in his heart for Kate, Grace, and Jason, regretful when he tries to kill them, which is uncharacteristic for him. While Jin appears brave and cautious about danger, he is actually cowardly, choosing to join the Plague Squad when he believes they will expose him. He beats himself up for his stupidity and is insecure about himself, like when he was accidentally seen transforming back.

He is very determined to do what benefits him personally. Jin doesn't hesitate to kill his fellow members and sucks up to Keith Shadis, so while hated by the other members, he has a chance to be promoted almost immediately. Jin yearns for perfection, keeping his appearance clean, classy, and tidy while holding his fellow members up to extremely high standards as well. He is judgemental of others when he feels they don't do what he considers smart.

History
Jin was born in Shinganshina to a poor mother and father, but he quickly moved to Wall Sina when his father made a deal to sell his mother to be given enough money to be considered rich. Jin grew up without a motherly figure, giving him time to resent his father and nearly killing him when he found out what he did to his mother. He hated growing up in the rich society of Wall Sina, seeing everyone as pretentious though unaware he too, was pretentious. He refused to be spoiled and joined a small group of mischievous boys who often went out to fight and train. At the first chance he got, Jin joined the scouts training corps and got away from his family.

Relationships

 * Kate Tuhrschwell: At first, Jin was cold to Kate as he was to everybody, dismissing her as pretentious and egotistical. However, he eventually came to realize they had similar motives, both disliking those who didn't work hard and being impatient with laziness. The difference was that Jin disavowed those who were lazy, while Kate simply disliked them. He slowly came to warm up to her and often spoke to her about his past and struggles. When the Plague Squad chose to attack the members of Bellatore, Jin chose to break his orders and save Kate, enabling her to go back for the others. He lets her in on his position with the Plague Squad, and while he thought she'd appreciate his honesty, she was mad about the death of different members and chose to resent him. After this, he was upset and decided to tell her about his titan abilities, which made her curious about him and gave them grounds to meet.
 * Grace Thiery: At first, Jin had a hatred for her, especially when he picked a fight with her and she didn't respond to it, dismissing and ignoring him. However, he soon came to admire her skills and their training became a friendly competition, often pitting them against each other. When he ranked second, he was salty yet learned to laugh about his short-coming. When he was planning the attack with the Plague Squad, he wanted to spare Grace, not only for Kate's sake but for her sake and the loss of talent to humanity.
 * Keith Shadis: Jin joined the scouts under the general Keith Shadis, wanting to suck up to him for his benefit. Shadis had heard the story with his father and decided to mentor Jin, seeing him as a son and Jin warming up to him as a sort of father figure. Because of this, Shadis often over-looked or chose not to think about Jin being connected to the Plague Squad and treated him as though he was completely innocent. Jin used their relationship to gather information about internal affairs in the scouts.
 * Jason Zhong: Jin despised Jason for his cheerful and optimistic nature, labeling him as dumb and making fun of him. He was angry when Jason ranked in the top 10, failing to sabotage him. When Jason tried to be friends with him, Jin threatened him. He learned to tolerate him for his friends but still has a bone to pick with Jason, seeing him as a disappointment and delusional.

Trivia

 * His first name, Jin, is a Chinese name meaning bright and beautiful. Yet Jin's last name, Liu, means kill and destroy, his first name chosen by his bright mother and last name from his father, who was a horrible person.
 * Jin's ethnicity is Chinese.
 * When asked about Jin's relationship with Kate in an interview, the creator said, "Perhaps something is brewing between them but if opposites attract, Kate and Jin would never even come close."
 * According to the creator, Jin is the character she most relates to, her reasoning behind disliking him.