How strong is Bertholdt Hoover? Have you imagined that? Perhaps not. The reason being Bertholdt was NOT in the category of Levi, Mikasa or Eren. He was just a side character who talked less. He wasn’t popular, but he should be recognised as he had a big impact on the show.
No one gets ignored in the “How strong is” series by me.
Bertholdt, in my opinion, is the most underrated character in Attack On Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin. After his death in season 3 of the anime, he was actually forgotten by people, but not me. I am sure there must be many fans of Bertholdt: The Quiet Kid. I give you props for that.
Rejoice Bertholdt fans, a blog post about his strength has finally arrived in front of your eyes.
Before Starting
Before starting the analysis, I want to mention that Bertholdt’s demise occurred when his character was at the peak of his development. I mean, people were really surprised by how he was completely confident and how he competed against Mikasa Ackermann (a demon, literally).
That brief fight ignited the flames inside the watchers and AOT fans so that they could see more of Bertholdt but sadly his end was near.
Before the analysis, let’s learn something basic about Bertholdt. (Feel free to skip this part if you already know it)
Who is Bertholdt Hoover?
Bertholdt Hoover, an Eldian, is a warrior of a nation named Marley. He had the Colossal Titan when the warriors (Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt) invaded the island of Paradis by destroying Wall Maria. This was the main event which started the whole show.
Bertholdt joined the military of Paradis by graduating from the 104th Training Corps. He joined the Scouts later on. During the second season, Bertholdt’s identity was revealed as the Colossal Titan and the plan to retrieve Eren failed.
During the Battle of Shiganshina, Bertholdt was eaten by Armin’s mindless titan hence, transferring the Colossal Titan to Armin.
That was a sad end for Bertholdt but it was really necessary for the whole story. Many things wouldn’t be even possible without that. He is indeed a fallen hero.
Now, I am going to show you the analysis of how powerful is Bertholdt Hoover, the former Colossal Titan holder.
How Strong is Bertholdt
Training
At the start of the training, commander Keith Shadis himself said that Bertholdt had mastered every single skill that was taught. He also remarked that Bertholdt had a lot of potential.
That speaks volumes in itself as the commander said all of it. Only by the word “Master”, we can judge how strong Bertholdt would be.
Like Jean, he had mastered the use of vertical manoeuvring equipment developed by the military of Paradis which was used to fight the titans. That is a remarkable skill, indeed.
The only thing that stopped him from being an even more powerful person in the series was his lack of confidence and his inability to take decisions. He always followed the commands of Reiner, his other warrior comrade and his best friend.
Although for Bertholdt, duty was the utmost priority for him so no matter what happened, he would only focus on the mission and NOT on the emotions in the middle of a battle, unlike Porco Galliard.
All of these qualities of his were backed up when Bertholdt finished third in the 104th Training Corps graduation ceremony, only after Mikasa Ackermann and Reiner Braun.
He finished ahead of Annie and Eren. Surpassing a strong main character speaks volumes for Bertholdt. A lot of this was due to the training received as a warrior back in Marley but from here he gets stronger and stronger.
Destroying Wall Maria
Bertholdt, with his Colossal Titan, destroyed the gate of Wall Maria when he kicked it with his leg which killed several people of Paradis due to the flying debris. This feat is enough to tell how powerful was his Titan form.
Due to a single kick, his titan could destroy the gate of a freaking fifty meters high wall.
Not to mention, his titan could easily wipe out all the people in a several-kilometre radius due to the transformation. It was a literal walking nuke or a time bomb.
Bertholdt had controlled his Titan pretty early as told by Reiner in season 4, so he was a perfect candidate to possess a titan of that kind.
But let me show his human capabilities as those are more interesting for a quiet character like Bertholdt.
Human Power
Although his skills were great, Bertholdt was never shown swinging a blade at the other titans similar to Reiner and Annie. Fans only got to see him killing a regular small titan but without a blade.
The less screen time of Bertholdt turned out to be really necessary as during the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan reveal, his true identity shocked everyone.
The only scene where we got to witness his fighting skills was against Mikasa!
Bertholdt vs. Mikasa
Who would have thought Bertholdt would be fighting against one of the best soldiers of humanity?
In season 3 of Attack On Titan, Mikasa chose to fight or to be precise, kill Bertholdt. Although it was a brief fight that didn’t even take a minute, Mikasa Ackermann was owned by Bertholdt! This fight showed a glimpse of how strong Bertholdt was.
Yes! Really.
Bertholdt showed super fast reflexes that were really commendable. Every move that Mikasa used against Bertholdt, he countered it beautifully. It was a treat to the eye.
There was only one major fight in his human form so let me put it in detail below.
Fight in Detail
When Armin was talking to Bertholdt, Mikasa sneaked behind the latter with the intent to slice his head off which was clearly depicted by her demonic eyes.
But to her surprise, in fact, everyone’s surprise, Bertholdt, in a lightning-fast movement, turned around and countered Mikasa’s movement by putting his blade against hers in order to block it.
Mikasa’s blade sliced the surface of Bertholdt’s blade and he diverted the path of it. Seeing her first move getting failed, swinging the second blade in her left hand, Mikasa would have cut his head off but the quick reflexes of Berthodlt made him move his head so that only his right ear was cut. That must be painful!
Bertholdt then did, in my opinion, one of the best fighting moves in Attack On Titan. He rotated his body in a fast motion before unleashing a powerful swirling kick aimed at Mikasa’s face. Mikasa was able to put her hand in between her face and his leg to block the attack, but the kick was so OP that Mikasa flew some feet away upon the impact.
An Ackermann was getting shattered!
Wasting no time, Bertholdt tried to attack Armin by running closer to him. Just then Mikasa threw her blade at Bertholdt but it was blocked too!
Oh my god! Absolute on point awareness shown by Bertholdt.
Mikasa then tried to charge at him but he evaded the attack and escaped.
This was the end of the short but heavily surprising and entertaining battle between an Ackermann and Bertholdt.
Remark by Mikasa
After fighting the 1 v 1 battle against Bertholdt, Mikasa was obliged to say that to her, Bertholdt seemed a different person at that moment.
Partly because he was confident unlike usually and he was pretty skilled in fighting too. I mean, not many can keep an Ackermann at bay.
Perhaps Mikasa could beat him in a long battle but this short fight really gave insights about how strong would Bertholdt be. If it was Levi instead of Mikasa, then things would have been different surely.
But …
Full respect to Bertholdt for showing his true combat skills.
This short fight was enough for Bertholdt fans as they were completely satisfied with his fighting skills and his overall character personality.
Verdict
Then how strong actually is Bertholdt?
A simple answer would be: He is really strong!
Bertholdt could take out a lot of characters in Attack On Titan with his human form itself.
If he could keep Mikasa at bay then I guess for some time too, he could do the same against Annie. But for a long time, I don’t think Bertholdt would be able to do anything to Annie, but I think he could surely beat Reiner if he would have more confidence in him.
To be honest, his combat kills would be second to none. This was pretty clear on seeing how he stole the show from Mikasa despite her attacking from behind.
No doubt, Bertholdt was a highly-skilled character. His Colossal Titan could beat Armin’s titan easily as Bert was significantly stronger than Armin.
Too bad that we couldn’t see more action of his.
Bertholdt had received training two times. He was a trained Marleyan warrior and a trained Survey Corps soldier. So with the extra training received in his childhood, Bertholdt was really powerful. Getting acknowledged by commanders in Paradis and Marley was a pretty big deal.
Imagine if Bert also had strong willpower and confidence! Everyone in Paradis would be doomed. Bertholdt would be OP. Marley was really lucky to have a warrior like him. No wonder Reiner cried after knowing that Bert was being abandoned in late season 3.
What a sad end to such a pure-hearted character! Nevertheless, thank you Isayama.
Long live Bertholdt Hoover, the quiet kid. Respect.
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