Though Levi is a supporting character, his backstory is explored when dealing with his former mentor Kenny during the main series as well as in the spin-off manga Attack on Titan: No Regrets.

Critical response to Levi Ackerman's character was widely acclaimed for his supporting role with the main cast and most notably, his relationship with Kenny.

Mercer stated it was "an absolute joy to perform this extremely complicated, dark, intense, and still kind of heroic character".

He was in a near-death state until Hange Zoe found him and escaped with his body later to make an alliance with Commander Theo Magath and Pieck Finger in order to take down Eren Jaeger.

Levi was part of a band of thieves alongside his partner Furlan Church, who would use maneuver gear to commit various heists to help each other out.

One day, they meet a girl named Isabel Magnolia, who was chased after by guards for trying to get an injured bird back to the surface, and decide to take her in as one of their group.

Levi, Furlan, and Isabel begin their lives in the Survey Corps under the watch of Flagen, who is less than pleased about being joined by criminals, all while recalling the mysterious man's request to kill Erwin and steal one of his documents.

Later, Levi decides to make use of a heavy rainfall to get close to Erwin, but when he returns, he discovers Titans had ambushed and killed the rest of his squad, including Furlan and Isabel.

[11] Levi's costume also showed up as limited time purchasable skins for Jake Park in Dead by Daylight and Daniel Yatsu in Call of Duty: Vanguard.

[15] In the 3rd Newtype Anime Awards, Levi was voted fifth best male character and Hiroshi Kamiya took 2nd place in best voice actor.

[28] Anime News Network also praised Mercer's voice acting for making Levi's character appeal to the audience.

[29] The tragic nature of Levi and Kenny's relationship was praised for how it was handled as well as the end of their fights in the series' third season.

[30] Following the ending of season 3, Den of Geek looked forward to Levi's actions in the final story arc as whether or not he can kill Eren as a result of change of the status quo.

[34] While revisiting the episodes, the website noted that Levi's backstory and his relationship with other characters help in establishing his characterization from the main series.

[35] While noting that Levi shared little changes between the OVAs and the main series, UK Anime Network felt the spin-off is interesting at developing his relationship with Erwin and the motivation of living in a better style after being hidden underground.