Mikasa is introduced as a citizen of Paradis Island living with the protagonist, Eren Yeager, and his family, who took her in following the deaths of her parents in an attempted kidnapping.

Isayama based Mikasa on a real person he met before he became a manga artist, keeping the original idea of her being Asian in order to stand out within the Western look-a-like cast.

Although there are differences between the skeletal structure and muscle count of men and women which affects their physical strength, Isayama did not find that interesting, which is why he made Mikasa a woman who excels in combat.

Isayama also claimed that he intended for Mikasa's character development to be about her separating from Eren and returning to the same girl she used to be during her childhood.

[1] Isayama said Mikasa and Armin had developed a habitual mindset of revolving around Eren and wishing to help him, and that in the future, his intention was to have the friends oppose one another.

Like Ishikawa, Nishimura enjoyed Mikasa's love confession for being able to provide comfort to Eren in the middle of a dark scene.

[7] With the coming of the final story arc in the anime adaptation, Nishimura was committed to the new developments of her character, especially in her reintroduction.

She suggested that Mikasa should be made to choose between her devotion to the Military and her love for Eren as a result of major developments in the story, but did not want to expand on that.

Before living with the Yeager family, Mikasa had appeared to be a cheerful, outgoing, and gentle child; but her parents' tragic deaths had an overwhelming influence on her, causing her to lose her innocence and realize the world's cruelty.

[GB p. 36] As Eren's committed caretaker, she feels compelled to follow and protect him at all costs, even joining him in the Survey Corps.

3, 4] As later revealed, this is due to Mikasa's father being a descendant of the Ackerman clan, an Eldian bloodline that was genetically modified to create super soldiers equal to a Titan in strength, originally designed to protect Eldia's king.

Mikasa's Ackerman instincts were first awakened in the aftermath of her parents' deaths when Eren urged her to 'fight' back against her kidnappers.[ch.

A wrist tattoo of the Azumabito crest inherited from her mother indicates that she is descended from the prominent Azumabito family (アズマビト家, Azumabito-ke), a cadet Shogun branch from the Oriental nation of Hizuru (ヒィズル, Hizuru), whose ancestors migrated from their native land to Paradis as honored ambassadors.[ch.

She puts the scarf back on, deciding she will not fulfill his request and kills him, placing a kiss on his lips, asserting she would see him later.

In the aftermath, Eren confesses to Armin that he had actually loved Mikasa and cared for his allies but did not want to drag them into his massacre.

[24] The characterization of Mikasa was praised by Anime News Network for standing out as a skilled heroine and mentioned that her emotional moments involve her devotion towards Eren.

[29] Similarly, Anna Neatrour from Manga Bookshelf found her as a nice contrast to Eren's rude persona.

[30] Mikasa's love confession towards Eren was acclaimed by both IGN and Anime News Network due to the portrayal of both actors and how the directing turns a tragic scene into a comforting one.

[31][32] For the final arc, Den of Geek and IGN enjoyed the confrontation Eren has with Mikasa and Armin for the first time much to their surprise as they have always been kind with each other.

[38] The song's cover art also depicts Mikasa who has taken off a red scarf that Eren gave her when they were children,[39] symbolizing a rift taking place between the two characters in the show.