Attack on Titan: Jean Kirstein (INTJ)

Although Jean Kirstein is often typed as an ESTJ, we think the case is stronger for INTJ. Obviously, you may disagree, but I hope you give our case fair consideration.

Ni:

“All I can think about is how it’ll end, which one of us is next, and whether it’ll be me.”

“Did I or did I not tell you this day would eventually come? Look at yourself! Our fate’s in your hands. We’re out there putting our lives on the line, and this is all we can expect from our last best hope?!”

“What’s wrong with you people? Am I seriously the only one who saw this coming?”

“Think. Let’s say we figure out a way to stop Eren. What comes after that? Assuming he lives, he’s got the power of the founder for four more years. What do we once he’s gone? We’re still monsters in the eyes of the world. And after this, they’ll only be more terrified of us. If we stop Eren now, we’ll be guaranteeing the destruction of this island.”

Despite popular opinion, Jean appears to be an INTJ, leading with dominant Ni. He’s constantly concerned with looking ahead, to know what’s coming. Due to this mentality, Jean seems shocked when people fail to anticipate certain happenings. In his mind, it should have been obvious. As a result, he often berates people for this failure, and at times, says statements equivalent to “I told you so.”

Due to his desire to anticipate the future, Jean tends to speculate about the meaning or implication behind whatever is currently happening. This is actually a way that him and Armin link up. The Female Titan arc is a prime example of this. He spends nearly the entire time conversing with Armin, wondering why everything was happening, why didn’t they retreat, why stop here, etc. More importantly, he and Armin both read into the implications of what the moves meant, both quickly concluding that they all had been lied to and that things were not as they had been presented. This includes the time they are on horseback, riding toward the forest, and when they’re posted at the edge of the forest. He constantly questions why they’re doing what they’re doing and what it might mean about the bigger picture.

During moments of strategizing, Jean often encourages others to consider the long term implications. He plays devil’s advocate, during season 4, when a few of them meet up to devise a way to stop Eren from destroying the world, by considering what might happen after if they managed to succeed. Similarly, during an earlier conflict, Armin tells them all to retreat, but Jean tells him to stop and think. Jean points out what would happen if they failed to act now, and convinces Armin to devise a strategy.

Te:

“Show us what you’re worth. Prove it to us. We’re asking you to make us believe that you’re worth dying for.”

“Don’t cry for him. He would have done the same thing to us.”

“Better to play the system than get gnawed on.”

Jean’s auxiliary Te leads him to be practical, effective, and straightforward to the point of being abrasive. He’s good at speaking his mind, which can create conflict with those around him. This is shown right from the beginning of the series, as he butts heads with Eren and other classmates. He likes to call people out on their nonsense. For instance, when Marco talks about it being a great honor to protect the king, Jean cuts him off and says that Marco’s desire to serve in the interior had nothing to with protecting the king, but rather his own selfish desire for safety and comfort.

Jean places emphasis on being effective. This is why he starts demanding that Eren prove his worth when people start touting him as humanity’s hope. He wants to see that Eren is capable of achieving what they are claiming. In addition, Jean is actually good at taking command and being decisive. He frequently takes command on the battlefield, when in an isolated group of his peers. During an instance with Armin, He tells Armin that he is fine with making judgement calls, so long as Armin can come up with the grand plan. (He recognizes that Armin is more effective at strategy, and naturally yields that role to him.) Jean’s friend, Marco, actually notes that Jean is a good leader in spite of Jean’s distaste for the responsiblilty of the position.

Jean is prone to playing the system, and tends to put the mission over his own personal desires. He complains constantly about having to do what he doesn’t want to, but he ultimately always yields to the hierarchy or structure that he’s under. As a result, Jean openly admits (early on in the show) to playing the system so he can get a job in the interior, in order to be safe from the Titans. He doesn’t hide the statement behind a value, but states it plainly, without shame. This all shows Te being prioritized above Fi.

Fi:

“If it’s that easy for the fight to turn us all into monsters, then maybe we don’t deserve to win.”

“First of all, I’m a whole lot smarter than Eren. We’d replace this suicidal maniac with a gifted leader who shows good judgement in all situations, a rare specimen who can perform whatever duty is required. I don’t much like getting his hand-me-downs, but hey, I’m the best candidate for the job.”

“You’re right. If I had any sense at all, I’d be sitting in my room with my ears plugged right now. But no, then that burning pile of bones would have haunted me for the rest of my life.”

Jean’s tertiary Fi surfaces quite plainly. He’s driven by a sense of a moral obligation, much to his own dismay. He can’t supress it, or shut it off, however much he might want to. Instead, he’s always pushing himself forward into decisions that he knows he should make, even when he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t delude himself, or convince himself that he’s something that he’s not. He never loses his sense of self. Instead, he complains incessantly when he has to put himself down.

In stark contrast to Armin, Jean struggles with the idea that they have to become monsters to defeat their enemies. He suggests that maybe they don’t actually deserve to win, if that’s the case. This demonstrates his desire to prioritize his values and sense of self, rather than fully adapting to the external in order to achieve a goal.

Jean also displays some typical tertiary feeling, when he and his friends are discussing who will replace Eren as the Attack Titan. (Second quote at the top of this section.) He suddenly starts hyping up all of his strengths, coming off extremely overconfident in himself and his personal value.

Se:

“The ones who really suck are the suicidal maniacs who think the only way to fight is to charge in blind, right?”

“I’ll have them set me up with some prime real estate in the interior. All day and night, I’ll sit and sip on the finest liquor money can buy. I won’t care what anyone says about it. After what I’ve gone through, my wife and kids and their kids deserve to live the good life.”

Jean’s inferior Se surfaces in strong desire for self-preservation, and desire to avoid dangerous situations. He struggles deeply with the idea of getting a post where he’ll fight Titans, and risk being eaten. Although, he ends up doing so out of a sense of duty. Later on, when we see him battling over whether to join up with Floch, he imagines finally having that life in the interior that he always wanted. He essentially envisions having a nice house, being able to lie around, drink fine liquor, and live the good life. This picture seems like low Se specifically, since the focus is on finally being able to indulge in the sensory.

Jean berates people for being impulsive. Eren specifically gets the brunt of this. Jean declares Eren to be a suicidal maniac, calling him out for charging into situations blind. This shows his inferior Se in conflict with higher extraverted perceiving. As someone who doesn’t want to charge in on a whim, without a plan or any idea of what might happen, Jean struggles with people who act the opposite, wishing they’d be more cautious.