LeviHan

"Dedicate... your heart."

- Levi to Hange

LeviHan is the non-binary ship between Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoë from the Attack on Titan fandom.

Canon
Levi and Hange are complimentary opposites that share a very strong bond based on understanding and trust. They first met in the year 844, shortly after Levi joined the Scouts. Hange was highly impressed by Levi's battle skills and immediately displayed great enthusiasm to learn more about their origin. This greatly surprised Levi since Hange was the first person to approach him in such an excited and friendly manner from the Survey Corps. Despite Farlan prompting him to socialize, Levi appears to feel a bit uncomfortable and does not give Hange a real answer. He instead pretends to be tired. Hange seems unfazed however, and is very kind to Levi and both of his friends, Farlan and Isabel, saying that they were very inspiring to everyone and then offers to treat them to lunch sometime.

While Hange is often very rambunctious and carefree, Levi tends to be serious and disciplined most of the time. This can be seen in the "Isle's Notebook" OVA, when Levi loses his temper towards Hange after they endanger Oluo's life in the midst of their vigorous hunt for a titan that they wanted to capture. He grabs them by the collar and scolds them for it, warning them not to endanger the lives of their comrades. When they tease him for this, Levi is shocked and throws them back to the ground in frustration. This demonstrates how Hange is one of the only people who isn’t afraid of Levi and talks to him like an absolute equal. Hange does apologize to Olou later on, relieving the tension. Ironically, Levi is also the one who eventually takes his squad on missions with Hange to capture titans.

Over time, their striking differences become trivial things that they tend to tease one another about. For example, before one of their scouting missions, Levi is bombarded by praise from his loud fans while he complains about it, wishing they would shut up. Hange jokes that Levi wouldn't have so many fans if they knew he was such a clean freak. This scene is extended in the anime where Hange then gets over-excited about the thought of meeting an abnormal titan. Levi teases that he has already spotted one. Hange eagerly asks where before Levi leans over from his horse and grabs Hange's hair, turning their head to face him, and says “right here.”

Later, after Levi had beaten up Eren Yeager in court in order to save him from the Military Police, Hange scolds him, saying that he went way too far. Levi then makes an effort to ensure that Eren understands why it had to be done and hopefully doesn’t resent him for it. Similar situations happen with Eren, creating an amusing dynamic between the three characters, with Levi and Hange behaving like parents towards him. For instance, when Levi wants to have Eren do chores around the castle, Hange changes his plans completely so that they can introduce Eren to their titan experiments. This eventually leads to both Hange and Levi working together to help Eren gain control of his titan powers. Around this time, Hange and Levi are also seen joking with each other quite comfortably in front of their subordinates, implying that they have grown quite familiar and relaxed with one another over the years.

After the destruction of Trost district and the capture of Annie Leohnart, the two of them are seen observing Annie's crystal together. When Hange is later observing a piece of the crystal they recovered and ignoring Moblit’s pleas for them to hurry up, Levi comes to get them despite his poor physical condition. Hange finally relents and joins Levi to depart. On the carriage he teases Hange for having such a boring hobby as playing with rocks, which they eventually explain to him. They also both put a considerable amount of pressure on Pastor Nick, trying to get him to open up about the secrets of the walls. After a bit of combined teamwork, they finally do manage to get a small bit of information from Nick, leading to certain events in the Uprising arc. Levi goes to visit Erwin with Commander Pixis in the hospital following the battle with Reiner and Bertholt. While sitting there, they hear a knock at the door, which Levi recognizes immediately as Hange’s, and tells them to come in. Hange comes in and reveals their hypothesis about titans being humans. Levi accepts it as the truth and is gravely disturbed by it, but Hange attempts to offer some comfort to him by stating that it’s only a theory.

Some time later Levi and Hange are hiding out with their squads, waiting for orders from Erwin. During this time, they continue with Eren's experiments, attempting to help him learn to use his hardening ability. When Eren struggles to succeed in using it, Hange grows agitated and yells at him to get it together. Levi tries to calm Hange down by explaining the futility of shouting at Eren in his current state. He then asks if they should punish Mikasa for disobeying orders, since she had once again disregarded safety protocol in order to chase after Eren. Later on, when Levi is having trouble articulating himself about these issues to Eren and Mikasa, Hange steps in to 'translate' what he was trying to say. Levi thanks them for this bit of help.

In a sudden turn of events, Pastor Nick is brutally murdered by MPs in Trost district, causing Hange to fall into a discouraged stupor, since it was their duty to keep the pastor safe. Levi accepts the news and begins to try to unravel the situation. However, he notices Hange’s distress and does his best to talk them out of it, saying that they’re normally sharper, but this shocking event has clearly thrown them off-balance. Even though Hange was feeling down enough to suggest laying low for a while, they listen to Levi and regain their confidence, coming up with a new plan. Levi compliments their solution, saying it sounds like something Erwin would suggest.

When they receive the news about Erwin’s arrest, Levi and Hange split up, with Levi taking the majority of Hange’s squad and his own squad with him to Trost while Hange goes after Erwin. Unfortunately, the members of Hange’s squad that follow Levi are all killed in an ambush by Kenny Ackerman and his lackeys, much to his distress. Nonetheless, the two are successful in working together to learn more about the Reiss family and help Erwin revolt against the corrupt government. At one point, they kidnap Djel Sannes, one of the MPs that murdered Pastor Nick, and torture him for information. All through the process, Hange is very upset with Sannes, causing them to torture him rather mercilessly. Levi lets Hange express this anger but prevents them from going too far in order to give Sannes the chance to actually talk. When Levi and Hange finally succeed by coming up with a clever plan to fool Sannes and trick him into telling them what they want to know, Hange breaks away from everyone for a moment to calm down. In the anime, when Hange kicks over a table out of exhaustion and anger, Levi is the one to walk in on them. After awkwardly staring at him for a moment, Hange apologizes for the mess and claims that they encountered a cockroach. Levi, instead of reprimanding them for the mess or outburst, simply says that their kick surely must have sent it to the afterlife.

Following the success of Erwin’s coup, Hange delivers the news to Levi and his squad that the government was overthrown and the Scouts are no longer considered criminals. The squad cries out in relief and celebrates, but Levi quietly takes a moment to apologize to Hange for getting their three squad members killed. Hange consoles him by mentioning that he had at least taken out the enemies that had ambushed him. In the anime, Hange smiles softly at him, suggesting that there is no resentment on their part. They work together once again to plan out their break-in of the Reiss Chapel after Hange theorized that it was the likely location where Eren and Historia were being held. They infiltrate the crystal caves under the chapel and clash with Kenny Ackerman’s squad once again. In the heat of the battle, Hange is seriously injured by Kenny’s lieutenant. Levi sees this and is horrified. He quickly orders Armin to look after them and take them out to safety immediately, before angrily chasing after the enemy. In the anime, he appears furious when this happens and later instructs Armin and Moblit to take Hange and find a way out of the caves.

Shortly before the Scouts set out to retake Shinganshina, Levi, Hange, and Levi Squad go to meet with Commandant Keith Shadis to gather information about Grisha Yeager. When Shadis reveals his selfish motives for keeping what he knew about Grisha and Eren a secret, Hange quickly reprimands him for it, prompting Levi to try to calm them down. Yet, Hange remains upset and disappointed with Shadis. This comes into play later on when Hange is teased by a fellow Scout for having greatly admired him back in the day, whereupon Hange tells them to shut up. Levi, having witnessed the entire thing, closes a confused Hange out of the room with a grim expression before he confronts Erwin about an issue similar to the one with Shadis. (Erwin was feeding a selfish dream of his own that meddled with his devotion to humanity’s victory.) It is unknown if Levi ever reveals the the truth about Erwin’s motives to Hange, but it seems unlikely.

During the Battle of Shinganshina, Levi and Hange are seen standing back-to-back with their swords drawn as they survey the area. They finish each other’s sentences when discussing the situation, implying a strong mutual understanding of their circumstances. When Bertholt transforms and Hange is caught underneath the explosion, Levi is shown worrying for them and their squad on the other side of the wall. It isn’t until later that Hange is revealed to have survived when they save Levi from the midst of a violent confrontation between Mikasa and Floch. When Hange pulls Mikasa off of Levi, he addresses them in a very relieved manner, implying that he is thankful for their survival. The two then sort out the “Armin or Erwin” dilemma with Levi making the choice to let Erwin die and revive Armin instead. Together they stay by Erwin’s side and witness his passing in peace. Although Hange admits to disagreeing with Levi’s decision, they also trust in him as Erwin did and never make it an issue. They are both the only remaining veterans of the Survey Corps after this event.

Levi and Hange take Eren and Mikasa with them and finally visit Grisha Yeager’s basement. After discovering the truth about their world, they return with the kids and present the news to the people of Paradis. Shortly after, Levi and Hange go to see Eren and Mikasa in their cells where they had been confined as discipline for their mutiny. When Hange questions Eren about talking to himself, Levi tells Hange to leave it alone and says that Eren is merely going through a phase, which Hange does not understand. When Eren asks why he is being released early, Levi says that he is satisfied and teases that Hange gave him enough pain already by harassing him with those questions. Nevertheless, Hange uses Levi's explanation to justify Eren’s strange behavior later in court. Following this, we see Levi and Hange together having a conversation with journalists, Roy and Peaure. In this scene, Hange becomes flustered by a compliment from one of them, but Levi eases the awkwardness of the moment by suggesting the journalists finally write something agreeable about them in the papers if they really want to be nice.

A year later, the Scouts, having wiped out the titans, finally make it to the sea. While exploring the beach, Hange exitedly takes an interest in some sea cucumbers, but a watchful Levi warns them not to touch anything as it could be poisonous. At the end of this sequence, Hange is shown staring off at the distance while Levi gazes at Hange instead. When Hange is welcoming the Marleyans and trying to earn their trust, Levi is next to them explaining that their plan is clearly not working. The two of them are later seen having tea with Yelena and Onyankopon. In this scene the two are shown communicating with each other using only their facial expressions, demonstrating the deep level of familiarity and understanding between them. Levi and Hange are later seen, once again, sitting next to each other in court.

In chapters 115 and 126 of the manga, Levi is critically wounded by a thunderspear explosion shortly before Hange finds him lying unconscious by a riverbank. When they lift him up, they appear shocked by his mangled state and keeps him in their arms while Floch’s soldiers surround them. When one of the soldiers suggests shooting Levi in the head to ensure his death, Hange quickly lies to save his life. They claim that he was killed instantly by the explosion. Floch seems to doubt this however, and demands to see him so that he can take his pulse, earning him a hateful look from Hange. Fortunately the Yeagerists’ attention is diverted towards a newly resurrected Zeke Yeager, who gazes out over the scene. Upon seeing him, Hange is horrified and pulls Levi closer with an angrily determined expression. They take the opportunity to leap into the river with him and get away from the Yeagerists and their gunfire.

After they escape and the pursuing soldiers are killed off, Hange camps out in the forest with Levi. They stitch and wrap up Levi's wounds, all while talking about the situation, despite his apparent state of unconsciousness. While he sleeps they sit next to him and begins talking with the expectation that Levi can't hear them. Hange confesses that they wish just the two of them could live there together, away from everything. Levi never suggests any opposition to this idea, though he could hear them. This shows that in Levi and Hange’s ideal life, they are both included. However, later on when he gets up, Levi speaks about the situation realistically and gently asks Hange, “If we keep running and hiding...what will that get us?” Hange softly blushes from embarrassment when they realize that Levi heard their confession. Yet, while Levi was asleep, Hange had begun to build a wagon to pull Levi along due to his injury. When he notices it, he says, "I know you...you can’t stay out of the action" and Hange agrees with a wistful smile.

Before sacrificing their life, Hange says goodbye to Levi, saying that they feel their time has come. Upon hearing this, Levi's eyes grow hollow and depressed. In response, Levi puts his hand to Hange’s heart and says “dedicate your heart”--for the first time ever since he joined the Survey Corps. A close up shot of Hange’s widened eyes and trembling lips suggests that they are overcome with emotion before laughing it off and teasing him for never having said that before. While Levi and the others are safe on the flying boat, Hange falls after taking down several colossal titans and dies. In Levi's eyes there is a great sadness following Hange's sacrifice. Unlike the others, he does not watch Hange’s death but quietly sits and says “See you” to Hange, and asks them to watch him and the others from above.

In chapter 136, when Levi is thinking tearfully about his memories with his older comrades, Hange is shown with the others sitting around a campfire. Hange and Erwin specifically appear in a separate bigger panel, where Hange is seen with a happy and cheerful expression in Levi's mind.

In chapter 139 Hange and the other departed Survey Corps soldiers appear in front of Levi to give their last farewell to the last Survey Corps veteran. Hange appears at the very front and centre among their comrades in one of the panels, and is the only one with a seemingly melancholic expression as they gaze down at Levi. Their sorrowful expression is particularly emphasized. Levi finally sheds tears and bids farewell to his comrades by putting his hand to his heart, as they do the same. Hange’s expression does change and they are last seen saluting Levi with a smile.

Behind The Scenes
Mercedes Benz Japan partnered with Attack on Titan and had solely hung the Chapter 126 LeviHan panels where Hange tells Levi: "I'd rather the two of us just live here. Right...Levi?” displaying the importance of this specific panel

In a Smartpass AU called the "The Library That’s Covered In Dust" Levi tells Hange that their life is important and saves them when a bunch of books were going to fall on their head. He goes on to tell them to change their shirt as it had become see through because of the wetness from the rain. These Smartpass stories are canon, as they are approved by Isayama. 

Levi prepared tea for Hange in the middle of the night since they were upset after their titans died. Levi later went on to say that he does not mind making tea for Hange. Another time, he gave Hange his prized black can tea, even though black tea is considered a luxury for the Survey Corps and the supply is scarce. The subordinates were surprised as this is the first time they saw a "kind side" of Levi outside of the battlefield. Levi and Hange often drink tea together, and apologise when they don't. Once, when Hange was going through a rough time, they said: "Yo Levi, I'm sorry, but I took a little tea without telling you. No matter how I could not shake off my drowsiness." (Official AOT 1 game, AOTTACTICS, & AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Levi Ackerman).

In one particular SNK exhibition, one of Isayama’s drafts was shown on display. It was of a rough drawing of Levi and Hange standing side-by-side with their ship name above it—“Rivahan.” Since this was drawn by Isayama himself, many people speculate that he may have been showing appreciation for the ship. (See gallery for photo)

In the Official AOT game AOTTACTICS, Hange says "But the one I'm closest with is Levi. He also thinks of me as his best friend and tells me everything!" Hange introduces the 3 important men in her life: Her faithful assistant Moblit, great Commander Erwin Smith, and the closest person to her who thinks of her the same, Levi Ackerman.

In another Smartpass AU called "Shelter from the Rain Vol. 01 Levi & Moblit Berner" Levi tells Moblit to take care of Hange as he cannot always be by Hange’s side.

In an event SNK The last exhibition many merchandise got announced you can buy there. You can chat with Reeves Company too and ask for recommendations. Due to a leak which later got fixed by the staff, Reeves Company showed two shampoo´s for Levi and Erwin already too early. Fans were confused since these two products are not listed on the site yet and asked about Hanji shampoo if it exists and if they could trigger the Reeves Company to leak more too early. We did not got a shampoo revealed as image, however the Reeves company answered: “This is a hair care agent for Commander Hanji, ordered/made by Captain Levi. It has a powerful cleaning power that makes [uncleanliness] go away. Levi uses it, … all else is off record. By the way, it can also be used to clean the toilet.” Levi Ackerman had told Flegel Reeves to get a shampoo especially and specifically for Commander Hange

In AU Smartpass my First Time Around: Levi Ackerman, Hange is the first person coming in Levi's mind when a vendor asked him about his family. Levi thinks about the "new, hardworking Commander Hange Zoë" first when asked about 'family' by a street vendor.

In official AOT game, AOTTACTICS, Petra was teaching Armin to make chocolate and Levi remembering that Hange was whining about wanting something sweet. He made chocolate by himself for Hange on Valentine's day.

Hanji said that even if Levi’s words are rough that doesn’t reflect how he truly feels.

Fanon
A lot of fans noticed the close relationship between Levi and Hange, which led people to shipping them and seeing much potential in their relationship. The ship has thus become more popular in the recent years. A lot of fans see their teasing interactions and nickname calling as a sign of affection for one another. Some fans cite the parallels between Levihan and Eremika scenes as evidence for romantic feelings. The romantic implications of the dialogue between Levi and Hange in chapter 126 of the manga also caused the ship to gain more momentum in the fandom as well.

In addition to this, Levi and Hange have many official arts depicting the two of them together. Fans noticed that Levi often tends to be staring at Hange in a myriad of official arts. A recent official artwork released by MAPPA shows Levi bringing tea for the two of them, while Hange smiles up at him.

There are over 2,129 works under the Levi/Hange tag on AO3, and it is the 10th most popular Attack on Titan ship on the site. The ship currently has 3,034 fan fictions in total on AO3 under the "Levi/Hange" and "Levi & Hange" tag combined. It is the most popular relationship for Hange, and the 3rd most popular for Levi (not including reader tags and platonic tags.)

Depictions of Hange as a racoon and Levi as a black cat have been popularized, particularly in the Korean fanbase.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Levi/Hange tag on FanFiction.net
 * Levi/Hange tag on FanFiction.net
 * Levi/Hange tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

TWITTER

PIXIV
 * リヴァハン tag on Pixiv

POSTYPE
 * 리바한지 posts on Postype

Trivia

 * LeviHan (リヴァハン) remains the 2nd most popular 'NL' ship in Japan with 23,368 works on Pixiv as of April 26, 2021, according to the
 * LeviHan (リヴァハン) ranked the 2nd most popular 'NL' ship in Japan, succeeding OkiKagu (沖神) of Gintama, with 10,015 works on Pixiv as of January 1, 2014. This is according to the NL Survey Results.
 * Hange's first words to Levi (in the side story, A Choice With No Regrets) are "I was watching you at the crucial moment!" Levi's final thoughts to Hange after they sacrifice themselves in Chapter 132, is "Keep watching us."
 * Levi and Hange have a very deep sense of understanding and familiarity with each other, to the point where they seem to communicate with each other without actually speaking words, as shown in their conversation with Onyankopon and Yelena.
 * Parallels:
 * Hange's right eye and Levi's left eye are damaged, both injuries caused by explosions.
 * Levi is a clean freak and Hange does not bathe consistently.


 * After Hange's death, Levi says "See you later, Hange." Mikasa, who is also an Ackerman, said the same thing in her dream with Eren, before kissing him in her reality.
 * In chapter 132, Levi's dialogue "I see your one sided love with Titans still goes unrequited, four-eyes." has a nuance and a different meaning implied that got lost in the English translation. This has been pointed out by many Japanese fans. The particle は in the sentence implies double meaning to it, and that levi is referring to someone other than the titans corresponding their feelings and it is speculated that someone is 'Levi' himself. Later on, in the official volume release, there were some minor changes like correcting drawing mistakes, and along with them this dialogue was altered a little bit. The kanji in this sentence was changed. It is still read/pronounced the same but the way 'unrequited' is written implies mutual feeling/very deep feeling of love. Therefore the sentence strongly implies that Levi told Hange "your love for titans is unrequited but there is a mutual love with someone else"


 * Three years after Hange's death, Levi, Onyankopon, Gabi and Falco are depicted looking up at a plane that looks merely identical to the one that Hange had to sacrifice themselves for. Gabi and Falco just see it as an ordinary plane, however Onyankopon and Levi look at each other with knowing expressions. Fans speculate they are both thinking about Hange since they were both close very to them. This can also parallel to when Mikasa saw a bird that made her think of Eren.
 * In Spoof on Titan manga, volume 1 chapter 22, Petra asked Levi to go to the circus with her, but Levi rejected her because he said he already went there with Hange first.
 * Moblit is envious of Levi & Hange's bond as he believes that Levi and Hange share a very special bond. He describes Hange and Levi's bond as "a special kind of bond from spending many years together. It’s something that Moblit didn’t have with his commanding officer." (AU Smartpass Vol. 1: Shelter from the Rain)
 * In chapter 47 of the official "Attack on Titan: Junior High", Levi himself had sewn Hange's kimono after they had accidentally ripped it.
 * In the "Attack on Titan: Junior High" manga, Levi and Hange are very close friends since childhood and neighbours.
 * In Hange's character interview they made the implication that Levi knocks them out and forcibly bathes them.

Gallery

 * LeviHan/Gallery