<p><strong>Because he didn't want to.</strong></p>

<p>Titan shifting must have three things to align, to transform completely and successfully.</p>

<ul>
<li>They must be injured enough to draw blood. (Self harm works) Examples - Anne's Ring or Eren biting his Thumb</li>
<li>They must want to transform. A random injury doesn't always trigger a transformation. This would also be counter intuitive from a plot point of view. At some level a need for transformation must be there. (Example: Eren not wanting to die in the Titan's stomach inadvertently triggered his first transformation)</li>
<li>A Clear purpose and Goal for the transformation. Eren's first transformation was triggered by his goal to kill all the titans. Meanwhile he failed to transform initially because he didn't want to fight Annie.</li>
</ul>

<p>Only when these all combine is a Shifter able to transform. </p>

<p>Sources: Anime. I've kept all examples to the first Season of Anime. There are a lot more Manga sources as well.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T11:57:59.110Z
A good example would be Eren's arm transforming when reaching for the spoon. I think this is when Hange realizes that he needs to have a goal in mind in order to transform.
Gravinco
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T12:28:40.947Z
Also, while Eren was under tribunal after his several first transformations, he was beaten by Levi to blood, but didn't transformed.
lentinant
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T17:37:09.120Z
@Arcane For #3, another thing is that they could lose control if they are not completely focused on a goal (if any). I.E. Eren lost control of his titan when attempting to block the hole due his lack of confidence and wasn't focused on the goal. It would be a quick ending if the colossal went rampant
Wondercricket
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T18:34:08.493Z
@Wonderceicket Yes, they can llse control, but that is once they've transformed. They need to keep up the focus after transformation as well
Arcane
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T05:31:39.803Z
2017-05-03T05:31:39.803Z
Arcane
<p>In episode 29 (episode 4 in season 2) of <em>Attack on Titan</em>, why didn't</p>

<blockquote class="spoiler">
  <p> Reiner transform into his titan mode when he is injured from the bite of the small titan in that castle?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As I understand, titan shifters are able to transform by injuring themselves or by others. Can someone explain or did I miss some details?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T03:54:14.003Z
It would be more useful to list the episode number here than describe as 'recent' as recent one week later could mean a different episode already.
Tyhja
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T05:25:21.560Z
SPOILERS! I don't know about you, but you should ALWAYS use Spoiler tags and spoiler warnings when asking about potentially spoiler content. In this case its asking not just about a recently aired episode (which some people may have seen) but also about future not yet aired twists!
Arcane
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T06:00:16.650Z
This question is heavy spoiler
Ichigo Kurosaki
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-03T06:15:36.473Z
@IchigoKurosaki Check the revision history and the question was much worse at spoiling. No warning at all, and spoiler was in the question itself. :p
Arcane
<attack-on-titan>
Manga Spoilers: Why didn't this character transform when injured?
# Manga Spoilers: Why didn't this character transform when injured?
Posted by: username_0 on 2017-05-03
In episode 29 (episode 4 in season 2) of *Attack on Titan*, why didn't

> Reiner transform into his titan mode when he is injured from the bite of the small titan in that castle?

As I understand, titan shifters are able to transform by injuring themselves or by others. Can someone explain or did I miss some details?
**Tags:** attack-on-titan
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It would be more useful to list the episode number here than describe as 'recent' as recent one week later could mean a different episode already.  
> **username_2**: SPOILERS! I don't know about you, but you should ALWAYS use Spoiler tags and spoiler warnings when asking about potentially spoiler content. In this case its asking not just about a recently aired episode (which some people may have seen) but also about future not yet aired twists!  
> **username_3**: This question is heavy spoiler  
> **username_2**: @IchigoKurosaki Check the revision history and the question was much worse at spoiling. No warning at all, and spoiler was in the question itself. :p  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2017-05-03. Score: 8 | Accepted answer
**Because he didn't want to.**

Titan shifting must have three things to align, to transform completely and successfully.

* They must be injured enough to draw blood. (Self harm works) Examples - Anne's Ring or Eren biting his Thumb
* They must want to transform. A random injury doesn't always trigger a transformation. This would also be counter intuitive from a plot point of view. At some level a need for transformation must be there. (Example: Eren not wanting to die in the Titan's stomach inadvertently triggered his first transformation)
* A Clear purpose and Goal for the transformation. Eren's first transformation was triggered by his goal to kill all the titans. Meanwhile he failed to transform initially because he didn't want to fight Annie.

Only when these all combine is a Shifter able to transform.

Sources: Anime. I've kept all examples to the first Season of Anime. There are a lot more Manga sources as well.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2017-05-03): A good example would be Eren's arm transforming when reaching for the spoon. I think this is when Hange realizes that he needs to have a goal in mind in order to transform.  
> **username_5** (2017-05-03): Also, while Eren was under tribunal after his several first transformations, he was beaten by Levi to blood, but didn't transformed.  
> **username_6** (2017-05-03): @Arcane For #3, another thing is that they could lose control if they are not completely focused on a goal (if any). I.E. Eren lost control of his titan when attempting to block the hole due his lack of confidence and wasn't focused on the goal. It would be a quick ending if the colossal went rampant  
> **username_2** (2017-05-03): @Wonderceicket Yes, they can llse control, but that is once they've transformed. They need to keep up the focus after transformation as well  
---
