I just don't want those charred bones I saw to be disappointed in me.

I devoted myself to saving mankind.

In order to understand Jean, you have to accept how brutally honest he can be. He's extremely blunt, and isn't really afraid to speak his mind either. Of course he'll apologize for it later, once he realizes that what he said might have actually hurt someone's feelings. He means well, really, but his bluntness is a really bad habit of his and it oftentimes gets him into heaps of trouble. But, if there's one thing Jean is good at (other than his dashingly good charms and incredible wits) it would be that he keeps things real. He's not the type to sugar coat anything. He really isn't the type to put up a front and lie about how great things are when they aren't. And sure, some of the things he might say will come off sounding incredibly rude, but that's just how he is. He doesn't really give a damn about what the others think about him or his thoughts.

Jean has also always been a little negative and cynical, even before the battle in Trost. He never really believed that humanity had a chance. He's a soldier yes, but no way is he going to sacrifice his life for the "good of humanity". He's not stupid. The only person he really cares about is himself, and ensuring that he will be able to keep himself safe. In fact, one of the only reasons why he joined the 104th trainees corp was so that he could graduate in the top ten and live his life comfortably within the Military Police (who reside comfortably inside the most inner wall: Wall Sina) and away from the Titans. You could call him a coward for this, but he has reasons. Titans are very scary creatures that can kill you in the blink of an eye. He's not suicidal, nor does he have a death wish. He isn't a crazy bastard like Eren is either. He wants to live, he wants to survive. He doesn't want to give his life up for some reckless idea either.

However, after a string of horrible events in the form of: fighting off titans, nearly getting eaten by titans, using the death of his fallen comrades to advance on to safety, and seeing his best friend's lifeless corpse in the middle of the street is when he manages to change his perspective on just about everything. He no longer desires the "safe" and "cushy" life he could have had in Sina. In fact it would be a dishonor to Marco and the others who died in battle if he continued to live on in ignorant bliss wondering which of his friends would die afterwards for the sake of humanity.

It's after that point when Jean takes his role as a soldier very seriously. He also becomes less cynical of how things are in battle, even if they're fighting for a hopeless cause. After that day, he vowed to make the right decisions and to never see anyone go through anything like that ever again. Even if things might seem hopeless he is going to give it his all, or die trying. Jean will still probably have his moments of weakness in wanting to save his own skin, because it's going to be a rather long and difficult habit to break. But, he's not about to go off and leave his comrades high and dry in the middle of battle because he wants to live. He might falter in battle, but he's not the type of person who will ever back down from a fight. Once he's committed to something he will do his damned best to see it through to the end, because he's extremely stubborn like that. He also values keeping his promises as well, and would think less of himself if he broke any he made to his fallen comrades.

Jean is also incredibly smart. He graduated sixth in his class and his stats are pretty amazing. He has high ranks in his battle and initiative skills and his cognition skills are incredible. In fact the only thing he didn't rank well in is his teamwork skills. Which is understandable when his primary focus is on himself. But, he does have the potential to be an amazing leader. He can easily size up any situation in battle and plan accordingly. He's extremely quick on his feet, and he can also relate to others easily because of how normal he is. He's not super intimidating like the others are, and he's shown giving people advice during training. (He's not that much of an ass to ignore someone who wants to get better, okay.) He has his cocky moments yeah, but he can at least be honest when it comes to realizing certain things about himself. He has his own doubts and he knows that he can never make those tough calls either.

As time goes on though he sort of gets a little more... humble by the life threatening events that go on around him? He especially has his moments of doubt and mistrust. Especially when he realizes that they might possibly be going up against humans as well as Titans in this on going war. And the thought of doing such that makes him entirely uncomfortable. When he joined the military he joined under the pretense of fighting Titans and helping save mankind. He never intended on joining such a violent organization, and that if he were ordered to kill a person he probably wouldn't be able to fulfill such an order. In fact he initially freezes up when he’s aiming his rifle at one of the special military police operatives.

As far as strengths and weaknesses go Jean has the potential to be a great leader, he has a vast understanding of how things work on the battlefield, but at the same time, he also has insecurities and feels tremendous guilt for using the death of his fallen comrades to advance on in battle or to safety. He's incredibly talented and has a good head on his shoulders though. He's definitely able to remain calm in stressful situations as well. He however, also has a hair-trigger temper as well.

Because you remind me of this guy I hate...

Jean graduated in the top ten of the 104 trainees squad. So of course his natural abilities are going to be better than your average soldier. As far as statistics goes his battle skills rank 9/10, initiative 8/10, strategy 7/10, teamwork 5/10, and cognition 10/10. He's also shown doing extremely well with controlling his maneuver gear. He is however human, so he doesn't really have any supernatural/magical abilities.

NOBODY CAN SAVE YOU NOW KING IS CROWN, IT'S DO OR DIE.