Hajime Isayama, the author of the famous manga “Attack on Titan” or “Shingeki no Kyojin”, participated in Anime NYC, an anime convention, by travelling to the US for the first time. He appeared as a guest and revealed many things and also made a confession that most fans needed were expecting to hear.
Attack on Titan is one of the biggest manga of modern eras, and the controversial ending of this series made it even more famous (or infamous). So, even before he arrived at this anime convention as a guest, he sent a message to all his fans that he was aware of how controversial the manga’s ending was.
During the convention, Hajime Isayama had a panel in which he revealed some inspirations for his characters and other stuff. What made the headlines was his apology for the ending of the series. Hajime Isayama apologized as:
I want to express my gratitude to all the fans.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about the end of the story.
I had a very bad time and I apologize.
Carrying heavy feelings, I was depressed for a long time, until yesterday I met you during the fan signing.
The fans told me the ending was great and they loved it and that made me happy and coming to New York was a great experience for me.
Thank You.
Hajime Isayama’s apology to his fans
After his apology, the crowd gave him massive applause, to which he almost started to cry. After this emotional encounter, he thanked his fans for such a good experience.
Hajime Isayama revealed new information about “Attack on Titan.”
In addition to this, we got our hands on some juicy information about the series.
Inspiration for some characters
Hajime Isayama revealed that Gabi Braun was inspired by the character Arya from “The Game of Thrones”.
He also revealed that he took inspiration from the character Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad for the character of Falco.
The most interesting was the inspiration for Hange Zoe which came from a friend of Isayama-sensei. He described this friend as a strange fellow who was lovable. Later in the series, Hange’s personality moulded itself like his friend.
Some favourites of Isayama-sensei
The author revealed that his favourite character, at the moment, in the series is Jean Kirschtein.
Hajime Isayama revealed some of his favourite Hollywood series and movies, which included:
- Better Call Saul (Season)
- House of Dragons (Season)
- Nope (Movie)
While talking about his favourite moment from the series, Isayama said that the backstory of Keith Sadies, the head commander of the 104th Cadet Corps and the person who had a crush on Eren’s mother, was his favourite.
Hajima Isayama revealed that he enjoyed drawing the scenes of Sasha and Connie the most, in which both bantered and called each other idiots.
The Importance of Eren’s Voice Actor
Yuki Kaji, the Japanese Voice Actor of Eren Yeager, influenced him in writing the final part of the ending. This shows how the anime helped him nurture and develop the manga according. He admitted this while talking about Eren’s voice actor:
Eren is a character who I figured out as I went along. When the manga got adapted into an anime and I got to hear Eren’s voice, that helped me flesh him out, too.
The anime’s impact on the manga is by no means small!
Hajime Isayama on the impact of the anime adaptation of Attack on Titan on the manga.
Update on his future works
Hajime Isayama said he has no plans to start a new manga series in the future for now!
The author is also planning on visiting France the following year soon for the anniversary of the series.
Synopsis of Attack on Titan:
Set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from the gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans, the story follows Eren Yeager, who vows to exterminate the Titans after a Titan brings about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother.
Source: Attack on Fans
