Hajime Isayama is one of the few modern-generation mangakas that have tasted worldwide popularity. Many fans believe Attack on Titan to be the best anime ever. While it is debatable, the anime sure boasts millions of followers. Since the beginning, it has gifted the fans with multiple plot twists.
Isayama made sure that there were deaths and betrayals at every stage of his creation. But the journey was not easy. He faced rejections from multiple publishers. Even when his manga was picked up by a publisher, it did not guarantee his success. Attack on Titan could have been canceled if it failed to live up to its hype.
Attack on Titan Could Have Ceased To Exist
The subheading can make several people frown, especially after Attack on Titan had a massive impact on the anime and manga industry. Even though there were some problems with its conclusion, it does not take away any credit from Hajime Isayama. It may sound unrealistic, but the mangaka was unsure about the manga’s success.
Shintaro Kawakubo was the first editor to like ‘Humanity vs. Titan.’ The mangaka doubted the editor and questioned himself whether the editor was truly interested. It was the first step towards getting Attack on Titan serialized. Then on, it was his task to deliver proper arcs and characters for his manga to continue.
It was not an easy task, for he had to spend half a year trying to set up the perfect world for his narrative. He wanted to encourage the upcoming generation of mangaka and gave them the perfect advice. During Anime NYC, he said, “I would say 80 percent of manga is canceled after two volumes, and you might not get the initial investment that you put into the story back.”
According to Isayama, it is better to give your all and fail than to spend the entire time thinking about whether it will be successful. Even Attack on Titan was not confirmed when it was first released. After a few good arcs, the story could have degraded, but Hajime Isayama would not be upset over it since he gave his best.
Hajime Isayama Was Influenced By Hollywood Characters
Hajime Isayama had to keep several things in mind while drawing the panels. Attack on Titan was based in the past, so he needed to add characters and scenarios matching those times. From the inception to the conclusion, he made sure to have zero margin for error. The mangaka is a massive fan of Western culture.
He was such a fanatic that he based several of his characters from popular Hollywood series. The duo of Falco and Gabi were based on Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad and Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, respectively. Moreover, he has a habit of creating his characters according to the scenarios.
Hajime Isayama loved to experiment with his masterpiece. It may be one of the reasons why Attack on Titan became a massive hit and earned him worldwide recognition. The mangaka gave his very best and is now enjoying the best there is.
Attack on Titan can be streamed on Crunchyroll, and the manga is available on Viz Media.
