There are some striking features in Attack on Titan that have made the anime grow in popularity in past years. Apart from Hajime Isayama’s uniquely simple design for Titans, the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear used by humans to travel distances quickly and battle colossal Titans is also a by-product of the mangaka’s imagination.
Interestingly, the 3-D maneuver gear that is synonymous with Attack on Titan almost never existed. Mangaka Hajime Isayama originally intended to make humans in the AoT verse ‘naturally’ gain an edge against their clash with the Titans. The writer later made a decision that rose out of sentiments which was seemingly the best choice.
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Hajime Isayama Created The Original Attack on Titan Pilot Manga Without 3-D Maneuver Gear
According to multiple sources online, Hajime Isayama wanted to make humans in Attack on Titan have superhuman jumping powers that matched those of the Titans. They would’ve been able to rise 10 meters in the air without the 3-D maneuver gear. Eventually, he thought it would be better if there was a fine line between Titans and humans.
Isayama portrayed this idea in the pilot manga of Attack on Titan. Basically, a one-shot manga, which can either be published or non-published, pilot mangas are created as a test run after which mangakas get their ideas approved by other writers or editors. It helps them develop their storyline, characters, and obtain other ideas to be added later into the story.
At the beginning of the Attack on Titan one-shot, which can be found in MangaTown, Hajime Isyama begins by writing that it is “a work I drew when I still didn’t know how to use a pen correctly and couldn’t draw well.” The original artwork for the characters of Eren and Ymir is loosely based on the main character from the test-run manga.
You can also see the M.C. leaping in the air with a sword in his hand and coming face-to-face with an aggressive Titan in one of the pages. No maneuver gear is attached to his waist or his shoulders.
Apart from the inclusion of the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear being absent, additional changes made to the Attack on Titan Volume 0 draft was the Vanguard Corps being omitted and seemingly being replaced by Survey Corps in the published manga.
Why Did Hajime Isayama Include The 3-D Manoveur Gear?
The designs for Titans were realistically created to depict ‘enlarged’ and ‘stronger’ human creatures that descended from Ymir. Thus, normal humans possessing the ability to jump 10m high hindered the realism of the serious storyline created by Hajime Isayama. The mangaka needed a solid factor for human beings to be on par with the Titans.
Speaking of humans being on par with colossal titans, Isayama also wanted to emphasize that humans can overcome daunting challenges without any special powers. This is the reason why he removed all non-Titan-related powers from the Attack on Titan manga.
The 3-D Manoveur Gear gave humans more mobility and agility via grappling hooks. However, they had to practice with it since the strength and skill of the user affected the mobility of the device. AoT fans may remember how some of the best maneuver equipment users dodged fatal attacks by Titans with just a twist of their gear.
