Attack on Titan has become one of the greatest anime ever. But the journey was not always easy. Apart from the finale controversy, there were other things that Hajime Isayama had to consider. He needed to be careful before he finalized each draft of his manga.
Sexism was something that he had to be careful with. It was a challenge for the mangaka since he had to change his views mid-way. Since another human colony, Marleyans, was introduced, his projection on the matter changed. He needed it to carry a touch of reality, even though it was based on a fictitious world.
Hajime Isayama’s Reality Check Was Important For Attack on Titan
The Paradise Army or the Military Police Brigade did not discriminate between genders. Whoever was capable and passed the tests would join the brigade. As a result, there were several female soldiers on Paradise Island. But when it came to Marley, men were soldiers while the females looked after the house and children. The sexism was predominantly projected in Attack on Titan.
Hajime Isayama purposely projected it so that the fans could relate to it. During an interview, he said,
Up until recently, I had drawn as if sexism wasn’t a thing, but when drawing the Marleyan military, which was comparatively more modern, if I had added, with no explanation whatsoever, female soldiers like I did for Paradis Island, it could’ve given the impression that Marley was quite a developed nation. It would’ve felt out of place.
He added, “That’s why, as long as I was drawing a story set in an era of the past, I couldn’t draw female characters as part of the top brass of the military because it would’ve meant acting as if there was no actual history of gender discrimination at the time. It might be a story set in a fictitious world, but if you don’t connect it in some ways to the real world, it could end up becoming a story people cannot relate to.”
Sexism is an old concept, but it is recently that people have started to raise their voices against it. Since Attack on Titan is based on a past civilization, he used sexism freely. It proved helpful in the anime becoming expressive. It is often the minute details that turn out to be game-changers.
Marleyans Were Powerless On Several Grounds
Sexism was habitual in Marley. But it never bothered them since the idea was fed to them since the beginning. The beauty of Isayama’s writing helped project a raging issue with such ease. But sexism was not the only thing that made them less powerful.
Their biggest disadvantage was that Marleyans could not become Titan Shifters even if they wanted to. The only criterion for becoming a Titan Shifter is to belong to Ymir’s bloodline. The Eldians were Ymir’s direct descendants and enjoyed the luxury.
It might have been the reason why sexism was so supported in Marley. Lacking Titan power made them turn more males into soldiers. The belief of men being physically stronger than women came into play. Moreover, they did not have genetically enhanced humans like the Ackerman clan.
Attack on Titan can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
