Hajime Isayama created a masterpiece with Attack on Titan, and the series has action anime fans under a tight grip. However, the path to getting it serialized was a long and tough one, and one that the author battled. And it doesn’t end with just serialization
You still have to worry about the story getting axed, and every possible move in the manga, and if the audience would like it. Hajime Isayama has gone through every excruciating part of the manga creation process and in an interview at Anime NYC, he let out all his frustrations.
The Aspect of Attack on Titan That Made Hajime Isayama Struggle the Most
The ending of Attack on Titan filled Hajime Isayama with unease. In the interview, it was revealed that he was sleeping only 2-3 hours a day. The author felt unable to draw and barely ever smiled. One program even described him as:
Bearing the burden of wanting to live up to fan expectations but also to go against them.
Hajime Isayama insisted that he knew the ending of the series from the day he began writing Attack on Titan. However, his headache was accumulating the details, like how the main character would reach that position. Thus, his biggest worry became portraying Eren and his personality and determining how he would fit into Hajime Isayama’s pre-decided ending.
Yuki Kaji is the voice actor of Eren in the Attack on Titan anime, and Isayama credited him for influencing the portrayal of Eren in the manga. It was because of Kaji that Isayama decided to show Eren as a good guy in the series. Isayama thus had to steer the direction of the story to make it more convincing to readers.
I still have my doubts within myself if I did it right. I still struggle with this point, and I’m really sorry about it.
Hajime Isayama showed his vulnerable side in the interview as the ending of his long-standing series has been a topic of much stress for him during the finale of Attack on Titan.
The History Behind Attack on Titan‘s Serialization
In the interview. Hajime Isayama also recounted how he came upon the idea of Attack on Titan as well as his struggles to get it serialized. The author was inspired by a painting called Kaiju by Japanese artist Kiyoshi Yamashita. Isayama first began to pitch his idea when he was 19 years old; however, he realized that his art wasn’t good enough for serialization.
His idea kept getting rejected, and he was on the verge of abandoning his prospect. Just when he decided he would only try one more magazine, he met editor Shintaro Kawakubo.
He was the first person to say it was good. I was happy, but I thought, ‘is he for real?’ I had my doubts at the time.
After Isayama’s story was finalized, he still had one more worry left. For the next six months, the author spent every waking hour thinking about the story and being concerned about Attack on Titan getting axed. According to the author, around 80 percent of manga are canceled within the first two volumes, and the artists don’t even receive the initial investment that they put into the work. Thankfully, not only did Isayama survive being axed, his work went on to achieve critical acclaim worldwide.
You can read Attack on Titan on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
