Hajime Isayama is known for his nihilistic approach to life, which is well reflected in Attack on Titan. Fans have a love-hate relationship with him due to his blatant murder of characters. But very few actually see the struggle that he has faced.
Hajime Isayama began just like any other mangaka, with unfulfilled aspirations and hope that died little by little with every rejection. In a BBC News interview, the author talked about his struggles as an aspiring mangaka.
Hajime Isayama Found it Difficult to Find a Publisher for Attack on Titan
It might be hard to believe but Hajime Isayama had the hardest time trying to convince publishers regarding Attack on Titan. In an interview with BBC News, he admitted that he approached several publishing houses and was rejected by all of them. In fact, he received some devastating criticism from some of these companies, which went on to kill his motivation.
They liked my storyline but said the quality of my drawings was poor. I was beginning to give up because there were so many people who wanted to become manga artists.
At the time, the only publisher who considered Attack on Titan‘s potential was Kodansha. The manga was serialized in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine from 2009 to 2021. Isayama admitted that his self-esteem was so low by that point that once the editor had selected his work and shown genuine interest in it, the author began to question if something was wrong with the guy.
Every mangaka has to go through this grueling procedure and a majority of them are never able to debut their series. Thankfully, Isayama found an editor who realized the uniqueness of his work. As time went by, Isayama’s artwork began to be well-received by fans as well.
What Would Hajime Isayama Do if He Wasn’t a Manga Artist?
According to Hajime Isayama, if he never became a manga artist, he would have probably worked at an internet cafe. He admitted to struggling at school since he was never an ideal student. Thus, he was in a constant state of worry that he would never get a proper job.
Attack on Titan has reached astounding success so Isayama never has to worry about a job again. The same series which was hard to sell to publishers, is now one of the most best-selling manga/anime franchise ever. The author admitted that he got the idea of Attack on Titan from an alien invasion video game.
In his signature sadistic style, the author began to think, what if the aliens ate the humans? He explained that he grew up in a farm and was used to the idea of animals eating each other for sustenance. It might be cruel to the rest of the world, but for him, it was just a norm. Thus, the idea of man-eating giant monsters was born.
You can read Attack on Titan on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
