Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is centered on the character of Eren Yeager. The fan-favorite anti-hero tries to escape his fate of causing mass destruction but he is pushed further towards the dark side. Isayama can relate to the character’s struggle with the future as the mangaka was undergoing something similar during the development of the manga.
Attack on Titan recently ended with the release of The Final Chapters Special 2, finishing the ten-year journey of the series. The hype around the finale was such that Crunchyroll crashed prior to the premiere of the one-hour special episode. When Eren Yeager’s did culminate after the foretold Rumbling, mangaka Hajime Isayama revealed interesting facts about their magnum opus.
Hajime Isayama Related to Eren Yeager’s Situation After Having Planned An Ending For Attack on Titan
Tension envelops Attack on Titan when Eren Yeager envisions himself causing genocide as a Founding Titan. The character tries to change such a future but his actions in the background of the war between Eldians and Marleyans further pummel him into chaos.
The series finale features Yeager in his Doomsday Titan form locking horns with military forces and Marleyan warriors. He was destined to bring the Rumbling, a cataclysmic event that results in the loss of 80% of the population, until he was decapitated by Mikasa in a tragic tale of two lovers.
Also Read: Attack on Titan Voice Actor Explored his Inner Eren Jaeger After He Bit His Own Hand
Eren was suspected of having the power to negate the Founding Titan’s consciousness within him to prevent the Rumbling. When asked about the same, Hajime Isayama hinted that Eren Yeager was fated to bring the event. The mangaka associated his struggles with that of the fictional character as revealed in an interview with the New York Times:-
“The situation with Eren actually overlaps in a certain sense with my own story with this manga. When I first started this series, I was worried that it would probably be canceled. It was a work that no one knew about. But I had already started the story with the ending in mind. And the story ended up being read and watched by an incredible number of people, and it led to me being given a huge power that I didn’t feel comfortable with.”
Given that Isayama envisioned the ending, they based the entire story on putting a stop to the doomsday event that would be brought by Eren Yeager. The narrative was spun cohesively from Mikasa to Eren and to other characters such that fans got a larger picture of AoT. In the end, most of them couldn’t help but sympathize with Yeager’s cause and even victimized him.
Attack on Titan Creator Wanted to Change The Manga’s Ending
Before the release of The Final Chapters Special 2, rumors began to circulate that Hajime Isayama thought of a better ending to the Attack on Titan. These seemed to have no effect since the anime ending stayed true to the manga ending. The rumors were most likely generated by Eren Yeager fans who wanted a happier ending for the character.
Anime aside, Isayama did want to change the culmination of the original manga series. The 37-year-old writer was “completely free” to implement changes in the previously thought-out tragic ending but was “tied down” by the finish he wanted to create for a long time.
“Writing manga is supposed to be freeing. But if I was completely free, then I should have been able to change the ending. I could have changed it and said I wanted to go in a different direction. But the fact is that I was tied down to what I had originally envisioned when I was young. And so, manga became a very restrictive art form for me, similar to how the massive powers that Eren acquired ended up restricting him.”
While it hasn’t been confirmed that Shingeki no Kyojin is going to have a sequel, Isyama could be compelled by the large AoT fan base to create more lore. Bleach had a resurgence after a whole decade so Attack on Titan still has a chance to continue.
