The sun was starting to set. We were running to a tree on a hill. The three of us…were racing. Eren brought up the idea and took off out of nowhere… mikasa ran too but stayed behind him on purpose… and of course I was dead last. But the breeze was nice and warm that day. Just running felt good… leaves fluttered everywhere. and… for some reason I thought then. maybe… the reason I was born… was so that the three of us could be racing there. I thought the same when I read books at home on a rainy day. When a squirrel ate some nuts I gave it. When we walked around the market too. I felt it. That these trivial moments might actually be precious.
Shingeki no Kyojin (2009-2021) Thank You Isayama
Thank you Isayama!
A story so close to my heart, I have never been this invested in a story this long, and felt so deeply for characters. I cried many times, was angry, laughed and smiled because of this Manga.
It has finally come to an end and we will never forget this masterpiece that is Shingeki no kyojin!
I was holding it together until it got to this part … burst into tears. It’s finally over, after losing so many people, fighting no matter what, it’s finally over. Levi was a fighter until the end and he made it alive and his comrades are proud of him.
You guys know that Isayama himself worked close with the directors and animators this season to change a bunch of things he did in the manga, right?
He even said he felt the uprising arc was his weakest work and wanted to improve it, since it was published he had no choice, but now that it’s getting animated has a chance to mold it into what he wanted.
So don’t give WIT too much shit for doing what they’re told to do.
An sad moment when Mikasa tries to make Eren realize that he slaughtered many innocent people just to take revenge to what Marley have done in the past towards them.
On Tuesday March 13th, 2018, Isayama gave a short interview on NHK’s Oita 4PM Radio program. A short segment of the show was transcribed by fans on twitter, where Isayama spoke about the current theme of the series:
Isayama on SNK’s theme:
SNK’s general theme: Liberation from Oppression
Isayama on the current theme:
“One without knowing, might become a perpetrator (attacker/aggressor). Because one thought one was a victim, one can become a perpetrator. It’s good to doubt yourself. Sometime it is good not to overly believe in oneself. Everyone has a side inside of them that is a cruel person.“
Translator’s Note: The OP also commented that Isayama wanted to convey to readers not to overly believe in oneself too much, like in a typical shonen manga style.
Q:What kind of existence Erwin had towards Shingeki?
Isayama: It’s important for the protagonists to have a charismatic leader and that person is Erwin. I think he was never in a cold sweat. It will be different if he did. Should I try to draw it a bit on him then? *below is Isayama’s expression when he asked whether he should draw the cold sweat on Erwin*
Final drawing:
personal comment: Bet he always has this mischievous look when he want to do something rebellious. :P
Having reached the sea, what now flashes within one’s mind?
“Approaching the Story’s Core” - Isayama Hajime-sensei’s extended interview!
Eren and co. have finally arrived at the sea, but the moment is also a sign of how Eren and Armin’s perspectives have deviated?!
- For your illustration of tankobon 22’s cover, Eren and the others have finally come face-to-face with the sea! What is your current mood whenever you look back at this scene?
Isayama: “To reach the sea” has always been the centerpiece of the story and suggests the idea, “If we actually manage to arrive at these circumstances, that likely means no more titans exist outside of the walls.” It almost serves as a prize and trophy for Eren and the others after they’ve eliminated all the Titans, so I did breathe a sigh of relief at being able to illustrate this moment successfully. At the same time, I also started to conceive an expansion for the other side. I did feel a helpless sense of, “So what happens now?” From the series’ beginning seven years ago to now, this was like leaving your family home and moving to a brand new piece of land.
In the Shingeki no Kyojin series, the world is filled with titans who prey on humanity. Humanity is surrounded by high walls on all four sides. However, one day the wall is destroyed by titans and young soldiers battle. Where did you actually get this concept from?
Isayama: I forget the original source, but I think it began from the desire to draw an extreme world in an enclosed space.
And, the idea of titans?
Isayama:At first, I didn’t have much sense of what things are visually scary… After winning the Newcomer award, I was told by the editor-in-chief to make the titans scarier. From there, I started to think about what is scary and I thought it was easier to visualize that it would be disgusting to see real humans in such a large form.
Humanity holds an overwhelming sense of despair and are munched on by the titans while the titans’ purpose or where they come from is not revealed. Some mangaka speak highly, ‘There is no such manga that is so flashy that it doesn’t compromise much with the readers, but it’s [the manga is] so interesting’. But when said to Isayama-sensei, he simply denied “It wasn’t meant to be flashy.”
Isayama: Now that I recall about it, I wonder if it was because my self-estimation was low, that’s why I could do it. There was no vanity in it. It wasn’t intended to display my power. I think I was just extremely lucky. Things I find interesting, I do not even know why other people find it interesting too. It might help to say that I don’t have a good brain. I can’t control my train of thought. That’s why I draw based on what am I thinking at that moment. One of my favorite mangakas, Kengo Hanazawa-sensei drew the main character of I am a Hero while looking at his own photo. I heard he just drew everything, all of himself, even though he was pitiful. And then…umm, I forgot the question…
Nonetheless, what is the reason that you still have a low self estimation of yourself even though you already have become a big hit?
Isayama: That’s true. It’s true. I think myself as a fake. I am jealous every day. I listen to the radio while working, but especially to one program that broadcasts interviews with mangaka. Everytime I listen to it, I am in despair. When Hideki Arai-sensei saw a homeless couple were hugging at Shibuya station, he almost wailed. When I heard that, I can’t become like sensei. If it were me, I wouldn’t stop and cry. This kind of human emotion, only people who have abundance of it, can write such stories. I was continuously beaten by this idea/thought.
However, it doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. Below is what Isayama wrote on his blog before.
At the start of the serialization, I didn’t think that I was on the level where I could create a series. That’s why when I encountered this once in a lifetime chance, the only thing I could do was to swing the bat around with full force.
However, Isayama denied it once again.
Isayama:I think it was ok to bunt* there. I felt that even if I couldn’t become a mangaka and I had to work a non-rewarding job, as long as I had this one hobby that I loved, my life was already good enough. It didn’t necessarily need to be a big thing.
*t/n: bunt = baseball term, gently tap (a pitched ball) without swinging in an attempt to make it more difficult to field, push or butt.
At this moment, Isayama straightforwardly says without hesitation.
Isayama: In the end, I only can think of it as luck. Even though I have talent, maybe that is also part of the luck. In this world, if there are other aspects aside from luck, they is only ‘do’ and ‘don’t do’. If you do and you are lucky, it will work out. If your luck is bad, then it is not good. However, there will be nothing if you don’t do anything. That’s what I thought.
Disclaimer:Please do not re-post the translation elsewhere without permission.
Note: This is a very old interview published back then on February 21st, 2011 (x)
The extremely popular author, despite looking straight this way, somehow spoke uncomfortably.
Isayama:That’s right. I try not to elevate the hurdle…But, then I was so enraptured with manga during junior high-school*, now I am trying my best to lower the hurdle
*t/n: Here, the literal translation is, “I had Chunibyo (2nd year of junior high sickness) for manga”. Chunibyo is Japanese slang for a junior high-school year’s delusion (puberty). It happens around the age of fourteen and junior high schoolers either act like a know-it-all adult or pretend one has special powers, possibly with a backstory. (x)
Hajime Isayama was born in the remote countryside within Oita Prefecture, a place that is famous for Sumo. In the autumn, there are Sumo fights for children held at the shrine every night, and it is compulsory for primary school students to attend. While the children are caught up with Sumo, the adults drink (alcohol) and toss coin-filled brown envelopes into the ring once the battle result is decided.
Isayama:I was lighter by 10 kg compared to my peers. I sort of had an inferiority complex. I won and lost, but I hated the cold and I also hated to have intense hand-to-hand combat with friends.
During primary school, he also joined the boys soccer group, but after a few words, he took a retrospective glance: “I don’t want to remember it”.
He also hated studying.
Isayama:I was totally hopeless with things that involved the left brain (logical side) like remembering Kanji or mathematics. I wonder if this is purely an excuse but I heard there are people overseas who have the same issue… When they start to count, their brain starts to be hazy and they can’t think deeply.
He often remembers that during his junior high school year, his school was destroyed due to typhoon.
Trivia: Isayama-sensei is actively involved in charity projects (due to natural disasters) for his hometown. One reason might be because he experienced them when he was a kid. One project is an exclusive meet and autograph session with fans (x).
Isayama:My classmates are mostly good people. That’s why I felt that I couldn’t keep up with them. My inferiority complex was so great. Now if I remember it, it might have been me who let himself fall into depression.”
And he continued as follows.
Isayama:When something goes wrong, some people deny the world. There are people who hurt others, but I think more people choose to commit suicide; however, [I think] most people will seclude themselves into the world of games. That’s what I felt. If my situation allowed that, I think I would have secluded myself.
Dark youth days. The only aid was manga.
Isayama: I remember that my drawing was praised by a nursery school teacher. I always remember that. Even when I became a primary school or junior high school student, I always remembered that. That’s the only thing that meant a lot to me.
When he entered high school, he started to draw manga for real and then he thought, “I want to change the world with this!”
After he graduated from the high school, he entered the Fukuoka polytechnic. However, despite the fact that the school has a major in Manga, he chose a major in Design.
Isayama: I didn’t tell my parents that I aimed to become a mangaka. I told them ‘I want to be involved in a design project for a television program or radio’. That’s why they gave their permission…but soon after that, I transferred to a major in manga. Because I was only attached to manga.
In 2006, when he was still a student at the polytechnic, he brought the one-shot version of Shingeki no Kyojin to the Bessatsu Shonen Manga editorial team, and it won the honorable mention on Shonen Magazine MGP (Magazine Grand Prix). The following year, he decided to advance to the capital. He felt that he was going to die if he didn’t go to Tokyo.
However, he got an interview for part-time job, started working part-time at internet cafe, and a few months passed in a twinkle of an eye. Even though he thought ‘let’s draw a manga, let’s draw a manga’ the days without hold a pen continued.
However, one day he suddenly took the pen.
Isayama: Somehow, I vaguely felt that there was a high chance that when I am 30, I would still be working part-time here or somewhere else and then return to my parent’s house. At any rate, even though it might be impossible, I decided to struggle.
At that time, the initial almighty feeling ‘I will change the world with this’ when he drew a manga, had vanished.
Isayama: I never measured myself with a ruler, and I realized that I misunderstood thinking that I was the best in the world. Maybe if I realized my own capability from the beginning, I might not have written a manga”
However, Shingeki no Kyojin was born from that huge misunderstanding.
Isayama: I drew it with the assumption that it might be useless. It might be more fun than the heroism thinking that “this must be a success!”.
And then, 3 years after it won the Newcomer Manga Award, in September 2009, Shingeki no Kyojin started its publication.
