#isayama hajime

[translation:@yusenki| editing: twitter@braunsofsteel]

This is a compilation of the questions fans asked Isayama about Erwin Smith from the Q&A and autograph signing in Oita that occurred on March 3rd, 2018.

Isayama on Erwin’s Role in the Manga

Q:What kind of existence does Erwin have in Shingeki?

A: 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?

• Left: Isayama’s expression when he asked whether he should draw the cold sweat on Erwin
  
• Right: The result
  

Source

Isayama on Erwin’s Hair

Q:I like Erwin’s side parted (7:3 proportion) hair, but I think it was drawn differently in the middle (of series)?

A: There are a lot of horse-riding scenes and his hair wouldn’t look like this (perfectly side-parted). I became irritated and fixed it. I should have done it since beginning.

Source

Isayama on Erwin’s Mother

Isayama: I am thinking about it now
Bakku: I need to take note on it.

Source

Isayama on Erwin and Levi’s Hand Touch

Q:When entrusted the serum, the commander’s and captain’s hands were touching, was there any intention (toward the gesture)? *laugh*

Bakku: Do you refer to Isayama, or Erwin and Levi?

Isayama: There was no special intention, but for those two, I think it is normal for their hands to touch…

Source

Full Direct Quote

Isayama: Because they were passing items, it is possible for their hands to touch, but intentionally?
Bakku: Intentionally? You mean Isayama or Erwin & Levi?
Q:Both
Isayama: ah! I don’t know about that. There’s a possibility that their hands just moved on their own.

Source

Editor’s Note: The first translation was completed before a fan completed transcript of several of the questions during the event was released. The source has video evidence of the wording and has transcribed Isayama’s words as best she could. Both translations are put down for record keeping purposes and for comparison to give fans a more complete understanding.

Isayama on Erwin Appearing in the Manga

Q: Is there any chance that Erwin will make his appearance again in the manga, even it is just one panel?

A: I think there will be. Like a flashback.

Source

Isayama on Erwin’s remains

Q:What happened to Erwin’s remains?

A:Although at that time he couldn’t go immediately, at a later date, Levi brought back Erwin’s skeletal remains and buried them. Although a lot of people died, it seems that only Erwin received special burial.

Source

Full Direction Quote

Q:Did the captain have a burial for Erwin’s body?

A:Yeah, it was special only for the commander…That day, Levi went back once, but it was impossible to do it, because so many people died. When he managed to, Erwin was pretty much skeletonized. I think he was pretty much skeletonized when he was buried.

Source

Editor’s Note: The first translation was completed before a fan completed transcript of several of the questions during the event was released. The source has video evidence of the wording and has transcribed Isayama’s words as best she could. Both translations are put down for record keeping purposes and for comparison to give fans a more complete understanding.

Isayama on Erwin and Levi’s First Meeting in ACWNR

A:However, the basic settings where Erwin set his eyes on thug Levi in the underground and drew him in (to the SC), was my own design.

Source

Editor’s Note/Disclaimer: This information, while sourced and repeated among Japanese fans, comes from both first and second hand accounts of the event and should be taken with this information in mind. SNK editor, Kawakubo Shintaro, advises to not take anything said in the event as “strictly canon” as things may be subject to change. Finally, many of the answers from both Isayama and the questioning fans were done in less formal/more slangy terms.

**You may dm editor @braunsofsteel on twitter if you have any questions on sources**

[translation:@yusenki| editing: twitter@braunsofsteel]

[source:1,2]

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

[translation:@yusenki| editing: twitter@braunsofsteel]

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)

Part 1 is Here

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.

[translation:@yusenki| editing: twitter@braunsofsteel]

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.

To part 2

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