Recently the latest Isayama interview has been leaked to the public.
And Isayama felt pretty charitable in this interview, disclosing an abundance of very
fascinating details about the background process in writing attack on titan.
Now fair warning, if you’re one of the many disappointed with the ending, don’t expect
anything optimistic in this interview, because I suspect some of Isayamas bizarre statements
might enrage the fandom even more...
Nevertheless, this is a long interview so buckle in folks!
Statement 1!
EMA represents wisdom, courage and strength (not in order).
Mikasa is the strength, because Yams thought it’d be interesting distributing a woman
the role of “red” in a super sentai (superhero) team.
For clarification, by EMA he’s referring to Eren, Mikasa, & Armin.
Now, I find Isayama decision in making Mikasa the muscle of the gang charming.
Mikasas impact on the culture is notable with how many badass female warriors spawned in
anime & manga.
Sucks, Isyama forgot to actually give Mikasa character, rather than just being a brainless
yandere.
Statement 2!
The Plot about EMA had been planned out all along, but Eren’s “No, I don’t want
that!” segment came to Yams when he was drawing the panels.
Yams loves whiny Eren, so when he was drawing “No, I don’t want that!”, he thought
to himself: “Eren is back”
And now the source of contention in the fandom over Erens questionable development has been
revealed people! Erens bizarre simp like nature spawned from Isayamas favor of crybaby Eren.
Now, personally I’m still bewildered by Erens drastic change of character.
He never showed any signs of romantic interest in Mikasa, yet one of the main motives in
his massacre was to keep Mikasa for himself...
Was Isyama high or something when he wrote the finale?
Statement 3!
Regarding the deaths of characters: Yams thinks that from the perspective of an author, he
can always show these deceased characters in panels again through memory scenes, so
he doesn’t feel like “Oh these characters are dead”.
This is an interesting perspective I feel many authors share.
Unlike the fans, they have control over their characters screen time.
So even in death, they could always write flashbacks, spinoffs, prequels etc...
So, the emotional impact of characters deaths is likely non-existent to authors, since they’re
literally pawns in their creators' hands.
Statement 4!
After reading chapter 50 (EM scarf scene), editors thought EM gonna kiss, but Yams felt
shy drawing that, & he wasn’t certain with his ability to draw their dynamics after a
kiss - looking back, Yams hoped he was more brave in drawing a kiss, cuz mikasa probably
wanted a kiss.
So, the endless disputes and theories shared in the fandom over the intricate relationship
between Eren & Mikasa where all for zilch.
As the reason they never kissed was because Isayama was too shy...
So much for AOT having some of the most depth in the anime/manga industry.
Hell, if Isyama would’ve committed to a kiss, Erens grand reveal of his motives would’ve
been less peculiar, as there would be context correlating with Erens simping.
Statement 5!
As yams got married and grew to gain more experience from life, he felt like he was
able to express his personal growth in his work, e.g. the complexity of reiner (being
tortured by guilt, yet being able to re-build relationships with jean and the others at
the end).
Despite the controversial conclusion, you have to acknowledge the masterclass writing
present throughout the majority of the series.
Isayamas growth as a writer is notable after following the series for a decade.
Hell, I wasn’t a big fan of S1, but I was enthralled in the following arcs as the quality
skyrocketed.
Statement 6!
When Yams first got his inspiration of Mikasa from the client, he hadn’t decided on the
plot nor the main characters yet.
Mikasa was originally gonna be a westerner, but after meeting his client who inspired
him, he set her character as an asian.
I love hearing about creators influences in their craft.
You’d think authors meticulously plot the majority of their work, with each detail having
great purpose.
But to the contrary, most of the time, it’s the minor things that inspire these wonderful
works.
Also, I wonder if Mikasa stayed a westerner, would her nation be westerners as well?
Statement 7!
Even tho snk becomes a sensation and allows yams to earn money, he always feels like he’s
a loser. to combat his inferiority complex, he would tell himself: no... i’m a genius!
It’s disheartening to realize even one of the most acclaimed authors suffered from serious
insecurity issues.
Luckily, he had a healthy dose of pride to maintain his mental state.
Just goes to show no matter how successful someone is, you never know what issues are
persisting behind the scenes.
So, you should never unjustly ridicule them because they’re still human at the end of
the day.
Statement 8!
Even tho the story of EMA had been planned out from the beginning, a lot of the plot
details/actions of other characters were decided along the way of release.
While drawing new panels, different plot points came alive and complemented each other...
this occurred naturally However, Yams didn’t get this feeling/inspiration while drawing
Volume 4 - Yams was in pain (This feeling of losing inspiration happened only a few
times for him during the releases of snk)
It’s always intriguing to see authors admit to winging their stories.
It’s assumed most series are meticulously crafted from the cover to back.
However, in reality cool ideas spawn from thin air that they connect into the brilliant
stories we consume.
Also, I appreciate his humble nature, as he even admits that he lost inspiration in writing
a couple of times throughout his career.
Just goes to show, that even the top mangaka suffer from writers' block.
Writing a world renown series isn’t easy, especially with the pressure of millions of
fans globally expecting top notch quality.
The dissatisfying finale makes since now, as Isayama likely suffered from the pressure
of wrapping up one of the most popular series of all time.
The Final Statement
Yams loves seeing the reactions of readers online.
In the beginning of releasing snk, he nearly read comments from all readers.
However, at a certain stage, there started to be a sharp increase in comments, so he
couldn’t manage to read them all even if he wanted to
I’m sure every big influencer can relate to this.
However, since I’m a small youtuber, I have more room for reading every comment.
However, this even gets difficult for me, when one of my videos hits the lottery in
the youtube algorithm.
Though I still try my best in responding to nearly every comment.
Nevertheless, it’s pretty wholesome to see that Isayama cares about his fans as well.
Without their support, AOT would’ve never been the mass hit it is today.
And that’s it for the entirety of the interview!
This was easily one of the most riveting interviews to consume.
Now I have grown a stronger appreciate for Isayamas craft.
However, I’m curious to hear how your thoughts!
Did you feel a stronger sense of admiration for Isayamas work or did his statements validate
your distaste for the state of the series?
Let me know your opinions in the comments, I’m curious to read your thoughts.
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the support is very much appreciated, and have a nice day!