As soon as those naked giants show up and start eating people, you know there's nothing
cutesy about Attack on Titan.
And there's nothing tiny about its legacy.
When it comes to manga sales alone, Attack on Titan sold six and half million copies
in 2016 to finish as the fourth most popular title in Japan.
And it started 2017 just as strong, with sales second only to the pirate series One Piece.
Here's the untold truth of Attack on Titan's meteoric rise.
One-shot
Attack on Titan started as a 65-page one-shot, created by Hajime Isayama as a "prototype"
when he was 19.
It wasn't until a few years later that his editor came back to him with a proposal of
expansion.
In an interview with Brutus magazine, Isayama said:
"My editor asked me to consider making that old one-shot into a long-term series...At
which point I spent a half a year coming up with the details of that whole world."
Once the outline was completed and the characters created, they took Attack on Titan to Weekly
Shōnen Jump, the top-selling manga anthology in the country.
Jump allegedly rejected Isayama's work because they deemed it too mature for their readership,
so Isayama took Attack on Titan to Jump's rivals, Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine.
It made its debut on September 9, 2009 and is still being published there today.
Culture reflection
In Attack on Titan, the last human settlement consists of three massive walls, which section
the population off into classes.
The wealthiest have all three walls between themselves and the rampaging Titans, while
the poorer citizens are only a stone's throw from the bloodthirsty giants lurking outside.
It might seem like an odd fantasy, but it's one that Japanese audiences can relate to,
according to Studio WIT president George Wada, the man behind the anime adaptation.
At the 2013 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Wada said:
"The idea of being isolated within the wall originated with manga creator Hajime Isayama,
who was inspired by Japanese culture.
The Japanese people can become very isolated and enclosed, so it's more of a Japanese cultural
idea."
Before the Fall
Isayama's editor wouldn't let the series go ahead until he had an ending in mind, so the
creator definitely knows the fate of his characters.
But he's not so confident when it comes to fleshing out a whole fictional universe.
In 2014, he admitted:
"Thinking about it now, I don't think I had thought the story all the way through back
when I started it.
I still feel like it's pretty shallow compared to the level of the sci-fi universes my older
artist friends shared."
In order to deepen the Attack on Titan story, Kodansha brought in author Ryō Suzukaze,
who penned a light novel prequel called Before the Fall.
As the title suggests, this three-volume story takes place 70 years before the events of
the original, in a time before mankind had fallen to the Titans.
Before the Fall received mixed reviews, but was given kudos for expanding on what Isayama
started.
As Otaku USA magazine summed it up: "Before the Fall lives and dies by how interesting
its audience finds the Attack on Titan universe."
Titanic anime
The manga was going strong when the anime first aired in 2013, and the reaction to the
series only increased Attack on Titan's popularity.
The finished product was hailed by critics at the time and soon western audiences were
introduced to the Titans, with Adult Swim picking up the show as part of their Toonami
block.
Before long, Attack on Titan was must-watch anime on both sides of the Pacific.
In the end, the show became so popular that it wound up impacting its own source material,
according to Isayama.
"The anime influenced the characters in the manga.
When the characters move and come to life with actors' voices, that helps me understand
the characters in more detail when I'm drawing the manga."
MMA Titans
Ugly is just one word you could use to describe the Titans, but when it came to drawing the
Titan shifters, ugly just wasn't enough — they needed to be physically intimidating.
Isayama's interest in combat sports heavily influenced his work here, with the creator
using a number of real MMA fighters as models.
He based his design for the Beast Titan on UFC fighter Alistair Overeen, while WWE superstar
Brock Lesnar was the basis for the Armored Titan, according to an interview with Isayama
published on ComicBook.com.
Isayama also revealed that Eren Yeager's own Titan was inspired by the frame and fighting
style of Yushin Okami, a Japanese fighter formerly of the UFC.
Watchmen influence
Levi Ackerman, captain of the special operations squad and the strongest solider humanity has
to offer, didn't really begin to take shape until Isayama saw Zack Snyder's adaptation
of DC's Watchmen.
He said in an interview with Brutus magazine:
"Levi is a character I accidentally created while idly doodling, and I of course knew
I had something.
Then I saw Watchmen, and the character Rorschach really stuck with me and I decided I wanted
to try doing a similar character, so I combined him with that doodle."
Despite not being the series protagonist, the ruthless Levi came out on top in a poll
of people's favorite Attack on Titan characters conducted by a Japanese magazine
Filmmaker attack
A two-part live-action film adaptation of Attack on Titan was released in Japan in 2015
to mixed reviews.
The Bangkok Post wrote: "Watch Attack On Titan for the tension, the monsters and the gore,
but don't expect a plot or characters even remotely as compelling as its animated counterparts,"
while The Hollywood Reporter called it out for a "lack of character development."
Head of special effects Yoshihiro Nishimura went on the defensive, saying:
"Everyone says Hollywood movies are great.
Well, then they can go right ahead and watch nothing but Hollywood movies!...You should
watch movies that have been hit in the face with stacks of cash!"
Director Shinji Higuchi also lashed out after a critic called the plot and characters stupid,
publicly asking: "who's the idiot who gave this guy an early release of the film?"
Attack On Avengers
If you needed proof that Attack on Titan is well on its way to ingraining itself in pop
culture, look no further than Attack on Avengers, a special 8-page manga in which the titular
giants do battle with Earth's Mightiest Heroes on the busy streets of New York City.
This was Marvel's first crossover with a manga property, and they chose to take the lead
with it.
While Isayama provided the plot outline, the story was actually written by C.B. Cebulski,
with Marvel artists contributing linework and color.
What next?
Attack on Titan shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Several video games have already been released, and an Attack on Titan theme park opened at
Universal Studios Japan in 2015.
A number of weird and wonderful lines of merchandise also exist, and most importantly, the franchise
is strong where it counts — in the anime department.
While Isayama's manga has started heading towards its climax in recent chapters, the
second season of the anime has proven to be even more popular than the first, and the
third is already on its way.
In early 2017, Deadline announced that Warner Bros. was trying to buy the rights to make
an English language live-action Attack on Titan, claiming that Fantastic Beasts producer
David Heyman was set to take charge.
A statement from Kodansha denied that a deal had been struck, but did confirm that negotiations
for film adaptations are ongoing.
Whether Warner takes the lead or another studio swoops in, it's only a matter of time before
an Attack on Titan casting call goes out in Hollywood.
Watch out, Tom Cruise.
The Titans are coming for you next...
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