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Attack on Titanhas gradually earned its position as the best new-gen anime since its debut in 2013, and it deserves all the praise. The dark, gritty narrative and the depth of its emotional scenes make the series highly addicting. In fact, one of the best-selling points of this series includes its insanely well-written characters.
Strangely, though, this era-defining series was in great danger of falling by the board because of a single oversight on the part of its creator, Hajime Isayama. His unusually forgetful mind was this close to changing the course of the story, compromising the complexity that built up so far with all the plotting and character development for such a remarkable series.
Fortunately, the savior, Kawakubo (Attack on Titan‘s editor) was there to assist Isayama. Thanks to him, Eren Yeager managed to cement his reputation as one of the greatest protagonists in anime history. The story of this comeback, from disaster to the best anime ending, was such a delight to know. Here is how it went.
Editor Kawakubo saved Isayama from ruiningAttack on Titan’sending
From a 2022 interviewof Hajime Isayama with his editor, Shintarō Kawakubo, fans got a lot of interesting insights into the making ofAttack on Titan. It came as quite a surprise that there had been a lot of stages during its creative process where Isayama literally felt out of sync while writing the series. But Kawakubo constantly ensured that he stayed on the right track.
Real Reason Hajime Isayama Used MMA Fighters for Attack on Titan
In fact, quite surprisingly, Kawakubo had a huge impact on the ending of Volume 22, whichled Isayama to restructure the narrative. Initially, Isayama had completely forgotten Eren’s primary motivation!
I changed the structure of the conclusion of volume twenty-two significantly based on his instructions. In the first bad rough draft, I completely left out what Eren’s main motivation was.
But Kawakubo’s feedback led him to re-examine and re-establish this crucial element. This pivotal change helped Isayama understand Eren’s existence and ultimately shaped the series’ trajectory on the right track.
By re-establishing it like Mr.Kawakubo told me to, I came to understand on my own and I arrived at last at what Eren’s existence meant.
Kawakubo’s intervention was quite effective insavingAttack on Titanfrom a disastrous ending. Without Kawakubo, the show probably could have gone down through narrative error, thereby completely ruining the impact that had lasted throughout its long, fascinating run. And it’s not just the ending, Kawakubo even had a major role at the very beginning of this iconic series!
It was Kawakubo who decided to serializeAttack on Titanmanga!
Kawakubo himself revealed in the same interview, that Isayama initially had given up on his idea ofAttack on Titanand drafted three completely new plots for different works. So, it’s a testament to Kawakubo’s editorial instincts, and his keen eye for potential, thatmade him go back to the original concept, at the end. Isayama said,
No, I had initially made around three plots for completely separate works. You could say I had totally forgotten about that. As far as I was concerned, that was done with once I had approached Kodansha.
Isayama’s confession also reveals that even the serialization ofAttack on Titanwas an accident.
But when I was talking with Mr. Kawakubo about the three new plots I had in the works, he asked if I’d want Attack on Titan serialized, and then I remembered it after all that time.
Had Kawakubo not asked about the forgotten manuscript, the world could have missed out on what is termed a dark fantasy epic which now thrills millions of readers/viewers worldwide.
Did Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan Copy Dune? Alarming Similarities Between Eren Yeager and Paul Atreides Paint a Very Dark Picture
While rejoicing overAttack on Titan‘s monumental success, one has to equally appreciate and admire Editor Kawakubo’s role in bringing this phenomenon to life.
Attack On Titananime series is available to watch onCrunchyroll.
Diganta Mondal
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :742
Diganta Mondal is an avid Content Writer at Fandomwire, specializing in anime and pop culture-related stuff. With over 600 published articles, he boasts his knowledge on this beloved media and strives to connect with fellow anime enthusiasts all across the globe.Despite having a non-journalism educational background, his love for shows like Vinland Saga, Violet Evergarden, and other Naoki Urasawa works constantly inspires him to share informative news, theories, and recommendations on almost all anime genres, aiming to create a shared platform for nerdy discussions.
