Hajime Isayama, the creator of the hit manga series Attack on Titan, recently discussed the inspiration behind his work during an interview with the French radio station France Inter. He revealed that his hometown of Hita, Japan, which is surrounded by mountains, made him feel isolated and this sense of isolation led to the inspiration for the story. The host of the show drew a comparison between the manga and the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, which Isayama acknowledged as present in his work but also explained that his inspiration also came from his experiences working at an internet cafe where he witnessed customers becoming aggressive.

When asked about the direction of the series, Isayama stated that he initially expected it to finish in the middle but now has a more optimistic view that people move forward by making mistakes. He also mentioned that he believes manga is not just for Japanese people and that there is intense competition within the industry in Japan resulting in excellent works. He described his main character Eren as a reflection of the worst parts of himself and that the series is about getting rid of those worst parts of himself. He also shared that he felt a bit bad right after finishing the manga but is satisfied with it.

Isayama confirmed that he has no plans to make a sequel to Attack on Titan or to make another manga, instead he shared that his dream project is to open his own sauna someday. The manga series reached its conclusion in 2021 after 34 volumes. Wit Studio adapted the story into a critically-acclaimed anime series, but faced challenges in 2018, and was later picked up by Mappa Studio to animate Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 3 of the anime which is set to release in March 2023.

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