Hajime Isayama’s True Inspiration For Attack On Titan
Funimation By Miyako Pleines/March 14, 2022 4:39 pm EST
One of the best movie-going experiences of my life happened when I went to a showing of the live-action “Attack on Titan” film. It started off normal enough, but as the movie diverged more and more from its original source material, the audience began to come together in a sort of oddly amused yet also horrified hoard. When a young mother and soldier named Hiana comes on to Eren in the most forward of ways — like, seriously … she does not play it cool — the entire theater erupted into uncontrollable screams and laughter. It was a cinematic moment I will never forget, so pure was our mutual bewilderment at this sudden, bizarre turn of events.
So what exactly brought us all together to this one small, art-house movie theater to experience the ups and downs of this live-action adaptation? Well, most of us were already huge fans of the manga turned anime series, “Attack on Titan.” Created by Hajime Isayama, “Attack on Titan” tells the story of Eren Yeager, a young boy living behind the protective walls of his city where he and the rest of his community are safe from the murderous Titans, giant humanoids that have no problem destroying and eating mankind. When Eren’s town is unexpectedly attacked by two rogue Titans that break through the outer wall, his mother is killed, and he vows to get revenge. He joins the Survey Corps, a group of soldiers whose job is to fight and kill Titans, and the story launches into an epic battle between mankind and the giant humanoids that threaten to destroy them all.
In some respects, “Attack on Titan” feels like a very strange retelling of “Gulliver’s Travels,” only this time we’re on the side of the Lilliputians. Those giant humanoid Titans are not to be trusted at all. But it is not Jonathan Swift’s famous tale from which Isayama got his inspiration. Instead, the source material for “Attack on Titan” comes out of just another regular, everyday interaction with humankind.
Hajime Isayama’s True Inspiration For Attack On Titan
Funimation
By Miyako Pleines/March 14, 2022 4:39 pm EST
One of the best movie-going experiences of my life happened when I went to a showing of the live-action “Attack on Titan” film. It started off normal enough, but as the movie diverged more and more from its original source material, the audience began to come together in a sort of oddly amused yet also horrified hoard. When a young mother and soldier named Hiana comes on to Eren in the most forward of ways — like, seriously … she does not play it cool — the entire theater erupted into uncontrollable screams and laughter. It was a cinematic moment I will never forget, so pure was our mutual bewilderment at this sudden, bizarre turn of events.
So what exactly brought us all together to this one small, art-house movie theater to experience the ups and downs of this live-action adaptation? Well, most of us were already huge fans of the manga turned anime series, “Attack on Titan.” Created by Hajime Isayama, “Attack on Titan” tells the story of Eren Yeager, a young boy living behind the protective walls of his city where he and the rest of his community are safe from the murderous Titans, giant humanoids that have no problem destroying and eating mankind. When Eren’s town is unexpectedly attacked by two rogue Titans that break through the outer wall, his mother is killed, and he vows to get revenge. He joins the Survey Corps, a group of soldiers whose job is to fight and kill Titans, and the story launches into an epic battle between mankind and the giant humanoids that threaten to destroy them all.
In some respects, “Attack on Titan” feels like a very strange retelling of “Gulliver’s Travels,” only this time we’re on the side of the Lilliputians. Those giant humanoid Titans are not to be trusted at all. But it is not Jonathan Swift’s famous tale from which Isayama got his inspiration. Instead, the source material for “Attack on Titan” comes out of just another regular, everyday interaction with humankind.
So what exactly brought us all together to this one small, art-house movie theater to experience the ups and downs of this live-action adaptation? Well, most of us were already huge fans of the manga turned anime series, “Attack on Titan.” Created by Hajime Isayama, “Attack on Titan” tells the story of Eren Yeager, a young boy living behind the protective walls of his city where he and the rest of his community are safe from the murderous Titans, giant humanoids that have no problem destroying and eating mankind. When Eren’s town is unexpectedly attacked by two rogue Titans that break through the outer wall, his mother is killed, and he vows to get revenge. He joins the Survey Corps, a group of soldiers whose job is to fight and kill Titans, and the story launches into an epic battle between mankind and the giant humanoids that threaten to destroy them all.
In some respects, “Attack on Titan” feels like a very strange retelling of “Gulliver’s Travels,” only this time we’re on the side of the Lilliputians. Those giant humanoid Titans are not to be trusted at all. But it is not Jonathan Swift’s famous tale from which Isayama got his inspiration. Instead, the source material for “Attack on Titan” comes out of just another regular, everyday interaction with humankind.
A drunken inspiration
“Attack on Titan” is a story that centers around a lack of communication between humankind and the Titans. Fans of the series know that it’s not always the Titans who are the most brutal. Human characters also eventually begin to develop the ability to shift between human and Titan form, further blurring the lines between who we’re supposed to distrust. Isayama’s encounter with a drunk person opened the door to creating a complex world in which humanity can be seen as both good and evil. A lack of communication tends to breed fear in those who do not understand, and if the fear is allowed to grow big enough, distrust and war eventually follow.
