The storytelling in Attack on Titan was always engaging and only got better with time. The same is true for Hajime Isayama’s art style except for the fact that visually, the manga started on a rough note. The art was often a topic of discussion among fans for how rough and unpolished it was.
As the story progressed, the mangaka continued to get better at his craft. It seems like the credit for this improvement should go to Attack on Titan’s editor as he made Isayama read some particular manga.
This includes one of the most iconic boxing manga and something extremely different from the intense narrative of AOT. While the former might be an easy guess, the latter comes as a complete surprise. So, here’s what Isayama’s training for Attack on Titan looked like.
Hajime Isayama’s training to improve his art style in Attack on Titan
At the beginning of the manga, the art style was much more simplistic. It wasn’t ugly by any means, even though that was a fairly popular opinion at the time. During an interview (translation by yaboylevi on Tumblr), the editor of the manga shared what he made Isayama do in order to improve his art. He said:
In order to get better at action scenes, I had him study Hajime no Ippo, especially when it comes to fighting scenes. And because he wasn’t that good at drawing clean lines, I made him study love mangas with cute girls.
First published in 1989, Hajime no Ippo is still ongoing even three decades later. It’s easily the most iconic boxing manga, and the greatest sports manga by extension. The fights between the Titans at multiple instances follow a hand-to-hand combat style.
This makes Hajime no Ippo the perfect inspiration because of all the boxing matches. However, using romance manga as inspiration for Attack on Titan is a bit intriguing. The editor’s explanation makes sense as most romance manga usually have an extremely clean art style with fine lines and tall characters.
As surprising as it is, both the inspiration seemingly worked wonders, as the art style in the manga improved significantly. From the details to the fight scenes, Isayama’s art style feels alive and the movements are easy to understand.
Hajime Isayama’s editor deserves more credit
Attack on Titan fans never get tired of singing songs of praise for Isayama. However, the editor deserves more credit as well. Similar to how he guided the mangaka with the process of improving his art style, he has helped in other numerous ways as well.
He redirected Isayama to Attack on Titan when the mangaka momentarily forgot about his own manga. So far, everything we know about the Attack on Titan editor makes it seem like the manga would have looked a lot different without his input. Considering how well the story unraveled, it’s good that he was involved so closely in the process.
Hajime no Ippo and Attack on Titan are available to read on the K Manga app and website.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
