Celestial Ceilings

Thank you! I'm glad I was able to help. What you've said about never seeing Eren as a bad person really resonated with me, the best way I can describe him and his story is that of a boy born a monster. I really like how you talked about those ideas, it felt like you were expressing something I struggled to, so thanks for that as well!

“They were just there wherever I looked from the day I was born. Those miserable walls.”

I think this is the most important line we need for understanding Eren. From the moment he was born Eren felt caged no matter what he did and he longed for release.

This desire was unconscious at first, but seeing Armin dream so passionately brought about the realization that Armin was seeing and believing in something that Eren couldn’t, and this brings about the realization in him that he’s restrained/caged from doing something.

He initially believes that this indignation from a sense of being caged is because of the Titans or oppressors but as time goes on and the circumstances change, Eren realises that this is something internal and the fact that it’s something that no one else experiences is one of the sources of his tragedy: he can’t communicate/share this desire.

(There’s probably some symbolism in the fact that Eren confessed his truest desires to a child that didn’t speak the same language)

At first, Eren associated release with the “sight” of the things in Armin’s book. He believed that seeing those things will give him the release and liberty he’s been longing for, though it should be noted that Eren says he doesn’t care what the particular sights *are* just that he sees them so I think he cares much more about the feeling of liberation that those things stand for than the sights themselves.

So I think that even though Eren might say that he’s disappointed that the world wasn’t what was in Armin’s book I think what he’s really sad about is that he didn’t feel liberated by the world beyond the walls, but because he associated those feelings with the sights in Armin’s book he uses them interchangeably(I think this is supported by the fact that Eren still feels caged and empty when actually seeing those sights in 139).

The reason Eren slaughters humanity beyond the walls is because from his perspective, *they* are walls/barriers obstructing his freedom. “That Scenery” is one of the most important motifs with Eren, it’s the liberty that comes with transcending or breaking a wall, but one of the ironies in 131 is that Eren is deluding himself to think that it’s freedom. Eren’s very nature demands that he cannot see beyond the “walls” and this is testified to by Eren looking unfulfilled immediately after the freedom panel and the fact that he still needs Armin’s approval. Besides Isayama deliberately contrasts Eren and Armin by saying that Armin still believes in a world beyond the walls, with a panel of Eren’s eyes closed.

Eren’s tragedy is that of a man born with the inability to look past the repression of life(or you could say he was born with the ability to see restraints everywhere). I think this solves all the contradictions I thought I saw in Eren’s character and addresses the “Problem of being a Slave” that Isayama once brought up.

Before I go there’s one last thing I have to say about the final chapter and this motif, Eren can’t see the dream Armin enjoys and he can’t see the future that lies ahead, but his love for his friend(s) let’s him transcend that nature by putting his hopes in them at the end. He won’t ever be able to see beyond the walls, that’s just how he is, but he can be at peace with the fact that his friends will.

Edit: I made this post mainly because I was tired of people rooting Eren’s actions in trauma or an ideological mistake or lack of development. Eren has developed enough as a protagonist, especially by chapter 100, his “mistakes” in the Final Arc are a result of his nature, I think that’s what Isayama wanted to convey.

Do you believe the full rumbling goes against the theme of “getting kids out of the forest?”

No, because Armin & Co. represent that side of the argument.

Mr Braus says two things: 1) He laments the continuation of the cycle of violence, and 2) He argues that the most important thing is to keep children out of it. Eren acts in reaction to 1), and the 104th act in reaction to 2).

Rather than just having the main character straightforwardly represent the moral message of the series, it’s more interesting to explore the unresolvable contradictions within that moral message - that’s what would have been the case if Eren and the 104th had truly been opposed. Eren would have fought to end the cycle at the cost of children’s lives, and the 104th would have fought to preserve children’s lives even if meant that the cycle will continue.

Of course, Eren’s capability of truly ending the cycle is often brought into question - but this only adds further nuance to the series.

Ah yes, my favorite genre...

Analyzing Eren`s view of freedom

Concepts, ideas and philosophies are abstract phenomena which do not technically have any physical form. However people like to depict these ideas in different ways. For example the idea of justice is depicted by a goddess, who holds a scale and is blindfolded. The reason why I bring this up, is because AoT volume 33 visualizes the idea of freedom. In a beautiful yet haunting spread panel, the reader sees a young Eren high up in the sky. The sky, clouds and overall horizon seems to stretch into eternity, and at this high viewpoint there is nothing that binds Eren. In one hand this vision is Eren`s dream, the outside world that Eren dreamed about all those years ago. It is this dream among his loved one`s that Eren wishes to retain/pursue, by using the Rumbling. However since Eren describes the view as “freedom” and the person who has seen it as “the freest person in the world”, I think it encapsulates what Eren thinks freedom is. In this post I`d like to examine what this possibly means.

One mention has to be made. I have read up till volume 33 and so I do not know how the story ends. Because of this I cannot comment on some possible revelations that happen after this point. I will start the post by dissecting Eren`s vision into different elements. Then in the final portion I will go over what problems this vision has. The structure will be the following one:

- Limitless horizon and the state of nature

- Chasing a mysterious and unknown horizon

- The vision of a child – Problems with Eren`s view of freedom

- Conclusion

Limitless horizon and the state of nature

Eren`s vision of freedom is constructed from several building blocks, some more complex than others. In its basic form when one thinks about the society and world where Eren was born in, this vision is a stark contrast to that. The place Eren was born in was small, cramped and binding. As he himself tells in volume 33, from the day Eren was born those massive walls were always there. The walls obscured the horizon and made it hard to see what was past them.

They were a constant reminder of Eren`s nature as a caged being. Because of this Eren`s dream and idea of freedom has to be different from a visual perspective. Here there are no physical boundaries obscuring the horizon, and the sky stretches as far as the eye can see. The outside world is an expansive place, something that must be ten times bigger than Paradis. At this high position it is as if Eren has become the bird or obtained the wings, that have always been depicted to symbolize freedom. He can go where-ever he wants and only sky is the limit.    

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Commission for @neezuko - A fanart Eren and Historia .

SnK News: Isayama Hajime Interview/Feature in Illustrate Note Magazine No. 43 (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3)

Writer: masaco Translation: @suniuz & @fuku-shuu Please credit and/or link back to this post if anything is used!

(T/N: Due to the extensive amount of information/pages, this interview has been divided into multiple parts)

INTRODUCTION (Image 2) Having served as sustenance for Titans, the humans living under 50-meter walls experienced a false sense of peace and security for the first time - in exchange for their freedom. This is the popular, impactful storyline of shounen manga Shingeki no Kyojin. On the one hand, the appeal of this series of course rests in the story’s originality, but it also stems from the richness of its characters. Those who appear within are not flawless males and females - rather, each person endures their own mental struggles and invests their entire being into battle. Here, author Isayama Hajime exposes the strategies behind SnK’s character designs, as well as what personal ideas he has invested into them.

ISAYAMA HAJIME & QUESTION 01 (Image 3)

SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN – Creating Unparalleled Characters

The setting is an unknown time and an unknown location. Within the fictitious world where humanity is an endangered species, a variety of characters emerge, each possessing charisma that increases the depth of the series. Regarding Shingeki no Kyojin’s character designs, we approached creator Isayama Hajime with inquiries from three directions: “Conceptualization,” “Unique Features,” “Growth.”

CAPTION: Protagonist Eren (Right). His mother was eaten by the Titans, and he is a young soldier who possesses intense anger as well as a desire for freedom. Colossal Titan (Left), designed as 60-meters tall. His black, round eyes are attention-grabbing and don’t match his rather grotesque posture.

CAPTION: Eren’s childhood friend Mikasa. Black hair, black eyes, positioned as the last of the Eastern Sea people.

CAPTION: Eren’s fellow cadets. From background to personality and unique physical traits, the ten individuals were all drawn very differently.

Question 01. How were the characters conceptualized?

– Please tell us your process in coming up with these very distinctive characters. The gist of Shingeki no Kyojin’s ending was already decided at the series’ start. The story was born first, and within the key characters many were created for the sake of expanding the plot, Eren especially. He bears the responsibility of carrying the story and wants to confront each and every obstacle straight on. If we view him from our more dominant position, Eren’s never-changing fighting spirit is what sets the foundation for his character.

– How did you visualize the personalities? Most of the time I had some actual references. Compared to me needing to think from scratch, I consider it more practical to absorb outside influences. For example, Mikasa was modeled after a customer whom I met while working part-time at a net cafe. Back then I constantly wondered, “How would I fabricate this character?” And the moment I saw that customer I thought, “Just like that!” I immediately grabbed a receipt next to me and sketched some ideas on the back. The concept for the Eastern Sea tribe, and even including how Mikasa wore her scarf, was via the details I gathered back then. Moreover, even though I would use athletes, friends from my hometown, etc. as inspiration, what I look for isn’t a well-portioned, beautiful face，but rather a strong, eye-catching face.

– How do you manage this many characters in a long-running series? I always save the original drafts from my early deliberations on a character and use them as a starting point, even if the drafts were mere scribbles that I somehow magically came up with. As this is a long-running series, the more you draw, the more your idealized version of the concept evolves. If I feel like my drawings have turned odd, I’ll refer to the original drafts again, and then attempt a return to the right track.

– At the same time, your acute illustrations of the Titans have become their own topic. The Colossal Titan’s debut in chapter one can be deemed as the symbol for the entire series - a skinless, gargantuan monster. However, his eyes remain that of a “spineless youth” - I gave him very thick double eyelids and whale-like eyeballs. The rest of his physique is frightening and artificial, but as long as there exists a dissonance, the Colossal Titan naturally becomes more realistic. Eight years ago, when I first achieved serialization, I understood very well that “No one will pay attention to a newbie’s manga, so discontinuation is inevitable.” Under such a realization, I considered the idea that, “Whenever someone mentions ‘Shingeki no Kyojin’ - they should think of THAT thing.” Thus, I decided to create an icon for the series first - and that’s how Colossal Titan came to be. To me, a shounen manga cannot survive without these more commercialized elements.

MAKING: (Image 4) A Levi Pencil Sketch Tutorial from Isayama Hajime

Levi’s appearance in pencil. “I start by drawing a cross within the facial contour. Levi always seems like he 'hasn’t slept for three days,’ but because he’s calm and collected, I’ve never drawn on him the sweatdrop motif that often appears in manga.” Isayama states. The base lining is done with a 2B 0.9mm mechanical pencil. In the actual manuscript, after penciling comes a Zebra G Pen for inking.

QUESTION 02 (Image 5)

CAPTION: Eren’s good friend, Armin. His appearance isn’t that of a soldier in order to showcase that while he isn’t well-versed in fighting, he excels in terms of intellect and brain power.

CAPTION: The soldier with arms crossed, Levi. He is conceptaulized to be 160cm tall and weighs 65KG. He is always “looking up” (T/N: As in literally) to his comrades.

Question 02. How do you apply unique traits to a character?

– What is your trick to enriching a character with distinct features? If you are referring to the characters in the manga - you don’t have to make sure every part of him or her needs to be appealing/attractive. Rather, you should draw them in a way that causes people to become preoccupied with their physiques, because this is how the reader will feel more intimacy with them. For example, Eren’s good friend Armin. Even if he has western features, I gave him a more rounded nose that inspires extra affection towards him. Levi is Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, but he has an unexpected disposition that is almost disappointing - to be frank, he is short (A chibi). However, this special attribute is just like that of Astro Boy and Ushiwakamaru, where there is a “David can defeat Goliath” type of implication. (T/N: Isayama doesn’t actually say the names David/Goliath in his answer - just the idea of a smaller figure being victorious). For Eren, I previously had him set as having eyebrows that weren’t so dense, because he is often angry and widens his eyes. However, I wasn’t able to achieve this look because my drawing skills were subpar back then (Laughs). (T/N: For the record, we aren’t sure how anger directly influences eyebrow density, either, but we think this means Isayama didn’t know how to express a character’s fury without giving him/her severe eyebrows)

– What are you especially careful about when adding unique traits? Consider the 3DMG worn by the soldiers in order to battle in the air, where they hold two swords when engaging with Titans. No matter the soldier, they use the exact same strategy to fight. In many action-based shounen manga, there are usually special skills or insta-kill moves for a key character, so I also thought that this might increase the commercial value of a series. But in Shingeki no Kyojin, I didn’t establish these elements for two reasons: first, I personally would not be interested in such ideas as a reader, and secondly, if I add these details as I’m progressing the story, there would’ve been even more information that require explanation. If an author stuffed every detail he wanted to showcase within a work, it will become less interesting overall. For SnK, I intentionally reduced some aspects that would’ve stretched out the story development too much.

– Even the supporting characters that emerge as villains are very complex. Even though various villains appear, I personally feel that being “evil” for no reason is lackluster. Even while illustrating a villain, you should portray his or her timidity and confusion, as well as the ambition only he or she possesses. You have to do your best to make others feel like, “This kind of person exists within me also.” As an artist, I think this is something you must be attentive towards.

More from this interview: Part 2 | Part 3

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