Interest
Attack on Titan's Creator Is a Big Fan of Vinland Saga
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Two titans in the manga world recently sat down together for their very first joint interview: Attack on Titan's Hajime Isayama and
Vinland Saga's Makoto Yukimura. The two discussed their mutual respect for each other's work, with Isayama positively gushing over how much he admires Yukimura's artwork and narrative plotting.
Some highlights from the interview include:
- Isayama first got into Vinland Saga through the anime adaptation of Yukimura's previous work, Planetes.
- Yukimura says he was inspired to write Vinland Saga because he wanted to explore his own ideas about "violence" through the perspective of a pre-Christian culture, where violence was commonplace.
- Isayama says there was a certain point in the creation of Attack on Titan when he stopped being able to control Eren. Yukimura agreed that part of being a manga creator is watching your characters take on a will of their own, and sometimes the creator has to fight against their own characters.
- Isayama's favorite character in Vinland Saga is Thorfinn. He is a fan of Thorfinn's guilt and humanity.
- Yukimura thinks that the Vinland Saga anime is better than the manga, and recommends everyone watch the anime before picking up the manga. According to him, the director and screenwriter understand the manga better than he does, and the anime smooths out certain pacing issues.
- Both manga creators are delighted that their works have been well-received overseas. Because Isayama is a big fan of non-Japanese works, he feels like he's able to share his fandom with the entire world. He likes watching Attack on Titan reaction videos.
- Yukimura is a fan of the My Dress-Up Darling anime, while Isayama has recently finished binge-watching Stranger Things on Netflix. He also wants to watch The Boys and Obi-Wan.
- Vinland Saga transitioned into a full digital workflow during the COVID-19 pandemic, around the time he was working on chapters 168-169.
- Yukimura particularly respects Isayama for being able to draw Attack on Titan continuously without a break, something which he is not able to do. Despite working on a monthly serial, he only drew 16 pages last month. On the flip side, Isayama admires Yukimura for his meticulously detailed art and foreshadowing, remarking that the breaks are necessary to create such a consistently high-quality work.
The Vinland Saga anime's first season premiered in July 2019. Amazon Prime Video streamed the anime both in Japan and overseas. Netflix and HIDIVE added the first season on July 7, 2022. The second season will premiere in January 2023.
Hajime Isayama launched the original Attack on Titan manga in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in 2009, and ended the series in April 2021. The manga's 34th and final volume shipped in June 2021. Kodansha Comics is publishing the manga in English digitally and in print, and released the 34th volume in October 2021.
The Attack on Titan The Final Season anime premiered on NHK in December 2020. Funimation and Crunchyroll are streaming the anime with English subtitles. Adult Swim's Toonami programming block began airing the anime in January 2021, and Funimation began streaming an English dub in the same month. The season's Part 2 premiered with episode 76, "Danzai" ("Sentencing"), on the NHK General channel on January 9. Crunchyroll and Funimation streamed Part 2 of the Attack on Titan The Final Season anime as it aired in Japan. The anime's "Part 3," the "conclusion," will air on the NHK-General channel in 2023.
The first television anime season premiered in April 2013, and the second season premiered in April 2017. The first part of the third season premiered in July 2018, and the second half premiered in Japan on the NHK General channel in April 2019.
Source: Comic Natalie
