Hajime Isayama sent a surprise letter during an event on January 9, 2025, confessing he poured everything he had into his debut work and feels creatively drained.
Creating one of the 21st century’s most influential manga came with a definitive creative cost. During the stage greeting event for the theatrical re-release of Attack on Titan: The Last Attack held in Tokyo this January 9, original creator Hajime Isayama sent a surprise message that left fans and the cast with mixed feelings about his artistic future.
“I gave everything until I was empty”
While the cast, led by Yuki Kaji (voice of Eren Jaeger), Yui Ishikawa, and Marina Inoue, shared anecdotes with director Yuichiro Hayashi, the presenter read a letter written by the mangaka. In it, Isayama was brutally honest about his current life after the series ended:
“Years have passed since the manga and anime finished, and now I’m not working. Sometimes I do illustrations or signings when asked… but I don’t draw on a daily basis anymore“.
Isayama clarified he’s not living an idle life, he’s actually quite busy, though far from the NEET lifestyle he dreamed of during serialization. However, his most striking confession was about his artistic future:
“Even if I weren’t busy, I don’t think I could draw something like Attack on Titan again. If I tried to write something, it would just seem like a fragment of something I already drew in the series. I think it was a first serialization where I poured everything out until I was completely empty“.
The admission hit different considering Attack on Titan ran from 2009 to 2021, spanning 139 chapters across 34 volumes published in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. The series became a global phenomenon, with the anime adaptation by MAPPA and WIT Studio reaching audiences worldwide and influencing countless creators in the process.
The manga sold over 140 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
The aftermath of creating a cultural phenomenon
After the message was read, Yuki Kaji commented he met privately with Isayama last year and found him in good health, empathizing with the immense pressure the author must have felt creating a worldwide success from scratch. The voice actor’s words offered some reassurance to concerned fans who worry about the mangaka’s well-being.
Attack on Titan: The Last Attack, which prompted this event, is a theatrical compilation film that condenses the final arc of the anime series. The film opened in Japanese theaters showcasing the conclusion of Eren Jaeger’s journey and humanity’s fight for survival against the Titans, allowing fans to experience the epic finale on the big screen.
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