Oho ho?

Isayama Hajime Holds Autograph & Q&A Session in Oyama, Oita on March 3rd, 2018

As announced on his most recent blog entry, Isayama Hajime held his latest autograph session in his hometown of Oyama, Oita, Japan!

The lucky fans who were able to attend shared various photos of his sketches and signatures, as seen above. Separate sessions were held with different groups of fans within a room in the onsen resort where the event took place. Each group had 30 minutes to ask him questions and receive illustrations. A total of 30 chosen participants were divided up into 6 groups of 5.

Isayama’s answers to various fan questions are as below (Note: These are fan accounts):

About Levi and the other characters’ updated looks: Levi’s cape is a new, black one. However, Levi couldn’t adapt to the other changes, so he kept his uniform and blades. Kawakubo Shintaro (Isayama’s editor) didn’t want any visual changes for the characters - he even wanted Eren to stay clean-shaven. However Isayama decided to not “shave” Eren too much.

On Older Eren: 19-year-old Eren’s height is 183cm - the same as Grisha. However, Isayama states that Eren was more like Carla when he was younger. [T/N: Grisha is actually 182cm, so Isayama may have misremembered here. Zeke however is 183cm.]

On Erwin’s Burial: The Survey Corps had to move on quickly to fight further after Battle of Shiganshina, but Levi later returned and brought back Erwin’s skeletonized body with him/buried him. Though a lot of soldiers perished, there was a special memorial service for Erwin.

On Horoscopes: Neither Eren nor Jean’s birthdays were decided through horoscope characterizations/stereotypes.

On Levi’s Father: Isayama has no plans to draw Levi’s father in the manga. He’s not anyone significant - Isayama thinks he was probably just a short guy.

On Levi’s Cape (Again): The question was what Isayama thought of fans thinking that the cape belonged to Erwin. Isayama states that there is a sense that Levi dyed the green cape into a black color. He doesn’t know whose cape it was, but if it belonged to Erwin, Isayama doesn’t think the size would’ve worked for Levi.

On New Character Designs (Again): Why didn’t Levi’s change much compared to the 104th? Isayama says he wanted to show that the 104th trainees belong to the “Smartphone Generation,” but Levi decided to stay with his “Flip Phone.” Levi doesn’t understand the younger generation, and he is turning into an old man (Literally “Oji-san”).

On Erwin: Will Erwin appear in the manga again, even if just for one panel? Isayama says he thinks there are still chances, such as in flashbacks.

On Levi’s Eyesight: Levi’s vision is measured at 2.0

Hardcore Eren: If Eren goes to karaoke, what type of songs will he sing? Isayama: “Metal.”

General Eren Facts: Besides now standing at 183cm, Eren is also a heavyweight drinker (Doesn’t get drunk easily) and good at cleaning. He is now influenced by a lot of the memories he retained, and he determinedly chopped off his own leg before entering Marley. His irises are a grey-ish color and his bloodtype is B.

Toying with His Editor:  “Will you be happy with developing the future plot similar to how you drew the story so far?” Isayama: “Yes! But I want to see the readers anticipating [the upcoming plot].” Kawakubo: "Like he said, I’ve been saying the same thing! Everyone is looking forward to it.” Isayama: “…Then I’ll change the story.”

Eren & Elysium: When Eren asked Falco “Is that person…a girl?”, he was under the influence of other people’s memories (Possibly Grisha in that moment). The new Survey Corps uniform was inspired by Matt Damon’s external armor/exoskeleton in Elysium (Below). When asked about the members going to the restroom, Isayama: “It would be better to open a hole in that design…”

Lots More Information: Isayama on Eren’s bloodtype - “Because this is a fantasy series, maybe there are not only 4 blood types. But then again, are they even counted as human…?” [T/N: This somewhat contradicts the earlier fan account where Isayama said outright that Eren’s bloodtype was B…]. “What will Levi think of Eren’s current look?” Isayama (Without hesitation): “Dirty.” [T/N: As in unclean, of course] “Was it Eren’s own idea to grow his hair long?” Isayama: “Right now he is in a state where he is no longer paying attention to how people view him, so he just let it grow out.” “Did Eren consider the fact that he will be infiltrating Marley when he grew out his hair?” Isayama: “Since he was supposed to be a hospitalized patient, he actually should’ve kept a cleaner hairstyle.” [T/N: A little vague, but this basically sounds like Eren didn’t mean to grow his hair out as a disguise] “Were there any cases of when you let the characters’ behavior and dialogue develop organically?”
 Isayama: “In general, I let the characters evolve on their own. I don’t remember things after I draw them. I can’t look at my storyboard calmly right after I finish them, so Bakku-san (Kawakubo) is the one who reads them objectively.” “Following up on that answer: Bakku-san will immediately read your storyboard (In less than one day) after you submit them to him?” Isayama: “Since he has been waiting for the storyboard to arrive, in most cases he will read them in one or two hours after I give them to him.” “Did they (Eren and Levi) resolve the confusion of when Eren said ‘midget old man (chibi oyaji)’? Or did Eren apologize?” Isayama: “Levi is not concerned about being referred to that way. But after Eren said it and Levi thought about the moniker by himself later, he seemed hurt. He probably thought “So Eren sees me like that….” “Any plan to draw the four-year period back on Paradis island?”
 Isayama: “That’s something I can’t tell you for now. (Kawakubo also chimed in here and said: “Isayama-sensei won’t tell you anything, but please look forward…”) “Kenny said he will never go to a brothel. Does Levi think the same way?” Isayama: “Because it’s an environment that Levi had been part of since childhood, it seems like he considers prostitution as just another ordinary job.” “What is Eren’s current body weight?” Isayama: “If I have to answer that now - he indeed gained some weight because he has grown taller. However, he has a rather slender body.”

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