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Interview: George Wada, Producer of Attack on Titan

Is there a character in the series that you find most inspiring?

I like Sasha best, the potato girl.

The Wall of Fear is a very interesting concept. Do you think that theme of isolationism shown in the series is unique to Japan or resonates with international audiences too?

The idea of being isolated within the wall originated with manga creator Hajime Isayama, who was inspired by Japanese culture. The Japanese people can become very isolated and enclosed, so it's more of a Japanese cultural idea.

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Is there a character in the series that you find most inspiring? I like Sasha best, the potato girl.

This man has good taste!

darkchibi07 wrote:

Quote: Is there a character in the series that you find most inspiring? I like Sasha best, the potato girl. This man has good taste!

Indeed. George FTW!

Quote:

Is there a character in the series that you find most inspiring? I like Sasha best, the potato girl.

This man has good taste!

Quote:

The Wall of Fear is a very interesting concept. Do you think that theme of isolationism shown in the series is unique to Japan or resonates with international audiences too? The idea of being isolated within the wall originated with manga creator Hajime Isayama, who was inspired by Japanese culture. The Japanese people can become very isolated and enclosed, so it's more of a Japanese cultural idea.

Western cultures can do self isolation quite well.

mgosdin wrote:

Quote: The Wall of Fear is a very interesting concept. Do you think that theme of isolationism shown in the series is unique to Japan or resonates with international audiences too? The idea of being isolated within the wall originated with manga creator Hajime Isayama, who was inspired by Japanese culture. The Japanese people can become very isolated and enclosed, so it's more of a Japanese cultural idea. Western cultures can do self isolation quite well.

Really? Last I checked we didn't have Hikikomori here (thankfully, Japan is probably the only culture that enables such behavior).

Really? Last I checked we didn't have Hikikomori here (thankfully, Japan is probably the only culture that enables such behavior).

I like Sasha best, the potato girl.

I think 'hikikomori' in the US are also sometimes referred to as 'shut-ins'. Anyways, I really doubt the original author was trying to draw a parallel with hikikomori when he wrote the story, so that's probably not the angle they were discussing here (they were probably talking more along the lines of Japan being physically isolated from other countries, as well as historical policies like Sakoku that politically prevented foreign influence inside Japan).

As another thought, I find Mr. Wada's comment that AoT "isn't influenced by Western culture" a bit weird, considering most of the characters have European names, the architectural setting is very European, and the idea of Titans/giants seems to draw inspiration from European mythology and folklore.

rockman nes wrote:

Really? Last I checked we didn't have Hikikomori here (thankfully, Japan is probably the only culture that enables such behavior).

Sure we do. We call them agoraphobics and people with extreme social anxiety.

Often times, Hikikomoris are people with the same mental disorders except undiagnosed.

The fact that you think it doesn't exist in the west shows that there may even be a worse problem here, because the media isn't publicizing this enough.

Hikkikomori are alive and thriving in the West

[George Wada:] For Psycho-Pass, the overall theme and idea was inspired by the L.A. Confidential film...