Following the massive success of Attack on Titan, fans are expecting great things from manga author Hajime Isayama’s next work. However, during a January 9 conference to celebrate the rescreening of Attack on Titan: The Last Attack (a compilation film of the series’ final episodes), Isayama revealed that, apart from creating illustrations and signing autographs for fans, he hasn’t been working on manga for some time (source: Oricon News).
Speaking to the conference panelists, Isayama revealed what he has been up to recently: “It’s been years since the manga serialization and anime broadcast (of Attack on Titan) ended, but I’m not working now. Occasionally, I draw illustrations and sign autographs, and I’ve also helped out with Yuki Kaji’s Soyogi project, but I no longer draw on a daily basis.”
The projects Isayama is referring to includes illustrations for Soyogi EXPO, a live event hosted as part of Eren Yeager voice actor Yuki Kaji’s Soyogi Fractal AI voice project, as well as The Theory of Ill-Natured Men and AI, a 2025 one-shot manga featuring a character created by Kaji and art by Kai Noshigami. Since Noshigami provides the art for the manga, Isayama is free to focus on the narrative. Aside from The Theory of Ill-Natured Men and AI, Isayama’s most recent works are Attack on Avengers, a 2014 crossover with Marvel featuring Earth’s mightiest heroes, and The Killing Pawn, a 2021 one-shot manga with art by Ryōji Minagawa.
Just because Isayama doesn’t draw as much anymore doesn’t mean he isn’t busy, though. In fact, he says that his daily life is far removed from the self-indulgent NEET lifestyle he wished he had back during Attack on Titan’s manga serialization. Even if he wasn’t busy, Isayama admits that he doesn’t think he could make something of the same caliber anymore.
“If I tried to write something, it would just feel like a cutout of something I already depicted in Attack on Titan. I think that first serialization was one where I just poured out all of myself until I was completely drained.”
Upon hearing the manga artist’s words, Yuki Kaji chimed in, saying that he met Isayama privately last year and found him doing well. After showering him with praises, Kaji expressed sympathy for the pressure Isayama must be feeling following the end of Attack on Titan and wished him well in his future endeavors.
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