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Attack on Titancharacters and suave go hand in hand. The power system of the series allows most characters to excel with their own physical abilities. What’s more exciting is the fact that Hajime Isayama doesn’t differentiate between the male and female characters. He treats them equally, which is truly a rarity in the anime-manga industry. Among the female characters in the series, Mikasa is the first that who comes to mind.
She’s strong yet delicate, Isayama might have failed to utilize her true potential, but she’s still one of the best female anime characters. One would expect the inspiration behind her character to be a fighter or something along those lines. However, Isayama’s revelation about the true inspiration behind Mikasa is beyond surprising.
The Inspiration Behind Mikasa inAttack on Titan
It’s common knowledge amongAttack on Titanfans that the Titans were inspired by drunk people. While working at an internet cafe,Hajime Isayamaoften interacted with drunkards. Those interactions influenced the story ofAttack on Titanin several ways. It was the same place where the idea of Mikasa occurred to Isayama while working. Isayama shared in an interview (via translations on Tumblr) that one of the customers ended up being the inspiration behind Mikasa Ackerman.
Because it was so late, there were lots of times when huge crowds of drunkards surged in. That fear I possessed from the unpleasant feeling of not being familiar with them ended up becoming a big influence in the SNK story. Also at that time, one of the clients I met [by chance] became the model of Mikasa.
The lady often wore a muffler while coming to the story which seems like the inspiration behind the famous red muffler fromAttack on Titan. Isayama further shared that the lady’s appearance made him feel something, and he instantly decided to sketch his ideas on a memo pad.
When she came to the store, I felt something and quickly started to sketch on the memo pad I had in my hand. The sketch from that time was the original drawing of Mikasa.
According to Isayama, Mikasa’s character was courageous. He realized at some point that Casca fromBerserkalso inspired her character. Her character design bears a striking resemblance to Casca in the later parts of the story. It’s so fascinating to learn that Mikasa’s character was a culmination of so many random moments.
“Man knew his audience”: Hajime Isayama Did the One Thing Neither Tite Kubo nor Masashi Kishimoto Could Do Despite Attack on Titan’s Controversial Ending
She was always supposed to be a character who didn’t fit into the traditional archetype for female characters. It made the character refreshing for the audience. However, this appeal didn’t last very long.
Mikasa Could’ve Been So Much More
From the central trio, Mikasa was arguably the best character at the beginning. Both Armin and Eren had their foolish and boring moments, whereas Mikasa was always an icon. She was extremely skilled in combat and not many could match her strength in fights. Watching her swing around with the help of ODM gear was adrenaline-inducing.
“There was no way the story could end satisfyingly”: Attack on Titan Fans Knew the Exact Moment Hajime Isayama ‘Messed Up’ the Story for No Return That Divided the Fandom Forever
The introduction of her character was excellent but the same wasn’t true for everything that followed. She got little to no development or important moments after the first few arcs. Her development was static and the only moments when her presence made sense was during fights. It was unfortunate that Isayama didn’t utilize Mikasa’s true potential and revolved her entire character arc around Eren.
She was a main character but wasn’t treated like one. Even supporting characters like Jean and Reiner underwent excellent character development, but not Mikasa. It makes one wonder if Isayama ended up with Mikasa where most Shonen mangaka find themselves with their female characters.
Attack on Titan mangais available to read on the K Manga app and website.
Laveena Joshi
Anime Writer
Articles Published :925
Laveena is an anime content writer at FandomWire. Having written more than 800 articles, she’s an expert in mainstream shonen series, ranging from the bizarre world of JoJo’s to the expansive worldbuilding of One Piece.With her formal education in Journalism and Mass Communication, she explores entertainment journalism through the lens of anime and manga, from mainstream and classic titles to niche and obscure ones.
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Attack On TitanHajime IsayamaMikasa Ackerman
