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Attack on Titan creator has stopped drawing manga completely (even for fun!), and doesn’t think he’ll ever top the work he’s most known for
When your first work is as big as Attack on Titan, it is easy to feel intimidated by trying anything new, which is how Hajime Isayama feels
NewsbyTrent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer
Published on Wed Jul 01 2026
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Every creative person has that one piece of art that they believe will be their legacy, the thing that all their future endeavors are judged against. That can develop into a fear that their best work has already been made and their best days are behind them. Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama has embraced that fear and accepted that, no matter what he does in the future, he is unlikely to make something as influential and successful as Attack on Titan again
During a conference to celebrate the rescreening of Attack on Titan: The Last Attack in early 2026, Hajime Isayama commented that he wasn’t really working much anymore. “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 with Yuki Kaji’s Soyogi project, but I no longer draw on a daily basis.”
The idea of following up Attack on Titan remains a daunting one for Isayama, who added, “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.”
Having a work that is as successful as Attack on Titan is surely a blessing and a curse, which is something that Hajime Isayama is grappling with at the moment. We’re sure he’ll pick up the pen and work on a new manga eventually, but for now, he’s waiting for an idea that will be even bigger than Attack on Titan
Each week, Popverse’s resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say “greatest,” in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included…
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Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)
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