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Attack on Titan is arguably one of the most influential anime and manga series in the recent past. Hajime Isayama, the creator of the series, has clearly mastered the art of storytelling and captured the attention of millions of fans all over the globe. A big reason for this series’ popularity is the intricacy of the plot along with the way characters are written in the story.
The complexity is amplified since the story utilizes different timelines, and connecting the dots across various timelines isn’t an easy task.
It’s not uncommon for authors to build the plot as and when the series progresses. However, the story of Attack on Titan seemed to have been decided from the get-go. Hajime Isayama has an innate talent in being able to foreshadow certain parts of the story from the very beginning.
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Fans seemed to have noticed one such example now, which has left the entire Attack on Titan fanbase speechless.
Attack on Titan: An example of Hajime Isayama’s foreshadowing explored
The very first chapter of the Attack on Titan series started with a Colossal Titan attempting to breach the walls. The members of the Scout Regiment were trying to neutralize the situation. However, a few pages later, we can see Mikasa Ackerman appearing in Eren’s vision. One panel later, he was woken up by her. One fan in particular pointed out an interesting piece of information.
The first chapter had only one page that was numbered. This is rather odd, but it’s quite clear that Isayama did this with an intention. The number 13 is quite significant to the Attack on Titan story. This is because any person in the series who can transform into a Titan can only live for 13 years after receiving the powers.
This, in the series, is also referred to as the Curse of Ymir. She is said to be the first-ever Titan shifter and she died 13 years after she received the powers of a Titan.
The same time frame was given to every subsequent Titan shifter and therefore, they couldn’t live for longer than 13 years.
However, the most important part of this page is the panel where Mikasa appears in Eren’s vision. We can see Mikasa looking at Eren uttering the words “See you later, Eren.” Again, this might not seem like a significant panel when we first read it, but it was a foreshadowing of Eren’s death at Mikasa’s hands.
The same words were uttered by Mikasa to Eren Jaeger when she beheaded him. The latter had caused the Rumbling and wiped out nearly 80 percent of the world’s population. His friends were forced to take a stand against him and it ended with his death. When Mikasa held Eren’s head in her hand, she stated the same phrase. Hajime Isayama thus foreshadowed Eren’s death at the hands of Mikasa in the very first chapter, by carefully choosing Mikasa's dialog and the lifespan of a Titan shifter.
This is just one among various examples of Hajime Isayama foreshadowing important events in the series. There is absolutely no doubt that the creator is exceptionally gifted in creating wonderful stories. The entire animanga community hopes to see the writer and illustrator return with more stories such as this.
Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.
