Transcript: George Wada (Producer: Attack on Titan) Press Conference

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George Wada, head of Studio Wit (a subsidiary of Production IG) and producer of hit anime series Attack on Titan, spoke to the press at Anime Expo 2013. This is a transcript of his remarks, directly translated from the Japanese by Rome. The first record of this is contained in the live tweet blog gendomike recorded, which was based off the on-site translator’s interpretation.

There’s been a lot of Attack on Titan cosplay at this convention. What’s your reaction to seeing so much of it?

In just this past month, after making Attack On Titan in Japan, I realized that it is so popular even here in America!

Will there be more episodes after the current run of 24 episodes ends?

We haven’t decided if we will do a second season, but I personally want to do it as soon as possible.

Will the anime’s ending be different from the manga?

Basically, we plan to make the anime as faithful to the original manga as possible, but it’ll be up to director Tetsuro Araki and what he’s thinking about.

What attracted to you to Attack on Titan as something to make into an anime?

Because, first of all, I thought Attack on Titan‘s setting, where people are surrounded by walls, is similar to the psychological setting of current teenage Japanese boys and girls.

The economic situation in Japan is getting tough, but even so, it’s about time that kids in Japan learn to go outside, to go beyond the wall, where it’s not always as peaceful or safe…so [it was easy for] Japanese kids [to] invest their emotions in Attack On Titan, and that’s why it became popular among teenagers. So, I wanted more people to know about this by making this animated.

There’s a parallel between the complacency of the people who’ve lived behind the wall [for 100 years] and the peacetime attitude that the Japanese have become accustomed to. Up until now, the Japanese people have been content to remain within their own country [and tend to their own affairs]. But since the global political climate is changing, times have changed and people now have to go outside, and I guess inside many teenagers’ hearts there have been similar longings to go out into the world. And by making that kind of story animated, I want the people in the world to know that this is the No. 1 story that Japanese teenagers have been the most moved and touched by.

Where do giants fit in this allegory?

Well, perhaps, why is this story so popular? Because people may have the same feeling inside their hearts. You have yourself and then hit the wall that represents the limits of reality. And at that time, tragedy without reason suddenly attacks you unexpectedly. Those, allegorically, are like the giants.

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Did you select Araki as director? What made you select him as director?

Yes, I was one of the staff that selected Araki as director.

I have two reasons. First, Araki is the director whose work [ed: includes Guilty Crown, High School of the Dead, Kurozuka, and Death Note] has been the most about the wall between ideal and reality. Second is that Araki is a world-class master of action and visual scenes. Guilty Crown proved that to me more than anything else.

The first episode was pretty gruesome, even showing Eren’s mother being eaten by a Titan. Why open with something so brutal?

In the first episode, the most possibly tragic thing happens to Eren, at the hands of a Titan. I believe that showing this was absolutely necessary and crucial. For Eren, what happened was so sudden, absurd, and unreasonable; while fleeing, he says, “This can’t be happening! Why?” And through all that, all this happened anyway, in the first episode.The world is that cruel.

Why did you decide to make Attack on Titan through the spinoff Wit Studio, not Production IG?

While we were making Guilty Crown, we thought if we didn’t change how we produced anime drastically, we would be stuck in the same place and never able to move up to the next stage. That’s why we established Wit Studio, and if we hadn’t started Wit, Attack On Titan would never have had the great quality that it achieved.

What’s the difference between Production IG and Wit in making anime?

Well, in terms of feeling, there are a lot of sub-departments and teams in Production IG’s building. Instead, Wit rented a different building and there’s only one team. The sense of unity is very different than what we had at IG.

Why depict Mikasa having such pronounced six pack abs? Is this a conscious turning away from the moe aesthetic?

In Attack on Titan, we tried to depict the severity of battle environment. And in that, Isayama-sensei [the mangaka] says that if the characters have such great physical ability to move around, her body of course naturally must be like that. And this part is a reflection of Attack of Titan’s more realistic approach.

Also, [even] with Production IG, in the first Ghost in the Shell movie there was the last scene where Maj. Motoko Kusanagi fights a tank. In that moment, she becomes super-muscular. So for me, Mikasa is a continuation of a type of female character that includes Motoko and that Production IG has naturally gravitated toward.

Did you anticipate that Attack on Titan would become such a big hit?

To be honest, in Japan, the most popular anime are the ones with moe characters, a lot of girls in it, and no cruel scenes. I thought these were the shows that would make it big, so initially I thought Attack On Titan would be a minor hit at best.

But on the contrary, because Attack On Titan doesn’t have any of these three elements (moe characters, a lot of girls, and no cruel scenes), it spread among people who normally don’t watch anime. It’s one very important element that made Attack On Titan break through as an anime.

Why did you make Attack On Titan despite being aware of the risks?

Well, in a word, a sense of duty. Araki wanted to animate Attack On Titan, I also felt I needed to animate it when I was reading the manga, and Isayama-sensei told us that he wanted us to animate it. So, I made up my mind that we had to make this anime. So, it wasn’t from some marketing impetus, about how can we make money; ultimately it was the creator’s idea.

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.

5 thoughts on “Transcript: George Wada (Producer: Attack on Titan) Press Conference

    1. I think it’s technically 25, but that includes the recap, and there will be OVAs apparently. So 24 actual eps for TV.

  1. ok i have an idea. what if we brought Marco back? i mean like what if he was a Titan shiftier and he just faked his death? i think that would add to an epic plot twist and then it can be like this big scene where he like protects Jean or something. I don’t know, just an idea that just came into my head.

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