Attack on Titan: OUTSIDE Osamu - Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan OUTSIDE Osamu is the second official guidebook from the Attack on Titan series. It contains 184 pages and it is entirely written in Japanese. The English edition of this book, simply called the Attack on Titan Guidebook combines Attack on Titan: INSIDE Kou and Attack on Titan: OUTSIDE Osamu. This English version was released on September 16, 2014 by Kodansha Comics. It includes several kinds of information that can range from general profiles of characters to inspirations behind the series.
Interview with the Author
In a long interview with the original author, Hajime Isayama, he explains that, among other influences, there were around 20 works, people, and characters that he used as inspiration to create the story and the characters of Attack on Titan. For example, the walled city in the series is based on Nördlingen in Bavaria, Germany. The concept of the walls themselves was inspired by his own hometown, Hita in Oita prefecture. This area of Japan is located in a rural part of Kyushu. Isayama states that, at times, Hita sometimes felt cut off from the rest of the civilization because it is surrounded by tall, imposing mountains. Isayama grew up always wondering whether or not monsters lay beyond the natural “walls” that surrounded the town. Isayama continues to explain that his wishes of eventually leaving those walls were transmitted to Eren Jaeger’s character, as he also desires to leave the safety of the walls and see the outside world.
Even after leaving Hita, Isayama says that he still feels a strong connection with his hometown. It seems that this connection was mutual, as Isayama was named the tourism ambassador of Hita in 2014. Isayama also recalls a time where a furniture maker local to Hita created a chair that inspired an illustration he created for a fashion magazine that included one of his fan-favorite characters, Captain Levi Ackermann.
Erwin’s personality is mainly inspired by Erwin Rommel, a Nazi general that served during World War II and is known for his success in military campaigns in North Africa between 1941 and 1943. These successes eventually earned him the nickname of “Desert Fox”.
Other characters were also inspired by Watchmen, a famous North American comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Erwin, in addition to Rommel, is also partially based on Ozymandias, while Levi was inspired in Rorschach.
There is a time when Mikasa was said to be as powerful as a thousand soldiers. This is a reference to Tomoe Gozen, a female Japanese warrior that lived in the twelfth century and was told the same exact thing due to her courage and strength.
When it came to the Titans themselves, Isayama explains that he originally got the idea to create the Titans after an encounter with a drunk person while working in a coffee shop. The difficulty of communicating with the man despite the fact that they were both regular people inspired him, as he came to realize that humans can be both the most familiar, yet terrifying things on the planet.
Another inspiration mentioned in this interview is Yushin Okami, a professional wrestler that inspired the appearance of Eren’s Attack Titan. The Armored Titan was also inspired by another wrestler named Brock Lesnar.
Other Sections
An explanation of the Attack on Titan anime production materials
Scans of the official anime character sheets
An exhaustive analysis of the structure and the equipment of the military: this section includes a comprehensive analysis of the military organizations within the series as well as numerous illustrations of the equipment they use.
An interview with the editor of the manga series: the editor of the series from the publisher Kodansha discusses all the ins and outs that the monthly publication of the Attack on Titan manga, the repercussions in the market, and the editing process that takes place before the manga is officially published.
A brief explanation of the major characters: OUTSIDE focuses on the first 11 volumes of the manga (which would correspond to somewhere near the ending Season 2 of the anime. It explains in detail the most relevant information about the story in these volumes and includes information about important characters such as Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Levi.
Imaginary interviews: These fictional interviews are carried out by characters within the series. They are asked various questions and answer them just like they would if they were asked in the manga.
Magazine Titan Reportage 999
Five drafts of Eren’s Titan transformations
A Q&A from Isayama
Six original “What-if?” illustrations drawn by Isayama: In these “what-if” scenarios, Isayama presents some scenes that do not occur in the original story, but involve some of the thoughts that he has thought up in the process of creating the series. One example has Levi becoming a chef instead of a soldier. In this section, Isayama goes on to explain what his life would be like if he did not belong in the universe of Attack on Titan or if he simply had a different role in it.
A guide to Titans and a “Titanpedia”
Unfinished rough draft manga illustrations