March 2018 Isayama-sensei Autograph Signing Event Compilation Part 2

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The author:SAYAYA (Twitter:@388AOT)
The translator:Emica(Twitter:@emica50)
Japanese version:2018年3月諫山先生サイン会まとめ その2

This article is about Isayama-sensei’s autograph signing event that was held in Hita, Oita in March of 2018. 

The signing events with Isayama are known for their Q&A sessions with fans.
As the author, it is possible for Isayama to be asked questions directly about the many mysteries in Attack On Titan, so it’s a very popular event among fans. 

From this signing event’s Q&A, I made a compilation focusing on questions that are related to Erwin and Levi. 
The story of Erwin’s hair style change, Levi being able to drink like a fish, Erwin being like the sun in the AOT world, and more are all worth reading. 

Since the summary of this signing event is quite long, it has been split into two parts.
Part 1 can be found here: “March 2018 Isayama Autograph Signing Event Compilation Part 1”.

March 2018 Isayama-sensei Autograph Signing Event Compilation Part 2

March 2018 Isayama-sensei Signing Event Compilation Part 1 here

Part 1 is here.
You can read about the event overview and the first half of the Q&As.

Q&A

The interactions between Isayama and fans at the event have been compiled at the following sites:

Also, you can search the “#諫山先生日田サイン会” hashtag on Twitter. 

Regarding the Q&A at the event, Isayama’s editor Back-san said, “These answers are unofficial” and “There is a good chance that they will change if we come up with a better configuration for them in the story” (see Event Report link above).

There were some changes made to these answers in the Final Season of the anime, so please refer to them for reference only.

These answers have been either quoted or summarized from the tweets in the Event Report. 
If there were multiple similar questions, those answers have been consolidated.
I tried to summarize so that the nuances do not change, but please check the original tweets for the exact content m (_ _) m

Onto the second half of the Q&As!

Can Levi hold his liquor?

Question: In the August 2014 issue of Frau magazine, it was revealed that Levi was a strong drinker, but was there ever an instance where the alcohol turned on him?

  • It doesn’t seem that something like that has happened (Note: I wrote my impression of the nuance of Isayama’s words)
  • When he was young he was able to figure out his limits by drinking many times. Like a college student. 

A lot of people had questions about Levi’s alcohol intake, and my impression was that Isayama was surprised by this because he said, “everyone is really concerned!”
Well of course we’re concerned about it…! lol

Another person asked about Erwin, and Isayama answered that Erwin is also able to hold his liquor.
Erwin who can hold his liquor, and Levi, who can drink alcohol like it’s water (I’m having delusions)

The mother and child Levi noticed

Question: In the scene where Levi noticed a mother holding her baby, what was he thinking about in that moment? 

※Note:
The original tweet wrote “volume 13 (when embarking on the Wall Maria Reclamation operation)”, but the mother and child appeared twice, first in volume 13, chapter 53, “Smoke Signal”, and second in volume 18, chapter 72 “Night of the Battle to Retake the Wall”, so I believe the tweet got both of them mixed up. 

  • Levi remembered himself and his mother.
  • He felt that the people in the town aren’t just “someone else’s problem”

Isayama was really playing a long game here since Levi’s backstory wasn’t revealed until volume 17, chapter 69, “Friends”.
I didn’t understand the reason why Levi was shown taking notice of the mother and child, so reading that answer was very convincing.

In volume 18, chapter 72, “Night of the Battle to Retake the Wall”, the mother and child came out to see the Survey Corps, and it was my impression that the mother seemed somewhat more plump. 
When Levi also noticed the mother and child, his expression became softer. 

About spin-offs like “Attack on Titan: Junior High” and “No Regrets”

Question: to what extent are “Attack on Titan: Junior High” and “No Regrets” (aka “A Choice With No Regrets”) and other spin-offs linked to the main story, and to what extent was Isayama involved in putting them together?

  • Isayama allowed “Attack on Titan: Junior High” to be written at [Saki Nakagawa’s] own discretion.
  • In “No Regrets”, Isayama gave a rough outline of what happened in the Underground in advance.
  • At the time of that discussion, Isayama wasn’t sure to what extent that “No Regrets” was connected to the canon of the main story, but the concept of Erwin zeroing in on rogue Levi in the underground and bringing him in was proposed by Isayama himself.
  • The differences between the last scene of “No Regrets” in the manga and the anime versions came from Isayama’s input. 
  • They [the adaptators] were able to grasp concepts such as Levi is short, and Erwin and Levi don’t show expressions of breaking into a cold sweat.

Erwin zeroing in on Levi and bringing him in was Isayama’s idea!!! (This is a super big deal!)
Also it’s interesting that Erwin and Levi don’t break into cold sweats. 

Levi’s eyesight

Question: How good is Levi’s eyesight?

  • Isayama thinks it’s quite good.
  • (The person who asked: like 2.0 [20/20]?) “Sure let’s go with that”

So, apparently Levi has 2.0 vision (is it ok for you to be making decisions like that on the fly, Isayama? Lol).

Levi’s uniform in the School Caste AU

Question: What color are Levi’s coveralls in the Attack on School Castes AU? 

  • They are dark blue.
  • His outfit is modeled after the janitor from the game “Life Is Strange”.

Isayama also talked about “Life Is Strange” in a blog post from August 9th, 2016.
In the post he said, “The contents in this month’s chapter were blatantly influenced [by LIS]”, and the chapter published that month was chapter 84, “Midnight Sun”.
For anyone who hasn’t read the blog post, definitely check it out!!

Link: Isayama-sensei’s official blog: Erwin &Levi related articles part 1

Did Erwin’s hairstyle change?

Question: What was up with Erwin’s hairstyle changing from the side-part look he had in the beginning?

  • Even though Erwin’s scenes are always of him riding on a horse, Isayama thought that his hair wouldn’t be so perfectly coiffed and he disliked that, so he changed it.
  • He wishes he would’ve drawn Erwin’s hair like that from the start.

Erwin’s original side-part was perhaps first clearly seen in volume 4, chapter 18, “What Should I Do Now?”, during the dungeon scene.
After that he had the side-part for a while, and then around volume 16 (chapter 63, “Chains”), it changed to his current hairstyle, in which he was given an airier fringe look. 

I also like Erwin with his perfect side-part though! lol

What is Erwin’s role?

Isayama was asked: What sort of role does Erwin’s presence have in a series like “Attack On Titan” ?

  • It’s necessary for the main characters to have a charismatic boss. That person is Erwin. 
  • Isayama doesn’t think Erwin ever breaks into a cold sweat. If he did, he would be a different Erwin. 

When I saw this answer, I remembered Isayama’s interview from the “Attack on Titan: ANSWERS  guidebook (pg 26).

  • In order for the soldiers from the 104th to play an important role in the story, the leadership in the Survey Corps up to that point need to exit the stage, so they become injured or die.
  • This is the reason that Erwin was injured in the big battle at the forest of giant trees in volume 12.

Taking all of this into consideration, along with the last Q&A about the meaning of the “Midnight Sun” chapter title, it makes me think about how big Erwin’s presence is in this story. 

And according to the Q&A about the spin-offs, apparently Levi is also the type who never breaks out in a cold-sweat. 

The meaning of chapter 84’s title, “Midnight Sun”

※ The original tweet for this answer has become private or was deleted so it can’t be viewed, but since I decided those contents should be kept in the record, I edited everyone’s tweets based on the original answer. 
(I searched Twitter with “サイン会 白夜” [signing event midnight sun]).

About the meaning encapsulated by the title of volume 21, chapter 84, “Midnight Sun”:

  • Midnight sun is a phenomenon where the sun does not set even at night, so it is bright.
  • Erwin has died, so the sun will set… but it hasn’t set— it invokes this meaning
  • The impact after Erwin’s death will remain (=the sun will not set)

If you think about it based on this answer, it means that Erwin’s presence in the world of this story is like the sun, isn’t it?
What a magnificent man you are, Erwin Smith ;;;

In the conversation with Hiromu Arakawa published in the July 2021 issue of Bessatsu Shonen magazine, Isayama talked about how “I could at least devote many pages to a character who has died in the story, so it feels like I’m placing onto them what I had accumulated up to that point, preparing them a splendid coffin, offering them flowers, and mourning them.”
I think if you include the title of chapter 84, it certainly is a splendid coffin for Erwin. 
The article below also touches upon the conversation:

About Isayama’s Autograph Signing Events

Isayama signing events have also been held in September 2013 and November 2020. 
The compilation for the September 2013 event is here.

The compilation article for the November 2020 event is currently a work in progress!

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