 Hajime Isayama created a 65 @-@ page one @-@ shot version of Attack on Titan in 2006 . Originally , he also offered his work to the Weekly Shōnen Jump department at Shueisha , where he was advised to modify his style and story to be more suitable for Jump . He declined and instead decided to take it to the Weekly Shōnen Magazine department at Kodansha . Before serialization began in 2009 , he had already thought of ideas for twists , although they are fleshed out as the series progresses . The author initially based the scenery in the manga on that of his hometown , which is surrounded by mountains . While working at an internet cafe , Isayama encountered a customer who grabbed him by the collar . It was this incident that showed him " the fear of meeting a person I can 't communicate with , " which is the feeling that he conveys through the Titans . When designing the appearances of the Titans , he uses several models such as martial artist Yushin Okami for Eren Yeager 's Titan form as well as Brock Lesnar for the Armored Titan . George Wada , the anime 's producer , stated that the " Wall of Fear " was influenced by the isolated and enclosed nature of Japanese culture . He also said that the inner feelings of every individual is one of the series ' main influences . Isayama later would confirm that Attack on Titan was inspired in part by Muv @-@ Luv Alternative , the second visual novel in the Muv @-@ Luv visual novel series . 
