(source)

The editor of SnK manga, Kawakubo Shintaro, recently did an interview on Natalie Comic website. I translated the part about SnK ending, which (again) confirms that the manga is moving toward its ending.

Interviewer (Q): Last question. I think the readers are wondering about it so I want to ask you. Kawakubo-san, you said “Shingeki no Kyojin is gonna finish in three to fours years” in 2014 during an web interview. And Isayama himself said around the same time that “I want to finish the manga in approximately three years.” So does it mean the manga is gonna end this year or in the next year?

Kawakubo (A): Ah here it is. I have no wish for the manga to extend beyond the current plan. Isayama-san does not intend to purposefully increase the number of manga volumes, but the way toward the ending is getting stretched longer. It is really painful for us that we seem to have cheated the fans, and I truly apologize for it.

Q: You are saying there are more things that he wants to draw?

A: Yes, part of the reason is that. Plus, there keeps coming a situation in which we think “it can be finished in one chapter” but in fact it takes two chapters to do. Furthermore, it is also because Isayama doesn’t want to finish the manga in a careless way.

Q: If we compare this process to climbing up Mount Fuji, which stop are we at right now? (Note: Mount Fuji has ten official stops to help you estimate how high you’ve climbed.)

A: If I answer this question, it may later seem that I lied to the fans again. (laugh) However, Isayama-san says “I would like to end this manga soon” every time when we are discussing the work, and I will support him to make it with all my efforts.

Q: While we publish this interview on the day when Volume 22 is released, the manga story is also approaching a huge turning point.

A: Indeed. We finally managed to reach a certain destination in Volume 22 and we can enjoy it along with Season 2. Every single episode in Season 2 is such a climax that it is so exciting!