Attack on Titan manga creator Hajime Isayama held a signing event at the Animate store in Utsunomiya, Tochigi around September 2, 2013. For the two-part event, he apparently signed about 100 autographs, talked to fans, and accepted gifts. Isayama's remarks about the event on his blog began recirculating online again this week.

Isayama offered super-deformed character illustrations with his signatures at the event. Previously, he had only offered a Titan, but he decided to add Mikasa, Armin, and Levi for the event. His attempt at Eren (seen bottom right in below image) proved difficult, so he decided against offering the manga's protagonist.

Reflecting on his drawings, Isayama felt depressed about their quality. He described the drawings as extremely poor and apologized to fans. He felt bad for giving the drawings to eager fans supporting his work. He noted that he carried a lot of self-doubt that he did not necessarily express.

However, Isayama said that he enjoyed the signing event because of the opportunity he had to talk with fans. As a result, his hand didn't hurt by the end of the event, but his throat was hurting from interacting with fans.

Isayama kept a record of how many of each character he drew at the event. In total, he drew 70 Levis, 17 Mikasas, six Armins, and five Titans.

Apparently, the event staff surprised Isayama with a Titan cake and edible character figures to celebrate his birthday, August 29.

Isayama shared similar self-doubting experiences in an interview with BBC News in 2015. When Isayama was seeking a publisher, they liked Attack on Titan 's storyline but said his drawings were poor. He began to give up and thought he would never become a major manga creator. Kodansha showed interest, but Isayama said, "My self-esteem was so low. When my editor said he liked it, I remember thinking, 'What's wrong with this guy?'"

[Via 0takomu]