Hajime Isayama's mega-hit "Attack on Titan" remains an absolute powerhouse, with collaborations and merchandise still dropping regularly, even after the manga and anime have concluded.
But here's a shocker: at the recent "International MANGA Conference" (IMART2025) in Tokyo's Ikebukuro, Kodansha's IP bigwigs, Masatoshi Kakuda and Yohei Ito, alongside Good Smile Company (GSC) President Takanori Iwasa, took the stage. They dished out their experiences on pushing licensing, merchandise, and global expansion, and that's where the juicy details about "Attack on Titan"'s anime adaptation came out.
The biggest bombshell dropped by Kodansha's Yohei Ito during the panel? "The 'Attack on Titan' anime project was initially greenlit with the expectation that it would lose money." Wild, right? Especially considering "Attack on Titan" anime's undeniable global impact today, with a massive fanbase, particularly in the West, making it an incredibly dominant IP.
Their reasoning?
Few similar-style works existed at the time
The subject matter was relatively dark and heavy
Merchandising was deemed difficult, leading to pessimistic revenue forecasts
But Ito stressed that despite the grim financial outlook, the team was super confident in the anime's production quality. Kodansha ultimately backed them, paving the way for its monumental success. Truth be told, no one at Kodansha back then could have predicted the global phenomenon it would become.
Masatoshi Kakuda from the same company chimed in, adding, "It's like 'AKIRA'—it initially lost money but eventually broke even through long-term accumulation. There are quite a few works like that." They originally expected "Attack on Titan" to follow a similar path, as their initial vision for the series was quite rigid, believing it would be tough to expand the fanbase. But boy, were they wrong! The anime exploded, completely blowing open their imagination for IP, expanding licensing possibilities, and giving Kodansha a much broader global perspective.
▼ Back then, the official stance was that "Attack on Titan" couldn't really expand into these kinds of collaborations. Now? It's a collaboration machine, and fans are absolutely eating it up!
Clearly, "Attack on Titan" has been a game-changer for Kodansha. Not only did the series itself skyrocket after the anime adaptation, but it also massively expanded their vision for IP licensing and the global reach of their works.
But hey, "expected to lose money"? Guess there was a reason for that back in the day, huh? XD
via： real sound