Isayama Hajime Holds Autograph & Q&A Session in Oyama, Oita on March 3rd, 2018
As announced on his most recent blog entry, Isayama Hajime held his latest autograph session in his hometown of Oyama, Oita, Japan!
The lucky fans who were able to attend shared various photos of his sketches and signatures, as seen above. Separate sessions were held with different groups of fans within a room in the onsen resort where the event took place. Each group had 30 minutes to ask him questions and receive illustrations. A total of 30 chosen participants were divided up into 6 groups of 5.
Isayama’s answers to various fan questions are as below (Note: These are fan accounts):
About Levi and the other characters’ updated looks: Levi’s cape is a new, black one. However, Levi couldn’t adapt to the other changes, so he kept his uniform and blades. Kawakubo Shintaro (Isayama’s editor) didn’t want any visual changes for the characters – he even wanted Eren to stay clean-shaven. However Isayama decided to not “shave” Eren too much.
On Older Eren: 19-year-old Eren’s height is 183cm – the same as Grisha. However, Isayama states that Eren was more like Carla when he was younger. [T/N:Grisha is actually 182cm, so Isayama may have misremembered here. Zeke however is 183cm.]
On Erwin’s Burial: The Survey Corps had to move on quickly to fight further after Battle of Shiganshina, but Levi later returned and brought back Erwin’s skeletonized body with him/buried him. Though a lot of soldiers perished, there was a special memorial service for Erwin.
On Horoscopes: Neither Eren nor Jean’s birthdays were decided through horoscope characterizations/stereotypes.
On Levi’s Father: Isayama has no plans to draw Levi’s father in the manga. He’s not anyone significant – Isayama thinks he was probably just a short guy.
On Levi’s Cape (Again): The question was what Isayama thought of fans thinking that the cape belonged to Erwin. Isayama states that there is a sense that Levi dyed the green cape into a black color. He doesn’t know whose cape it was, but if it belonged to Erwin, Isayama doesn’t think the size would’ve worked for Levi.
On New Character Designs (Again): Why didn’t Levi’s change much compared to the 104th? Isayama says he wanted to show that the 104th trainees belong to the “Smartphone Generation,” but Levi decided to stay with his “Flip Phone.” Levi doesn’t understand the younger generation, and he is turning into an old man (Literally “Oji-san”).
On Erwin: Will Erwin appear in the manga again, even if just for one panel? Isayama says he thinks there are still chances, such as in flashbacks.
Hardcore Eren: If Eren goes to karaoke, what type of songs will he sing? Isayama: “Metal.”
General Eren Facts: Besides now standing at 183cm, Eren is also a heavyweight drinker (Doesn’t get drunk easily) and good at cleaning. He is now influenced by a lot of the memories he retained, and he determinedly chopped off his own leg before entering Marley. His irises are a grey-ish color and his bloodtype is B.
“Will you be happy with developing the future plot similar to how you drew the story so far?” Isayama: “Yes! But I want to see the readers anticipating [the upcoming plot].” Kawakubo: “Like he said, I’ve been saying the same thing! Everyone is looking forward to it.” Isayama: “…Then I’ll change the story.”
Eren & Elysium: When Eren asked Falco “Is that person…a girl?”, he was under the influence of other people’s memories (Possibly Grisha in that moment). The new Survey Corps uniform was inspired by Matt Damon’s external armor/exoskeleton in Elysium (Below). When asked about the members going to the restroom, Isayama: “It would be better to open a hole in that design…”
Lots More Information: Isayama on Eren’s bloodtype – “Because this is a fantasy series, maybe there are not only 4 blood types. But then again, are they even counted as human…?” [T/N: This somewhat contradicts the earlier fan account where Isayama said outright that Eren’s bloodtype was B…].
“What will Levi think of Eren’s current look?” Isayama (Without hesitation): “Dirty.” [T/N: As in unclean, of course]
“Was it Eren’s own idea to grow his hair long?”
Isayama: “Right now he is in a state where he is no longer paying attention to how people view him, so he just let it grow out.”
“Did Eren consider the fact that he will be infiltrating Marley when he grew out his hair?” Isayama: “Since he was supposed to be a hospitalized patient, he actually should’ve kept a cleaner hairstyle.” [T/N: A little vague, but this basically sounds like Eren didn’t mean to grow his hair out as a disguise]
“Were there any cases of when you let the characters’ behavior and dialogue develop organically?” Isayama: “In general, I let the characters evolve on their own. I don’t remember things after I draw them. I can’t look at my storyboard calmly right after I finish them, so Bakku-san (Kawakubo) is the one who reads them objectively.”
“Following up on that answer: Bakku-san will immediately read your storyboard (In less than one day) after you submit them to him?” Isayama: “Since he has been waiting for the storyboard to arrive, in most cases he will read them in one or two hours after I give them to him.”
“Did they (Eren and Levi) resolve the confusion of when Eren said ‘midget old man (chibi oyaji)’? Or did Eren apologize?” Isayama: “Levi is not concerned about being referred to that way. But after Eren said it and Levi thought about the moniker by himself later, he seemed hurt. He probably thought “So Eren sees me like that….”
“Any plan to draw the four-year period back on Paradis island?” Isayama: “That’s something I can’t tell you for now. (Kawakubo also chimed in here and said: “Isayama-sensei won’t tell you anything, but please look forward…”)
“Kenny said he will never go to a brothel. Does Levi think the same way?” Isayama: “Because it’s an environment that Levi had been part of since childhood, it seems like he considers prostitution as just another ordinary job.”
“What is Eren’s current body weight?” Isayama: “If I have to answer that now – he indeed gained some weight because he has grown taller. However, he has a rather slender body.”
Chef Levi: “When the characters lived in the castle [T/N: Not sure if this meant Utgard or the SC headquarters], who made the meals?” Isayama: “Everyone. Everyone knows how to cook, because they are soldiers.” “So it doesn’t matter if someone is a new cadet or not?” Isayama: “Ohhh. In that sense, maybe those who are in higher ranks don’t cook.” “Then can Levi cook?” Isayama: “I think he can.” “Does he hold the knife in a reverse fashion?” Isayama: “He holds it the normal way. If he holds a cooking knife in reverse, he would just seem like a cocky person (Laughs}.”
Bloodtypes (Again): “Please tell me the blood types of Shingashina Trio.” Isayama: “If we are talking in the sense of normal blood types, then Eren is B, Armin is O, and Mikasa AB.”
Anime Changes: “At the end of Season 1′s OP, Eren’s eyes turned red. Was it an effect of him turning into his titan form?” Isayama: “It’s because the anime was completely at director Araki’s discretion. In the original work, it was not designed like that.”
Eren, Levi, & Cleaning: “I feel that Eren has been together with the Captain for a long time. Will their actions or language be influenced by one another?” Isayama: “For Eren, [the thing that influences him the most is] the cleaning. It is not because he likes cleanliness, but more that he has to do it – otherwise he will get scolded.” “Does Eren have a cleaning skill he is very good at?” Isayama: “It would be that — dusting. [T/N: Isayama’s original word here means “beating/knocking and dusting”. It can mean dusting general objects or dusting a futon, during which you hang the material outside. Judging from his next sentence saying Eren could make a stick for cleaning, Isayama was likely referring to him beating a futon and dusting it that way.] Maybe he would make a stick from tree branch and then wrap it with clothing or cotton.” “Then how will Levi react to it?!” Isayama: “Ohh, wouldn’t Levi want to see it (Laughs)? Although he wouldn’t consider it as good work, he would be quite surprised [T/N: There is a sense of “caught off-guard” in his feeling].”
Another Character Death: “There have been a lot of character deaths up to now. Is anyone going to die in the future?” Isayama: “I don’t even know, but I’ve decided for one person to die. It’s like when I draw the storyboard and I suddenly realize – ‘Huh? [This person] just died?’ But for other characters, I still don’t know.”
High School AU:“The High School AU is very popular among fans. Will you make it into a complete story?” Kawakubo: “Isayama-sensei is very into the idea of doing a spin-off.” Isayama: “I’m very concerned about its quality. I think I can only do that if I have the chance to learn about American culture in-depth, and draw it in a detailed fashion.”
Levi in the High School AU: “What’s the color of janitor Levi’s jumpsuit in SnK High School AU?” Isayama: “Deep blue. I based its model on the game Life is Strange.”
“Have there been times where you came across ‘secondary creations’ of your work (e.g. Donjinshi and/or fanart)? If so, what perspective do you have of them?” Isayama: “There are times when I have come across them. That alone has already made me happy. Like, people are creating new types of ‘fun’ out of Shingeki. I don’t mind no matter how you are having fun with it.”
On SnK’s Manga’s Ending Date: “Have you decided on when to finish this series? Have you ever considered timing its completion with the Tokyo Olympics (In 2020) somehow?” Isayama: “I’m now working on the manga without any decision about the ending date. But [Kawakubo and my] shared idea is to finish it quickly. Five years ago, we decided to finish the series in three years (Isayama and Kawakubo laugh together).”
Erwin as a Character: “What’s the role of Erwin in the work Shingeki no Kyojin?” Isayama: “For the protagonists, it is necessary to have a charismatic superior, and that ;person is Erwin. I think he never broke into cold sweat. It would be wrong for him to get that nervous/anxious.”
Revisiting Erwin and Bertholt in Flashbacks: “I find it hard to draw Erwin in flashbacks, because I feel there was already a perfect ending for him. But for Bertholdt, I haven’t finished drawing him…”
Bertholt’s Family: “To be honest, I didn’t think much about his family. If I’m going to consider it right now, he is probably performing his tasks (e.g. Being a child warrior) for the sake of his father.”
Why Bertholt was Chosen for Colossal Titan: “He had his own hidden opinion towards the fact that he was asked to take on the most important responsibility. Well, I think [it’s because] he could do anything [physically], so [he might think] ‘I can also grow mentally stronger in the future [by doing this].’”
On Character Deaths: “But I don’t think the characters literally ‘died.’ Even if they died in the story…well…they still often appear somewhere else. [T/N: We’re not sure if he meant they would appear in the story again or appear in another form, such as in the anime or merch]
Kawakubo is Nervous About these Q&As (LOL): “Things like this… I… I am not remembering all the things Isayama-kun is saying here. There is going to be trouble for me later when we make guidebooks for things like birthdays or other stuff.”
Janitor or Thief?: In the High School AU where Levi entered Eren’s room, he entered through the window.
Eren & Alchol (Again): “Does 19 y/o Eren drink alcohol?” Isayama: “I think he drinks, but how should I put this…there is ‘compliance’ in the manga industry regarding adolescent law [T/N: To prohibit mangaka from drawing illegal situations. In this case, the legal age in Japan to drink alcohol is 20]. Maybe it would be fine to draw alcohol? As long as it is not in the anime.”
On Spin-Offs(Also combining this Tweet): “How should we consider the relationship between SnK spin-offs and the original manga?” Kawakubo: “Kyojin Chuugakkou (Jr. High)’s author had creative freedom.” Isayama: “Regarding ACNWR, I talked roughly in advance with the author about things that could happen in the underground world.” [T/N: OP mentioned her memory was not clear and she could be wrong] Isayama’s own design was that Erwin noticed thug Levi in the underground and decided to draw him into the Survey Corps.
On Levi’s Return: “Recently I haven’t been drawing Levi in the manga. Sorry that I drew a far too smooth/straightforward return for him when I finally made him appear again.”
On Mike’s Death: “What were the feelings of Levi and Erwin and others when they heard of Mike’s death? It was necessary to have their feelings depicted in the manga, right?” (Kawakubo smiled bitterly) Isayama: “Why did I rush that back then and not draw it properly?” Kawakubo: “It was too early for a good person to die.”
On Erwin and Levi Touching Hands: “When entrusting the syringe and serum, was there any meaning behind the scene when Erwin and Levi’s hands touched each other’s?” Kawakubo (Laughing): “Are you asking about Isayama-san’s meaning or Erwin and Levi’s meaning?” Isayama: “There is no particular meaning. In reality, if this were two real people, it would also be normal for them to touch hands…”
On Erwin’s Mom: When asked about Erwin’s mom’s story… Isayama: “I’ll start thinking about it from now on.“
Kawakubo: “We need to have a memopad here [for him to help Isayama keep track of all his responses/new ideas].”
PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT, this was Isayama’s Disclaimer at One of the Sessions: “Ultimately, the story resembles a living creature in the way it evolves. My answers during this autograph event are just some of all the possibilities that can happen. I hope you can ask questions while having this idea in mind.” [T/N: Isayama, forever the King of Vagueness]
The behind stories of making characters by Isayama, from snk guide book
Translate by me, captured by me. I only translated Reiner, Bertolt and Annie’s part.
Reiner Braun
I gathered the
image of the former soccer player David Beckham’s eyes and the eyebrows, Matt Damon in <Saving Private Ryan>, my close friend’s characteristic to make Reiner. His appearance seems bit wild, and maybe scary. But he is a very good sportsman, gentle and kind, and has perfect personality. He is the character that you can sense high potential.
Bertolt Hoover
First of all, I made Colossal titan. And then I thought “What if colossal titan is a human who has weak-hearted and calm eyes, then what kind of character would it be?”. So I made Bertolt. Bertolt is the only character that the design of the titan came first, and then the human form.
Annie Leonhart
She is a small, but highly decorated character. Her hairstyle is based on photos of
Avril Lavigne taken by paparazzi. Her name is a joke, like “She is a girl, but her name is
‘Bro’(※In Japanese, ‘Annie’ and ‘Bro’ have the same pronunciation)” And it can be another reason that I liked the nickname “Annie” of the character who appeared in the drama <Kisarazu Cat’s Eye木更津キャッツアイ>.
And I combined “LeonHart” to show her inner strength. I thought the name is
Under @momtaku‘s request, I decided to address the issue surrounding Ymir’s death from my review in a separate post.
More accurately, this isn’t about how it was handled, but more about the circumstances surrounding it. After chapter 89 came out, I saw Ymir’s death coming from miles ahead, for logical reasons. Since Marley lost a shifter power on the road, they have to destitute it as soon as possible to arm themselves from conflict. Moreover, we learned their military relied mostly on titans, unable to expand past the sea, but dominating the land. Hence why they need to mobilize as soon as possible. From that point onwards, Ymir’s survival was ridiculous: they couldn’t let an ex-felon in possession of the titan power.
However, they didn’t execute her in the most tasteless way, the way some Eldians have been treated in the past, according to Grisha’ flashback and Ymir’s letter.
Fay eaten by the dogs (Ch. 86), the Kruger family burned alive (Ch. 87), Ymir being sent for a lifetime as a titan to Paradis, the fate of every Eldian opposing themselves to Marley (Ch. 89)
This world carries a strong hatred for Eldians, not just Marleans, as seen by that scared prisoner from the Middle Eastern Alliance, to the soldiers of the same faction calling them “descendants of that whore”. Yet the way Ymir was executed was rather… merciful.
Ymir about to be executed – Ch. 93
Look at the structure. Very reminiscent of a certain ceremony, isn’t it?
The Reiss passing ceremony. – Ch. 64
And everything there has been reproduced to a certain extent: the chains, the stairs, even the white costume. And in Ymir’s case, it was done for the sake of a single warrior. Not the future king, just a warrior.
Since Marley treats Eldians like canon meat and can execute them without suffering any severe consequences, I wonder if them imitating the coronation isn’t connected to some kind of superstition as the next warrior being haunted by their predecessors if not done correctly.
While this isn’t as efficient as the coordinate, it happens shifters can pass memories between holders, under certain conditions.
Galliard seeing through Ymir’s memories – Ch. 93
Galliard was also able to understand Ymir a little and even felt pity for her sake, almost as if he and Ymir made some kind of connection between the moment Galliard crunched her and the moment he woke up as a shifter. Galliard didn’t say when he saw the memory illustrated above, so I assume it could happen randomly at any point in time.
Now what was the difference between Galliard and the rest of their shifters? Ymir was given a royal treatment for her status: she got to stay prisoner for a bit, ask a last favor to Reiner and delivering her letter to the girl she loves, and got a full ceremony. Others devoured shifters weren’t as lucky.
Shifters being quickly and brutally devoured: Marcel (Ch. 40), Frieda (Ch. 63), Grisha (Ch. 62) and Bertolt (Ch. 84)
I was reluctant onto putting Grisha to the list because he willingly let himself fed to Eren. If anything, it’s Eren who got coerced without much explanation, only agreeing with his father that he’s going to avenge his mother. According to this month’s chapter, Grisha left 22 years ago, where he became the holder of the Attacking Titan. That means he would’ve died 9 years before the present point… just the time needed to pass the power to his son before his time was up. He surrounded himself to his progeny without any further waiting, and is now relieving his memories through him.
Now that any shifter can experience the memories of their predecessor, the coordinate probably kicked in once Eren read through the journals, because Grisha wanted his will to fight to pass down inside Eren, something he did successfully. Him raising his arms in a defense posture makes me think if he didn’t regret what he was about to do at the very last moment, though.
Of course, before succumbing to his fate, Grisha forcefully removed the Founding Titan out of Frieda’s nape. The two of them fought and Grisha won, devouring Frieda alive. We didn’t experience any aftereffect since Grisha died soon after, but Eren caught glimpses of Frieda here and there.
Eren through Frieda’s memories – Ch. 53
The coordinate allows Eren to delve deeper in the memories of his predecessors, but the most blatant so far have been Kruger’s and Grisha’s, since, as Attacker titans, they both shared the same ideology. That’s the reason why Kruger wasn’t in the list: him passing his power to Grisha was in his agenda. He wanted the leader of the restorationists to own it and the latter agreed, after a short conversation.
Grisha finding resolution after hearing Kruger – Ch. 87
This panel clearly shows Grisha is ready to accept Kruger’s power. There’s consenting on both sides.
The same thing happened with the Reiss ceremony: each ruler was prepared for it as their time was near, and each successor did the same, promising they won’t let their ancestors dominate them, asking for their family to pray, and falling victim to the sin of their bloodline everytime.
In the next cases, taping onto memories is a very tedious thing to do:
Ymir and Bertolt discussing Marcel’s fate – Ch. 47
Ymir stated she had no recollection, nor vision of who Marcel was. If she had memories from him, she would recognize Reiner and Bertolt on sight. Bertolt also states he, Reiner and the other warriors don’t have any memories of their predecessors either. What he meant by that could be the temporary amnesia every shifter experiences once they’re reverting back to their human form.
The thing is, the warriors were all submitted to the classical ritual, so the passing method stayed the same. The seven titans always won Marley’s wars and going on Paradis was a first. When Ymir inherited Marcel, it was an accident. Marcel shielded Reiner back then. When he was eaten, Ymir couldn’t remember him or see through him, as if Marcel’s soul sealed itself. That explains why not even his twin brother could see the moment where he died.
And now, probably the most disturbing case: Bertolt.
Bertolt about to get devoured by Armin – Ch. 84
His execution was completely messy and sloppy. Not only did he spend the whole serumbowl completely unconscious, but also gets held on the other side of the house so Armin could take his time to get him. When he woke up, he was completely unaware of his surroundings and got an audience who only wanted Armin to come back as a shifter. Other devoured shifters stayed silent, Bertolt begged for help. As a result, the first image that comes into Armin’s mind is that giant Colossal, screaming in pain. I explained in my chapter analysis how similar it was to Japanese ghost stories, but Armin doesn’t remain affected, from what we’ve seen. Maybe a bit down considering what transpired at the serumbowl, but no doubt Bertolt would do like Marcel did: keeping his secrets well-protected.
Unless he actually made Armin relieve his worst memories but… that’s probably left for when we switch back to Paradis. Him being pictured as sinking ships makes me think something changed in him but it’s more than potential nightmares.
In any case, I think those paths aren’t completely random. They can connect briefly if all the conditions are reunited, especially through a ceremony. That’s why Ymir’s death wasn’t as awful as people made it out to be. We should be grateful enough we’re spared the definite crunch because not even Titan Jesus Uri was granted this…
Frieda devouring Uri – Ch. 64
Yep, clear dismembered king right in front of our eyes. I doubt many of you would’ve been happy to see Ymir’s limbs dangling to the chains while her lower half would just lay there as Galliard was taking back his human form.
There’s already debate on who will get the serum. Will it be Armin? Will it be Erwin? Either way no one seems to care that Bertolt is right there too, in the same page as Armin and Erwin, as a potential person to get the falling axe. Both the fans and the characters are treating him as some sort of tool to revive their loved one, throwing him around like a sack of meat as he lies there unconscious, clueless of what’s in store for him.
I’m personally not sure what will happen with the serum, but I believe Isayama created this situation to put the reader’s humanity to a test. Can the readers understand that everyone involved in this conflict is human? Can they sympathize with them, like a normal human should? For one, the characters themselves don’t.
Except for Jean of course, who once again showed that he’s the voice of
reason and humanity in the series, even if that worked against him in
the end.
Even after everything that happened, Jean still has sympathy for his former enemies, and that’s because he’s human, as Isayama himself says. Jean is supposed to be a relatable character who speaks the reader’s mind. So what went wrong this chapter? Because for one, the reaction I see from the readers is completely different to Jean’s. Is the fandom so attached to their favorite characters that they don’t even care if other two have to die for their sake?
Someone might bring up that the enemies don’t deserve sympathy since they’re bad people who killed innocent civilians for their evil cause, but I don’t see anyone paying attention to what their war chief said this chapter.
It looks more and more that the main characters might not be exactly the good guys in this story, but they’re clueless about what they did wrong so the readers can’t blame them for trying to fight back. Soon enough we might find out that these enemies have a good reason to want humanity to be annihilated, as Hanji speculated earlier in the series.
So what did humans do that was so unforgivable to justify the entire human race being annihilated? Is it something Grisha did? Something the First King did? Humans having their memories wiped clearly plays a big role in this.
But by all means, let’s ignore all the insight we got on the antagonists this arc so we can fight over who should get the falling axe, failing to see the bigger picture Isayama so carefully laid out for us.
Hi, Anon, sorry for the delayed answer, I had to deal with exams 🙂 And wow a SnK ask, how rare! ^^
About your ask I don’t think it’s full of holes at all, it might as well be the real answer although if I recall correctly it hasn’t been confirmed yet in canon (Titans being once humans is canon though).
Actually this is my theory too because of several things, namely…
Ymir wandering outside the Walls for 60 years and calling it a “nightmare”.
Ymir being punished (according to Reiner and Bertholdt) and maybe killed because she ate one of the young shifters to become human again -> I’m guessing the rule is something like “don’t eat a Titan shifter to become a shifter because shifters are the ones making the rules and as a normal Titan you should obey them and not take their place”. They also don’t remember when they eat a shifter.
Titans eating humans even though they have no need or even organs -> then why do they eat them?
Chapter 50, when Eren used the Coordinate’s power by accident: Reiner, Bertholdt and Ymir remained unaffected though they felt it too, but the simple-minded Titans (so the not-shifters) were controlled immediately probably because they’re not conscious and are acting following their impulses.
Basically, I’m thinking that, when someone becomes a Titan, as we saw with Eren and Grisha, it’s all about trying to get back to being human because being a titan is probably not the greatest thing ever (hence Ymir calling it a nightmare). So they have this impulse to eat people to escape this situation because eating a shifter is the only way to go back to being human, but at the same time if they eat the shifters from Reiner and Bertholdt’s people (like Ymir did) then they’re in trouble.
That’s my theory so far, so I agree with you and I don’t think your reasoning is full of holes ^^
The Colossal Titan is the God of this (SNK) world. I must draw him to resemble God… With that in mind, I have redrawn the Colossal Titan numerous times. I think it’s not an exaggeration to say that I had bet all I had on it. The Colossal Titan’s existence is the icon [mascot] of Shingeki no Kyojin. I thought it is one of the most important things.
In order to convey my idea at that time, I must touch on The Dark Knight theory from the movie critic, Tomohiro Machiyama. According to Machiyama-san, The Dark Knight is based on the epic poem, Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. If you are able to live in heaven, you may be able to live happily; however, in the end, isn’t it the equivalent of becoming God’s slave? For example, even if you were banished from heaven, and plunged into hell, you should choose freedom. That is the theme of “Paradise Lost”. They were called Devils. Paradise Lost depicts a large scale battle between God and the Devil.
In SNK, the people who choose to go outside the wall, are the people who choose the freedom of Hell. They have chosen to cast aside their welfare for uncontrolled freedom. And their enemy, the Titans, especially the Colossal Titan, lord over the slaves from Heaven. He (the Colossal) is no other than the God of the (SNK) world. The reason why I felt the Colossal Titan needs to look like the God is because this is an important idea related to the story’s foundation. Even now, this remains one of the most important ideas for SNK.
Note: Paradise Lost is an epic poem spanning 12 books, which depicts the fall of Satan from Heaven, and the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise. The poem has been a cause of much literary analysis as readers and critics alike remain divided on the nature of God, the Devil, and how Milton’s views on government might affect the story.*
Satan in the novel rebels against God over who should rule. Satan believed that all Angels should have ruled the Heavens equally. Milton was against the monarchy of Charles Stuart.
midnight-in-town 