Hajime Isayama is a Japanese manga artist born on August 29, 1986, in Oyama, Oita Prefecture, Japan, an area now part of the city of Hita. Growing up in a rural, mountainous region, he began submitting manga works to contests while still in high school. After graduating, he enrolled in the manga design program at Kyushu Designer Gakuen. At the age of twenty, he moved to Tokyo and worked at an internet café while pursuing a career as a manga creator.

In 2006, Isayama submitted a short version of what would become his most famous work to Kodansha’s Magazine Grand Prix, where it received a "Fine Work" award. He originally offered the piece to Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump department but declined when advised to modify his style and story to better suit that magazine’s model, instead taking it to Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine department. In 2008, he won the Special Encouragement Award at the 80th Weekly Shonen Magazine Freshman Manga Award for his one-shot Heart Break One, and another one-shot, Orz, was chosen as a selected work in the same contest the following year.

His first serialized work, Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin), began publication in Kodansha’s monthly Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009 and concluded in 2021. The series became one of the best-selling manga of all time, with over 140 million copies in circulation. It received the Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category in 2011 and inspired a media franchise that includes numerous spin-off manga, light novels, visual novels, video games, and a two-part live-action film.

The anime adaptation of Attack on Titan premiered in 2013, produced by Wit Studio, and covered the story across multiple seasons. The final arc was later adapted by MAPPA under the title Attack on Titan The Final Season, which was further divided into parts. Isayama’s original one-shot version of the series was included with the first Blu-ray release of the anime. Beyond the main series, he wrote a crossover story with Marvel Comics titled Attack on Avengers in 2014 and collaborated with artist Ryoji Minagawa on a one-shot called The Killing Pawn.

Isayama’s artistic identity is defined by a focus on intense themes of survival, moral ambiguity, and the darker aspects of human nature. His storytelling frequently explores concepts of freedom, oppression, sacrifice, and the fragility of society within a framework of intricate world-building and relentless tension. His early art style was noted for its unconventional and gritty quality, which he has stated was a long-standing habit from childhood; over the course of his career, his artwork evolved significantly. He has cited the manga Project ARMS, the visual novel Muv-Luv Alternative, and Western series such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones as influences on his work.

The success of Attack on Titan established Isayama as one of the most significant manga creators of his generation. In addition to the Kodansha Manga Award, he received a Harvey Award in 2014 and was honored with the Fauve Special award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023. In his personal life, he announced on his blog in December 2018 that he had married earlier that year. He was also named a Tourism Ambassador for his hometown of Hita in 2014.