Is Attack on Titan’s Eren Yeager inspired by Yushin Okami? Physical: Asia Japan captain’s real-life looks behind the anime character explained

During his introduction in episode 1 of Physical: Asia, released on October 28th, Yushin Okami claimed that Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan is inspired by him.

"There's this manga called 'Attack on Titan' that's pretty popular. And when the protagonist transforms into his 'titan' form, the model is actually based on me," the Japanese athlete stated.

Attack on Titan is a Japanese anime released in 2013, produced by Wit Studio and directed by Tetsurō Araki. It adapts the manga of the same title by Hajime Isayama, who first drafted a 65-page one-shot version in 2006. While working in an internet café, Isayama was grabbed by a customer by the collar.

That encounter led him to express “the fear of meeting a person I can’t communicate with,” which he applied to the Titans. For their designs, he used real models, including Okami for Eren Yeager’s Titan body structure.

Eren is the main character of the manga. In the story, Titans are giant man-eating humanoids that have pushed humans into fortified cities. Isayama shaped Eren's Titan form using the physique of middleweight fighter Yushin Okami as a reference.

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist who has competed professionally since 2002 in organizations including UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. He stands 6′2″ tall, fights under the nickname Thunder. Eren’s Attack Titan and Okami share a lean, muscular frame and defined build and are frequently depicted bald in key images. As SlashFilm reports,

“Okami’s lean, ripped physique is replicated in the physical attributes of Eren’s Attack Titan”.

In Titan form, Eren appears hairless, which contrasts with his usual messy dark hair and matches Okami’s often shaved head in competition footage. Beyond this body type, the resemblance is limited, since Eren’s Titan features exposed muscle, an unusual jaw structure, and glowing eyes that do not occur in real human anatomy.

Eren’s human appearance as a teenage boy with spiky dark hair and thin eyebrows also differs from Okami’s middle-aged look with short hair. So, the link mainly concerns the athletic build used as a model for the Titan body.

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Yushin Okami recently faced backlash over the Physical: Asia "bias" post

Yushin Okami (Image via Instagram/@_yushin_okami_)

Yushin Okami is the captain of Japan’s team on Netflix’s Physical: Asia. He recently faced backlash after re-sharing an Instagram story that accused the show as "biased." This later prompted him to clarify and apologize.

“Japan was the best and the top team overall. We can see that the show is biased from the start. There are many things lacking here, but most of all, the show should be directed by countries that aren’t in Asia, especially those of the contenders!!!!! But anyway, IM PROUD OF JAPAN’s TEAM!!!!," The reposted fan story stated.

Many supporters on Reddit countered that Okami often re-shares almost every mention of him on Instagram, including posts in foreign languages. They pointed to the tiny stacked bars on his stories as proof that he likely did not fully grasp the detailed wording of the English complaint.

The dispute came after Japan topped the fourth quest, Battle Rope Relay, then exited at the fifth quest, Castle Quest. In the round, the teams dragged a heavy rope to close a large door, and long gaps between squads triggered claims that the structure favored South Korea. As criticism increased, Okami released a new message on November 20, writing, (The Chosun Daily reports),

“I want to clarify my previous post. I didn’t accurately convey the meaning in English, which may have caused confusion. Physical: Asia was a great competition, and I was honored to compete with amazing athletes. I’m very proud of the Japanese team. If my post caused misunderstandings among global fans, I apologize.”

He concluded by thanking fans for their backing. Yushin Okami leads a Japanese lineup that includes MMA fighter Kana Watanabe, Olympic swimmer Katsumi Nakamura, national judo team captain Soichi Hashimoto, Olympic wrestler Nonoka Ozaki, and former professional baseball star Yoshio Itoi.

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Physical: Asia brings together athletes from eight countries, with host nation South Korea joined by Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, Turkey, Indonesia, Australia, and the Philippines in demanding strength-based contests.

Edited by Shreya Jha