In the six years since its debut, Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan has become a seemingly unstoppable force, selling tens of millions of copies worldwide, and inspiring spinoffs, animated and live-action adaptations, video games and truckloads of merchandise. However, the end of the manga is in sight.

In an interview with Japan's Antenna magazine, series editor Kawakubo Shintaro said there are about three years' worth of chapters left, confirming recent comments by Isayama that Attack on Titan is about "60 percent finished."

Launching in September 2009 in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, Attack on Titan is a post-apocalyptic fantasy set in a world where remorseless, flesh-eating giants have all but wiped out humanity, whose remnants are forced to live within a country surrounded by three enormous walls. The story initially centers on Eren Yeager, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and their childhood friend Armin Alert, who join the military to fight the Titans after their hometown is attacked and Eren’s mother eaten.

In the interview, Shintaro reveales he initially suggested that Isayama draw something “easy for the majority of the public to understand and caters to them.” However, Isayama countered with “But who represents this ‘majority?’” and pushed to create something that would have widespread impact,  even if it were understood by few. That debate continued for an entire year.

Credited earlier this year with driving the turnaround of manga sales in North America, Attack on Titan has more than 50 million copies in circulation worldwide.

(via Crunchyroll)