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In the premiere episode of Physical: Asia, which debuted on October 28th, Yushin Okami made an intriguing revelation: he believes Eren Yeager, a central character from the popular anime Attack on Titan, was inspired by him.
The anime Attack on Titan first captivated audiences in 2013. Produced by Wit Studio and helmed by director Tetsurō Araki, the series is an adaptation of Hajime Isayama’s manga, which traces its origins to a 65-page one-shot created in 2006. A memorable incident at an internet café, where Isayama was unexpectedly grabbed by a patron, sparked his imagination and led to the creation of the Titans.
This unsettling experience, which Isayama described as “the fear of meeting a person I can’t communicate with,” became a foundational element in the narrative of the Titans. For the visual design of these formidable creatures, Isayama used real-life models, with Okami’s physique serving as the inspiration for Eren Yeager’s Titan form.
As the protagonist of the story, Eren Yeager stands against the Titans—gigantic, human-eating beings that have driven humanity into walled cities for survival. Notably, Isayama drew upon the athletic build of middleweight fighter Yushin Okami to shape Eren’s Titan appearance, blending fiction with reality in a striking way.
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.
Yushin Okami recently faced backlash over the Physical: Asia “bias” post
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.
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