As they’ve always said, at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Well, it seems that this really applied to renowned mangaka Hajime Isayama, the man behind Attack on Titan. Before his Attack on Titan success, when he was still 19-years old, he submitted a manga titled “Jinrui VS Kyojin” (Humanity vs. Giants) to Weekly Shounen Jump magazine. You know, the magazine behind Naruto, One Piece, and Dragon Ball. However, they rejected it.

Well, the rejection did not deter the then-19-year old future mangaka, as he resubmitted the work to Kodansha. There, he entered it in Magazine Grand Prix contest in 2006, where it won the “Fine Work” award. Years later, he’s one of the most successful mangaka on Earth. And now, that one-shot which brought him both disappointment and success is now available online for free.

It’s still far from his more polished work, Attack on Titan, but now we know where he began. And now, even Hollywood came knocking on his door! Yes folks, at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.