'Attack on Titan' gear tested in real life
“We may not have Titans,” said Tanaka, “but now we have the means to fight them if they ever show up.”
In a groundbreaking fusion of fiction and engineering, Japanese tech innovators have taken the first bold step toward bringing manga series Attack on Titan to life.
Inspired by the high-octane action and iconic Omni-Directional Mobility (ODM) gear seen in the hit anime, a team of engineers and extreme athletes have begun real-world tests of a prototype system that mimics the anime's gravity-defying movement.
The project, led by Tokyo-based startup AerialX, has been in development for over two years.
Combining compressed gas grappling hooks, high-tensile cables, and wearable propulsion units, the team unveiled their working prototype last week during a private demonstration attended by select media and anime industry insiders.
In a converted hangar outside Tokyo, an athlete clad in a sleek, armoured suit strapped on the ODM-inspired gear and soared through a custom-built urban obstacle course—complete with towering walls and mock Titan targets.
While the real-world device doesn't yet match the seamless agility of the anime's characters, the display was an astonishing leap forward in human mobility tech.
"Our goal was never to fight giant monsters," joked project lead engineer Hiroshi Tanaka.
"But we wanted to show that the impossible is slowly becoming possible. Attack on Titan inspired a generation—and now we’re giving them a taste of that fantasy."
The gear uses a combination of battery-powered winches and pressurized grappling hooks that can latch onto solid surfaces and pull the user forward at controlled speeds.
Safety was a major concern, as uncontrolled launches or sudden stops could be hazardous. Each test flight was monitored by a team of spotters, and the user was supported by a backup safety harness.
While still in the early stages, the project has already drawn attention from both military researchers and entertainment companies.
Negotiations are reportedly underway for a live-action demonstration at the 2025 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, and rumours swirl of an Attack on Titan-themed VR experience using the same core technology.
Fans of the anime were quick to react online, flooding social media with videos of the test and expressing awe at the real-life interpretation.
Some even dubbed the pilot "the real Levi," in honor of the show’s famously agile captain.
As the boundaries between fiction and reality blur, AerialX hopes to continue refining the gear, with dreams of eventually making it accessible to the public, perhaps as a form of extreme sport or performance art.
"We may not have Titans," said Tanaka, "but now we have the means to fight them if they ever show up."