When and where does Attack on Titan take place?


Is the setting of " **Attack on Titan** " (Shingeki no kyojin) supposed to be
Earth in the distant future and Titans suddenly appeared out of nowhere and
devolved society to medieval level of technology? Or is this just a completely
fictional setting?




**_Spoilers ahead._**

In Chapter 93, page 6, we are presented with a geographic representation of
the Attack on Titan world:

> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wknpm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wknpm.jpg)

The region in pink represents the

> Mid-East Allies

The region in blue represents the

> Nation of Marley

The region in red represents

> Paradis, Island of Paradis, or Paradis Island, whichever you prefer to go
> by, and that is where most all of the story takes place (where Eren & the
> titans reside)

Cross-referencing with a world map it becomes clear that

> if we are using geography as an identifying feature of the Attack on Titan
> Earth, this is not the Earth that we know. Unless the map was drawn in such
> a way as to purposely hide defining geographic characteristics, it is likely
> that the Earth in Attack on Titan is more of an alternate universe Earth.
> There are a lot of references that we are familiar with, especially later on
> in the manga, but it is clear that the geography doesn't match up to
> anything on our current Earth. In addition, the names of these regions are
> Marley, Paradis, and Mid-East Allies. And the peoples in the first two
> regions are called Marleyans and Eldians. So it further solidifies that the
> AoT Earth, while similar, is more than likely an alternate-universe Earth
> and not the same Earth that we currently reside on.

That means that

> since this is not the same Earth, we can not use our own timeline to judge
> what time period this takes place. It is a completely different world,
> albeit with a lot of similarities, but it makes the most sense to stick to
> the timeline that AoT presents to us throughout the manga and anime.

Later in the manga, however, we see that

> while Paradis Island looks like it's living in our version of the medieval
> times, the rest of the world is not.

In fact, we see in chapter 86, pages 146-147, that

> during Grisha Yeager's childhood (so some time before Eren), humanity was in
> possession of airships and military technology that we might have seen from
> the 1900s to 1930s or 40s. Again, we can't compare the timelines in AoT to
> our own since we know AoT's Earth is not our Earth but this should help give
> you a better understanding of the AoT world. [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JaMPt.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JaMPt.jpg)

In Chapter 86, page 156-157, we are presented with

> military uniforms that look sort of similar to WWI/WWII era uniforms. In the
> same frame we can also see the soldier smoking a cigarette while taking a
> break on a mowed grass lawn. In chapter 94, we can also see the type of
> firearm that this child is carrying which is an excellent example of more
> sophisticated technology. I blocked out the text in the frames as it wasn't
> necessary. [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QVVLJ.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QVVLJ.png)
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ooBUr.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ooBUr.png)

So at this point it's obvious that

> we did not, prior to these chapters, have a good understanding of the AoT
> universe and there's a good reason, too. But those are unnecessary spoilers.

I recommend reading the manga for more information on the backstory of AoT for
further information on timeline, place, and technology within the AoT
universe.




As [@Madara](https://anime.stackexchange.com/users/27/madara-uchiha)
[said](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/4616/274), _Attack on Titan_ is set
on Earth, but in a different situation. This is evidenced by a reference to a
real-world legend in episode 15:

> Two captured Titans are named Sawney and Bean, which is stated in-universe
> to be based on the [legend of Sawney
> Bean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawney_Bean).

If we use that same evidence as part of a timeline, there's two possibilities:

  * The year 850 means that we are at least 850 years following the aforementioned legend, putting us no earlier than year 2350 A.D. This seems possible but unlikely, as their technology shows no signs of being derived from our own.
  * The year 850 is some marker to an event that happened prior to the legend, in which case we have no frame of reference other than that the story must take place in or after the 1500s. This seems to be the more likely answer.

Keep in mind, though, that in the _Attack on Titan_ universe:

> The oriental races are wiped out; Mikasa has her mother's oriental blood,
> but is the last surviving member of the Asian races.

With this in mind, it is highly unlikely that it is in Japan or even nearby
(though the location is also unstated). However, seeing how many names are
European (Jäger is German for "hunter", Armin is a Germanic name, cf. Arminius
& Herman), it's most likely that the story takes place in Germany, or at least
in Europe, where the remaining survivors of the Titan catastrophe are now
cornered.

