41306


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?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-04T06:06:25.610
4615
2021-02-13T06:12:36.137
91
question
attack-on-titan
When and where does Attack on Titan take place?


It's a completely different universe and settings than ours (still Earth
though, just under different circumstances). However, according to
technological advances and the construction style, I'd say that the year they
describe, around 800 - 900 doesn't seem far fetched.

As for the location, I'm not sure, the names of the characters don't seem
Japanese, something European maybe?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-04T07:12:48.960
4616
2013-08-04T07:12:48.960
27
4615
answer


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.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-04T16:43:42.770
4620
2014-06-26T15:27:23.463
2017-04-13T12:54:49.090
-1
274
4615
answer


It doesn't say where they are except for the name of the walls the humans hide
behind as protection from the titans. But seeing as the character names are of
German decent (and even some of the lyrics from the anime's openings), I'd say
they're in Germany, or somewhere in Europe that has very strong German
influences. In all reality though, they're just somewhere on Earth, hiding
behind walls from human-like, man-eating creatures

As for the time... It might take place in the distant future, after humanity
has gone (nearly) exinct


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-11T20:46:46.183
4752
2013-08-11T21:38:56.447
2013-08-11T21:38:56.447
2204
2204
4615
answer


Maybe it could be arround Germany... but with a lower sea level so more
landmass will be available (120m less sea level or less and you have
continental Europe and UK, Irland as one big landmass)


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-12T23:45:28.120
5170
2013-09-12T23:45:28.120
2374
4615
answer


I'm assuming it would be in Germany and/or the surrounding European countries.
The architecture of the districts within the Maria and Rose walls (including
their outliers like Shiganshina District) looks to be very much like
traditional German architecture. However, the Stohess District resembles Czech
architecture and Utopia resembles Parisian mid-rise styles.

The tall 80m-treed forests which are both in & outside the walls could be the
Black Forest in Germany. There is also a small alpine section within the walls
& outside, which could be the Swiss/Italian Alps. Not only that, but the
characters have German names such as Reiner, Bertholdt, Jaeger, etc.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2013-09-26T10:12:39.960
5318
2018-08-07T01:04:28.320
2018-08-07T01:04:28.320
41895
2449
4615
answer


I read an article stating that the story take place in Bavarian era. Too bad I
forgot where I read it, and after a brief check on wiki, it is said that There
had been a kingdom ruled by a king in the Bavarian Era, in Germany, and we
know as well in the anime that the three walls were under a King's reign.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-27T15:15:18.823
5335
2013-09-27T15:15:18.823
2458
4615
answer


My guess is 52.2051, 47.5557 on your map. It makes sense geographically -
perhaps Germany led the way to the evacuation, and it seems more logical for
Asians to have arrived here rather than in Western Europe.

The one thing I looked for was that there are rivers that passes through all
the districts, through all 3 walls. Though the map referenced in the manga
seems to have two rivers (one running north-south and the other running east-
west, roughly speaking) crossing through the walls.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-01T06:59:19.963
5371
2014-08-15T23:04:39.710
2014-08-15T23:04:39.710
2604
2478
4615
answer


Since some of the characters in the show talk about the world before (Hanji
and naming the titans after the infamous cannibal Sawney Bean), it's
completely likely that the series takes place in the future rather than before
common times.

As for location, it's most likely that the Walls are located in Germany, or
nearby in Europe. However, it's also likely for the series to take place in
Northern US, border-lining with Canada. Mostly since many German immigrants
settled in that area, and majority of SNK characters are German. At the same
time, it leaves room for reasons of why there are many other nationalities,
like Japanese and French. Since America is just one big melting pot in itself.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-14T18:33:56.207
5479
2013-10-14T18:33:56.207
2546
4615
answer


What about in the opening episode where it says "To you, two thousand years in
the future"? At first I thought it meant that we're (roughly) two thousand
years after the rotation from BC to AD, but since the show starts off in 845
(or 844, can't remember atm) that doesn't make sense since we're obviously not
in the year 2845. The other option would be to add two thousand years to our
current timeline making it 4013 and then subtract 845 to get 3168, the year
that the calendar supposedly reset again. It bothers me that it's not clear
when the story is supposed to take place because I think it would help in
solving some of the mysteries if we at least had a time period to work off of.
Then again, maybe that's the point.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-19T05:09:36.347
5518
2013-10-19T05:09:36.347
2568
4615
answer


Since the titans have only been on the earth for 100 years, and the people
left only have technology of Cannons, ect. They obliviously aren't going to be
in a future of our timeline with this technology, but they could be if other
events were changed in their past. But it seems way more likely that they are
around the year c.700-c.900 on the original timeline.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-27T01:13:56.147
5602
2013-10-27T01:13:56.147
2617
4615
answer


You are all forgetting the fact that they possess flintlock firearms and
sophisticated pneumatic mechanisms within their 3D gear.

Point being the story has to take place in a post-Renaissance period.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-11T09:33:06.107
5827
2013-11-11T09:33:06.107
2711
4615
answer


Well, flintlocks such as in this show, weren't really made as well as they
were her until the 1700's. Though, as we can see, from multiple parts in the
manga. As-well as in the show, their ships are wooden, and they are pre-
industrial era. Which means, this show probably is taking place at about
1750-1800 AD. As they are past the renaissance, though, they did not quite
reach the industrial era yet. Which means, it is actually probably in the
1800's as technology has halted for a hundred years. As the titans came into
play in the 1700's, and for 100 years people have just been halted. If you
notice though, if this had happened 100 years after, in 1850. Or 1950, the
titans would not have been much of a problem due to the weapons. It is almost
as if the titans came at about the perfect time, where humans were just un-
able to mass murder the titans. If it were set after a modern era however,
then there would obviously be better machinery around, such as tanks,
airplanes, or even spacecraft. It is quite evident that it is pre industrial,
and this is evident not only through their weapons or technology for that
matter. But their clothing as-well. Many nations at the time had organized
looking clothing, and a system of departments for the military. So, the best
bet for when this show is occurring is from the 1700's, when the titans
arrived, till the 1800's, which is when the show and manga takes place. If
anyone says it was in the 900's, remember, weapons and technology such as in
this were not seen on a mass scale, or at any large scale at all. 1700'S =
Titan Arrival, 1800'S = AOT


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-16T04:43:32.097
5898
2013-11-16T04:43:32.097
2735
4615
answer


So first of all, the story cannot possibly be taking place 2000 years in the
past. I am not going to talk about technology development or the size of the
characters (2000 years ago, Levi Ackerman wouldn't have been considered as
short).

Anyway, Sasha gave me the first part of the answer. In the trainee corps arc,
we can see her eating a potato, and the potato was imported into Europe from
the South America, which proves the story takes place _after_ the discovery of
the American continent (Europe really started to grow potatoes in the 17th
century...).

But then I ticked on how they calculated the size of the titans. They used
"meter-class", which mean they have the metric system. The metric system
having been invented after the French revolution in 1789 and was finally
accepted by the French Academy of Science on 26th March 1791.

The story should take place after this date.

I've also noted that Mikasa (in the trainee corps arc when Eren seems unable
to have his "natural balance") speaks about "artisans" who make the 3D
maneuver gear, and with a look with the general development of the city (no
trains, no steam boats). This suggests that the industrial revolution (~1840)
has not yet taken place. My theory is that titan have appeared (year 743 in
the story) between 1791 and 1840 (and that because of that new-found enemy,
the industrial revolution never took place...). The story starts with the
colossal titan 102 years later (year 845 in the story), which means between
1893 and 1942 in our calendar.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-15T20:48:25.273
13441
2014-08-15T21:22:22.283
2014-08-15T21:22:22.283
1398
8009
4615
answer


I always thought of it as a futuristic collapsed society type theme. They were
forced to build walls and revert back to medieval society but they focused
their technology on their ODM gear to combat the titans. There is reference to
the past (our current real life time). Perhaps the biggest supporting evidence
of this was episode 6 where Misaka's kidnappers are talking about her race and
they state:

"she's exotic. what they used to call an Oriental.You know about all that
right? back when there used to be different breeds of people, a bunch of them
from the far east came scrambling here for safety. the old perverts in the
capital really go for that sort of thing. this little beauty's going to fetch
a mint at auction. it's great business. she's the last of her kind. all the
rest of her people died out."

hope that helps. the year that it starts out on is 845 so the yearly calendar
reset for some important reason, but it hasn't revealed a lot about the
history yet (just that the titans appeared over 100 years ago.) As far as
location goes it's safe to assume that it is probably German. accounting for
the kidnapper's claim that there is currently only one race and we have names
like: -Yaeger (german for hunter) -Arlert is old german anglo-saxon, and
Armin's wiki page trivia section states that "The name 'Armin' may have
multiple meanings, either from an old German word meaning "whole", or
"Herman", meaning "soldier"".
<http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Armin_Arlert> -Erwin - Derived from
the Germanic name Hariwini, composed of the elements hari "army" and win
"friend".

Add it all up with a lot of blonde hair (Armin, Reiner, Nanaba, Christa,
Annie, Erwin, etc) and it seems that they were leaning toward a German-
oriented character base with names that are literal puns toward the fact that
they are soldiers.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-24T08:30:43.427
26787
2015-10-24T08:30:43.427
18598
4615
answer


**_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.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-10T17:46:38.360
41306
2017-07-10T17:59:02.443
2017-07-10T17:59:02.443
32833
32833
4615
answer