When and Where Does Attack on Titan Take Place?
The Attack on Titan anime is finally coming to a close, leaving its viewers gripping at their seats trying to figure out its ending. With only a few episodes left till the finale, many of our questions about the series are left unanswered. In addition, a lot have been wondering when and where the series is actually set.
Attack on Titan is set to be in an alternate fictional world; thus, our timeline and locations do not match. In an alternate world of Attack on Titan, Episode 1 takes place in 845, in the Shiganshina District, the town closest to Wall Maria in Paradis Island.
While people have been trying to pinpoint the exact real-world locations due to the characters’ features and names, manga readers should take note that this is mostly a work of fiction. However, an image of the world map was revealed in chapter 93, and it appears to mirror the island of Madagascar.
When Did the First Titan Appear?
In the history of the Attack on Titan world, Ymir came in contact with a tree that contains the source of all living matter that made her the Founding Titan in 1003 B1. After gaining the power, she returns to Fritz. She becomes his slave and concubine, bearing him 3 daughters: Maria, Rose, and Sina.
After Ymir’s death in 990 B1, Fritz ordered his daughters to eat their mother’s remains so the power of the Titans would continue to be under the control of the Eldians. As a result, the kids were able to inherit their mother’s powers, and Eldia had Nine Titan shifters under their control.
Why Are People Against the Eldian Empire?
The 9 titans were used to wage war against enemy nations of the Eldian Empire. This caused Eldia to conquer several other nations, such as Marley.
According to Marleyans, in 370 B1, the Eldians also waged war against them. As a result, several of their ancestors died. At some point in 743, Karl Fritz, the 145th monarch of Eldia, felt ashamed of his ancestors’ history. So he decided to aid Eldia’s downfall.
The king then gathers his family and some of the Eldians to Paradis Island, effectively moving the capital there while abandoning the conflict between the other families with the power of the Titans. However, due to the king’s decisions, the Marleyans manage to take control of 7 Titans, causing Fritz to use the Colossus Titan to form the 3 walls.
When and Where Does Eren Get His Titan Powers?
His father, Grisha, already had the powers of the Attack and Founding Titan within him. So after the fall of Wall Maria, he turns Eren into an Abnormal Titan so Eren could eat him and inherit his powers.
Eren awakens the Attack Titan’s power in the Battle of Trost in the year 850. This also marks the first time a Titan is seen attacking another Titan and the 104th Training Corps’ first battle against Titans.
When Do They Visit Grisha’s Basement, and What Do They Find?
They manage to reach Grisha’s Basement in the Year 850. Eren, Mikasa, Levi, and Hange manage to investigate Grisha’s basement in the fallen Yeager household. There they discover 3 journals that belonged to Grisha. He details his past beyond the walls and his knowledge of the Eldian and Marleyan conflict in the journals.
When Does Eren Leave the Scouts?
On the scouts’ visit to Marley, Eren decides to abandon his friends after contemplating his future actions. He leaves the scouts on Marley and decides to enlist himself as an Eldian soldier under Marleyan service. This happens around the year 853.
The following year, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin reunite, but this time on opposite sides.
What is the Rumbling?
The Rumbling is something Eren tried to activate in order to destroy life outside the walls. It was originally Karl Fritz’s plan to use the Wall Titans to march across the earth and destroy all life upon it. The Rumbling was activated by Eren Yeager in the year 854.
The event completely destroyed the northern continent of Marley along with major parts of the southern continent and nearby nations. Accordingly, 80% of humanity was eradicated due to the Rumbling. Luckily, the Rumbling was stopped prematurely by the combined efforts of Marely’s Warrior Unit and the defectors of the Survey Corps.
When and How Did Attack on Titan End?
On the 4th day of the Rumbling in Fort Salta, the combined efforts of the Marleyan military, the warriors, and the survey corps managed to stop the rumbling prematurely. This also gave Mikasa the opportunity to land the killing blow on Eren.
Eren’s death also caused Ymir Fritz to be freed. The event resulted in the Power of the Titans disappearing and the abnormal titans returning to their human forms. In addition, with the Titan’s powers gone, this would mean the Titan Shifters are also freed from Ymir’s Curse.
Since the threat of titans is now gone from the world, peace between the nations is the next big thing. 3 years after the battle, the Survey Corps members who fought Eren now act as peace ambassadors between the countries since tension is still high.
It looks as if Mikasa did not join the group and chose to live her remaining life in their old home in Shiganshina District. It is shown that she has decided to bury the head of Eren under the tree he would often sleep at during their youth.
On an unknown date, long after the heroes of the stories have died, it seems war between the nations is back at full force. The manga shows a young girl and a dog traveling to where Eren’s head is buried, the tree now resembling the tree in Ymir’s flashbacks. It is unknown if the Titan’s curse survived or not. The mangaka has not made any comment on the meaning of the ending.
Regardless of whether Attack on Titan had similar settings to the real world, most of it was purely fiction that took inspiration from maps and items in the early 1900s since technology like the blimp was present in chapter 86.