When & Where Does Attack on Titan Take Place?
It’s easy to get lost in the timeline and locations when watching Attack on Titan since the timelines aren’t mentioned in the order they occurred. There are a lot of flashbacks and jumps to different periods in the timeline for us to get the full background and story of the characters, and binge-watching the show also doesn’t help with understanding it all, so let’s see when & where does Attack on Titan take place?
The first episode of Attack on Titan is set in the year 845 on Paradis Island when the Colossal and Armored Titan infiltrates the walls of the Shingashina district in wall Maria. The story of the Titans, however, begins 1803 years before the said infiltration when Ymir is infected by a parasite and becomes the first titan.
If you want the show’s show’s full timeline and locations, continue reading to get it all in a way that makes sense and is easy to follow. While we eagerly await season 4, part 3, let’s remember all that has happened and when and where it happened.
Inspiration for the manga/show
Up until Marley was introduced, Attack on Titan having a connection to World War II was simply speculation. Still, as Marley appeared as an oppressor over the Eldians, it became very clear that speculation wasn’t just speculation after all.
From Eldians living in internment zone, wearing armbands that signify they indeed are Eldians, to the mistreatment of Eldians by Marley citizens and soldiers, many things can be traced back to WWII and how it did inspire AOT.
Locations in the show with years
Before the walls
One thousand eight hundred forty-eight years before the fall of wall Maria lived a slave girl named Ymir. She was enslaved by a warrior tribe called the Eldians. Their leader and Ymir’s master decided to tell his men to chase her down like an animal once she slipped up and made a mistake. While being chased, Ymir falls into a pool of water and begins to drown. A mysterious parasite enters her body, and she becomes the first Titan.
Over the next 13 years, she became a concubine for the Eldians’ leader, King Fritz, and helped reign terror over the Marley. The Eldian Empire era begins and lasted for 1732 years until the year 742.
In the year 743, Karl Fritz, the 145th Eldian king, shocked by the legacy of his ancestors, decides to stage the empire’s fall with the help of the Marleyan government and the Tybur family. Shortly after, the walls are made, and the peaceful era begins.
Wall Maria
The peaceful period lasted for about 100 years, and in the year 845, the wall Maria was breached. Many people died in the Shiganshina district, but Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were one of the lucky ones who found refuge inside Wall Rose
One other notable location to mention inside wall Maria is the Titan Forests, where the Survey corps tried to set a trap for the female titan in the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission in the year 850, the same year Eren finished his training and fought in the battle for Trost District.
Wall Rose
wall Rose has multiple locations relevant to the story. They are the Utopia District, The Karanes District, Trost District, Krolva District, Ragako, Dauper, Jinae, Utgard Castle, and Reiss Chapel
The Karanes District was where the Survey Corps began their 57th expedition, while the Trost district is where the first breach after the breach of Wall Maria occurred five years later. The Utgard castle is where Reiner Braum, Ymir, Krista, and others took refuge during a Titan attack orchestrated by the Beast Titan in 850.
The Reiss chapel is the last important location since it’s where the Reiss family tries to take back the Titan powers from Eren in the year 850. Wall Maria was reclaimed soon after in the late 850s
Wall Sheena
Wall Sheena comprises Stohess District, Ehrmich District, Yarckel District, Orvud District, Mitras, and the Underground. Stohess District is important since this is where the trap for the female titan was set in the year 850. Orvud District is relevant because it’s where Rod Reiss came to in his Titan form before he was killed
Many events occurred in the Mitras, the capital of Wall Sheena, like Eren’s trial, for example, while the Underground is where Levi Ackerman was born and raised.
Marley
The most important location in Marley is definitely Liberio, the internment zone which happens to be the home of warrior candidates and honorary Eldians. This also happens to be the place where the Paradis island demons infiltrated Marley and led the attack on Marleys’ high ranking officers, the Beast Titan, and the Warhammer Titan
Other locations include Lakua, Lago, Odiha, Karifa, and Fort Salta. Lago is significant only because it was one of the largest cities in Marley but fell 1200 years ago in a single day due to the Titan’s attack.
The infiltration of Marley occurred in the years 851 to 854. In 854, the infiltration comes to a culmination and Eren transforms during Willy Tybur’s speech where he tried to urge people to invade Paradis.
The rumbling
The plot then quickly transfers back to Paradis island, where, after another culmination, the walls fall, and an army of wall Titans, led by Eren, make their way to Marley to destroy all nations getting in the way of the peaceful lives led in Paradis island up until the year 845.
The rumbling took place in 854 up until the year 857 when the cycle, again, begin anew.
Real-life locations theory
Would the inspiration behind Attack on Titan suggest that Germany somehow inspired the locations in the show? Some fans like to think that it is true, but this speculation has been denied by the creator of the manga, Hajime Isayama.
If you want to talk about real-life locations, we can only assume that Eren’s hometown, the Shingashina district, was inspired by a small town on the south side of Germany, Nördlingen. The resemblance is uncanny, from the intact walls surrounding it to the town’s town’s narrow streets. But if this isn’t true, we can at least say that the characters are inspired by German culture and history since a lot of the characters have German-like names; Annie Leonhart, Eren Yeager, and Reiner Braum, just to name a few.