Another bucket list for anime lovers!!! In this blog, we are going to share about the culture of Attack on Titan. Ever wonder why the places in the series are different from Japan? Even the character names are not purely Japanese. Some of the theme song lyrics are different language as well.
Japanese pop culture, one of the most popular anime series "Attack on Titan” (Shingeki no Kyojin) contains few references to Germany. From places, town and home architectures, clothing and character names are resemblances to Germany.
Here are the real life places that features in the anime
Shiganshina District layout is inspired by Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany.
Location: The town of Nordlingen in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria, Germany. It was first mentioned in recorded history in 898. In 1998, the town celebrated its 1100th Anniversary.
This amazing "Medieval Town Wall" with a population of 20,000, is build entirely inside a massive meteorite crater 25 km wide, 150 meters deep.
This crater called the Nördlinger Ries, was formed some 14.5 million years ago when a meteor about a mile across slammed into Earth with an estimated velocity of 20 km/s. The explosion released an amount of energy thought to be equal to 1.8 million Hiroshima bombs.
One special feature of Nördlingen is its wonderfully-preserved an older defense wall. The construction of the wall began circa 1327 and was still preserved until today. The town was also the location of two battles during the Thirty Years' War, a war which took place between 1618–1648.
You can walk around the whole town through the "Historic Wall" and it's accessible to tourists. One can climb up to the wall from one of many guard towers and walk around the whole town. During that walk you can take a look at the Nördlingen church in the middle of the town from every direction.
Walking the Nördlingen city wall is a treat because the medieval town is separate from more modern construction outside the wall. The walk is less than 3 km and takes about an hour.
As in historical times, you can only get into the city center via one of the five city gates. So if you want to wander around the city, you can get to the city wall at one of the gates and take the 2.7 km long tour.
In Anime there are three walls and gate name Maria, Sina and Rose.
In Real Life, the town of Nördlingen there are Five tower gates remain around the wall and there is also coat of arms - Imperial eagle in every gate.
They are Reimlinger Tor, the oldest gate. Bergertor Baldinger Tor, still contains a canon from the Thirty Years' War. Löpsinger Tor, 42 meters high and holds the City Wall Museum. Deininger Tor, With no gun platform it was the most vulnerable gate and was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).
In Season 1 episode 7 the Squad running out of ODM Gas, and they plan to go to the HQ located at the center of the District Trost. While in Bavaria, Germany, St. Georgskirche is also located in the center of Nördlingen in the Marktplatz, where the main city streets meet. One of Nördlingen's oldest buildings.
The church's tower, Tower Daniel is a landmark of the city Nördlingen and dominates its skyline. The church's Gothic tower, the "Daniel" rises above the city and can be seen for miles. The construction of Tower Daniel was begun in 1454 and completed in 1639.
Tower Daniel, named for the biblical prophet, stands 295 ft. high (90 meters). One can walk up the 350 steps to the top of the tower and experience marvelous panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside.
View from Danielturm (Tower), St.-Georgs-Kirche (Church) Nördlingen, Germany
There is also a river inside the town of Nordlingen just like in the anime series
Other Tourist sites: Spital, St. Salvador church, Ries Crater Musueum, Bavarian Railway Museum, Stadtmauermuseum city wall museum and Augenblick museum.
For more information about the town visit https://www.noerdlingen.de/
Today it is one of only three towns in Germany that still has a completely established city wall, the other two being Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbühl.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Dinkelsbühl
Hajime Isayama (Attack on Titan Creator) Shares His Inspiration
In an interview on the NHK, manga artist Hajime Isayama shared his inspiration for the world of Attack on Titan: His own hometown of Hita. Located in Oita, a rural outposts of Kyushu, as if it is cut off from the rest of civilization. The city is encircled by tall mountains; Isayama grew up wondering whether monsters lay beyond the “wall”.
In 2014, Isayama was named the tourism ambassador of Hita. Since then, multiple exhibits and fan campaigns have been held in Hita.
The German town and house architecture in the series.
Anime
Real Life
Location: Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany
The Original Soundtrack of Attack on Titan
The theme song, "The Wings of Freedom" is sung in German lyrics.
In the theme song Linked Horizon - Guren no Yumiya contains German sentences. Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind die Jäger! meaning Are you the food? No, we are the hunters!
Attack on Titan Characters names are mostly German like:
Eren "Jaeger" is German for Jäger, which means "hunter"
Mikasa "Ackerman" is German for "fieldman"
"Armin" Arlert means Universal, Whole and is of German origin.
Jean "Kirschstein" is a German surname meaning "cherry stone"
Connie "Springer" is a German word for the "knight in chess"
Sasha "Blouse" Braus is a German word meaning "to live"
Historia "Reiss" is a surname of Old German , variant of reis meaning "rice"
"Reiner is a Old German origin meaning "judgment warrior or deciding warrior"
Braun" is a boy's name of German origin meaning "brown"
Annie "Leonhart" is a German and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, composed of the elements leo 'lion' + hard, 'hardy', 'brave', 'strong'.
"Bertolt" Hoover is an old German origin meaning "bright strength or renowned leader"
Frieda is a girl's name of German origin meaning "peaceful ruler"
Marco Bott South German: occupational name for a messenger, from Middle High German bote ‘messenger’, ‘emissary’.
CLOTHING
Paradis and Marleyan uniform resemblance from German army uniform during the time of holocaust. The Eldians in Marley are also wearing arm badge to identify themselves. During the world war, Jews wearing a badge on their arms as well.
Nazi Germany described the Holocaust as “the final solution to the Jewish question.” It's the same as Zeke's plan.
The similarities of using arm badges in the series and in World War II
The similarities of military uniform
Here are the few reasons why the Japanese can't get enough of German culture
Japan is heavily influenced by many other cultures as well as Germany. The Japanese are fascinated by foreign cultures — but particularly by German culture. If the Japanese find something they like from another country, they import it and find a way of integrating it into their culture. Japan is a nation that, without losing its own identity, wants to learn from others. Their approach seems to be "if someone is doing it better than we are, why not copy them?"
Germany is a popular Japanese tourist destination. That said it seems a well-known fact that Germany, in particular, is one of the European countries most popular among Japanese tourists.
- Many high school students read "Maihime", a novel based on the Japanese author's experiences as a medical student in Germany.
- The connection between Japan and Germany in the Meiji period was strong.
-Yoshimi Yamaguchi also mentioned that Japan has learned a lot from Germany: "The country served as a model during Japan's modernisation."
- German jurists and politicians, such as Rudolf von Gneist, contributed greatly to the Japanese constitution. Klemens Wilhelm Jacob Meckel, a German military advisor, spent three years helping to modernise the Japanese military and German physicians were brought to the country in around 1870 to update the medical system.
-The way Germans address the legacy of the Second World War is also a topic that frequently crops up, with comparisons often being drawn between how the subject is broached there and in Japan.
- The fact that Japan enjoys adopting new cultural concepts is even evident in the language. New characters are specially innovated in "Katakana" to modify concepts for the language. For example, the word expressing the concept "part-time" comes from German: アルバイト (Arubaito-work, Arbeit in German). This contrasts with 仕事 (Shigoto), a Kanji character for generic work.
References:
www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-05-07/hajime-isayama-shares-his-inspiration-for-attack-on-titan/.131234
www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/26rkde/aot_where_does_aot_take_place/
www.ourworldforyou.com/visiting-the-medieval-walled-town-of-nordlingen-bavaria-germany/
noerdlingen.de/tourismus/noerdlingen-entdecken/baukunst/poi/die-stadtmauer-1/info.html
www.thespeedyturtle.com/germany/nordlingen-germany-travel-guide.shtml
collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1045279
www.sandatlas.org/houses-built-from-diamonds-and-impact-breccia/