An Attack on Titan fan figures out how big the walls are through geography. The anime series based on the Japanese manga, Shingeki no Kyojin, by Hajime Isayama, first aired in 2013. The story centers around an isolated country called Paradis and it’s last vestige of humanity, forced to live an existence caged behind giant walls, for fear of being devoured by the monstrous titans roaming the other side. When unusual titans appear, destroying one of the walls, along with a host of the people within, one of the young survivors, Eren Jaeger, vows to strike back, exterminate all titans, and liberate humans from their forced confinement.
The walls, once thought indestructible, are a pivotal aspect of Attack on Titan. Titans first demolished Wall Maria, the wall surrounding the outermost region of human residence, forcing the survivors to retreat inward behind the 2nd wall, Wall Rose. Resulting in overcrowding and congestion of the population, many of the socio-political themes of Attack on Titan were born of the newfound scarcity of living space, competition for dwindling resources, and the privilege of the ruling class, hiding behind the last, innermost, and most protected wall, Wall Sina.
Devoted fan and Reddit user EscobarssecretlairAI decided to properly calculate the size of the surrounding walls in Attack on Titan using real-world geography. Starting with the generally accepted theory that the show’s central country, Paradis, is in actuality an inverted image of the real-life nation of Madagascar, the Redditor assembled several in-depth maps, diagrams, and formulas to support his thesis. They arrive at the conclusion of a 287 km (178 mi) circumference for Wall Sina, 841 km (522 mi) for Wall Rose, and a 1603 km (996 mi) circumference for Wall Maria.
Measurements for the walls have been previously offered in the manga, but as is the case in many works of fiction, those dimensions can be largely inconsistent, particularly when applied to real-world physics. While the amount of detail given towards the Redditor’s work is impressive, other users, however, were quick to point out a flaw in their estimation. Although the SHAPE of Paradis may reflect Madagascar, its size still remains unclear. “Westeros” in Game of Thrones was referenced as an example of a fictitious country whose map is shaped resembling “Great Britain situated atop and inverted Ireland”. Author George R.R. Martin cited Westeros to be around the size of South America, or about 60 times larger than the actual British Isles, bringing into question the actual size of “Madagascar”-shaped Paradis, and thus any size estimate of its 3 walls.
Currently airing in its 4th and final season, Attack on Titan remains incredibly popular in Japan and internationally. While the series story has extended beyond the borders of Paradis, the construction, defense, and restoration of the walls remain a central theme throughout. With the conclusion in sight, mysteries are still to be revealed in Attack on Titan about the walls and Paradis, which may yet substantiate the Redditor’s analysis. Or, much like with the Game of Thrones finale, Attack on Titan may leave questions over the true vastness of the world beyond solely up to fan speculation or even food for a possible sequel.
Source: EscobarssecretlairAI