Fantasy wars and their real-life inspirations: Tourism and international conflicts caused by Attack on Titan

Abstract

There are numerous fantasy wars depicted in Japanese popular culture. A fantasy war is defined as a war created at considerable factual and relational distance from the actual wars of history. One example is the manga/anime Attack on Titan, which has generated contents tourism and cosplay at international events since 2014. However, the manga has also generated controversy for possible subtexts relating to Japan’s relations with Korea. This chapter discusses how fans of Attack on Titan have balanced their abilities to read meanings into fantasy war contents, but at the same time not let this impinge on their enjoyment of contents tourism.