I feel like I'm slowly approaching the day I will have time to work on my world again. Still busy as hyuck, but it's coming alright.   In the meantime, I had the idea to start listing some of the biggest inspirations for me while writing the setting, themes, and people of my world. I do obviously take inspiration from some fantasy-genre conventions since this is the first major world I'm creating (not really, but kind of). Still, I try to break away from the tropes-conveyer belt with other forms of art that define better how I want to present Album.   This will be a long list, so I will unveil them gradually, probably at random order, and once every few articles I publish on here.  

Inspiration #1939 - Attack On Titan (Shingeki No Kyojin)

 
I am an anime-only watcher who avoids spoilers, so this is my opinion formed based on everything up to season 4, part 1. I give no spoilers here
  As some of you may have noticed, I indulge rather much in politics when crafting my articles. Hey, my latest one was literally on a xenophobic, misogynistic nationalist influencer who established a cult and led pogroms on witches.   I cannot deny the fact that this show has captivated me since 2013. Mysterious giants called titans (theme of cannibalism) roaming a germanic fantasy world (like another show I love) and spiderman-esque fighters trying to fend them off and reveal the hidden ancient secrets of their world. I was hooked from the first second.   Then the author (Iseyama, the mangaka) managed to elevate it with his sympathetic and intimate treatment of soldiers and especially child soldiers who are thrusted into an unjust war they didn't start.  
"The world is a cruel but beautiful place"
— Mikasa, Attack On Titan
  When the third season aired, I was completely floored by the BIG REVEAL. It somehow managed to exceed the expectations the big secret had fostered until that moment, which is insanely rare in most such stories.   But BOY OH BOY, was I not ready for the final season (part 1) that finished airing last month. I was - more than once - shaken to my core by the choices the author made for the story direction and specifically the main characters. It certainly struck a personal chord with me and rattled my world view.   The show didn't shy away from clear parallels to real-life horrible events from - quite recent - history. AND I LOVED IT FOR IT! It is actually saying some worldly truths through brilliant storytelling and characterization.   Most of all, however, I just wish to be able to produce half of the EPICNESS feeling this show's world-defining moments generated.   I have taken major inspiration from those elements when writing some of my articles, and I will surely implement more in my future world-building efforts.   I recommend to anyone who clicks with everything I just described to give this anime a shot and get some 'inspiration juice' like I did.