Forum:Dates?

Been wondering for a while when this is supposed to be taking place.

The cherryblossoms mentioned in both manga and anime place the outbreak in late March early April during Hanami. But everyone's wearing Winter uniforms and Shizuka even mentioned that its winter when discussing how long she thinks it would take for the infected to rot into immobility.

So we've got two rather conflicting statements regarding the season.

Does anyone have an extra information?

I don't think HOTD has any specific dates for any events that took place, but as you've said, we can pretty much infer that it is during the Winter season. As far as I'm concerned, there's no definite claim on what the summer or the winter uniforms look like, thus we cannot make any judgments based on that. Also, whatever "cherryblossoms" said, late March and early April doesn't really qualify as "Summer" and it's practically the Spring season, thus if I had to make a guesstimation, the season for HOTD would probably be late Winter or early Spring 22:28, March 29, 2011 (UTC)

I don't really think there was ever a definite time period when the story was supposed to take place; however, there are a few subtle hints. I guess you're right about the cherry blossoms, but Shizuka never said it was winter. She only mentioned how long it would take the flesh to rot in summer and winter. Her uncertainty about how long it would take in their current situation implies that it's taking place in spring. In the official English translation, she actually says, "The weather will be warming up soon" which I think further implies spring. Also, this one is not so subtle, but I don't think we can ignore the title of the first chapter and episode, "Spring of the Dead". "Spring" could be used metaphorically here, but I think it's meant to be literal. My guess is that the story begins in early spring.Turambar1  20:09, March 30, 2011 (UTC)

Oh yes, you bring up a good argument! The "Spring of the Dead" is probably the best evidence that the setting could take place during spring. 01:46, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

There's no year given, but the blackboard in a classroom on page 35 of chapter 1 has a date written (April 13th, or ４月１３日 in Japanese). That's most likely the first day's date, as it fits with the cherry blossoms and everything else.Hotdcups 02:42, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

Great observation. I probably would never have seen that, but it's obviously there now that I know where to look. I'd like to use dates now when we we create event pages, but after the first night or so it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out how many days have passed. Knowing the date of the Outbreak is still great though.Turambar1  03:43, March 31, 2011 (UTC)

Well after knowing the date of the outbreak, we can just reference the dates from the anime as each episode includes something like a timestamp of how many days after the outbreak has started. Now, the only issue would be to add dates for events such as those of the Taiei shopping mall... 01:36, April 1, 2011 (UTC)

Well I already see a problem with this since in the anime the group reach Rika's house on the second night after the Outbreak whereas in the manga it's the first night. I thought we could use the times at least, but I noticed that the clock on the school on page 22 of chapter 2 shows about 10:10 a.m. and the anime gives 1:33 p.m. for the time of the Outbreak. I think episode 4 is the only one with the timestamps anyway. I'm pretty confident that chapter 18 begins on the fifth day since the Outbreak. After that, it would seem that chapters 18-29 all take place on the same day, though we can't know for sure how long it took them to get to the police station. Rei's house was only supposed to be a 20 minute walk from the mall, so assuming the police station is on the way to her house, it seems likely the story is currently still on the fifth day after the Outbreak, or April 18.Turambar1  04:01, April 1, 2011 (UTC)

I really doubt a night has passed since they left the mall. It just seems like something they'd show or mention somewhere, especially after the tension between Rei and Saeko at the mall. As I see it the dates are like this:

4/13: chapter 1-7

4/14: chapter 8-9

4/15: chapter 10-13

4/16: 14-16, first part of 17

4/17: second part of 17, 18-29 (current)

This may seem like a short amount of time, but let's look at the chapters themelves. Obviously the first night occurs at Rika's house, meaning chapter 8 and 9 are on the 14th. When they're at the Takagi mansion, Takashi's narration mentions that they've been there for a day, meaning it's probably the 15th already. At the beginning of chapter 14 they're still at the Takagi mansion, but it seems to indicate that it's morning with the light shining through the window at the beginning, not to mention some developments apparently occurred between Takashi and Rei making them decide to go out alone, so it's likely the 16th. A night passes in chapter 17, meaning we're obviously on the next day, the 17th. Once it shows them at the mall, Saya mentions that the power failure was the day before, so it has to still be the 17th at this time. There's been no indication that any nights have passed since then, so if Saeko and Takashi arrived at the mall on the morning of the 17th, they've had a very busy day.Hotdcups 17:55, April 1, 2011 (UTC)

Oh I guess I had my count wrong. It would be the 17th. However, I only counted one day at the Takagi Estate because neither Saya's nor Yuriko's clothes change, and I would think they would change their clothes each day when at their own house. Also, it didn't really seem like there were large portions of time left out. I put the extra day at the mall for some reason, but as you mentioned, Saya said it had only been a day since the EMP. I now think it is currently the 16th, though the situation at the Takagi Estate is a bit too ambiguous for me to be completely sure. Either way, the last day was quite a busy one. Turambar1  20:13, April 1, 2011 (UTC)

Hmm...I know the evidence is there to justify some certain dates, but it would literally seem impossible had this happened in real life. Like, don't you guys think, in order to pull off what they've been doing, they would have to be literally awake 24 hrs a day. What makes me say that is we never really get to see them rest or sleep. I could be wrong, but what I'm just basically saying is that, judging by the events they have been encountering, it seems a whole lot longer than something that can be done in a day 00:28, April 3, 2011 (UTC)

The last day does seem a bit overwhelming, but I think that's mostly because it's been stretched out for over three years in the real world. If you look at all of the events together and think about how much actual time it would take, it doesn't seem quite as bad. You also have to keep in mind that the situations are basically thrown at them before they can rest for long. To slow down or rest could mean death in some cases, so they are forced to keep going.Turambar1  00:54, April 3, 2011 (UTC)

If you think of it in actual spans of time, the last day seems plausible, albeit some developments happened extremely quickly. Saeko and Takashi could have feasibly arrived at the mall as early as 6:00 AM or so (it gets light very early in Japan), and the latest chapter appears to take place in the evening.Hotdcups 09:56, April 3, 2011 (UTC)