The ongoing shonen manga "DURRUN" is an adventure set in a massive fictional metropolis called [TOKYO].
Looking at the name, you’d probably think, "Oh, it's obviously modeled after Tokyo." Well... nope.
Despite naming it "Tokyo," I’ve actually borrowed the entire aesthetic from various European countries. That’s the "twist," if you will. (Or as we say in Japan... the ochinchin. Wait, ignore that.)
As of today (Feb 2026), the full scope of Toh-kyoh hasn't been revealed yet, but I’d like you to keep it in the back of your mind—preferably the back-left corner—that most of the upcoming locations will follow this vibe.
Now, you might be wondering if there’s some deep, strategic mastermind intention behind this choice. The answer to that is... Ab-so-lute-ly... NOT! (LOL)
If I had to give a reason, it’s just because I’m currently living in Europe, and I naturally got... bat-spired? No. Vampire-spired? No... Inspired! Yeah, that’s the one. Being surrounded by this environment is what did it.
Since I’ve already spilled the beans, I don't have much else to write... Should we dance?
...Okay, before we do that, let me share a little side story about the first setting: [Machi-da].
Machi-da is often teased as the "edge of Toh-kyoh," a bit of a countryside town. Even so, our protagonist Utaki looks at it with sparkling eyes—what a total country bumpkin, right?
Now, can you guess which real-life location served as the model for this city?
The answer is... Tada!
"Where the heck is this?!" It’s Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal!
Looking at this photo, you might be thinking, "Wait, this was the inspiration for Machi-da? Is this some kind of Tequila-Shakira-Pizza-delivery joke?"
So, let me show you this instead.
You might not know this, but there's this obscure little startup called "Google" that has a feature where you can see maps of the entire world. I used that to find this street view of Porto.
Actually, between you and me, I drew the scenes of Machi-da while staring at these maps. I didn’t trace it, so it’s not an exact 1:1 replica, but I think I captured the "vibe," right? Right?!
The punchline is: I had never actually been to Porto when I was drawing it.
It was only toward the end of the Machi-da arc that I finally visited Porto for the first time. I walked around thinking, "Whoa, it's exactly like Google Maps!"
It was a total "TENET-style" reverse-time location scouting.
Many parts of Machi-da were modeled after different corners of Porto. If you keep that in mind while reading, you might enjoy the manga in a whole new way.
Currently, Utaki and the gang are leaving Zone 4 (Machi-da) and heading toward Zone 3: [Cho-fu].
Any guesses on what the model for Cho-fu will be? Hint: It’s a country near Portugal.
Stay tuned!
Comments
Post a Comment