Hethereau is stuffed with visual jokes for anime fans. Hotta Studio's open world borrows skylines from Tokyo, layouts from Osaka, and entire scenes from shows like Initial D, Your Name., Bocchi the Rock!, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Most of these spots are unmarked, so you have to know roughly where to look.
Quick answer: The densest cluster of anime references sits in Miguel District, including Nobita's house, Shin-chan's house, the Fujiwara Tofu Shop, the Steins;Gate radio tower, and an Akihabara recreation. Illusion Town holds the Bocchi the Rock! live house and The Garden of Words bench.
Anime reference locations in Hethereau
The map leans heavily on Japanese settings, so most easter eggs sit in districts modeled after real Tokyo and Osaka neighborhoods. The table below covers each confirmed anime nod, where it lives, and the visual cue that ties it back to the source.
| Anime | What to look for | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Fate (Fuyuki Bridge) | Long bridge with the same silhouette, especially at night | Ayame Bridge between New Herland District and Bridge Crossings |
| Doraemon | Nobita's house and the empty lot beside it | End of Caltrop Lake Road, Miguel District |
| Crayon Shin-chan | Shin-chan's house with the same shape, color, and parked car | Same residential block, next to the Doraemon house |
| Initial D | Fujiwara-style tofu shop with the AE86 parked outside | Natsunari Tofu in Yurutown, Miguel District |
| The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes | Small seaside station that mirrors Kozaki Station | Azure Vista Station, southwest of Unheard Shores |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | Red sea with a ship anchor during a boss fight | Sea Prisoner arena, beyond the Wertheimer Index Fluctuation Zone in Nautili Tunnel |
| Your Name. | Staircases with red handrails | South side of Hankaku Street, Bridge Crossings |
| Slam Dunk | Kamakura-koko-mae style level crossing with a green train passing by | Southeast side of Hankaku Street, Bridge Crossings |
| Steins;Gate | Time machine wreck on top of the Radio Hall building | Northwest of Saint Torres Avenue, Miguel District |
| The Garden of Words | The bench in a small garden | Garden beside Fiscus Avenue, Illusion Town |
| Bocchi the Rock! | Underground live house with poster-lined stairs | Underground studio beside Fiscus Avenue, Illusion Town |
| Clannad | Rapeseed flower fields | Near Northridge Town, Miguel District |
| Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! | Large blue-purple magic circle on the floor | Occult Club room, Clement Academy, Illusion Town |
| Saekano | Cherry blossom slope echoing Nozokizaka | End of Caltrop Lake Road, Miguel District |
| Persona 5: The Phantom X | Shopping street modeled after Zoshigaya | Shopping street, Miguel District |
| The Exit 8 | Long underground station corridor with the same uneasy framing | West of Saint Torres Avenue, Miguel District |
Real-world locations recreated in Hethereau
Alongside the anime nods, Hethereau rebuilds chunks of Japan and one famous American landmark. The Akihabara recreation in Miguel District is the largest, and it's also where the Steins;Gate easter egg sits, so you can knock both out in one trip.
| Real location | In-game equivalent |
|---|---|
| Akihabara, Tokyo | Northwest of Saint Torres Avenue, Miguel District |
| Shibuya scramble crossing | Kino Avenue, New Herland District |
| Tokyo Disneyland (Cinderella Castle) | Amusement park in southeast New Herland District (exterior only) |
| Golden Gate Bridge | Tikal Bridge to the M10 District |
| Fuji TV headquarters | Building south of Talin Avenue, New Herland District |
| Dotonbori, Osaka | Noetic Bridge area, Miguel District (with takoyaki stalls nearby) |
| TKP Gate Tower Building, Osaka | Building with a road through it on Oia Avenue, Miguel District |
How to reach the trickier spots
A handful of these references take a bit of climbing or weather management. The Bocchi the Rock! live house is hidden behind a staircase that drops underground beside Fiscus Avenue in Illusion Town. The Steins;Gate time machine sits on the rooftop of the Radio Hall in the Akihabara block, so you'll need to climb up rather than circle the building at street level.
The Evangelion red sea isn't a free-roam location. It only appears during the Sea Prisoner encounter beyond the Wertheimer Index Fluctuation Zone inside Nautili Tunnel, so you'll see it as part of that fight rather than as an explorable area.
Cutscene and character references
A few easter eggs aren't tied to the map at all. They show up inside the campaign or specific encounters:
- Sakamoto desu ga? — A character sits on a classroom windowsill reading a book in the same pose as Sakamoto.
- Naruto (Itachi's death scene) — A cutscene recreates Itachi poking his brother's forehead with a bloody hand.
- Dragon Ball Z — A character erupts into a yellow Super Saiyan-style aura.
- Durarara!! (Celty) — A headless boss rides a motorcycle with blue flames and pulls off an Akira-style slide stop.
- Demon Slayer (Infinity Castle) — A boss arena built from shifting shoji-paneled wooden structures.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure — A group cutscene where characters strike dramatic poses with a stylized red and blue color shift.
Notes on lookalike spots
Not every visual match is a deliberate reference. The Clannad-style rapeseed fields appear in several parts of the map, and the Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! club room only really matches on the magic circle itself. Treat those as atmospheric rather than confirmed parodies.
One in-game item, the aquarium decoration "Maple Tales - Square," carries a description hinting that it resembles an underwater version of a famous game. The reference is intentional but left vague in the item text.
The world keeps adding small details in patches, so expect more parodies to surface as players comb through districts that haven't been fully mapped yet, particularly in the M10 area and the inaccessible amusement park.