When set photos from the now-filming Avengers 4 surfaced earlier this month fans got their first look at the film’s set and a major hint about the setting. With bright colors and lots of signs in Japanese it looks like the Avengers are going to Tokyo.
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But upon closer inspection, the “Tokyo” the set is trying for really only looks like Japan if you’ve never been there. That’s right, the Marvel Cinematic Universe joins in the long tradition of Hollywood’s version of Japan not looking like the real thing.
The biggest giveaway that this Tokyo is a Hollywood fantasy are the signs. According to Sora News 24, both the shape and wording of the signs are inaccurate. The modern-looking circular signs seen in photos from Atlanta Filming on Twitter are uncommon in Japan, as are signs without text.
— Atlanta Filming (@AtlantaFilming) August 18, 2017
And the text that is on the Avengers 4 set signs? Some of it is just plain weird. The “blue pill” sign’s accompanying text reads “Llip Blue,” a giveaway that the person who created them doesn’t speak Japanese. Language inaccuracies were also pointed out by Japanese fans who took to Twitter to point out questions about what a “howling bar” is and being troubled at just how badly the set misses the mark. Kotaku went so far as to point out how some of the signs are downright creepy, with a “last call” bar’s Japanese name possibly having more of an ominous and imminent death meaning with the use of the wrong Japanese word.
Inaccurate representation of Tokyo aside, it will be interesting to find out what exactly brings the Avengers to the Japanese city and if they really will face off with Yakuza. A previous casting call was looking for extras to play “Japanese gangsters” and “Japanese cafe patrons” in the film. However, we have awhile to wait. Avengers 4 isn’t due to hit theaters until May 2019.
Avengers: Infinity War premieres in theaters May 4, 2018.
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
