1.
worldview, view of the world
A comprehensive philosophy or outlook on the world and one's place in it.
彼の世界観は独特だ。
His worldview is unique.
旅を通して世界観が変わった。
My worldview changed through traveling.
宗教はその人の世界観に大きな影響を与える。
Religion has a major influence on a person's worldview.
2.
world-setting, fictional universe
The overall atmosphere, rules, and setting of a creative work such as a novel, game, anime, or film. Very commonly used in discussions of fiction and media in Japanese.
このゲームの世界観が好きだ。
I like the world-setting of this game.
原作の世界観を忠実に再現した映画だ。
It's a film that faithfully recreates the world of the original work.
ファンタジー作品では、まず世界観をしっかり作り込むことが大切だ。
In fantasy works, it's important to first build a thorough world-setting.
世界観 has two distinct uses in modern Japanese.
Sense 1 (philosophical worldview) is the original meaning, corresponding to the German "Weltanschauung."
Sense 2 (fictional world-setting) is extremely common in pop culture discussions. When fans talk about a game, anime, or novel's 世界観, they mean its atmosphere, rules, lore, and overall creative vision.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 世界観が広がる (the world expands)
- 世界観を作り込む (build out a world-setting in detail)
- 世界観を壊す (break the world-setting / ruin the atmosphere)
- 独特な世界観 (a unique worldview/world-setting)