History Main / TheTokyoFireBall

[[TruthInTelevision History proves this trope true to a depressing degree.]] [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseArchitecture Traditional Japanese construction techniques]] rely almost entirely on wood, bamboo, and paper; the country's history of typhoons and earthquakes tended to discourage people from building with materials they didn't want to have land on their heads. Combined with Edo/Tokyo's enormous density, this resulted in the entire city essentially burning down to the foundations every couple of generations. The last great firestorms -- the result of incendiary-bombing during WorldWarTwo -- helped usher in modern construction techniques (which made Tokyo much more resistant to this).

* In Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/DarknessSeries'' (essentially WorldWarTwo with a FantasyCounterpartCulture replacing each country), at the end the magical equivalent of a nuclear weapon destroys Gyovvar, the capital of Gyongyos (equivalent to Japan) and therefore the equivalent of Tokyo. It's mentioned that the Ekrekek (divine emperor) was killed in the blast and the effect is about what you'd expect with our Japan.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, there was something akin to a real Tokyo Fireball. On 9-10 March 1945, 279 USAAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of incendiary bombs on the city. This destroyed c. 16 square miles of the city and killed about 100,000 people -- more than the straight-off deaths caused by the atomic-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. This was only part of the larger strategic-bombing campaign which killed several hundred-thousand. The campaign was particularly lethal given that [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan's]] [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun military government]] had few resources and even less interest in preserving its citizens lives. In 1944-45 anti-invasion fortifications using the same kind of materials (iron, concrete, etc) needed to build shelters were given top priority whilst the only quality bomb shelter that existed in Tokyo was beneath the imperial palace for the Emperor's use. ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is inspired by the firebombing of Kobe.

* From [[TheMonkees Mike Nesmith's]] "Elephant Parts" (1981): [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRmQp19Ga8U Her Name Was Rodan]], and she lived in the ocean off Japan.

* There's even a song used in InitialD with this trope. The song No One Sleeps in Tokyo by Edo Boys. ''No one sleeps in Tokyo, because Tokyo '''is on fire!'''''

* During WorldWarTwo, there was something akin to a real Tokyo Fireball. On 9-10 March 1945, 279 USAAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of incendiary bombs on the city. This destroyed c. 16 square miles of the city and killed about 100,000 people -- more than the straight-off deaths caused by the atomic-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. This was only part of the larger strategic-bombing campaign which killed several hundred-thousand. The campaign was particularly lethal given that [[ImperialJapan Japan's]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun military government]] had few resources and even less interest in preserving its citizens lives. In 1944-45 anti-invasion fortifications using the same kind of materials (iron, concrete, etc) needed to build shelters were given top priority whilst the only quality bomb shelter that existed in Tokyo was beneath the imperial palace for the Emperor's use. ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is inspired by the firebombing of Kobe.

** There's also Little Boy itself, the Atomic Bomb that was detonated above Hiroshima August 6, 1945 which turned the city into rubble under a large mushroom cloud.

* DrSteel's "Atomic Superstar".

* During WorldWarTwo, there was something akin to a real Tokyo Fireball. On 9-10 March 1945, 279 USAAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of incendiary bombs on the city. This destroyed c. 16 square miles of the city and killed about 100,000 people -- more than the straight-off deaths caused by the atomic-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. This was only part of the larger strategic-bombing campaign which killed several hundred-thousand. The campaign was particularly lethal given that [[ImperialJapan Japan's]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun military government]] had few resources and even less interest in preserving its citizens lives. In 1944-45 anti-invasion fortifications using the same kind of materials (iron, concrete, etc) needed to build shelters were given top priority whilst the only quality bomb shelter that existed in Tokyo was beneath the imperial palace. ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is inspired by the firebombing of Kobe.

* During WorldWarTwo, there was something akin to a real Tokyo Fireball. On 9-10 March 1945, 279 USAAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of incendiary bombs on the city. This destroyed c. 16 square miles of the city and killed about 100,000 people -- more than the straight-off deaths caused by the atomic-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. This was only part of the larger strategic-bombing campaign which killed several hundred-thousand. The campaign was particularly lethal given that [[ImperialJapan Japan's]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun military government]] had few resources and even less interest in preserving its citizens lives. In 1944-45 anti-invasion fortifications using the same kind of materials (iron, concrete, etc) needed to build shelters were given top priority whilst all but the most important cities like Tokyo had no bomb-shelters (that could actually prevent the occupants from dying in air-raids) whatsoever. ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is inspired by the firebombing of Kobe.

** In ''Shōgun'' an earthquake causes a massive fire that destroys most of Osaka. Blackthorne's companions explain that this happens to their cities every few generations. When it does, they just rebuild.
** A [[spoiler:great fire destroys most of Yokohama]] as part of the climax of ''Gai-Jin'', and this is also part of [[TruthInTelevision recorded history]].

!! Examples of this trope include:

* ''Anime/RahXephon'' plays with this. At first, it seems to be [[InvertedTrope inverted]] with the whole world ''besides'' Tokyo having been destroyed. However, it's quickly revealed that this isn't true, and that Tokyo has instead been sealed off from the outside world, with nobody being able to enter or leave, which is close enough to it having been destroyed from the perspective of the people living outside of it. The events of the series are kicked off when people from outside manage to break through, and take a person (and a HumongousMecha) from inside back out with them.

* ''FushigiYuugi'' has [[spoiler: the characters and gods in the Universe of the Four Gods leave the book and continue their fight in Tokyo]]. HilarityEnsues.

* The first of AndreNorton's ''Solar Queen'' stories has a brief mention that centuries before, "volcanic action, followed by tidal waves, had overwhelmed a whole nation in two days and a night--so that Japan had utterly ceased to be--washed from the maps of Terra."

* UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} gets thoroughly trashed in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. Five years later, in ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', virtually all of the damage seems to have been repaired, and the city now houses a facility devoted to researching and reverse-engineering destroyed Transformers.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' gives us the American version of this trope in the form of the [[BigApplesauce New York]], UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, and UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Fireballs. The sequel, ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'', reveals that a total of 108 cities were destroyed, including Tokyo and UsefulNotes/{{London}} (the latter of which was featured in Creator/TheBBC's RadioDrama {{spinoff}}) -- and in keeping with this trope, the post-war reconstruction went very quickly. Just in time for the aliens to come back.

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* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' gives us the American version of this trope in the form of the [[BigApplesauce New York]], UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, and UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Fireballs. The sequel, ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'', reveals that a total of 108 cities were destroyed, including Tokyo -- and in keeping with this trope, the post-war reconstruction went very quickly. Just in time for the aliens to come back.

* In the GrandFinale of ''TokyoMewMew,'' Tokyo is in ruins; it comes back, but with a lot more overgrowth, which had built up over the series by the use of environmentally-friendly AppliedPhlebotinum.

* ''DeadmanWonderland'' is built following a massive earthquake that levels Tokyo, and there's recently been another strong earthquake [[spoiler:or possibly a giant robot got loose again]].

* ''AngelSanctuary'': Tokyo is destroyed in the third episode of the anime, and rather early on in the manga.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Kanto_Earthquake Great Kanto Earthquake]] of 1923 also burned down much of the city. It was the inspiration for the earthquake in ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'', above.

[[quoteright:300:[[Manga/{{Akira}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akira0.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[SayMyName Tetsuoooo!]][[note]][[{{Memetic Mutation}} Kanedaaaa!]][[/note]]]]

->''"The movie begins with Tokyo exploding -- which, for anime, is the cliche equivalent of 'ItWasADarkAndStormyNight.'"''

* WilliamGibson's novel ''{{Idoru}}'' starts soon after an earthquake destroyed part of Tokyo. During the plot, it is being rebuilt by nanomachines but doesn't quite follow its original map except for a few landmarks. Guess what? ''Idoru'' is partly based on manga subcultures.

* ''DemonCityShinjuku'' starts with a major precinct of Tokyo collapsing and being cut off from the rest of the city because of an earthquake caused by [[DemonicInvaders demons]].

-> ''"The movie begins with Tokyo exploding -- which, for anime, is the cliche equivalent of 'ItWasADarkAndStormyNight.'"''
-->-- '''Noah "The Spoony One" Antwiler''' ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' on ''Manga/{{Akira}}''

* In spite of the cute characters and upbeat music during the credits, ''TokyoMagnitude8'' presents a horrific example of this.

* In the back-story of GhostInTheShell, Tokyo was destroyed by a nuclear blast during WorldWarIII and a replacement city, New Tokyo, was built near the ruins of the old one. Oddly enough, the reason why Old Tokyo hasn't been rebuilt isn't due to lingering radiation (Japan has exclusive access to radiation-scrubbing NanoMachines), but because the explosion sunk most of the city below sea level and flooded it with sea water. It appears however, that the national government is still in Fukuoka, where it was relocated after the destruction of Tokyo (and about as far away from it as it gets).

* ''RahXephon'' plays with this. At first, it seems to be [[InvertedTrope inverted]] with the whole world ''besides'' Tokyo having been destroyed. However, it's quickly revealed that this isn't true, and that Tokyo has instead been sealed off from the outside world, with nobody being able to enter or leave, which is close enough to it having been destroyed from the perspective of the people living outside of it. The events of the series are kicked off when people from outside manage to break through, and take a person (and a HumongousMecha) from inside back out with them.

* While the Dragons of Heaven are supposed to be preventing this in ''{{X1999}}'', they don't exactly do a good job of it.

* As does the first ''ProjectAKo''. The second time isn't total destruction, instead leaving a crashed starship in the middle of the city.

* ''ViolenceJack'' is set AfterTheEnd of a massive earthquake that demolished Tokyo and most of Japan, which isolated it from the rest of the world.

* During WorldWarTwo, there was something akin to a real Tokyo Fireball. On 9-10 March 1945, 279 USAAF bombers dropped 1,700 tons of incendiary bombs on the city. This destroyed c. 16 square miles of the city and killed about 100,000 people -- more than the straight-off deaths caused by the atomic-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. This was only part of the larger strategic-bombing campaign which killed several hundred-thousand. The campaign was particularly lethal given that [[ImperialJapan Japan's]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun military government]] had few resources and even less interest in preserving its citizens lives. In 1944-45 anti-invasion fortifications using the same kind of materials (iron, concrete, etc) needed to build shelters were given top priority whilst all but the most important cities like Tokyo had no bomb-shelters (that could actually prevent the occupants from dying in air-raids) whatsoever. ''GraveOfTheFireflies'' is inspired by the firebombing of Kobe.