History Main / TheTokyoFireBall

[[caption-width-right:350:{{Here we go again}}...]]

* The sequel, ''Film/PacificRimUprising'', provides an explanation as to why the Kaiju (in the ''Pacific Rim'' 'verse, not as a broad explanation for the trope) go for Tokyo: [[spoiler:Kaiju blood is highly reactive when exposed to rare Earth elements, and so Mt. Fuji, an active volcano loaded with such elements, is the Kaiju's destination. If even one falls into the rim, the resulting explosion would cause an eruption of poisonous gases, ending all life and leaving it ripe for the Precursors to harvest.]] Of course, [[VoodooShark why the Kaiju attacked other places instead of just Tokyo]] is another matter entirely.

* In ''Film/PacificRim'', Tokyo is one of the cities destroyed by the Kaiju, with Mako being "the Tokyo Survivor."
* The sequel, ''Film/PacificRimUprising'', provides an explanation as to why the Kaiju (in the ''Pacific Rim'' 'verse, not as a broad explanation for the trope) go for Tokyo: because the Kaiju's blood is highly reactive when exposed to rare Earth elements, Mt. Fuji, an active volcano loaded with such elements, is the Kaiju's destination. Even one falls in, the resulting explosion would cause an eruption of poisonous gases, ending all life and leaving it ripe for the Precursors to harvest. Of course, why the Kaiju attacked other places instead of just Tokyo is another matter entirely.

* The film ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' blows up Tokyo ''twice''. The manga possibly does it a ''third'' time (though it hadn't even begun rebuilding from the second blast.)

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' abuses Tokyo quite a bit. The first battle of the series takes place in Shinjuku, which starts out as a massacre of civilians until Zero and the terrorists get involved. The first season finale has a huge, decisive battle there, which massive collateral damage. There's another battle there late in the second season, which ends with [[spoiler:the utter annihilation of Tokyo using a quasi-nuke that literally vaporizes most of the city]].\\

[[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 UsefulNotes/WorldWarII -- helped usher in modern construction techniques (which made Tokyo much more resistant to this).

[[caption-width-right:350:HereWeGoAgain...]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SayMyName Tetsuoooo!]][[note]][[{{Memetic Mutation}} Kanedaaaa!]][[/note]]]]

* Throughout all of history, every city in the world was subject to this. Ancient Rome was plagued by numerous fires (including the one Nero allegedly fiddled to) all the way up to the 19th century (the Great Chicago Fire was in 1871). It wasn't until the widespread adoption and enforcement of fire safety codes coupled with advances in firefighting that cities stopped burning down regularly. Most accidental fires these days can be traced to buildings that are not up to code.

* ''ShinMegamiTensei'' has Tokyo destroyed by nuclear weapons, and then flooded by God. The {{MMORPG}} ''IMAGINE'' takes place after these events.

* Generally averted in the original ''Franchise/{{Gamera}}'' series. Though, when Gamera first appears he ends up leveling Tokyo. Barugon wrecks Osaka (No, not ''[[Manga/AzumangaDaioh that]]'' Osaka) and Kobe. Gaos attacks Nagoya. Gamera once again (via stock footage) flattens Tokyo in ''Film/GameraVsViras''. Jiger smashes up Osaka (again) in ''Film/GameraVsJiger''. Only the next-to-last film, ''Film/GameraVsZigra'', features Tokyo getting flattened, but it's predominately offscreen. Of course, by that point there aren't many Japanese cities left besides Tokyo to destroy, so, yeah...

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* Both versions of ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' level Tokyo with an earthquake before the action even begins. The ''2040'' TV series then ruins it again with runaway technology. Interestingly in the ''2040'' series, [[spoiler: the Earthquake that happened before the series was a man-made event meant as an attempt to prevent said runaway technology from running amok in the first place.]]

** In ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'', [[spoiler: Tokyo-3 and NERV Headquarters below it are destroyed by the 10th Angel Zeruel during its fight with Shinji and the subsequent failed Third Impact.]]

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

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', this trope applies to [[spoiler: Brockton Bay, which is damaged in Leviathan's attack to the extent that the government considers abandoning it, but is then rebuilt, partly due to the possible uses of its new portal to another universe]]. Later, [[spoiler: it is destroyed along with the rest of the world when Scion attacks, but the portal is used to get some people to (relative) safety]]. Interestingly, the trope does not apply to Tokyo itself, [[spoiler: as the whole nation of Japan has been essentially destroyed by Endbringer attacks in backstory.]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder:ComicBook]]
* The Marvel "What-The" parody series had "Ahearya!"[[note]]As everybody went deaf from the incessant shouting.[[/note]]. Being a parody of ''{{Akira}}'', the trope couldn't be left out.

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder: Music And Sound Effects ]]
* There's even a song used in ''Manga/InitialD'' with this trope. The song No One Sleeps in Tokyo by Edo Boys. ''No one sleeps in Tokyo, because Tokyo '''is on fire!'''''

-->''First they levelled Tokyo''
-->''Then New York was next to go''
-->''Boy, I really wish they'd cut it out''

-->Just a normal day in almost every single way\\

I see everybody pointing up into the sky

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* Spoofed in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. Calvin builds a small city in his sandbox and calls it "downtown Tokyo". Then he stomps the whole thing flat.
--> '''Calvin:''' Godzilla.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* The opening of the PC88 version of ''Veigues: Tactical Gladiator'' depicts a surprise attack on an unidentified Pacific coast city, which is reduced to smoldering ruins.

** 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'', and is directly depicted in ''Anime/WhisperOfTheHeart''.

* ''Sargasso of Space'', the first of Creator/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."

* The first of Creator/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."

* Generally averted in the original ''{{Gamera}}'' series. Though, when Gamera first appears he ends up leveling Tokyo. Barugon wrecks Osaka (No, not ''[[Manga/AzumangaDaioh that]]'' Osaka) and Kobe. Gaos attacks Nagoya. Gamera once again (via stock footage) flattens Tokyo in ''Gamera vs. Viras''. Jiger smashes up Osaka (again) in ''Gamera vs. Jiger''. Only the next-to-last film, ''Gamera vs. Zigra'', features Tokyo getting flattened, but it's predominately offscreen. Of course, by that point there aren't many Japanese cities left besides Tokyo to destroy, so, yeah...