History Main / TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse

-->-- '''Anime/SailorMoon''', ''WebVideo/SailorMoonAbridged'', "[[http://youtu.be/jMmRT9I9Ktk?t=58s Episode 5]]"

Nineteenth and early twentieth century works of speculative fiction cast London or Paris in this role: H.G. Wells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' sets the alien invasion as primarily targeting London. Perfectly reasonable and accepted at a time when Britain and France were political and cultural superpowers.

The principle also holds true for Russian fiction (even if much of it is known only locally, apart from the few franchises that managed to break through internationally, such as ''Literature/Metro2033'' and its spin-offs, sequels and [[VideoGame/Metro2033 adaptations]], ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' etc.) in regard to Moscow, or Saint Petersburg, if it hasn't already taken the role of the Russian LovecraftCountry as it is wont to do. The decisive, climactic confrontation between the various factions of [[Literature/NightWatchSeries the Others?]] It happens in Moscow. The location of FirstContact with a [[VideoGame/Metro2033 new mutant subspecies of humanity?]] The Moscow Metro. The seat of the worldwide (Communist) government in the Strugatsky Brothers' Literature/NoonUniverse? Moscow, obviously.

Are aliens landing in [=UFOs=]? They'll land in UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}.

Is a giant alien monster attacking? [[TheTokyoFireball It's attacking Tokyo.]]

Is there a neighborhood full of world-class martial artists with [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower superhuman]] [[KungFuWizard powers]]? It's in [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Nerima-ku]].

A race of giant {{Eldritch Abomination}}s is planning TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt? [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Every single one of them will attack Tokyo]].[[note]]Well, technically it's Hakone, but they ''did'' rename it Tokyo-3, and the [[TokyoFireball real old Tokyo was pretty much underwater]] by that time.[[/note]] Oh, and guess where they store the agency to defeat them along with the HumongousMecha?

[[Anime/MazingerZ Is there a Mad Scientist born in Germany who wants to take the world with his army of giant mechas?]] His first -and favorite- target will be Tokyo.

Is there a magical gateway between worlds? It's in [[Anime/CodeGeass Tokyo]], sort of. Well, a few kilometres off the coast, anyway. Or smack dab [[Literature/{{GATE}} in the middle of Chuo Dori]].

Giant creatures from a world of data and crow warriors that can turn into jet planes? [[Anime/DigimonTamers Shinjuku's got]] [[Anime/{{Karas}} them too]].

Is there a mysterious gigantic cavern hidden just beneath the Earth's surface, wherein aliens once upon a time created all life on Earth? It's [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion in Hakone, at the end of the Odakyu Odawara Line]].

Is there [[Manga/TokyoMewMew a group of five girls]] [[Franchise/SailorMoon who each have the potential to fend off aliens who want to conquer the Earth]]? They go to neighbouring schools.

Is a [[Manga/SaintYoungMen prominent figure (or two) from religion or myth]] manifesting once more and living in the world of Men? They're in Japan.

An UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny? Budokan's got front row seats.

Wanna enter [[VideoGame/Persona5 a world borne of the distorted desires of mankind]]? Hop on over to Shibuya.

Basically, [[TitleDrop Tokyo is the center of the universe]]. Well, either that or [[BigApplesauce New York City]].

(Of course, if aliens did make contact in person, it's entirely plausible they might [[JustifiedTrope choose the most populous settlement on the planet]].)[[note]]Which [[FridgeLogic raises the question]] of why we never see them in Mexico City.[[/note]]

Cozy Okada, creator of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, explains Tokyo as a setting by describing it as "a city playing out the cycle of destruction and rebirth", in the historical, political and economic sense.

This is also seen in many American media, particularly involving UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and [[BigApplesauce New York]]. Entire books have been written on why fiction writers make Los Angeles a magnet for violence and natural disasters. A lot of shows (violent dramas and sitcoms alike) will be set in Los Angeles as an easy means of subverting CaliforniaDoubling. New York, meanwhile, is the other major center of the American television industry (dueling with Los Angeles for that role) and the undisputed center of the comic book industry; a frequent joke in comics is that New Yorkers (or residents of the city serving as an {{expy}} of New York) tend to be more used to superhero fighting than anyone else. UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco and UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} also show up in this role on occasion, though not to the same degree as those two cities. Likewise, in British media [[BritainIsOnlyLondon London Is The Centre Of The Universe]], in Brazilian media it is either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo and in Indian media it is UsefulNotes/{{Mumbai}}. Note that [[CanadaEh Canadians]] who refer to UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} as such, however, are being self-deprecatingly sarcastic (if they live in that area themselves) or just plain sarcastic (if they're from anywhere else in Canada).

An UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny? The Budokan's got front row seats.

** As mentioned above, UsefulNotes/{{Brazil}}'s media is most times set in either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, it's most populous cities. Rio de Janeiro is this not only because of the large population, but also due to it's iconic landscape and the fact that it holds the studios of Grupo Globo, the largest mass media group in Latin America, responsible for the country's biggest TV channel and almost all of the non-state funded films. The capital of Brazil, Brasília, most times will only be featured if the plot deals heavily with politics, which is mostly seen in recent works.

* Lampshaded in ''[[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mikarun_x/v01/c004/19.html Mikarun x]]'' as the commander wonders why all 9 of the aliens who tried to invade the earth attacked Japan.

* In ''Anime/DigimonXrosWarsTheYoungHuntersLeapingThroughTime'', Taiki and friends are lured to a Hunt outside of Japan where a powerful Digimon, Volcdramon, resides; this causes Taiki to believe that Digimon outbreaks are happening all around the world. However, Taiki's old friend Kiriha reappears to help subdue Volcdramon, and, before leaving, he tells Taiki that Japan is the most important of places when dealing with Digimon.

* In ''Fanfic/AHistoryOfMagic'', it took Kyubey 2000 years to see it, but he eventually realized that Japan as a whole had more magical potential than the rest of the world, and that Japanese girls adapt more easily to becoming Puella Magi. He even suggested to another Incubator that their quota would eventually be filled by a Japanese Magi. [[spoiler: Which leads directly to the events of ''Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''.]]

* -->''Oh, no! There goes Tokyo! Go, go, [[Music/BlueOysterCult Godzilla]]!''

* Long story short, most countries center their fiction on the country's capital city, specially when it takes place in an urban area: [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] fiction usually takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}, [[UsefulNotes/{{Germany}} German]] fiction in Berlin, Spanish fiction in Madrid, [[UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} Italian]] fiction in UsefulNotes/{{Rome}}, [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} Greek]] fiction in UsefulNotes/{{Athens}} etc.

* Long story short, most countries center their fiction on the country's capital city, specially when it takes place in an urban area: [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} French]] fiction usually takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}, German fiction in Berlin, Spanish fiction in Madrid, [[UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} Italian]] fiction in UsefulNotes/{{Rome}}, etc.

* ''FanFic/HybridTheory'' is a MegaCrossover of anime, manga and games, most of which are set in Tokyo.

* ''FanFic/UltimatePowerRangers'' {{justifie|dTrope}}s this by having Angel Grove - the main city and Tokyo equivalent - be at the center of nearly all of Earth's leylines. Tokyo itself also appears under similar circumstances, as well as a few other locales.

* ''FanFic/YinAndYangSeries'': Averted during the third fic: the members of the Romama Platoon are scattered all around the world. It may border AliensInCardiff in the case of Lupapa, given she ended up in the Amazon Rain forest.

* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaeMutants'': A maximum of six people are working to stop the aliens (being generous and including Grandpa), and all of them in a single relatively isolated area. The aliens never think to simply move on to somewhere else or expand their search radius because ''it's a Simpsons game, you gotta attack Springfield''.

The principle also holds true for Russian fiction (even if much of it is known only locally, apart from the few franchises that managed to break through internationally, such as ''Literature/Metro2033'' and its spin-offs, sequels and [[VideoGame/Metro2033 adaptations]], ''[[Literature/NightWatchSeries'' etc.) in regard to Moscow, or Saint Petersburg, if it hasn't already taken the role of the Russian LovecraftCountry as it is wont to do. The decisive, climactic confrontation between the various factions of [[Literature/NightWatchSeries the Others?]] It happens in Moscow. The location of FirstContact with a [[VideoGame/Metro2033 new mutant subspecies of humanity?]] The Moscow Metro. The seat of the worldwide (Communist) government in the Strugatsky Brothers' Literature/NoonUniverse? Moscow, obviously.

The principle also holds true for Russian fiction (even if much of it is known only locally, apart from the few franchises that managed to break through internationally, such as ''[[Literature/Metro2033 Metro 2033]]'' and its spin-offs, sequels and [[VideoGame/Metro2033 adaptations]], ''[[{{Literature/NightWatch}} Night Watch]]'' etc.) in regard to Moscow, or Saint Petersburg, if it hasn't already taken the role of the Russian LovecraftCountry as it is wont to do. The decisive, climactic confrontation between the various factions of [[{{Literature/NightWatch}} the Others?]] It happens in Moscow. The location of FirstContact with a [[VideoGame/Metro2033 new mutant subspecies of humanity?]] The Moscow Metro. The seat of the worldwide (Communist) government in the Strugatsky Brothers' Literature/NoonUniverse? Moscow, obviously.

* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaeMutants]]'': A maximum of six people are working to stop the aliens (being generous and including Grandpa), and all of them in a single relatively isolated area. The aliens never think to simply move on to somewhere else or expand their search radius because ''it's a Simpsons game, you gotta attack Springfield''.

** A special mention must go to ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', which ''literally'' turned Tokyo into the Center Of The Universe.

* The setting of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', Inkopolis, is heavily based on Tokyo. The HubLevel of the game, Inkopolis Plaza, is based on the Shibuya district of the city, with many neon signs typical of the place, and the center for battling, Inkopolis Tower, is based on the similar Tokyo Tower. [[spoiler:As the game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth where rising sea levels killed all terrestrial life and allowed marine invertebrates to evolve, it's possible that Inkopolis really is Tokyo. In fact, ''Splatoon 2'' very heavily implies this is indeed the case by namedropping the real-life Mount Nantai, which is a few hours away from the city.]]

** While most ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'' games are set in fictional cities/towns (that are nonetheless located in Japan), ''VideoGame/Persona5'' takes place right in the heart of Tokyo, [[spoiler:the true BigBad having chosen the city for the site of its "game"]]. However, the Yongen-Jaya district is fictional [[note]]but it's based on the real district of ''San''gen-Jaya[[/note]].

** There are some paths that play it completely straight, though: [[spoiler:Tsubaki]]'s, [[spoiler: Sakamoto]]'s and [[spoiler:Shintaro]]'s SpinOff. Again, it's very justified: in the first case [[spoiler: Tsubaki specifically aims to kill the Shogun]], in the second [[spoiler: Zeyo wants to personally speak to the Shogun ''and'' stop [[BigBadDuumvirate Tsubaki and Toru]]]] from killing him, and the SpinOff is centered on [[spoiler: Makoto sending Shintaro and Saori to Tokyo as a part of a plan for their WeddingDay]].

* -->''Oh, no! There goes Tokyo! Go, go, [[Music/BlueOysterCult Godzilla]]!''t

* {{Downplayed}} in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom''. Kimura's hospital paperwork indicates that Kunugigaoka Town is a suburb somewhere in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

* Subverted in ''Film/PacificRim''. The {{Kaiju}} Onibaba does attack Tokyo, but it's only the latest in a string of attacks on various Pacific cities. The first city hit was San Francisco. The second was Manila. The third was Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The film itself shows an attempted attack on Anchorage, Alaska, and most of the film takes place in Hong Kong.
** Played completely straight in ''Film/PacificRimUprising'', where the climactic battle takes place in Tokyo, as the ultimate plan of the Kaiju's creators involves Mount Fuji. [[spoiler:Namely, three Kaiju - [[FusionDance merged into a single Mega Kaiju]] - jumping into the crater would ignite the whole Ring of Fire, causing the extinction of all life on Earth.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}''. Of course a [[HeadlessHorseman Dullahan]] decides to travel overseas to the Ikebukuro of Tokyo in search for her missing head! Where else could it possibly have gone?
** It's actually a JustifiedTrope in this one. Celty clarifies that she can sense her head is in Ikebukuro, just not WHERE in Ikebukuro it is.

** There are some paths that play it completely straight, though: [[spoiler:Tsubaki]]'s, [[spoiler: Sakamoto]]'s and [[spoiler:Shintaro]]'s SpinOff. Again, it's very justified: in the first case [[spoiler: Tsubaki specifically aims to kill the Shogun]], in the second [[spoiler: Zeyo wants to personally speak to the Shogun ''and'' stop [[BigBadDuumvirate Tsubaki and Toru]]]] from killing him, and the SpinOff is centered on [[spoiler: Makoto sending Shintaro and Saori to Tokyo as a part of a plan for their WeddingDay.]]

This may or may not be due to the fact that Tokyo is [[strike:Japan's]] the world's most populous metropolitan and urban area (one-quarter of Japan's population lives in the area, enough that the area is technically a province rather than a city) and most manga publishing houses and movie production firms are located there. Setting a story elsewhere often ''requires'' that the location be specifically relevant rather than chance. Many authors are also more familiar with Tokyo than other cities.