Are aliens landing in [=UFOs=]? They'll land in Tokyo.

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

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

Is there a magical gateway between worlds? It's in [[CodeGeass Shinjuku]], sort of.

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 at the end of the Odakyu train line.

Is there a team of ancient celestial heroes who have been reincarnated in the present day to save the world once more? Every single one of them lives in [[SailorMoon Minato-ku]].

Is a prominent figure from religion or myth manifest once more and living in the world of Men? They're in Ueno.

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

This is not merely an AnimeTrope but a cliche in anime and manga. For some reason, Tokyo is not only a WeirdnessMagnet, but a superconductive multi-million-ampere Weirdness Magnet. It's expected that things will mostly take place in Japan, since the story is created by the Japanese, but it will usually always be Tokyo. The rest of Japan barely exists and the rest of the world might as well not be there at all, because this is the CityOfAdventure.

This may or may not be due to the fact that Tokyo is Japan's most populous city (one-quarter of Japan's population lives in the area, enough that the area is technically governed more like a county than a city) and most manga publishing houses and movie production firms are located there; also possibly justified by the fact that Tokyo is currently the world's most populous metropolitan area. 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.

Koji Okada, creator of the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' series, [[http://www.sankakucomplex.com/349/megami-tensei-creator-koji-okada-speaks/ 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.

Interestingly, this affects the characters within the area. Being from Tokyo often gives you a generic 'default' personality compared to the usual regional stereotypes. You won't see ''their'' stereotype as obviously, unless the story takes place elsewhere in the country. If it ''is'' set away from Tokyo, the city's "normal" residents will instead be haggard, overworked, and stuffy -- which just so happens to be the American stereotype of Japanese people in general.

In the rare cases Tokyo technically can't exist, you can substitute any of the main 3 locations that were historically capitals: Nara (most of the 8th Century AD), Kyoto (from the end of the 8th Century, officially to the 1860s), or Edo (Tokyo before it was renamed; the ''de facto'' capital from the 17th Century onward). SF series set when Tokyo has ''already'' met [[TheTokyoFireball the logical outcome]] of this trope tend to name their new city after the old one, just with some prefix or suffix to indicate it's not the original..

This is also seen in many American media, particularly involving the cities of New York, Los Angles, and sometimes San Francisco. These cities also share many similar traits with Tokyo. See BigApplesauce.

This trope is a type of CreatorProvincialism. Contrast AliensInCardiff
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''[[ReadOrDie R.O.D.]]'', a British-backed plot to take over the world is kicked off--in Tokyo.
* [[NotASubversion Non-subversion]]: in ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Tokyo (Tokyo-1) is [[TheTokyoFireball destroyed]] even before the series starts, but its replacement Tokyo-3, while not the same city, otherwise fits this trope.
** Likewise ''Akira'', where the replacement is Neo-Tokyo (built over Tokyo Bay, because apparently they couldn't rebuild over the ruins).
** [[spoiler:Actually, Tokyo-3 was built ''exactly in the place'' where an alien attack had been predicted to come.]]
** This troper recalls that there is a Tokyo-2, which is actually a renamed Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture. Tokyo-3 is Hakone, in the far western reaches of Tokyo.
* The various ''TenchiMuyo'' series manage to avoid this trope, as they mostly take place in Okayama... with the exception of the aptly named ''TenchiInTokyo''.
* Subverted and played straight in ''{{Digimon Adventure 02}}'': in the World Tour arc and finale, Tokyo isn't the only important place on the map. But with all the Chosen Children in other parts of the world, you do have to wonder why all the main action seems to take place in Odaiba.
** It's {{Justified}} by the fact that the BigBad was defeated last time in Odaiba, so the man he was possessing while running evil operations was also there. Of course, this just takes it right back to Because I Said So, as no reason is given for why he didn't move to an area less rich in people already experienced in beating him before getting back into business.
** Except for, you know, the reason that ''other equally powerful'' {{Big Bad}}s are doing the same thing across the world. And that the most convenient gate into the Digital World for the BigBad is also in Odaiba.
** It also helps that Fuji TV, the network that aired the show in Japan, is headquartered in Odaiba.
* In ''CodeGeass'', Japan is swiftly taken over and destroyed by a foreign army, and then rebuilt as [[PleaseSelectNewCityName "Area 11"]]. Tokyo is naturally the center of government, and indeed pretty much any major fighting. Japan itself is still the center of the conflict between TheEmpire and the natives (who are treated as second-class citizens there, if they're ''lucky'').
** Regardless, Ashford Academy is ''definitely'' the center of the universe. Not only does half the major cast go to school there, but every time the war comes to the city itself, the Academy is a crucial strategic point for one reason or another. In one episode of R2, a major diplomatic conference is held in the ''school gymnasium''. A basketball hoop hanging in the background silently makes a mockery of the entire scene.
*** This is more because [[spoiler:most of the city's major governmental and administrative buildings got blown up by their equivalent of a nuke]] than an inexplicable attraction to the school itself.
*** That and Lelouch picked the location on purpose because of the memories it held, and because it served as a nice place to say goodbye to the one person on Earth who still cared about him (that wasn't already on his side).
* Semi-justified for the first half of ''[[PrettySammy Magical Project S]]'' when it was just Pixy Misa as the antagonist (given that she was specifically brought forth to be Sammy's rival), but it seems sort of silly how Sammy only has to act within Tokyo to affect the universal balance.
* Minor aversion in ''HighschoolOfTheDead'', in which it happens in Tokyo...as well as everywhere else in the world.
* ''Nazca'' centers around several Tokyo {{Ordinary High School Student}}s who discover that they're {{reincarnation}}s of major figures in the Incan civil war from the 16th century - and, of course, have to resume the battle.
* In ''DarkerThanBlack'', one of the two magical "gates" that are connected to the disappearance of the sky and the appearance of Contractors (and the one that is being actively researched after its South American counterpart disappeared under an impregnable energy shield) is located in, you guessed it, Tokyo.
* In ''SailorMoon'', the immensely powerful supernatural enemies of the Senshi almost never seem to attack anywhere but one tiny area in the Minato ward of Tokyo which the Senshi can all reach in a few minutes by running. Also, in the [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas idyllic future]] ruled over by the main character, guess where her seat of government is?
**As always there are a few exceptions. In the anime Sailor V is stated (And shown in her orgin story episode) to have spent some time fighting monsters in England while the Manga version has her defeat a villan in Greece (by accident. She got on the wrong plane) and China.
* The battle for the fate of the entire planet in ''[[{{X1999}} X/1999]]'' occurs in Tokyo.
** Not only that, but of the 14 people (seven on each side) destined to determine the fate of the world, 12 are Japanese, one is half-Japanese, and one is an artificial construct made from the brain of a Japanese girl.
** CLAMP apparently loves this. Just see how Tokyo Tower is treated... as the ultimate showdown arena in ''CardcaptorSakura''.
** ''TsubasaReservoirChronicle''. [[spoiler: Clow Kingdom, WhereItAllBegan]]? An alternate Tokyo, AfterTheEnd.
* Subversion: In ''HyperPolice'', Tokyo is [[TheTokyoFireball wasted]], almost uninhabitable thanks to organized crime and monsters. There, the center of the world is Osaka.
* Justified in ''TwentiethCenturyBoys'', as the Bloody New Year's Eve begins in Tokyo deliberately for this very reason.
** Also Lampshaded as the whole series of events was supposed to start in Tokyo but the [[spoiler: little kids]] making the plot said that you can't have it start in Tokyo because it [[GenreSavvy always]] starts in Tokyo.
* ''{{Genshiken}}'' is an example of a series set in Tokyo for no other reason than that there's no reason for it ''not'' to be. (That, and Tokyo's Akihabara Electric Town is ''otaku'' heaven.)
** If memory serves, the college the cast attends isn't ''technically'' in Tokyo. Saki makes a comment that by riding the trains it's easy to forget the college isn't in the city, or something to that degree. Maybe "in the city" means "not surrounded by easily observable landmarks, but with such a sprawling city the wards and districts become, while maybe Tokyo in name, small cities in of themselves.
* In ''{{Tokko}}'', Tokyo is more or less the literal epicenter for the destruction of the world.
* In the ''YuYuHakusho'' movie, ''Bonds of Fire'', the heroes attempt to stop their enemy from seizing five elemental shrines that would give them untold spiritual power. Naturally, given that the heroes are junior high school age, all the shrines are in downtown Tokyo.
* ''BubblegumCrisis'' takes place in "Mega-Tokyo," built on the ruins of the original Tokyo after it was leveled by an earthquake.
* ''{{Death Note}}'' has its first arc located entirely in Tokyo and its surrounding area. Ryuk drops the notebook there despite writing its instructions in English on the offchance that it lands somewhere in the American or European world, L determines the location of Kira by broadcasting exclusively in the Kanto region of Japan (it contains the Greater Tokyo Area), and the headquarters is built somewhere in the region. It only decides to leave the area the minute Mello shows up and takes Sayu hostage, holding her somewhere in LA. However, there is always SOMEONE that's part of the major investigation still hanging around in Tokyo.
* Kinda averted in ''YuGiOh''; most of the series (save for the parts on privately-owned islands or [[YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries sailing on a blimp]]) takes place in Domino City, which is technically a suburb of Tokyo, but characters refer to the capital as a different city altogether.
* Justified in ''DetectiveConan'' where the villainous organisation runs on a worldwide scale and the fact that their screw-ups only seem to happen in two close districts of Tokyo only serves to make TheDragon suspicious.
* In ''{{X1999}}'', there are several structures in Tokyo called kekkai that protect the city. If they're all destroyed, so's Tokyo, and the world with it.
* Averted in ''TheMelancholyOfHaruhiSuzumiya'', which is set in the Kansai region. Also averted in ''Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai''.
* Averted in ''ExcelSaga'', which is set "In the city of F, in the Prefecture of F" (anime) or Fukuoka (manga).
*As mentioned above, most of the most powerful martial artists in ''[=~Ranma ½~=]'' congregate in Nerima.
* The art college in ''HoneyAndClover'' is situated in Tokyo, even though that fact has little bearing on the events.
* [[NotASubversion Non-subversion]]: ''{{Gintama}}'' is set in Edo. But... Edo is an old name of Tokyo.
* Guess where ''TokyoMewMew'' is set?

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Despite a popular misconception, not all of the ''{{Godzilla}}'' films were set in Tokyo, although it was by far the most important city, to the series. A good example is ''Godzilla vs. Mothra'', in which Nagoya is destroyed early on, with Tokyo as the site of the final showdown between Godzilla, Mothra, and Battra. This troper cannot look at a picture of the Japanese National Assembly building without mentally adding an enormous coccoon.
** The American version of Godzilla and {{King Kong}}, as well as many others, takes place in New York City, the American counterpart to Tokyo.
* In the ''{{MST3K}}''-featured ''Invasion of the Neptune Men'', saving Tokyo is apparently equivalent to saving the world. Interestingly, when a big shield is built around the city, the aliens hurl themselves through it in a mad attempt to get through, rather than fly to another city.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''{{Demon City Shinjuku}}''--an evil genius summons demons to destroy the world. Guess where they start.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The various ''SuperSentai'' series; the ones that take place on Earth, anyway.
**Carried over to ''Power Rangers,'' just replace "Tokyo" with "California."
* ''{{Ultraman}}'', although at least a few episodes have the kaiju getting out and about in the world (or space). But the rest are in Tokyo, so, [[SoYeah yeah]].
**This trope is lampshaded in one episode of ''Ultraman Gaia'', in which the main character Gamu, after analysing the trajectory of an incoming alien invader, remarks that it's headed directly towards Tokyo. Captain Tsutsumi replies with an exasperated, "What? Again?"

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* A special mention must go to ''[[ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne]]'', which ''literally'' turned Tokyo into the Center Of The Universe.
** In fact, a vast majority of ''MegaTen'' games take place in or around Tokyo, features characters from Tokyo, or takes place in a city similar to Tokyo. These are the people who managed to set an entire MMORPG in Tokyo.
* In ''[=~Pokemon~=] Red'' and ''Blue'', though Tokyo technically isn't in the game, Celadon City and Saffron City are said to be modeled after two areas of Tokyo. The majority of the Team Rocket plot in the games (plus two official gyms and one unofficial gym) take place in those cities. Mix that with the fact that 90% of the population of Kanto lives in those two cities (with all the other cities being puny), and you can tell that there is a certain love for Tokyo shown.
** Somewhat justified as the games take place in a region of the Pokémon games' country based on and named after the Kanto region of Japan.
* In ''RobotAlchemicDrive'', most of the action takes place in a rather generic Japanese city. The first time you go to Tokyo sees you taking down a Godzilla knock off that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the plot.
* In ''TheWorldEndsWithYou'', the entire game takes place in Shibuya, Tokyo. Even more importance due to the fact that God, er, the Composer, er, [[spoiler:Joshua]] chooses it as the site for a modern-day Sodom and Gemorrah.
** However, it is 'implied that other cities have their own Composers.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* Parodied in ''{{MegaTokyo}}''; there is an Cataclysm Division in Tokyo specifically dedicated to handling this kind of stuff. Their duties includes scheduling catastrophes in advance, issuing permits for zombies and Martians to conduct their invasions, preventing non-registered attacks on Tokyo, then cleaning up the mess later.
** To the point where, when the zombie invasion comes a week early, the police issue them a ticket and tell them that the invasion is ''next'' week; come back later.
** Then there was the part where two guys blow up city hall for the lulz. This pisses off the zombies, as the police explains "there's a ten year waiting list for the permit to blow it up".
* Heavily lampshaded in the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990321 Mecha Easter Bunny]] arc of ''SluggyFreelance.'' The titular killer cyborg is programmed to kill Bun-bun (to appease Santa's desire for vengeance), deliver Easter Eggs (because Bun-bun killed the real Easter Bunny), and destroy Tokyo (because otherwise it can't be called "Mecha"). The destruction of Tokyo happens off-panel and is never referenced again.
* In the titular ''Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny'', it all began when Ol' Godzilla was hoppin' around Tokyo City like a big playground...
* The webcomic ''OkashinaOkashi'' starts with an anomaly hitting Tokyo Tower and pulling a group of teenagers into another universe. The main character is GenreSaavy and has deliberately dressed in a SailorFuku just in case something like that actually happens. I can't think of a reason why said plot hole would hit Tokyo Tower, particularly.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''TeenTitans: Trouble In Tokyo'' represents the first time the cartoon-verse Titans have to deal with a villain from Japan, so a superhero showdown in Tokyo is the natural end result.
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