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Something I noticed while watching a lot of popular anime based on Light
Novels that focuses on slice of life for the most (Oregairu, Haruhi Suzumiya,
Oreimo, etc.) is that they never stated where in Japan is the story actually
taking place. In a lot of cases I noted that these settings tend to be a non-
decrepit small to medium sized town with a school, and yet at other times,
despite this ambiguity, the characters visit an identifiable real life locale,
such as Oreimo with the Akihabara district, which seems to imply that the
series happen around Tokyo. I can understand if the anime adaptation would not
bother mentioning the setting, but is this ever touched upon in the original
Light Novel source or has it always been sort of a case of the
"[Springfield](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhereTheHellIsSpringfield)"
trope in play? Is it possible that there is some kind of general assumption by
the Japanese populace that all series happen in Tokyo or something?


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2016-04-14T22:52:12.113
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tropes light-novel-production
Does Light Novel-based, slice of life anime in general have a clearly defined setting?


The _Haruhi Suzumiya_ series is mainly set in [Nishinomiya,
Japan](http://haruhi.wikia.com/wiki/Nishinomiya).

The _Oreimo_ series is mainly set in [Chiba,
Japan](http://oreimo.wikia.com/wiki/Chiba).

It's quite obvious by the mentions in the _Oregairu_ series novel and various
episodes that the main setting of the series is based in [Chiba,
Japan](http://www.ikimap.com/map/oregairu-anime-pilgrimage-map-chiba) as well.

Each author has their own reason for explicitly stating, excluding, or
obscuring the main setting (just like the writers of the _The Simpsons_ ).
There is no set rule in literature about whether or not the main setting needs
to be explicitly stated, especially if it's fiction. A lot of fiction writers
like to base their story on familiar settings, so that it's more easily
related to readers (the Japanese audience being the primary readers) or give
the author a easier time when they are world building. There is no trope in
play, how much an author is willing to reveals about the setting of their
story is up to them. Sometimes it's not the modern-day Japan as most would
know it as, but such embellishment are implied and accepted by most readers of
fiction.


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answer