Real Place Background: Difference between revisions

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Congratulations, you have just encountered the [[Real Place Background]] — a subset of Scenery Porn where the scenery in question is based on a real location. This goes beyond just simply making use of notable landmarks. Sometimes every building, storefront, stairway and streetpole will be lovingly re-created for the purposes of the show, no matter how inconsequential.

Locations used for this purpose tend to become the subject of [[Otaku]] "pilgrimages", a prime example being the Washinomiya shrine which is used in ''[[Lucky Star]]''.

This is far more common in TV shows, comics and games that are set in real places (e.g., [[Big Applesauce|New York]], [[Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe|Tokyo]], or [[Gay Paree|Paris]]).

See [[No Communities Were Harmed]] when the setting is highly recognizable, but never gets mentioned by its proper name. Even a mix is possible, when the town is never mentioned by name, but settings like train stations or streets are. Attention to detail in backgrounds is one possible aspect of [[Shown Their Work]].

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* [[Kyoto Animation]] is quite well known for this, to the point that fans have managed to track down the location and angle of the place on which the background of individual scenes were based.

** ''[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/nishinomiya-hyogo-home-of-the-melancholy-of-suzumiya-haruhi/ The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]''

*** Nagaru Tanigawa made their work much easier in this case, lovingly describing the various locations in his hometown of Nishinomiya (even if he never named it explicitly), where the novels take place, in great detail. KyoAni people only needed to make a weekend visit to take pictures -- it's about one hour from Kyoto by train.

** ''[http://www.rinku.zaq.ne.jp/p_v/kanon.html Kanon]''

** ''[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/mizuho-tokyo-home-of-clannad/ Clannad]''

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** As mentioned at the top, ''[[Lucky Star]]''

* ''[[Beck]]'' does this a lot during their tour of America. And seems to have [[Shown Their Work]].

* The series ''[[Durarara]]'' recreates much of the city in which it is set — sometimes disturbingly so. (That vending machine Shizuo uprooted and tossed around in Ep. 3 ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rY3exryGq8#t=6m0s actually exists].'') People have [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_6EMZYOf74 even made montages] of the many suspiciously familiar places they've found in the anime.

* The series ''[[Durarara!!]]'' recreates much of the city in which it is set — sometimes disturbingly so. (That vending machine Shizuo uprooted and tossed around in Ep. 3 ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rY3exryGq8#t=6m0s actually exists].'') People have [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_6EMZYOf74 even made montages] of the many suspiciously familiar places they've found in the anime.

* According to fans of ''[[Gunsmith Cats]]'', you can tell when its location scouting in Chicago was done by the state of repairs on some of the buildings.

* ''[[Kamichu!]]'' does this with Onomichi in the Hiroshima prefecture. See [http://www.onomichiguide.com/kamichu.html here]. Of course, everything looks a little newer in the anime—it's set in the period between spring 1983 and spring 1984.

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** There's also [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v12/c100/3.html this flashback], which takes place in Istanbul (not Constantinople), Turkey. Compare the top panel with [http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/6215/orto2852006.jpg this photo of the landscape]. Also note that the only way to tell that this takes place in Istanbul [[Genius Bonus|is to recognize the background]].

* The town of Kamakura, in the Kanagawa prefecture in Japan, is popular as a setting for various anime and manga series, due to its extensive seaside beaches and numerous historic sites with lots of [[Shrines and Temples]]. Some notable series taking place there are:

** ''[[Elfen Lied]]''. Lucy winds up on Yuigahama beach. The stairs of the Gokuraku-ji shrine get a lot of screen time, up to and including the emotional ending. Enoshima island and the Benten bridge leading up to it are used for the ultimate battle in the anime, with lots of screen time for the [[Lighthouse Point|Enoshima Light House Observatory]].

** ''[[Uta Kata]]''. Most of the attention is on the shrines, parks and temples within Kamakura itself. Enoshima island and its tower form the backdrop of one of the more dramatic episodes. And then there are the [[Beach Episode|two episodes in which the main characters head for Yuigahama beach]].

** ''[[Aoi Hana]]'' features Kamakura's local train service, Enoden, since the characters use it to travel around. Enoshima island and the Benten bridge are shown as well, but the show gains bonus points for having a scene in the Iwaya cave. The "Milk Hall", the show's main hangout spot, is a real location and the famous ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' stairs are also shown, this time in a more romantic setting.

** ''[[Twin Spica]]'' takes a more stylistic approach, although the shorelines and the Yuigahama boulevard where Asumi goes jogging are clearly recognizable.

** In ''[[Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou]]'', Alpha takes a trip to Kamakura, with a very prominent view of Enoshima.

** ''[[Shinryaku! Ika Musume]]'' is set on Kamakura's Yuigahama Beach.

** ''[[A Channel]]'' has the obligatory [[Beach Episode]], in which the girls take the very recognizable Enoden train ride to their destination.

** ''[[Tsuritama]]'' is explicitly set at Enoshima.

* ''[[Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora|Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~]]'' takes place against photo-realistic real-life backgrounds. Of special note are Biei in Hokkaido, hometown of the main character Sora, and the hip Tokyo neighborhood of Shimokitazawa. In one episode Sora and Kohta also {{spoiler|go on a date}} in Kamakura.

* ''~Amanchu!~'' largely takes place in the town of Ito on the Japanese Izu peninsula, which is known for its abundant hot springs. The big building at the shore where the cast gets together a few times is a well-known local landmark.

* ''[[Umi Monogatari]]'' is set on one of the subtropical Japanese Amami-Oshima islands. It doesn't get any explicit mention though until the DVD special.

* ''[[Darker ~~Than~~ Black]]'' is big on this. All three major localities the TV show takes place in, [[Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe|Tokyo]], Sapporo and [[Aliens in Cardiff|Vladivostok]], were painstakingly researched to the point where indeed it was possible to pinpoint the time the references were taken by the state of specific buildings alone.

* ''[[Darker than Black]]'' is big on this. All three major localities the TV show takes place in, [[Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe|Tokyo]], Sapporo and [[Aliens in Cardiff|Vladivostok]], were painstakingly researched to the point where indeed it was possible to pinpoint the time the references were taken by the state of specific buildings alone.

** To the point that it explicitly binds the action to January 2008. The large-scale redevelopment that begun in Summer 2008 in preparation to 2012 APEC summit, has changed the downtown Vladivostok to the extent that it would be impossible to miss, had the action happened any later.

* ''[[Asobi ni Iku yo!|Asobi Ni Iku Yo]]!'' is set in Okinawa. The credits reveal that the staff worked with the Okinawa tourism board, and does it ever show. There is almost no part of the show that's not showing off the island, its wildlife and its attractions at one point or another.

* ''[[Tamayura]]'' takes place in Takehara, a small seaside town of in the Hiroshima prefecture of Japan, not far from ''[[Kamichu!]]'''s Onomichi. The town is rendered with painstaking detail, up to and including touristic signs.

* ''[[Fractale]]'' contains detailed shots of the west of Ireland, and the town in episode 2 is a lot like Galway.

* ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' featured locations that were accurately based on real locations.