Tokyo University
The University of Tokyo (Tokyo Daigaku, often shortened to Todai) is the oldest and one of the most prestigious National Universities of Japan. Considered the nucleus of higher education in the country, Tokyo University has 10 Faculties (this is roughly equivalent to an Academic Department in the west) and is spread around five campuses in the Greater Tokyo area. The Other Wiki has a full article about the University here.
Getting accepted to a university is one of the main goals of Japanese high school students, and the majority aspires to be accepted by the national universities of Japan, Todai being the hardest to pass. If they did not get accepted (and most of them do), instead of finding another school to take them in, Japanese students opt instead to take a year off in their studies, preparing themselves to retake the exam for an indefinite number of times until they pass. These student are called Ronin, as students without a university to attend is deemed similar to a Samurai without a feudal Lord to serve.
Since Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe in Anime and Manga, Tokyo University serves the purpose of being a university where the main characters in the story study (if they are not Ordinary High School Students anymore), or a school where the Ordinary High School Student dreams to enter after graduation. Being a student at Todai is also a way to imply that the character is extremely intelligent in his own right, since admission to the university is very stringent.
For the American equivalent, see Ivy League for Everyone. Oxbridge serves the same purpose in the British Isles that Todai does for Japan.
Anime and Manga
- Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari, which is about two high school seniors who met and fell in love with each other while studying for the Tokyo University entrance examinations.
- Love Hina revolves around klutzy Keitaro Urashima hopelessly trying to pass the exams to get into Tokyo University because of a promise he made to a girl many years ago.
- Some of the girls in the dormitory, like Naru, Mutsumi, and later Motoko, also dream of entering Todai. It's shown that in the epilogue, they all do. The dorm gains a legendary reputation as being a good luck charm for those aspiring for Todai.
- Kintaro Oe of Golden Boy is a brilliant law student at Tokyo University who, while being only months away from graduating at the top of his class, decides to leave college and travel Japan to find a purpose for his life.
- Police Superintendent and Bunny Ears Lawyer Ryoko Yakushiji of The Case Files of Yakushiji Ryoko is a graduate of Tokyo University. Her insane intellectual level serves as a valid testament to this fact. Yukiko Muromachi also graduated from Tokyo University and she has a Law degree with Ryoko.
- Genius Bruiser Kyou Manabizaki's dream is to enter Tokyo University and attain high grades in order to be employed by NASA and build a spaceship for the agency.
- In Death Note, Light and L are shown passing the Todai entrance exam (with tied high scores) to underline their genius.
- Azumanga Daioh makes a passing reference to one of the girls (Tomo?) wanting to get into Todai. Naturally, they're shot down immediately.
- Nana of Nana to Kaoru mentions wanting to go to Todai. In the Arashi spin-off, Tachibana reveals she studied there and has a degree in History.