Why the high school setting?

[IamQ]

I have honestly never seen an anime set in a high school.
I've heard of them. Perhaps just watch something else?

Spoiler: Setting this in a high school would just be weird

Oh I have, the problem is when you get done with all the good stuff (like hellsing)and if you are new to this medium and crave some more, your going to have to go through alot of anime with this setting...its annoying at time but with the right story, settings and characters it can really shine.

A perfect example would be Clannad, imo.

That. Clannad pretty much makes this argument null and void, though I do see the OP's issue with it.
Most anime is geared towards teenagers, after all. And teenagers relate more with high school than most any other setting.

Though, isn't the problem, that the high school setting, is usually one that no one can relate with, due to the characters being so strange?

 

[Syrus Vikeruce]

Japanese cartoon.

Cartoon = Kids.

XD

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I never really cared about the setting. As long as it's interesting enough to grab my attention.

But I see what you mean.

Probably because they like to focus around young people.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I have honestly never seen an anime set in a high school.
I've heard of them. Perhaps just watch something else?

Spoiler: Setting this in a high school would just be weird

Oh I have, the problem is when you get done with all the good stuff (like hellsing)and if you are new to this medium and crave some more, your going to have to go through alot of anime with this setting...its annoying at time but with the right story, settings and characters it can really shine.

A perfect example would be Clannad, imo.

That. Clannad pretty much makes this argument null and void, though I do see the OP's issue with it.
Most anime is geared towards teenagers, after all. And teenagers relate more with high school than most any other setting.

Though, isn't the problem, that the high school setting, is usually one that no one can relate with, due to the characters being so strange?

It's a matter of putting interesting/weird characters in familiar settings that people can identify with. Notice that the worst ones are the shows with clear archetypes that play it straight.

 

[moose_man]

As the title says, why do almost all anime have a setting in high school? I can understand if the target audience is for teenagers but hell even some adult themed anime has a 85% chance to be in a high school. If it has to be in a school setting, why are university so rare? is the college setting just not a popular trope?

Either way, its quite annoying to watch a bunch of high schoolers talk only about love at that age when there is so much more shit to concentrate on at that age. I would love to see an anime start in a high school and progress into a college setting for once. I mean hell they even has middle school into high school, so why stop there?

Death note did. Manga is primarily aimed at teenagers in Japan, so hey, why not have them relate. And about your comment with adult manga, could you name a few.

 

[Zyxx]

because in recent years since haruhi became a big hit, the studios and producers discovered that high school romantic comedies and borderline creepy moe are what sell to the hugely repressed social outcasts with massive disposable incomes that are present in their society.

That was a thing before, it's just gone through a recent resurgence thanks to Haruhi. Sort of like how the "schoolboy wizard" genre has always been around, but Harry Potter infused it with new life and an explosion of popularity.

OT:
Most of the (probably more valid) points have already been made, but for me personally, the appeal of high schoolers having adventures is the fact that I effing HATED high school. Worst four years of my life, in a miserable environment surrounded by incredibly limited minds supported by a degrading system whose administrators are criminally ignorant where they're not deliberately harmful.
If I'd had the chance to go demon-slaying or reality-hacking or even just find true love, I'd have been on it like Yahtzee on tortured comparisons (see what I did there?*) I'm guessing that at least a few anime/game directors/mangaka have the same notion: it's wish fulfillment of what high school SHOULD have been like.

*No disrespect to Yahtzee intended.

 

[superbatranger]

Most people have been to high school, including people who watch anime. That, and it usually works for comedies, and so on.

 

[GameNeo]

Because anime in general is turning to shit.
They sadly listened to their idiot fans who just want the "KAWAII DESU SQUEE~" fuckwit characters so as we have seen with games what sells gets milked out the asshole. And since highschool is the most relatable setting to these sad basement dwellers since that is the last time they interacted with the public at large that is what they churn out. Then they just have to decide what flavour to make it, harem, mecha, magical... I mean only modern anime could have ruined a bunch of school kids getting butchered by zombies.

Well considering I have only recently started watching anime in this past month, I cant comment on how it is/isnt going to shit but is it a coincidence that the 3 current popular animes are all high school setting?(Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, The World God Only Knows and Star Driver) I think not.

As the title says, why do almost all anime have a setting in high school? I can understand if the target audience is for teenagers but hell even some adult themed anime has a 85% chance to be in a high school. If it has to be in a school setting, why are university so rare? is the college setting just not a popular trope?

Either way, its quite annoying to watch a bunch of high schoolers talk only about love at that age when there is so much more shit to concentrate on at that age. I would love to see an anime start in a high school and progress into a college setting for once. I mean hell they even has middle school into high school, so why stop there?

Death note did. Manga is primarily aimed at teenagers in Japan, so hey, why not have them relate. And about your comment with adult manga, could you name a few.

Wait what?

 

[moose_man]

Because anime in general is turning to shit.
They sadly listened to their idiot fans who just want the "KAWAII DESU SQUEE~" fuckwit characters so as we have seen with games what sells gets milked out the asshole. And since highschool is the most relatable setting to these sad basement dwellers since that is the last time they interacted with the public at large that is what they churn out. Then they just have to decide what flavour to make it, harem, mecha, magical... I mean only modern anime could have ruined a bunch of school kids getting butchered by zombies.

Well considering I have only recently started watching anime in this past month, I cant comment on how it is/isnt going to shit but is it a coincidence that the 3 current popular animes are all high school setting?(Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, The World God Only Knows and Star Driver) I think not.

As the title says, why do almost all anime have a setting in high school? I can understand if the target audience is for teenagers but hell even some adult themed anime has a 85% chance to be in a high school. If it has to be in a school setting, why are university so rare? is the college setting just not a popular trope?

Either way, its quite annoying to watch a bunch of high schoolers talk only about love at that age when there is so much more shit to concentrate on at that age. I would love to see an anime start in a high school and progress into a college setting for once. I mean hell they even has middle school into high school, so why stop there?

Death note did. Manga is primarily aimed at teenagers in Japan, so hey, why not have them relate. And about your comment with adult manga, could you name a few.

Wait what?

I just want a few examples of manga aimed at adults in the high school setting. No hentai, please.

 

[BioHazardMan]

Schoolgirls are hot?