I understand why anime takes place in high school a lot, because its intended audience is high schoolers.
What is it with maids? And specifically the “French maid” type? Here in the US, maids are not like that at all. It’s usually a Mexican lady in a minivan who comes by once a month or something. Additionally, they’re not super common.
In anime, they usually seem to be a cross between live in maid and nanny. That wouldn’t be too weird if it weren’t so popular a trope. Is that common in Japan? I’m not the biggest consumer of Japanese media, but I can’t recall IRL maids besides the maid cafes.
I mean, have you seen those outfits? They’re hot AF.
I do find it weird that in anime, maids do it all. They do normal maid stuff, they are super intelligence agents, they are inventors, and bodyguards and pilots and drivers… They’re also sometimes dragons or kitsune.
I have to assume it’s merely a Japanese trope within these fictions. One I saw recently explained that Japan just took one look at Western maids from Europe and became enamored with the idea and why there are maid themed cafes and such. But again, that was in an anime so it could just be a joke.
It’s not all that different than, say, Batman’s Alfred. The Super-Butler is also definitely a trope I’ve seen in a few places.
The super-butler is a far more storied and sensible trope, though. Jeeves (of Jeeves and Wooster) being the earliest example I know. Butlers and manservants were expected to take care of household management as well as their oft-incapacitated employers.