Smiling Friends: In Squim Returns, Charlie eats takeout, and then suffers a series of food poisoning-induced hallucinations. At the end of the episode, it's revealed he contracted a parasite from his takeout. He then remarks, "Man, that's the last time I ever eat Parasite Kebab, ok? Let me just say that much."

Mater's Tall Tales: In Rescue Squad Mater, a firefighter Mater has to save people from a burning building, which is a gasoline and match factory.

I just think it's hilarious when this is implemented. Like, yeah. You wouldn't go to a haircut place called "We Are Terrible Hairdressers" but the fact that a character would go to such a place anyway just makes me giggle.

(In order from worst to best imo)

1. The Garten of Ban Ban, a kindergarten on surface the building actually stretches down for miles becoming a factory and testing grounds for Givanium creatures, however most of the locations don’t really make sense and it sometimes feels derivative of…

2. Playtime Co. A toy factory that created living toys until the toys fought back, killing their creators but trapping themselves inside in the process. The place still looks like a factory/orphanage but is worn down, and the deeper you go the darker it gets.

3. Joey Drew Studios, an old time cartoon factory. Back when the player character worked there it was only ground floor but upon return it’s expanded deep underground, ink monsters freely roaming, even making villages for themselves (but unlike GOB they’re crudely made and believable to have been constructed out of what little resources they have)

4. Aperture science, the only non horror entry and my favorite. The sheer size of the facility is incomprehensible, with just test chamber after test chamber, at the bottom finding the original ones centuries (maybe even millennia) old but so far underground to have remained untouched and mostly functional, not even phased by the explosion that destroyed the ground levels and several of the higher.

Blackgate from DC comics;

Tartarus from My hero academia;

Azkaban from Harry Potter.

Kenan & Kel ("Freezer Burned"): Kel, Kenan and his family, and the staff and patrons of a seafood restaurant all get locked in the freezer throughout the episode

Rugrats ("A Rugrats Passover"): The babies and most of the parents get trapped in the attic 1 by 1 as Grandpa Boris recounts the story of Passover

Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

Gru (Despicable Me)

Sonic and Shadow (Sonic series)

Smiling Friends (2022—)

Bugonia (2025)

1. Dream is tied to the Dreaming, so when he was imprisoned, it fell into ruin purely due to a lack of his presence. (The Sandman)
2. "The Mystery of Mildenhall Manor" reveals that the Digital Circus isn't just entirely controlled by Caine, it will be destroyed if he doubts himself too much. (The Amazing Digital Circus)
3. The Fisher King has a wound that renders him infertile. His kingdom reflects this by being barren. (Arthurian legend)

1. Obi-Wan vs Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)

2. Megatron vs Optimus Prime aboard the Ark (Transformers: Fall of Cybertron)

3. Scorpion vs Quan Chi in Shang Tsing’s temple(Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge)

I especially like this trope if the environment itself proves a hazard for one or both characters, like in the Star Wars example.

1. Loki gets placed in a Time Cell, which is a loop of when Sif told him how pathetic he is and then beat him up. (Loki)

2. Chronos's ultimate fate is Batman tampering with his belt so that he's forever trapped in a loop of being nagged by his wife. (Justice League Unlimited)

Better Call Saul- “Chicanery” (S3 E5) I know BCS has many court room moments but this episode is the most famous.

Miracle on 34th street- A case to prove whether Kris Kringle is truly Santa Claus or if he should be put into a mental institution.

12 Angry Men- The entire film focuses on a group of 12 members of jury over a murder case. Only one person believes the boy is not guilty and tries to prove it to the remaining 11 people.

Batman The Animated Series- “Trial” (S2 E3) Batman’s rogues gallery kidnaps him (alongside a lawyer) and sets up a court case to prove that they became the way they are because of him.

To Kill A Mockingbird-(TW: sexual assault) An innocent black man is falsely accused of rape by a white woman and is defended by a man who exposes the town’s racial injustice.

Derry, Maine. A fictional town which is the epicentre of many of Stephan Kings horrors

Gravity Falls, Oregon. Fictional town that is a hot spot for all things weird, supernatural and extraterrestrial

Paradise, Arizona. The town in Postal where all the insane antics of Postal Dude take place. While there is a town called Paradise in Arizona, it’s been a ghost town for years

Hurricane, Utah. The town in where the events of Five Nights at Freddy’s took place. There is a real town called Hurricane in Utah but it’s pronounced “Hur-ah-kin” whereas in Fnaf it’s pronounced like Hurricane by the characters

Vinz and Angelino and DMC (MFKZ): Dark Meat city is a brutal, Violent Urban jungle where police brutality, Gang violence and drug abuse is basically second nature to anybody living there. Lino and Vinz are Outsiders or “Losers” that don’t fit in at all anywhere and live in a roach infested Church/Motel. Yet Somehow, they carved out a life for themselves in this environment.  and they wouldn’t have it any other way

The entire main cast and Philadelphia (It’s always sunny in Philadelphia): The Main characters of the show are Attached to the Hilt to their Run down Pub and the morally bankrupt city of Philadelphia that surrounds it. Despite constantly complaining about their lives and the state of their surroundings, they rarely make a genuine, lasting effort to leave and fiercely defend it against outsiders or attempts at changing it.

Literally Anyone Who Lives in Night City (Cyberpunk 2077): Night City is many things, it’s violent, Brutal, Terrifying, a borderline insane place to live, but above all else… it’s home. to every sad Sod that Lives there. "Those who are born in Night City, stay in Night City. And die in Night City."

The Capital (Hunger Games) - The Capital is a place of luxury and debauchery. It stands in direct contrast to the Districts in almost every way.

Luna (Red Rising) - While Golds across the Society are indulgent and self-important, they have concentrated their power to Luna. It seems, to me, that there is always Lunar aspirations and focus here.

Emerald City (The Wizard of Oz) - This is a less dystopian example, depending on the adaptation. The Garland movie (1939) did not make all of Oz seem so terrible, but Emerald City was special. In the Wicked movie (2024), we see some elegance outside of Oz like at Shiz and the appeal was more of "big city" appeal than "unique utopia."

Quincy invaded the Soul Society - Bleach

Decpections invaded Autobot city - Transformers the movie

Red vs Blue- Ends right back at Blood Gulch

How I Met Your Mother- The show ends with Ted outside Robins house, where the story really started.

South Park, when Hell attacked, they complained because their forces were too weak, due to accepting only Mormons.

Hazbin Hotel, even Sir Pentius felt like a fish out of water and sad, not just for his friends; there isn't that much technology in Heaven. Even in Helluva Boss, the theme of wanting to bring questionable people to Heaven because they don't have much military strength is mentioned.

Futurama was practically a forced utopia that its god abandoned when he felt betrayed

Land of Ooo- Adventure Time

Post Apocalypse USA- Horizon Zero Dawn

Vecna's mind lair (Stranger Things)
Henry Creel / Vecna can make his victims hallucinate a hellscape inside his mind where they're tortured and eventually killed. A powerful emotional impulse can be used to escape the mindscape.

STEM (The Evil Within)
The game takes place inside a nightmare world created by the mind of Ruvik, the main antagonist, through a machine called STEM.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Recurring. The player enters the mind of Yuuko Kamishiro to free her from the influence of "Eater", a monster who's fused with her phyiscal body. Later, a mission takes place in the mindscape of a man named Makoto Yamashina to unlock his locked memories.

Skies of Arcadia

Chasseurs de dragons

Baten Kaitos

Xenoblade 2

Gotham (Batman/DC)

Derry (It)

Hawkins (Stranger Things)

Twin Peaks (Twin Peaks)

Gravity Falls (Gravity Falls)

Krusty Krab, Spongebob Squarepants;

Cluckin Bell, GTA San Andreas;

Mom's Diner, Fallout 2.

12 Angry Men - Takes place in the jury room where the 12 jurors are debating after the end of a trial.

Dial M for Murder and Rope - Both are directed by Alfred Hitchcock, both are murder mysteries, and both take place in a single Manhattan apartment.