A sociocultural comparison of Japanese and American high schools

(1) I think many people who felt shut out of the social life in high school in the U.S. are into anime.

(2) School life is such a big theme in anime that it’s best looked at from an inverted viewpoint, e.g., why aren’t there anime that aren’t set in a high school? Even anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion have a school life simulated in an extreme situation. I’m wondering if there is some secret about adult life in Japan that the ‘anime machine’ can’t incorporate.