History Main / CallReceptionArea

* The plot of ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'' begins with the protagonist poking around in her archaeologist father's basement library, and ending up unsealing the Clow Cards (which are not evil) and a magical WeaselMascot who gives her the CallToAdventure. (In fact, their conversation contains the same point made in the Scooby-Doo example below.) She, too, was all by herself during these events.

* Inverted in Joan Vinge's ''Literature/TheSnowQueenSeries'' where the two protagonists, Moon and Sparks, venture to a "choosing place" to determine if they will become "sibyls" (something that means a lot more than they realize.) They had previously had an agreement that they would either both be chosen or neither, so that they would stay together, but The Call Didn't Care -- Moon was chosen and Sparks wasn't, she broke their agreement, and ...the rest of the story followed.

* The titular wardrobe in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' is a portal to the magical world of Narnia. Lucy Pevency kickstarts the plot by hiding inside it during a game of hide and seek. She is then transported to Narnia.
* A wardrobe also fulfils this function in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''. Here Lyra hides in a wardrobe and overhears a meeting between scholars about Dust, which is one of the driving forces of the story.

--> '''Vincent van Ghoul''': "Only YOU can return the demons to the chest!"
--> '''Scooby-Doo and Shaggy''': "Why us?"
--> '''Vincent''': "''Because YOU let them out!!''"

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' has the Whispering Woods, a strange magical GenuisLoci that Horde cadets are warned against entering. Naturally, Adora and Catra go on a joyride straight into its depths, kicking off the primary conflict of the show.

* A wardrobe in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''
* ...and in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''.

* [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Tales of Graces ƒ]] starts out as though Lhant Hill is going to be like this, [[SubvertedTrope but all that happens there is that Asbel and Hubert make a new friend]]. When they all go exploring the dungeon under Windor Castle though, [[ZigzaggedTrope things go]] [[EldritchAbomination very wrong very fast]].

* A slightly unconventional example in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Although the catalyst for their trek off into alchemy-learning land is something as deadly serious as the promise of bringing their mother back from the dead, one watching gets the feeling that the whole prospect is more of a, "Fun little adventure that we get to have now that mom's not breathing down our neck anymore!". It becomes suddenly, cruelly apparent that what they were getting themselves into was far, far more complex and dangerous than they'd ever imagined when the body parts start alchemically-flying; and while they don't exactly release any SealedEvilInACan, both the figurative and literal monsters they unleash (the new lives they must now live, and... well, a monster) are plenty terrifying.

* This is exactly how ''VideoGame/GoldenSun2001'' starts. Forbidden sanctum, kidnapped childhood friend, unleashed power...

** More specifically, they were tricked into opening the chest by ThoseTwoBadGuys, who made them think it was a mystery prize in a game show. So not exactly their fault.

* This is exactly how ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheBrokenSeal'' starts. Forbidden sanctum, kidnapped childhood friend, unleashed power...

* [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Tales of Graces f]] starts out as though Lhant Hill is going to be like this, [[SubvertedTrope but all that happens there is that Asbel and Hubert make a new friend]]. When they all go exploring the dungeon under Windor Castle though, [[ZigzaggedTrope things go]] [[EldritchAbomination very wrong very fast]].

* In ''Disney/TheLionKing'' Simba and Nala go into the Elephant's Graveyard after they were told not to. A fight breaks out between the resident hyenas and Simba's heroic father, and later that fight escalates a bit... and then let's just say that Simba has to learn how to fight his own battles after that.

* This is exactly how the first ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' starts. Forbidden sanctum, kidnapped childhood friend, unleashed power...

Bad idea.

Their little adventure begins without much excitement, but soon takes a turn for the worse, and the ancient SealedEvilInACan is free to terrorize the world once again, the Unlucky Childhood Friend is kidnapped into another dimension, and the hero is now CursedWithAwesome.

Sometimes, it seems that, although some weird stuff happened at some point, there were not any serious consequences. It will be when they return when they will find out that removing the ancient CosmicKeystone from its pedestal just put the Doom into DoomedHometown.

Anyway, the point is [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the hero just screwed up royally]], and now he (and [[ItsUpToYou he alone]]) must solve it. This is the part where the CallToAdventure itself appears, usually dispensed by the village elder who only now decides to reveal the background of the Call Reception Area. Generally, it happens that TheOnlyOne who can destroy the SealedEvilInACan is the one who freed it, or the fact that he was capable of destroying the seal in the first place indicates he actually was TheChosenOne all along. Or perhaps only he can wield the CosmicKeystone he removed, or he considers saving his Unlucky Childhood Friend [[ItsPersonal personal]].

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', where the quote comes from.

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* For the Grace twins and their sister in ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'', the CallReceivalArea was the sealed off attic of the house they'd just moved into, and the GreatBigBookOfEverything locked away up there.

* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', where the hero is simply kicked out of town because [[WalkingDisasterArea trouble is following close behind]]. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], in that absolutely nothing happens there for the rest of the game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'' has a small subversion: The village elder manipulated the hero into going into the CallReceivalArea as part of a BatmanGambit.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'' is a tweaked example. Chiro ended up in the CallReceivalArea all on his own.

* In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', Thor and Loki go to Jotunheim against Odin's wishes, which is what gets Thor banished.

* ''SummonNight Swordcraft Story II''. Aforementioned unlucky childhood friend [[spoiler:turns out to be a demon associated with the SealedEvilInACan who's attempting to [[KilledOffForReal kill it off for real]].]]

* ''SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'' is a tweaked example. Chiro ended up in the CallReceivalArea all on his own.

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* In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', Thor and Loki go to Jotunheim against Odin's wishes, which is what gets Thor banished.

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* A wardrobe in ''[[{{Narnia}} The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe]]''

* ...and in ''HisDarkMaterials''.

* The Forbidden Land from ''ShadowOfTheColossus''.

* In the web-based RPG ''{{MARDEK}}'', the crashed spaceship where the title character becomes possessed by an alien intelligence.

-->''As with many of fate's mysteries, it begins with but a small act... of disobedience.''\\
-- '''Samos''', JakAndDaxter.

* ''JakAndDaxter'', where the quote comes from.

* ''{{Terranigma}}'' has a small subversion: The village elder manipulated the hero into going into the CallReceivalArea as part of a BatmanGambit.

* ''TenchiMuyo'' (the {{OVA}} version): For all his life, Tenchi Masaki was curious about that cave near his grandfather's shrine where a demon was sealed...

* ''[[YesPrettyCure5 Yes! Precure 5]]'' uses this almost humorously. Nozomi, the protagonist, is [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny implied to be ADHD]]; fittingly, while running to school, she gets distracted by a pretty butterfly and runs after it instead. This one event is what later allows her -- and, by association, the rest of the main cast save for the residents of the MagicalLand -- to gain powers and fight the Nightmare Corporation.