I live in Canada but so much media I consume is from the United States that I tend to assume stories take place there by default until told otherwise. Once, I read a book set in England (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime) and I assumed it was set in the United States until the main character went to London. But the other day, I watched the new Frankenstein movie and it dawned on me that I didn’t know where Frankenstein takes place but, because it’s based on an older book, I assumed somewhere in Europe.
If it’s anime/manga, absolutely either Japan, Europe or Hawaii. If it’s a cartoon and I know what country it originates from, that country. Otherwise I’ll assume it’s some fictional place that could be anywhere if it isn’t specified.
Yeah, I also assume anime takes place in Japan and I think every anime I’ve seen was either set in Japan or a nonexistent fantasy world.