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.
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.