History Main / NonIndicativeFirstEpisode

** ''Manga/HoshiiroGirldrop'''s first chapter plays out nothing like the rest of the series... if only because the "rest of the series" turned out to be ''Pop Team Epic'' Season 2. It's a fairly normal IdolGenre series with romcom elements, right up until the main heroine tears her own face off to reveal Popuko underneath. The joke was already known by the time the anime came out, so it graduated to becoming a recurring OnTheNext segment.
** For Season 6, the manga ''My Childhood Friends are Making Good Vibes Without Me'' was used as the intro. It starred a ThirdWheel as he hung out with his two friends who were starting to become a couple, up until they watch a movie together, and the patrons aside from there are revealed to be Popuko and Pipimi clones.

* ''Manga/HoshiiroGirldrop'''s first chapter plays out nothing like the rest of the series... if only because the "rest of the series" turned out to be..

* ''Manga/PopTeamEpic''. It's a fairly normal IdolGenre series with romcom elements, right up until the main heroine tears her own face off to reveal Popuko underneath. The joke was already known by the time the anime came out, so it graduated to becoming a recurring OnTheNext segment.

* The first installment of ''Literature/{{Gamers}}'' sees protagonist Keita getting invited to join the newly-formed gaming club by its president, [[GamerChick Karen]]. The show looks as though it's going to be a standard SliceOfLife series about after-school activities... only for Keita to turn the club down because [[SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness it's too hardcore for his liking]]. From there, the story takes a hard right into a LoveDodecahedron-fueled romantic dramedy that just happens to be about gamers. (This is, however, hinted at earlier in the episode, with Tasuku and [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Aguri]] being shown together along with captions indicating that they'll be important later.)

* The first episode of ''LightNovel/CubeXCursedXCurious'' made it look like a cute, lighthearted SliceOfLife show with a supernatural twist. Halfway through Episode 2, that perception goes to hell.

* The first installment of ''LightNovel/{{Gamers}}'' sees protagonist Keita getting invited to join the newly-formed gaming club by its president, [[GamerChick Karen]]. The show looks as though it's going to be a standard SliceOfLife series about after-school activities... only for Keita to turn the club down because [[SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness it's too hardcore for his liking]]. From there, the story takes a hard right into a LoveDodecahedron-fueled romantic dramedy that just happens to be about gamers. (This is, however, hinted at earlier in the episode, with Tasuku and [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Aguri]] being shown together along with captions indicating that they'll be important later.)

* ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer''[='s=] first episode sets up a typical HeroicFantasy story, then proceeds to take it out back and shoot it, with the DecoyProtagonist adventuring party being ambushed by the goblin den they're trying to clear out and variously mauled, killed, and raped, not necessarily in that order; the Priestess is then rescued by the title character. The rest of the series, [[DeconReconSwitch while taking its subject matter seriously, is not nearly as brutal]], and showcases friendship and good teamwork, with the Goblin Slayer becoming a DefrostingIceKing able to care about more than just slaying goblins.

* Episode 0 of the ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' anime has the cast fully assembled, and is heavy on the fanservice and harem antics. The first episode proper dials the fanservice way back, and shows how the main character gathers everyone.

''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'' has a space battle opening that introduces an entire series cast aboard a TransformingMecha carrying warship on its way to a battle. The ship is destroyed, and the lone survivor must pick his way through ScavengerWorld, meeting the rest of the real cast one by one -- working through a DebutQueue.

''Manga/PopTeamEpic''. It's a fairly normal IdolGenre series with romcom elements, right up until the main heroine tears her own face off to reveal Popuko underneath. The joke was already known by the time the anime came out, so it graduated to becoming a recurring OnTheNext segment.

* ''The Melancholy of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' starts with "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"; a painfully low-budget, [[BadBadActing badly-acted]], and terribly directed and edited student film that combines StylisticSuck with as many clichéd anime genres it can think of (MagicalGirl shows, HighSchool comedy, {{Shojo}} romance, etc). However, it's actually {{foreshadowing}} several key plot points in the ''real'' story (which starts with the next episode), with the brief lapses in the {{Masquerade}} serving as plot hooks.
** In chronological order, which is how most viewers will be viewing the series at this point, similarly hides the show's quirky sci-fi, [[GenreBusting genre busting]] nature by painting it was your typical high school club anime.dealistic school show with HumongousMecha, then took an abrupt left turn when [[EverybodysDeadDave half the cast died]].

* ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'' opened like a sweet, i* In broadcast order,

* ''Manga/SchoolLive'' begins with a light-hearted story about a young girl who founded a school club which got permission to live at school from a particularly beloved teacher. As the episode comes to a close, it turns out that the girls are really living at the school because a ZombieApocalypse has broke out, and the light-hearted school life presented throughout the episode is just [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness the main character's delusions]].

** That's because it was originally going to be about the PowerTrio, until the author decided Eroica was much more interesting and changed the focus.
* ''Anime/TelepathyShoujoRan'' hints at becoming a rather dark affair in its first episode. The opposite is the case, especially since [[DarkMagicalGirl Midori]]'s {{heel face turn}} occurs very early in the series.
* ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'''s opening few episodes would not lead one to expect an epic SpaceOpera, even with the opening.

* The first two-and-a-half episodes of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' make the series look like a MagicalGirl series with SliceOfLife. That's [[GenreDeconstruction half-correct]], and the scene with the [[EldritchLocation witch's barrier]] right at the end of episode 1 makes it clear this is not your usual happy fun time show...
* ''VisualNovel/RumblingHearts'' begins as a sweet, almost saccharine story of young lovers coming together despite awkwardness and misgivings, promising to overcome their initial mistakes. And then in the last five minutes of episode two, it goes wrong.
* If you only read the first chapter of ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'' you will think the manga is over. When you begin the second chapter you will think it's an Anthology of happy little feel good Shojo oneshots [[spoiler: instead of the most horrible and depressing [[WarIsHell War Drama]] ever.]] In the End [[spoiler: the Heroine has to watch her boyfriend starve to death.]] And it's all her fault. You want to read the first chapter again and pretend the whole rest of the series was just a bad dream.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' seems like this until it's revealed that [[spoiler:the guy who appears in the start is Simon]]. Even then, though, the scene as it appears in the opening never happens in the show.
* Technically, ''Anime/TearsToTiara''[='=]s first episode has no indictive of the actual plot. It's a classic hero story until the supposed BigBad becomes the VillainProtagonist in the second episode, and then further from there.
* TheNineties English dub of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' did this by pulling stuff from toward the end of the first season into the first episode and creating a monologue telling the story of the downfall of the Moon Kingdom and the Princess and the Sailors being sent to the future on earth. Because the original Japanese version doesn't have this and doesn't start getting grander in scope until toward the end of the first half, the dub goes back to being a normal action-adventure series until it becomes important to the plot.
* The first episode of ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane'' makes it look like a dark, bloody, action-packed samurai anime, with a HotBlooded protagonist {{Deconstruction}}, especially with the MoodWhiplash at the end of the first episode. The second one onwards, it's actually more of a SliceOfLife Dramedy, that covers the lives of the Shinsengumi, with some ''occasional'' swordplay. (Though this is more true for the anime, since it OvertookTheManga, it had to add in {{Filler}}. The manga is a lot more like the first, [[FinalBattle and the last couple of episodes]].)

* ''Manga/MurderPrincess'' is an example where the first episode is ''darker'' than the rest of the series.

The first two episodes of ''Anime/EarthMaidenArjuna'' make it look like a MagicalGirl series, even though it's really more like a serious version of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers''.

* ''Anime/HeroicAge's'' first episode is about a lone teenager stranded on a planet, raised by computers, and contacted by other humans. It quickly turns into a space battle anime.
* The first episode of ''Manga/ShadowStar'' is very lighthearted and relaxed. The rest of the series... not so much.

* ''Manga/SchoolLive'' begins with a light-hearted story about a young girl who founded a school club which got permission to live at school from a particularly beloved teacher. As the episode comes to a close, it turns out that the girls are really living at the school because a ZombieApocalypse has broke out, and the light-hearted school life presented throughout the episode is just [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness the main character's delusions]].
* In broadcast order, ''The Melancholy of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' starts with "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"; a painfully low-budget, [[BadBadActing badly-acted]], and terribly directed and edited student film that combines StylisticSuck with as many clichéd anime genres it can think of (MagicalGirl shows, HighSchool comedy, {{Shojo}} romance, etc). However, it's actually {{foreshadowing}} several key plot points in the ''real'' story (which starts with the next episode), with the brief lapses in the {{Masquerade}} serving as plot hooks.
** In chronological order, which is how most viewers will be viewing the series at this point, similarly hides the show's quirky sci-fi, [[GenreBusting genre busting]] nature by painting it was your typical high school club anime.
* ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'' opened like a sweet, idealistic school show with HumongousMecha, then took an abrupt left turn when [[EverybodysDeadDave half the cast died]].
* The first episode of ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' makes the show look like a kid's story about the typical energetic shonen protagonist who has adventures in another world. In the next episode he's captured and tortured nearly to death...and then it goes FromBadToWorse.

* The first episode of ''Anime/TheTowerOfDruaga: The Aegis of Uruk'' is an out and out parody of fantasy video game and anime cliches. [[spoiler:Turns out it was AllJustADream after the hero got knocked out in the first fight]].
* ''Manga/LuckyStar'' admittedly does this with their first episode, misleading many viewers curious about its SurrealThemeTune on whether or not this is actually a series about food.
* The first episode of ''Anime/NajicaBlitzTactics'' features plenty of [[LesYay lesbian behavior]], implying there might be more in future, especially between the two protagonists. Unfortunately, [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians there wasn't]].
** That's because it was originally going to be about the PowerTrio, until the author decided Eroica was much more interesting and changed the focus.
* ''Anime/TelepathyShoujoRan'' hints at becoming a rather dark affair in its first episode. The opposite is the case, especially since [[DarkMagicalGirl Midori]]'s {{heel face turn}} occurs very early in the series.
* ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'''s opening few episodes would not lead one to expect an epic SpaceOpera, even with the opening.
* ''Manga/KaijuNumber8'' centers around Kafka Hibino, a member of a clean-up crew whose job is to dispose of the corpses of defeated {{kaiju}}. The series initially looks like it will concentrate on the crew's disposal activities... until the first chapter ends with [[MeaningfulName Kafka]] turning ''into'' a kaiju, whereupon the series shifts gears into a {{shounen}} action comedy about Kafka and his friend becoming kaiju-hunters while trying to hide his kaiju-shifting ability and uncover what happened to him.

* The first installment of ''LightNovel/{{Gamers}}'' sees protagonist Keita getting invited to join the newly-formed gaming club by its president, [[GamerChick Karen]]. The show looks as though it's going to be a standard SliceOfLife series about after-school activities... only for Keita to turn the club down because [[SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness it's too hardcore for his liking]]. From there, the story takes a hard right into a LoveDodecahedron-fueled romantic dramedy that just happens to be about gamers. (This is, however, hinted at earlier in the episode, with Tasuku and [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Aguri]] being shown together along with captions indicating that they'll be important later.)
* The first few pages of ''[[http://www.tnemrot.com/ Tnemrot]]'' make it look like it's about the main character surviving in an apocalyptic wasteland TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Then he's captured and we see it's Pokemon with real people.
* The first two-and-a-half episodes of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' make the series look like a MagicalGirl series with SliceOfLife. That's [[GenreDeconstruction half-correct]], and the scene with the [[EldritchLocation witch's barrier]] right at the end of episode 1 makes it clear this is not your usual happy fun time show...
* ''VisualNovel/RumblingHearts'' begins as a sweet, almost saccharine story of young lovers coming together despite awkwardness and misgivings, promising to overcome their initial mistakes. And then in the last five minutes of episode two, it goes wrong.

* If you only read the first chapter of ''Manga/{{Saikano}}'' you will think the manga is over. When you begin the second chapter you will think it's an Anthology of happy little feel good Shojo oneshots [[spoiler: instead of the most horrible and depressing [[WarIsHell War Drama]] ever.]] In the End [[spoiler: the Heroine has to watch her boyfriend starve to death.]] And it's all her fault. You want to read the first chapter again and pretend the whole rest of the series was just a bad dream.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' seems like this until it's revealed that [[spoiler:the guy who appears in the start is Simon]]. Even then, though, the scene as it appears in the opening never happens in the show.
* Technically, ''Anime/TearsToTiara''[='=]s first episode has no indictive of the actual plot. It's a classic hero story until the supposed BigBad becomes the VillainProtagonist in the second episode, and then further from there.
* TheNineties English dub of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' did this by pulling stuff from toward the end of the first season into the first episode and creating a monologue telling the story of the downfall of the Moon Kingdom and the Princess and the Sailors being sent to the future on earth. Because the original Japanese version doesn't have this and doesn't start getting grander in scope until toward the end of the first half, the dub goes back to being a normal action-adventure series until it becomes important to the plot.

* Episode 0 of the ''LightNovel/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' anime has the cast fully assembled, and is heavy on the fanservice and harem antics. The first episode proper dials the fanservice way back, and shows how the main character gathers everyone.

* The first episode of ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane'' makes it look like a dark, bloody, action-packed samurai anime, with a HotBlooded protagonist {{Deconstruction}}, especially with the MoodWhiplash at the end of the first episode. The second one onwards, it's actually more of a SliceOfLife Dramedy, that covers the lives of the Shinsengumi, with some ''occasional'' swordplay. (Though this is more true for the anime, since it OvertookTheManga, it had to add in {{Filler}}. The manga is a lot more like the first, [[FinalBattle and the last couple of episodes]].)

* ''Anime/OutlawStar'''s beginning episodes where Gene discovers Melfina and gets mixed up with the notorious space pirate "Ice Hot" Hilda is filled with almost non-stop action. After the prologue arc ends, the Anime becomes a more laid back comedy adventure with the occasional action happening every now and again.

* ''Manga/HoshiiroGirldrop'''s first chapter plays out nothing like the rest of the series... if only because the "rest of the series" turned out to be ''Manga/PopTeamEpic''. It's a fairly normal IdolGenre series with romcom elements, right up until the main heroine tears her own face off to reveal Popuko underneath. The joke was already known by the time the anime came out, so it graduated to becoming a recurring OnTheNext segment.
* ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer''[='s=] first episode sets up a typical HeroicFantasy story, then proceeds to take it out back and shoot it, with the DecoyProtagonist adventuring party being ambushed by the goblin den they're trying to clear out and variously mauled, killed, and raped, not necessarily in that order; the Priestess is then rescued by the title character. The rest of the series, [[DeconReconSwitch while taking its subject matter seriously, is not nearly as brutal]], and showcases friendship and good teamwork, with the Goblin Slayer becoming a DefrostingIceKing able to care about more than just slaying goblins.

* The first episode of ''Manga/ShadowStar'' is very lighthearted and relaxed. The rest of the series... not so much.
* ''Anime/FutakoiAlternative'' opens with a fast-paced, manic and comedic first episode. The rest of the series is comprised of more gentle SliceOfLife episodes.

* ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'' has a space battle opening that introduces an entire series cast aboard a TransformingMecha carrying warship on its way to a battle. The ship is destroyed, and the lone survivor must pick his way through ScavengerWorld, meeting the rest of the real cast one by one -- working through a DebutQueue.
* ''Manga/SchoolLive'' begins with a light-hearted story about a young girl who founded a school club which got permission to live at school from a particularly beloved teacher. As the episode comes to a close, it turns out that the girls are really living at the school because a ZombieApocalypse has broke out, and the light-hearted school life presented throughout the episode is just [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness the main character's delusions]].
* In broadcast order, ''The Melancholy of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' starts with "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"; a painfully low-budget, [[BadBadActing badly-acted]], and terribly directed and edited student film that combines StylisticSuck with as many clichéd anime genres it can think of (MagicalGirl shows, HighSchool comedy, {{Shojo}} romance, etc). However, it's actually {{foreshadowing}} several key plot points in the ''real'' story (which starts with the next episode), with the brief lapses in the {{Masquerade}} serving as plot hooks.
** In chronological order, which is how most viewers will be viewing the series at this point, similarly hides the show's quirky sci-fi, [[GenreBusting genre busting]] nature by painting it was your typical high school club anime.
* The first two episodes of ''Anime/EarthMaidenArjuna'' make it look like a MagicalGirl series, even though it's really more like a serious version of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers''.
* ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'' opened like a sweet, idealistic school show with HumongousMecha, then took an abrupt left turn when [[EverybodysDeadDave half the cast died]].
* The first episode of ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' makes the show look like a kid's story about the typical energetic shonen protagonist who has adventures in another world. In the next episode he's captured and tortured nearly to death...and then it goes FromBadToWorse.
* The first episode (actually, the first ''and'' second episodes, fused into one one-hour special) of ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' deserves special mention -- if only because it's a ''[[{{Filler}} filler episode]]''. There's a reason why fans will tell you to "Skip to 3!" and it's not because of hopscotch, people.

* ''Manga/FromEroicaWithLove'' at first appears to be a typical shoujo manga, about a PowerTrio with PsychicPowers, one of whom is accused of being the GentlemanThief Eroica. But it's really an action packed ''Film/JamesBond'' Spoof, with the two leads being Eroica and "Iron Klaus".

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' kicks off with an adventure where Ed and Al wander into a town and discredit a false prophet, which makes it seem like a {{walking the earth}} affair with Ed and Al stopping bad guys at different {{adventure towns}} each week, which isn't entirely true (though the story has some elements of all these tropes). The adaptation ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Brotherhood]]'' doesn't visit this story until its third episode, after the backstory has been delved into somewhat. Instead, it begins with a filler story which is basically pure action, involving an evil ice-using alchemist, which makes it seem like a straight-on action {{shounen}}, which is also not entirely true. [[spoiler: And then, about thirty some odd episodes later, you learn that the evil ice-using alchemist was actually more of an AntiVillain, and that that filler was actually an extreme case of foreshadowing.]]
* ''Anime/GaReiZero'' begins by introducing an elite unit of spiritual monster slayers in a flash-forward. [[spoiler: The first episode ends with the entire unit being wiped out by a swordswoman]]. Then, in the second episode, we get to see the actual main cast fighting the aforementioned swordswoman. Then we rewind and the story begins for real [[spoiler: starring the previously mentioned [[FallenHero villain]]]].
* The first chapter of ''Manga/BillyBat'' makes it appear the series will be a film noir parody with a cast of animals. Halfway through chapter two, it's revealed that this is a [[ShowWithinAShow comic within a comic]], and its creator is the real main character.
* The first episode of ''Anime/Berserk1997'' is chronologically set ''after'' the events of the rest of the series, in which Guts has already become the one-eyed, one-armed wandering mercenary he is known to be. The rest of the series covers how he got to be that way. This is a CompressedAdaptation of the [[Manga/{{Berserk}} original manga]], wherein the first two arcs deal with Guts hunting Apostles and eventually introducing Griffith/Femto, before [[{{Flashback}} jumping back in time]] to the "Golden Age Arc" for a dozen volumes to show HowWeGotHere.

* The first episode of ''LightNovel/CubeXCursedXCurious'' made it look like a cute, lighthearted SliceOfLife show with a supernatural twist. Halfway through Episode 2, that perception goes to hell.

* ''Anime/DogDays'' (made by the same company as ''Nanoha'') has a Non-Indicative First ''Half-Episode''. It looks like the protagonist is being pulled into a standard fantasy plot where he has to help one kingdom in a war against another, but then we see [[CombatCommentator an announcer commentating on the war as if it were a sports game]]...
** Episode 2 is also when the ClothingDamage {{Fanservice}} begins in earnest.

* In a very minor example, the first episode of ''Anime/ACertainScientificRailgun'' has some subtle differences that don't match the tone of the rest of the series. Mikoto is a lot more bold, blatantly breaks laws in front of her law enforcer friend for no particular reason, and when faced with a criminal about to run her down with a car, casually stands in the way and fires her railgun ''directly at the car'', causing it to spin several times before landing in a ''crater'', ''vertically''. In the rest of the show, fights are handled much more realistically, with Mikoto flinching at an expected punch, a later fight involving a falling vehicle ending more [[GutPunch how you'd expect]], and her refusing to use her railgun against a power armor suit for fear of injuring the person inside. This becomes more than EarlyInstallmentWeirdness when the first episode of the second season does it again, in a plot [[CallBack nearly parallel to the first]]. In this episode, multiple criminals are trying to get away and they're doing so in a helicopter, which she still fires her railgun at despite the wide range of explosive variables that entails. The rotor just barely misses her head as it flies off and she still doesn't flinch, while the rest of the helicopter luckily crashes into an empty body of water while her teleporter friend saves the criminals who were conveniently not injured by any of the explosions. While the rest of the series has comparable action, those two episodes stand out for ignoring the consequences in favor of RuleOfCool.

* ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'' initially focusses on Els, portraying Legoshi as her stalker and the obvious suspect in the murder of Els' boyfriend Tem. Halfway through episode 1, this turns out to be a misunderstanding: Legoshi was Tem's friend, and before his death Tem entrusted Legoshi with a love letter to deliver to Els. He'd been waiting for an opportunity to approach her privately so as not to make a fuss. ([[IdiotBall Admittedly not the best way to go about it]], but then he ''is'' a teenager.) Legoshi then becomes the main character for the remainder of the series, with Els and Tem's death fading into the background. It's actually a very good EstablishingSeriesMoment, getting the viewer to buy into the prejudice that carnivores face in the setting before pulling the rug out from under them.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' kicks off with an adventure where Ed and Al wander into a town and discredit a false prophet, which makes it seem like a {{walking the earth}} affair with Ed and Al stopping bad guys at different {{adventure towns}} each week, which isn't entirely true (though the story has some elements of all these tropes).
** While the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime adaptation]] also starts with this story, ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Brotherhood]]'' doesn't visit this story until its third episode, after the backstory has been delved into somewhat. Instead, it begins with a filler story which is basically pure action, involving an evil ice-using alchemist, which makes it seem like a straight-on action {{shounen}}, which is also not entirely true. [[spoiler: And then, about thirty some odd episodes later, you learn that the evil ice-using alchemist was actually more of an AntiVillain, and that that filler was actually an extreme case of foreshadowing.]]

* In broadcast order, ''The Melancholy of LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' starts with "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina"; a painfully low-budget, [[BadBadActing badly-acted]], and terribly directed and edited student film that combines StylisticSuck with as many clichéd anime genres it can think of (MagicalGirl shows, HighSchool comedy, {{Shojo}} romance, etc). However, it's actually {{foreshadowing}} several key plot points in the ''real'' story (which starts with the next episode), with the brief lapses in the {{Masquerade}} serving as plot hooks.

* The two part pilot for ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' is somewhat more actionized than the rest of the show, the heroes and the mystical background of the Dreamstone are given more serious CharacterDevelopment and even a death occurs (a couple more [[DisneyDeath are teased]] to emphasize the danger of the mission). Afterwards the show quickly downgrades to a RoadRunnerVsCoyote cartoon, the focus more on the Urpney's slapstick or the [[TastesLikeDiabetes cutesy goings on]] of the Noops. In addition Rufus, who was the main protagonist of the pilot, is demoted in favor of making the Urpneys {{Villain Protagonist}}s.

* The first episode of the ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' anime is chronologically set ''after'' the events of the rest of the series, in which Guts has already become the one-eyed/one-armed wandering mercenary he is known to be. The rest of the series covers how he got to be that way.

[[folder:Fanworks]]
* The first chapter of the ''Manga/MobPsycho100 fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13226631/1/Shigeko-Kageyama-AKA-Mob Shigeko Kageyama AKA Mob]]'' is light hearted, short, and Mob's crush on Reigen is innocent and in no way reciprocated. This does not last.

* The pilot of ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' is much more cerebral and slower-paced than future episodes would be. Future villains would rarely be on par with Doctor Moffet, who could've easily carried a permanent BigBad status if not for being killed off. This effect becomes even more pronounced after the first season, when the show moved away from its down-to-earth commentary on the Cold War.

* ''Manga/SchoolLive'' begins with a light-hearted story about a young girl who founded a school club which got permission to stay at school from a particularly beloved teacher. As the episode comes to a close, it turns out... The girl is blocking out that a ZombieApocalypse broke out.

* Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion starts out just like any other SuperRobot series before turning out to be a GenreDeconstruction. The series' creator, Creator/HideakiAnno, should reportedly have complained about how it was out of tune with the rest. Apparently he was trying to set up an atmosphere of total despair for the rest of the series with the episode and felt he failed in this aspect.

* British {{Edutainment}} series ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'''s pilot episode (called '''POLICE STOP!'''' on the TitleSequence, but later renamed to the more familiar title due to [[Series/PoliceStop the other series existing, causing confusion]] is slower-paced than the rest of the series, has exposition of the police chase ''after'' the end of the clip. However, it does set the tone for it to be a very SpeechCentricWork. This episode was subject to PacingProblems trying to fit it all into the 25-minute runtime, and has a SlowPacedBeginning.

* More of a case of First ''Season'' rather than First Episode on ''Series/TheListener''. Everything the first season set up, including main characters, secondary characters, character development/relationships and the entire subplot of the series, is dropped completely in favor of a basic Crime Procedural. To make matters worse, the first season ended in several cliffhangers that were never even remotely addressed by the time the series finale came around.
* The pilot of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' features a tactical-heavy case in which Parker is unable to even begin negotiations due to a language barrier (the subject only speaks Croatian and the interpreter is stuck in traffic), a suggestion to try and communicate through his son fails to manifest because the son is too agitated, and Ed has to take a sniper shot to save the hostage. ''Flashpoint'' as a show was all about negotiation and trying to resolve things without the use of force when possible, with a tactical solution (''especially'' a lethal one) being seen as an option of last resort only; in fact, the following episode features the team getting frustrated with [[NewMeat newcomer]] Sam Braddock because of his repeated suggestions that they resolve a hostage situation with force rather than giving Parker a chance to negotiate.

* Technically, ''Anime/TearsToTiara''s first episode has no indictive of the actual plot. It's a classic hero story until the supposed BigBad becomes the VillainProtagonist in the second episode, and then further from there.

* ''[[Series/Beastars Beastars]]'' initially focusses on Els, portraying Legoshi as her stalker and the obvious suspect in the murder of Els' boyfriend Tem. Halfway through episode 1, this turns out to be a misunderstanding: Legoshi was Tem's friend, and before his death Tem entrusted Legoshi with a love letter to deliver to Els. He'd been waiting for an opportunity to approach her privately so as not to make a fuss. ([[IdiotBall Admittedly not the best way to go about it]], but then he ''is'' a teenager.) Legoshi then becomes the main character for the remainder of the series, with Els and Tem's death fading into the background. It's actually a very good EstablishingSeriesMoment, getting the viewer to buy into the prejudice that carnivores face in the setting before pulling the rug out from under them.

* The first episode of ''Gamers!'' sees protagonist Keita getting invited to join the newly-formed gaming club by its president, [[GamerChick Karen]]. The show looks as though it's going to be a standard SliceOfLife series about after-school activities... only for Keita to turn the club down because [[SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness it's too hardcore for his liking]]. From there, the story takes a hard right into a LoveDodecahedron-fueled romantic dramedy that just happens to be about gamers. (This is, however, hinted at earlier in the episode, with Tasuku and [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Aguri]] being shown together along with captions indicating that they'll be important later.)

* The first episode of ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}'' is very lighthearted and relaxed. The rest of the series... not so much.

* The pilot of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' features a tactical-heavy case in which Parker is unable to even begin negotiations due to a language barrier (the subject only speaks Croatian and the interpreter is stuck in traffic), a suggestion to try and communicate through his son fails to manifest because the son is too agitated, and Ed has to take a sniper shot to save the hostage. ''Flashpoint'' as a show was all about negotiation and trying to resolve things without the use of force when possible, with a sniper shot being seen as an option of last resort only; in fact, the following episode features the team getting frustrated with [[NewMeat newcomer]] Sam Braddock because of his repeated suggestions that they resolve a hostage situation with force rather than giving Parker a chance to negotiate.

* The pilot of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' features a tactical-heavy case in which Parker is unable to even open negotiations due to a language barrier (the subject only speaks Croatian and the interpreter is stuck in traffic), attempts to communicate through his son never get off the ground, and Ed has to take a sniper shot to save the hostage. ''Flashpoint'' as a show was all about negotiation and trying to resolve things without the use of force when possible, with a sniper shot being seen as an option of last resort only; in fact, the following episode features the team getting frustrated with [[NewMeat newcomer]] Sam Braddock because of his repeated suggestions that they resolve a hostage situation with force rather than giving Parker a chance to negotiate.

* The pilot of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' features a case in which Parker is unable to even open negotiations due to a language barrier (the subject only speaks Croatian and the interpreter is stuck in traffic), attempts to communicate through his son never get off the ground, and Ed has to take a sniper shot to save the hostage. ''Flashpoint'' as a show was all about negotiation, with a sniper shot being seen as an option of last resort only; in fact, the following episode features the team getting frustrated with [[NewMeat newcomer]] Sam Braddock because of his repeated suggestions that they resolve a hostage situation with force rather than giving Parker a chance to negotiate.