History Main / PresentDayPast

** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' is set in 1983, but nothing except the dates of past events and lack of [[CellphonesAreUseless cellphones]] and internet access really agrees with that. The most blatant example is a reference to the ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' anime in the game version of ''Watanagashi'', which didn't premiere until 1998. The American release calls it Card ''Master'' Sakura, using a CaptainErsatz which would not be limited by real-life dates. It's unclear whether this is a deliberate TranslationCorrection, an accidental TranslationCorrection, or whether the original Japanese version already used the CaptainErsatz. Anime-wise, there's a reference to ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'', even though the original novels weren't published until 1998. In ''Watangashi'', in most medias, the doll tends to resemble a ''Manga/RozenMaiden''.

* ''Film/{{Grease}}'' has several of examples of this trope, but very noticeably in fashion - Sandy's iconic outfit and perm are 100% TheSeventies and have nothing to do with the styles of TheFifties.
* ''Film/Grease2'' continues in the same vein - Creator/MichellePfeiffer rocks the kind of big, feathery hair you could only see in TheEighties.

** ''[[Series/HomicideHunter Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda]]'', since it covers cases from all through Kenda's career, frequently runs into this in the recreations. All the vehicles are contemporary to when the show was produced (2011 - on), and thus you see may a case set in the late 1980s where police cars not only have modern styling but LED lightbars and a supposedly low-income hotel has a 42" LCD flatscreen TV in the lobby.

** Or maybe all the characters are [[DeadAllAlong ghosts haunting modern - day Berlin]], repeating their doomed lives in an endless loop, supported by the fact they don't age any despite the show racing through a 15-year period featuring lean times, poverty and one characters' heroic substance abuse, which tend to put age on you.

** The show contained frequent references to popular culture that didn't exist until after UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar.

** This perhaps [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact the war the show's makers ''really'' wanted to portray was Vietnam - but TV producers vetoed this as being too soon. American viewers in the early 1970s would have had no doubt ''which'' controversial Asian war was being satirized with extremely black humor, which added to its popularity.

*** Also one of the jets taxiing is a Cessna 525, while a plane shown taking off is a narrow-body with winglets - a 737 [=NextGen=] or an Embraer E-Jet. Cessna 525 first flew in 1991, 737 [=NextGen=] in 1997 and E-Jet in 2002. (This is in the regular ep, not the 90-minute special.)

** The animation of the protagonist studying the Periodic Table shows elements 113-118 with their new symbols[[note]]Nh - nihonium, Fl - flerovium, Mc - moscovium, Lv - livermorium, Ts - tennessine, and Og - oganesson[[/note]], but they wouldn't be formally named until 2011 for elements 114 and 116 and 2016 for the rest.

* The 2019 anime of ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' updates some of the technology from the early 2000s manga, such as the characters having contemporary flatscreen televisions. The scene where Haru takes a selfie with Yuki changes out his digital camera with a smartphone -- notably, Tohru is pretty much the only character who ''doesn't'' have a smartphone (besides Shigure, who still has a landline phone), likely due to her initial poverty.
* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': The fashion trends, pop culture, and level of technology in the original manga are implied to be from the late-1990s and the early-2000s, during its original run. ''Shonan 14 Days'', however, feels more at home in the late-2000s and early-2010s, which is jarring as it's supposed to be set [[{{Interquel}} between major events in the original manga]]. Likewise, ''Paradise Lost'' is set in a decade where social media, smartphones and tablets are the norm, despite being set in the immediate school year after the original.
** Another noticeable example is Uchiyamada's Toyota appearing as a late-2000s Crown Royal in the opening pages of ''Shonan 14 Days'', only to inexplicably revert to the original Cresta design in following appearances in the manga. ''Paradise Lost'' finally officiates the Crown Royal as Uchiyamada's car.
* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Part 3 of the series was published between 1989 and 1992, taking place around then present 1988 or 1989, but later parts of the story feature technology from the 90s, most egregious with Telence D'Arby's Super Famicom and ''VideoGame/FZero1990'' look-alike game, F-Mega, using graphics from home consoles not yet released by 1989.

A SubTrope of AnachronismStew. Often overlaps with HollywoodCostuming and TwentyMinutesIntoThePast. NextSundayAD sometimes involves [[InvertedTrope inversions]] of this, depending on how things turn out in the future (for example, it seems pretty safe to have people using Website/YouTube two years from now, but who knows?). See also LongRunnerTechMarchesOn.

Contrast PopularHistory, TwoDecadesBehind and UnintentionalPeriodPiece.

This trope occurs when, while making a story set during the recent past, the contemporary culture of the production seeps in where it wouldn't have existed. It varies whether this becomes more obvious or less in the ensuing years. Many period works are {{Anachronism Stew}}s anyway, but it's pretty noticeable when a [[AnyoneRememberPogs fad]] shows up in the wrong time period. An extremely noticeable example is TheSeventies fashions and hairstyles on ''Series/HappyDays''; a very minor one is [[Literature/HarryPotter Dudley Dursley]] having a Platform/PlayStation in a scene set in the summer of 1994, when the [=PS1=] wasn't available until the following year.

The BellisariosMaxim can sometimes be applied with regard to location shoots and incorrect background details. Sometimes there just isn't time or money to get ''everything'' right. It's also impossible to control everything when working in a public setting; you may have to put up with pedestrians and other people who aren't part of the film's crew (and therefore aren't in costume) appearing in the background if you don't have the money or clout to get exclusive use of a public area. And even if you do, changing the street signs, billboards, and ''skyline'' isn't an option for a film made on location. Still, it's fun to spot them...

Of course, much of this assumes that casual viewers will actually ''notice'' the discrepancies. There will always be someone who does, but [[ViewersAreGeniuses assuming that every person watching will have an encyclopedic knowledge of every past era]] is a bit presumptuous. Most people think of only specific aspects of a given era when they think about one, be it technology, entertainment, fashion, businesses, social norms, historical events, or even personal experiences. In fact, this trope exists in part because (at least in visual media) getting every detail right is hellaciously, often prohibitively expensive; a production may simply not have the budget or time to assure the provenance of every single prop or to produce hundreds of meticulously researched, historically accurate costumes, especially when the local rental outfit can provide “good enough” for one-fiftieth the cost.

Similarly, this trope is very common in fanfiction -- there's no reason that a hobbyist writer should go over every detail and make sure it is timely if the series is still acceptably "modern-day." RealityIsUnrealistic might result if the trope is invoked unintentionally, simply because [[OlderThanTheyThink something that is presumed to be contemporary has actually been around for quite a while]].

* Several of the diegetic songs in ''Film/OurLadies2019'', such as "Truly Madly Deeply" by Music/SavageGarden and "Tubthumping" by Music/{{Chumbawamba}} are from 1997, despite the film being set in 1996.

*** Set a year (Ground Zeroes) and ten year (The Phantom Pain) after Peace Walker, has Snake and his operatives equipped with an [=iDroid=], a smartphone-esque device with projection instead of screen, with user interface that more like 2015 instead of 1984. This is jarring because the immediate chronological game, the first Metal Gear, has basically contemporary technology, with Solid Snake simply equipped with a radio transceiver.

This trope occurs when, while making a story set during the recent past, the contemporary culture of the production seeps in where it wouldn't have existed. It varies whether this becomes more obvious or less in the ensuing years. Many period works are {{Anachronism Stew}}s anyway, but it's pretty noticeable when a [[AnyoneRememberPogs fad]] shows up in the wrong time period. An extremely noticeable example is TheSeventies fashions and hairstyles on ''Series/HappyDays''; a very minor one is [[Literature/HarryPotter Dudley Dursley]] having a UsefulNotes/PlayStation in a scene set in the summer of 1994, when the [=PS1=] wasn't available until the following year.

* ''ComicBook/SupermanBirthright'' (2003) was supposed to be the [[RetCon new canonical]] SuperHeroOrigin of the Man of Steel, who in the ongoing books has been Superman for "[[ComicBookTime about ten years]]". It includes instant messaging and the Department of Homeland Security. Of course, ComicBookTime [[Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad can smooth these problems over]]. When John Byrne wrote [[Comicbook/TheManOfSteel the previous origin]], he had Jonathan Kent talking about Sputnik in 1956. By the time it got retconned this had occurred in 1964, so no problem.

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, the internal chronology dates the events of Harry's time at Hogwarts to the 1990s. The only notable anachronism in the books is a mention of Dudley owning a UsefulNotes/PlayStation in what should be August 1994, when the system was not yet available -- and this only because [[WritersCannotDoMath J.K. Rowling can't do math]] and didn't realize the anachronism until fans pointed it out.

** Or maybe All the characters are [[DeadAllAlong ghosts haunting modern - day Berlin]], repeating their doomed lives in an endless loop, supported by the fact they don't age any despite the show racing through a 15-year period featuring lean times, poverty and one characters' heroic substance abuse, which tend to put age on you.

* The video game-themed ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' normally averts PacManFever, but there's a noticeable exception that crosses with this trope: a FlashBack to 2010 shows the main character playing ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 7: Fated Retribution'', a game which didn't come out until 2016[[note]]This is more than likely [[{{Dualvertisement}} intentional]], since Bandai Namco is the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise's biggest sponsor and the home release of ''Tekken 7'' was on the horizon when that episode aired[[/note]].

** ''Videogame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'', set in 1986, lets the character win ''Hang-On'' and ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'' games that can be used on the character's UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, a system which did not exist in 1986. Almost certainly intentional, though; Shenmue comes from Sega, who would know when their own games came out, and since home systems in 1986 couldn't do arcade-perfect ports of them (the arcade versions of both came out in 1985), it would have had to be done anachronistically (though it must be noted that these games' ports were two of the most important titles for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem in 1986).

** ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' takes place two generations before ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', but is still the modern day, even more-so than ''The Sims 2'' was (for example, the game without expansion has the players using Blackberry esque cellphone in contrast of the Nokia esque keypad cellphone, which later in the University Life expansion pack of The Sims 3, replaced with touch screen smartphones). This is especially odd because ''VideoGame/{{The Sims 1}}'', which takes place in between the two games, has a distinct 1970s aesthetic (and still with then-modern technology). ''The Sims 3'' seems to be trying to go for the UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 era feel, but everything is distinctly late 2000s. Considering the world is set in a FantasyCounterpartCulture, we can let it mostly slide.

* ''VideoGame/YIIKAPostModernRPG'' is supposed to take place around the TurnOfTheMillennium, as its name implies, yet it makes reference to UsefulNotes/SuperNES [=JRPGs=] like ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' and ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' as if they were venerated classics and adult characters wax nostalgic about how important they were to them as kids. In real life, console [=RPGs=] were ''just'' starting to take off internationally with the release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and the games mentioned would have been about four years old at most, making it impossible for the characters in question to have played them as children and still be young adults. The creator's previous game, ''VideoGame/TwoBrothers'', also gets namedropped in dialogue [[spoiler:and plays a major role in resolving the game's plot]], despite being almost two entire decades away from ''conception'', let along release. The most glaring example though is the protagonist himself, who dresses like a typical hipster, which have several years to go before existing. Also, most infamously, [[Creator/SatoruIwata Satoru Iwata]] has a gravestone stating the real-life date he died.

** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' is set in 1983, but nothing except the dates of past events and lack of [[CellphonesAreUseless cellphones]] and internet access really agrees with that. The most blatant example is a reference to the ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' anime in the game version of ''Watanagashi'', which didn't premiere until 1998. The American release calls it Card ''Master'' Sakura, using a CaptainErsatz which would not be limited by real-life dates. It's unclear whether this is a deliberate TranslationCorrection, an accidental TranslationCorrection, or whether the original Japanese version already used the CaptainErsatz. Anime-wise, there's a reference to ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'', even though the original novels weren't published until 1998. In Watangashi, in most medias, the doll tends to resemble a ''Manga/RozenMaiden''.
** The spiritual sequel, ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' is, if anything, worse at keeping to its 1986 setting. Not only do they reference ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' again, people cosplay as ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' characters, and some of the characters have even played ''Higurashi'' or watched it on a flatscreen TV in the anime.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Part 3 of the series was published between 1989 and 1992, taking place around then present 1988 or 1989, but later parts of the story feature technology from the 90s, most egregious with Telence D'Arby's Super Famicom and ''VideoGame/FZero'' look-alike game, F-Mega, using graphics from home consoles not yet released by 1989.

* In ''Marilyn Monroe: Her Shoe and Me'' by Howard G. Allen in which Creator/MarilynMonroe explains how she has affairs with other men and her husband Arthur Miller has affairs with other women. She then goes on to say "We have a [[EthicalSlut very open marriage]].". She was married to Arthur Miller from 1956-1559 and the term "open marriage" wasn't used until TheSeventies.

** The kids are in possession of posters for ''Film/TheThing''. While contemporary reception to the movie views it as a beloved classic, it was commercially and critically massacred upon release and almost cratered the career of Creator/JohnCarpenter. Given how immensely unpopular the movie was among even dedicated sci-fi and horror fans at the time, it's extremely unlikely that genre-savvy teens would proudly hold onto this memorabilia in 1983.

* ''Film/BlackWidow2021'': The opening scene is set in 1995 and shows that Yelena has a plush toy of Twilight Sparkle from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. While ''Toys/MyLittlePony'' was a popular brand around this time and started in 1983, Twilight and ''Friendship Is Magic'' first appeared in late 2010. Moreover, that toy depicts Twilight with wings, which she did not have until 2013.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is set in 2002. However, Mei's stuffed animal collection is decidedly modern-looking, and includes plushes directly inspired by ''Webcomic/PusheenTheCat'' (2010) and ''Toys/{{Squishmallows}}'' (2017). Additionally, Priya is shown reading a book which is a pastiche of ''Literature/Twilight2005'' .

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is set in 2002. However, Mei's stuffed animal collection is decidedly modern-looking, and includes plushes directly inspired by ''WebOriginal/PusheenTheCat'' (2010) and ''Toys/{{Squishmallows}}'' (2017). Additionally, Priya is shown reading a book which is a pastiche of ''Literature/Twilight2005'' .

* ''WesternAnimation/HarrietTheSpy'' takes place in the 1960s and is somewhat open about its setting (Harriet is excited about the first woman in space, which occurred in 1963). However, some modern trends are portrayed, such as Harriet treating a pocket radio like an [=iPod=], and Harriet taking a selfie with a boy.

* ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'' shows features of Baltimore, such as overhead street signs, that would not exist for decades.

* A fairly minor example, but ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' takes place mostly in the 1960s, but features modern slang, computers, and VHS tapes. Justified in that the film is a deliberate RetroUniverse.

* ''Franchise/TheWalkingDeadTelevisionUniverse'': Society ended in the show's universe in 2010, but starting in 2021-released episodes of the franchise, some slang from the late 2010's/early 2020's begins leaking into the writing.

* ''Burning Love'', an Italian {{Mockumentary}} from 2015, is supposedly set between 2004 and 2006, but contains references to ''Series/BreakingBad'' (first aired in 2008), the Ice Bucket Challenge (which was a trend during the summer of 2014) and the Charlie Hebdo shootings (from early 2015). Also, all the NewscasterCameo scenes are clearly set in the then current news studios instead of recreating the ones from the original time period. Due to the ludicrous argoment of the movie, it's probably done on purpose.

* Bollywood film ''Jab Tak Hai Jaan'' has a shot which was filmed in London (a major part of the film's setting) showing the Olympic rings. The problem? The scene is in part of the narrative which is set in 2002, when the Olympics would not arrive in London until 2012 when the film was made. There are also several other anachronisms concerning certain models of cars and an advertisement for an Intel Ultrabook (not launched until 2011) during the 2002 part of the story.

* Whit Stillman's ''Metropolitan'' is meant to be set [[TheSeventies circa-1974]], but the hairstyles of the characters, clothing, cars, and background music are clearly of an era no earlier than [[TheEighties 1989]]. Stillman said he wanted to do the film as a period piece, but couldn't.

* Creator/WhitStillman's first two movies, ''Metropolitan'' (1990) and ''Film/{{Barcelona}}'' (1994), take place in the early '70s and 1982 respectively, but the costume, hair, and make up departments make no attempt to conceal their early 90s production date.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is set in 2002. However, Mei's stuffed animal collection is decidedly modern-looking, and includes plushes directly inspired by ''WebOriginal/PusheenTheCat'' (2010) and ''Toys/{{Squishmallows}}'' (2017). Additionally, Priya is shown reading a book which is a pastiche of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' (2005).

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Part 3 of the series was published between 1989 and 1992, taking place around then present 1988 or 1989, but later parts of the story feature technology from the 90s, most egregious with Telence D'Arby's Super Famicom and ''VideoGame/FZero'' look-alike game, F-Mega, using graphics from home consoles not yet released by 1989.

* The 2000s ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' graphic novels downplay this. The technology level makes it clear that the books take place in the 1990s--more specifically, the late '90s judging from how characters watch what is most likely the remake of ''Film/{{The Parent Trap|1998}}'' on DVD. (The one exception is a smartphone in book 9.) However, the fashion sense has been made more neutral. In contrast with the books' [[FashionDissonance flashy 1980s/1990s clothes]], the characters dress in clothes that weren't unreasonable for 12 year olds in the 1990s, yet are more appealing to 2000s children.

* This can happen sometimes with ''Series/{{Glee}}'' {{fanfic}}tion written in 2012 or 2013 that takes place during season 1 (which would be late 2009/early 2010). It's in recent enough memory that most fanfic writers can avoid it fairly easily, but sometimes the fics feature technology, movies, or songs that weren't out at that time, or even artists or actors who hadn't made it big yet.
* [=TheInvertedShadow=]'s ''[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHK43TJoVNRJ85mxMLzWT9bDTViWzNHUM Lyrish]]'' series: Each episode features a RunningGag depicting a television playing anywhere from 3-5 random video clips in a row. The first two episodes take place as far back as three decades before the present day. Why WebVideo/JonTron or the ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'' movie would be turning up on TV at that point is never brought up.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritRidingFree'' takes place only a few years after the original ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron'' film. The new Spirit is Spirit and Rain's son. The girls don't dress anything like the 1800s and no-one [[PoliticallyCorrectHistory acts like it's the 1800s]].

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, the internal chronology dates the events of Harry's time at Hogwarts to the 1990s. The only notable anachronism in the books is a mention of Dudley owning a UsefulNotes/PlayStation in what should be August 1994, when the system was not yet available -- and this only because [[WritersCannotDoMath J.K. Rowling can't do math]] and didn't realize the anachronism until fans pointed it out.

* The novel ''Literature/BratFarrar'' by Creator/JosephineTey was published in 1949, and mentions British characters going on holiday to France eight years earlier -- which, if the novel is also ''set'' in 1949, would be [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII very bad timing]]. This is part of what inspired Creator/JoWalton to create her ''Literature/SmallChange'' AlternateUniverse where UsefulNotes/WorldWarII went differently.
* Silvia Avallone in his best-selling (in Italy at least) debut novel ''[[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acciaio_(romanzo)-link Acciaio]]'' ("Steel" -- about two girls growing up in a decaying industrial town) does this constantly, forgetting that the events take place in 2001, and the book is thick with annoying anachronisms (which could have been averted with some simple internet checks) like the presence of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_Cayenne-link Porsche Cayenne]] (distributed only since 2003), a famous (real) steel company that was not sold to Russian investors till 2004 and many others.

** EternalSexualFreedom, anti-war and post-women's-lib attitudes, which would have been quite out of place in the early 1950s, were portrayed as commonplace. While the male characters may well have been womanizers, the females would have been far more circumspect about it being widely known. This may have been intentional, as the show was a fairly {{Anvilicious}} commentary on the Vietnam War

** Haircuts and styles that were in style in the 1970s and 1980s appear in the show, but these haircuts would not have been acceptable for anyone in the Army at any point in the twentieth century.
** Plus the constant use of trucks from the 1954 model year.