History Main / RecursiveCanon

* A [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Sega Mark-III console]] with a copy of its ''Hokuto no Ken'' game can be found in ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarLostParadise'', leading to the truly surreal sight of Kenshiro playing a game based on '''his own adventures'''.

* In ''Fanfic/SonOfTheWarp'', the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' game and ExpandedUniverse exist within itself. This is particularly bizarre, as the lore describes events of the far future in great detail.
* Another ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' example is "If the Emperor Watched TTS," a fanfic on ''Website/SpaceBattles.com'' by Praetor 98. It features the Emperor and his sons watching video files of the humorous web series ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', which pokes fun at the modern Warhammer-verse and points out the various ways they messed up and how they would eventually create the Grimdark CrapsackWorld of the future. In addition to lighthearted {{MST}} style riffing, the series explores what Big E and company would do to stop the horrible events of the Horus Heresy before the occur. Notable, unlike TTS' Emperor who is constantly BreakingTheFourthWall, this series' version of the Emperor prefers a more subtle LeaningOnTheFourthWall to preserve more drama.
* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4663711 Letters of Ness]]'' ([[HeAlsoDid created by the author of the]] ''Fanfic/PaperMarioX'' [[HeAlsoDid series]]) ends with [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]] and [[VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}} Lucas]] receiving a copy of ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU SuperSmashBros 4]]'' (which, according to Lucas, isn't even out in Japan yet) from Paula and Kumatora, which they then proceed to play. (Take note that the story takes place in the SSBB universe.)

* ''Fanfic/ReimaginedEnterprise'':
** One of the early twenty-first century pop songs Audrey Rocia listens to is "Faith of the Heart".
** The crew refer to the works of Creator/LarryNiven, yet there are hints that (as in ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'') the Kzinti race exists in this setting, and they were created by Larry Niven. (This paradox is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d at one point).
* In an omake for the Touhou/Pokemon crossover ''Fanfic/MonstersInParadise'', Yukari admitted to buying drinks for a young man in Tokyo during the mid-1990s and telling him of Gensokyo's existence. At the time, she believed that telling an alcoholic about Gensokyo would have no serious repercussions. Her reaction when she finally discovers much later that her conversation spawned at least seventeen games, assorted supplementary material, and a highly creative fanbase? Several minutes of stunned silence.

* ''Fanfic/TheBankCalledYourRealityCheckBounced'' is a {{crossover}} between ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistBrotherhood'' and ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub.'' Toward the end of the story, Renge (from OHSHC) is shown reading one of the volumes of the ''FMA'' manga. Prior to this, Kyouya throws Tamaki for a loop by informing him that they are not in an anime, as Tamaki believes, but are in fact in a fan fiction.
* ''Contractually Obligated Chaos'':
** Somewhat overlapping with DirectLineToTheAuthor, the ''[[Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}} Contractually Obligated Chaos]]'' series of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' fanfics has a RunningGag in which Prince Vince keeps tabs on the events of the stories via his Website/{{Tumblr}} account; the CreatorInJoke is that he follows the author's blog. Accordingly, someone actually ''made'' a Prince Vince RP blog which ''did'' follow the author, and would comment on new chapters whenever they were posted. (The blog has since been deleted.)
** Dr. Zigmund Void joins the cast in the fifth installment, and suggests that the current situation might be rectified by entering Lydia's brain and searching for subconscious clues. However, he admits he can't remember how to do that, so the solution is for those present to watch the episode of the cartoon in which that's the entire plot.
* ''Fanfic/ToyHammer'' is about a guy's TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 miniatures coming to life. Later, in a pitched battle against Chaos, the Present-day incarnation of The Emperor shows up.

* [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/06/drawing-competition-ponies-playing-with.html This fanart contest]] on Blog/EquestriaDaily is built on this trope.
* In ''Fanfic/MikesNewGhostlyFamily'', the first three games of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' franchise (''[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1 FNaF 1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 FNaF 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 FNaF 3]]'') exist in-universe as indie horror games released by Scott Cawthon. As it turns out, about a year prior to the beginning of fanfic's events, Mike Schmidt and the Marionette told Scott about the events of Fazbear's tragedy and the ghost children's plight, and the man agreed to retell their tale via fictional medium. [[spoiler:Though when [[IncompetenceInc Fazbear Entertainment]] rose back to prominence, they [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse persuaded]] Scott into surrendering the rights to the franchise to repaint its story as lies and jokes with their "[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience]]" VR game (only to fail when the police state of Utah exposed their lies).]]

** [[spoiler:Bringing the Midnight Crew shenanigans full circle, the ''actual'' sequel to ''Problem Sleuth'' is told through bonus comics for ''Webcomic/Homestuck2''. Characters from ''Homestuck'' are transported to that universe during the plot, including Jane, who was a fan of the in-universe sequel.]]

* Meta example: Many ''Isekai'' works has the protagonist be aware of other fictional Isekai works, allowing them to recognize the trope as it plays out. "I've read stories where the protagonist died and was reincarnated into another world... this must be what happened to me, too..."

* The ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' anime exists within the universe of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' which isn't exactly recursive canon because there never was a Sailor V anime. Sailor Venus DOES however sometimes read her own comic book which plays the trope straight. We're never told the actual contents of either and the main ''Sailor Moon'' franchise even seems to quietly avoid any direct references to Sailor V canon(s) in general to preserve simplicity.
** Sailor Moon manga also appear (but in brief cameo roles) as do the magazines that ran Sailor V and Sailor Moon (and parodies thereof; [=RanRan=] instead of Magazine/RunRun).

* In ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture]]'', Terry plays ''Videogame/FatalFurySpecial''.
** Likewise, ''Anime/StreetFighterAlphaTheAnimation'' has a scene where Sakura can be seen playing as Ibuki in ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter''. Sakura herself is actually playable in the real game.

* ''Anime/{{Macross}}'': The anime ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' has [[TheMovie a movie version]], ''[[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Do You Remember Love?]]'', which the producers later explained away as a propaganda video made by UN Spacy to portray the events of the TV series in a better light. The deaths of certain characters are made far more heroic, the love triangle made far more romantic, and in general, UN Spacy comes out smelling a lot better than in the TV series.

* The ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' [[TheMovie movie]] is revealed in the [[AudioAdaptation movie Sound Stages]] to be a film being produced by one of the planets in the ''Nanoha'' universe, with Nanoha and Fate helping as technical advisers. The [=DVDs=] even have InCharacterCommentary.

* In the DC event ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis: [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Legion of Three Worlds]]'', the Earth Prime universe, which was destroyed in the original Crisis, is recreated. On Earth Prime, DC Comics exists exactly as it does in real life, and thus [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Superboy Prime]]'s girlfriend and family find out about every horrible thing he's done by reading the same comics you're reading. Which of course depicts them reading the comics they're reading, which depicts them reading... basically an infinite level of recursive canon.

* In ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity #1'', Nix Uotan is reading ''The Multiversity'' comics - specifically, ''The Multiversity #1'' and ''Ultra Comics #1''. Looking closely at the ''Ultra Comics'' issue Nix is reading, Creator/GrantMorrison and Doug Mahnke are residents of Franchise/TheDCU.

* One cover for ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' #28 has Spike depicted [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-57h92TAtLzA/VPmP-rOLAhI/AAAAAAAAA0g/_wvTXSl3aK4/s1600/MLP_FiM_28_CVR_A.png drawing coverart for the very same comics]], possibly #28 itself.

* In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', it was discovered that the Creator/JackKirby-created Sandman had been living a delusion in a dream dimension created by two denizens of Morpheus' realm.

* In both ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' and ''ComicBook/GastonLagaffe'', the characters work on the staff of the magazine that publishes their adventures, ''Journal de Spirou'' (later ''Spirou Magazine'', now simply ''Magazine/{{Spirou}}''). Consequently, the comic exists within its own world, and Spirou is occasionally recognized as its hero. In early stories by Jijé, he would meet members of his own fan club. In ''Alerte aux Zorkons'' a sniper refuses to fire on him and Fantasio (hanging from a Spirou-shaped advertising balloon) because he used to read the comic as a kid.
** A short story in one of the books has Spirou and Fantasio return to their offices, and a publisher is angry about something happening to Gaston Lagaffe. Fantasio tells him to follow the sound of rage from upstairs, but the publisher tells him it's about the comic.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' animated series is apparently an actual TV show in the DC Universe, as evidenced by a poster for the cartoon being present in Irey West's room in an issue of ''Franchise/TheFlash''. An issue of ''Teen Titans'' had the kids briefly watching an episode of ''ComiBook/TinyTitans''.
** Along the same lines older DC Comics had in-universe ads for the Adam West ''Series/Batman1966'' series.

* Somewhat overlapping with DirectLineToTheAuthor, the [[Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}} Contractually Obligated Chaos]] series of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' fanfics has a RunningGag in which Prince Vince keeps tabs on the events of the stories via his Website/{{Tumblr}} account; the CreatorInJoke is that he follows the author's blog. Accordingly, someone actually ''made'' a Prince Vince RP blog which ''did'' follow the author, and would comment on new chapters whenever they were posted. (The blog has since been deleted.)
** In a more blatant example from the same series, Dr. Zigmund Void joins the cast in the fifth installment, and suggests that the current situation might be rectified by entering Lydia's brain and searching for subconscious clues. However, he admits he can't remember how to do that, so the solution is for those present to watch the episode of the cartoon in which that's the entire plot.

* Similarly, the last episode of ''Series/SwampThing'' reveals that Daniel Cassidy (the alter ego of ComicBook/BlueDevil) owns some of the actual ''Blue Devil'' comics DC published back in the 80s.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', the video game store in Apple Mart apparently stocks the game Mega Man Legends.
** In addition, the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games exist within ''Mega Man Legends'', itself a distant future of those games. [=MegaMan=] Volnutt got his name because Roll is such a huge fan of those games.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', it was possible to obtain the UsefulNotes/Playstation2 version of ''The Sims''. The penultimate expansion pack has [[CreatorCameo Rod Humble]] gift every household a computer with ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' preinstalled.

* On the title screen for ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando]]'', Ratchet can be seen playing several games, including [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 the first]] ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' game as well as ''Going Commando'' itself.

* Nathan and Elena can be seen playing ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' in ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd''. In the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]] version of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'', Coco can be seen watching Nathan and Elena playing Crash at the start of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack''. Try wrapping your head around that.
** Creator/NaughtyDog games in general end up having this trope a lot. ''Crash Bandicoot'' is fiction in Uncharted but a Wumpa Fruit can be found in ''Uncharted 4''. ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' has ''Uncharted'' board games and a newspaper referencing an ''Uncharted'' movie, however a newspaper in ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'' references the fungus in ''The Last of Us'' and a Firefly pendant can be found in ''Uncharted 4'' along with a poster for a ''The Last of Us'' comic series titled "American Daughters". Jak and Daxter have plush toys, board games, and pinatas in ''The Last of Us''. Precursor orbs exist in ''Uncharted'' but the name of Daxter's species - the Ottsel - is a brand in the same universe. Naughty Dog itself exists on a mousepad in ''The Last of Us''. So on, and so forth.

* ''VisualNovel/HiveswapFriendsim'', a dating sim based in the universe of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', ends with [[spoiler:your character sitting down to read the very comic which spawned the game]]. [[KudzuPlot This is one of the tamest parts of the canon]].

* ''Webcomic/MobyDickBackFromTheDeep'': Herman Melville wrote Literature/MobyDick in the world of this webcomic. Of course, the great white whale in the book wasn't an ancient, undead giant that's been terrorizing the oceans of the world for centuries.
** Also, in the original book, Captain Ahab and his crew weren't [[spoiler:turned into a bunch of ghouls [[BarredFromTheAfterlife who can't move on to the afterlife]] until they finally put the whale down for good]].

*** A lot of the characters of ''Homestuck'' lived in the Midnight Crew's universe before. [[spoiler:They live in the Alternian universe (A2).]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', Grim can be seen watching ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', but come ''Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure'' and ''The Grim Adventures of the KND'', we see that they exist in the same universe.
** Seeing as Creator/CartoonNetwork often depicted its shows' characters as living in one big SharedUniverse, it seems like this was bound to happen at some point.

* ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'': Animated Ami and Yumi see their live action counterparts on TV and don't recognize who they are in "Sitcomi Yumi". A poster of the real duo also appears in "In Harmony's Way".
** [[https://youtu.be/dJclATVwo9E?t=10 "These guys rock!"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' began with two internet shorts called ''WesternAnimation/TheSpiritOfChristmas.'' The fourth season ChristmasEpisode is about the boys making the second one as a short film with themselves as the main characters. (Apparently the vulgarity was an example of ThrowItIn, and [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Kenny]]'s death was RealLifeWritesThePlot.)

* Dumbledore's foreward in ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard'' imply that the ''Literature/HarryPotter books'' are biographies based on Harry's life written by an in-universe Creator/JKRowling.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/go_watch_tom_and_jerry.png]]]]

* In the WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry short ''[[ClipShow Matinee Mouse]]'', Tom and Jerry sit down in a theater to watch...''Tom and Jerry'', with the ticket-keeper expressing bewilderment as to why the duo walk together as friends. The friendship moment ends, however, as each laughs at the other's expense, to the point where [[NoFourthWall the characters onscreen watch the duo in the theatre fight]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' features automobile versions of past Pixar films, including ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 Toy Car Story]]'', ''[[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Monster Trucks Inc.]]'', and ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' ([[JustForPun with all the characters as Volkswagens]]). But what would their equivalent of ''Cars'' be?

* In ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'', during "La Vie Boheme," Mark mentions "Musetta's Waltz" by name. This means that ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' exists within the world of ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'' which is loosely based on it, right down to most of the characters having similar or even the same names.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''WebOriginal/GetsuyoubiNoTawawa'', there are aparently ''three'' different iterations of ''Tawawa on Monday'': one as a simple DVD, another where Himura's Twitter, the images, and the anime itself exist where its main star can see it, and implied through a poster bearing the title and a [[GenderFlip cute (presumably top-heavy) boy]] that exists in the anime.
[[/folder]]

When a work or set of works that appeared to stand on its own in RealLife turns out to be fiction VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory in its [[TheVerse greater universe]]. Franchise/SpiderMan exists, and he knows people make comic books about his exploits, but they aren't necessarily accurate.

** In the Marvel Universe, the literary villain Literature/FuManchu is a real person and the father of the superhero ComicBook/ShangChi. When Spider-Man and Shang-Chi teamed up for the first time, Spidey was shocked to discover that Fu Manchu was real, as he'd always considered him a fictional person. During the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover in the 90s, the ComicBook/RedSkull also made a reference to Fu Manchu that implied he was a work of fiction.

** Averted: In ''[[WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'', when Garfield is flipping through TV channels at the beginning, one is a Jim Davis-drawn pig in a cartoony field. One may be tempted to think it's Orson and that he's watching ''Garfield and Friends'', but this special predated it by 3 years.

* The reviewers of Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses encounter all sorts of crazy stuff in their videos, but all this is forgotten in the annual MassiveMultiplayerCrossover film featuring them all, where it appears that the characters actually live in (more or less) the real world; Nostalgia Chick, Linkara, Spoony ''et al'' really go by those names, and are employed by TGWTG to make the videos on the site. It is brought back around in the fourth anniversary, ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee''. Linkara's space ship and Joe's space station are involved in the plot, the reviewers are menaced by villains from previous reviews, such as [[Film/BattlefieldEarth Terl]] and Mechakara, and [[spoiler:in the last episode, the Nostalgia Critic has a very important encounter with Doug Walker]].

* This was actively {{defied|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', which has other Creator/{{Nintendo}} franchises referenced in the version of Brooklyn where Mario lives with no changes but replaces their version of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' with a substitute that has a yeti in place of Donkey Kong.

* ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' has an example similar to ''Manga/SailorMoon''. Futaba is a fan of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' and gets to work with [[Creator/RyokoShiraishi Hayate's voice actress]] in episode 11 despite the fact that both shows take place in the same universe.

** In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' an NPC gushes about this new game he has called "Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door". If you talk to him in the middle of the game he says he already beat it and the ending is amazing.\\
In addition, [[spoiler:the ending sequence mentions that Flurrie and Doopliss are performing a play based on the events of the game... but since the battle system is itself "onstage", it's implied that you might be playing the play. Which means that the play refers to itself...]]

** The plot of the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series is about Wario opening a video game company and selling compilations of microgames, short games that last only 5 seconds, and as a [[NostalgiaLevel nostalgic bonus]], many of those microgames are based on classic Nintendo videogames but converted into very short versions, however, some of these microgames are based on Mario games, Yoshi games, Donkey Kong games and even Wario Land games, a more justifiable example, is when even microgames from previous [=WarioWare games=] for the Game Boy Advance are included, and they are shown running in a GBA in your screen.

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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/go_watch_tom_and_jerry.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Nice try fellas, but [[YourCostumeNeedsWork your Tom and Jerry costumes are pretty bad]]."]]

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* The anime ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' has [[TheMovie a movie version]], ''[[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Do You Remember Love?]]'', which the producers later explained away as a propaganda video made by UN Spacy to portray the events of the TV series in a better light. The deaths of certain characters are made far more heroic, the love triangle made far more romantic, and in general, UN Spacy comes out smelling a lot better than in the TV series.
** Series creator Creator/ShojiKawamori [[WordOfGod has gone on to say that]] ''all the Anime/{{Macross}} stories'' are merely second-hand retellings of real events that happened in an [[UnInstallment unscene]] "prime" continuity, mostly to explain the differences apparent in, say, the ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' TV series compared to the movies that followed it. This has some interesting implications for ''Frontier'' in particular, as its movies paint several maligned parties in the TV series in a much more rosier light.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}''

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' has an unusual version of this - [[Manga/DeathNotePilot the pilot chapter]] mentions that a manga was written based on the "real story" it tells (well, mostly on the concept of the Death Note itself). This leads to a scene where Ryuk passes a poster for the live-action ''Film/{{Death Note|2006}}'' movie.

* In ''Anime/TheTowerOfDruaga'', they spend an episode trying to reach the top of a 60 floor tower inside the tower they are in. The main hero is controlled by the other characters, as if they are playing the ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'' arcade game. One character even has a walkthrough for the tower.
* The ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' [[TheMovie movie]] is revealed in the [[AudioAdaptation movie Sound Stages]] to be a film being produced by one of the planets in the ''Nanoha'' universe, with Nanoha and Fate helping as technical advisers. The [=DVDs=] even have InCharacterCommentary.
** The [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs second movie]] also had its own Sound Stages and commentary where it was shown to be an in-universe movie. Its nature as recursive canon even helps to justify Graham and his familiars being AdaptedOut, since [[spoiler: it wouldn't make any sense for TSAB propaganda to show a high ranking officer condemning an innocent girl to an eternal icy prison.]] But wait, it gets ''weird''. Before the second movie was released there was another Drama CD, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha GOD Sound Stage M'', set in the AlternateTimeline of the ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable'' video games. In it, the OriginalGeneration characters introduced in those games encounter the versions of Fate and Nanoha from the first movie. In short, the movie timeline seems to actually exist.
* A ''Manga/{{Plica}}'' movie was made while the comic strip was still going, leading to a couple of comics about Plica and Mari going to see the movie, which is ostensibly about them. No real in-story explanation is offered for this (presumably it's just because the mangaka [[ShamelessSelfPromotion wanted to make sure her readers knew about the movie]]).
* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': One of the few traits kept from the [[NoFourthWall missing wall]]--style of the Manga. The franchise has no problem with the idea that Lupin has been fictionalized InUniverse.
** ''Manga/LupinIII'' reading ''Manga/LupinIII''.
** ''Anime/LupinIIIVsDetectiveConan'', Kogoro Mouri mentions a ''Lupin III'' comic, which is a CallBack to several earlier ''Detective Conan'' stories (particularly the eleventh movie, where a pair of bank robbers wear Lupin & Fujiko masks).
** An Arab monarch is a fan of the ''Anime/LupinIII'' television series (since this takes place in the Anime/LupinIIIPartII series, assume he means that one), so he is not surprised when the Lupin gang shows up in his country.
** ''Anime/GreenVsRed'' shows us a movie poster for ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'' in one of the Lupin's rooms. (Yes, one of. [[MindScrew Best not to ask if he's the real one]].)

* Likewise, ''Anime/StreetFighterAlphaTheAnimation'' has a scene where Sakura can be seen playing as Ibuki in ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter''. Sakura herself is actually playable in the real game.
* The Franchise/{{Gundam}} manga ''Ganota no Onna'' [[GenderFlip reimagines]] Char Aznable as an OfficeLady in present day Tokyo, with much of the show's cast appearing in some form or another. Despite this, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' is treated as an actual anime within the show, with Utsuki and Amuru (Char and Amuro) portrayed as massive fans of the franchise.

* In the third season of ''Anime/SonicX'', when Chaotix show up and need to be brought up to speed on what's been going on, they steal a bunch of ''Sonic X'' [=DVDs=] and watch every episode up to that point.
* The ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' anime exists within the universe of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' which isn't exactly recursive canon because there never was a Sailor V anime. Sailor Venus DOES however sometimes read her own comic book which plays the trope straight. We're never told the actual contents of either and the main ''Sailor Moon'' franchise even seems to quietly avoid any direct references to Sailor V canon(s) in general to preserve simplicity.
** Sailor Moon manga also appear (but in brief cameo roles) as do the magazines that ran Sailor V and Sailor Moon (and parodies thereof; [=RanRan=] instead of Magazine/RunRun).
* Done within the same series with ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''. The Nadesico crew enjoys watching Gekiganger III, an affectionate parody of old {{Super Robot|Genre}} shows. All is fine and well until the 14th episode, where the show becomes an episode of Gekiganger III watching their favourite show, Martian Successor Nadesico. It gets even more confusing when the show ends off with it being an episode being watched by the crew of the Nadesico.

** The spinoff Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku features two magazines, which covers feature this very series, in episode 9.
* The ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' anime started with Genki being an avid fan of the game series and being sucked into the world.
* In one of the ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' [=OVAs=] set roughly 100 years in the future from the end of TheMovie, we see posters for TheMovie all over the place.
* In one of the ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' manga arcs, Akasaka [[spoiler:writes a book based off the events of the arc]].
* In ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'', Gintoki bashes his imposter Kintoki over the head with a complete collection of Gintama manga/[=DVDs=] out of the frustration of no one seeming to remember him, only to notice that he's also replaced him in the manga/[=DVDs=] in the aftermath.
* In ''Manga/ICantUnderstandWhatMyHusbandIsSaying'', season 2 [=DVDs=] were shown to be on sale in the convenience store Nozomu works at.
* ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' has an example similar to ''Manga/SailorMoon''. Futaba is a fan of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' and gets to work with [[Creator/RyokoShiraishi Hayate's voice actress]] in episode 11 despite the fact that both shows take place in the same universe.
* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' has a surgeon refuse to deal with Fran, [[BodyHorror as he knows what happens when she gets involved in surgery]]. How does he know? Because he read the previous volumes of the manga (pulling out one to show her).

* The original ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' show exists in the world of ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'', including an appearance from the original opening. The fictional version in ''Crybaby'' is apparently not the exact same as the real show, as an internet search for "Akira Fudo" (the protagonist of both real works) showed no results.
* Meta example: Many ''Isekai'' works has the protagonist be aware of other fictional Isekai works, allowing them to recognize the trope as it plays out. "I've read stories where the protagonist died and was reincarnated into another world... this must be what happened to me, too..."
* The Puma Sisters from ''Anime/DominionTankPolice'' appear working on a stall in the ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' manga. A few pages later we see an in-universe advertisement for the ''Dominion Tank Police'' Manga.
* ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' having NoFourthWall uses this right in the first episode, with Excel being assigned to kill Rikdo Koshi, the author of the original manga. He later comes to blows with Nabeshin, the creator of the anime.
* Volume 2 of the ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' manga makes a brief appearance in season 2 of the anime during one of Kaguya's {{Imagine Spot}}s when Kei tells her how her older brother acts at home. The season 2 OVA also briefly shows the cover for volume 1 of the ''We Want to Talk About Kaguya'' spin-off.
* In episode 36b of ''Anime/JewelpetMagicalChange'', the Jewelpets are seen watching an earlier episode of that same season of ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' on television.

* A scene in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' has Matsuri and Suzu reading a manga featuring Reo, Matsuri's counterpart from the manga's {{pilot}} ''Reo × Leo''.

* In the Raphael one shot of ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage, a billboard advertising ''Eastman and Laird's Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' is briefly visible.
* UrExample: DC Comics' ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheCrow'' once had its protagonist, Fauntleroy Fox, become aware that he's a comic book character. He uses the knowledge gleaned from reading back issues of ''The Fox and the Crow'' to defeat his nemesis, [[TheTrickster Crawford Crow]]. A desperate Crow asserted that, if the Fox ended the game in this way, it would make him the loser forever.
* Creator/MarvelComics exist within the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. In-universe they are stories as told by a "Marvel''s'' Comics", some with the cooperation of the superheroes themselves and some only VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. In at least one instance ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' is seen reading an actual issue of The Savage She-Hulk. (This is further complicated by the fact that She-Hulk sometimes has NoFourthWall, though, so she is one of a few characters who could have been reading something published by Marvel Comics ''or'' by Marvels Comics.)
** At various times, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has been the artist for the in-universe Captain America comics. No, really.
** In a FifthWeekEvent, the company published one-off issues of the Marvels Comics versions of most major titles, depicting how they are viewed in-universe. For some characters, like Captain America, the recursive canon version was almost indistinguishable from the usual comic, except that his secret identity was a secret. For others, like the X-Men, who have been pariahs in-universe for most of their history, they couldn't very easily be treated like superheroes. So instead, a backstory was made up for them, which supposed that they were a top-secret government project of paroled mutants, sort of like the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} turned out to be.
** All Marvels Comics published before 2001 carry the UsefulNotes/ComicsCode Authority seal. The CCA is a federal agency in the Marvel universe, making all these comics legal, federal documents. [[MythologyGag Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway]], the law firm She-Hulk works for, specializes in superhuman, metahuman and mutant law, keeps a complete archive of Marvels Comics from the 1930s forward as legal reference.
* All this is the result of Marvel's evolving approach to the fourth wall. In early Silver Age comics, especially the ComicBook/FantasticFour, the comics referred to in the books really did seem to be the same ones you were holding in your hand, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby making cameos fairly often and the stories supposedly being retellings of events related by the characters (helped by the FF not having secret identities), heightening the sense that Marvel comics took place in the "world outside your window". This became untenable as time went on, eventually being replaced by the modern "Marvels comics" concept; as late as 1984's "Assistant Editors' Month" event some stories still seemed to pay lip service to the notion that Marvel comics literally existed in the Marvel universe, but by the late 80s ''ComicBook/DamageControl'' depicted She-Hulk as breaking the fourth wall as she did in her solo book at the time, but that everyone else thought she was crazy for thinking she was a comic book character.
* In the Marvel Universe, the literary villain Literature/FuManchu is a real person and the father of the superhero ComicBook/ShangChi. When Spider-Man and Shang-Chi teamed up for the first time, Spidey was shocked to discover that Fu Manchu was real, as he'd always considered him a fictional person. During the ''Acts of Vengeance'' crossover in the 90s, the ComicBook/RedSkull also made a reference to Fu Manchu that implied he was a work of fiction.
* The Silver Age ''Franchise/TheFlash'' series portrayed the Golden Age Flash's adventures as merely being a comic book series. It was not until much later that the two actually met, revealing the GA Flash's comics to be a fictionalized account of what happened on another Earth.

* In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', it was discovered that the Creator/JackKirby-created Sandman had been living a delusion in a dream dimension created by two denizens of Morpheus' realm.
** Volume 10 implies that all live-action adaptations of DC characters [[AllJustADream are dreams]] of the comic versions.
* In ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'', a sheik recognizes Franchise/{{Tintin}} from having read all about his adventures, showing a copy of one of the books. The book was originally ''Tintin in America'', but in the later color editions it was anachronistically changed to ''Destination Moon''.
* In both ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' and ''ComicBook/GastonLagaffe'', the characters work on the staff of the magazine that publishes their adventures, ''Journal de Spirou'' (later ''Spirou Magazine'', now simply ''Magazine/{{Spirou}}''). Consequently, the comic exists within its own world, and Spirou is occasionally recognized as its hero. In early stories by Jijé, he would meet members of his own fan club. In ''Alerte aux Zorkons'' a sniper refuses to fire on him and Fantasio (hanging from a Spirou-shaped advertising balloon) because he used to read the comic as a kid.
** A short story in one of the books has Spirou and Fantasio return to their offices, and a publisher is angry about something happening to Gaston Lagaffe. Fantasio tells him to follow the sound of rage from upstairs, but the publisher tells him it's about the comic.
* In the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' universe, companies publish comic books based on the in-universe superheroes. The most popular comics are the ones officially licensed by the heroes, but some will take news events and embellish the circumstances. Comics for "fictional" heroes (Batman, Superman, etc.) also exist, but don't sell as well.

* In some ComicBook/ArchieComics, the gang can be seen reading their own comic book. The fact that they aren't disturbed by seeing themselves and their stories in print is probably because [[NoFourthWall they're actually aware that they're comic book characters]].
* Lampshaded in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' in which the team traveled to an alternate universe in which they encounter the comic book series they appear in.

* Along the same lines older DC Comics had in-universe ads for the Adam West ''Series/Batman1966'' series.
* Writer Tom [=DeFalco=] famously wrote a scene featuring ComicBook/AntMan watching an episode of the maligned ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourTheAnimatedSeries'' and then complaining about how awful it was.

* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' occasionally gets weird about this. ''2000 AD'' exists in Dredd's world, and is a controlled substance. ''2000 AD'' is best known for running the ''Judge Dredd'' comic strip.
** In ''ComicBook/AndersonPsiDivision'' there's a story where a citizen in Mega City One visits a virtual reality program that features the Mighty Tharg, the alien editor of ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD''.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'' takes place in a dimension called Earth-C, an alternate version of our world (not the DC Universe). Team leader R. Rodney Rabbit is a penciller on ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justa Lotta Animals]]'' -- who he later discovers are a real superhero team and who shut down the title for violating their trademarks.
* In one of the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' issues that was part of the ''ComicBook/{{Legends|DCComics}}'' crossover, it was mentioned that Creator/{{Kenner}}'s ''Super Powers Collection'' (a series of toys based on DC's heroes and villains) exists in the DC Universe.
* Very frequent in [[BritishComics British Humour Comics]] like ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' and ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' with characters frequently shown reading their own comic.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** In a few throw away lines a news vendor and a retired superhero in ''Watchmen'' make references to old ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics and in the DCU proper ComicBook/TheQuestion at one point reads a copy of ''Watchmen'' and ''recognises Rorschach as a CaptainErsatz of himself''!
** "Behind the Mask" has the first Night Owl mention he got the idea for his costume from the ComicBook/BlueBeetle, of whom he is a CaptainErsatz.
* In another ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comics crossover, "When Creator/{{Bongo|Comics}}s Collide," it is established that Itchy and Scratchy are fictional cartoon characters within the ''Simpsons'' universe - but still has them appear as flesh-and-blood characters! The story resolves this inconsistency by having the space aliens Kodos and Kang (who ''themselves'' were originally fictional characters in a story told by Bart to Lisa in his treehouse before their in-universe {{Defictionalization}}) come to Earth and use a... [[BuffySpeak trans-temporal reality thingee]] to cause Itchy and Scratchy to materialize out of the Simpson family TV set and become "real" beings! Later in the crossover, Bart (as "Bartman") uses the same device to materialize ''Radioactive Man'' actor Dirk Richter out of the 1950s TV show to ask for his help, only for Richter to tell Bart that Radioactive Man is fictional and that he's a real person playing him. Undeterred, Bart simply materializes the "fictional" Radioactive Man out of one of his comic books, and ''this'' RM really does have superpowers.
* In Marvel's [[ComicBook/TheNewUniverse New Universe]], Marvel's main universe is fiction.
* In the DC event ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis: [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Legion of Three Worlds]]'', the Earth Prime universe, which was destroyed in the original Crisis, is recreated. On Earth Prime, DC Comics exists exactly as it does in real life, and thus [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Superboy Prime]]'s girlfriend and family find out about every horrible thing he's done by reading the same comics you're reading. Which of course depicts them reading the comics they're reading, which depicts them reading... basically an infinite level of recursive canon.
** The "Threeboot" version of the Legion of Super-Heroes was originally presented as taking place in the altered future of the DCU just as previous versions had been. In this version, the Legion was shown to have gotten their inspiration from 20th/21st century comic books featuring Superman, Batman, etc. ''Legion of Three Worlds'' revealed they were actually the future of Earth Prime, not the main DC Earth.
* In ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity #1'', Nix Uotan is reading ''The Multiversity'' comics - specifically, ''The Multiversity #1'' and ''Ultra Comics #1''. Looking closely at the ''Ultra Comics'' issue Nix is reading, Creator/GrantMorrison and Doug Mahnke are residents of Franchise/TheDCU.
** ''Ultra Comics'' itself is a particularly mind-screwy version where the main character of the book in some sense "is" the comic book itself. Not a DCU version of the comic; the actual comic you are holding.
* One cover for ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' #28 has Spike depicted [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-57h92TAtLzA/VPmP-rOLAhI/AAAAAAAAA0g/_wvTXSl3aK4/s1600/MLP_FiM_28_CVR_A.png drawing coverart for the very same comics]], possibly #28 itself.
** [[https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyQCiFNJ-no/VxXKGRkUfnI/AAAAAAACjkE/ET1BZYTgCZMVH-WZxMlp8JO7_RSsoTODgCLcB/s1600/mylittlepony30-932x1414.jpg One cover]] for ''Friends Forever'' #30 has Twilight and Cadance holding a box with toys of themselves.
* ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'' are startled to find a comic book with them in it. Franklin urges them to change their look so they won't be associated with those idiots, then they find their local hangout bar has a 'Freak Brothers lookalike contest' with a cash prize.
* In the ''ComicBook/BlakeAndMortimer'' book ''The Septimus Wave'', the events of ''The Yellow M'' (which this book acts as a sequel to) were the subject of a novel and stage play in-universe.
* In the DC Rebirth-era ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'' series, the events of the ComicBook/DCYearOfTheVillain crossover tie-ins are in-universe RealPersonFic that Harley is reading about herself.
* In ''ComicBook/StrangeAdventures2020'', a bulk of the plot is kickstarted by a now-retired ComicBook/AdamStrange publishing a memoir of his previous space adventures provoking discussion on his life... which is itself titled ''Strange Adventures'' (and even features the same Doc Shaner cover art used for this series' first issue). This is around for rather [[{{Postmodernism}} postmodernist]] reasons: ''Strange Adventures'' (the series) is meant to [[{{Deconstruction}} raise questions on the nature of Adam Strange as a character]] while contextualized within various stories of his -- much like how the book is about [[UnreliableExpositor his dubious retelling]] of how [[WrittenByTheWinners he defeated the Pykkts during their invasion of Rann]], the series juxtaposes flashbacks of the glamorous side of his traditional SpaceOpera adventures to the darker present-day reality writers don't generally want audiences to know about or question, overall painting Adam as a man torn between the stories he pushes onto others vs. the stories others tell about him.

* The final strip of ''ComicStrip/USAcres'' consists of the characters watching themselves on television, with Orson giving out a ThatsAllFolks from the television on the last panel, complete with PorkyPigPronunciation.
* The 1908 musical adaptation of ''ComicStrip/LittleNemo'' was advertised on posters displayed in several strips. One strip had Nemo recreating the Valentines scene "like I saw in the show," and discovering that he's standing on stage behind an orchestra pit. The Dancing Missionary and Gladys the cat, characters created for the theatrical production, also made occasional appearances in the strip.

[[/folder]]

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. Captain America starts off as purely a propaganda character played by an actual super soldier. The real life iconic comic featuring Captain America "socking old Adolf on the jaw" also exists in universe as an adaptation of his live show. He also stars in a series of WWII movie serials as his character, all before actually becoming a war hero. Then when he first meets the BigBad, the latter tells him (perhaps sarcastically) that he's a big fan of his films.

** [[ComicBook/{{X 23}} Laura]] is shown to be a fan of ''ComicBook/XMen'' comic books that exist in the universe of the [[Film/XMenFilmSeries movies]]. However, Logan is sure to note that they are only VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory.
** In a deleted scene, Laura's friend Bobby is shown playing with action figures of Wolverine and ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}}. He then stops and asks Logan if Sabretooth was ever real, or just a bad guy from the comic books.

* ''Film/{{SWAT}}'' has a scene where the unit has the day off. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it gag, Boxer is sacked out on his sofa watching a rerun of ''Series/SWAT1975'', the TV series the movie is based on.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' featured automobile versions of past Pixar films, including ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 Toy Car Story]]'', ''[[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Monster Trucks Inc.]]'', and ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' ([[JustForPun with all the characters as Volkswagens]]). But what would their equivalent of ''Cars'' be?

* A joke in the sixth ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' film has Prince Pegasus being encouraged to confess his romantic feelings to Princess Blue and struggling to say his line, only to [[AbortedDeclarationOfLove cop-out at the last second]] and say "I love watching ''Pleasant Goat''!" instead. If this quote is anything to go by, the ''Pleasant Goat'' TV show (and presumably the films, {{manhua}}, merchandise, etc. as well) somehow exists within the ''Pleasant Goat'' universe itself.

* ''Fanfic/TheBankCalledYourRealityCheckBounced'' is a {{crossover}} between ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist: Brotherhood'' and ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub.'' Toward the end of the story, Renge (from OHSHC) is shown reading one of the volumes of the ''FMA'' manga. Prior to this, Kyouya throws Tamaki for a loop by informing him that they are not in an anime, as Tamaki believes, but are in fact in a fan fiction.

* In one of the ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' [=OVAs=] set roughly 100 years in the future from the end of TheMovie, we see posters for TheMovie all over the place.