History Main / SequelFirst

* While the original ''Manga/DragonBall'' anime had dubs from Harmony Gold in '89[[note]]Which lasted only five episodes broadcast only in test markets, as well as a movie that combined the first and third films[[/note]] and Creator/FUNimation in '95[[note]]This one only covering the first thirteen episodes and the first movie[[/note]], neither were able to gain any sort of traction. However the incredibly popular dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' meant that, thanks to PopCultureOsmosis, this trope was played straight. The success of DBZ's dub would result in the first English dub of the pre-Z anime in its entirety to release in '01-03.
** This happened for real regarding the fighter ''VideoGame/DragonBallGTFinalBout'', which was released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation in the West in 1997, a full six years before the first English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' would debut in 2003. Thus DBZ fans were introduced to concepts like Super Saiyan 4 and Goku's granddaughter Pan as a young teenager long before their original context was understood (and in fact, long before even Super Saiyan 2 was introduced, let alone 3).
* 1995's ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' was the first part of the venerable ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise to make it big in other countries; this, among other factors, gave the 1979 [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam original series]] an uphill battle when it was also aired on Creator/CartoonNetwork.
** Played with during the English release of the original series itself, as Sunrise simultaneously released the later spinoff OAVs ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'', ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'', all taking place in chronological order before the first SequelSeries, ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam''.

** Hilariously enough, when the sequel did come here, it was actually MORE popular than in Japan, so much so that 4Kids funded the second season when it was cancelled in Japan.

* ''Voltes V'' and ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' came out in the Philippines before ''Combattler V'' and achieved ''much'' [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff greater popularity]].
** And because of this some viewers there have mistaken ''Combattler V'' as either a strange sequel or a cheap knockoff.

** Before this, ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'' was the first part of the franchise to see a mainstream release in the US, with an English-dubbed VHS release from Streamline Pictures back in 1992. ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' and two episodes of ''Part II'' directed by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki were released shortly afterword, followed by a reissue of ''Cagliostro'' (with [[DuelingDubs a new dub]]) in 2000. Funimation also began releasing several of the 90s-era TV specials in 2002.
** If you want to get technical, ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' had its very first English dub in 1979, before any other part of the franchise, though said dub was rarely seen prior to Discotek's DVD release in 2013. It was produced for Japan Airline flights, though it has also been released in some international territories, with some prints floating around the US among the early anime scene.

* In Japan, ''[[Anime/FLCLProgressiveAndAlternative FLCL Alternative]]'' was released on September 7, 2018, while ''[[Anime/FLCLProgressiveAndAlternative FLCL Progressive]]'' was released three weeks later, on September 28.
** The first episode of ''Alternative'' also aired subtitled in the US as an [[AprilFoolsDay April Fools' joke]], two months before the first episode of ''Progressive.''

* ''VideoGame/WarioWare: Touched!'' came out before ''[=WarioWare=]: Twisted!'' in America and Australia. This is a problem in itself, since the latter game obviously serves as 18-Volt's real introduction in the series (Which is part of the reason why he says "Word!" a lot (except in the game's manual).
** In addition to this, Twisted unlocks a secret video in Touched when Touched is played with Twisted in the GBA slot, thus meaning that the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' game that came out three months AFTER Touched unlocked a video in Touched.
** ''Twisted'' was skipped entirely in Europe, meaning 18-Volt had no introduction and ''Touched''[='=]s bonus video cannot be unlocked.

** But of course, [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros Starfy Debuted In Smash Bros]].

* The Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} with ''VisualNovel/WitchOnTheHolyNight''. It was the first entry to be written, then followed by its sequels (if indirect; the only major connection is how they follow up on the Aozaki sisters) ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' and ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. However, ''Mahou Tsukai no Yoru'' had trouble finding a publisher, leaving it in DevelopmentHell until 2012, around twenty years after it was written and its sequels were published. Incidently, it would be the first visual novel from the Nasuverse to be officially localized and released outside Japan.

* ''VideoGame/AtelierIris'' was the first of the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series to be released outside of Japan. Its predecessors still haven't been.

* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' was released in North America before its predecessor: ''VideoGame/LaPucelle''.

* ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' (''MOTHER 2''), the second in the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series, and the first [[NoExportForYou (and originally, only)]] one to be released in the US. The original ''MOTHER'' was originally slated for a North American release under the title ''Earth Bound'' (two words), but was scrapped after being completed due to the company shifting focus to the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}}. When the prototype surfaced years later and made playable by the fan community, the game was called ''[=EarthBound=] Zero'' to avoid confusion. When Nintendo would officially release the finished version themselves in 2015, it was entitled ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings''.

* The first ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'' game released outside Japan was ''Legend of the Mystical Ninja'' for the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} (the series had previous installments for the {{UsefulNotes/Famicom}}), in which for some reason Goemon and Ebisumaru [[DubNameChange were renamed]] "Kid Ying" and "Dr. Yang". The two UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 games that were later localized kept the characters' original names.
* ''Stinger'', aka ''Moero!! Twinbee'', was the second ''VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}'' game for the Famicom and the only one released for the NES in North America. ''Pop'n Twinbee'' was later released in the PAL region for the SNES along with the side-scrolling platformer spinoff ''Rainbow Bell Adventure''. The second arcade game, ''Detana!! Twinbee'', also saw an overseas release as ''Bells & Whistles'', while the PC Engine port eventually got an overseas release via the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole (albeit, untranslated). The original ''Twinbee'' arcade game was eventually released in the US on Konami's ''Arcade Hits'' compilation for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS under the name of ''Rainbow Bell''.

* For some reason, ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheManhattanProject Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project]]'' was never released for the NES in PAL territories. That didn't prevent the SNES port of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'' from being called ''Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV'' in Europe.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' wasn't released anywhere outside Japan until ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles'', ten years after its direct sequel ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight''. The [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDraculaX SNES remake]] of Rondo had been released internationally, but said remake AdaptedOut Shaft, an important character in ''Symphony''.

* A sequel to ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', named ''Enter The Combat Zone'' or ''ETCZ'' was published in Kyowa Quebec, a french language manga-inspired anthology local to the Montreal area, from 2009-2013. The anthology concluded publication while ETCZ was still in its prologue. As some or the lore and events in Yokoka's Quest have since been [[{{Rewrite}} rewritten]], ETCZ will also need to be in order to match the new canon.

* ''VideoGame/AkibasTripUndeadAndUndressed'' was the second cardinal game in the franchise, but the first installment to cross over westward in most territories. Its [[VideoGame/AkibasTripHellboundAndDebriefed predecessor game]] was released 7 years later, albeit after the third game and anime were released in proper order.

* ''VideoGame/AkibasTripUndeadAndUndressed'' was the second cardinal game in the franchise, but the first installment to cross over westward in most territories. Its [[VideoGame/AkibasTripHellboundAndDebriefed predecessor game]] was announced 5 years later, albeit after the third game and anime were released in proper order.

->"''Creator/JackieChan made a movie called ''Film/ArmorOfGod'', and the sequel was called ''Armour of God 2: Operation Condor''. Well, when that came out in the US, there was a little difficulty. ''Armour of God'' wasn't out yet, so they decided to release the sequel here first, and change the title to just ''Operation Condor''. Well, after that, ''Armour of God'' actually did make an American release, and it was called ''Operation Condor 2: Armour of God''! A complete reversal!''"

* After famed nipponologist Frederik L. Schodt's English translations of the first five volumes of ''Manga/{{Phoenix}}'' spent nearly three decades languishing in DevelopmentHell, the second volume, ''A Tale of The Future'', was finally released in English as a standalone in the early 2000s, mainly to cash in on the renewed interest in Creator/OsamuTezuka's work generated by the success of ''Anime/{{Metropolis}}''. It was thought a science fiction story would sell better with Western readers, as the first volume is a historical epic taking place in ancient Japan. Viz eventually gave the series a full release starting at volume one.

* The most famous example is the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, starting out with Episode IV with Episodes I-III and VII-IX written/filmed decades after the fact. Though this is also somewhat retroactive as ''A New Hope'' was simply labeled as ''Star Wars'' upon its first theatrical release.

* The first ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' film was [[NoExportForYou not released in China]] [[BannedInChina as the studio believed it had no chance of passing the Chinese censor board]]. However, the sequels would later be co-productions between the US, China and Japan and would be allowed to screen in Chinese cinemas, despite the fact that the first film never had an official Chinese release.

** If you want to get technical, ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' had its very first English dub in 1979, before any other part of the franchise, though said dub was rarely seen prior to Discotek's DVD release in 2013.

* When ''Anime/LupinIII'' was allowed to air on Creator/AdultSwim, Pioneer, the company dubbing it, chose [[Anime/LupinIIIPartII the second series]] rather than [[Anime/LupinIIIPart1 the first]]. The first series finally got released in North America by Creator/DiscotekMedia, but with subtitles only.
** If you wanna get technical, ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' had its very first English dub before any other part of the franchise, though said dub was rarely seen prior to Discotek's DVD release until 2013.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' was released after ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Generations Unite'' in Japan (January 2018 for ''World'' in all major regions, July 2017 for ''GU'' in Japan), but it's the other way around in the West (August 2018 for ''GU'' in North America and PAL territories).

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' wasn't released in South Korea because the UsefulNotes/WiiU wasn't, but the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' were.

* The Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} with ''VisualNovel/MahouTsukaiNoYoru''. It was the first entry to be written, then followed by its sequels (if indirect; the only major connection is how they follow up on the Aozaki sisters) ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' and ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. However, ''Mahou Tsukai no Yoru'' had trouble finding a publisher, leaving it in DevelopmentHell until 2012, around twenty years after it was written and its sequels were published.

* The American leg of the Music/{{Genesis}} ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' tour was scheduled to happen before the often difficult to follow ConceptAlbum had even been released in the US, since guitarist Steve Hackett had injured his hand late in rehearsals, thus requiring the band to change the tour dates so he could heal. The band ended up playing the entirety of the album to audiences who hadn't heard it yet and certainly weren't expecting [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible anything like that]].

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' (''MOTHER 2''), the second in the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series, and the first [[NoExportForYou (and originally, only)]] one to be released in the US. The original ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER|1}}'' was originally slated for a North American release under the title ''Earth Bound'' (two words), but was scrapped after being completed due to the company shifting focus to the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}}. When the prototype surfaced years later and made playable by the fan community, the game was called ''[=EarthBound=] Zero'' to avoid confusion. When Nintendo would officially release the finished version themselves in 2015, it was entitled ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings''.

* ''VideoGame/AtelierIris'' was the first of the ''Atelier'' series to be released outside of Japan. Its predecessors still haven't been.

* The ''VideoGame/EZ2DJ'' series did not receive any international releases until ''[=EZ2ON=] REBOOT : R'' in 2021, 21 years after the original ''[=EZ2DJ=]'' and 13 years after the first ''[=EZ2ON=]'' game. In fact, by the time of ''REBOOT : R'', the arcade ''[=EZ2DJ=]''/''[=EZ2AC=]'' line was already retired.