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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | %% Image kept on page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16787771440.48913300 |
| 7 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
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| 9 | [[quoteright:300:[[Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/negimabeforeafter_4.png]]]] |
| 10 | [[caption-width-right:300:[-Wait a minute, wasn't this supposed to be a {{harem|Genre}} comedy? ''[[TookALevelInBadass I-is that the same little boy?!]]''-]]] |
| 11 | %% |
| 12 | ->''[a montage of people driving in cars]''\ |
| 13 | '''Narrator:''' I am your permit, your license, your permission to drive. I am a privilege, and an obligation... Your obligation to drive skillfully, carefully, and legally.\ |
| 14 | ''[someone suddenly gets into a car crash, with quick cuts to up-close shots of innocent bystanders reacting, before settling on a long shot of a traffic light in a fog of smoke]''\ |
| 15 | '''Josh Way:''' Suddenly, Creator/FritzLang's directing! ...''[sigh]'' It's no time to get arty, movie. |
| 16 | -->-- ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe9043jM1vk "Fun With Shorts: Your Permit to Drive"]]'' |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Controversial or extremely different ideas are very hard to get past sponsors and audiences suspicious of anything new and unfamiliar. An easy if sneaky way around this is merely to present the beginning of the story as something familiar. However, once the main plot kicks in, your audience is hopefully loyal enough not to notice the quick shift in tone and pacing. If you did it well, in hindsight they might notice little hints you dropped about what was to come. As a side effect, the story will probably also undergo MoodWhiplash. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Genre Shifts are sometimes used in {{Sequel}} stories. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Genre Shifts sometimes occur at the ends of a series when the writers finally get around to [[WriterOnBoard soapboxing their opinions]]. Many fluffy, over-the-top comedies will suddenly find their last episode making an attempt at drama. On the other hand, some cutesy or romance-based stories can experience Genre Shift simply because they start running so long the writer figured if they have to derail the original plot, they might as well do it with something creative. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | It ''is'' possible for this to work, as long as the creators know what they're doing, and it can pay off quite well at times. Usually, however, this requires planning it from the start, allowing the Writers to [[{{Foreshadowing}} set it up]] ahead of time so it doesn't feel like it [[AssPull comes out of nowhere]]. Because of their sudden onset, Genre Shifts motivated by ExecutiveMeddling are likely doomed. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Even worse is if a genre shift is used as [[DeusExMachina the solution to a plot point]], which just feels tacky. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | If this happens only once in a series before reverting back to the main genre, it's an OutOfGenreExperience. If it happens before the work is released to the public, it's a case of MidDevelopmentGenreShift. If it suddenly ends up being a horror story, possibly even a CosmicHorrorStory, without much foreshadowing, that’s DisguisedHorrorStory and CosmicHorrorReveal. If it happens during one specific installment (such as an episode of a series), then it's a HalfwayPlotSwitch. In the middle of a song, it can be SongStyleShift. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Not to be confused with ArtShift, GenreRoulette or GenreTurningPoint. Compare with ToneShift, where the [[SortingAlgorithmOfTropes tone]] is what changes, and CerebusSyndrome, where the story/series becomes more dramatic over time. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | ---- |
| 33 | !!Example subpages: |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[index]] |
| 36 | * GenreShift/AnimeAndManga |
| 37 | * [[GenreShift/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]] |
| 38 | * GenreShift/{{Literature}} |
| 39 | * GenreShift/LiveActionTV |
| 40 | * GenreShift/{{Music}} |
| 41 | * GenreShift/VideoGames |
| 42 | [[/index]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | !!Other examples: |
| 45 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 48 | * AT&T has an ad campaign involving the commercials beginning with one specific genre and then transitioning to another one halfway through in order to advertise the variety of movies that come with their unlimited plans. The genres are picked to be as unexpected as possible to make the transitions more of a surprise and include numerous visual and audio cues representative of each genre (usually the lighting and score) to help viewers ease into them. |
| 49 | ** [[https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34593767/att-cinema-surprise "Surprise"]] starts as a romantic comedy with the female lead getting onto the airplane that the male lead is on right before it takes off and confesses her love to him, turning into a horror movie when she turns into a zombie while they're driving. |
| 50 | ** [[https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34593766/the-bus "The Bus"]] starts as a suspense thriller with a bus driving through a mountain pass getting derailed and hanging off the edge of a cliff, but turns into a musical with a number about the passengers all getting out of the bus safely and celebrating their survival. |
| 51 | ** [[https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34593768/the-shot "The Shot"]] starts as a sports movie about a high school basketball player leading his team to victory after scoring the winning point at the last minute, turning into sci-fi when two mysterious agents show up in the locker room, fight with the student, who is revealed to be a robot after he gets knocked out during the fight. |
| 52 | ** [[https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34595335/train "Train"]] starts as a Western about a group of robbers setting off some dynamite on a train track to derail an upcoming locomotive, only to turn into an animated family film after the train gets derailed, with the train cars becoming anthropomorphic and getting themselves back on the tracks. |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 56 | * The [[InternationalCoproduction South Korean/Canadian]] series ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'' was originally a superhero show where the Borys would fight off the evil Gurys with superpowers based off of the five human senses (hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch). Then there came a [[NoExportForYou Korea-exclusive]] second season called ''Animation/ToobaToobaNoonbory'', which scraps the superhero plot entirely, inclduing ridding the Borys of their powers, in favor of SliceOfLife stories. |
| 57 | * While the comedy element of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' remains consistent, the series gradually becomes more centered on sci-fi and fantasy action plots compared to the earlier, much simpler slapstick seasons. Besides that, the series also shifts to a sports story twice, once in the second season ''Pleasant Goat Sports Game'' and again in the later basketball-based season ''Dunk for Victories'' (and by extension, its accompanying movie ''Dunk for Future''). |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 61 | * During the tail end of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, many superhero characters were changed to civilian detectives, adventurers, horror hosts, etc, to accommodate the changing tastes of the reading public. Earlier, something similar happened to many non-superhero characters who went from pulp-style adventurers to pulp-style adventurers ''in tights''. |
| 62 | ** A character known as Phantom Falcon stands out because he went through both - he began as a non-costumed air ace, turned into a superhero after being presumed dead and then turned into a civilian detective. |
| 63 | ** The Crimson Avenger and Wing started off as {{Exp|y}}ies of Radio/TheGreenHornet and Kato, complete with Wing wearing a [[BattleButler chauffeur's uniform]] and a DominoMask. When Franchise/{{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Robin}} started becoming more popular, the two became more traditional superheroes and started wearing proper costumes. |
| 64 | ** The Black Hood gets an odd one in the very last issue of his Golden Age run when a villain unmasks him and he dropped the costume to become a civilian detective. The 'civilian detective' direction continued for a few back-up stories in Pep Comics. |
| 65 | ** Comicbook/TheSpectre went from being a dark supernatural hero to being a guardian angel for "Percival Popp, Super Cop!" |
| 66 | ** The original ''Comicbook/BlueBeetle'' title had the character in a FilmNoir setting and a CoatHatMask costume. He was later changed to a more traditional superhero, started wearing [[SuperheroesWearTights tights]], and now had superpowers granted to him by a magical scarab. |
| 67 | ** When the franchise was revived ''again'' in the 60's, Creator/SteveDitko killed off the original Comicbook/BlueBeetle and introduced his [[LegacyCharacter successor]], Ted Kord, who was more in line with the popular superheroes of the era like ComicBook/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Batman}}. |
| 68 | * ''Comicbook/AmeliaRules'' shifted from wacky comedy about a girl moving to a new town and making quirky friends to an emotional SliceOfLife ComingOfAgeStory about halfway through its run. |
| 69 | * ''ComicBook/AquamanSwordOfAtlantis'' is a twofold example. The first half of the series was HighFantasy, which was unusual for the Aquaman franchise, while the back half of the work shifted genres to science fiction and more traditional hero fare. |
| 70 | * ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' has a meta-example -- Creator/KurtBusiek has noted that Max O'Millions, an Honor Guard member in TheFifties and TheSixties, started life as an [[DirectLineToTheAuthor "Astro Comics"]] non-superhero character similar to ComicBook/RichieRich. He was retooled into a superhero when they came back into vogue, in homage to a similar retooling for characters like ComicBook/MartianManhunter. |
| 71 | * ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'' starts out seeming like a standard superhero story, albeit one with an unusually large cosmic scale. Than as things progress and [[FromBadToWorse the Incursions and other threats get worse]], it becomes clear you're ''actually'' reading a CosmicHorrorStory that just happens to include superheroes. The [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism contrast]] between the early and later parts of the story is highlighted when Captain America gives a passionate, epic speech about how he saves worlds and will find a way to save everyone. Previous, similar speeches had been treated as rightfully awe-inspiring and hopeful. This speech? Kang bluntly tells Cap that nobody cares and that his HeroicWillpower won't stop the Incursions. |
| 72 | * ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' starts out as a silly gag comic about three cartoon characters ending up in a strange land, but slowly reveals itself to be a sprawling, ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''-inspired LowFantasy story. Creator/JeffSmith did this deliberately, figuring it would be better to ease readers into the MythArc over time instead of throwing them right in. |
| 73 | * ''Comicbook/CerebusTheAardvark'', which went from adventure-parody to straight-adventure, to... well, no one's quite sure ''what'' it ended up as. |
| 74 | * ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' in his early days dealt with street-level crime but had none of the gritty crime-noir feel that Creator/FrankMiller brought to the table during his run. |
| 75 | * ''ComicBook/GIJoe2016'' moves from the [[DarkerAndEdgier dark, realistic]] military science fiction of [[ComicBook/GIJoeIDW the previous IDW series]] to a DenserAndWackier sci-fi adventure inspired by [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero the Sunbow cartoon]]. |
| 76 | * When atmospheric (and occasionally supernatural) western title ''ComicBook/JonahHex'' ended its eight-year run in 1985, DC published a followup series called ''Hex'', about the gunfighter getting sucked into a time rift and stranded in the post-apocalyptic 2050s. |
| 77 | * ''Comicbook/MillieTheModel'' was a humor feature that became a romance-adventure in the mid-1960s, then shifted back to humor. |
| 78 | * Creator/GrantMorrison seems to enjoy switching up or tweaking the genres of any previously-established characters they write on, largely to reinvent the characters and "revitalize" the story. Some examples: |
| 79 | ** [[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Under their pen]], ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' shifted from a noir-style detective series with superhero styling to a ''Literature/DocSavage''-style, globe-trotting pulp adventure series. The plot changed from Batman fighting local crime in Gotham to Batman travelling the world to create a globalized crime-fighting force while trying to solve an AncientConspiracy. |
| 80 | ** In [[ComicBook/NewXMen their run]] on ''ComicBook/XMen'', they deliberately shifted the book away from the superhero genre, making it more of a general Sci-Fi adventure series. The plot changed accordingly, becoming about the X-Men dealing with mutant-related crimes and conflicts rather than fighting mutant-themed supervillains. |
| 81 | ** Their run on ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' took the book from standard Silver Age superheroing to...very much not that. |
| 82 | * Under Nunzio [=DeFilippis=] and Christina Weir, ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'' was essentially a teen drama WITH SUPERPOWERS! When Craig Kyle and Chris Yost took over, it rather abruptly (and with lots of StuffBlowingUp) became a more standard superhero comic. |
| 83 | * This trope was probably the single biggest problem with ''ComicBook/NovasAventurasDeMegaMan'', an infamous Brazilian comic that [[ExecutiveMeddling Capcom actually authorized]]. The writers have actually ''admitted'' to changing the genre nearly every issue, because they wanted to see which sort of storylines the readers liked best. As such, one comic could be a flashback to a horrifying backstory about Roll's mind being taken from a young girl whom an evil scientist murdered for his mad robotics experiment, while another could be an anything goes, LargeHam comedy with NoFourthWall. By the time it settled into the action-adventure style of plot, most readers had probably dropped it in frustration. |
| 84 | * Likewise, fellow Marvel girl comic ''ComicBook/PatsyWalker'' went the romance-adventure route during the same time period. Amusingly, her books were cancelled around the time Millie's books shifted back. Oddly enough, the character herself went through a genre shift when she became a superheroine and member of both ComicBook/TheDefenders and ComicBook/TheAvengers. She no longer had a series at this point, but the contrast was jarring. |
| 85 | * ''ComicBook/{{Reyn}}'' starts off as a typical medieval fantasy with a few sci-fi elements mixed in. By chapter five, it shifts into a full-on sci-fi when the fifth issue reveals that [[spoiler:the whole story takes place on a giant spaceship thousands of years in the future]]. |
| 86 | * ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' starts out as a horror comic firmly entrenched in Franchise/TheDCU and gradually becomes a character-driven fantasy epic with only occasional {{continuity nod}}s to other DC characters. |
| 87 | * ''ComicBook/{{Savage}}'' starts off as an AlternateHistory action series, with technology slightly more advanced than the present day. Around 2009 or 2010, it shifts to full-on ScienceFiction, with teleporting tigers and the predecessors of the ''ComicBook/ABCWarriors'' appearing. |
| 88 | * The initial ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'' miniseries was a {{Slapstick}} LoveTriangle comedy. When creator Terry Moore launched the ongoing series, he added a crime drama plot, and subsequent arcs alternated between this and the WillTheyOrWontThey love triangle story, which also took on a more serious tone. Then, about two-thirds of the way through, Moore wrapped up the criminal conspiracy plot and for the remainder of the series focused on the romance story which soon expanded into a LoveDodecahedron. |
| 89 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': The ''ComicBook/Superboy1949'' book starts off as a mix of standard super-hero story and sitcom antics, set in a quaint Midwestern town, where Superboy mainly deals with crooks, corrupt businessmen, jerkasses, meddlesome love interests and the occasional supervillain. As the 50s and 60s chug along, though, more sci-fi elements become mixed in, and by the time the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes become co-stars, the book has fully transitioned into a sci-fi PlanetaryRomance starring super-heroes in the far-flung future. |
| 90 | * Even though ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' was already a fantasy magical girl comic series for young girls, it was originally intended to be a darker in tone. However, after the 2nd issue, Disney removed the original creators (granted, artist team Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa were already planning on leaving anyway due to the struggles involved in getting Disney to give the comic a chance) and the tone was lightened, and the target demographic dropped from teenagers to preteens: |
| 91 | -->''"We conceived of "W.I.T.C.H." together with Elisabetta Gnone, the then director of girls publications for Disney. We worked for three years in secret on it and she then presented the project to the big bosses at Disney. They thought that this project was crazy, a sure-fire bomb, complete waste of time, and that mangas wouldn't have a chance in Europe anyway (!!!). However, we didn't let ourselves be led astray and worked for another year on it anyway, with a tiny budget and without publicity. And then the series became a worldwide hit. The official version from Disney is, of course, that "W.I.T.C.H." is a product of their brilliant, visionary marketing strategy...the end of the series was then taken out of our hands, we actually had something a lot more intelligent planned for it. Now, as you can see, Elisabetta Gnone and the two of us no longer work for Disney...a really sad story."'' |
| 92 | * ''ComicBook/{{Zero}}'' goes from spy fiction to a metafictional meditation on violence and war. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 96 | * ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'' started out with the title character as a single woman with a string of suitors, with the fabulously wealthy Dagwood Bumstead as just one. When they got married, Dagwood was disinherited, shifting the strip from flapper comedy to everyday struggles. |
| 97 | * Chester Gould's strange twist of ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' from crime drama (albeit with futuristic technology) to science fiction is one of the most infamous genre shifts of all time. |
| 98 | * The first few years of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' focused on the daily life of the titular cynical cat and his long-suffering everyman owner Jon. Then in the mid 1980s the strip adopted a light surrealist style, with Garfield becoming a playful CloudCuckooLander and Jon becoming a lovable loser, and started to focus on their interactions with the other equally-bizarre inhabitants of the strip. This iteration lasted until the late 1990s, when the strip became {{flanderiz|ation}}ed into a strange hybrid of the first and second iterations, with Garfield regaining his older cynical personality but with Jon keeping his loser characterization. |
| 99 | * During the Great Depression, a good number of comic strips shifted from domestic comedy to comedic adventure. |
| 100 | [[/folder]] |
| 101 | |
| 102 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 103 | * ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': The original source was a story about a devil child. The work itself transforms this first into a drama about the suffering of a girl, then into a detective story about the investigation of her murder, and in the end it all ends with a fantastic story about virtual reality. |
| 104 | * ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': This story is a sequel to “A Throne of Bayonets”, a military fiction thriller set in a post-apocalyptic setting. ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'' adds a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy tropes, featuring physical gods, intergalactic empires, dimensional and time travelling, space-ships, power armours… the shift is so abrupt and unexpected than it adds coolness to the story. |
| 105 | * ''Fanfic/TheWritingOnTheWall'' starts out as a story about AdventurerArchaeologist JustForFun/DaringDo exploring an AncientTomb with a group of fellow archaeologists. The story proceeds as normal, using many of the usual tropes, including the protagonist's rival showing up, capturing them and the site, and trying to seize it for themselves. The ending reveals that everyone was WrongGenreSavvy about the place; it is not an AncientTomb at all, and the eponymous writing on the wall was not a curse meant to scare away tomb robbers, but a warning as to the dangers of disturbing what the place was built to contain, and it is actually a {{Horror}} story. |
| 106 | * ''Fanfic/RacerAndTheGeek'' is currently undergoing a transition from romcom to drama. Just compare [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/1/racer-and-the-geek/predawn this]] to [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/7/racer-and-the-geek/teatime this.]] |
| 107 | * ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/404359/1/Gaijin Gaijin]]'' started as a darkly comic SelfInsertFic in which the SI character was essentially Murphy's Law incarnate (''despite'' being more powerful than he had any right to be). Then he started disguising himself as ComicBook/SpiderMan. Then more analogues of Marvel characters started appearing, such as the ComicBook/FantasticFour and "Tako-sama" (ComicBook/DoctorOctopus)... |
| 108 | * ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'' starts off as a fairly generic, albeit a little over-the-top, ''Literature/HarryPotter'' badfic with the [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls usual focus on relationships, clothing and teen popular culture]]. Then it gradually turns into a surrealistic mish-mash of fanfic clichés and confused plot points involving such things as TimeTravel -- sort of like a badfic version of ''Series/{{Lost}}''. |
| 109 | * ''Fanfic/UndocumentedFeatures'' started off as a joke, a corny self-insert fic in which college students launch part of their dormitory into space to fight anime villains. It quickly went GrimDark with the "Exile" plot, stabilized into an odd mash-up of science-fiction adventure, has intermittently gone SongFic, and has dipped into romantic fantasy with the "Symphony of the Sword" plot. |
| 110 | * The Spanish-language ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fic called, unoriginally [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5125713/1/El_de_Haruhi_Suzumiya El ... de Haruhi Suzumiya]] starts out as your ordinary OC-with-[[SailorEarth new-powers]]-joins-the-SOS-Brigade fare, albeit with the twist that the OC's powers are rarely used. Then, the characters all graduate and join the [[AuthorAppeal military]] [[spoiler: [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] At that point, the genre shifts to war story and then to SpaceOpera, with the characters fighting [[HordeofAlienLocusts insectoid aliens]] who destroy one of Earth's cities. Also, the OC from earlier reappears with a [[{{Cyborg}} bionic arm]], and their [[CasualInterstellarTravel faster-than-light]] spacecraft is so luxurious it has a ''[[SerialEscalation miniature shopping mall]]'' inside]]. The author expects his reviewers to understand what's going on, but he still has not provided a convincing explanation for the sudden shift in tone. |
| 111 | * The ''Anime/CodeGeass'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4456924/1/ Code Geass: Infinity]]'' starts out as a regular FixFic AU, where [[spoiler: Shirley doesn't die and she helps Lelouch in the Black Knights; but then, when the fic starts to deal with the origins of Geass, the genre shifts to a Franchise/FinalFantasy-esque plot, where in the end Lelouch must battle an OneWingedAngel EldritchAbomination to save the world.]] The fic itself is [[SoOkayItsAverage not bad]] but if it were as complex as ''Fanfic/CodeGeassLelouchOfBritannia'', it could easily be the ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' of the fandom. |
| 112 | * The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8896096/1/ The Biggest Fan]]'' starts as a parody of SelfInsert fics with a passionate but [[NiceGuy kind]] fan of the game wakes up in the body of Conrad Verner. [[spoiler:Then in the second chapter, the fic jumps into a full deconstruction with Conrad mourning the fact that he will never see his wife and this continues in the third chapter, with him becoming the CassandraTruth about the Reapers and starts to lose the memories of his life on the real word]]. |
| 113 | * Creator/HansVonHozel's ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' and ''Film/TheRoom2003'' fics abruptly turn to sci-fi in midstream. |
| 114 | * ''Fanfic/APeccatis'' keeps switching unpredictably between police procedural and political conspiracy thriller. |
| 115 | * The writer of ''Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat'' stated it's The first half of the story is basically written in two parts: The first half of the story is much more focused on the Bat family in their personal, non-costumed lives, Cassandra’s being the most significant. The second half becomes more a more traditional action story. In a sense, the first half is more of a Cassandra story, while the second half is moreso a Batgirl/Angel story. |
| 116 | * ''Fanfic/HotspringSouls'', a ''Soulsborne'' (''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', and ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'') crossover comedy fic, starts out as a standard HotSpringsEpisode, then turns into a [[InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha giant robot anime]] halfway through. |
| 117 | * With the introduction of more mystical elements to Westeros, the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fic ''Fanfic/RobbReturns'' changes Ice and Fire's DarkFantasy into a more traditional HighFantasy. |
| 118 | * The first two installments of Creator/PeterChimaera's ''[[Fanfic/PeterChimaerasDigimonTrilogy Digimon Trilogy]]'' are epic battles of good versus evil, in which Digimon has to save the world from evil beings who plan to destroy the entire infrastructure of society. The third part is more of a mystery, in which Digimon uncovers a conspiracy in which the FBI plays a central role. |
| 119 | * ''Deliberately Invoked'' in ''Fanfic/HowToDrillYourWayThroughYourProblems'', a ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' Self-Insert]] fanfiction. The setting is that of Worm, which is a grimdark superhero story, where the "SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids" trope is one of the cornerstones of the setting... which makes it all the more jarring that Will Carran, the SI, has been given Spiral Power. From ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. The setting that took "SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers" very seriously and added fire and giant robots. |
| 120 | * ''Fanfic/PerfectDiamondWorld'' starts off as a typical historical drama ''Frozen'' fic where someone finds out about Elsa and Anna's incestous SecretRelationship. Then, partway through the first story, it takes a shift to fantasy when the ship gets attacked by the ''Peter Pan'' pirates. From then the story shifts genres from grounded to fantastical, with [[spoiler:Elsa and Anna running off to an alternate universe]] and later [[spoiler:finding out they're half-god]], ending in them [[spoiler:killing their evil god grandfather]]. |
| 121 | * The three stories in the ''Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat'' trilogy differ from their two companion pieces on the SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic. The original story has a few supernatural elements that are genuine, but most of the rest are down to personal interpretation. The first sequel, ''Times of Heresy'', is almost completely grounded, if still indulgent in superhero action. The third story, ''Da Pacem Domine'', goes full fantasy, featuring magic and demons. |
| 122 | * Due to the fact that the concept (both literally and figuratively) of TheMultiverse is entwined into its plot, ''{{Roleplay/Communication}}'' has more often than not experienced a change in genres and even mediums, it being at its most notable when we from one iteration to the next. So far it has gone from a {{Grimdark}} {{Superhero}} webseries, to a [[DarkerAndEdgier Dark]] MagicalGirl {{Anime}}, and ''then'' to a [[StandardFantasySetting standard fantasy]] [[LightNovels Light Novel]]. |
| 123 | * This is mentioned in-universe in ''Fanfic/LoveIsAFunnyThing''. Jem and the Holograms have to change their sound as the 1980s changes to the 1990s. Their signature level of pop is just too dated for '90s crowds. In contrast, The Stingers changed little because their sound is still popular and their niche rarely goes out of fashion. Later in the story, however, Jem and the Holograms shift back to their original style while The Stingers become more grunge. |
| 124 | * ''Fanfic/ThePokemonSquad'' was initially targeted at a younger audience. As RM got older, the series also began to aim at a more adult audience. In turn, the humor became noticably raunchier (which was outright admitted in the second Q&A session), while becoming less off-the-walls. |
| 125 | ** The difference between the earlier and later episodes was brought up in "Cigarette Ash", where RM asks Larry why they have to do an anti-smoking PSA, given that Season 1 was the only season aimed at children. |
| 126 | * Justified in ''Fanfic/RouletteWheelOfFate'' by the Protagonist changing. Luo Binghe's laser-focus interest in courting his shizun meant ''Scumbag System'' was a tragic romance full of misunderstandings; Liu Qingge's more martial nature pushes the romance in the backseat (even if it stays quite prominent) for a DarkFantasy in which the main goal is to annihilate the demon emperor. |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 130 | * The ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' franchise started out as a racing film with the [[WesternAnimation/Cars1 first movie]]; in ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' it became an action-spy film; in ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', [[ZigZaggedTrope it became a racing film again]], and a much more dramatic one at that. |
| 131 | * Creator/DreamWorksAnimation: Originally, [=DreamWorks=] focused on sweeping epics, and more serious stories such as ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. These unfortunately fell under the umbrella of AllAnimationIsDisney. Now, barring some of their more [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1 recent]] [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010 efforts]], it can be hard to remember when their films weren't based primarily on pop-culture references and heavily marketed celebrity voice-acting. As alluded before, however, [=DreamWorks=] shifted once again, with its movies once more taking themselves seriously while remaining healthily comedic. While still not quite as serious as ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', the tone generally leans towards what was seen in ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado''. |
| 132 | * ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats: The Dog's Tale'' movie starts out as slapstick, then turns into an adventure film. |
| 133 | * ''Franchise/TheLionKing'' |
| 134 | ** A particularly famous example of this trope: The first third or so of ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' focuses mainly on Simba's lighthearted escapades around his father's domain, with a tone and style typical of any Disney-made comedy. [[MoodWhiplash Then Scar kills Mufasa]] [[GutPunch and makes Simba think it was his own fault]]. The rest of the film becomes a practical drama that deals with Simba's guilt and his need to fulfill his destiny by kicking Scar off the throne of Pride Rock. [[HakunaMatata Though lighthearted elements are still present]]. |
| 135 | ** The first three films are set in a mostly realistic setting, with no magical elements except for talking animals and [[spoiler: Mufuasa]] appearing as a ghost. ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' adds a dash of fantasy to the setting. Simba's son has some kind of magic superpower known as the "Roar of the Elders.' He roars like a adult lion despite being a cub while the ghosts of the kings of the past roar with him in the sky, causing wind so strong it can blow the target away. He can talk to Mufuasa's ghost whenever he wills. The paw prints marking the Lion Guard appeared supernaturally. Rafiki is also shown magically cleaning up a cave, and making a pool of water appear in it out of nowhere with his staff. |
| 136 | * ''{{WesternAnimation/Mulan}}'' starts off as a typical Franchise/DisneyPrincess Animated Musical... but after we see soldiers sing a cheerful song about the girls worth fighting for, [[spoiler: they find out that the Huns have already destroyed the village they're supposed to save]] and the movie stops being a musical altogether (the characters no longer break into song afterwards, and the last three songs, a TriumphantReprise of "I'll Make a Man out of You", and the end credits music don't even count). |
| 137 | * The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' movies are mostly HighSchoolAU with some Main/MagicalGirl elements. The third movie, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'', adds in a few action and science-fiction elements, including talks of alternate worlds, advanced technological devices that could steal magic [[spoiler:and the villain of the story causing a RealityBleed between both worlds.]] |
| 138 | * The infamous ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' actually goes from a zany slapstick cartoon to a generic [[AllAnimationIsDisney '90s Disney Renaissance]] [[FollowTheLeader cash-in film]] within the first few minutes! |
| 139 | * ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'' starts out as a cheery musical film about cute talking dinosaurs, but about halfway through the film, it turns into an animated horror film about an evil scientist and his CircusOfFear. |
| 140 | * ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' starts off a soul-searching Disney flick, moves into a parody of the "FirstPersonShooter" game, and then goes to "conspiracy movie" when the stars land in ''Sugar Rush''. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 144 | * ''Literature/GirlsKingdom'' starts off as a standard SchoolgirlSeries, before switching to an UrbanFantasy schoolgirl series halfway through the third book, when one prominent character is revealed to be a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire. The urban fantasy aspects only become prominent in the fourth book, however, when a Vampire Hunter makes her move. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Pinball]] |
| 148 | * While ''Pinball/{{Fireball}}'' was a fairly conventional electro-mechanical pinball [[NoPlotNoProblem without any real plot]], for some reason the sequel was advertised as part of Bally's "Superhero Series". |
| 149 | [[/folder]] |
| 150 | |
| 151 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 152 | * ''Podcast/DiceFunk'' is ostensibly a comedy with a fantasy setting, but Episode 9 makes a hard right into horror. |
| 153 | * ''Podcast/Wolf359'' begins as a sci-fi comedy, and then suddenly adds drama and mystery at the end of the first season. |
| 154 | * Episode one of the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Bloody Mooney'' is very zany, and episode two starts similarly with JT doing a sweet dance move to distract the government agents. Then Keri finds a blood-covered blanket hanging from the lights in her room, and blood all over Mooney's face. And one of her twin brothers missing. [[spoiler: The other twin does show up. However, Keri's mother is not so lucky. From then on it's almost straight 80s horror.]] |
| 155 | * The first two seasons of the ''Juno Steel'' storyline of ''Podcast/ThePenumbraPodcast'' are a FantasticNoir, focusing on a detective solving crimes in the largest city on Mars. But then [[spoiler:Juno and Rita leave Mars for good in the Season 2 finale]], and as of season 3 it's shifted to become a SpaceOpera centered around a six-person EnsembleCast. |
| 156 | [[/folder]] |
| 157 | |
| 158 | [[folder:Print Media]] |
| 159 | * ''Billboard'' was originally a magazine dedicated to bill posting back in 1894. It evolved in the 1920s to advertise circuses, carnivals, fairs, and vaudeville shows, and continued to shift to a more entertainment-driven focus in the 1930s. By the 1940s, they began issuing music charts. The shift was completed in 1961, when the magazine moved entirely to publication of music charts and music industry-related news. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 163 | * Championship Wrestling From Florida went from a regional territory in the 1950s featuring matches made up mostly of mat wrestling, to a premier member of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance in the 1970s-80s that featured a very rough mix of grappling and brawling alongside such angles as a Satanic {{cult}}, to the FCW super indie in the late 1980s that relied more on showcasing hyped up wrestlers and angles from elsewhere with very few regulars (which briefly took back the CWF name in 2003), to a developmental brand in the late 2000s whose purpose was to send wrestlers elsewhere that was much more consistent in tone than its super indie days but much cleaner and more watered down from its NWA heyday. |
| 164 | * [[Wrestling/{{FMW}} Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling]] ''started out'' as an anything goes martial arts vs pro wrestling company but increasingly the "anything goes" started to push out the "martial arts", eventually becoming {{blood sport}} featuring all kinds of {{improvised weapon}}s, [[InterestingSituationDuel fights happening in all sorts of locations]] and all sorts of pro wrestling styles not usually found together on a single card. Then Kodo Fuyuki became booker to a more angle/story driven product with more homogenized wrestling but wilder and more shocking publicity stunts. The {{revival}} is closer to the blood sport, many styles anything goes approach but still has some nods to the "sports entertainment" era. |
| 165 | * IWA Japan started out as a violent garbage fed but in the long run it proved unable to compete directly with FMW on that front and became a more comedy driven product. |
| 166 | * In the mid 1990s, [[Wrestling/{{ECW}} Eastern Championship Wrestling]] was the flagship of the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance, featuring some silly [[TheGimmick gimmicks]] but mostly no nonsense technical wrestling matches. ''Then'' a certain Wrestling/ShaneDouglas promo was cut and {{garbage wrestler}}s began to multiply within the roster. Although this wasn't entirely by design. The company was still centered around technical wrestlers, and many wrestlers from Japan and luchadors from Mexico who were well versed in styles other than garbage were also brought in, it's just ''those'' wrestlers got poached by Wrestling/{{WCW}}, so hardcore violence ended up being ECW's legacy. |
| 167 | * Wrestling/{{CZW}} went from BackyardWrestling, to ECW imitator, to a more regulated, if highly divided by factions, sports fed that just so happened to regularly sanction garbage wrestling. |
| 168 | * Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling's infamous "Puroresu Love" period was a major genre shift away from the highly regulated, formal approach Giant Baba had as booker to a much sillier angle driven approach mandated by Wrestling/KeijiMutoh on account the old approach would no longer work for them when [[Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH NOAH]] was also using it with most of what used to be All Japan's roster. NOAH's decline and Muto's departure saw an attempted return to form. |
| 169 | * Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling dramatically switched from a promotion based around kicks, submission holds and junior heavyweight athletics lightened by comic relief and strange gimmicks to a "shoot" promotion that pitted pro wrestlers against judoka, mixed martial artists and such in a period known as "Inokism". This proved to be failure, with NJPW switching back and the "Inokism" approach finding more success in IGF. |
| 170 | * Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1 was initially a Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto VanityProject about his rise back to the top to defeat the shooters that had knocked him low (teaming up with [[Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa the most infamous]] of them [[RivalsTeamUp at one point]]) with some strong style matches and NWA stuff on the under card. There were always weird things down there, such as [[GarbageWrestler FMW wrestlers]] Atsushi Onita, Wrestling/MasatoTanaka, Mr Gannosuke, [[WrestlingDoesntPay pornstar]] Chocoball Mukai and an entry in the "Differ Cup" {{crossover}} that saw Stalker Ichikawa beaten up for [[TooDumbToLive groping]] Wrestling/AmazingKong. But it wasn't until Hashimoto died that things went [[LaterInstallmentWeirdness off rails]] with, DistaffCounterpart shows, Holiday Festivals, other sport showcases, "friendship" shows for foreign promotions, Munenori Sawa brought in his Lingerie Muto {{parody}} of [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Muto]]. |
| 171 | * Wrestling/RingOfHonor increasingly moved away from the super indie it was at its inception towards the model of a more grounded wrestling promotion with a larger regular roster, more schedule and intermediate events in between larger shows while also relaxing some of the strict conduct enforcement that distinguished it from the other super indies somewhat(which makes sense, seeing as it no longer qualified). |
| 172 | * EVOLVE went from a highly strict and regulated promotion with harsh punishment for violators with a constantly changing hierarchy based around mixed style fights to a very loosely enforced fed which {{power stable}}s run rampant over (basically diet Wrestling/DragonGate, to the point it ''ate'' DG USA). From there it found itself in the strange position as a shill for larger companies like Flo Sports and WWE developmental while at the same time trying to attract ''their'' fans to independent wrestling. |
| 173 | * Wrestling/NXT began as a hybrid reality show/wrestling show in which FCW {{revival}} wrestlers (AKA the Rookies) are paired with the WWE main roster wrestlers (AKA the Pros) where the winner received either a championship match or a main roster contract. But in the summer of 2012, WWE NXT replaced FCW as WWE's developmental brand where many of the matches got rave reviews, not just the men but the women as well. |
| 174 | * Speaking of WWE's female talents, when the WWE Divas Division was rebranded as the WWE Women's Division in the spring of 2016 thanks in large part to the Four Horsewomen (Wrestling/SashaBanks, Wrestling/BeckyLynch, Wrestling/{{Bayley}} and Wrestling/CharlotteFlair), the WWE phased out much of the eye candy stuff in favor of more edgy women with unique characters. In addition, there are multiple women's storylines, matches being much longer and competing in matches that were previously open to only male wrestlers such as the Royal Rumble match, the Elimination Chamber match, the Money in the Bank ladder match and the Hell in a Cell match, among others. |
| 175 | [[/folder]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 178 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 179 | ** Adventure S3 ''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'' starts off as a standard "clean out the monster-filled dungeon" scenario. After the {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs enter, they discover that the dungeon is actually part of a derelict spacecraft and they're fighting alien monsters armed with high-tech weapons. |
| 180 | ** The 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide had advice for sending a party of {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs (whose players were playing a fantasy RPG) to TheWildWest, an AfterTheEnd setting or adventuring on a derelict starship. Each possibility used one of Creator/{{TSR}}'s other games as the basis for the new setting (''TabletopGame/BootHill'', ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' and ''TabletopGame/MetamorphosisAlpha'', respectively. |
| 181 | * TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} Started off as a {{Deconstruction}} of fantasy with a PulpFantasy feel, then faded DarkerAndEdgier and ultimately {{Grimdark}}. The latter parts of Second Edition went into a [[WorldOfBadass gonzo high-powered direction]] around Infernals, and a third edition has been stated with the intent of returning to the Pulp roots of the game. |
| 182 | * ''Lesser Shades Of Evil'' -- the book ''begins'' with a disclaimer telling would-be [=PCs=] not to read any further, which is setting them up to make blessed champions of the gods in a high fantasy setting, then face all of the following in ''the very first session'': that was all centuries ago, their powers are all genetic engineering and nanomachines, the intervening time has moved the setting AfterTheEnd... and the idyllic fantasy setting was after a separate, ''earlier'', end. Also, their main superpower is creating multiple bodies for themselves. After this exposition-heavy first session (which fast-forwards the [=PCs=] through their actions over these hundreds of years), one assumes the players are meant to go home and contemplate why any of that was kept secret if it were just going to be revealed as soon as they made their characters, anyway. |
| 183 | * In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' expansion ''Zendikar'', the first two sets of the block are about adventure and surivial on a Death World. The last set turns it into a CosmicHorrorStory. |
| 184 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': |
| 185 | ** The primary campaign setting, Golarion, has different nations that could be considered a FantasyCounterpartCulture [[FantasyKitchenSink Kitchen Sink]], with regions that resemble colonial America, revolutionary France, the Wild West, Transylvania, the Conan mythos, Darkest Africa, etc, allowing for vastly different story genres. Perhaps the most out of place one (in a typical fantasy RPG anyway) is Numeria, which similar to the "Barrier Peaks" D&D example above involves a crashed alien spaceship, futuristic technology, and all sorts of robots and GreenRocks. |
| 186 | ** They also created rulebooks for the other planets in Golarion's solar system--one is populated by alien-worshipping robots who don't understand their own technology, another is the undead ruins of a planet that destroyed itself when it used a superweapon on a neighboring world. The gas giants have merging gas-creatures as the primary form of life, while their (many) moons serve as more conventional adventuring worlds. A planet tidally locked to the sun has one side that is murderously hot and another that is equally cold, permitting life only in the border between them--this planet is an actively space-faring culture. Another world is a jungle-planet of psychics, while near the outer edges of the system is a planet that is actually just a rocky crust over a gigantic spaceship meant to collect genetic samples. And on the very outmost part is a world that may be a living creature--and an EldritchAbomination to boot, and it serves as a central point of the cultists of the Lovecraftian entities of the Dark Tapestry (this is meant in the most literal manner possible. The presence of the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones is canon). |
| 187 | ** Many of the Adventure Path's represent different genres. Iron Gods is Science Fantasy (set in the aforementioned Numeria), Mummy's Mask is an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' style archeological adventure, Skull & Shackles is piracy on the high seas, Reign of Winter starts as a take on Russian fairy tales then turns into a world hopping adventure reminiscent of ''Series/DoctorWho'' with a chapter set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Carrion Crown however is the king of this trope; it takes on Horror Movie tropes, but each chapter is based around a different subgenre; haunted house, Frankenstein story, lycanthropes, Lovecraftian horror, vampire story, and apocalyptic horror. |
| 188 | * Two of ''[[TabletopGame/PokemonTabletopAdventures Pokemon Tabletop United]]'''s sourcebooks, ''The Game of Throhs'' and ''Do Porygon Dream of Mareep'', provide guidelines for playing fantasy and science-fiction themed games, respectively. |
| 189 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' was one of the more famous examples of DarkFantasy, taking place in a [[StandardFantasySetting Standard]] MedievalEuropeanFantasy with most of the factions falling somewhere on a spectrum of BlackAndGreyMorality. It's successor, ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' is much closer to [[HeroicFantasy Heroic]] HighFantasy, with a multi-dimensional war across eight "realms" of a highly magical nature. While several of the "good guy" factions of Order can charitably be described as anti-heroic [[note]] the Daughters of Kaine worship a god of murder, the Fyreslayers and Kharadon Overlords are OnlyInItForTheMoney, the Sylvaneth have BlueAndOrangeMorality, and Idoneth Deepkin need to steal souls in order to survive[[/note]] they're pretty much always portrayed as heroes compared to the near-universally evil factions of Chaos, Death, and Destruction. Suffice it to say, this led to a lot of BrokenBase, and we'll leave it at that. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 193 | * Something similar to this -- the couching of ideas or stories that may be disturbing and/or controversial within a more conventional, non-threatening story - has happened throughout the history of art and literature. |
| 194 | * The first two acts of ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' are a light, happy portrayal of bohemian life, with blissful romance and comedy to spare, where poverty is only a mild inconvenience and even jealousy and infidelity are PlayedForLaughs. The latter two acts are heartbreaking drama (though still with some comic relief), as jealousy, infidelity and poverty become serious issues, as the two romantic couples both break up, and as Mimí rapidly succumbs to her IncurableCoughOfDeath. |
| 195 | * ''Theatre/PunkRockGirl'' by Creator/JoeIconis starts out as a slice-of-life high school musical about a shy nerd finding a passion for punk rock music. However, near the end of act two, her new punk friends turn out to be [[spoiler:space aliens who are trying to unite humanity through music as part of a social experiment, and the story takes a turn for science fiction]]. |
| 196 | * OlderThanSteam: Creator/WilliamShakespeare [[JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples did it]]: |
| 197 | ** ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' goes from sweet and funny romantic comedy to an AnyoneCanDie {{Tragedy}} with lightning speed. |
| 198 | ** Witness ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' turning the standard bloodthirsty revenge plot into a more philosophical meditation on the human condition. Indeed, a lost play by the same title (c. 1589-1594), which if written by Shakespeare would have been one of his earliest works, was apparently a far more straightforward revenge tragedy (and according to one source, [[OldShame not a particularly good one either]]). |
| 199 | ** ''Theatre/TheWintersTale'' plays this the straightest: for the first half it's a tragedy similar to ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' with a king falsely accusing his wife of infidelity, ending with [[spoiler: the queen and their young son dying and their newborn daughter being abandoned to die in the wilderness.]] [[TimeSkip Fast-forward sixteen years]] and it's a pastoral comedy, complete with an archetypal Clown and the people-in-disguise hijinks reminiscent of ''Theatre/AsYouLikeIt'' and ''Theatre/TwelfthNight.'' For added fun, there's some Greek mythology mixed in throughout, with a Chorus of narrators, a trip to an oracle, and [[spoiler: [[PygmalionPlot a statue of the queen coming to life]].]] |
| 200 | * Most of the first act of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' is a BeYourself kind of story, with the WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}-esque outcast protagonist hating, then befriending the preppy girl, falling in love with the class clown, [[SoapboxSadie dreaming of a political career]], and discovering that she's a powerful witch. Then she actually goes to pursue said political career, [[CrapsackWorld and absolutely nothing is how she expected.]] |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 204 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' had two forms of this. The first is a gradual fantasy-to [[ScienceFiction Sci Fi]] shift done by revealing the true origins [[DoingInTheWizard of seemingly mystical elements of the plot.]] This was planned from the start. Additionally, there is a case of Cerebus syndrome, as the plot went from a cartoonish NeverSayDie ActionAdventure story to a much DarkerAndEdgier story that borders on CosmicHorrorStory at times. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 | |
| 207 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 208 | * ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' shifts back and forth between domestic, observational strips that find humor in the mundane, and surreal fantasy arcs involving Mexican MagicalRealism, three-hundred-man outdoor brawls, and Heaven burning down. |
| 209 | * Korean Webtoon ''Blood Bank'' started as a smutty BDSM postapocalyptic yaoi romance comedy & ended as an action-packed horror war magic-fighting series with a borderline DownerEnding. |
| 210 | * ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' was originally intended to be a superhero comedy webcomic about the titular brothers. It changed into a sprite comic after the author realized he couldn't draw. |
| 211 | * ''Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' is looking like it might be doing this. The strip started out as the standard light college campus humor, but little hints and bits have added up so that it looks like it might have always been intended to end up with an apocalyptic ending. If the author has stated for sure one way or another, I haven't heard. |
| 212 | * Janet Steele in ''Webcomic/ContestJitters'' was a budding amateur bodybuilder. In ''Webcomic/SatinSteele'', she has become a professional bodybuilder who confronts aliens and a conspiracy. |
| 213 | * Since-ended Platform/{{Keenspot}} comic ''Webcomic/CoolCatStudio'' started out as a mundane office comedy without any hint of unusual goings-on. Then one of the characters underwent AlienAbduction and cloning. Eventually the comic became an all-out FantasyKitchenSink, with arcs centered around ghosts, magic, private eyes, and extraterrestrial war. |
| 214 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'''s [[CerebusSyndrome change from comedy to dramedy]] was apparently planned from the very beginning. |
| 215 | ** Over time, the setting itself has shifted from a typical webcomic WorldOfWeirdness to Science-Fiction to UrbanFantasy. |
| 216 | * ''FOG Club'' began life as a romcom about four college anime fans, before -- with little to no explanation -- having the cast sucked through a portal into an alternate dimension based on Trigun, where they fought an evil scientist called Falco Amadeus and an android duplicate of the main character. |
| 217 | * ''Webcomic/FreakingRomance'': The supernatural elements, while always present in the story, really get kicked into high gear after [[spoiler: Zylith falls from the roof and doesn't appear on the ground]]. |
| 218 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' started out as a simple SpiritualSuccessor to ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'', but in time became a riff on epic stories and creation mythos, which made the series much more popular. Later, When [[EnsembleDarkHorse the trolls]] [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent were introduced]], the entire comic shifted to have RomanticComedy elements and took a turn for the darker. |
| 219 | * ''Webcomic/ItHurts'' starts out as a crude high school comedy with certain hints at terrible life circumstances. Come strip 100, and [[spoiler:the apocalypse happens, sci-fi elements and deities are introduced, and it looks at the concept of obtaining happiness]]. |
| 220 | * Webcomic/KidRadd started out as a general parody of video games. Then CerebusSyndrome sets in. |
| 221 | * ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' began as a simple, four panel webcomic about two friends trapped in Japan, the focus being more on the two men playing off each other verbally and [[TwoGamersOnACouch talking about video games]]. As time went on, [[ContinuityDrift the comic drifted away from this]], and began to focus more on the relationships Piro and Largo were creating in Japan, and [[{{Deconstruction}} picking apart aspects of popular Japanese culture]]. |
| 222 | * ''Webcomic/NonPack'' is a MatureAnimalStory about {{Gangbangers}} fighting turf wars in a WorldOfFunnyAnimals version of UsefulNotes/PuertoRico. It starts as a relatively realistic CrimeDrama, but takes a turn into SciFiHorror when we learn that one of the major villains is using a PsychoSerum that causes him to [[HulkingOut Hulk out]]. Eventually, SupernaturalFiction is added to the mix when the protagonist defeats the villain by temporarily turning into a literal monster, due to the implied intervention of the setting's CrystalDragonJesus. |
| 223 | * ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' began as a relatively light-hearted, family-friendly BettyAndVeronica comic with brief story arcs and a long stretch of unconnected gag-a-day strips. WordOfGod says this was because the creators tried to pitch it as a syndicated [[NewspaperComics newspaper comic]]. When the syndicates failed to show interest, the creators took advantage of the Webcomic medium's greater flexibility by increasing the drama-to-comedy ratio and by introducing more experimental storytelling techniques ("Second Looks," "20 2020 Pennies"), [[HotterAndSexier mature themes]] ("Behind Closed Doors," "Awakening," "The Last Summer of Youth"), and arcs running several months ("Dinner for Six," "The Popsicle War," and "Missing Person," the first chapter of which was a PoliceProcedural, and the final chapter a PsychologicalThriller). |
| 224 | * ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' started out about a post-college Indie rocker, his friends, and his weird little RobotBuddy. Then Faye got her tragic backstory, Pintsize got increasingly destructive and psychotic, Raven got kinda skanky, etc, until you can barely recognize the characters from the early strips. |
| 225 | ** The comic was always set [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture twenty minutes into the future]], with sentient robots like Pintsize and Winslow running around, but recently the comic has shifted heavily towards storylines involving robots and AI. It may have started with Marten, Marigold, and Hannelore visiting her dad in deep space and coming into contact with Station, but since Faye got hired at the local bot-fighting ring the comic has almost become all robots, all the time. [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3359 Lampshaded here]]. |
| 226 | * ''Webcomic/MyDeliriumAlcazar'' follows the everyday life of a broke content creator starting over in a new town, with light sci-fi elements... during the day. The protagonist dreams of a dark fantasy dungeon, full of body horror and video game mechanics, which she is forced into every night in a repeating loop. Once killed there, she re-awakens to her normal, mundane life. The switch is even accompanied by a change in art style, from sprites to a sketchy, inconsistent hand drawn look and back. |
| 227 | * ''Webcomic/ScoobAndShag'': This happens twice, in quick succession, in the early sections of Part 1. |
| 228 | ** Firstly, the comic begins as a collection of disconnected strips focusing on absurdist humor, without any overarching continuity. One of these strips, about Scooby and Shaggy running from the cops and fleeing into a wood, rapidly turns into a much darker horror segment reminiscent of the work of Creator/JunjiIto. This is marked by a shift from the simple lineart of the first strips to heavily shaded, visually oppressive art. |
| 229 | ** This horror theme remains prevalent for another segment of strips, until the whole thing is revealed to be taking place in a holodeck within a crashed starship. Afterwards, while horror elements return sporadically, the comic turns into a parody of {{Shonen}} manga and remains like that afterwards. |
| 230 | * ''Webcomic/{{Seasons}}'' starts out as a melodramatic SliceOfLife romance, until it gets derailed by the lead's love interest dating someone else. Then, it radically shifts into UrbanFantasy as the main character develops a shadowy counterpart, and supernatural powers. |
| 231 | * ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' started off as a comedy strip, albeit one not unwilling to touch upon dramatic and/or political subject matter when the situation called for it. In 2011, the comic started becoming much more overtly political, and by 2019 had abandoned its previous genre altogether in favor of espousing right-wing politics. |
| 232 | * ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' starts out as a comedic [[DeadToBeginWith Bangsian Fantasy]] about the periphery of Hell, but rather abruptly turns into a WalkingTheEarth fantasy adventure a few years in. |
| 233 | * ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', while quite often is still the ScienceFiction[=/=]{{Fantasy}}[=/=]SliceOfLife comedy it started out as, has made increasing use of darker, more dramatic storylines as it's continued. |
| 234 | * Ditto ''Webcomic/UnicornJelly'', which goes from a quirky almost-but-not-quite Fantasy series (the main character is a witch with apparently no magic) to science fiction spanning hundreds of thousands of years and multiple universes. A Powers Of 10 map on the site really hits it home, going from the main character's home out into the multiverse. |
| 235 | * The Webcomic/{{Walkyverse}} has done this over the course of its various entries. ''Webcomic/{{Roomies}}'' was a SliceOfLife story about dorm life, which slowly became more of a dramedy after the introduction [[spoiler:and later death]] of Ruth. An initially one-off alien abduction plot also returns and takes over the final arc, leading into the next comic. ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'' is half sci-fi adventure story and half sitcom, following the various alien abductees as they fight the machinations of the Head Alien while dealing with their own personal problems. After that the story splits in two: ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' is a DenserAndWackier sequel about the quirky and geeky staff of a toy store, and engages in frequent pop culture parodies, along with the odd serious storyline. Finally ''Joyce and Walky'' more directly follows It's Walky, beginning as a domestic sitcom, but eventually reintegrating the science fiction elements and tying up loose ends from the alien plot. This is averted with ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'', a spin-off-slash-reboot of the Walkyverse that excises the sci-fi elements, combines the casts of all the previous comics, and is a straight up dramedy throughout. |
| 236 | * ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' started out as a lightweight and slightly surreal urban SitCom, but gradually began adding elements of ScienceFiction and/or {{Fantasy}} with the introduction of characters who might be gods, immortals or aliens, the concept of humans possessing (or being possessed by) inner demons, and a 12,000 year old mystery. In spite of all this, the sitcom elements are still present, and often just as strong as ever. |
| 237 | * Within [[http://xkcd.com/734/ this xkcd strip]]. |
| 238 | * ''Webcomic/{{Xkcd}}'': Parodied in strip #734 "Outbreak", where the first five minutes of a movie are action/horror, while the remaining 90 minutes are a romantic comedy. |
| 239 | * ''Webcomic/YuMeDream'' starts out as a romantic story between two girls at a Catholic school, dealing with the various issues that comes with, with some family drama -- an average young adult romance story. Then after a hefty WHAMEpisode it turns into a slightly-psychological adventure-based story on an epic scale. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 243 | * WebVideo/{{Decker}}: The first two seasons are political action thrillers (granted, most likely a parody of them). The third season "Decker vs Dracula" though introduces monster horror, featuring many of the monsters from Franchise/UniversalHorror, to the series. This is rather short lived as Decker vs Dracula only lasted 3 episodes and the fourth season "Decker: Unclassified" went back to being an action thriller series [[spoiler: until the last episode where the BigBad is revealed to be Dracula. It seems some of the episodes in Decker: Unsealed with also involve monster horror]] |
| 244 | * [=YouTube=] channel ''Midnight's Edge'' started out dedicated to DarkerAndEdgier comic book characters, but after the success of their ''Trankgate'' series chronicling the TroubledProduction of ''Film/FantasticFour2015'', they shifted focus to covering the inside details surrounding the productions of films part of major blockbuster franchises. |
| 245 | * ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' veers all over the genre map as it progresses. Beginning as a mildly surreal, Halo-themed take on ''Series/{{Mash}}'', it quickly becomes more and more [[Creator/MontyPython Pythonesque]] until it's nearly crossed into slapstick, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' territory. Then, beginning with side stories like ''Out of Mind'', it suddenly veers into serious science fiction, which spills over into the main series before settling into a very odd fusion of all the above genres. Which genre or combination of genres works best is definitely a matter of personal taste. As of its later seasons, it is firmly entrenched in SeriousBusiness, albeit with some gags. |
| 246 | * While many of the chapter reviews on the [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/ Mark Reads Twilight weblog]] follow the traditional "quote the source text, mock it ruthlessly, add some funny {{Angrish}}" formula that's far too common in most {{MST}} blogs, reviewer [[Blog/MarkReadsHarryPotter Mark Oshiro]] often goes out of his way to mix up the structure of his posts. A handful of his best genre shifts include: Bella and Edward [[FourthWallMailSlot writing letters to Stephenie Meyer]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4437901/ questioning their own character development;]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4442971/mark-reads-twilight-chapter-9/ Mark's own autopsy report]] after the chapter's stupidity [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to "suicide";]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4489601/ legendary announcer Vin Scully giving a play-by-play of the infamous "Vampire Baseball" scene]]; [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4523531/mark-reads-twilight-chapter-24/ Charlie and Jacob staging an intervention to stop Bella from submitting to "Cullenism";]] and [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4608661/mark-reads-new-moon-chapter/ Bella Tweeting away while she stalks Jacob Black.]] He also likes to change his targets, for example, mocking the hate mail he gets from ''Twilight'' fans, liveblogging the ''Twilight'' movie with his readers, [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4839521/mark-reads-story-behind-writing/ (attempting to) read the "Making of New Moon" page on Meyer's website]], and [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/5259711/mark-reads-eclipse-chapter-10/ calling out a relationship counsellor who uses Edward Cullen to give boys advice on romance.]] Although he far preferred ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' which he also reviewed at ''Blog/MarkReadsHarryPotter'', he also mixed those ones up. He'd write the reviews as a script of the book, with characters commenting on plot developments, liveblog entries from various characters, and Hedwig-the-spy writing entries on her mission to guard the boy who lived. |
| 247 | * ''Literature/{{Reasoning}}'' starts off as a typical slasher story about a woman being terrorized by a SerialKiller, up until it's revealed that killer is actually a multi-eyed, man-eating, rat-like sapient monster. As the story progresses, more monsters similar to the rat start showing up, until the story completely takes a turn and it's revealed that [[CosmicHorrorStory the monsters are from another realm and are trying to exterminate humanity]] [[ToServeMan for the sake of not starving]]. |
| 248 | * "[[Roleplay/RubyQuest Okay, so we're playing as an adorable bunny with amnesia.]] And we have to rescue our little cat friend from his cell. Okay, seems to be a standard puzzle game, so far so good...hey, is there someone behind that door?" |
| 249 | * WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick talks about how ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'' went from ABoyAndHisX to Buddy Comedy halfway through. Similarly, The Nostalgia Chick herself went through a major genre shift. Going from the linear nature of the Critic to doing analytical reviews with her friends doing sketches related to the movie. She also no longer reviews movies aimed toward women exclusively, reviewing different films like ''Film/CoolRunnings'' every once in a while. |
| 250 | * Used to creative effect in this short film by Mathieu Ratthe: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4meeZifCVro "Lovefield"]]. In the middle of a secluded cornfield a man appears to be finishing killing a bloodied woman off screen. Hurrying back to his truck, he grabs a towel and the audience presumes he's trying to cover up the body and perhaps dispose it in some way. During this time, suspenseful music plays to heighten the horror. Then just at the end the man says "It's a boy", and a newborn baby appears in view. The woman who sounded like she was dying was in fact in the midst of giving birth and the blood was just the afterbirth. The ending is accompanied by heartwarming music. |
| 251 | * Website/TheOnion's reality TV satire ''WebVideo/SexHouse'' starts out as, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a satire of reality TV]], and a hilarious one, at that. While the series takes on [[DarkerAndEdgier a]] [[BlackComedy darker]] [[ComedicSociopathy tone]] pretty early on, the later episodes seem to be heading to full-on horror and GenreDeconstruction territory. |
| 252 | * "The Review Must Go On" to both WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic and WebVideo/DemoReel. Both had their moments of horror, but the former was a character-driven review show and the latter was a {{dramedy}}. The only genre that can describe "The Review Must Go On" is PsychologicalHorror. |
| 253 | * A writer at [[http://therumpus.net/2011/04/funny-women-52-literary-classics-summarized-as-trashy-romance-novels/ The Rumpus]] described various classic novels as if they were bodice-rippers. For example, here's the spin on the classic Czech novel ''Literature/TheUnbearableLightnessOfBeing'': |
| 254 | -->''Tereza is an ambitious photo journalist who's as sexy as she is talented. But after the Czech beauty takes a dangerous assignment, the Russians mark her as a dissident and nowhere is safe. To the rescue is Tomas, a distinguished surgeon who is very skilled with his hands. As he aids her perilous escape to Switzerland, the question (and other things) will arise: Can he be trusted? Tereza isn't sure, but she knows the doctor administers one hell of a physical exam.'' |
| 255 | * Creator/AnnaAkana's "Things Only Cat People Understand" begins as another one of her ordinary advice videos, until one of her cats, Congress, barges in [[spoiler:wearing a giant robot suit, and Anna must stop him from taking over the universe.]] |
| 256 | * ''WebVideo/TwelveHundredGhosts'' is over 400 adaptations of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' and shifts from the regular work to steamy romances, comedies, parodies, and back again. |
| 257 | * The early episodes of ''WebVideo/{{lonelygirl15}}'' were in the style of a realistic video blog. Over time, it turned into a sort of soap opera/drama/thriller hybrid with evil cults, conspiracies, guns and laser beams. For an example of just how different the show has become, compare classic episode "Proving Science Wrong!"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQEBobE9XZs]] to one of the early season 2 episodes, "Home Invasion".[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnVvMzQpGUo]] |
| 258 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' started off as science fiction SuperheroSchool with FairytaleMotifs, with hints of a greater plot going on in the background beyond school drama and the upcoming TournamentArc. [[spoiler:Then magic is revealed to exist, the TournamentArc slams to a halt when the AcademyOfAdventure is destroyed, and the whole thing is revealed to be just another move in a SecretWar between two immortals over four Relics that will bring back the missing gods for a final [[HumanityOnTrial day of judgment]] to see whether humanity will regain their magic or be utterly destroyed.]] The FairytaleMotifs go from aesthetics and influences to a reconstruction of fairy tales themselves, the emphasis on hope against fear and the protagonists' innate powers shows definite MagicalGirl influence, and the apocalyptic vibes previously in the background gain far more significance. Unlike ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' by the same company, this was clearly intended from the beginning and there's a lot of {{Foreshadowing}} before the shift officially happens. |
| 259 | * ''WebAnimation/TheTwins2022'' begins as a fairly straightforward sibling drama that quickly turns into a horror film in its second half. |
| 260 | * ''WebVideo/UnwantedHouseguest'': Episode 19 of "TRUE Scary Stories" is the only episode to date to feature UFO-stories, in addition to featuring two shorter stories, instead of just one longer one. |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 264 | * First season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' is a SliceOfLife ComingOfAge {{Sitcom}} with {{Fantasy}} aesthetics and occasional serious episode, about a girl named Anne TrappedInAnotherWorld and her FoundFamily of FrogMen, the Plantars. Season two is a comedic fantasy about Anne and the Plantars going on a quest to find a way to send her back home, with a slight hint of ScienceFiction. After a WhamEpisode, season three is about Anne back on Earth, having to [[{{Masquerade}} keep Plantars hidden from the world]], [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld balance normal life with fighting off attempts at invasion on Earth]] by technologically advanced forces of the BigBad and [[spoiler: learning to control her strange new powers]], all [[SecretIdentity while keeping the last two tasks secret from her parents]], thus eschewing fantasy conventions for SuperHero ones. [[spoiler: At least that's Anne episodes. The ones focusing on Sasha are consistently a DarkFantasy with a humorous blend]]. |
| 265 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': The show masterfully adopts and sheds genres starting as a [[Film/TheGoonies Goonies]] style [[KidHero kid adventure story]] only to brutally swerve into [[GovernmentProcedural political]] [[GangsterFiction crime drama]] and sticks the landing with {{Magitek}} GaslampFantasy action. All kept together and in service of telling the story of how one cute little girl named Powder becomes the infamous BombThrowingAnarchist Jinx. |
| 266 | * For the first four seasons of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', the characters are inept spies working together in an office. In Season 5, they become inept cocaine smugglers hiding out from the law in a mansion. Season 6 sees them return to their roots as inept CIA subcontractors. After they are permanently blacklisted from espionage, Season 7 has them moving to Los Angeles, where they become inept private detectives. The only thing these seasons all have in common is that the characters, after all this time, are still inept. |
| 267 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was an Asian-influenced HighFantasy that featured its heroes WanderingTheEarth to stop an EvilOverlord with few {{Steampunk}} elements and couple asethetics in the final season. The SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', by contrast, is an Asian-influenced UrbanFantasy series with the protagonists fighting an AntiMagicalFaction in a CityOfAdventure, with the following books dealing with [[EvilOverlord stopping the Evil Water Tribe leader]] from [[EvilReactionary opening the Spirts Portals which the first Avatar, Wan, closed ten thousands years ago]] and stop [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]], preventing a group of anarchists [[RenegadeSplinterFaction (Whose faction was created by rogue memebers of the White Lotus)]] from [[BombThrowingAnarchists destroying all nations and the Avatar]], and the consequences of the fall of the Earth Kingdom and the latter creation of the [[TheEmpire Earth Empire]] under [[PuttingOnTheReich Kuvira's regime]]. |
| 268 | ** Technology from the show has also advanced from {{Steampunk}} across most of the original series to a more RoaringTwenties aesthetics in the sequel Books and with these developing into {{Dieselpunk}} during Books 3 and 4. |
| 269 | * As noted in many retrospectives, ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' is less one show than it is two and a half shows. The first two seasons are a high-octane action cartoon with (mostly) simplistic plots, and deliberately goes for an off-kilter version of Bat mythos by introducing a new cast of characters and creating very non-traditional versions of the rogues gallery. Seasons 3 and 4 [[PutOnABus abruptly drop all of the new characters]] in favor of the traditional Bat cast, and tones down most of the action in favor of more dramatic storylines reminiscent of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. Season 5 is more or less a Justice League show that occasionally features Batman characters. |
| 270 | * The final ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAdventuresInCareALot'' made-for-TV special, ''Down to Earth'', suddenly shifted to full-on slice of life. The other episodes are slice of life with a tinge of good-versus-evil. |
| 271 | * ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' have episodes that sometimes be slice of life, drama that tackle serious issues, sitcom-like comedy, horror mysteries or romance. |
| 272 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' shifted from action-comedy to action-dramedy. |
| 273 | * In ''WesternAnimation/JakeAndTheNeverlandPirates''' original form, the show could more-or-less be described as ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' [-[[RecycledInSpace WITH PIRATES]]-] (who [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything don't do anything]]). Things such as FakeInteractivity and comic adventures with vague morals to teach were all common fare. The later installments, particularly ''Captain Jake and the Neverland Pirates'', have seen a major shift towards action, with high-stakes specials, serious villains and Jake (Captain Jake) engaging in swordplay using a magic sword. |
| 274 | * In-series this happened to Stormer's music when she banded with Kimber in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}''. Stormer usually plays background vocals in Misfits songs that are incredibly arrogant, self-confident, and aggressive 80s pop. Stormer's and Kimber's music are ballads and her bandmates are disgusted she is singing such "sensitive" music. |
| 275 | * The first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' mostly consisted of Orel wanting to [[SpoofAesop do the right thing]], but ultimately [[HilarityEnsues interpreting the lessons wrong]] and taking them to their literal end. However, the last two episodes of season two and the entirety of the third season took [[MoodWhiplash a sharp turn]] into [[CerebusSyndrome dark territory]], going from a satire of authority and conservatism to the semi-deconstruction of the [[CrapsackWorld effects of such a setting]]. |
| 276 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' started as a SliceOfLife ensemble comedy that would only dip into MagicalGirl adventure for season premieres and finales. The third season, the first to completely lack Creator/LaurenFaust's involvement, marked a shift towards each season having [[HalfArcSeason an overarching plot]]. By the end of the fifth season, while slice-of-life still remained the bulk of the stories, the series had begun ArcWelding plots from previous seasons' and crafting a broader MythArc. |
| 277 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' shifted from an action-comedy spoof of superhero shows to a downright ''bizarre'' GagSeries late in its run. It was unsurprisingly not well received, and it wasn't long before the show was cancelled. |
| 278 | * Episode 9 of ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'' focuses more on character interactions, teenage drama, and features fewer supernatural elements, while the rest of the show is more like a fairy tale or an old cartoon. This extends to the music, which has a modern AlternativeRock sound rather than the older styles heard everywhere else. |
| 279 | * ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' started out as an episodic comedy with heavy ExecutiveMeddling from ABC's standards and practices. This changed in the middle of Season 2 when ABC dropped the show and the writers were given free rein on the show. The episodic nature was dropped in favor of longer story arcs and a much darker tone. The comedy is still there, just mixed in with the darker story. |
| 280 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' is a comedic fantasy series about the world through babies eyes. It's sequel, ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' has none of the fantasy and instead opts to be a SliceOfLife series about middle schoolers, comparable to ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger''. Needless to say it's a little odd seeing Tommy and co discussing puberty and having their first crushes. |
| 281 | * ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' starts as a MonsterOfTheWeek comedy with [[ScoobyDooHoax guys in]] [[PeopleInRubberSuits costumes]] with silly back stories and motives. As time goes by, the [[CerebusSyndrome mysteries get darker]], the [[EvilGenius villains]] [[AxCrazy get more dangerous,]] and [[spoiler:the [[CosmicHorrorStory monsters are real]].]] |
| 282 | * ''WesternAnimation/ShimmerAndShine'' started out as a gentle slice-of-life show with morals. In Season 2, the animation changed from 2D to 3D, the show was relocated to Zahramay Falls, and the show began introducing more lore, characters, and overly toyetic themes, all while abandoning the morals that the first season had. |
| 283 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The show initially started out as a simple surrealist comedy, but the creators later shifted it to social commentary and satire of current events. This also coincided with a general ArtEvolution that introduced more realistic character designs and animation. |
| 284 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' is the first series in the franchise that is primarily a comedy, and only the second series to be animated. |
| 285 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' was initially an [[AffectionateParody Affectionate]] DeconstructiveParody of the MagicalGirl genre, but in Season 3 sees a major shift into what can almost be called HighFantasy. The setting changes from Earth to Mewni, which all on its own alters the premise of the show. The majority of the Earth cast is left behind, replaced by the magical characters that had been side-characters before. The Myth Arc introduced in Season 2 takes full control, and the focus shifts from Star learning to adjust to Earth culture and use her magic, to Star learning to handle the responsibilities of Royalty, and uncovering the [[DarkSecret Dark Secrets]] of her family. |
| 286 | * The Crystal Gems from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' are viewed by Beach City locals as AmbiguouslyHuman {{Magical Girl Warrior}}s, and for the first twenty episodes or so, this is what the audience (and [[AudienceSurrogate Steven]]) is lead to believe as well. Then [[WhamEpisode "Mirror Gem" / "Ocean Gem"]] reveals that there are other Gems in the universe, with the remainder of the first season making it clear that the Gems' [[DoingInTheWizard "magic"]] is actually the product of a [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens hyper-advanced alien civilization]]. This all culminates in a season finale whose ScienceFantasy tone sticks through the rest of the series. |
| 287 | * Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is just slapstick comedy in a parody setting; Season 2 downplays the raw slapstick and up-plays the parody/satire/{{Deconstruction}} elements of the show, culminating in a funny but fairly serious season finale. Seasons 3 and 4 still feature a lot of humor, and it's definitely still a comedy show, but there's been a significant shift from it being a parody of sci-fi/action/everything to now being a genuine example of those genres. |
| 288 | [[/folder]] |
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