History Main / AdaptationFirst

* The original ''Literature/WhenSupernaturalBattlesBecameCommonplace'' light novels [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-11-20/j-novel-club-licenses-10-new-light-novel-titles/.179699 were licensed in North America nine years after the series began]]; however, the anime adaptation was simulcast by Website/{{Crunchyroll}} the season it aired and was eventually given a proper release in the West in 2016, around five years prior to the licensing of the light novels.

* A lot of countries outside South Korea (ex. Canada and the United States) did not get the ''[=PinkAru=] and Noonbory'' stationary brand, but they ''did'' get [[Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7 the television series that it inspired]][[note]]the first season, at least; the follow-up series is still in NoExportForYou Land[[/note]].

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' has been distributed internationally a lot more than its source material. This isn't much of a surprise since the original ''Nanoha'' was a mini-scenario of ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'', [[BleachedUnderpants a hentai game]].

* While all three ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' TV series have been at least partially dubbed into English (the original 1965-67 one twice), Osamu Tezuka's ''Jungle Emperor'' manga has never been officially translated.

** ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'': While the anime adaptations of their works (most notably ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and its spin-offs) have been consistently localized for the most part, fans of their original works, particularly the visual novels, had to rely on {{fan translation}}s for the better part of a decade before Aniplex would finally break the pattern by announcing an official release for ''VisualNovel/WitchOnTheHolyNight'' in 2022.

* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce II MD'', a port of the Sharp X68000 game ''Thunder Force II'', is the only version of ''TFII'' to be released outside of Japan. In fact, outside of Japan, it's simply known as ''Thunder Force II'', minus the "[[UsefulNotes/MegaDrive MD]]" title.

* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] adaptation of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' was released in North America years before the original [=MSX2=] game was ported to the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] and included in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 3|SnakeEater}}: Subsistence''. While the NES version is technically a port too, many changes were made to the gameplay and level designs that it feels more like a separate game.

* The first appearance of the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise in English, predating ''Saban's Masked Rider'' by a year, was ''The Masked Rider'', an FMVGame for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD based on ''Film/KamenRiderZO''.

* So far, the only officially licensed English appearance of the fantasy mecha series ''[[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries Mashin Hero Wataru]]'' was a {{Macekre}}d translation of a licensed video game for the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 which was retitled ''VideoGame/KeithCourageInAlphaZones''.

* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] adaptation of ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Metal Gear]]'' was released in North America years before the original [=MSX2=] game was ported to the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] and included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3: Subsistence''. While the NES version is technically a port too, many changes were made to the gameplay and level designs that it feels more like a separate game.

** ''VideoGame/SakuraWars''

* The ''Anime/VariableGeo'' OVA was dubbed into English, whereas the ''[[VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo Advanced V.G.]]'' fighting game series it was based on has still never been released outside Japan. The only other part of the franchise that received a Western release was ''Variable Geo: Neo'', which is an alternate continuity [[PornWithoutPlot H-series]] unrelated to the original OVA.

* The original light novels of ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', and ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'' were not translated into English until after their anime adaptations first aired, and the complete novel series has yet to be released for the latter two. Only five of the twelve FMP novels were originally published in America (With 4 and 5, a two part story, being sold as a combined volume). Thankfully, the entire series was eventually (re-)released years later under a new publisher. Only eight of the fifteen Slayers novels have been published in English, and it took an online petition to get Volumes 7 and 8 published. Only two of the 22 Shana novels have been published in America.

* The ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'' anime was the first part of the ''Tamagotchi'' franchise to be released in South Korea due to the Japanese cultural products ban. The toys would not see a release there until 2019, with the Tamagotchi Some, their version of the Meets/ON.