History Main / NonSerialMovie

A major negative of not being in continuity is it is usually not referred to in the show's later episodes to avoid plot conflicts, nor can it make any long-term changes (e.g., KilledOffForReal) to any characters not original to the movie. This causes the fans to endlessly debate on the ContinuitySnarl that has occured. This trope is generally avoided when the movie justifies its' story via WholeEpisodeFlashback or {{Prequel}}. Effects of the trope can be mitigated by being more explicit in the change, being stylistically similar to the ongoing one but clearly divorced due to [[ArtShift visual designs]], [[TheOtherDarrin recasts]] or a WhatIf. Another complication can arise depending on the original (for a given value of "original") creators' personal influence in the story, or lack thereof, causing creators to [[ArmedWithCanon distance their own continuity]] from the work or admit they aren't [[SchrodingersCanon concerned about its canon status]]. In extreme or badly-received situations, [[MyRealDaddy the fandom may even symbolically reject the work]] even if [[BroadStrokes it could reasonably fit into canon]].

** Seemingly averted as of ''Anime/LupinIIIPart5'', which not only acknowledges ''[[Anime/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure Part IV]]'' but also name drops ''Cagliostro'' in the very first episode. Later episodes suggest, via {{Continuity Nod}}s and/or direct camoes, that no less than [[Anime/LupinIIIPart1 "Green Jacket"]], [[Anime/LupinIIIPartII "Red Jacket"]], ''Anime/TheFumaConspiracy'', ''[[Anime/LupinIIIThePursuitOfHarimaosTreasure The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure]]'', and ''[[Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine The Woman Called Fujiko Mine]]'' are canon as well. Even taking the BroadStrokes approach to continuity doesn't tie up everything in a neat little bow, as [[MultipleChoicePast backstories often vary from iteration to iteration]], sometimes wildly at that.

** ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' was a new canon of the events following ''Dragon Ball Z'', eliminating the anime-only ''Dragon Ball GT'' story. It ends with a SequelHook of more powerful enemies for Goku and company to find, and unique for the first time [[CantCatchUp the heroes actually lose]]. ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' is a direct sequel, featuring the return of Frieza, and the success of both movies led to the ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' series. The anime's first two major arcs were adaptations of ''Battle of Gods'' and ''Resurrection F'', rendering the movies themselves no longer canon.

There are a few bonuses to this technique. The movie is designed so those with only a basic sense of the series can still enjoy it, minimizing the risk of ContinuityLockout. It also allows for the inclusion of more creative and fleshed-out [[OneShotCharacter One-Shot Characters]] in the story (especially a FillerVillain). The right director can put a creative spin on a series with an otherwise strict concept. And, of course, lots of gratuitous BigBudgetBeefUp.

* Averted in ''Rockman.EXE Stream'', the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] third season of ''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior''. TheMovie ''Hikari to Yami No Program'' (''Program of Light and Shadow'') is explicitly referenced once as "the Nebula Gray incident" [[spoiler:and in the final episode, Bass finally kills off InvincibleVillain Slur using the powers he absorbed from Nebula Gray at the movie's end]]. It's also where Lan meets Barrel in person for the first time, explaining how he suddenly seems to know him mid-series.
* Seemingly averted for the three (so far) ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' movies, as the [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia the manga's]] creator Creator/KoheiHorikoshi has a lot of input in them. Notably, many of the main character introduced in these movies ''do'' later on make cameo appearances during the Final Act Saga of the manga, having a ReactionShot as they see the event of the arc play out on the internet. For specifics about each of the movies in question:
** The first movie, ''Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTwoHeroes'', is placed at an explicit point in the canon story (between the End of Term Exams and the Training Camp arcs). The manga also had a special tie-in comic showing when All Might lost his master and when he met Melissa Shield (the daughter of his friend and old sidekick David Shield, who is a major player in the movie itself), and the anime's third season adds an extra episode to set up the trip. The movie itself also doesn't contradict any of the plot elements from the main story, although some FridgeLogic does pop up.
** The second movie, ''Anime/MyHeroAcademiaHeroesRising'', takes great pains to not contradict the larger ongoing story of the manga, to the point of being set ''after'' the manga's by-then completed Endeavor Agency arc when the anime was easily an entire seasons' worth of content behind.
** The third movie, ''[[Anime/MyHeroAcademiaWorldHeroesMission World Heroes' Mission]]'', is set between the anime's fifth and sixth season during a TimeSkip and a likewise set up during a filler episode in Season 5.

** ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKIngOhger'' makes it very easy to place its movie in the series timeline, specifically tying it to the end of episode 23, and a couple of episodes in the second half of the series heavily involve characters from the movie.

** The four ''Manga/DragonBall'' movies are completely separate from the show's continuity, retelling the story in BroadStrokes, with the same protagonists and similar situations but unique villains and settings. Interestingly, the original three are the only ones to attempt any sort of through arc, that being Goku's training with Master Roshi.

** The events of ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger''[='=]s summer movie are shown in flashback in episode 29 of the series and later explicitly followed up on in Episode 39. ''Film/ResshaSentaiTokkyugerVsKyoryugerTheMovie'' fulfills a plot point mentioned only in the finale: [[spoiler:The appearance of the villain behind the Deboss Army, whose existence Deboss revealed to Daigo during the final battle.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie'' is non-canon to the series' timeline. [[SeriesFauxnale It was written as the finale]] for [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants the show]], but as the franchise was hitting peak popularity at the time, Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} [[FranchiseZombie kept the series going instead of ending it]]. Future episodes would not reflect the movie's ending, where [=SpongeBob=] gets a promotion to manager at a second Krusty Krab location and Plankton ends up in jail. [[WordOfGod Stephen Hillenburg]] considered it to still be the canonical ending of the series and handwaved any issues by declaring that all future episodes (and even other films) are set ''[[{{Interquel}} before]]'' the movie. An imperfect fix, but ''[=SpongeBob=]'' is a series where NegativeContinuity, SnapBack and StatusQuoIsGod are in full effect, meaning continuity was never strong anyway.

A major negative of not being in continuity is it is usually not referred to in the show's later episodes to avoid plot conflicts, nor can it make any long-term changes (e.g., KilledOffForReal) to any characters not original to the movie. This causes the fans to endlessly debate on the ContinuitySnarl that has occured. This trope is generally avoided when the movie justifies its' story via WholeEpisodeFlashback or {{Prequel}}. Effects of the trope can be mitigated by being more explicit in the change, being stylistically similar to the ongoing one but clearly divorced due to [[ArtShift visual designs]], [[TheOtherDarrin recasts]] or a WhatIf. Another complication can arise depending on the original (for a given value of "original") creators' personal influence in the story, or lack thereof, causing creators to [[ArmedWithCanon distance their own continuity]] from the work or admit they aren't [[SchrodingersCanon concerned about its canon status]]. In extreme or badly-received situations, [[MyRealDaddy the fandom may even symbolically reject the work]] even if [[BroadStrokes it could reasonably fit into canon.

A major negative of not being in continuity is it is usually not referred to in the show's later episodes to avoid plot conflicts, nor can it make any long-term changes (e.g., KilledOffForReal) to any characters not original to the movie. This causes the fans to endlessly debate on the ContinuitySnarl that has occured. This trope is generally avoided when the movie justifies its' story via WholeEpisodeFlashback or {{Prequel}}. Effects of the trope can be mitigated by being more explicit in the change, being stylistically similar to the ongoing one but clearly divorced due to [[ArtShift visual designs]], [[TheOtherDarrin recasts]] or a WhatIf. Another complication can arise depending on the original (for a given value of "original") creators' personal influence in the story, or lack thereof, causing creators to [[ArmedWithCanon distance their own continuity]] from the work or admit they aren't [[ShrodingersCanon concerned about its canon status]]. In extreme or badly-received situations, [[MyRealDaddy the fandom may even symbolically reject the work]] even if [[BroadStrokes it could reasonably fit into canon.

Non-Serial Movie is related to TheMovie.

Very popular anime series occasionally spawn not only [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVAs]], but also theatrical movies. One problem with this is sometimes the movie is being made while the series is still ''ongoing''. While they generally have enough sense not to ignore anything that's happened ''up to'' that point, by the time the movie is released a show may have introduced very different facts into canon since the movie began production. This is an especially big concern with very long series which in turn spawn many short movies. On the flipside, while it is possible to set a movie before the current storyline and have it fit into continuity, this results in the movie feeling outdated due to the character having their situations and abilities being SoLastSeason.

The easy way out of this is to make sure the movie is officially out of continuity. Nonetheless, [[FanWank fans sometimes establish a general sense]] of when a movie should logically take place, with various degrees of shoehorning. The only real rule is Non-Serial Movies usually have a "feel" for whatever season they were closely released in, which also helps viewers who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of a series. Many of these films, especially in anime, serve less as self-contained narratives and more as an advertisement for their current slate of properties, often being screened at festivals or conventions. Often, the storyline in progress in the series will begin with a certain status quo and end with a new status quo, but the movie will use the status quo during the middle of the storyline. If the series is on the episodic side of SeasonFluidity,[[note]]up to and including HalfArcSeason,[[/note]] it could be considered LooseCanon so long as there are no contradictory elements. Otherwise, it's as if during the middle of the story, the characters went on vacation during an end-of-the-world crisis.

A major negative of not being in continuity is it is usually not referred to in the show's later episodes to avoid plot conflicts, nor can it make any long-term changes (e.g., KilledOffForReal) to any characters not original to the movie. One way around this is to make the story a backstory, {{flashback}}, or prequel of some sort. Another is to do a plot that is stylistically similar to the ongoing one but clearly divorced (which may be a WhatIf). Another complication can arise depending on the original (for a given value of "original") creators' personal influence in the story, or lack thereof, causing creators to distance their own continuity from the work or admit they aren't concerned about its canon. In extreme or badly-received situations, [[MyRealDaddy the fandom may even symbolically reject the work]] even if [[SchrodingersCanon it could reasonably fit into canon]].

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': Nearly all the movies based on the series exist in a bubble, usually [[RecycledScript retelling previous stories or otherwise heavily borrowing plot elements and villains from the concurrent story]], and trying to fit most of them into the highly serial manga/anime story creates a number of {{Plot Hole}}s if not an outright ContinuitySnarl.[[note]]The series is rather tightly plotted and often use gathering the Dragon Balls to revive dead characters as their motive and, barring that, the Saiyans reach new Super Saiyan transformations in the current story arc and thus the movie has contradictory elements on when it should be taking place. So choosing any given movie certain characters should either be dead, capable of a higher transformation or otherwise occupied with the BigBad in the series.[[/note]] This is most likely due to the movies being made as hour-long hype pieces for the franchise as a whole, designed more [[RuleOfCool to look cool]] than to tell a good story. The newer movies, ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'', ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and so on, are aversions as they had [[SelfAdaptation Akira Toriyama's personal involvement]], and thus take greater efforts to fit in. The ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' games consider the vast majority of the films listed below to be {{alternate timeline}}(s), which is how most fans view the movies these days.

** The TV special ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku Bardock: The Father of Goku]]'', while not strictly canon, does fit in with the destruction of Planet Vegeta mentioned in the manga. Bardock gets a cameo in the manga later on, and the ReCut series ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' even splices in footage from the Bardock special, including Bardock himself, as part of a prologue in the first episode. However, Creator/AkiraToriyama's own interpretation of Bardock in ''[[Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman Dragon Ball Minus]]'' contradicts Bardock's characterization in the special, showing him sending Kakarot to Earth to protect him rather than dismissing him as weak.
** The other special, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZTheHistoryOfTrunks The History of Trunks]]'', is an expansion of the manga's only bonus chapter. Unlike in the special, Teen Trunks is already a Super Saiyan training with Gohan in the manga and in the Future Trunks arc of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''.

** Averted with ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'', a series of six movies that are canonical and take place into the TimeSkip before ''02''[='s=] DistantFinale. Also averted by ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'', a sequel to the ''tri.'' movies.

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' also has two movies that were released while it was airing. The franchise's third movie is difficult to fit in the canon, but the characters of this movie have a cameo in both ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02TheBeginning'' (and there was a previous appearance in a DramaCD). The franchise's fourth movie was released during the last few episodes of ''Adventure 02''. It takes place after the events of the season (but before the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue) and acts as a direct sequel to the second ''Adventure'' movie. Obviously it was never referenced in canon, but nothing has ever said it ''wasn't'' canon either. There were a couple of evolutions that could be considered {{Continuity Snarl}}s but they can be easily explained. It would later be directly referenced in ''Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning''. In English-speaking countries, the first three movies were dubbed and released together as a CompilationMovie entitled ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie''. The dub of ''Adventure 02'' also added references to the third movie (that doesn't exist in the original version).

** ''Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn'': Takes place ''during'' the Other World Tournament, retconning in a break during Goku and Pikkon's fight. The tournament itself was supposed to take place shortly after the Cell Saga, but the status quo includes many aspects of the middle of the much later Buu Saga (which had a seven year TimeSkip). Goku should not be able to turn [=SS2=] or [=SS3=], Vegeta is dead, Gohan can reach Ultimate Level and {{Fusion|Dance}} is introduced really early. Goku even mentions Majin Buu to Janemba, but should not have known anything of him until much later.

** ''Anime/BleachHellverse'' is flat out non-canon, since [[Creator/TiteKubo Kubo]] would introduce a very different concept of Hell in the manga's continuation, although a few ideas from the film were incorporated.

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' also has two movies that were released while it was airing. The franchise's third movie is difficult to fit in the canon, but the characters of this movie have a cameo in both ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02TheBeginning'' (and there was a previous appearance in a DramaCD). The franchise's fourth movie was released during the last few episodes of ''Adventure 02''. It takes place after the events of the season (but before the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue) and acts as a direct sequel to the second ''Adventure'' movie. Obviously it was never referenced in canon, but nothing has ever said it ''wasn't'' canon either. There were a couple of evolutions that could be considered {{Continuity Snarl}}s but they can be easily explained. In English-speaking countries, the first three movies were dubbed and released together as a CompilationMovie entitled ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie''. The dub of ''Adventure 02'' also added references to the third movie (that doesn't exist in the original version).

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' also has two movies that were released while it was airing. The franchise's third movie is difficult to fit in the canon, but the characters of this movie have a cameo in ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' (and there was a previous appearance in a DramaCD). The franchise's fourth movie was released during the last few episodes of ''Adventure 02''. It takes place after the events of the season (but before the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue) and acts as a direct sequel to the second ''Adventure'' movie. Obviously it was never referenced in canon, but nothing has ever said it ''wasn't'' canon either. There were a couple of evolutions that could be considered {{Continuity Snarl}}s but they can be easily explained. In English-speaking countries, the first three movies were dubbed and released together as a CompilationMovie entitled ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie''. The dub of ''Adventure 02'' also added references to the third movie (that doesn't exist in the original version).

** ''Anime/DragonBallZBojackUnbound'': Is one of the few that actually fits snugly -- the Japanese dialogue has Bulma mention that Trunks is back from his future after defeating the Androids (a detail not retained in Creator/{{Funimation}}'s dub). Considering Trunks has his own time machine, it easily explains why his hair is long again and why iconic vest has its sleeves ripped off. That said, [[spoiler:a dead Goku briefly leaves Other World with Instant Transmission to sock Bojack in the face and save Gohan]], something that's not exploited again when a bad guy wreaks havoc while Goku is dead in the Buu Arc.

** ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' was a new canon of the events following ''Dragon Ball Z'', eliminating the anime-only ''Dragon Ball GT'' story. It ends with a SequelHook of more powerful enemies for Goku and company to find, and unique for the first time [[CantCatchUp the heroes actually lose]]. ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' is a direct sequel, featuring the return of Frieza, and the success of both movies led to the ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' series. Following the conclusion of [[Recap/DragonBallSuperUniverseSurvivalArc the Tournament of Power]], there'd be another theatrical continuation in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', which turned Broly into a CanonImmigrant and builds exclusively on major events of the entire franchise (Bardock, King Vegeta, destruction of the Saiyan homeworld, Frieza's second resurrection in ''Super''). This was later followed up with ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'', which continues the march towards the "End of Z" arc by giving us older looks for Pan, Goten and Trunks.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' tends to zig-zag this trope.
** The first few movies were explicitly in canon with the series, with ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' being built up to within the show and having Mewtwo wipe everyone's memories of the events. Later movies are ambiguous, having the cast forget having seeing the focal Pokémon of that movie, but still referencing locations, items, and occasionally plot points from said films.[[note]]The main location of [[Anime/PokemonDestinyDeoxys Movie 7]] was made the hometown of May's rival Drew, [[Anime/PokemonLucarioAndTheMysteryOfMew Movie 8]] raised a plot point ([[BackgroundMagicField Aura]]) that has been [[ContinuityNod brought back]] in later episodes, etc.[[/note]] In addition, each film has the same team lineup as the most recent episodes of the time. According to Bulbapedia, most of the movies are considered canon to the series, taking place between the episodes they air, and fulfill the same purpose as {{Filler}}, as no Pokémon are caught or evolve/learn new moves. [[note]]Usually, that is. Sometimes it does happen -- for example, Ash's Squirtle and Misty's Corsola used Bubblebeam for the first time in the [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie first]] and [[Anime/PokemonHeroes fifth]] movies respectively.[[/note]]

* Inverted and subverted with the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, in which the films are the prime continuity, and the spinoff shows prior to ''Series/WandaVision'' are, in a sense, Non-Serial ''Series''. ''Series/AgentsOfShield'', ''Series/AgentCarter'', ''Series/JessicaJones2015'', ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'' and so forth '''are''' officially part of the MCU, and repeatedly confirmed to be so. At the same time, however, the events of television productions have almost no impact on the direction of the films and their MythArc. This caused significant friction between Creator/MarvelStudios and Creator/MarvelTelevision, especially as the films could upset the status quo of the world at any time, and the showrunners were often left scrambling to keep up. Two major cases of this involve ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''; first, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' ended with S.H.I.E.L.D. being ''dismantled'' after [[spoiler:HYDRA's infiltration of the organization was exposed]]. While it was still airing its first season. Then, the last two seasons ignored the game-changing ending of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', and are implied to take place in an alternate timeline. Meanwhile, it's been made clear numerous times that the films have no intent on using or referencing developments from the television side of things.[[note]]Case in point, the resurrection of EnsembleDarkHorse Phil Coulson in ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', whereas Creator/JossWhedon explicitly stated the films would carry on as if Coulson was DeaderThanDead.[[/note]] [[spoiler:''Film/AvengersEndgame'' marks the first time the series are acknowledged, however briefly, as Edwin Jarvis (previously only a secondary protagonist in ''Agent Carter'') gets to make a short cameo. Later, the Netflix series were implied to still be in canon, with the series being transferred over from Creator/{{Netflix}} to Creator/DisneyPlus, Daredevil appearing in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' and ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' (as well as getting a SequelSeries to his original show in Phase 5), and the Kingpin appearing in ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}''.]]

* ''Film/StarTrek2009'' and [[Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness its]] [[Film/StarTrekBeyond sequels]] are set in an alternate continuity from the rest of the shows and movies in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. Interestingly, the two universes are connected. The movie verse was created by a man from the main continuity travelling back and [[AlternateTimeline splitting the timeline]]. There is a brief reference to this universe in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' Season 3 to help explain what is happening to one of their crew.

** The third movie, ''[[Anime/MyHeroAcademiaWorldHeroesMission World Heroes' Mission]]'', is set between the anime's fifth and sixth season during a TimeSkip and a likewise et up during a filler episode in Season 5.

** [[Film/{{Pokemon}} The first few movies]] were explicitly in canon with the series, with ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' being built up to within the show and having Mewtwo wipe everyone's memories of the events. Later movies are ambiguous, having the cast forget having seeing the focal Pokémon of that movie, but still referencing locations, items, and occasionally plot points from said films.[[note]]The main location of [[Anime/PokemonDestinyDeoxys Movie 7]] was made the hometown of May's rival Drew, [[Anime/PokemonLucarioAndTheMysteryOfMew Movie 8]] raised a plot point ([[BackgroundMagicField Aura]]) that has been [[ContinuityNod brought back]] in later episodes, etc.[[/note]] In addition, each film has the same team lineup as the most recent episodes of the time. According to Bulbapedia, most of the movies are considered canon to the series, taking place between the episodes they air, and fulfill the same purpose as {{Filler}}, as no Pokémon are caught or evolve/learn new moves. [[note]]Usually, that is. Sometimes it does happen -- for example, Ash's Squirtle and Misty's Corsola used Bubblebeam for the first time in the [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie first]] and [[Anime/PokemonHeroes fifth]] movies respectively.[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' has had eleven feature films, each taking place sometime during [[Manga/{{Naruto}} the manga's]] TV adaptation storyline. Of these, only two movies (''[[Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie The Last]]'' and ''[[Anime/BorutoNarutoTheMovie Boruto]]'') avert this trope due to being canonical with the manga, in large part due to [[SelfAdaptation Masashi Kishimoto's personal involvement]].