History AllThereInTheManual / AnimeAndManga

** Essentially the only way to even ''try'' to make sense of ''NGE'''s plot is to look at the "classified files" in the spin-off game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, which was coincidentally [[NoExportForYou never released in the States]].

* In ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove'', this is downplayed with Tazawa's first name (Masuya), as Tazawa only comes into the story at episode 5 of 12, season 1. The online manga plays this straight regarding some of the villainous trio backstory (e.g. how Kinshiro and Arima met) but the final chapter, found in the print version only, has to be understood by watching the canon material.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Generally, the anime is relatively self-contained and understandable without turning to the LightNovels (sans one scene in episode one that is LeftHanging), but there's obviously a lot of background that doesn't find its way in, and there's also quite a bit that goes on ''after'' the events in the anime. [[NoExportForYou Good luck finding translations, though]].

* Like many {{Light Novel}}s [[AnimatedAdaptation adapted into anime]], ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' loses some information in the transition, some of it quite relevant. The most pertinent example comes in episode 2, where Mahiro realizes that Nodens' base is BiggerOnTheInside, which just passes with a remark from Nyarko about how well he's handling such an unusual situation; in the light novels, it's revealed that he possesses the ability to perceive and [[RippleEffectProofMemory be unaffected by distortions in space-time]], which becomes a major ChekhovsSkill later on when [[spoiler:an evil former classmate [[RetGone wipes Nyarko and Cuko from existence]] and Mahiro is the only person who remembers they ever existed.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

* ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries'':
** The anime doesn't bother to fully explain Dante's connection to Trish or Lady, their respective histories being found in the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 first]] and [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening third]] games, amongst other backstories that are more fleshed out in the game.
** The ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series has an AnachronicOrder and this adaptation is sandwiched in between (''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening DMC3]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]'' > ''TAS'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry2 DMC2]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 DMC4]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry5 DMC5]]''), so missing out on the games does indeed leave you with a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the anime series.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' provides a series of databooks that contribute to a broader understanding of how the main manga should be interpreted. The databooks offer further information on published events and characters while also adding teasers and hints for events and characterisations that might be expanded upon in the future.
** For example, Ichigo's personal interests aren't brought up a lot in the series. At the beginning, it is mentioned in his profile that chocolate is his favorite food and that the person he most respects is ''Creator/WilliamShakespeare''. In the story, Ichigo's fondness of chocolate is only brought up during the Lost Agent arc (aka the Fullbringer arc), which is the penultimate arc of the manga. Ichigo's interest for English literature is finally brought up again in the sequel one-shot, where it is revealed that Ichigo majored in English and has become a translator.

* At the end of every ''Manga/FutureDiary'' volume, there is an {{Omake}} that explains certain unclear things, such as how and why the 3rd, 4th and 9th were targeting each other, and how they began to focus on Yukki. It also gives a little background info on some of the other Future Diary holders.
** There is also ''Mosiac'' and ''Paradox'', which focus on the Ninth and Akise, giving more info on the Sixth as well.

* The entire ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' anime isn't just a prequel, it's The Old Testament Bible of the video game's history. Unfortunately, many game fans were bewildered by [[GenreShift the complete change of narrative from the action-based medium]], and many who would appreciate it for its own merits were put off by the over-the-top zombie shoot-em-up the show began with.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' has several enemy character and later Stand names just outright omitted in early story arcs. Most of the villains in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'' go entirely unnamed in the original publications, only to be given names later on in the volumized editions and art books. This was particularly egregious when Viz translated it into English the first time around and gave the name "Rubber Soul" to the character Steely Dan, when Rubber Soul is the name of a character that appears earlier but goes unnamed. The anime series fixes this by at least giving characters' names in eyecatchers. Later parts of the manga also give character names and Stand names either explicitly in the text, as part of a cover page, or again later in the volume versions.

* The ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' [[TheVerse universe]] includes significant amounts of supplementary canon from books, comics, and video games in addition to the series and [=OVA=]s that were actually filmed.

* The supplementary manga and Sound Stages of ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' explains how Nanoha learned the Bind spell during her battle with Fate, who that Linith woman was in the LotusEaterMachine, what the heck happened to Arf in the third season and what that gift from Reinforce that Vita was talking about was.

** There was actually another manual that was released later, then basically overtook the previous manual in canonicity. No one had translated that into English yet. This is technically the third time it happened, since the Spin-Off Game decanonized the first manual called the ''Red Cross Book''. It's likely they'll continue making new manuals with mildly and noticeable different interpretations of what's going on until they finally go bankrupt.
*** Curiously, though the new Chronicles share many major points of info with the [=PS2=] Game, they curiously completely ignore all references to a certain group of Secret Benefactors that don't ever show up within the Anime at all. In combination with Gainax's OFFICIAL stance on the Game being that "All plot details were made specifically" for the Game, it's possible we got Retconning Manuals on our hands here.

* Overall, the original LightNovel series of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' goes into detail of how the magic system and the like works better than the anime does, but not in clarity, as both forms of media tend to contradict themselves. The only true "manual" for the series is a long series of interviews by creator [[WordOfGod Hajime Kanzaka]], and he [[FlipFlopOfGod flops around]] and [[ShrugOfGod whimsily comes up with answers to questions]] to the point that he's making every potential canon fact up on the fly. The only truly solid facts are extended backstories of the main characters (especially important in regards to IdiotHero Gourry because he is the only major character whose background gets no spotlight in any media). Even then, some incidents, such as Gourry and [[ShrinkingViolet Sylphiel's]] first meeting and Lina's great fear of her [[AloofBigBrother older sister]] are never explained.
** Also, there are two radio dramas that act as extensions of the ''Slayers Premium'' NonSerialMovie; a prologue and an epilogue that both set the stage and tie up loose ends (including how [[spoiler:Naga sided with the BigBad of the movie and how Amelia was saved after being blown off to an abandoned island]]); naturally, they're only available in Japan. The manga adaptation as a whole does a better job at telling the story.

* Masaki Kajishima, main writer for the ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' OVA-[[TheVerse verse]], has regularly released supplemental material, such as novels and self-published doujinshi, with information about that continuity. One of the reasons for releasing the {{spinoff}} series ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'' before the ''Tenchi'' OVA {{Revival}} series was to introduce some of the new characters and other elements from the novels to the audience that hadn't read (or wasn't able to read) them. That didn't stop him from releasing ''Anime/TenchiMuyoWarOnGeminar'' years before OVA 5 released, leaving a lot of unanswered questions about that.

** Still questionable though, since the anime already contradicts aspects of the manga as it is.

* While not too extreme, ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' does have certain events and plot relevant information given outside of the manga pages/anime scenes proper, most of them come in the form of Extras contained within the compiled manga volumes, with the rest residing in databooks; deeper details on key events, character trivia and more background are guaranteed to be reserved for those expansions. Two good examples are how you will never know Mitsuri was briefly trained by Kyojuro within the Flame Breathing, which she developed into the Love Breathing, without reading through said extras and the fact [[spoiler:the Kamado Family has lived in the same humble house for 400 years, and that happened to be the very same house Yoriichi and Uta once lived in, which Yoriichi gave it to Sumiyoshi is only mentioned as a mere trivia at the Sengoku Rumors section in the 2nd Databook]].

* While not too extreme, ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' does have certain events and plot relevant information given outside of the manga pages/anime scenes proper, most of them come in the form of Extras contained within the compiled manga volumes, with the rest residing in databooks; deeper details on key events, character trivia and more background are guaranteed to be reserved for those expansions. Two good examples are how you will never know Mitsuri was briefly trained by Kyojuro within the Flame Breathing, which she developed into the Love Breathing, without reading through said extras and the fact [[spoiler:the Kamado Family has lived in the same humble house for 400 years, and that happened to be the very same house Yoriichi and Uta once lived in, which Yoriichi gave it to Sumiyoshi is only mentioned as a mere trivia at the end of a manga volume, in the Rumors section]].

* While not too extreme, ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' does have certain events and plot relevant information given outside of the manga pages/anime scenes proper, most of them come in the form of Extras contained within the compiled manga volumes, with the rest residing in databooks; deeper details on key events, character trivia and more background are guaranteed to be reserved for those expansions. A good example is how you will never know Mitsuri was briefly trained by Kyojuro within the Flame Breathing, which she developed into the Love Breathing, without reading through said extras.

** There are [[LightNovel/PocketMonstersTheAnimation two novels]] by Creator/TakeshiShudo, a major writer for the anime, that give [[http://cindysuke.tumblr.com/post/34817930237/the-facts-about-pokemon-world-lol insight into]] [[http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f313/world-according-takeshi-shudo-15688/ the world.]] It tells us stuff like what happened to Ash's father, Brock's siblings are only his half-siblings, and that ten-year-olds are legal adults (they can get arrested, they have to pay taxes, [[{{Squick}} they can get married...]]). A lot of the info isn't canon nowadays but it does make sense in the Kanto days, like how Officer Jenny was able to jail a bunch of kids so easily.

* ''LightNovel/EndoAndKobayashiLiveTheLatestOnTsundereVillainessLieselotte'' has an InUniverse case. Lieselotte got her own route in the FictionalVideoGame's fan disc that explains the motivations behind her behavior. Kobayashi considers it absolutely imperative to play to understand why she acts the way she does in the main game, confusing Endo as to why he should play the fan disc first.

* In ''Manga/FourKnightsOfTheApocalypse'', some of Lancelot's backstory is in [[Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai the prequel]] (where it served as a SequelHook), rather than the actual story in which he's a protagonist. It was also a bonus chapter which hasn't been officially released in English yet.

* Random splash pages in ''Manga/FairyTail'' will be entirely dedicated to a member of the titular guild. When it's a main character like Erza, or a minor one with a decent amount of attention like Elfman, it will tell you random things like how Erza terrorizes fashion designers into making her armor, of that Elfman once lost a bird and never realized the one he found was not the same. If it's a background character who gets roughly one line per arc at best, it will give detail into their past and personality. Much of this information ends up getting incorporated into the anime as filler.
* ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'' by Mamoru Nagano contains some of the most ambitious worldbuilding in anime and manga history, a lot of which gets little exposure in the series proper. Fortunately, the English editions come with sections from the sourcebooks printed in the back of each issue, including full-colour illustrations.
* At the end of every ''Manga/FutureDiary'' volume, there is an {{Omake}} that may explain certain things that were not very obvious, such as how and why the 3rd, 4th and 9th were targeting each other, and how they began to focus on Yukki. It also gives a little background info on some of the other future diary holders.

* The entire ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' anime isn't just a prequel, it's The Old Testament Bible of the video game's history. Unfortunately, many game fans were be bewildered by [[GenreShift the complete change of narrative from the action-based medium]], and many who would appreciate it for its own merits were put off by an over-the-top zombie shoot-em-up the show began with.

** ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' in general does this in the form of various magazines and Gunpla infosheets. Yes, you read it right, many of the debates among fans will often end up with one side pulling out the supplemental info shipped with various Gunplas. And just like any of the highly-controversal ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny (Destiny)]]'' canon info, these are known for being ''extremely'' prone to "retconning over and over", with MG and PG Gunpla infosheets often outright contradicting their earlier HG counterparts, and [[UpToEleven MGs of different mechas don't tend to treat other very well either...]]

* ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries''

** The ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series has an AnachronicOrder (''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening DMC3]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]'' > ''TAS'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry2 DMC2]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 DMC4]]'' > ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry5 DMC5]]''), so missing out on the games does indeed leave you with a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the anime series.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry [[Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries The Animated Series]]'' doesn't bother to fully explain Dante's connection to Trish or Lady, their respective histories being found in the first and third game. Amongst others.
** The series are meant to be viewed in the order of Games 3, 1, the anime, 4, and 2. So missing the games does indeed leave you with a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the anime series.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Generally, the anime is relatively self-contained and understandable without turning to the LightNovels (sans one scene in episode one that is LeftHanging), but there's obviously a lot of background that doesn't find it's way in, and there's also quite a bit that goes on ''after'' the events in the anime. [[NoExportForYou Good luck finding translations, though]].

* The anime ''Anime/DoomedMegalopolis'' features a confusing narrative quite difficult to follow for those who have not acquainted themselves with the cultural references or the source material ''Literature/TeitoMonogatari''. This is partly because the anime adapts only the first 1/3rd of the novel and tries to force in a conclusion to make up for it's lack of completeness.

** ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', unlike the other films, holds relevance to the overall plot as it's events take place between the last two chapters of the manga, even being regarded as Chapter 699.5.

* ''LightNovel/EndoAndKobayashiLiveTheLatestOnTsundereVillainessLieselotte'' has an InUniverse case. Lieselotte got her own fan disc that explains the motivations behind her behavior. Kobayashi considers it absolutely imperative to play to understand why she acts the way she does in the main game, confusing Endo as to whether he should play the fan disc first.

* Masaki Kajishima, main writer for the ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' OVA-[[TheVerse verse]], has regularly released supplemental material, such as novels and self-published doujinshi, with information about that continuity. One of the reasons for releasing the {{spinoff}} series ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'' before the ''Tenchi'' OVA {{Revival}} series was to introduce some of the new characters and other elements from the novels to the audience that hadn't read (or wasn't able to read) them.

* ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' often has large amounts of information about the mechanics of the Symphogears and Noise hidden away in keywords (such as the Symphogear system having over 3,000,000 limiters as well as how the sync ratio-enhancing drug [=LiNKER=] works), and it also detailed [[GenkiGirl Hibiki's]] DarkAndTroubledPast and DisappearedDad before those issues came to the forefront in the third season, GX.

* ''LightNovel/EndoAndKobayashisLiveCommentaryOnTheVillainess'' has an InUniverse case. Liselotte got her own fan disc that explains her motivations behind her behavior. Kobayashi considers it absolutely imperative to play to understand why she acts the way she does in the main game, confusing Endo as to whether he should play the fan disc first.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* ''Anime/TheIdolmaster'' -- Some events in the anime series make a lot more sense if you've played through the game it's based on and unlocked the backstories for the idols.

* The ''Manga/KokoWaGreenwood'' OVA literally directs the viewer to a specific chapter of the manga to explain a reference. This is because the second OVA happens after the next 4 (it even refers obliquely to the plot of 5 and 6). AND it's a sequel to a story they didn't animate.

* The ''Anime/MaiOtome'' sound dramas provide bits of backstory from the main series, such as how Tomoe met Shizuru, some of Yukariko's backstory (she was a Meister who had to cancel contracts due to her masters falling in love with her) and Mai and Natsuki's early days at the academy, including how Natsuki became Shizuru's room attendant.

* ''Manga/OnePiece''