History Main / AdaptationDisplacement

[[folder:Displaced by {{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* The {{anime}} boom in America took place well before the {{manga}} boom. As a result, more people were familiar with anime adaptations than the manga they were based on. For a while, the only place to talk about a manga series was the forum of the people translating the manga.
** Somewhat inverted in Latin America, where the anime boom not only started before it did in the USA, but also happened as a consequence of the already growing anime fandom -- as many Latino fans assumes that every anime is based on a manga when in fact anime based on novels, light novels, video games or being completely original ideas is just as common. As a result is not rare to find people who have read a manga thinking they were reading the original story in which the animated series is based upon when in fact it is the other way round.
** This is the reason why North Americans usually refer LiveActionAdaptation of manga series as "anime adaptation" or "live-action anime".
* Generally, any anime that is based on a VisualNovel has the tendency to be this, stateside or outside of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}. Good examples would be ''VisualNovel/ToHeart'', ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', the three [[FanNickname Key Ani]] adaptations (''VisualNovel/{{Air}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', and ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}''), ''VisualNovel/RumblingHearts'' and the three 5pb adaptations (''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'', ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'', and ''VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes''); few know these came from visual novels. Furthermore, the visual novel medium (a kind of non-linear, interactive, digital graphic novel, like a cross between a VideoGame and a {{novel}}), is itself largely unknown in the Western world, though it's garnered cult status thanks to games like ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' and ''VisualNovel/MyGirlfriendIsThePresident'' and the success of anime based on [=VNs=].
* A lot of anime that was based on written novels or stories, especially Japanese {{light novels}}, is often mistakenly thought of by the Western world as being original stories or based on a manga. This is mainly because manga and anime are easier to translate--since you're mostly just dealing with dialog, there's far less text to work through--though light-novel translations have gradually become more common as the subculture's population grows. There's also the factor of the Main/AnimationAgeGhetto applying to illustrated novels, but not [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Comic Books]].\\
Some notable examples:
** ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' by Creator/YoshikiTanaka. 10 volumes of main story, 4 volumes of side story.
** Not many (especially outside of Japan) are aware that Creator/HayaoMiyazaki's ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' is actually based on a illustrated novel published four years prior by Eiko Kadano. It didn't help that it would take several decades for the novel to start getting translated and released in countries outside of Japan, years after the film had been released. Even in Japan, the film far eclipses the original novel in popularity.
** The ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'' novels are based on the pen-and-paper TabletopRPG by the same name -- which was inspired by ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''.
** ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' is mainly known for its anime adaptation, particularly since the first manga adaptation was mediocre, and the light novels weren't available in the US until after the anime was popular.
** ''Anime/PerfectBlue'' is a comparatively mild example; it's fairly frequently mentioned that it's based on a novel, including on the DVD case for the anime... But you'll be hard-pressed to find a Westerner who has heard of the novel outside that, or knows anything about it.
** ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' is primarily known for its anime adaptation (especially for the sheer amount of HomoeroticSubtext), yet far less people have read the original ([[NoExportForYou Japanese only]]) light novels and even less know of the spinoff set in the nearby all-boys school.
** Even ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' was based on [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/Hamtaro_cover.jpg/220px-Hamtaro_cover.jpg an obscure light novel]], which the anime completely eclipsed in popularity.
** ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'' is unusual in that it's based on a ''non-light'' novel (this wiki categorizes it as {{literature}}, rather than a light novel or anime). This makes it even more difficult to translate, since it contains more obscure Japanese characters than a light novel, so no official one exists.
* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', being close to the first anime that shocked viewers out of the AnimationAgeGhetto, became a popular movie and is certainly better-known than its expansive manga. Especially the case outside of Japan due to a multitude of reasons discussed on that work's page.
* During its heyday in the mid-2000s, the anime adaptation of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' was much more well-known outside of Japan than the manga it was based on, despite both being translated at the same time. The localizers at Creator/ADVFilms seemed to anticipate this: not only did they promote the anime much more heavily, their translation of the manga was retitled ''[[TitleTheAdaptation Azumanga Daioh: The Manga]]''. Over time, the two have become more-or-less equally popular, both due to the manga boom and legal issues. When ADV went bankrupt in 2009, Creator/YenPress grabbed the manga rights to both ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'' and ''Azumanga Daioh'', putting out a new translation that year. The anime went until 2016 without a re-release (when Creator/SentaiFilmworks picked up the rights), making the manga the more accessible way to view the series for several years.
* Possibly as an attempt to avoid this, the first ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'' novel was released in English around the same time as the first season of the anime.
* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' was originally a series of light novels which began in 1989; the anime came out in 1995, five years after the first couple of novels were published. Like most light novel-originated series, most foreign fans find the anime as the truest source of canon. It is rather unusual in this case because the first season of the anime was released in the states ''one year'' after it completed its run in Japan, and, as a dub released by Creator/CentralParkMedia, was one of the few '90s dubs that didn't suffer from any form of {{bowdlerisation}}, DubNameChange, or any other edits. Both the novels themselves and most of its manga adaptations weren't translated until the mid 2000s.
** This also happens with the ''characters'' as well; in the novels, Lina and [[IdiotHero Gourry]] are the only protagonists; the chimera [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Zelgadis]] and the princess [[GenkiGirl Amelia]] were their allies for the first eight novels, and they were replaced by treasure hunters [[HotBlooded Luke]] and [[MoralityChain Millina]] for the remaining seven. However, both Zelgadis and Amelia became extremely popular, and when newer anime seasons and manga were made, they were in them, quintessentially making the "Slayers" a four-man band instead of a duo. Very few fans outside of Japan know who Luke and Millina are, especially given that the AlternateContinuity manga ''The Hourglass of Falces'' has all six heroes together.
* ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' is originally a novel, but not everybody knows this. In fact, when ''Battle Royale'' was mentioned in the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga, the UsefulNotes/{{Swed|en}}ish translation included a footnote telling the readers that ''Battle Royale'' is a movie and a manga.
* Fans of Creator/StudioGhibli, if they knew that any of the studio's animated films are adaptations, might know one or two of the books that inspired some of their movies without having read them. However, a good chunk of the Ghibli canon is adapted material, as [[https://fromstufftoscreen.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/12-studio-ghibli-films-that-are-adaptations/ this article]] points out:
** Several movies are based on short manga. These include ''Anime/WhisperOfTheHeart'', ''Anime/FromUpOnPoppyHill'', and ''Anime/OnlyYesterday''. There's also ''Anime/MyNeighborsTheYamadas'', based on a serialized four-panel manga strip called ''Nono-chan''. Three films (''Anime/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'', ''Anime/PorcoRosso'', and ''Anime/TheWindRises'') are actually Creator/HayaoMiyazaki adapting [[SelfAdaptation his own manga]] for the silver screen.
** A few are based off of Japanese literature. These run the gamut in terms of genre: ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' was originally a children's chapter book by Eiko Kadono that had only been out for four years when the movie was released. ''Anime/OceanWaves'' was a serially published romance novel by prolific author Saeko Himuro that finished one year before it was adapted into a MadeForTVMovie. ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' was a semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka originally published in 1967. ''Anime/TheTaleOfThePrincessKaguya'' is based off of ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter'', one of Japan's oldest recorded stories written over a thousand years ago by an unknown author. The last is maybe the most tenuous in terms of displacement, as while the film received widespread acclaim, it's one of the lesser known of Ghibli's works. Animation fans in the West might know it better than the original tale, but in Japan most all know the folk tale first.
** Then there are the ones based off of English-language, mostly British novels, typically for children and young adults. These include ''Anime/WhenMarnieWasThere'' based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson, ''Anime/TalesFromEarthsea'' based on Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' series, ''Anime/{{Arrietty}}'' based on Mary Norton's ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', and ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'' and ''Anime/EarwigAndTheWitch'' both based on novels by Creator/DianaWynneJones. These examples are most well-known to English-speaking fans in how the creators seemed to pick out books that have flown well under the radar of the West's pop culture consciousness for Japan's most prestigious animation studio to make films of. Howl in particular takes significant creative liberties from [[Literature/HowlsMovingCastle the novel]], veering off into its own plotline and themes rather quickly, resulting in those who take the time to read the book being shocked by the difference. However, Jones was apparently expecting this, and told them to do whatever they wanted with her script.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Some mainstream articles on ''Pokémon'' [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer refer to the Pokémon and human characters]] as anime characters (or simply cartoon characters), often completely ignorant of the franchise's video game origins; a few articles have even implied that the ''[[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} trading card game]]'' came first. This is largely because, depending on the region, the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime series]] was [[AdaptationFirst released weeks or even months before]] the video games outside Japan. Matters were further confused by ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' having the name of the anime's protagonist (Ash) as one of the predefined suggestions for the player character's name in all the Gen I games.[[note]]To be fair, this was the case in Japanese as well, with Satoshi even being the character's official name until it was {{retcon}}ned to Red, one of the other predefined suggestions, in Gen II.[[/note]] Then came the {{Recursive Adaptation}}s; the next mainline game, ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Yellow]]'', was an UpdatedRerelease that incorporated elements from the anime into ''Red and Blue'''s plot (like having Pikachu as a starter), while ''[[VideoGame/PanelDePon Pokémon Puzzle League]]'' was a spin-off game that was outright based on the show and used artwork of those characters. This is all made most evident by asking anyone "What is ''Pokémon''[='=]s ThemeTune?" Even long-time fans of the games who haven't watched the anime since they were children are most likely to respond with the theme of anime's first season (or [[LongRunners whichever era of the show they grew up with]]), rather than the actual leitmotif of the games.
* ''Manga/YuGiOh'' wasn't even about a card game at first. Once [[Anime/YuGiOh the second anime]] got to the U.S., it took a few months for the card game to show up as well. It doesn't help that Creator/FourKidsEntertainment deliberately picked up the franchise because of the card game plot after how much money they'd made on ''Pokémon'' and its various components. The makers of the second anime did this too, so it's also not a surprise they sold it overseas based on this. Even elements of the storyline they adapted that had little card game elements in the manga had the Duel Monsters segments played up for the anime to sell the cards.
* A variation of this is the case of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', a SpinOff [[MorePopularSpinoff that greatly outpaced the original in terms of popularity]]. Reading through this wiki, you may get the impression that the ''Triangle Heart'' series only consists of [[VideoGame/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever the third game]], which spawned ''Nanoha''. This is also a straight example since ''Nanoha'' was originally a mini-scenario of the ''Triangle Heart 3'' game. People still mistake clips from the original as a video game adaptation of the anime instead of the other way around.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has a case of a character being displaced, which is Tohji. He had never been too popular whether as a standalone character or the Fourth Child of the original series, but after the introduction of Mari in ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' as the new Fourth Child, she completely overshadowed him in fanart and promotional arts.
* There are two manga prequels of the original ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' manga: ''Manga/SaintSeiyaNextDimension'', illustrated by the original author Masami Kurumada, and ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', illustrated by another author, Shiori Teshirogi. However, it would be hard to find people who knows of ''Next Dimension'', due to its severe continuity problems and the [[RecycledScript not-very-appealing]] plot, leading to it being unpopular. In contrast, ''Lost Canvas'' is pretty much accepted by most fans as the official prequel due to being much more well-written. The fact that Kurumada himself approves of ''Lost Canvas'' only helps.
* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' was originally a JRPG series which, despite being a Genuine CashCowFranchise in Japan, was initially [[NoExportForYou never released elsewhere]]. In the West, it ended up being generally displaced by the anime (both [=OVA=] and [[Anime/SakuraWars2000 TV]]) adaptations that were released before 2000, though awareness of the original games has grown, thanks in part to several of their characters being featured in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone''.
** Later, the two first games received an official release in UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} and UsefulNotes/{{China}}, of all places.
** ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove'' finally got a North American release in 2010, and the Creator/ADVFilms cases did all say "based on the hit game"... although ADV's translated TV series credits say "original manga by Ohji Hiroi" despite the fact that the manga version of ''Sakura Wars'' hadn't even started in Japan until 2003 (the first game was released back in 1996).
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' is a highly popular MMO that was originally slated for release in the west in 2013, but the western release has since descended into DevelopmentHell. Meanwhile, Creator/SentaiFilmworks released the [[Anime/PhantasyStarOnline2 anime adaptation]] of the series in the west in 2016.
* ''Anime/WhenMarnieWasThere'' was a children's book by Joan G. Robinson before it became a film. Discussions of it are near exclusively about the film.
* ''Manga/LoveHina'' is one of those cases (in the United States) where people very often ''know'' that a book/manga series exists, yet haven't really read it, and far more often ''have'' seen the anime.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' (whose mangaka, Creator/KenAkamatsu, also wrote ''Love Hina'') has several anime adaptations, and most fans know about the first one the most (and it's a rather mediocre adaptation). The manga was being translated by Del Rey's manga division (now by Kodansha USA due to the latter going under) since 2005.
* Another example is the ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' series, consisting of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' and ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. With ''Umineko'' it's managed to be averted, though, since a fan translation of the visual novel began before the anime first aired and the anime got a less-than-enthusiastic reception from fans and first-time viewers alike.
* ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' is a non-VisualNovel example of a video game displaced by the anime adaptation. The anime is very different from the games, at that.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' was originally conceived and designed as the [[DistaffCounterpart Spear Counterpart]] of ''Toys/{{Tamagotchi}}''. [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Taichi]] had also been the main character of [[Manga/DigimonVTamer01 an earlier manga]] wherein he and his (different) Digimon partner traveled the Digital World ''alone'', although behind the scenes he had in fact been developed with his anime counterpart simultaneously.
** The character of Ryo from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' was actually based off of a character from the ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' continuity. Specifically, he was the protagonist of Wonderswan games - which [[NoExportForYou never left Japan]], and his detailed backstory was [[AllThereInTheManual explained via these games]]. Unfortunately, a lot of people outside did not know this so [[AmericansHateTingle he had a rather negative reception]].
* When Creator/NaokoTakeuchi's ''Manga/SailorMoon'' manga received its AnimatedAdaptation within months of its publishing, the eventual 200+ episode [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] (including specials and three {{Non Serial Movie}}s) thoroughly eclipsed its source via AdaptationExpansion for the better part of a decade, being the version that most of TheMerch and all but one LicensedGame was based on. Internationally, this was aided by a lack of or latecoming manga licensing in comparison to multilanguage dubs as anime grew in popularity during TheNineties. (In North America, it took three years after the Creator/{{DiC|Entertainment}} dub's premiere for the manga to be acquired and translated by [[Creator/{{Tokyopop}} Mixx]].) A 2003 UpdatedRerelease of the manga (to tie in to an ironically lesser known [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon tokusatsu version]]) revitalized the property and regularly topped bestseller lists when eventually released stateside in 2011. The newfound exposure eventually resulted in Creator/{{Toei|Animation}} allowing international relicensing of the out-of-print anime during TheNewTens, and beginning development on ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'', a new adaptation that is explicitly TruerToTheText of the once-displaced manga.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': For a long time, it was not widely known in English-speaking countries that ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' was a [[NewSeasonNewName mid-story rebrand]] of ''Manga/DragonBall'', or that it was based on a Japanese manga (without the ''Z'' in the title). Even when the ''Dragon Ball'' anime finally stuck for good in North America in 2001 (after two previous attempts in the '80s and '90s before Z), many believed it was merely a {{prequel}} to ''DBZ'', a [[SpinoffBabies Babyfication]] of ''DBZ'''s characters, a spinoff of ''DBZ'' for a younger audience, or something ''other'' than a pre-existing adaptation of the first part of the story whose later arcs were adapted into ''DBZ''. This despite the fact that ''DBZ'' occasionally flashes back to ''DB''. While the manga was met with some success in North America, there are those who think it's an adaptation of the anime, and those who doesn't know it exists at all. There are also a few people who don't even know ''Dragon Ball Z'' is Japanese.
** In the English translation of the manga, the volumes that were adapted by ''Dragon Ball Z'' had the Z added to the original "Dragon Ball" name for marketing reasons.
* It's easy to assume that ''Toys/BBSenshiSangokuden'' is a ''SD Gundam'' take on ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', even though the story itself is set within the existing ''BB Senshi'' continuity - region names that aren't the same anymore are still referenced i.e. the Nanban region to the south corresponds to Albion. Even character names are sometimes inherited: Moukaku Gundam carries the title of Ashurao from an actual Gundam Ashurao from earlier in the toyline.
* It's hard to guess that ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'', a 2003 crime drama with some sci-fi mixed in for good measure, originated as an adaptation of a lukewarmly received [=PS2=] shooter. It's even harder to believe it after you find out about it, just because of how the action sequences in the show took a definite backseat to characterization and drama, and its overall heavy, depressing feel.
* ''Manga/GetterRobo'' has the ''Armageddon'' OVA series, which is by far the most popular section of the franchise, particularly internationally. Chances are, if ''Getter'' is in a ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' game post-2003, it'll be based on ''Armageddon''. This is evident in the fact that ''Armageddon'' broadly isn't a close adaptation of any story from the manga (being something of a mashup of all manner of characters and concepts from across the franchise and even Creator/KenIshikawa's other works), and has some divergent takes that have ended up becoming iconic. For instance, if you look up Ryoma Nagare, you'll almost invariably find pictures and artwork of his ''Armageddon'' design, with the tan overcoat, red scarf, and bandaged hands, before finding him in the sea-green pilot suit, karate ''gi'', or casual clothes that he wears in every other part of the franchise. This is particularly noteworthy, because prior to ''Armageddon'', he'd never worn such an outfit; it originally hails from the manga ''Majuu Sensen'', another Ishikawa work, making ''Armageddon'' Ryoma something of a CompositeCharacter.
* In the West, it used to be that if you mentioned ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', people would think of [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the iconic 2003 anime version]], which diverged significantly from the original's story. Nowadays though, a lot more people are aware of the original manga, thanks to it getting a TruerToTheText adaptation in ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood''.
* The anime ''Manga/{{Basilisk}} '' is based off a series of manga named ''Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'', which were manga adaptations of ''The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'', a 1958 novel. So, double displacement.
* The 1985 series ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' is a {{frankenslation}} of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', ''Anime/SuperDimensionCavalrySouthernCross'', and ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada''. Despite modern anime fans bashing the redundant narration and clumsy translation, ''Robotech'' continues to surpass the popularity of even ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' in the USA, which was the only ''popular'' anime of the three in Japan; ''Southern Cross'' was a total flop, and ''Mospeada'' is largely forgotten. Even ADV's attempt to market the original ''SDF Macross'' series on DVD (including a non-''Robotech'' dub) failed due to lack of interest, probably because unlike ''Robotech'', it was never shown on American TV, and the animation is too old for younger audiences. However, the original ''Macross'' continuity is still going strong with its various prequels and sequels; ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' has become a classic in its own right, and ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' was one of the most successful anime series of the late [=2000s=].
* Downplayed with ''Anime/TheTowerOfDruaga''. While it has become more popular than [[VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga the game that it was based on]], the original game remains well-known in gaming communities (it had been released internationally on Namco Museum Volume 3 over a decade before the anime was created), and in Japan the game remains popular.
* Even though ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' is a fairly well known series among anime fans, more people will be familiar with ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' than they will be with the Creator/MamoruOshii films or [[Manga/GhostInTheShell the original manga]]. Since all three media formats (and ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'') are each their own AlternateContinuity, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the general familiarity of the works for most people is Anime > Movies > Manga.
* Unless you're French (where they made sure to avert it through ''DubNameChange''), you probably know the name "Lupin" as ''Franchise/LupinIII'' better than the ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' stories that inspired it.
** Worldwide, more people are far more familiar with the LighterAndSofter anime adaptation known as ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' (Or ''New Lupin III'') than the original DarkerAndEdgier manga.
** The American ''Franchise/LupinIII'' fanbase grew with the Creator/AdultSwim airing of ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'', but most of the more casual viewers aren't aware of the earlier series, ''Anime/LupinIIIPart1'', or the manga volumes that preceded both: ''Manga/LupinIII''. These early episodes had GagDub humour, upsetting the established fans who had enjoyed the earlier localizations of ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' and ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'' because ''their'' Lupin was getting displaced in public perception with this goofy ButtMonkey.
** Because of the adaptation displacement of the manga, ''Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine'' (which was closer in tone to the manga) was controversial largely because many people (who were used to ''Red Jacket'' or ''Cagliostro'') weren't expecting that level of violence or sexual content in a ''Lupin'' cartoon.
* The ''Manga/CaseClosed'' manga still have "based on the hit anime" on them, when really, the manga (47 volumes and still translating) beats the anime (5 seasons and 6 movies). That's for the English version though - the Japanese anime is pretty much around the same area as the manga.
* The ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' [[TheMovie Movie]] is better-known Stateside than either the anime or manga and is usually what the average anime fan would think of when he hears the name.
* ''Anime/YumeNoCrayonOukoku'' was based off a series of Japanese children's novels which still are being written to this day, beginning back in the mid-80's. Most people who live in other countries remember it as only a show and not a book, [[NoExportForYou especially since the books weren't translated outside of Japan.]]
* While most ''Manga/ElfenLied'' fans do know that the anime is based on a manga, it's not that easy to find someone who has actually read the manga, because the anime has simply been marketed more in the West. And due to the relatively common opinion that "[[AdaptationDecay the original is always better than the adaptation]]", it's ''even'' harder to find people who have both the read the manga and watched the anime.
* ''Anime/NightWizard'' was based on a tabletop role-playing game by Far Eastern Amusement Research, which in turn was based on an eroge by Alice Soft. The eroge and tabletop game have spawned other spinoffs of their own, but the anime is easily the best known of them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Medabots}}'': Most westerners will only know about the franchise's anime adaption, since the original Game Boy games [[NoExportForYou never left Japan]]. While three of the series's games did eventually make it to the west, this was only after the anime had become popular.
* ''Anime/VariableGeo'' is a loose OVA adaptation of the ''[[VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo Advanced V.G.]]'' fighting game series. Not that most [[CultClassic outside its fandom]] are aware of that, since the games it was based on [[NoExportForYou were never released outside of Japan.]]
* On This Very Wiki, on pages for manga, light novels, visual novels, etc. that have an anime adaption, most of the tropes will refer to the anime because the anime is often more readily available in the English-speaking world than the source material. References to the source material are usually written as if the source continued where the anime left off. For light novels and visual novels, this also has a side effect of source-only tropes getting documented in the "Anime and Manga" sections of pages.
* The ''Manga/WanderingSon'' anime manages to displace the manga despite the manga being released in English while the anime [[NoExportForYou has not in physical format]]. It probably doesn't help the manga is an expensive hardcover release while the anime is available for free on Website/{{Crunchyroll}}.
* ''Manga/BunnyDrop'''s anime is by far more popular than the manga. Any discussion of the manga will inevitably devolve into [[OvershadowedByControversy complaints]] about the infamous timeskip [[spoiler:where Rin is a teenager and [[WifeHusbandry ends up with her adopted father Daikichi]]]].
* ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'': The books are pretty much only mentioned due to ShipToShipCombat against [[LesYay Kumiko/Reina]], as in the novel [[spoiler:Kumiko ultimately has a ChildhoodFriendRomance with Shuuichi]]. In turn, many Western fans are not aware that ''Anime/LizAndTheBlueBird'' is actually a SpinOff of ''Sound! Euphonium''. In fact, many sites do not categorize it under that franchise, but as its own movie. The original main characters [[ContinuityCameo barely appear]] in this one, so the connection is easy to miss. This was at least partially intentional by the filmmakers, who noted that the story is designed to work without requiring prior knowledge of the franchise.
* ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'' is a CultClassic [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in Latin America]], ''Saber Marionette R'' is somewhat remembered [[note]] both are on Hulu [[/note]], and fans at least saw the OVA and second season, but few people know of anything else, especially the LightNovels.
* While ''Manga/PopTeamEpic'' as a manga isn't any less memorable to its fans, many remember it for the {{Art Shift}}ing, genre spoofing, mile-a-minute gag powerhouse its anime was.
* Thanks to the popularity of ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'''s book adaptations, many Japanese people better know anime like ''Anime/HeidiGirlOfTheAlps'' or ''Anime/RascalTheRaccoon'' over their sources ''Literature/{{Heidi}}'' or ''Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era''. This is especially prominent with ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'', whose parodies often take elements from the anime over the book.
** This also applies to ''World Masterpiece Theater'' anime abroad -- Overseas fans decried the 2018 release of the French live-action film ''Rémi Sans Famille'', dismissing it as a bad foreign live-action adaptation of the beloved anime ''Anime/IeNakiKoRemi'' even during previews. The film was in reality a straight adaptation of ''Literature/SansFamille'', a classic French novel by Hector Malot that was published in 1878 that served as ''Ie Naki Ko Remi'''s source, and had nothing to do with the anime whatsoever.
** ''Anime/ThreeThousandLeaguesInSearchOfMother'' was quite a cult hit in some countries; few are aware that not only is it adapted from the novel ''Heart'' (Cuore) by Italian author Edmondo De Amicis, it was only based on ''one chapter'' in that book. The book is a collection of short stories with a framing device of a schoolkid being told stories about various children; the source material for the anime is just one of these stories.
* Many don't realize that ''Anime/SpiderRiders'' was actually based on a trilogy of English-language novels. But the anime being somewhat obscure itself, the books reach an even deeper level of obscurity.
* ''Anime/DeltoraQuest'' started out as a series of Australian children's fantasy books. If one sees any mention of it now, they're probably talking about the 2007 anime (especially in the US, where it premiered nearly 3 years later).
* Many American fans seem unaware that ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' was originally a light novel series due to NoExportForYou. Eventually, they were licensed by Yen Press and translated into English. However, the subsequent sequel and spin-off light novels have not been made available in English.
* For ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', most people would be more familiar with the anime than the manga, and there are certainly less people familiar with the webcomic than the former. Doesn't help that the visuals from the webcomic is [[StylisticSuck crudely drawn]], turning off people from reading the original one.
* The anime of ''Manga/MadeInAbyss'' is far more popular than the manga, partly because of its widely-praised directing and music, but also because the manga is rather infamous [[ValuesDissonance (particularly among Americans)]] for sexual humor and artwork involving underage characters. In the anime, most of the controversial material got glossed over, or left out entirely.
* The 1960s ''Manga/{{Batman}}'' manga did this to many of the stories it adapted, but especially ''Batman #180'', which introduced the villain Death Man. It's considered a very average 60s Batman story and was largely forgotten for decades, but it was adapted into the first three chapters of the manga, which heavily expanded on the story and made the villain far more threatening. When the manga saw an English release in the 2000s (which also renamed him "Lord Death Man", as a translation of the name Shinigami Man), it completely eclipsed the original story in popularity. Tellingly, his next appearance in ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Batman Inc.]]'' was primarily based on his manga incarnation, down to being called Lord Death Man. It was completely solidified when the story was adapted in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold,'' and was based incredibly closely on the manga version.
* ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' originated as a toyline rather than anime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Displaced by Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BandOfBrothers'': This critically-acclaimed miniseries about Easy Company's exploits is based on the nonfiction book of the same name, which has since been overshadowed by the TV series to the point that subsequent editions released after 2001 use a photo of the miniseries as its cover.
* ''Series/Kingdom2019'': Most people (both in South Korea and overseas) don't know that the show is based on the webcomic ''Kingdom of the Gods''.
* ''Series/TheUntamed'' is just one of many adaptations of ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi''. The novel is hugely popular in China but the series is more famous internationally.
* Not only was ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' based on [[Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie a book]], ''Little House in the Big Woods'' and ''Farmer Boy'' preceded its publication. (And not only that, but the series was based more on the book that came ''after'' it, ''On the Banks of Plum Creek'').
* While some people do know that ''Series/ILoveLucy'' was inspired by Creator/LucilleBall's radio show ''My Favorite Husband'', it can be assumed that few but the most diehard fans have actually listened to that program, and thus don't know just how heavily the television series was drawn from it. Many ''I Love Lucy'' episodes have a corresponding ''My Favorite Husband'' episode they were based on, and [[https://archive.org/details/MyFavoriteHusband/ if you do listen to the latter]], you will be surprised at how similar the plots are, down to some lines and jokes having been copied word for word.
* The science show ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' has proven so popular, very few people know that it was adapted from a Sunday comic strip titled ''You Can With Beakman & Jax'', which ran up until the creator's passing in 2016, long after the show was over.
* In this day and age, far more people are aware of the 1980 ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}'' movie, or the [[Series/FlashGordon2007 2007 TV series]], or even the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial 1930s serials]]'' than are aware that it was a [[ComicStrip/FlashGordon daily newspaper comic]] that ran for nearly 70 years. Though the 1980 movie does try to remind people, by including images from the comic strip in its opening titles.
* ''Series/TheMeetingPlaceCannotBeChanged'' was originally a novel.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Everyone knows the series, and some remember [[Film/{{MASH}} the movie]] it was based on. How many know the movie was adapted from [[Literature/{{MASH}} a series of novels]]? Not that you'd recognise Hawkeye from the books to the show.
** Played with on a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch where host Elliot Gould is a guest on a morning talk show.
--->'''Pinky Waxman''': "Let's talk about ''Series/{{MASH}}''!\\
'''Leo Waxman''': ''Series/{{MASH}}''! It's my favorite show!\\
'''Elliot Gould''': Well, I was in the movie, not the TV show...\\
'''Leo Waxman''': It was a ''movie''? Who knew?
* The original ''Series/MatchGame'' had two celebrity panelists, four contestants, and no {{double entendre}}s. It's the second version, ''Match Game '73'', that everyone remembers. It doesn't help that virtually all of the original series [[MissingEpisode no longer exists on tape.]] To an extent, not many know that ''Series/FamilyFeud'' was derived from the "Audience Match" endgame of ''Match Game '73''.
* The British version of ''Series/{{The Office|UK}}'' was popular in America before the [[Series/TheOfficeUS American version]] started airing, but the latter was what truly turned the show into a household name. Due in part to BritishBrevity, the American version has lasted much longer and has been one of the most popular sitcoms of its era. Although the British version is regarded as a classic, the American version is still the best known. Creator/RickyGervais often makes [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]] jokes about Creator/SteveCarell being more famous than he is. The German and French versions also have better ratings than the original in their respective countries.
* By this point, when people think of ''Series/MrBelvedere'', they're most likely thinking of Christopher Hewett's '80s sitcom, little realizing that the title character was once played on the big screen by Clifton Webb...or that before ''that'', he was a character in a novel by Gwen Davenport.
* ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is now best remembered for being the silly and not particularly good film that was later adapted into a very successful franchise anchored by the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' TV series. Creator/JossWhedon launched the TV show due to dissatisfaction over the ExecutiveMeddling in the film's production and considers his original script for the film, not the film that was actually made, to be canon, basically making this one of the few ''intentional'' instances of this trope.
* The '70s sitcom ''Series/{{Alice|1976}}'' was based on the 1974 movie ''Film/AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore''. The movie has been eclipsed not only by the TV show but also by the [[Film/TaxiDriver later]] [[Film/RagingBull movies]] of its director, Creator/MartinScorsese.
* These days the ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' TV series is much better known than the ''Literature/{{Dexter}}'' book series. It also affected the font on the front of the books, changing the capital "T" in DEXTER to "t" to resemble the show.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' is far more popular than the film that spawned it, ''Film/{{Stargate}}''. ''SG-1'' lasted for ten seasons, spawning two TV sequels, ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' and ''Series/StargateUniverse''; two direct-to-DVD-movies; a remastered version of its pilot episode; numerous novels; and an {{M|assivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame}}MORPG (though this seems to be stuck in DevelopmentHell).
** Also an FPS, Online TCG, another FPS, and other direct-to-DVD movies for the spin-off that are supposedly going to happen if Creator/{{M|etroGoldwynMayer}}GM is ever solvent again.
* Creator/AndrewDavies changed the ending of the novel ''Series/{{House of Cards|UK}}'' in his [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] adaptation. The programme was so much more successful than the (still modestly successful) book that author Michael Dobbs wrote a sequel, ''To Play the King'', and {{retcon}}ned it to fit with the ending of the programme. Then Davies adapted ''To Play the King'' and exactly the same thing happened again.
** Many American fans of the Creator/{{Netflix}} adaptation ''Series/{{House of Cards|US}}'' are likely unaware of the original British series or the book. While the British show was a CultClassic, it was very short-lived and remained virtually unknown outside of England, and wasn't particularly a household name even there. Even nowadays, British people are likely more familiar with the American adaptation than the British original.
* Although Creator/BarrySonnenfeld claimed ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'' was directly based on [[ComicStrip/TheAddamsFamily the original comics]], every significant detail was taken from [[Series/TheAddamsFamily the TV series]] (for example, the original comic strip never named the characters).
* ''Series/IClaudius''; the miniseries displaced [[Literature/IClaudius Robert Graves's novel]].
* The 60s TV adaptation of ''Radio/TheGreenHornet'' has displaced the original radio series on which it was based. This is most obvious in the characterization of Kato: in the original radio series Kato was merely Britt Reid's valet and the Hornet's companion, and had no notable martial arts skills. Creator/BruceLee's portrayal of Kato as martial arts master and all around badass is now so firmly entrenched in the audience's expectations that all subsequent adaptations of the property have that as a prominent part of Kato's characterization.
** In the 1990s NOW Comics adaptations, the writers went so far as to [[RetCanon make the entire Kato family]] (Ikano Kato, companion of the 30s-40s Hornet, Hayashi Kato, son of Ikano and companion of the 60s and 90s Hornet, and Mishi Kato, half-sister of Hayashi and companion (for a time) of the 90s Hornet) proficient martial artists
*** The above displacement of Kato is so famous he got his own Expy without Green Hornet (the 90s martial arts film, Black Mask, has people comment upon the characters' similarity).
* Many Japanese tourists, upon seeing the ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'' attraction at Ride/UniversalStudios, wondered why they were playing the theme music to ''Ryoori no Tetsujin'' (known elsewhere as ''Series/IronChef'').
* Creator/TellySavalas first played Lt. Series/{{Kojak}} (listed in the credits as "Kojack") in an Abby Mann-scripted teleplay about a real-life MiscarriageOfJustice called ''The Marcus-Nelson Murders'', which was itself based on a book by Selwyn Raab. However, Raab wrote that book as a non-fiction work, not a novel, so Kojak did debut for television.
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes'' was adapted to TV from a series of novels produced by Winklemania Productions, UK. If you grew up in TheNineties, it's almost a guarantee you've heard of the series: it aired in over 80 countries and was translated to 8 languages. The books are nowhere ''near'' as well-known.
* The original book ''Literature/DeepLove'' had a large cult following in Japan and while there was a series of popular manga (with multiple spin-offs) the live-action drama was by far more popular.
** The book actually started out as a series of web novels (keitai shousetsu, i.e. a web novel that was published on a site that was made for cell phone viewing) which got so popular they got novelized.
* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' was based on a 1950s Creator/{{EC|Comics}} horror comic of the same name, complete with Crypt-Keeper.
* A lot of people know that ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' is an adaptation of ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', but few people realize that the LiveActionTV sitcom is based off [[Comicbook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch a long-running comic book series]], besides those who watched ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaAndTheGroovieGoolies''. ComicBook/{{Archie|Comics}}'s had been attempting to avert this in the 2010s. Sabrina's main comic series was on hiatus for years until it was rebooted for ''ComicBook/ArchieComics2015'', but she has had multiple appearances in the main ''Archie'' comics, she has a [[WesternAnimation/SabrinaSecretsOfATeenageWitch new cartoon]], she's a major character in ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'', and she has a new DarkerAndEdgier retelling called ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina''. Still, whenever you search or talk about her, most remember the show first.
* The British crime TV series ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' has hugely overshadowed the book series by Caroline Graham that it was inspired by and that early episodes were adapted from.
* Another British crime series of the same era, ''Series/ATouchOfFrost'', is much better known than the series of novels by R D Wingfield that it was a (significantly {{bowdlerise}}d) adaptation of.
* ''Manga/Life2002'' started out as a manga, but the TV drama is considerably better-known for whatever reason.
* ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}''. Fewer people know about the novels now because of the TV series.
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' falls into this to a point -- not everyone realizes there were movies first.
* ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' is one of the prime examples of this trope. The TV series was extremely popular and generated many iconic images and sounds; most people are unaware that the TV series was originally based on the novel ''Cyborg'' by Creator/MartinCaidin (despite it being named on the end credits), and the book has become almost entirely forgotten.
* It's not as bad as others, but when most people think of ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'', the [[Series/TheOddCouple1970 TV series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman]] is usually the first version to come to mind instead of the original play (Klugman actually played Oscar on Broadway ''before'' the series) or [[Film/TheOddCouple1968 the movie]].
* It comes as a shock to many fans of ''Series/KillingEve'' that the show is based on a fairly obscure series of novels called ''Vilanelle''. As the popularity of the show has skyrocketed, the novels have become somewhat more popular. Based on customer reviews from various e-commerce sites, the general consensus seems to be that the novels are decent in concept but the show executes it better.
* How many Creator/{{HBO}} viewers realize that ''Series/TrueBlood'' was based on Charlaine Harris' imaginative book series, ''Literature/TheSookieStackhouseMysteries''?
* For a while before he made his way to the big screen, many people outside the USA didn't realise that the Hulk was [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk a comic book character]] that got turned into [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 a TV series]].
* ''Series/SixHundredSixtySixParkAvenue'': This series is based (very loosely) on a book by Gabriella Pierce. Chances are you have never even heard of the book.
* ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' is a weird example of a show displacing ''itself''. The original version ran from 1975 to 1991 on daytime network television (primarily Creator/{{NBC}}, except for a stretch from 1989 to early 1991 when it was on Creator/{{CBS}} instead). The nighttime, syndicated version began in 1983 and has continued ever since. Given that daytime ended so long ago, and given that most of it before the mid-1980s was [[MissingEpisode wiped]], the lack of references to daytime is understandable.
* The current versions of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' (1984) and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' (1972) are actually revivals of older shows. The original ''Jeopardy!'' ran from 1964 to 1974 with Art Fleming as host. Try bringing up Bill Cullen as host of ''The Price is Right'' (which he did from 1956 to 1965), and you'll get people born within the last thirty years ask "You mean Bob Barker wasn't the first host?"
* ''Series/SaleOfTheCentury'' is another example. Most people today recall the 1980s series hosted by Jim Perry and developed for Australian TV by Reg Grundy. It was originally created by Al Howard and aired on NBC from 1969 to 1973 and was hosted by Jack Kelly (1969-71) and Joe Garagiola (1971-73).
* ''Series/{{Lingo}}'' (2002-07), one of the most successful original shows for Creator/{{GSN}}, was a revival of a one-season game show from TheEighties hosted by Michael Reagan (the original was notorious for the production company going bankrupt and not paying its contestants).
* ''Series/ChainReaction'' (2006-2007) is another GSN example, a revival of a show that aired on NBC in 1980, then USA from 1986-1991. Despite lasting only two seasons, it was rerun heavily in the ensuing years and revived twice, keeping it much fresher in viewers' minds. It got to the point where a 2021 GSN ad promoted reruns of the 2006 version as "the original Chain Reaction", completely ignoring the two previous ones!
* ''Music/FlightOfTheConchords'' was originally a radio series, but the HBO TV series is much more well-known. There are also cases of fans not realizing that Flight of the Conchords are a real band.
* The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch originated on ''Series/AtLastThe1948Show'', but when two of the performers, Creator/JohnCleese and Creator/GrahamChapman, later became one-third of Creator/MontyPython, they began including the sketch in their live touring stage shows. Thanks both to their popularity (and it being on the album ''AudioPlay/MontyPythonLiveAtDruryLane'' and the 1982 concert film ''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'') and the relative obscurity of ''At Last the 1948 Show'', the sketch is now more associated with Monty Python.
** Also, the "Silly Job Interview" from Episode 5 first appeared in the American TV special ''Film/HowToIrritatePeople'', with Graham Chapman's interviewee role being filled instead by Tim Brooke-Taylor.
** And there's John Philip Sousa's ''Liberty Bell March'', which was chosen to serve as the ThemeTune to the Pythons' series, ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', due to it being in the [[PublicDomainSoundtrack public domain]]. It is now known more as the "Monty Python Song" than as a standalone piece of music, which makes it doubly hilarious when it's performed at campaign rallies and presidential inaugurations.
** Some Python fans are completely unaware of ''Flying Circus'', only knowing the troupe through its various theatrical films.
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' TV show is much more well-known than [[ComicBook/TheWalkingDead the comic book it is based on]].
* ''Series/PressYourLuck'' is a CultClassic in the GameShow field... but how many know that it was actually a ReTool of an older game show called ''Series/SecondChance''? Especially since most of ''Second Chance'' was erased...
* Many American viewers are unaware that ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' began in Britain in [[TheEighties 1988]]. Even fewer people--from both countries--know that it started as a ''[[SoundToScreenAdaptation radio]]'' show.
* ''Series/BananasInPyjamas'' was based off a song from the Australian children's series ''Series/PlaySchool''. In the original animation, there were six bananas and ten bears, and the Rat In The Hat wasn't present.
* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' was based on a memoir by Piper Kerman (who Piper Chapman's name was derived from.) Most people aren't aware of the source material, and those who are discovered it through the show.
* The vast majority of audiences who have heard of Franchise/PerryMason likely only know the franchise through the landmark 1957-66 television series starring Raymond Burr as the title character (or the slew of {{Made for TV Movie}}s, again starring Burr, lasting from 1985-1993), unaware that it was based on a series of novels written over the course of four decades by Erle Stanley Gardner. Not only that, but the books and their characters also lent themselves to several theatrical films, a radio series, and even a second television adaptation (though it was less well-received than the first).
* The 60s sitcom ''Series/{{Hazel}}'' started as a cartoon series by Ted Key, published in the ''Saturday Evening Post''.
* While the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' by series Creator/GeorgeRRMartin has had a cult following in fantasy circles for nearly two decades, it was ''Series/GameOfThrones'', HBO's hit adaptation of the books, that ingrained Martin's fantasy world in mainstream popular culture. This is somewhat of an AvertedTrope, because fans and critics are ''constantly'' talking about the comparison of the books to the television show, so it's as well known as something like ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' or ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. This has only intensified with the controversial series ending, where many people are hoping to see the "real" ending as done by GRRM.
** The same could be said about ''Literature/FireAndBlood'', the lesser known spinoff book that got adapted into ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon''.
* The [[Series/CatfishTheTVShow reality show]] adaptation of ''Film/{{Catfish}}'' is much more well known than the documentary it's based on.
* Although there have been some efforts to change this perception, odds are that if you show most people fight scene footage from ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', they'll think it's from ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. In some rather extreme cases, this can even apply to other Tokusatsu franchises such as ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and ''Franchise/UltraSeries'', despite the fact that the former follows individual heroes (who sometimes work together) with fiberglass/leather armor as opposed to a team of spandex-clad heroes[[note]]unless one is watching ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'', which has suits made from leather, or any pre-''Series/KagakuSentaiDynaman'' series, since in ''Dynaman'' they began using spandex suits[[/note]], and the latter is made by an ''[[Creator/TsuburayaProductions entirely different company]]''.
* ''Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu'' is recognised far better as a live-action drama than as a manga, especially since it launced Gen Hoshino's memorable DancingTheme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVc8MTRzKtI "Koi"]].
* ''The Girlfriend Experience'' originated as a 2009 Creator/StevenSoderbergh film, which did virtually no business and was regarded by most who saw it as one of Soderbergh's worst films. Chances are most of the TV version's viewers never even realized it was based on the film unless they saw the film's writers credited in the end-of-episode credits.
* ''Film/AlienNation'' the movie was a moderate hit, else it probably wouldn't have been adapted for network TV to begin with. ''Series/AlienNation'' the show only lasted for one season - although this had more to do with financial problems at Fox overall than series underperformance - and 5 TV movies. Nonetheless more people seem familiar with the show than the movie.
* The Creator/SyFy series ''{{Series/Haven}}'' is a loose adaptation of the Creator/StephenKing story "The Colorado Kid." In everyone's defense, it's more an AdaptationExpansion, and comes very close to being InNameOnly. However, the show does not shy away from the fact it's a King story, and fans will notice the [[MythologyGag references]] to his other works sprinkled throughout. Even the titular town is a reference to King's "Literature/TheTommyknockers," as the original short story takes place elsewhere.
* Unlike fellow spin-off ''WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood'', many people don't seem to realize that ''Series/DonkeyHodie'' is a spin-off of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' despite the main titles mentioning this fact, likely because the character it is based on only appeared in 59 episodes of the show. It's gotten to the point where some people have actually questioned why Donkey's friend isn't named Sancho Panda to go with the ''Literature/DonQuijote'' reference, when the truth is that Purple Panda was a ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' character.
* Despite the controversy generated by ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', not that many people know that the show is adapted from the rather obscure ''The Lord of the Rings Appendices'' and not from the more known ''Silmarillion'', leading to a lot of confusion of why the show took so many liberties from the source material instead of just adapting the story as it is.
* ''Series/MidnightDiner'' presents an interesting case: when it was released internationally on Creator/{{Netflix}}, it did so under the name ''Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories''. Those who watched it didn't realize they started with ''the fourth season'' as there were previously three 10-episode seasons and a feature-length film released before ''Tokyo Stories'', which never left Japan. Netflix eventually brought the first three seasons onto their platform internationally under its original title, ''Midnight Diner''. Simultaneously, many viewers also don't realize the show is actually adapted from a {{Manga}} written by Yarō Abe called ''Shinya Shokudō'' (深夜食堂; literally, "late night diner").
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Displaced by Theater]]
* Almost all of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's plays were based on earlier sources.
** ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' - yes, there ''was'' an earlier play of unknown authorship, now totally lost. The original story comes from a very old Danish Legend, recorded in detail by Saxo Grammaticus in the Gesta Danorum.
** ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' was adapted from Arthur Brooke's poem "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet," which was itself adapted from an older Italian story.
** ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' was originally the Italian short story "A Moorish Captain" by Cinthio, in which Disdemona [sic] is the only named character. Compared to the original, Shakespeare's version was very FairForItsDay.
** ''Theatre/KingLear'' is based on an ancient British legend. [[DuelingWorks Another play ]]based on the same source material was around when Shakespeare's play was written.
** ''Theatre/MeasureForMeasure'' is from Cinthio's work: "The Story of Epitia"; and also some borrowing from George Whetstone's ''Promos and Cassandra''.
** ''Theatre/AllsWellThatEndsWell'' is from a short story in ''Literature/TheDecameron'' (day 3, story 9).
** ''Theatre/AsYouLikeIt'' is based on Thomas Lodge's "Rosalynde, Euphues' Golden Legacy", which in turn was derived from "The Tale of Gamelyn", wrongly attributed to Chaucer and printed in some editions of ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales''.
** ''Theatre/TheComedyOfErrors'' is based on an Ancient Roman play, Creator/{{Plautus}}' ''Menaechmi''.
** ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' is based on Matteo Bandello's story of "Apollonius and Silla."
** Averted by ''Theatre/TroilusAndCressida''. Not even Shakespeare can beat ''Literature/TheIliad''. He ''did'' largely displace [[Creator/GeoffreyChaucer Chaucer's]] ''Troilus and Criseyde'', though.
* This happened to Shakespeare himself.
** Nahum Tate's rewrite ''The History of King Lear'' (1681), which returns to the more upbeat ending of the original source material and pairs Edgar off with Cordelia, displaced [[Theatre/KingLear Shakespeare's version]] until the nineteenth century.
** George Granville's ''The Jew of Venice'' (1701) was almost as successful. It displaced Shakespeare's ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' for most of the eighteenth century.
** Creator/ColleyCibber's ''Richard III'' (1700) displaced [[Theatre/RichardIII Shakespeare's version]] until the late nineteenth century, and remained well-known until at least the 1920s.
* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' musical has displaced [[Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera the original Gaston Leroux novel]] in the minds of many. And also -- though not quite to so grotesque an extent -- [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 the silent Lon Chaney movie]], which was relatively faithful to the book. Other movie and stage adaptations have long faded from public consciousness thanks to the Creator/AndrewLloydWebber version.
* Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein:
** Their first two musicals, ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'' and ''Carousel'', are legendary works of American theatre, whereas the plays on which they are based, ''Green Grow the Lilacs'' and ''Liliom'' (by renowned playwright Ferenc Molnar), are all but unknown in America. In Europe, ''Liliom'' is more popular than ''Carousel''.
** One of their most famous works, ''Theatre/SouthPacific'', was based on two stories from James A. Michener's short story collection ''Literature/TalesOfTheSouthPacific'', now mostly forgotten.
* The phrase 'amazing technicolor dreamcoat' is not used in the Literature/BookOfGenesis to describe the garment given by Jacob to his son Joseph ("technicolor" wasn't even a thing until 1916). However, the popularity of the Creator/AndrewLloydWebber[=/=]Creator/TimRice musical ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'' means that many are more familiar with this description of the coat (and the story of Joseph) than the more simple 'coat of many colours' found in the King James Version of Literature/TheBible – let alone the even simpler "ornate robe" or "long robe with sleeves" found in more recent and likely more accurate translations. In fact, some especially liberal Jewish families reference the musical during the retelling of the story of the Exodus at Passover to help explain why the Jews were even in Egypt in the first place.
* The operatic adaptations of ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro'' and ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville'' are both far better-known than the Beaumarchais plays that they're based on. Also that the Rossini version of ''Barber'' is the second (popular) version. Which makes sense if you consider that he wrote his opera 30+ years after Mozart wrote the sequel. Rossini's version completely displaced the earlier opera treatment of the same play by Paisiello; which makes the attempts by Paisiello's admirers to wreck it by disrupting its first performance appear HarsherInHindsight.
* Music/GeorgeGershwin's famous opera ''Theatre/PorgyAndBess'' was faithfully adapted from a once-famous play called ''Porgy'', which itself was adapted from a novel of the same name. [=DuBose=] Heyward wrote or helped write all three.
* Colm Wilkinson, who starred in ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' on Broadway and the West End, has spoken publicly about his shock at people who didn't know the musical was based on [[Literature/LesMiserables a novel]]. Creator/LiamNeeson, while working on the [[Film/LesMiserables1998 1998 film version]], was reportedly annoyed with all the people asking him if he was going to sing.
** Even fewer people are aware that the book is partially based on real history - there really was a student-inspired republican rebellion in France in 1832, sparked by the death of General Lamarque.
*** Locally averted in France, where Les Misérables as a musical is only mildly known (even though the original one is French as well. Films with Gabin or Depardieu are better known anyway) but the book is still considered a monument of national literature and a must-read for anyone with half a brain.
* The famous ballet ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' is actually based on [[Literature/TheNutcracker a book]] with a slightly different plot and a different backstory for the Nutcracker himself. The ending is also different -- many productions of the ballet have Clara awaken at the end to learn it was AllJustADream, whereas the book ends with Marie discovering that it was all real and [[ThePowerOfLove her love for the Nutcracker breaking his curse]]. Some productions of the ballet actually include elements of the original ending anyway; Mark Morris' tongue-in-cheek SettingUpdate ''The Hard Nut'' spends much of the second act telling said backstory.
* Puccini's opera ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' has handily displaced Henri Murger's novel ''Scènes de la Vie de Bohème'' (interestingly, there was a rival operatic adaptation by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, composer of ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}''; this is also forgotten). It, in turn, is probably displaced with the masses by ''Theatre/{{Rent}}''.
* David Belasco's once-popular plays ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'' and ''The Girl Of The Golden West'' have been displaced by Puccini, as has Victorien Sardou's play ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}''.
* The musical ''Theatre/MyFairLady'' is much more popular than the original ''Theatre/{{Pygmalion}}''.
* Maurine Watkins' play ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' was highly acclaimed when it was first produced in 1926, but now remembered only as the source of the musical adaptation written half a century later.
* The musical ''Little Me'' seems to be better known than the Patrick Dennis book it was based on -- which is somewhat odd considering that the show was neither a Broadway hit nor made into a movie.
* Before ''Theatre/{{Kismet}}'' became a musical, it was a play by Edward Knoblock popular enough to have been filmed more than once. Since "Stranger in Paradise", the non-musical original has been forgotten. The melody for "Stranger in Paradise" comes from the "Polovtsian Dances" from Alexander Borodin's opera ''Prince Igor''. While the opera itself is fairly obscure, the Polovtsian Dances are a popular symphonic favorite - but people still always think of the melody as "Strangers in Paradise". And other tunes in the show are also pillaged from Borodin's portfolio, including his 2nd Symphony ("Fate"), his String Quartet No. 2 ("And This Is My Beloved") and ''In The Steppes of Central Asia'' ("Sands of Time").
* ''Theatre/HelloDolly'':
** It is only arguably more popular than Creator/ThorntonWilder's play ''Theatre/TheMatchmaker'', but that in turn was a revision of Wilder's earlier play ''The Merchant of Yonkers'', which was adapted from the 19th-century Austrian farce ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' (''He'll Have Himself a Good Time'') by Johann Nestroy, which was in turn adapted from the English one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' by John Oxenford.
** And many fans of ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' are unaware that the latter's title music is from ''Hello, Dolly!'' -- even though the relevant clip is included in the movie.
* Many people have seen ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls''; few today have read any of Creator/DamonRunyon's stories.
* Georges Bizet's popular opera ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' was originally based on a novel by Prosper Merimée. Merimée also wrote the novel "Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX" (1829) on which Giacomo Meyerbeer and Eugène Scribe based ''Les Huguenots'', one of the most successful operas of the 19th century.
* Though [[Literature/{{Wicked}} the book series]] is still popular, most people when they hear ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' think of the musical first. Due to [[Literature/{{Wicked}} the book]] being much DarkerAndEdgier, most fans of the stage show haven't read it, and many aren't even aware of its existence.
* Trivia clue for ''Theatre/{{Aida|JohnRice}}'': "Disney musical by Music/EltonJohn and Creator/TimRice". The actual source material Creator/{{Disney}} bought the rights to was a picture book written by Leontyne Price, most famous for portraying the title character of the [[Theatre/AidaVerdi original Verdi opera]].
* ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' is remembered as [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors a film adaptation]] of an off-Broadway musical by Music/AlanMenken and Howard Ashman, but few remember that the musical was in fact based on [[Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors a (non-musical) comedy]] made in TheSixties.
** Similarly, the original 1988 film version of ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'' is seldom remembered.
* Before the 1954 play, the 1956 film, and the respective 1985 and 2018 TV movie remakes, ''Literature/TheBadSeed'' was originally a novel by William March.
* ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'' has become considerably more popular than the 18th-century ''[[Theatre/TheBeggarsOpera Beggar's Opera]]'' it was based on.
* So maybe [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet the film]] hasn't completely displaced [[Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet the musical]], but how many people knew that everyone's favorite AxCrazy barber Sweeney Todd originated in ''Literature/TheStringOfPearls'', a serialised penny dreadful novel from UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain? Even the musical's immediate source material, a play by Christopher Bond, is obscure in comparison.
* More people will be familiar with ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung'' by Music/RichardWagner than will have read either of the medieval works on which it is based, the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'', the ''Literature/PoeticEdda''/''Literature/ProseEdda'' or the ''Literature/VolsungaSaga''.
* Everyone knows ''Cabaret'' either as a [[Theatre/{{Cabaret}} stage musical]] or a [[Film/{{Cabaret}} film]]. People familiar with the film often forget that the original Broadway version was not choreographed by Creator/BobFosse, didn't use the {{Movie Bonus Song}}s that revivals often insert, had a slightly different plot and presented some of the songs in different contexts. Many people will be aware that it was VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, but few have read the original novella, ''Goodbye to Berlin'' by Christopher Isherwood. ''Cabaret'' itself was based on a previous non-musical theater adaptation, ''I Am a Camera'', and ''that'' has been quite decisively displaced.
* ''Theatre/TheMousetrap'', the play by Creator/AgathaChristie is much better known than "Three Blind Mice", the short story it was based on, which in turn was based on a radio play also called "Three Blind Mice". This is because, since DoNotSpoilThisEnding is SeriousBusiness for the play, "Three Blind Mice" has not been reprinted (or rebroadcast) for 60 years. At least, not in the UK.
* Modern opinion of ''Literature/UncleTomsCabin'' - particularly the titular Uncle Tom - has been strongly tainted by minstrel shows and early cinema based on those shows. Whereas the original book was about the horrors of slavery, and Uncle Tom died refusing to give up the location of two escaped slave women, the stage shows and movies whitewashed the harsher aspects of slavery and {{flanderiz|ation}}ed Uncle Tom's passivity into outright cowardice. (As you probably guessed by now, the pejorative use of [[NWordPrivileges "Uncle Tom"]] stems from the shows, not from the books).
* Vincenzo Bellini's ''Norma'' (famously played be Maria Callas) is based on the five-act tragedy ''Norma, ou l'Infanticide'' by Alexandre Soumet. The operatic adaptation opened less than a year after the play it displaced.
* Benjamin Britten's opera ''Peter Grimes'' is based on the 1810 poem ''The Borough'' by George Crabbe.
* Music/ClaudeDebussy's opera ''Pelleas and Melisande'' is based on the play of the same name by Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck.
* Outside of the English-speaking world it is a safe bet to say that Gaetano Donizetti's opera ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' is better known than Creator/WalterScott's story ''The Bride of Lammermoor''.
* Leos Janacek's opera ''Jenufa'' was adapted from the play ''Její pastorkyna'' ("Her adoptive daughter") by Gabriele Preiß.
* The operas ''Manon Lescaut'' by Francois Auber and Music/GiacomoPuccini, and also ''Manon'' by Jules Massenet are more well-known worldwide than ''Les Aventures du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'', which forms part of the 1728 novel ''Mémoires d'un homme de qualité'' by the Abbé Prévost d'Exiles.
* Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart:
** The libretto to ''Idomeneo'' was adapted and brought up to current tastes from that of the earlier French opera by Antoine Danchet and André Campra.
** ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' is based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's libretto for ''Belmonte und Konstanze oder die Verführung aus dem Serail'' by Johann André (1781), which in turn was based on a 1769 British operetta called ''The Captive''. Bretzner even public protested against Mozart and Johann Gottlieb Stephanie using his libretto and making changes to it.
** World-wide, ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'' is more well-known than any earlier or later adaptation of the Don Juan story, including Moliere's classic play.
** ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' started out as a straight adaptation of the fairy tale ''Lulu oder die Zauberflöte'' from [[UsefulNotes/DichterAndDenker Christoph Martin Wieland's]] ''Dschinnistan''. However, when another adaptation of the same plot hit the stage first, Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder completely reworked the libretto, so it became something else.
* Modest Mussorgsky's opera ''Boris Godunov'' is closely modeled on Creator/AlexanderPushkin's play, which in turn is deeply indebted to Nikolay Karamzin's multi-volume "History of the Russian Empire".
* Music/JacquesOffenbach's bio-opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' is based on the bio-stage play ''Les Contes d'Hoffmann'' by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier.
* Sergei Prokofiev's "The Love of Three Oranges" (best known for the march which was used as the theme for ''Gangbusters'') is based on the 1761 play of the same name by Carlo Gozzi; Gozzi also wrote the play ''Turandot'', on which Puccini based his last opera.
* Music/GiuseppeVerdi:
** The opera ''Rigoletto'' has displaced the play on which it is based, ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Creator/VictorHugo. Not the first time this happened: one of Verdi's earliest operatic successes, ''Ernani'', was based on another Hugo play, ''Hernani''.
** ''Il trovatore'' is based on the Spanish play ''El Trovador'' by Antonio García Gutierrez. Gutierrez also wrote the play ''Simón Bocanegra'', on which Verdi based the opera ''Simon Boccanegra''.
** ''Theatre/LaTraviata'' is based on the novel ''La dame aux camélias'' by Creator/AlexandreDumasFils, which was also adapted into the 1936 movie ''Camille''.
** ''Un ballo in maschera'' is based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Francois Auber's earlier opera ''Gustave III''; the censors forced Verdi to transpose the story from Sweden to Boston, Massachusetts.
** ''La forza del destino'' adapts the now largely forgotten "Don Alvaro or the Force of Destiny" by Angelo de Perez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas.
** The opera ''Theatre/{{Aida|Verdi}}'' is based on a little-known text story by the French archaeologist Edouard Mariette.
* Music/RichardWagner adapted ''Rienzi'' (which later became UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's favourite opera) from the 1835 novel ''Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes'' by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He also clearly lifted the plot for ''Der fliegende Holländer'' from the description of a fictional play in ''Die Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski'' by [[UsefulNotes/DichterAndDenker Heinrich Heine]].
* Carl Maria von Weber and Ludwig Kind loosely adapted ''Theatre/DerFreischutz'' from the story of the same name in the ''Gespensterbuch'' by August Apel and Fr. Laun. The same obscure story was later adapted by Robert Wilson, Music/TomWaits and Creator/WilliamSBurroughs into the musical ''Music/TheBlackRider''.
* ''The Woman In Black'' is best known as a play (or even as the more recent Creator/DanielRadcliffe [[Film/TheWomanInBlack film and sequel]]), but was originally [[Literature/TheWomanInBlack a novel]].
* Most fans of the musical ''Film/{{Waitress}}'' would not know it was a film first, which is justified due to the nature of its release. [[note]] The film was released in only 707 theaters in the United States compared to the typical 2,500 or 4,000 for a hit movie.[[/note]]
* A theme that Music/LudwigVanBeethoven originally composed for the ballet with songs ''The Creatures of Prometheus'' is vastly better remembered as the theme of two other Beethoven works: a large set of variations for piano (Op. 35), and the finale of his "Eroica" Symphony. The piano variations therefore have become commonly known as the "Eroica" variations.
* Website/{{Tumblr}}'s favorite musical, ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'', is based on a 2004 novel [[Literature/BeMoreChill of the same name]] by Ned Vizzini. Few fans of the show have actually read the book, and even among those who have, the musical is far more popular.
* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', an immensely popular hip-hop musical, is ''far'' more popular than Creator/RobChernow's ''Literature/AlexanderHamilton''. Although, given that Creator/LinManuelMiranda is not shy about being a fan of the author, [[TheRedStapler fans of the show have taken to reading the original book]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Displaced by Video Games]]
* The vast majority of arcade games had console versions and even sequels that eclipsed the original versions in popularity. This is rather understandable given the pay-per-play model of arcade business and the fickle nature of video game players means that an operator must constantly rotate and replace its games once certain titles stop being profitable, since you can only have so many arcade cabinets in a limited amount of space. This made less-popular games inaccessible if they failed to attract a playerbase the first time around. Meanwhile, a console game can be enjoyed as many times as possible as long as you had access to the physical media in some form. The emergence of emulation projects such as MAME, as well as official re-releases on compilations and digital downloads (such as Hamster's Arcade Archives series), has alleviated this issue somewhat.
** The original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' arcade game was a popular cabinet back in its day, but rights issues with Ikegami Tsushinki, who co-developed the game with Creator/{{Nintendo}}, have prevented it from being digitally re-released until the Arcade Archives version for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch. Up to that point, Nintendo has only re-released the NES version they developed in-house, which was exempt from any legal issues, throughout the various incarnations of their Virtual Console service. As a result, many younger players only experienced the NES version throughout one of its various releases, unaware that it was missing a level (the pie factory screen).
** ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and its sequel, ''Super C'', were originally arcade games that were adapted to the NES. The NES versions were more successful than the coin-op versions, most probably due to being {{Polished Port}}s that fixed the arcade versions' problems, and all the subsequent sequels from ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' and onward were released specifically for home consoles.
** The ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' arcade games were extremely popular in Japan, but not so much in North America. The original ''Gradius'' arcade game was released as ''Nemesis'' and failed to make the same impact it did in Japan, which meant that none of the arcade sequels were brought over (through the second game had a limited European release as ''Vulcan Venture'', and the third had an even more obscure "World" arcade edition). As a result, most Americans only known the series from the first NES game (which kept the ''Gradius'' name) and the Super NES version of ''Gradius III'', which was a launch title for the console. Konami would later released direct ports of the arcade games with ''Gradius III & IV'' on the [=PS2=] and the ''Gradius Collection'' for the PSP, which also included the previously unreleased in North America ''Gradius II'' and ''Gradius Gaiden''.
*** Likewise, the NES version of the spin-off ''Life Force'', known as ''Salamander'' outside North America, is much better known than the arcade original, which received an UpdatedRerelease and sequel that remain exclusive to Japan.
** ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' started as an arcade game which even had an arcade sequel titled ''Super Punch Out!!'' The arcade version had the gimmick where players had two controllers that acted as the fighter's fists, and was from a first-person viewpoint. Most players are more familiar with the console versions, ''Punch Out!!'' for the NES and ''Super Punch Out!!'' for the SNES, both which were completely different games from their arcade counterparts. Even the [[http://punchout.nintendo.com/ official site]] for ''Punch Out!!'' for Wii doesn't acknowledge the arcade games. Which is bizarre because these games not only introduced many of the opponents, but the entire Title Defense level, which is nothing more than a souped-up version of the "Top Ranked" matches you had after winning the championship. Also, the original NES release featured Mike Tyson heavily, as he was not only the final boss but his name was part of the title, so many people seem to think that the entire series is about him. Due to their contract ending and Tyson losing the title, the 1990 NES re-release and subsequent Virtual Console releases had him replaced with the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Mr. Dream.
** The NES version of ''VideoGame/SuperDodgeBall'' is a cult classic, with most people not even aware that it was based on an arcade game of the same name.
** Most people who know both the NES BeatEmUp ''VideoGame/{{Kung Fu|Master}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage'' have no idea they were both originally arcade releases.
** As little as it's remembered today, ''VideoGame/LegendaryWings'' is much more known for its NES port (who made quite a few changes to scenery and gameplay) than its arcade original.
** ''VideoGame/KickleCubicle'' was based on an arcade game which had identical gameplay but a completely different plot.
** The NES version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' displaced the arcade version, which had a rather bizarre aesthetic and no sign of ThoseWackyNazis.
** ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' predated the NES, appearing in a double unit with another light gun game, ''VideoGame/HogansAlley''. ''Duck Hunt'' further overshadows its status as a sequel to a series of battery-operated projection based shooting toys that Nintendo made during the 1960's and 70's.
** ''Mighty Bomb Jack'' started life as an arcade game before being ported to the NES. In turn, it got [[RecursiveAdaptation a recursive arcade port]] as ''Vs. Mighty Bomb Jack''.
** Creator/{{SNK}}'s ''Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy'' for the NES, known as ''Great Tank'' in Japan, is a {{Reformulated| Game}} AdaptationExpansion of their little-known 1985 arcade game ''TNK III''.
* ''VideoGame/GarfieldsFunFest'': Almost nobody remembers the movie it's based on (and some didn't even know there ''was'' a movie to begin with, as it was released as direct-to-video), while the game is still remembered somewhat.
* ICOM's adventure games ''[[VideoGame/DejaVu1985 Déjà Vu]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Uninvited}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'' are most widely known in their NES forms, though they were all originally for the UsefulNotes/{{Macintosh}}.
* ''VideoGame/InsanelyTwistedShadowPlanet'' was based of a series of network bumps for Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} that were aired during the Halloween season.
* Whenever somebody mentions playing ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'', most people would automatically assume this being ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' MMO, not one of several RTS games preceding it that, you know, actually were called simply ''Warcraft''.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Blizzard during one of their [[AprilFoolsDay April Fool's]] jokes. They proudly announced the creation of the new RTS game ''Warcraft: Heroes of Azeroth'' and proceeded to list details and show screenshots of ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII''. Needless to say, not everyone got it.
** Even the MMO game doesn't escape this fate in concern with the popularity and characterization of a few of its characters. Jaina Proudmore will be remembered ([[FanonDiscontinuity or referred to be so by a majority of fans]]) as a peace-loving mage instead of the massive [[TookALevelInCynic cynic]] warlord in the current game thanks to ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' while [[AscendedExtra Valeera Sanguinar]], [[GameBreaker Dr. Boom]] and [[BreakoutCharacter Jaraxxus]] will have more fan works focus on their portrayal in ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' rather than their (admittedly minor) role in the game or the expanded universe[[note]]In the comics she originated, Valeera was at best a sidekick of Varian Wrynn, the main character of the comic, although she gets her own subplot of being the host of Dreadlord Kathra-Nathir, and she's kind of snappy. Here, she's a calm, collected and sultry (surprisingly, effective personalities for a FemmeFatale Rogue, the class she's representing). Meanwhile, Jaraxxus has the same personality as he is in the card game, but he's just a one-note filler boss in the original game, though the card game pretty much helps by cranking up all those traits in the original game so he becomes popular.[[/note]]. Likewise with ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'', Thrall will be more remembered as the Warchief of the Horde instead of the World Shaman, while Kael'thas Sunstrider is remembered as the Prince of Blood Elves instead of... that Kil'Jaeden-loving schemer in his final moments at ''Burning Crusade''.
* Many have played the ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games without ever knowing they were based on a comic series. Others are only aware of the cartoon series. With the more recent games, many players might not even be aware of the older adventure game adaptation ''Sam & Max Hit the Road'' (it also helps that [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Hit the Road has never gotten another re-release in America aside from the CD-ROM re-release in 1995]] until 2014 when the game was re-released on GOG).
** In one conversation in ''VideoGame/PokerNight2'', it seems that Sam ''himself'' doesn't remember being in comics, making this an in-universe example.
* Seemingly very few on the Internet know that there was an original ''Literature/RainbowSix'' novel.
* Many people in America know Geese Howard as a DLC guest character in ''VideoGame/Tekken7'', but aren't aware of his original appearance in the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series.
%%* Though Mai Shiranui is the most famous SNK character, many people in the United States know here from her guest appearance in Dead or Alive, as evidenced by the amount of Fanart and Pornographic animations that use her Dead or Alive design.
* ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'', popular MMORPG. Not many people are aware that it was based off of the {{manhwa}} ''Manhwa/{{Ragnarok}}''.
* The ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' turn-based strategy series are far more well-known than ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'', the RPG series they were spun off from.
** And how many people have heard of ''VideoGame/KingsBounty'', the original TBS that wasn't set in the ''Might And Magic'' universe?!
** After ''Kings Bounty'' got a remake by 1C/Katauri, many players of the new games were surprised to learn they were based on such an ancient DOS game.
* Few ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' players are aware that it is based on the still-running manga series ''Manga/WanganMidnight'', especially outside of Asia where the manga and its anime adaptation [[NoExportForYou have yet to be exported]]. The fifth game being called just ''[[MarketBasedTitle Maximum Tune 5]]'' in North America may be an indication of this.
* Even less players have heard of the original ''Wangan Midnight'' arcade game, released in 2001 and published by the same publishers of ''Maximum Tune'', as well as its update ''Wangan Midnight R''. These two games, however, bear little resemblance to the ''Maximum Tune'' series; they play more like the ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer''/''Shutokou Battle'' series, in that you and your opponent have {{life meter}}s, an unusual feature in a racing game.
* The cult UsefulNotes/GameBoy RPG ''VideoGame/MagiNation'' was made to advertise a card game made during the TCG fad. The game is more fondly remembered then the cards.
* While quite a few fans of the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' video game series know that it is a spin-off of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, some of them do not know that ''Shin Megami Tensei'' is itself a ContinuityReboot of another RPG series (''VideoGame/MegamiTensei'') that was in turn based off the ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novel series. In fact, the Megaten games that were released before ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' have struggled to find mainstream popularity outside of Japan, and all Megaten releases prior to ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' (including the original ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novels) are so obscure that they will likely never receive an official English release, leaving it to fan translators to make the works accessible to Western audiences. The fan translations themselves have gone with mixed results, with some projects being complete, and others more or less orphaned.
* Some gamers may suspect that the UsefulNotes/XBox version of the ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' series is having this effect upon the original NES series, especially in terms of their NintendoHard reputations. Whether or not this is true, both have certainly displaced the original, almost completely unrelated BeatEmUp arcade game from everyone's mind.
** The arcade and NES versions of ''Ninja Gaiden'' were made simultaneously, but they don't really have much in common other than the main character in both games being a ninja.
* A large chunk of songs featured in ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' is actually borrowed from other titles in the VideoGame/{{Bemani}} line of rhythm games, which DDR is a part of. However, because DDR is the only Bemani series that Konami puts any serious effort to market in the West, the borrowed songs end up being mistaken to be DDR originals by Western fans. On another note, in early years, DDR also had a deal with Toshiba-Creator/{{EMI}} company (now a defunct label of [[Creator/UniversalMusicGroup Universal Music Japan]]), through which it was allowed to freely license songs from its vast ''Dancemania'' album series. Most of these are dance covers or obscure songs by continental European pop artists, so many fans are unaware that they are actually not produced in-house.
* Many have no idea about the ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}'' series prior to ''Gauntlet Legends'', which may have affected the reception of the 2014 remake, which was heavily based on the original, leaving many Legends fans disappointed.
* Ditto ''VideoGame/Xenon2Megablast''. It consigned the original to a reasonable obscurity.
* ''Parasite Eve'' was a [[Literature/ParasiteEve 1995 novel]] by Hideake Sena, then a [[Film/ParasiteEve 1997 movie]] adapted from the book, ''then'' a [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve 1998 Squaresoft Action RPG]] that follows the events of the book (not the movie). It helps that this [[NoExportForYou wasn't released outside of Japan]] for awhile - the novel didn't get an English translation until ''2007''.
* Marth of the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series was far better known in the West for [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros appearing]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' than for being the star of his own game subseries, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem''. As such, outside of Japan, he is more associated with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Roy]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ike]], who aren't in the [[NonLinearSequel same universe as him]], rather than characters from his own games such as [[CrutchCharacter Jeigan]], Caeda, and Ogma. Not helping is that Marth's first game released in the west, (''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon''), didn't perform very well, being released during a slump period for the franchise. This has been dying down though thanks to games like ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' helping the series get into mainstream, as well as featuring Marth in some way.
* Most people in the United States primarily know Terry Bogard as one of the DLC characters from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', but don't know much about the franchise that he came from, ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters''. Creator/{{SNK}} do have quite a bit of fan following but are mostly not mainstream in the US. ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' was once popular in the American gaming community, being frequently featured in gaming magazines, but has since died out in popularity.
* Morrigan Aensland is far better known for appearing in crossovers like ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' than ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''. The fact that there hasn't been a ''Darkstalkers'' since 1997's ''Vampire Savior'' probably contributes to this.
* Captain Falcon from ''VideoGame/FZero'' is better known in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' than his own series, thanks to the Falcon Punch. Aside from the fact that ''F-Zero'' hasn't had a new game since 2004, not many people know about what Falcon himself is like in that series itself. In fact, people ''want'' the Falcon Punch to appear in an ''F-Zero'' game.
** In a similar vein, Ness and Lucas are better known for their ''Super Smash Bros.'' appearances than their roles in [[VideoGame/{{Mother}} their own series]], on account of not having had new games since 2006, and even then ''VideoGame/Mother3'' was Japan-only. The only reason Lucas is in the franchise to begin with was because Masahiro Sakurai was under the assumtion until late in ''Brawl'''s development that ''Mother 3'' would get released internationally.
* ''VideoGame/ZeroWing''. Many forget that the Sega Genesis version was actually adapted from an arcade game (which ''didn't'' feature the infamous "AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs" intro... but had its [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/arcade/c/zerow.htm own screwed up ending]]), and very few are even aware of the PC Engine port ([[NoExportForYou as it was only released in Japan]]). Interestingly, this also ends up doubling as a TranslationTrainWreck displacement, as while both the arcade's ending and the Sega Genesis intro are horribly translated, it is the latter that is widely remembered as a meme.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Strider}} Strider Hiryu]]'' is a subversion, since it was actually a three-way collaboration between Capcom and manga studio Moto Kikaku. Moto Kikaku artist Tatsumi Wada drew the [[Manga/{{Strider}} manga version]], which was published first in 1988, while Capcom produced two separate video games for the project: an [[VideoGame/StriderNES NES version]] which more or less followed the manga ([[NoExportForYou but oddly enough never came out in Japan]]), and an [[VideoGame/StriderArcade arcade version]] which deviated from the other projects completely in terms of story. A common misconception is that the manga was made first without any intention of turning it into a game, but this really wasn't the case at all. But in the case of the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' series, this is played straight. Several people from the FightingGame [[UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity community]] (mainly true for North America) are only familiar with Hiryu from said series and have never heard of his games ''or'' manga and [[IAmNotShazam exclusively call him "Strider"]], [[MillionToOneChance almost never referring to him as "Hiryu"]]. This also applies for VideoGame/CaptainCommando, [[VideoGame/{{Cyberbots}} Jin Saotome]], and all other Capcom characters whose games didn't gain mainstream success.
* Not even the Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} characters are safe in the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' series. This goes straight into MarthDebutedInSmashBros territory for the Japanese audience, as many western comic books (Marvel or otherwise) weren't published in Japan. In that case, several Marvel characters are best remembered as video game characters for many in the aforementioned country.
** And in the west, some of the lesser known characters like [[ComicBook/XMen Marrow]], [[ComicBook/DoctorStrange Dormammu]], and ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} will be remembered for their inclusion in the ''[=MvC=]'' series than their comic appearances. The same goes for ComicBook/RocketRaccoon and you better believe several people have seen him in ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' and said something like "There's that raccoon from ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3''!"
** Do you remember [[DimensionLord Shuma-Gorath]]? Do you remember him in a medium that ''doesn't'' involve Shoryukens? He was originally an enemy of ComicBook/DoctorStrange, and in fact hadn't been seen in six years before ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes''.
*** Shuma-Gorath's a strange example, he was originally from a short story for the 'Kull' series, but the short story was unpublished. When they published it after the author's death, it was adapted into the Dr. Strange series.
* ''Manga/Area88'' is a Displacement Food Chain; it started off as a manga, which got adapted into a somewhat more well-known anime, which got adapted into the kinda-more-well-known [[VideoGame/Area88 arcade game]] (the international title, ''U.N. Squadron'', only made the connection between the games and the manga/anime even more obscure), which got adapted into a well-known SNES port.
* ''[[ComicBook/{{Turok}} Turok, Son of Stone]]'' was a comic book in the 1950s, alongside such other well-known Gold Key titles as ''ComicBook/DoctorSolar: Man of the Atom'' and ''The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor''. Creator/ValiantComics got hold of a load of Creator/GoldKeyComics properties in the 1990s, and relaunched Turok as ''Turok, Dinosaur Hunter''. In 1997, a video game was released based on this incarnation. The ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'' series of games is now much better known than either comic book version.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' is based off a 2004 Flash Game with the exact same name, that nobody remembers.
* ''Anime/{{Little Nemo|AdventuresInSlumberland}}'' isn't one of the most well-known animated films, but the game ''VideoGame/LittleNemoTheDreamMaster'' resided in many an NES of people who'd never even seen the cartoon. It's likely that few fans of the cartoon ([[InternationalCoproduction which was a Japanese/American co-production]]) know that it was originally a comic strip in the first decade of the 20th century. The situation became more confusing when the video game was released in America ''before'' the movie was released (even though the movie was released first in Japan and is what the video game is based on).
** And like the ''Manga/Area88'' example mentioned above, there was an arcade version of ''Little Nemo'' (simply titled ''VideoGame/{{Nemo}}'') that came out before the NES version.
* ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' is an interesting (North America only) case. It's not so much that the book is less well known, but that it was never released in the U.S. until 2013.
* Most people didn't really notice that the obscure SNES platformer ''VideoGame/DinoCity'' is based on the MadeForTVMovie ''Adventures in Dinosaur City''.
* Deliberately fictional example with ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''. According to the [[https://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Technical_Files "Sonic the Hedgehog Technical Files"]], ''Sonic'''s Japanese UniverseBible, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' is told to be based on Mary Garnet's stories, told during the TheForties and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Oh, and the emblem seen on the title screen of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' is also said to be the same one on her husband's jacket.
* ''VideoGame/TheDarkness''; depending on the circles you orbit in, you may encounter people who are either unaware [[ComicBook/TheDarkness the comic]] exists besides the unlockables in the game, or unaware it came ''first''.
* ''FanFic/SonicExe'' started life as a {{Creepypasta}} made during the height of the subgenre, and was in its time very popular--to the point that the events of the story, focused on what was said to be a possessed ''Sonic'' computer file, were adapted into a [[VideoGame/SonicExe fangame]] that closely recreated the events the story described. However, the original story would go on to be CondemnedByHistory due to people becoming increasingly critical of it and the author's response to those critics, and so is rarely discussed except to mock it. The fangame, meanwhile, went viral and spawned a fairly large following of people who had never read the original and did not care to do so (something helped by the fact that the adaptation cut down a lot of the more criticized elements).
* The original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' was a {{M|assivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame}}MORPG on America Online that was operational from 1991 to 1997, and used SSI's "VideoGame/GoldBox" engine. The 2002 game by Creator/BioWare is much better known now.
** Notable especially is that the original was the first modern MMO, predating ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'' by several years. Previous games in similar veins were typically text-based, with few or no graphics and little depth in comparison to [[EasternRPG console]] and [[WesternRPG computer RPGs]] of the same timeframe.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}''
** The very first ''Tetris'' game was released on an UsefulNotes/{{Elektronika60}} in 1985, followed by a release on [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer IBM computers]] (as well as every other HomeComputer in existence). However, it wasn't until the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version, released in 1989, that most fans around the world got into ''Tetris''. This also started the phenomenon of the melodies of ''Korobeiniki'' and ''Dance of The Sugar-Plum Fairy'' being "[[PopCulturalOsmosis Tetris Themes]]"...
** The background music for Creator/{{Sega}}'s arcade version is better known by American and European fans through the remix that appeared in ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris'', since the original game [[AmericansHateTingle mostly flopped outside of Japan]].
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** A subversion: the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was a success in North America because of the popularity that the arcade version of ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros.]]'' (''Vs. Super Mario Bros.'') enjoyed. Nowadays, not many people are aware that ''Super Mario Bros.'' had an arcade port. And if they're aware that ''VideoGame/{{Super Mario Bros|1}}.'' was itself a sequel, it's probably only because the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' is a frequent minigame/easter egg in other games.
** How many people realize that, before he got his own game series, Mario debuted in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''?[[note]]Not helped by the fact that in this incarnation he was known as Jumpman.[[/note]] Or that in this version, he was a carpenter rather than a plumber?
** The version of Bowser's battle theme found within ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' is more well known than the version of the exact same song it's originally based upon (his battle theme from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'').
** ''VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic'' is way more famous than the 1987 Fuji TV promotion on which it's based, and is turn displaced by its ''Mario''-ified adaptation ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''.
* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce II'' was originally released on the UsefulNotes/SharpX68000, ''then'' ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis / UsefulNotes/MegaDrive. Many people think it's the other way around.
* One of the designers for the arcade ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' deliberately took the theme music from ''Series/PeterGunn'', an old, obscure detective show, most likely to stave off any "ripoff" (or worse, copyright) issues. The game became so popular that the song is now far more closely associated with ''Spy Hunter'' than ''Peter Gunn''.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' was such a KillerApp for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch that many people forget it was developed as a UsefulNotes/WiiU game.
* Subverted by the original ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear|1}}''. The NES version was the only one available in North America for many years and the fact that it was a port of an [=MSX2=] game wasn't even common knowledge prior to the release of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. Since then, Creator/HideoKojima has saw fit to release the ports of the [=MSX2=] games in various formats (most notably as [[EmbeddedPrecursor extra content]] in the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Subsistence]]'' and ''HD Edition'' versions of ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]''), whereas the NES ''Metal Gear'' (and its sequel ''[[VideoGame/SnakesRevenge Snake's Revenge]]'') had never been properly reissued since their original releases,[[note]]except for a limited edition of ''Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'' for the [=GameCube=] released only in Japan, which included a bonus disc featuring the Famicom ''Metal Gear''[[/note]] not even on the Virtual Console.
* Only the most avid of fans of the Sinclair UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum computer are aware of the fact that the ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' franchise started on this computer in 1983 (actually, this version was concurrently released on various Japanese computers), with a rather different look from the iconic NES version. Not even most of them realise that in the same year, on the same platform, Hudson tried out the concept that was to become ''VideoGame/{{Pang}}'' (as ''Bubble Buster'').
* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' (1992) is widely known as "the first FPS" (it's not), but a lot fewer people are familiar with ''VideoGame/CastleWolfenstein'' (1981), an Apple II game that might be considered the first stealth-based game.
* One of the biggest complaints about the ''Re-Shelled'' edition of ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Turtles in Time]]'' were the omission of numerous stages and bosses from the SNES version of the game. However, the ''Re-Shelled'' version was actually based on the original arcade game and the "missing" stages and bosses were simply extra stuff added to the SNES port.
* ''VideoGame/ChaosLegion'' is an obscure enough Hack-and-Slasher by itself, but is apparent based on an even more obscure series of light novels.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Valis}}'' series was originally released for various PC platforms, but the series did not gain its cult following until the second game was ported to the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx-CD]]. Oddly, the NoExportForYou TGCD port of the first game wasn't made until after the fourth game, which (save for a watered-down SNES version) didn't make it overseas either.
** ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' was another UsefulNotes/PC88 game series which gained a cult following only with the [=TurboGrafx=]-CD ports.
* ''[[Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy Below the Root]]'' is the best known of the Windham Classics games and a minor CultClassic among platform gamers. The books it was based on (and is the canonical sequel to, making it possibly the first of its kind) are terribly obscure and were out of print for years.
* ''Toys/MonsterInMyPocket'' was originally a line of toys, but nowadays, it's more well known as a classic NES game.
* Once upon a time, a webcomic called ''Prodly the Puffin'' was created as a parody of ''Webcomic/PokeyThePenguin''. The webcomic is long since gone, but an InteractiveFiction [[http://twinbeardstudios.com/118_prodly-the-puffin adaptation]] of it has lasted better.
* The NES version of ''Nuts & Milk'' displaced the original version for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}, UsefulNotes/PC88 and other Japanese computers, which plays quite differently and in Japan is largely ignored.
* ''Soulcalibur'' was only meant to be the sequel to ''VideoGame/SoulEdge'' (''Soul Blade'' for home release) but ended up [[VideoGame/SoulSeries becoming a series]]. This meant that only a few people know about ''Soul Edge/Blade'' due to it not being a numbered entry in the series. Because all of the games after the original ''Soulcalibur'' had "Soulcalibur" in the title, most people think that it is the name of the franchise; it is actually the ''Soul'' series.
* Few people remember that a game called ''VideoGame/{{Starsiege}}'' was the foundation for the ''VideoGame/{{Tribes}}'' franchise. Fewer remember that ''Starsiege'' was a sequel to the ''[=EarthSiege=]'' games.
* Nowadays, ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is one of the most popular anime series around, but in the West, this popularity only came as a result of the 2012 anime adaptation. For more than a decade before that, the series was more commonly associated with [[VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureHeritageForTheFuture the Capcom fighting game]], which was released for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast in America before the original manga or the [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] ever made it Stateside. Most people thought that: A) the [=OVA=] is based on the game, or B) only knew of the Dreamcast game.
* A lot of people, particularly western arcade-goers, were unaware that ''VideoGame/InitialDArcadeStage'' is based on [[Manga/InitialD a manga and anime]].
* The 1997 Macintosh RPG ''VideoGame/TaskMaker'' is an adaptation of an obscure 1993 black-and-white Mac RPG of the same name, which itself was adapted from a tabletop RPG. What little fans the obscure 1997 version has probably know it only by that version, and not its predecessors.
* The obscure Dreamcast/PC game ''Stupid Invaders'' was actually based on the also-obscure[[note]]less so in its native France[[/note]] cartoon ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGoofs'' (or ''Home to Rent'' as it was known in the UK).
* The ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'' game series is part of the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' franchise, which began as a tabletop wargame. When ''[=MechWarrior=] Tactics'' was announced as an online adaptation of the tabletop game, complete with hexmaps and turn-based gameplay, there were immediate complaints that the game was "not real ''[=MechWarrior=]''."
* ''VisualNovel/CrossChannel'' was displaced by the Flash game ''VideoGame/NanacaCrash'' Why? ''Cross Channel'' was a Japanese-only HGame[=/=]VisualNovel until its FanTranslation in 2009. Fans didn't need to read Japanese to play ''Nanaca Crash''!
* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'':
** It's exceedingly common to see fans to be unaware that ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonFriendsOfMineralTown'' is essentially a port of ''Back to Nature'' with some new features, 2D graphics, and slight characterization changes--especially considering that ''Friends of Mineral Town'' got a [[VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsFriendsOfMineralTown remake]] while ''Back to Nature'' didn't.
** Many fans don't realize ''Back To Nature'' is based on ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon64''. The two games feature similar graphics and the same characters but are vastly different in terms of characterization. This caused a large number of fans to be confused about how Elli in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonTreeOfTranquility'' is a baker and not a nurse.
** ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon1'' and ''Save the Homeland'' are both black sheep in the franchise, played by few fans compared to other titles, so it's common for people to miss all the {{Mythology Gag}}s in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonMagicalMelody'' or think the characters are original.
* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation game ''VideoGame/AirCombat'' is considerably better known than the original arcade version or its sequel ''Air Combat 22'', to the point most online ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' retrospective don't bother to mention the series' arcade origins.
* ''VisualNovel/DiabolikLovers'' is better known for its series of visual novels than the Drama [=CDs=] that spawned them.
* Few seem to remember that ''Prince of Stride'' was originally a series of LightNovels and Drama [=CDs=] before [[VisualNovel/PrinceOfStrideAlternative its PS Vita adaptation]]. In fact, some news sources implied the opposite, despite the fact that the franchise couldn't release all of its content within the short time span of the game's distribution.
* If you search "Impey Barbicane" on Google you'll get more results for the ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'' character [[InNameOnly very loosely]] based on him than the original [[Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon literary character]].
* ''Spectre'' from the SNES is quite well-known for being one of the only fully-3D games on the system, but not many know that it was a Macintosh port.
* The highly popular and successful ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games (including a [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords sequel]], [[ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic comic series]], and [[VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic MMO]]) are loosely based on the ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' comic series from the mid-to-late-Nineties, and in fact borrow the name from one of its story arcs. Although it does reference events, characters, and locations from ''Tales'', the game series has far outstripped it in recognition.
* The original release of ''VideoGame/CrimzonClover'', later given an UpdatedRerelease on the [=NESiCAxLive=] arcade content distribution platform and on Windows as ''Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION'', is hardly played anymore. First, as a Japanese ''doujinshi'' product that was released in physical format, [[KeepCirculatingThetapes it's very hard to find copies of it nowadays]]; ''WORLD IGNITION'' is readily available on Steam and GOG in six additional languages (including English) for a comparatively reasonable price (i.e. not marked up by doujin game resellers) that's cut ''even further'' during Steam's iconic sales. Second, ''WORLD IGNITION'' is largely seen as a superior product anyway, due to the extra modes, ships, vertical orientation support, and 2-player support.
* In an odd case of this happening to a single character, King Harkinian first appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'' cartoons and comic books. He became a sort of CanonImmigrant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCdiGames'', appearing in a total of three short scenes... which, as a result of the colossal amount of YouTubePoop surrounding those scenes, has resulted in him becoming universally identified with them.
* MoeAnthropomorphism games often adapt aspects of their inspirations to their characters in their personalities and backstories, often displacing the original in references when it comes to gaming circles. Try to google "Special Week", "Shimakaze", "Heshikiri Hasebe", or "Ayanami" without seeing top results for ''VideoGame/UmaMusume'', ''VideoGame/KanColle'', ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'', or ''VideoGame/AzurLane'', for example.
* It's hard to think of obscure historical figures and legendary heroes as anything other than their ''{{VisualNovel/Fate|Stay Night}}'' incarnations, especially with the popularity of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' bringing said obscure figures to the forefront. Notably, the ''Fate''-verse even incorporates this into their summoning: they may be summoned with powers or appearances lifted from common interpretations of them rather than their actual legends.
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunker}}'' is best known [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in Japan]] as a NES/Famicom game, and the game's most iconic music (not counting the "Mysterioso Pizzicato" StandardSnippet) was composed for this version. The arcade version (which plays a bit differently) was released around the same time, but the actual original version was developed for UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers.
* ''VideoGame/WildWestCowboysOfMooMesa'' is more known today as a arcade shooter by Creator/{{Konami}}, rather than [[WesternAnimation/WildWestCowboysOfMooMesa a Saturday Morning Cartoon series]] from the early 90's.
* Ever since Microsoft included a version of the popular Klondike variation with Windows 3.0 in 1990, vastly more people have played TabletopGame/{{Solitaire}} on their computers rather than with physical cards.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' is better known to many as a mobile game rather than the PC game it started, with the mobile version being one of the many ports it got. It doesn't help that [[VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime its]] [[VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies3 sequels]] went straight to mobile devices and didn't got ports in other devices.
* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' originally began as a series of Polish novels, but almost everywhere outside of Poland, the Czech Republic (and some other central European countries) is more familiar with Creator/CDProjektRED's [[VideoGame/TheWitcher trilogy of]] [[VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings video]] [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt games]]. This happened again in Latin America (See displaced by all of the above)
* ''Videogame/SpecOpsTheLine'' earned much more attention for its dark GenreDeconstruction than the ''Spec Ops'' games that had been dormant for a whole decade and never stood out among other tactical shooters.
* ''VideoGame/SweetHome1989'' was actually an adaptation of the movie - the movie itself isn't known outside of Japan and is often treated as just another movie.
* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'', was, on its release, the most concurrently played video game in existence, with over 1 million individuals playing it on launch day. It is unknown, but highly unlikely, that 1 million copies of the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'' have been sold across all editions since the original game was released in 1988. On a related note, a lot of players of the video game have complained that the setting feels "too generic", when the tabletop RPG is the [[TropeMaker origin]] or [[TropeCodifier codifier]] of a lot of the things that make up {{Cyberpunk}} sensibilities, and [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a lot of the things they consider "better cyberpunk" were ripping off the "Cyberpunk" TTRPG from the start.]]
* Creator/ElectronicArts' ''VideoGame/SkateOrDie'' was originally produced for the Commodore 64, Apple [=IIgs=], Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS PC's, but all of those versions, at least in North America, were overshadowed by Creator/{{Konami}}'s NES port.
* Due to the game being SavedFromDevelopmentHell causing a NewbieBoom, not a lot of people are in the know that ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' started off as a Website/{{Tumblr}} webcomic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pico}}'' has a foothold on Newground's history as one of the earliest creation of the website's creator, Tom Fulp, and a mascot character for the website, but in modern times he's far more recognized from his [[GuestFighter guest]] appearance in ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'', a game which caused a massive NewbieBoom for the website. Needless to say, he ended up causing some controversy when the new fans discovered his origins from an edgy and of-its-time flash game.
* In the West, the ''Mystery Dungeon'' franchise by Spike Chunsoft is more-or-less synonymous with the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' sub-series, often unaware that there are also entries based on other franchises like ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', as well as an original entry called ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer''. In fact, the series ''started'' as a Torneko-centric spinoff of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV''. To drive the point home, the ''Mystery Dungeon'' subreddit's icon has Pikachu on it and consists mostly of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''-related posts.
* The point-and-click adventure and strategy hybrid ''VideoGame/Dune1992'' received some attention in the late 2010s for getting an unexpected fan-made ''porn parody'' [[VideoGameRemake remake]] named ''[[ParallelPornTitles Behind the Dune]]'' made initially in UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash. [[SexSells For obvious reasons]], it received much more attention than the obscure game it is remaking.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Displaced by Western Animation]]
* The '80s ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'' cartoon is vastly more familiar to the public than the [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage original black-and-white comics]]. An example of this is that in every ''Turtles''-related review by WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, he constantly criticizes an adaptation for not being "faithful" when it's actually using something from the ''comic'' instead of the '80s series (such as his constant complaints about April's lack of yellow jumpsuits in the films, or that Judith Hoag looks nothing like April, when her portrayal did in fact resemble the original comic's version).
** This was taken into account by the creators of [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze the second film]] who originally intended to stick closer to the comics and have the mutagen be the creation of a brain-like alien race called the Utroms. Professor Perry, who still appears in the movie as the man who created the mutagen, was going to be revealed as the last Utrom still on Earth. However, the cartoon featured a villainous alien brain named Krang who bore a strong physical resemblance to the Utroms but little else. Since the movie was being marketed to fans of the cartoon, the Utrom subplot was ditched because of concern that viewers would assume the brain was Krang.
** Splinter's backstory. In the original comics, he was the pet rat of a murdered human ninja who was later mutated into a rat humanoid form. In the '80s cartoon, he's a human ninja mutated into a rat. Most other adaptations (excluding the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012 cartoon]]) stick to the original backstory, yet the '80s cartoon version [[PragmaticAdaptation worked so well]] that people who were first introduced to the turtles by the cartoon tend to accuse adaptations that use this origin of creating an AdaptationInducedPlotHole, not realizing it is in fact his original backstory.
*** A very localized ''Turtles'' example: Creator/RogerEbert, in his reviews of the original two ''Turtles'' movies, refers to the Turtles as being [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer from a Nintendo game with no mention of the comics, toys, and TV series that predated the NES video game]]. This confusion likely stems from his review of ''Film/TheWizard'', a movie that references (well, okay, let's face it, advertises) the NES ''Turtles'' game. This was likely the only exposure Ebert had to the Turtles before seeing the movie.
* In the case of ''Franchise/DuckTales'', [[ZigZaggingTrope it depends on where you live]]. In the U.S. and the U.K., [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 the first cartoon]] is remembered well enough that a ContinuityReboot released [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 30 years later]] was an instant hit. Meanwhile, the Creator/CarlBarks comics both series are based on have mostly fallen into mainstream obscurity, although they're {{Cult Classic}}s among comics fans, especially the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom. In many other countries, however, Disney comics (especially those by Barks and Creator/DonRosa) are still widely popular, much more so than the cartoons. Especially in Northern Europe, namely the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany. This was to the point that when ''[=DuckTales=]'' comics were released to promote the 2017 show, they flopped because kids didn't get why the continuity was so different.
* Before ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' was a cartoon, it was a series of children's books by Marc Brown, though most people probably know this even if they've never read them. You are told about them after the end of every episode, after all. What most people probably don't know is that ShowWithinAShow ''Bionic Bunny'' is also based on a series of picture books by Brown.
* Many people know about the cartoon series ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' than the picture books it was based on.
* Then there's ''WesternAnimation/LittleBill'', which was heavily advertised as being created by Creator/BillCosby, but many people didn't know it was for the fact that he created the original series of picture books, not the actual show.
* ''ComicStrip/USAcres'' (a.k.a. ''Orson's Farm''), the middle segment on ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' was actually based on a short-lived comic strip Jim Davis did during the 1980s.
* Ace the Bat-Hound was a Franchise/{{Batman}} supporting character in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver ages]]. However, many more people remember Ace as Ol' Bruce Wayne's dog from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''. And some people are surprised that the mask-wearing incarnation of Ace, Krypto, Streaky, and the Dog Stars (originally the Space Canine Patrol) weren't all made up for the ''WesternAnimation/KryptoTheSuperdog'' cartoon.
* You'd be surprised to know how many people are unaware that the ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' franchise originates from the toys, and not the 1980s cartoon. The cartoon was actually made to promote the toys.
* ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'' and ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' has somewhat overshadowed everything else in the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' universe, including the actual newspaper strip, which is ironic because most of the special's dialogue is taken verbatim from the strip. In a rather odd case, a lot of people think that Linus is supposed to have a lisp because his ''ACBC'' voice actor, Christopher Shea, happened to have one. This even carried over into the 1999 Broadway production of ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''.
* Many people are familiar with [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin Bass]]' stop-motion animation classic ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'', and more are familiar with the song by Johnny Marks. But many don't even remember the [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Rudolph%2C_The_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_Marion_Books.jpg original story/poem by Robert May]] that [[Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer inspired both the song and the special]]. And almost ''nobody'' remembers that the character was originally created for an old Montgomery Ward ad campaign.
* Similarly, many people are familiar with the Rankin/Bass animated adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheYearWithoutASantaClaus'', but have never heard of the original poem it was based on. Wikipedia doesn't even ''have'' an article about the original book.
* Speaking of Christmas specials, while the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' hasn't exactly displaced [[Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas the book]] (this partly is because Creator/DrSeuss is one of the most famous authors of children's books in the world) try to find anyone who can read the book to themselves and ''not'' hear Creator/BorisKarloff narrating it, or remember Creator/ChuckJones direction or Ben Washam's animation of the Grinch's expression as he thinks of his "awful idea" moreso than the lower-key one in the book. Notably, the original book was entirely pen-and-ink, with red highlights. The Grinch wasn't green at all in the original illustrations, but thanks to this special [[LostInImitation it's become one of his defining design characteristics]].
** The animated special also introduced the songs "Welcome Christmas" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", which have grown to be absolutely synonymous with the story and have been incorporated into [[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas both]] [[WesternAnimation/TheGrinch2018 theatrical]] adaptations of the book, which otherwise differ from Jones' special.
* Relatively few people are familiar with the classic ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'', ''WesternAnimation/Birdman1967'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2020}}'' cartoons. More people are familiar with the [[WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast Williams]] [[WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw Street]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}} productions]] that took those characters and turned them into [[GenreShift something]] ''[[DenserAndWackier completely]]'' [[RuderAndCruder different]]. Which is especially odd as these shows completely reuse animations and StockFootage of the original cartoons.
** Vindicated outside of younger generations of the Internet. Looking at parent company's WB's marketing, it appears the Adult Swim shows are pretty much bargain priced with a few now OOP, while the original Creator/HannaBarbera sets are still in print. Hammering home that some of this displacement came from the fact when these shows were new, a lot of older people weren't using the Internet as much for younger people to have noticed.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' comics, Ms. Gsptlsnz, extradimensional paramour of [[GreatGazoo Mister Mxyzptlk]], appeared during UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} comics. However, she was so obscure that even [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} That Other Wiki]] erroneously reported her as [[CanonForeigner a creation]] of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. Brainiac gets a bit of this: most people remember him as a Kryptonian android, rather than a cyborg of a completely different species he is in the comics, with the Eradicator, whose origin he ended up with, being less well remembered.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' TV series is much better known in the U.S. and U.K. than the comics, with the comics being well-known elsewhere, mostly other parts of Europe. For the United States, this is in part due to the source material not having the best history in those regions, initially receiving novelizations of the comics instead.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''
** While most people realize that Franchise/{{Batman}}'s sidekick ComicBook/{{Robin}} originates in comic books, many fans of the animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'' may not realize that the rest of the show's main characters, the team and its headquarters, most of the villains, many of the plotlines on the show, and even the title itself, [[ComicBook/TeenTitans originated in comic books as well]]. The show's heavy [[{{Animesque}} anime-inspired style]] may play a role in this. Lampshaded within the show itself, when the other members are shocked to learn that Beast Boy's [[ComicBook/DoomPatrol been a member of a team previously]], and has more experience as a hero than anyone but possibly Robin.
** More to the point, the success of the cartoon made it so that the five cartoon Titans (Robin[[note]]specifically Dick Grayson[[/note]], ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}, ComicBook/{{Starfire}}, Beast Boy, and ComicBook/{{Raven}}) ''are'' the Teen Titans as far as most of the public is concerned. The Teen Titans have been around since the 1960's and have had dozens of members, but good luck finding many people who recognize any of them outside the five from the television series. This has also created a situation where most subsequent adaptations or media appearances (such as ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTeenTitans'') try to mimic the roster of the TV show in order to appeal to audiences who remember those heroes.
* One of the main criticisms of the animated special of ''WesternAnimation/GrandmaGotRunOverByAReindeer'' lies in the awkwardly implemented songs. The title song everyone is familiar with, but not so much the other Dr. Elmo Christmas songs, believed by many to be written for the movie, when they're all just horrible covers not involving Dr. Elmo despite him narrating the special and voicing Grandpa.
* The 1990s cartoon version of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' is vastly, overwhelmingly better known than [[ComicBook/TheTick the original black-and-white indie comic]], and even the subsequent live-action adaptations.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' is best known for its TV adaptation that's been running since the mid-1980s. Less well known outside the UK is that it was based on [[Literature/TheRailwaySeries a series of books]] that's been running since the ''mid-1940s''...
** It's sister show ''WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie'' suffers this too-it's based off a children's book series that started all the way back in 1938, a few years before The Railway Series started.
* Creator/ManOfActionStudios' ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', which was loosely based on a fairly unknown late-1990s ''Creator/ImageComics'' title called ''M.Rex''. Considering the comic only lasted two issues before being cancelled, this can also be considered some ''serious'' AdaptationExpansion.
* ''WesternAnimation/MartinMystery'' is possibly best known for the WesternAnimation show, that is almost an InNameOnly version of the original comic ("almost" because they changed "Mystere" to "Mystery").
* A variation: while everyone knows that ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' originated as Hasbro toy lines, it's far less common knowledge that most of the plot and characters for both shows actually originated from the Marvel comic books, which came first. For example: "Isn't Destro supposed to be black?" is a common question asked by those who questioned the casting of Christopher Eccleston as Destro in ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', but in the original comic, he was Caucasian and a Scotsman- it was only in the '80s cartoon that he was voiced by African American actor Arthur Burghardt, hence the confusion.
* Who remembers that ''Josie and the Pussycats'' was a [[ComicBook/JosieAndThePussycats comic]] before it became [[WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats the famous cartoon]]? Even more, who remembers that before the Pussycats, it was just Josie, and was basically a female ''ComicBook/{{Archie|Comics}}''.
* ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' movies are very often displaced by the cartoons, to the point where people have complained about the [[Film/ThePinkPanther2006 2006 movie]] being about an inspector instead of the panther. The Pink Panther mascot is actually a personification of a ''diamond'' within the series.
* The original Symbiote arc in Spider-Man was almost indistinguishable from future versions, as the costume was portrayed as nothing more than a parasite that unknowingly sapped energy from Peter, slowly weakening him. However, all subsequent adaptations have taken more from the ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' version where the costume actually increases his powers and brings out his dark side, as well as establishing Eddie Brock as a character before revealing him as Venom.
* More people are familiar with the ''Bucky O'Hare'' animated series than [[ComicBook/BuckyOHareAndTheToadWars the comic book it was based on]] (probably because it was originally just a back-up strip in an anthology book).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrampTwins'' isn't exactly a well-known cartoon nowadays, but even fewer people know that it started out as a series of books during the mid-1990s.
* It's more likely to find fans who associate ''Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' with its 2000s animated version that aired on PBS Kids than the books that came out since 1963. That said, didja know that Creator/{{Nelvana}} also took a stab at it and made six half-hour direct-to-video specials in the 80s? Even the books are better remembered in comparison.
* ''ComicBook/TheQuestion'' has gone through [[DependingOnTheWriter a lot of interpretations:]] extreme borderline-JerkAss objectivist avenger in the early Creator/SteveDitko comics, mellowing out under Denny O'Neal into a Zen-like investigator, eventually becoming cheerfully fatalistic before [[LegacyCharacter passing on his name to Renee Montoya.]] However, the most famous one by far is ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''s take of a LighterAndSofter [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]], voiced by Creator/JeffreyCombs and obsessing over shoelaces.
* ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'': The few American, English or Latin American people who have heard of this are either thinking of the god-awful game, or the pretty decent AnimatedAdaptation.
* Obscure Canadian stop-motion series Wapos Bay was based on a series of books, but few fans of the series know that.
* Played straight with ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' as many viewers had never even heard of the books. (Even today many seem ignorant that the books even exist) But also averted as the show caused book sales to skyrocket.
* ''Heathcliff'' is best remembered through the Creator/DICEntertainment series ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats'', though it had been running as a comic strip since 1973.
* Creator/ElzieSegar originally created ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} as a bit player in his comic strip ''Thimble Theater'' (which originally starred Olive Oyl). He was slowly groomed to be more of a hero to where he was the strip's star and eventually was featured in a WesternAnimation/BettyBoop cartoon before getting his own theatrical series. Today, Popeye is more associated with the cartoons than the ''Thimble Theater'' strip.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/TheDrinkyCrowShow Drinky Crow]]'' are probably much better known as Adult Swim cartoons than as comic strips -- it doesn't help that ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' was pulled by some newspapers after Aaron [=McGruder=] criticized UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush (and never returned, even after public opinion towards Bush had changed), and the strip ''Drinky Crow'' is based on, ''Maakies'', mostly runs in small alternative papers.
* ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' are well-known from the Hanna-Barbera [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981 animated series of the same name]]. However, a lot of Americans aren't aware the series is actually an animated adaptation of [[ComicBook/TheSmurfs the Belgian comic book series]] of the same name which began in 1958. The Smurfs was also a spinoff to Creator/{{Peyo}}'s previous work ''ComicBook/JohanAndPeewit'' (Johan et Pirlouit) which began in 1952. Outside of Belgium (due to being apart of [[FrancoBelgianComics Franco-Belgian Comics History]]), Johan and Peewit are completely unknown to the foreign market.
** Averted in the United Kingdom and Australia, where the Smurfs made their first English debut in the late 1970s from an official English version of Vader Abraham's 1977 album [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQzfsHL65lk "Vader Abraham in Smurfenland"]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAQ66BKG27A released in 1978]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM_XdP3xvaU in the UK]]) and various Smurf merchandise by gas companies National Benzole (in the UK) and BP (Australia in the late 70s and early 80s). The titular characters even made their first English speaking apperances in a series of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9TU9dFXPgU British animated commericals for National Benzole throughout 1978.]] The 1976 animated film ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfsAndTheMagicFlute'' even recieved it's first English dub for British audiences in 1979. Unlike the United States, British and Australian audiences are more savy on the original comics but not to the extent as Western Europe (especially Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany).
* The Creator/{{Nelvana}} series ''Literature/MaxAndRuby'' is more well-known to the public then the original ongoing book series by Creator/RosemaryWells which began in 1979.
** The same thing can be said for her other book adapted for TV, ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool''. The series is actually a mixture of Wells' other beloved book characters that originated from either a stand alone book [[note]] Such as Nora debuted in the 1973 book ''Noisy Nora'', Timothy, Claude, and Mrs. Jenkins in the 1981 book ''Literature/TimothyGoesToSchool'' before reappearing in ''Yoko'', Dora in ''Hazel's Amazing Mother'' from 1985, Charles in the 1988 book ''Shy Charles'', and Fritz in the 1991 book ''The Mess Fairy''.[[/note]] or introduced in the 1998 ''Literature/{{Yoko}}'' book [[note]] Such as the titular character Yoko the kitten, The Franks (Frank 1 and Frank 2), and Lilly. [[/note]]. Eventually some episodes would be loosely adapted for the ''Yoko & Friends School Days'' series with a couple books that are original.
* ''WesternAnimation/OzzyAndDrix'' is actually the AnimatedAdaptation of an animation/live-action hybrid film ''Film/OsmosisJones''. However, due to the lack of promotion ''Osmosis Jones'' received, most of the viewership for ''Ozzy and Drix'' thought it was an original work.
* A lot of people might be surprised to know that ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'' was actually based on the candy brand the Gummi Bears and not the other way around. The company approached Disney and requested a kid's show as ProductPlacement; Disney did such a great work with a very creative and original series (and InNameOnly as other than the words "gummi" and "bear" it has nothing to do with the candy) that became so popular among children that most people nowadays would think of the show first and the candy later.
** Your milage may vary on this one, as the candy is still sold and decently popular, while the cartoon franchise is somewhat obscure and completely dormant since the cartoon stopped airing back in the '80s.
* The ''WesternAnimation/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' movies have almost no diffusion in some regions like Latin America and some parts of Europe whilst the show had a broad syndication in a lot of public channels as Saturday morning cartoon. Thus whilst the existence of the movies is almost only known for cinema history buffs or BMovie geeks, the show is almost as famous as ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' or any other Saturday morning cartoon. A lot of people still to this day might have a surprise to know that there were live-action movies before.
* Similar to what they did in the Toys section above, many people assume that ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers cartoon]] came first, with [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 the toys]] coming later to cash in. In reality, it was the other way around, with the cartoon being made [[MerchandiseDriven to sell the toys]].
* Many fans of the ''WesternAnimation/ScaryGodmother'' duology don't realize that it's actually an adaptation of two novels in a long-running series.
* Although the books of ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' are far from being unpopular or obscure, is hard to imagine that most people won't associate the name of Babar with the animated series first, which was very successful and the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/BabarAndTheAdventuresOfBadou'' albeit divisive among fans of the original, it does succeed into making the character popular among newer generations.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'' was based off a series of Canadian children's books in which the titular character was a baby that had a small following. This also explains why he doesn't have hair, as when the creators started making the books about Caillou's toddlerhood, a sample group of children did not recognize him when they added hair.
* For the various [[WesternAnimation/NoddysToylandAdventures Noddy]] series, this trope varies depending on the country. In the United Kingdom (and to some extent Australia, France, and Canada), this trope is averted, as the stories are pretty much a staple of British childhoods. In other countries, the trope is played straight, with people thinking that either ''Noddy's Toyland Adventures'', ''Make Way For Noddy'' or ''Series/TheNoddyShop'', depending on which version they remember, was its own thing. There's also some people who think that ''The Noddy Shop'' was not connected to the ''Noddy'' franchise at all. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20210413033327/https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120603200824AAy80Ra This post is an example of the second type of displacement]]. Doesn't help that the original books [[NoExportForYou never gained an America release]] compared to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom (the series' native country).
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'' has far eclipsed the [[ComicBook/YoungJustice '90s comic]] the show is [[InNameOnly ostensibly based on]]. While it can hardly be considered a true adaptation, as it only shares the basic concept of being focused on a team of young superheroes in common, it's still the far more famous entertainment product with the name. Mention "Young Justice" to anyone outside the comic book community, and you can be guaranteed this will be the first that comes to mind.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was a series of animated skits on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'' before being spun off into its own full series. Nowadays, ''The Simpsons'' is still airing and is one of the most popular animated series of all time, while ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is almost entirely forgotten, and the only time anyone ever brings is it up is in the context of ''The Simpsons''. It's quite telling that on ''The Tracey Ullman Show'''s work page, more tropes are catalogued for ''The Simpsons'' shorts than for the show itself.
* ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' is based on a French series of picture books by Romuald Racioppo, but good luck finding anyone outside France who knows this. Even some French natives are unaware of the books. It also doesn't help that, despite the shows worldwide succes, the books have so far never been translated or released anywhere outside France & Belgium.
* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' was originally a character from a series of short films, one of which aired on ''Series/SesameStreet''.
* The obscure French show ''WesternAnimation/TheCrumpets'' is a loose adaptation of the ''Petit Dernier'' and ''Petite Pousse'' picture books which began in the 2000s. The show is more widely available (though not very expansive as it's primarily limited to French-speaking territories) than the books.
* Very few people realize that the Creator/CartoonNetwork show ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' is based on Daniel Chong's webcomic ''[[http://thethreebarebears.blogspot.com/ The Three Bare Bears]]''. Justified, as it only lasted ''9 pages''.
* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': The original webcomic, which only lasted four months and thirty-two pages before a [=DreamWorks=] Animation executive discovered it and urged the creator to start developing it as a television series. It doesn't help that the website for the comic is [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes no longer active]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Vampirina}}'' was adapted from a series of picture books written by Anne Marie Page.
* Most people outside of its native Australia don't know that the wildly successful 1990s ''WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill'' series was adapted from a series of books written in the 1930s.
* Outside of The Netherlands and Germany, the 1989 animated series ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'' is more well-known to the general public than the 1987 comic series which was an adaptation of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BasYtaPE7WQ&t=194s original theater show]] by Herman Van Veen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYCjeHU6W3k&t=597s from 1976]] (revamped in 1985). Inverted in The Netherlands and Germany, where [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_van_Veen Herman Van Veen is a household name]] and his works are more [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k7dLyi8nlc prominent in those countries]]. Helps that the original "Alfred Jodocus Kwak" musical was shown in the Netherlands twice ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMFdVoi7em4&t=1372s 1970s]] and 1987) and Germany in 1985. However the animated series was able to recieved [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k7dLyi8nlc two spinoff stage shows]] (''Alfred J Kwak: Verboden Te Lachen'' and ''Alfred J Kwak en de Sneeuwvlok'') shown in The Netherlands (the series' native country).
* ''[[WesternAnimation/FortyFourCats 44 Cats]]'' is an AnimatedAdaptation of the hit Italian song "Quarantaquattro gatti". Outside of Italy, the song is largely unknown.
* A surprisingly large number of people are unaware of the fact that ''WesternAnimation/TheDayMyButtWentPsycho'' was based on [[Literature/TheBumTrilogy a trilogy of kids books]]. Which is frankly strange given that the show's title cards explicitly state it to be based on those books.
* Relatively few people know of ''WesternAnimation/WhatsWithAndy'', but even fewer realize that it was actually based on a series of kids' novels by Australian author Creator/AndyGriffiths.
* The Creator/{{PBS}} Kids series ''WesternAnimation/SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat'' is based on a 1994 children's book [[https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Siamese-Cat-Amy-Tan/dp/1597777935 "The Chinese Siamese Cat"]]. The original book has Ming Miao (a descent of the Miao family) telling her kittens the story of Sagwa (Ming Miao's ancestor) and how the kittens's antics foiled the Foolish Magistrate. Unlike the animated series, Sagwa and the other characters are designed more realistic and her collar is notably different.
* The already relatively obscure ''WesternAnimation/{{Grossology}}'' was actually loosely adapted from a series of nonfiction books with the same title.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangbone}}'' is often mistaken for a cash-in on the popularity of ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', but the show's true origins lie in a series of children's graphic novels called ''Literature/FangboneThirdGradeBarbarian'', which was originally released in 2012 (3 years before ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' was even a thing).
* Most people are completely unaware of the fact that ''WesternAnimation/{{Sidekick}}'' started off as a miniseries of 5-minute shorts shown on the AnimatedAnthology show ''WesternAnimation/{{Funpak}}'', which aired five years before ''Sidekick'' became a full TV show.
* ''WesternAnimation/PegPlusCat'' was based on a children's book called "The Chicken Problem", which premiered a year before the show.
* Most didn't know that ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' originated from its own series from Creator/MilestoneComics called ''ComicBook/{{Static}}'' who was eventually folded into Franchise/TheDCU. Most assumed that the show and its characters were either original creations or from an obscure DC comics series that was lucky enough to get an adaptation.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOctonauts'' was based on a series of children's books that began in 2006.
* ''WesternAnimation/TucaAndBertie'' was based on an earlier, short-lived webcomic by Lisa Hanawalt called ''Tuca the Toucan''.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobTheRobot'', which is already somewhat obscure in its own right, was still popular enough that information about John Magart's original books is nearly impossible to come by. What little is known comes from the covers of the books, and a stock image containing the book forms of Rob, Orbit, and who is possibly an early version of TK (suggesting that Ema is a CanonForeigner).
* If you're a native German speaker, it's likely that you know the animated short ''Literature/DerMuenchnerImHimmel''. You're less likely to know that it's based on a ShortStory by the ''Literature/{{Lausbubengeschichten}}'' author Ludwig Thoma, though.
* ''WesternAnimation/PetAlien'' is far more well-known than the original [[https://web.archive.org/web/20010330090733/http://petalien.com:80/ 1990s toyline]] that inspired it, to the point where information on said toyline is ridiculously scarce and most people don't even know there was a toyline.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' is so well remembered for the 1993-1995 AnimatedAdaptation of a series of novels that began in ''1979'', with the chronologically final story in the ocotology being written in 1992 and a prequel being written in 1994, that this very wiki focuses on the cartoon, even redirecting links written for the Literature version to the cartoon version.
* Those who grew up watching ''WesternAnimation/PeepAndTheBigWideWorld'' will be extremely surprised to learn that the 2004 series is actually based on a 1988 animated short film of the same name produced by the Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada, which ''itself'' was based on a 1962 NFB short film called ''The Peep Show''.
[[/folder]]

** Despite the controversy generated by ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', not that many people know that the show is adapted from the rather obscure ''The Lord of the Rings Appendices'' and not and from the more known Silmarillion, leading to a lot of confusion of why the show took so many liberties from the source material instead of just adapting the story as it is.

* A lot of anime that was based on written novels or stories, especially Japanese {{light novels}}, is often mistakenly thought of by the Western world as being original stories or based on a manga. This is mainly because manga and anime are easier to translate--since you're mostly just dealing with dialog, there's far less text to work through--though light-novel translations have gradually become more common as the subculture's population grows. There's also the factor of the Main/AnimationAgeGhetto applying to illustrated novels, but not [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Comic Books]].

* During its heyday in the mid-2000s, the anime adaptation of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' was much more well-known outside of Japan than the manga it was based on, despite both being translated at the same time. The localizers at Creator/ADVFilms seemed to anticipate this: not only did they promote the anime much more heavily, their translation of the manga was retitled ''[[TitleTheAdaptation Azumanga Daioh: The Manga]]''. Over time, the two have become more-or-less equally popular, both due to the manga boom and legal issues. When ADV went bankrupt in 2009, Creator/YenPress grabbed the manga rights to both ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'' and ''Azumanga Daioh'', putting out a new translation that year. The anime went until 2015 without a re-release (when Creator/SentaiFilmworks picked up the rights), making the manga the more accessible way to view the series for several years.

* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' is an anime based off {{Yonkoma}} strips, rather than conventional serialized manga.

** ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'', the 2014 CG animated film, is quite quickly snuffing out the original cartoons, and there's even a certain section who ''do'' know of their existence, but aren't aware that they weren't their own actual series -- they were aired as ''Peabody's Improbable History'', a recurring segment on the various ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' series.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Some mainstream articles on ''Pokémon'' [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer refer to the Pokémon and human characters]] as anime characters (or simply cartoon characters), often completely ignorant of the franchise's video game origins; a few articles have even implied that the ''[[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} trading card game]]'' came first. This is largely because, depending on the region, the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime series]] was [[AdaptationFirst released weeks or even months before]] the video games outside Japan. Matters were further confused by ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' having the name of the anime's protagonist (Ash) as one of the predefined suggestions for the player character's name in all the Gen I games.[[note]]To be fair, this was the case in Japanese as well, with Satoshi even being the character's official name until it was {{retcon}}ned to Red, one of the other predefined suggestions, in Gen II.[[/note]] Then came the {{Recursive Adaptation}}s; the next mainline game, ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Yellow]]'', was an UpdatedRerelease that incorporated elements from the anime into ''Red and Blue'''s plot (like having Pikachu as a starter), while ''[[VideoGame/PanelDePon Pokémon Puzzle League]]'' was a spin-off game that was outright based on the show and used artwork of those characters. This is all made most evident by asking anyone "What is ''Pokémon''[='=]s ThemeTune?" Even long-time fans of the games who haven't watched the anime since they were children are most likely to respond with the theme of anime's first season (or [[LongRunner whichever era of the show they grew up with]]), rather than the actual leitmotif of the games.

* ''Crayon Kingdom Of Dreams'' was based off a series of Japanese children's novels which still are being written to this day, beginning back in the mid-80's. Most people who live in other countries remember it as only a show and not a book, [[NoExportForYou especially since the books weren't translated outside of Japan.]]

* It's more likely to find fans who associate ''Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' with its 2000s animated version that aired on PBS Kids than the books that came out since 1963. That said, didja know that Creator/Nelvana also took a stab at it and made six half-hour direct-to-video specials in the 80s? Even the books are better remembered in comparison.

* ''FanFic/SonicExe'' started life as a {{Creepypasta}} made during the height of the subgenre, and was in its time very popular--to the point that the events of the story, focused on what was said to be a possessed ''Sonic'' computer file, were adapted into a fangame that closely recreated the events the story described. However, the original story would go on to be CondemnedByHistory due to people becoming increasingly critical of it and the author's response to those critics, and so is rarely discussed except to mock it. The fangame, meanwhile, went viral and spawned a fairly large following of people who had never read the original and did not care to do so (something helped by the fact that the adaptation cut down a lot of the more criticized elements).

* Many people don't realize that ''Webcomic/PastelDefenderHeliotrope'', a webcomic that defines TrueArtIsIncomprehensible, was based on a light-hearted, straightforward ''[[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio Pinocchio]]'' story for the Kamishibai program that Reitz and her husband produced. It's quite jarring for those few souls who read the Kamishibai story first and then tried to read the webcomic.

* The ComicBook/HumanTorch. Johnny Storm is the name most comic fans associate with the Human Torch and thanks to cartoons, video games, toys, and movies, even non-comic fans know about Johnny. There was, however, an unrelated Human Torch (a {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}} by the name of Jim Hammond) in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks published by Marvel's forerunner, Timely Comics. This character spent decades in limbo but had a stint on ComicBook/TheAvengers, was in the Usefulnotes/WorldWarII-era team ComicBook/{{The Invaders|MarvelComics}}, and shows up on occasion. It's been mentioned Johnny chose his hero codename as a homage to the Golden Age Human Torch.

[[caption-width-right:349: Yes, [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} it]] was a ''book.'']]

** The ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' series of films is based on an obscure picture book by William Steig which has overall little to do with the films (Steig's son Jeremy Steig, a jazz musician, shows up in ''Shrek Forever After'' as the Pied Piper playing one of his tunes -- known to younger listeners through the Music/BeastieBoys song "Sure Shot," which samples it), making the film series also one big AdaptationExpansion.

** ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. [[Literature/HowToTrainYourDragon Children's book series]] that is fairly obscure outside of its homeland of the UK, but an explosively popular series of movies and TV shows.

* Speaking of Christmas specials, while the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' hasn't exactly displaced [[Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas the book]] (this partly is because Creator/DrSeuss is one of the most famous authors of children's books in the world) try to find anyone who can read the book to themselves and ''not'' hear Creator/BorisKarloff narrating it, or remember Creator/ChuckJones' animation of the Grinch's expression as he thinks of his "awful idea" moreso than the lower-key one in the book. Notably, the original book was entirely pen-and-ink, with red highlights. The Grinch wasn't green at all in the original illustrations, but thanks to this special [[LostInImitation it's become one of his defining design characteristics]].

*** Also applies to its spinoff ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' so much so that people don't know that Kitty Softpaws was made up by the film. When most have an idea for adaptating Puss In Boots they end up having it based on this film than the original fairytales.

** Many are familiar with the monumentally popular film series ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''. Much fewer are familiar with the obscure [=DreamWorks=] Interactive video game ''VideoGame/TaiFuWrathOfTheTiger'' that heavily inspired it. For that matter, most people are unaware that [=DreamWorks=] ever ''had'' a video game branch.

* ''WebOriginal/SonicExe'' started life as a {{Creepypasta}} made during the height of the subgenre, and was in its time very popular--to the point that the events of the story, focused on what was said to be a possessed ''Sonic'' computer file, were adapted into a fangame that closely recreated the events the story described. However, the original story would go on to be CondemnedByHistory due to people becoming increasingly critical of it and the author's response to those critics, and so is rarely discussed except to mock it. The fangame, meanwhile, went viral and spawned a fairly large following of people who had never read the original and did not care to do so (something helped by the fact that the adaptation cut down a lot of the more criticized elements).

* Marth of the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series was far better known in the West for [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros appearing]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' than for being the star of his own game subseries, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem''. As such, outside of Japan, he is more associated with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Roy]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ike]], who aren't in the [[NonLinearSequel same universe as him]], rather than characters from his own games such as [[CrutchCharacter Jeigan]], Caeda, and Ogma. Not helping is that Marth's first game released in the west, (''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon''), did very poorly in the west, being one of the reasons its sequel did [[NoExportForYou not get ported over]]. This has been dying down though thanks to games like ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' helping the series get into mainstream, as well as featuring Marth in some way.

* In an odd case of this happening to a single character, King Harkinian first appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'' cartoons and comic books. He became a sort of CanonImmigrant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCdiGames'', appearing in a total of three short scenes... which, as a result of the colossal amount of WebAnimation/YouTubePoop surrounding those scenes, has resulted in him becoming universally identified with them.

** Then there are the ones based off of English-language, mostly British novels, typically for children and young adults. These include ''Anime/WhenMarnieWasThere'' based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson, ''Anime/TalesFromEarthsea'' based on Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' series, ''Anime/TheSecretWorldOfArrietty'' based on Mary Norton's ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', and ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'' and ''Anime/EarwigAndTheWitch'' both based on novels by Creator/DianaWynneJones. These examples are most well-known to English-speaking fans in how the creators seemed to pick out books that have flown well under the radar of the West's pop culture consciousness for Japan's most prestigious animation studio to make films of. Howl in particular takes significant creative liberties from [[Literature/HowlsMovingCastle the novel]], veering off into its own plotline and themes rather quickly, resulting in those who take the time to read the book being shocked by the difference. However, Jones was apparently expecting this, and told them to do whatever they wanted with her script.

* Given the general SequelDisplacement of the ''LightNovel/HighSpeed2013'' novels by ''Anime/{{Free}}'', more people are familiar with ''Anime/HighSpeedFreeStartingDays'' than the second novel of that series of which it was based on. Newcomers are more likely to see it as a novelization of the movie using the ''High Speed!'' banner.

* Many people in America know Geese Howard as a DLC guest character in Tekken 7, but aren't aware of his original appearance in the Fatal Fury series.

* In an odd case of this happening to a single character, King Harkinian first appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'' cartoons and comic books. He became a sort of CanonImmigrant in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames'', appearing in a total of three short scenes... which, as a result of the colossal amount of WebAnimation/YouTubePoop surrounding those scenes, has resulted in him becoming universally identified with them.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' is more notable to many people as an obscene window decal of a boy peeing (which is bootleg and which creator Bill Watterson never drew) than for any of its actual comic strips. Sad, isn't it?