History Main / AudienceShift

* ''Franchise/PrettyCure'' is mainly aimed at elementary school girls, but one season, ''Anime/KiraKiraPrecureALaMode'', was mainly geared towards preschool and kindergarten aged girls and therefore lacked the usual hands-on combat of the franchise. This was because several parents complained about intense scenes in ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' frightening very young children.

** ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' is aimed at elementary and middle schoolers in Japan, even with all the blood and violence. For the English dub, when it began airing in the 2000s, Creator/CartoonNetwork would air a "family friendly" version that censored some of that stuff, while the "uncut" version was aimed at teenagers and adults. Since the show was ScrewedByTheNetwork and mainly regulated to home releases until the Toonami relaunch, the series has mostly done away with the "family friendly" version and focuses on the "uncut" one.

* ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' is historically aimed at children in general. Over time, however, there has been a push for it being for young children six and under.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' cartoon was aimed at girls twelve and under. The IDW ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms'' comic reboot is aimed at an older audience, though not much is actually above PG rating aside from mild swearing and slight sexuality.

* ''Franchise/LupinIII'' swaps between {{Shonen}} and {{Seinen}} at what is basically random - none of it is strictly kids stuff, but it ranges from ''Film/JamesBond''-esq "risque, but basically family-friendly" (''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'' and ''[[Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket Red Jacket]]'') to containing extremely violent situations and dark, gritty themes. (''[[Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine The Woman Called Fujiko Mine]]'', some parts of ''[[Anime/LupinIIIPart5 Part 5]]'', and the [[Anime/GravestoneOfDaisukeJigen Jigen]] and [[Anime/GoemonIshikawasSprayOfBlood Goemon]] short films) The [[Manga/LupinIII original manga itself]] is kind of a middle ground - it arguably has the darkest, most adult situations of the entire franchise, but also at the same time has an off-the-wall, NoFourthWall style of humor.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is meant to appeal to the older teens and fans as the 20th anniversary, and [[DarkerAndEdgier it shows]]. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Many]] [[MisaimedFandom fans were surprised it]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids didn't get the E10+ rating]]. It includes adult themes such as heavy parental abuse (worse than in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), an AlienInvasion and the world turning [[CrapsaccharineWorld Crapsaccharine]] as well as lots of NightmareFuel. And [[SequelDifficultySpike it's much harder than previous games, too]].

* The infamous anime version of ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'' was aimed at a male audience, moreso than the manga was. Its emphasis on sexual fanservice at the expense of the original plot of the manga was a cause of outrage among fans, many of whom to this day are still demanding a more manga-faithful reboot.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', to counter a history of low sales in its native land, was designed to appeal to Japanese audiences with a stronger emphasis on story and a more linear style of gameplay. This backfired badly, as the changes to Samus's character to make her more appealing to a Japanese audience alienated the series' western fan base and wasn't exactly a popular move back home, either.

* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' was originally designed for college students, but over time its primary demographic has shifted younger and younger until it became mainly aimed at little kids. This can lead to WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids when younger users stumble upon some of the remnants of the site's early days. However, a ''second'' audience shift that balanced its focus to both kids and adults started around 2012 when older players (many of whom joined as kids) came back, culminating in the site being acquired from Viacom/Nickelodeon by VideoGame/JumpStart ''specifically'' because its skewed older.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' was an Creator/CartoonNetwork series which aired on 2001 to 2004. When the show was revived for a fifth and final season, it aired on sister channel Creator/AdultSwim's {{Creator/Toonami}} programming block. As the name of the channel implies, this season is aimed towards adult fans who grew up with the series and is by equal turns DarkerAndEdgier, BloodierAndGorier, and HotterAndSexier than the original series.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is meant to appeal to the older teens and fans as the 20th anniversary, and [[DarkerAndEdgier it shows]]. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Many]] [[MisaimedFandom fans were surprised it]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids didn't get]] the E10+ rating]]. It includes adult themes such as heavy parental abuse (worse than in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), an AlienInvasion and the world turning [[CrapsaccharineWorld Crapsaccharine]] as well as lots of NightmareFuel. And [[SequelDifficultySpike it's much harder than previous games, too]].

* After multipled failed attempts to reboot the children's ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' franchise, Creator/{{Mattel}} gave up and aimed the latest incartion of the toyline, ''MOTUS Classics'', strictly towards adult collectors.

* In the 2010s the Easy Bake Oven changed its marketing strategy to be aimed at girls ''and'' boys instead of only girls. In 2012 Hasbro decided to redesign the oven to be gender neutral, in response to people whose son's wanted to bake but didn't enjoy the pink and purple colors of the toy.

* The [=BeForever=] revamp of the Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection flagship historical line and the Truly Me revamp of the [[SpotlightStealingSquad modern line]] are intended to try and prevent this. These dolls are, like the books they're paired with, intended for the 8-12 demographic with a clear stated aim of letting these kids be kids instead of be pressured to age out of age-appropriate things and try to grow up fast. However, parents who didn't get the memo are actually contributing to the problem by buying the dolls for younger kids, sometimes even ''toddlers'', to the point where kids declare that they've grown out of their "babyish" dolls ''before'' they actually hit the appropriate age for them! The other problem with this is that these parents are risking their kids' health with choking and injury hazards (though the newer accessories go for plastic instead of glass and metal and bunch things like food items together instead of making them separate and more easily lost). Thus, with the aforementioned revamps, the company put a focus on the books and compiled them into larger editions with no illustrations, so they're more obviously middle-grades books; they also put heavy emphasis on the fact that these characters are 9-10-year-old girls and meant to be viewed as equal playmates, and ads show girls in the 8-12 age range.

* Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon works are aimed at general audiences. This means they're not ''kid'''s films, they're ''family'' films that can be enjoyed by all audiences. However, most merchandise however is aimed at young children. They do have stuff aimed at the slightly older preteen audience such as the ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'' book ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'' (which has a recommended age range of 10-13), and some for adults, often their collectable merchandise, but most Disney merchandise is aimed at at their youngest demographics.

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' is an odd case, being a [[{{Seinen}} fanboy]] DatingSim spin-off. It mutated into a MagicalGirl show, of which (wholesome) versions are ''usually'' targeted to young girls. However, its philosophy and treatment of the main character was very different than shoujo usual plays, which ended up ''attracting'' the usual fans who wanted something different. This group is big enough that some countries that licensed it cut out the {{Fanservice}} and ended up marketing directly to this younger age group.

* Despite being an ostensibly {{shonen|Demographic}} production, ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' tended to fall in the middle ground of fandom. Interestingly, its two print adaptions are more obviously marketed to a male audience and a female audience but are usually seen as inferior.

* During its original 2007-2012 run, ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' was aimed at preteen girls (despite numerous {{Parental Bonus}}es and a TestosteroneBrigade), initially rated TV-Y7 and later TV-G. The [[Series/ICarly2021 2021 revival]] on Creator/ParamountPlus is aimed at older audiences, with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NKVThOGLXc&feature=youtu.be trailer]] featuring Spencer saying "Damn it!" and drinking beer, indicating at least a PG rating.

* During its original 2007-2012 run, ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' was aimed at preteen girls (despite numerous {{Parental Bonus}}es and a TestosteroneBrigade), initially rated TV-Y7 and later TV-G. The 2021 revival on Creator/ParamountPlus is aimed at older audiences, with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NKVThOGLXc&feature=youtu.be trailer]] featuring Spencer saying "Damn it!" and drinking beer, indicating at least a PG rating.

* During its original 2007-2012 run, ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' was aimed at preteen girls (despite numerous {{Parental Bonus}}es and a TestosteroneBrigade). While the upcoming revival on Creator/ParamountPlus will be more suitable for older viewers, with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NKVThOGLXc&feature=youtu.be trailer]] featuring Spencer swearing and drinking beer.

* During its original 2007-2012 run, ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' was aimed at preteen girls (despite numerous {{Parental Bonus}}es and a TestosteroneBrigade). While the upcoming revival on Creator/ParamountPlus will be more suitable for older viewers, with the trailer featuring Spencer swearing and drinking beer.

* During its original 2007-2012 run, ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' was aimed at preteen girls (despite numerous {{Parental Bonus}}es and a TestosteroneBrigade). While details remain scarce, the upcoming revival on Creator/ParamountPlus is said to be more suitable for older viewers.

* ''Anime/KingOfPrism'' is a whole different beast from the [[Anime/PrettyRhythmRainbowLive anime]] it spun off from, let alone the rest of the [[ShoujoDemographic young girl-focused]] ''Franchise/PrettyRhythm'' franchise. With its primarily pretty boy cast, oodles of fanservice, and bigger emphasis on relationships between the boys, it's much more geared at the older girls who watched ''Pretty Rhythm'' than their younger peers.

* The ''Marvel Cinematic Universe''. The first film, ''Film/IronMan1'', was originally targeted for pre-teens/younger teens and older due to having not-so-bad violence and mild mature content. However by Act Three, the films are more suitable for older teens and young adults due to adding [[ClusterFBomb strong profane language]] [[SirSwearsALot scattered throughout]], [[VulgarHumor vulgar humor]], darker themes, and drug usage by teens, especially in the shows ''Series/Runaways2017'' and ''Series/CloakAndDagger2018''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' is meant to appeal to the older teens and fans as the 20th anniversary, and [[DarkerAndEdgier it shows]]. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork Many]] [[MisaimedFandom fans were surprised it]] [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar didn't get]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids the E10+ rating]]. It includes adult themes such as heavy parental abuse (worse than in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), an AlienInvasion and the world turning [[CrapsaccharineWorld Crapsaccharine]] as well as lots of NightmareFuel. And [[SequelDifficultySpike it's much harder than previous games, too]].

* The original ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' series was generally designed for older kids/teens to enjoy, with its occasional [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar hidden adult humor]], darker moments and serialized season-long storylines. ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaRama'' on the other hand is much LighterAndSofter and revolves around the [[SpinoffBabies cast being in kindergarten]] with no complex storylines due to being aimed at younger children overall.

* The Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse was always aimed at children despite carrying a mature enough tone that teens and adults could enjoy it as well. Once the Universe was revived in the late 2010s with ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTheFatalFive'', it became strictly adult oriented, with characters openly swearing and references to sex being explicit rather than [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implied]].

* ''Sailor Moon''[='s=] contemporary ''Franchise/DragonBall'' also fell into this, but [[ValuesDissonance mostly in]] [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore North America]]. Starting when ''Anime/DragonBallKai'' ended its run on children's networks and was later [[ChannelHop relocated to]] Creator/AdultSwim's Creator/{{Toonami}}, the franchise has been primarily marketed to teenagers and adults in America despite the fact that it was conceived as a {{shonen}} series for young boys (and was marketed as such for most of its life worldwide). ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', despite having toned-down violence from previous series, exclusively airs on Toonami with a faithful, uncensored dub aimed towards teenagers and adults.