History Main / GenreShift

* ComicStrip/{{Blondie}} started out with the title character as a single woman with a string of suitors, with the fabulously wealthy Dagwood Bumstead as just one. When they got married, Dagwood was disinherited, shifting the strip from flapper comedy to everyday struggles.

* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/404359/1/Gaijin Gaijin]]'' started as a darkly comic SelfInsertFic in which the SI character was essentially Murphy's Law incarnate (''despite'' being more powerful than he had any right to be). Then he started disguising himself as ComicBook/SpiderMan. Then more analogues of Marvel characters started appearing, such as the Franchise/FantasticFour and "Tako-sama" (ComicBook/DoctorOctopus)...

* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/404359/1/Gaijin Gaijin]]'' started as a darkly comic SelfInsertFic in which the SI character was essentially Murphy's Law incarnate (''despite'' being more powerful than he had any right to be). Then he started disguising himself as Franchise/SpiderMan. Then more analogues of Marvel characters started appearing, such as the Franchise/FantasticFour and "Tako-sama" (ComicBook/DoctorOctopus)...

** When the franchise was revived ''again'' in the 60's, Creator/SteveDitko killed off the original Comicbook/BlueBeetle and introduced his [[LegacyCharacter successor]], Ted Kord, who was more in line with the popular superheroes of the era like Franchise/SpiderMan and Franchise/{{Batman}}.

[[folder:Pinball]]
* While ''Pinball/{{Fireball}}'' was a fairly conventional electro-mechanical pinball [[NoPlotNoProblem without any real plot]], for some reason the sequel was advertised as part of Bally's "Superhero Series".

* Creator/HansVonHozel's ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' and ''Film/TheRoom'' fics abruptly turn to sci-fi in midstream.

* The Spanish-language ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fic called, unoriginally [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5125713/1/El_de_Haruhi_Suzumiya El ... de Haruhi Suzumiya]] starts out as your ordinary OC-with-[[SailorEarth new-powers]]-joins-the-SOS-Brigade fare, albeit with the twist that the OC's powers are rarely used. Then, the characters all graduate and join the [[AuthorAppeal military]] [[spoiler: [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] At that point, the genre shifts to war story and then to SpaceOpera, with the characters fighting [[HordeofAlienLocusts insectoid aliens]] who destroy one of Earth's cities. Might I add that the OC from earlier reappears with a [[{{Cyborg}} bionic arm]], and that their [[CasualInterstellarTravel faster-than-light]] spacecraft is so luxurious it has a ''[[SerialEscalation miniature shopping mall]]'' inside?]] The author expects his reviewers to understand what's going on, but he still has not provided a convincing explanation for the sudden shift in tone.

* The Spanish-language ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fic called, unoriginally [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5125713/1/El_de_Haruhi_Suzumiya El ... de Haruhi Suzumiya]] starts out as your ordinary OC-with-[[SailorEarth new-powers]]-joins-the-SOS-Brigade fare, albeit with the twist that the OC's powers are rarely used. Then, the characters all graduate and join the [[AuthorAppeal military]] [[spoiler: [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] At that point, the genre shifts to war story and then to SpaceOpera, with the characters fighting [[HordeofAlienLocusts insectoid aliens]] who destroy one of Earth's cities. Might I add that the OC from earlier reappears with a [[{{Cyborg}} bionic arm]], and that their [[CasualInterstellarTravel faster-than-light]] spacecraft is so luxurious it has a ''[[SerialEscalation miniature shopping mall]]'' inside?]] The author expects his reviewers to understand what's going on, but he still has not provided a convincing explanation for the sudden shift in tone.

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' starts off a soul searching Disney flick, moves into a parody of the "FirstPersonShooter" game, and then goes to "conspiracy movie" when the stars land in ''Sugar Rush''.

[[caption-width-right:300:[-Wait a minute, wasn't this supposed to be a {{harem|Genre}} comedy? [[TookALevelInBadass I-is that the same little boy]]?!-][==]]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' franchise started out as a racing film with the [[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} first movie]]; in ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' it became a action-spy film; in ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', [[ZigZaggedTrope it became a racing film again]], and a much more [[DarkerAndEdgier dramatic]] one at that.

* ''WebAnimation/DarkSecretsOfGarrysMod'': The series mostly revolves around {{comedy}} but [[CerebusRollercoaster often turns into more dramatic from time to time]]. Not only that but it also jumps between SliceOfLife and {{adventure}} while experimenting with various {{subgenre}}s from {{fantasy}}, ScienceFiction and {{horror}}.

[[quoteright:300:[[Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NegimaBeforeAfter.jpg]]]]

If this happens only once in a series before reverting back to the main genre, it's an OutOfGenreExperience. If it happens before the work is released to the public, it's a case of MidDevelopmentGenreShift. If it suddenly ends up being a horror story, possibly even a CosmicHorrorStory, without much foreshadowing, that’s SurpriseCreepy and CosmicHorrorReveal. If it happens during one specific installment (such as an episode of a series), then it's a HalfwayPlotSwitch. In the middle of a song, it can be SongStyleShift.

%%%

%%%

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' started out as a racing film; in 2 it became a action-spy film; in 3, [[ZigZaggedTrope it became a racing film again]], and a much more [[DarkerAndEdgier dramatic]] one at that.

* [[GenreShift/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

!!Examples:

* Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1 was initially a Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto VanityProject about his rise back to the top to defeat the shooters that had knocked him low(teaming up with [[Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa the most infamous]] of them [[RivalsTeamUp at one point]]) with some strong style matches and NWA stuff on the under card. There were always weird things down there, such as [[GarbageWrestler FMW wrestlers]] Atsushi Onita, Wrestling/MasatoTanaka, Mr Gannosuke, [[WrestlingDoesntPay pornstar]] Chocoball Mukai and an entry in the "Differ Cup" {{crossover}} that saw Stalker Ichikawa beaten up for [[TooDumbToLive groping]] Wrestling/AmazingKong. But it wasn't until Hashimoto died that things went [[LaterInstallmentWeirdness off rails]] with, DistaffCounterpart shows, Holiday Festivals, other sport showcases, "friendship" shows for foreign promotions, Munenori Sawa brought in his Lingerie Muto {{parody}} of [[Wrestling/TheGreatMuta Keiji Muto]] and gradually gained its cosmopolitan WeirdJapaneseThing reputation.

* Creator/GrantMorrison seems to enjoy switching up or tweaking the genres of any previously-established characters they writes on, largely to reinvent the characters and "revitalize" the story. Some examples:
** [[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Under his pen]] ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' shifted from a noir-style detective series with superhero styling to a ''Literature/DocSavage''-style, globe-trotting pulp adventure series. The plot changed from Batman fighting local crime in Gotham to Batman travelling the world to create a globalized crime-fighting force while trying to solve an AncientConspiracy.
** In [[ComicBook/NewXMen his run]] on ''ComicBook/XMen'', they deliberately shifted the book away from the superhero genre, making it more of a general Sci-Fi adventure series. The plot changed accordingly, becoming about the X-Men dealing with mutant-related crimes and conflicts rather than fighting mutant-themed supervillains.

* Webcomic/KidRadd started out as a general parody of video games. Then Cerberus syndrome sets in.

* The [[InternationalCoproduction South Korean/Canadian]] series ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'' was originally a superhero show where the Borys would fight off the evil Gurys with superpowers based off of the five human senses (hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch). Then there came a [[NoExportForYou Korea-exclusive]] second season called ''Tooba Tooba Noonbory'', which scraps the superhero plot entirely, inclduing ridding the Borys of their powers, in favor of SliceOfLife stories.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' started out as a horror comic firmly entrenched in Franchise/TheDCU, and gradually became a character-driven fantasy epic with only occasional {{continuity nod}}s to other DC characters.
* ''ComicBook/{{Savage}}'' started off as an AlternateHistory action series, with technology slightly more advanced than the present day. Around 2009 or 2010, it shifted to full-on ScienceFiction, with teleporting tigers and the predecessors of the ''ComicBook/ABCWarriors'' appearing.
* The initial ''Comicbook/StrangersInParadise'' miniseries was a {{Slapstick}} LoveTriangle comedy. When creator Terry Moore launched the ongoing series, he added a crime drama plot, and subsequent arcs alternated between this and the WillTheyOrWontThey love triangle story, which also took on a more serious tone. Then, about two-thirds of the way through, Moore wrapped up the criminal conspiracy plot and for the remainder of the series focused on the romance story which soon expanded into a LoveDodecahedron.

--> "We conceived of "W.I.T.C.H." together with Elisabetta Gnone, the then director of girls publications for Disney. We worked for three years in secret on it and she then presented the project to the big bosses at Disney. They thought that this project was crazy, a sure-fire bomb, complete waste of time, and that mangas wouldn't have a chance in Europe anyway (!!!). However, we didn't let ourselves be led astray and worked for another year on it anyway, with a tiny budget and without publicity. And then the series became a worldwide hit. The official version from Disney is, of course, that "W.I.T.C.H." is a product of their brilliant, visionary marketing strategy...the end of the series was then taken out of our hands, we actually had something a lot more intelligent planned for it. Now, as you can see, Elisabetta Gnone and the two of us no longer work for Disney...a really sad story."

[[folder:Fanfiction]]