History Main / TheSeriesHasLeftReality

* for almost two full games, the ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' series hews even closer to real-life than most video games do, aside from Ryo's occasional dreams about a mysterious young woman he's never met before. In the last few minutes of the second game, after he's finally met that same girl, the plot suddenly begins to take a turn for the fantastic, with the Phoenix and Dragon Mirrors apparently having mystical properties, and the girl revealing that Ryo and his quest are apparently part of an ancient prophecy handed down in her village. WordOfGod is that the [[SequelGap long-awaited]] third installment stills emphasize realism, but that explicitly supernatural elements will be part of the story going forward.

* for almost two full games, ''VideoGame{{Shenmue}}'' hews even closer to real-life than most video games do, aside from Ryo's occasional dreams about a mysterious young woman he's never met before. In the last few minutes of the second game, after he's finally met that same girl, the plot suddenly begins to take a turn for the fantastic, with the Phoenix and Dragon Mirrors apparently having mystical properties, and the girl revealing that Ryo and his quest are apparently part of an ancient prophecy handed down in her village. WordOfGod is that the [[SequelGap long-awaited]] third installment stills emphasize realism, but that explicitly supernatural elements will be part of the story going forward.

* ''Film/ThreeAmigos''. While the Amigos are traveling to El Guapo's lair, they camp at night in the desert. As they go to sleep, they bid goodnight to each other, and a tortoise says "Goodnight, Ned." There is nothing prior to this in the movie that couldn't happen in reality (unlikely, yes, but not impossible). After this many weird things start to happen, such as the appearance of the Singing Bush, the summoning of the Invisible Swordsman, and the impossible landing of the biplane in Santo Poco.

These new elements might bring about a GenreShift if they change the focus of the work enough. Conversely, a BizarroEpisode or ParanormalEpisode might take a brief vacation from reality, but doesn't affect the series' continuity.

* In ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'', Episode 19 establishes HowWeGotHere by utilizing a flashback that starts TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. The very next episode, Episode 20, proceeds to establish an ancient war [[spoiler:between {{Ultraterrestrials}} and the [=VIRM=], a species of [[AlienInvasion hostile aliens looking to take over Earth]]. Moreover, Episode 20 reveals that "magma energy" is HumanResources made from male Klaxo Sapiens instead of being a "mere" currently-undiscovered fuel source]].

* In ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'', Episode 19 establishes HowWeGotHere by utilizing a flashback that starts TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. The very next episode, Episode 20, proceeds to [[spoiler:establish an ancient war between {{Ultraterrestrials}} and the [=VIRM=], a species of [[AlienInvasion hostile aliens looking to take over Earth]]. Moreover, Episode 20 reveals that "magma energy" is HumanResources made from male Klaxo Sapiens instead of being a "mere" currently-undiscovered fuel source]].

* In ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'', Episode 19 establishes HowWeGotHere by utilizing a flashback that starts TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. The very next episode, Episode 20 proceeds to [[spoiler:establish an ancient war between {{Ultraterrestrials}} and the [=VIRM=], a species of [[AlienInvasion hostile aliens looking to take over Earth]]. Moreover, Episode 20 reveals that "magma energy" is HumanResources made from male Klaxo Sapiens instead of being a "mere" currently-undiscovered fuel source]].

* Superhero comics in general. At the very beginning of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, they pretty much just fought average crooks, gangsters or (given is sthe period) German/Japanese spies; even characters like Comicbook/{{Superman}} often began as the only supernatural elements in an otherwise normal world. The fantasy and sci-fi elements took over pretty quickly, though.

* ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco'' starts as a series about a street vigilante who is a model by day and fights crime (mainly public smoking and littering) at night, inspired by his love for SuperSentai heroes. After the infamous Episode 7, where [[spoiler: a drug addict turns into a gorilla-like monster, and King Torture reveals the existence of his evil organization]], the fantastic elements quickly take over the setting.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is told from the perspective of a young boy trying to convince his birth mother that everyone in his town is unknowingly a fairy tale character. The show hints the boy is right, but there's no actual evidence until the seventh episode, which shows an absolutely explicit and undeniable murder by black magic.

* Superhero comics in general. At the very beginning of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, they pretty much just fought average crooks, gangsters or (given is sthe period) German/Japanese spies; the fantasy and sci-fi elements took over pretty quickly, though.

[[AC:Comics]]

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' started out as a grounded crime drama where the only intense action the film had was the street racing scenes. The moment Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is introduced is when the movie became the over-the-top popcorn action franchise it's currently known for.

* The first season of ''Series/GilligansIsland'' has no supernatural elements (save for "Three to Get Ready" which had a gem which could supposedly grant wishes and of course the occasional dream sequence). Then a few elements get into season two: seeds which can grant psychic abilities, a robot, Dr. Balinkoff's mind swapping experiment, and a meteor which accelerates aging. Season three features radioactive vegetables, a voodoo witch doctor, Balinkoff's mind control rings, Gilligan getting magnetized, and a jet pack.

* ''Film/HudsonHawk'' is realistic up to the point where Eddie and Tommy Five-Tone jump off the building and end up falling into chairs in the Mario Brothers' apartment, with no explanation whatsoever. The movie has a number of reality-defying scenes after that.

Compare and contrast the {{Masquerade}}, which hides the fantastical elements of the setting from {{Muggles}} (but not necessarily the viewer), and TheUnmasquedWorld, when the Masquerade breaks down. See also MundaneFantastic when the viewer is surprised by the reveal but characters see it as normal.

[[AC:Video Games]]
* The first ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' game looked like it could just fit into the real world with minor adjustments. ''Modern Warfare II'', however, throws all pretense of political realism out the window in favor of a larger-than-life conflict and more shooting and explosions.

* Jodorowsky and Manara's comic ''Borgia'' starts as a historical work, albeit one that takes the more sensationalist aspects of the Borgias' lives as fact (notably Lucrezia's incestuous relationships) and, given the artist, large amounts of ExplicitContent. At the end, Cesare Borgia is leading a mercenary army equipped with LeonardoDaVinci's inventions, including an air force made of his flying machines.

* The ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' original series starts out pretty grounded in reality but in some of the sequel series they meet actual supernatural creatures instead of just [[ScoobyDooHoax a guy in a mask]].

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is told from the perspective of a young boy trying to convince his birth mother everyone in his town is unknowingly a fairy tale character. The show hints the boy is right, but there's no actual evidence until the seventh episode, when the mayor uses magic to kill someone.

* * [[WhatCouldHaveBeen The original plan]] for ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' was to present a realistic setting at first, and several months into its run, it would slowly reveal itself as a superhero comic all along. Unfortunately, when the intended ''Franchise/MegaMan'' SpriteComic {{filler}} was wrapped up and the intended real comic began, the author couldn't hold back, and the superhero elements were revealed after only one week of strips.