History OnceOriginalNowCommon / AnimeAndManga

* Thanks to airing on Toonami in the late 90's and early 2000's, ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' was most western anime fans first introduction to not just harem anime, but to fanservice as a concept. For those who sought out the original Japanese version, its use of frontal nudity, including an instance on uncensored nipples, was considered shocking in the west. Nowadays, with anime like ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'' not only being much more explicit with their fanservice, but making it the ''chuef selling point'', Tenchi's fanservice looks tame by comparison.

* When ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' first released in 1993, the {{Jidaigeki}} genre was still dominated by formulaic, idealistic TV series that portrayed the Sengoku and Edo periods as the GoodOldDays; while gory, brutal historical fiction did exist before in Japan (i.e. ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''), it was constrained to niche mediums. ''Kenshin'', on the other hand, ran front-and-center in [[Magazine/ShonenJump Japan's most popular manga magazine]] while {{deconstruct|ion}}ing the genre, making the point that there's a very good reason why sword-fighting samurai aren't around any longer. However, in the three decades that followed, dark, subversive historical fiction became the standard for Japan, most of which went much farther than ''Kenshin'' ever did in their examination of the past, while the traditional jidaigeki all but disappeared. As a result, the series ends up looking a lot more like the jidaigeki it was originally intended to deconstruct to modern readers and viewers, especially since it runs on nineties shonen tropes that are [[DeadHorseTrope hardly used seriously today]]. This is one of the main reasons for the lukewarm reception to the 2023 reboot anime[[note]]the other being the author's [[OvershadowedByControversy offscreen crimes]][[/note]]--young adults of TheNewTwenties, raised on years of deconstructive historical fiction, didn't see the series' approach as particularly innovative, and considered it to be just as theatrical and {{Anvilicious}} as any straight example of the jidaigeki genre from the seventies or eighties.

* It is not uncommon for ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' to seem tame compared to later MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction stories, as the deaths are few and {{bloodless|Carnage}} while the story maintains an optimistic tone by the end despite the horrible things that the girls go through. But at the time when it first came out, the idea of a magical girl show that put on a front of cuteness only to take on dark topics and examine the grim implications of the genre was nearly unheard of; main heroines actually dying and/or going insane, [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains of the week]] being actually scary and legitimate threats, and grayer, more complex morality were all genuinely surprising to see in a magical girl show to audiences used to the first ''Anime/SailorMoon'' anime, ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', and similar fare. But ever since then, stories like ''Manga/MagicalGirlSite'' have pushed the bar so much and featured such dark and cynical storylines full of gore and dark topics that ''Madoka'' has somewhat lost its original punch, not helped by [[ItWasHisSled everyone going into the series fully expecting it to get dark]] (which was something the original marketing did its best to hide).

* While ''Manga/LoveHina'' shares a considerable number of clichés with modern works (like the {{tsundere}} lead girl and the AccidentalPervert guy), it still has some refreshing ideas. While most harems are set in a school environment with teenagers, ''Love Hina'' is set in a post-school setting from Keitaro's perspective, in an inn with young adults and teenagers. Also, ''Love Hina'' never was a fully-fledged harem series, considering [[spoiler:Keitaro chose Narusegawa since the beginning and most of the girls are either rooting for them to become a couple or, at best, waiting for a chance if Keitaro changes his mind]], while most harems after it have the main character unsure about which girl to choose. Unfortunately, the harem-related tropes the series introduced have been used by so many other manga and anime in the years since that most people would dismiss it as a typical harem comedy, and the liberal use of DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale in particular, while uncontroversial back then, would go on to get it it a lot of backlash once female-on-male abuse started being taken seriously.

* It is not uncommon for ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' to seem tame compared to later MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction stories, as the deaths are few and {{bloodless|Carnage}} while the story maintains an optimistic tone by the end despite the horrible things that the girls go through. But at the time when it first came out, the idea of a magical girl show that put on a front of cuteness only to take on dark topics and examine the grim implications of the genre was nearly unheard of; main heroines actually dying and/or going insane, [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains of the week]] being actually scary and legitimate threats, and grayer, more complex morality were all genuinely surprising to see in a magical girl show to audiences used to the first ''Manga/SailorMoon'' anime, ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', and similar fare. But ever since then, stories like ''Manga/MagicalGirlSite'' have pushed the bar so much and featured such dark and cynical storylines full of gore and dark topics that ''Madoka'' has somewhat lost its original punch, not helped by [[ItWasHisSled everyone going into the series fully expecting it to get dark]] (which was something the original marketing did its best to hide).

* ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'' is seen as a big landmark within the YuriGenre. Prior to that point, most works somewhere in or adjacent to the genre made heavy use of BaitAndSwitchLesbians, ButNotTooGay, or simply featured it for quick scenes of titillation rather than any kind of character-building--the ones that didn't tended to be niche mangas a step above doujins. An anime series that was explicitly and centrally about the romantic relationship between two girls, with an actual big-budget plot to go with it, was revolutionary. But nowadays, at least one show with a focus on sapphic romance tends to come out every anime season, and plenty of other shows will feature or imply it at some point. Consequently, a fan of the genre watching ''Miko'' today would probably just be put off by the many elements within it--the HideYourLesbians, the absolute heaps of melodrama, the massively toxic overtones in the main relationship, the RomanticRunnerUp who just makes the main relationship look even worse, and [[spoiler:the use of sexual assault]]--that writers of later works such as ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'' or ''Manga/YuruYuri'' staunchly avoided.

* ''Manga/LoveHina''. Yes, if you just started reading or watching it today, it just seems like another [[ClicheStorm cliché]] harem anime. This mainly comes from the fact that the show redefined nearly every rule of modern anime romance/harem comedy, and has been copied relentlessly since.

* ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'': By now, there's such an (over) abundance of Isekai anime that you've probably seen it all at this point. Young male protagonist gets transported to another world? Check. Magical, medieval world that the protagonist has to adapt to? Check. Harem of girls who develop feelings for him and get into all sorts of funny situations with him? Check. Assuming you haven't watched El-Hazard first, then by the time you get to either the OVA or the anime TV show, the series will feel like it's not breaking any new ground or providing anything you haven't already seen dozens of times before. However, El-Hazard does hold the lofty position of being one of the very earliest TrappedInAnotherWorld anime during a time in the 90s when there weren't a whole lot of anime dedicated to this kind of genre. So in a way, El-Hazard can be seen as that first draft prototype which pioneered a lot of what you see nowadays in most Isekai anime.

* LittleSisterHeroine and BrotherSisterIncest in general have also been subjected to this recently. Originally, visual novels like ''VisualNovel/YosugaNoSora'' and ''VisualNovel/KanaLittleSister'' that are dedicated to this were considered to be something exceptional and unusual, and the "little sisters" were considered to be very cute and likable heroines that receive loads of focus and development. By now, however, there have been so many manga and light novels in this genre published that imouto-titles are, at best, considered extremely {{cliche|Storm}} because of endless copying of the same plot elements, and at worst, [[{{Squick}} disgusting pervert fantasies]] on par with lolicon and the like. It's even harder to find fans of this kind of series outside of Japan due to ValuesDissonance and it doesn't help that many such heroines are often {{Tsundere}}s (''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}'' is to blame for this), which itself, as seen above, is yet another reason why these series aren't as fondly looked at today as when they debuted.

* ''LightNovel/NoGameNoLife'' became highly popular because a TrappedInAnotherWorld fantasy revolving around a GodlikeGamer was genuinely novel for the early [=2010s=], and Creator/{{Madhouse}}'s stellar animation made the anime adaptation a smash hit. However, due to the sheer amount of isekai light novels that revolve around games and gamers releasing in the latter half of the decade, the series quickly became lumped together with them, not helped by the studio's {{memetic|Mutation}} lack of interest in making a second season of the anime. The general consensus among anime fans is that [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt while the animation has held up]], the story and characters haven't.

* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', Ash losing the Indigo league championship was actually a rather shocking outcome that threw viewers for a loop.... That is, the first time it happened. In almost every series since he lost every single Pokemon league, and it became so predictable that Ash finally winning the Alola League in Sun and Moon was more surprising to viewers. Even children in the FleetingDemographic who hadn't seen the previous seasons were often aware that Ash is supposed to lose via PopCultureOsmosis.

* ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' is gradually getting there; the series is a huge influence on the YuriGenre, but it's also been copied and especially parodied mercilessly, to the point where viewers suspect it to be a parody ''itself''. Admittedly, the romantic entanglements between the girls of the depicted all-girl school do get rather fluffy and melodramatic at times, but it's mostly kept in check by the tight storytelling and outstanding voice-acting in the anime.

* ''Literature/SisterPrincess'' seems to be an incredibly cliche series nowadays, particular if one is already familiar with other series from the HaremGenre. However, it's one of the TropeCodifier of "otherworldly harem" series.

* ''LightNovel/NoGameNoLife'' became highly popular because a TrappedInAnotherWorld fantasy revolving around a GodlikeGamer was genuinely novel for the early [=2010s=], and Creator/{{Madhouse}}'s stellar animation made the anime a smash hit. However, due to the sheer amount of isekai light novels that revolve around games and gamers releasing in the latter half of the decade, the series quickly became lumped together with them, not helped by the studio's {{memetic|Mutation}} lack of interest in making a second season of the anime. The general consensus among anime fans is that [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt while the animation has held up]], the story and characters haven't.

* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** The series as a whole has fallen into this, despite its explosive popularity during the late 2000s. While it initially drew in a lot of fans due to its GenreBusting of various anime genres and character archetypes, its plot and jokes have been [[FollowTheLeader copied by many other series to cash in on its success]], along with the WolverinePublicity of the character. Nowadays, most newcomers look back on the series and are unable to understand what made it so special, especially after the sharp decline in its popularity following [[ArcFatigue how the anime handled the infamous Endless Eight Arc]].
** Main viewpoint character Kyon is also an example on his own; he essentially [[TropeCodifier codified]] the StockLightNovelEveryman and his [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic, self-aware personality]] and [[LemonyNarrator narration]] were considered witty and refreshing when the series first became popular, but after years of very similar protagonists in other light novel series his character doesn't seem particularly groundbreaking.

* ''LightNovel/SisterPrincess''. When you watch it in 2010s, it seems to be incredibly cliche. But it's one of the TropeCodifier of "otherworldly harem" anime.

* WizardingSchool light novels (and usually the {{harem|Genre}} hijinks they feature) were a major critical whipping boy during the first half of TheNewTens (and [[ClicheStorm not]] [[FollowTheLeader without reason]]). Because of such a major backlash, ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'' look awfully tired today, when they were some of the first to even establish that genre as a cash cow in the first place. ''Index'', while it does love its harem shenanigans, is an action series first and foremost and largely drops the {{Fanservice}} when it's time to get serious, and its "school" part is largely window dressing as most non-{{Filler}} arcs ''don't even take place in school''. ''IS'', on the other hand, is a largely light-hearted {{ecchi}} harem, with the titular {{Mecha}} really only used as window dressing, therefore all the {{Fanservice}} fits with its tone, and doesn't seem out of place. However, both, due to the CriticalBacklash, have fallen victim to the same "hate on principle" as their predecessors, even though they were the ones that all the others copied in the first place.
** ''Literature/{{Maburaho}}'' is even worse in that regard; any viewer today would see the tired WizardingSchool setting, the bland protagonist, and the harem of girls competing for his attention for [[StrangledByTheRedString rather flimsy reasons]], assume it to be a product of the early [=2010s=] and tune out quickly, but the anime dates from ''2003'' and the novels from 2000, well before light novels of this genre even became popular. It also has a host of character driven {{Story Arc}}s, which is more than can be said of those that follow it.
* Also from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Touma's [[GameBreaker absurdly broken power,]] [[UnderdogsNeverLose seeming inability to lose]] and [[KirkSummation constant moral preaching]] will get on your nerves quickly, but he was one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s for the StockLightNovelHero and in fact, in the modern day where {{Showy Invincible Hero}}es are the norm, looks downright {{subver|tedTrope}}sive. Both his incredible power and his incredible goodness are given concrete, in-universe explanations and are noticed, pointed out, and played with, which is far more than most light novel heroes in this day and age get.