History SubvertedKidsShow / AnimeAndManga

* ''Anime/LuckyStar'': The girls' general mannerisms and the show's overall aesthetics ''would'' remind one of Nick Jr. or [=PBS=] Kids, but the main characters are explicitly in high school. There are also cursing and references to kidnappings, yaoi, periods, boob-sizes, drinking, and even someone's "thing" (by his own daughter, no less, although he himself isn't actually present at the moment).
* ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'''s art style would not look out-of-place on {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} or Creator/CartoonNetwork. In spite of that though, the show is full of [[DoubleEntendre strong sexual references]], [[ClusterFBomb copious amounts of swearing]] and [[BlackComedy a lot of dark]], VulgarHumour.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' has an episode, "Red-Nosed Reindeer", that sounds like it would be a sweet Christmas special. [[spoiler:It's actually a tragedy. All of Kirito's friends die in front of him because of his mistake, and then he devotes a bunch of time and effort toward [[HopeSpot a rumor about a magical artifact that he could use to resurrect his girlfriend]], only to find out he's six months too late. Then he receives a surprisingly cheerful message that she wrote before she died, telling him not to beat himself up too much because she had accepted long ago that it was only a matter of time before she met a violent end. Merry Christmas!]]

* In a {{Meta}} sense, all of {{Anime}} when it was first emerging as a fandom in the west, as Video rental shops would put anime with explicit nudity, even outright {{Hentai}} on shelves next to WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo.

* ''Manga/LifeLessonsWithUramichiOniisan'' takes place on the set of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Together With Maman]]'', a parody of the long-running Japanese children's show ''Series/OkaasanToIssho''. With all of the antics that happen on the set due to how [[DysfunctionJunction dysfunctional the actors are]], you'd think it would be an InUniverse example, but it's actually a subversion. From all outward appearances it's a perfectly normal kids' program, and at least one chapter shows that they cut particularly ill-fitting shots out of filming.

* Several episodes of ''Manga/PopTeamEpic'' have segments featuring puppets of Popuko and Pipimi that start out innocently, but get dark halfway through. One segment, "Go To Sleep, Kon-Chan!" begins with the girls singing a cute song about putting a baby fox to sleep, but then [[spoiler: Popuko yells at the viewers that they should be asleep like the baby fox in the song]]. The most well-known example, "The Heart Tree", starts out as a song about growing up, but when Pipimi starts clapping her hands to the melody, [[spoiler: it turns into a song about how destroying things can be fun.]]

* ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'''s art style would not look out-of-place on {{Creator/Nickelodeon}} or Creator/CartoonNetwork. [[ClusterFBomb Then the characters start talking...]]

* ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}'': Playful tomboy finds [[{{Mons}} a cute little star-shaped creature with superpowers]] and [[BondCreatures develops a bond with it]]. Tragedy ensues when she encounters similar monsters bonded with other children who [[KidsAreCruel aren't so nice]].

* ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'': A charmingly animated slice of life series about a cute red panda and her animal friends... who swear, get drunk, and deal with the hardships of everyday office life.

* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}''. Bunch of kids on a trip find a giant robot in a cave, and are told to use it to protect the world. It gets [[KillThemAll very very dark]].

* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}''. Bunch of kids on a trip find a giant robot in a cave, and are told to use it to protect the world. It gets worse. Much, much worse.

* ''Anime/AggressiveRetsuko'': A charmingly animated slice of life series about a cute red panda and her animal friends...who swear, get drunk, and deal with the hardships of everyday office life.

* ''Anime/LuckyStar'': The girls' general mannerisms and the show's overall aesthetics ''would'' remind one of Nick Jr. or [=PBS=] Kids, but the main characters are explicitly in high school. There are also cursing and references to kidnappings, yaoi, periods, boob-sizes, and even someone's "thing" (by his own daughter, no less, although he himself isn't actually present at the moment).

* From [[Creator/MohiroKitoh the same writer]] as ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'': ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}''. Playful tomboy finds [[{{Mons}} a cute little star-shaped creature with superpowers]] and [[BondCreatures develops a bond with it]]. Tragedy ensues when she encounters similar monsters bonded with other children who [[KidsAreCruel aren't so nice]].

* ''Popotan'': Staples of saccharine cutesiness that one would normally expect from Nick Jr., including the music, art style, and various antics... that involve lots of sexual innuendoes.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' has an episode "Red-Nosed Reindeer" that sounds like it would be a sweet Christmas special. [[spoiler:It's actually a tragedy. All of Kirito's friends die in front of him because of his mistake, and then he devotes a bunch of time and effort toward [[HopeSpot a rumor about a magical artifact that he could use to resurrect his girlfriend]], only to find out he's six months too late. Then he receives a surprisingly cheerful message that she wrote before she died, telling him not to beat himself up too much because she had accepted long ago that it was only a matter of time before she met a violent end. Merry Christmas!]]

* From [[Creator/MohiroKitoh the same writer]]: ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}''. Playful tomboy finds [[{{Mons}} a cute little star-shaped creature with superpowers]] and [[BondCreatures develops a bond with it]]. Tragedy ensues when she encounters similar monsters bonded with other children who [[KidsAreCruel aren't so nice]].