Line #44 TheArtifact/AnimeAndManga


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9	* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Reo was made a regular character to be a romantic rival to Suzu, mostly set apart by being more openly sexual and having no issue with [[GenderBender Matsuri being turned into a girl]]. However, ''Suzu herself'' eventually fell in love with girl Matsuri as well and grew a lot more aggressive. This made Reo fairly redundant and rarely used. This did, however, give Reo one major appearance focusing on her abilities as a ninja instead of as a love interest.
10	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has Puck, Guts's original companion. Very early on, his purpose was to [[MoralityPet act as Guts's conscience]], heal him between battles, and [[PluckyComicRelief liven up the incredibly miserable atmosphere]], and he managed to play a major part in the Lost Children arc. However, as Guts's [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits cast of hanger-ons]] grew, Puck's role mostly started to slip into irrelevance. A particularly big case is CuteWitch Schierke, who does essentially everything Puck did and does it better, down to being able to act as Guts's conscience by [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind literally going inside his head]]. It's often remarked by fans that Puck's SuperDeformed state used to be brought out only in particularly wacky moments, but now essentially makes up ''all'' his appearances because [[{{Flanderization}} those wacky moments are really the only thing he provides anymore]]--and it's not like he's the only character in the series capable of providing comic relief or lightening the tone.
11	* In the CastOfPersonifications of human cells series ''Manga/CellsAtWork'', originally there's only one personification for all different types of white blood cells. That arrangement only [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness lasted for at most one chapter]] as the cast diversified, and this pan-white-blood-cell personification only represents the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrophil neutrophil]]. Still, he is still referred by other cells as White Blood Cell, and he's the only character with a white ColorMotif, having paper-white skin and uniform.
12	* The character of Index can't really be dropped from the series ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', but her character and abilities after the initial arc don't really add anything. However, she's fairly popular and, again, her name is in the title. So as the story introduces two more protagonists and something of a rival main heroine, poor Index is largely confined to either comedy scenes or used as a macguffin. Some of the less kind fans have taken to calling her a [[VideoGame/HalfLife headcrab]] in response to her perceived uselessness and most common running gag.
13	* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart''
14	** Promotional material and extras would still have Ichikawa introducing himself as someone who possess "murderous impulses" despite the fact it was long ago that he dropped his {{Chuunibyou}} antics and some of the material referencing events that happened after he stopped "trying to kill Yamada", some material would also have Ichikawa still calling Moeko "a slut" even when they are pretty much VitriolicBestBuds at worst now and Ichikawa has a much higher opinion of her.
15	** The school library starts out as the most common location in the series, serving as a frequent hangout for Ichikawa and Yamada. Initially for their own individual privacy, and steadily becoming a platform for them to grow closer to the point where Ichikawa worries about Yamada getting banned for bringing snacks in there and no longer having a reason to keep being around him. As the story progresses, their relationship develops to the point where they don't need the library as an excuse to see each other anymore and it's seen less and less outside of extras as they spend time with each-other outside of school. [[spoiler: It later on serves as the spot where Yamada finally confesses to Ichikawa and they become an actual couple.]]
16	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
17	** Thanks to introducing new characters with every story arc and keeping most of them around, Dragon Ball inevitably runs into this, especially after the shift to the "Villain Arc" format. Characters such as Oolong, Puar, Yajirobe and the Ox-King hang around for a few lines and do little else, while characters such as Tien and Yamcha quickly lose their presence [[CantCatchUp when they can no longer compete in fights]] (three of these were originally [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' characters). This is particularly strong in the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' material, where the fights revolve around the Saiyan cast. The only exception to this is Bulma, who retains her relevance thanks to her various inventions, and is eventually [[BetaCouple married to Vegeta]].
18	** Yajirobe in particular became redundant immediately upon the end of his introductory arc. He was originally created so that Krillin's voice actress in the anime would have someone to voice while Krillin was dead, and consequently wound up with a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute pretty similar personality and relationship to Goku]]: [[CowardlyLion a cynical and cowardly but goodhearted warrior]] to contrast Goku's innocent idealism. Naturally, once Krillin was BackFromTheDead, Yajirobe had no purpose anymore, and barring a single big moment in the Saiyan Saga where he cuts off Vegeta's tail, he only existed as background detail in the manga and BigEater jokes in anime filler.
19	** One notable example is Videl: she's originally introduced as a foil to Gohan and his Great Saiyaman alter-ego as part of the original high school storyline, quickly developing into a romantic interest. Creator/AkiraToriyama moved away from this after he felt that approach wasn't working, and after getting the crap beaten out of her by Spopovich, Videl spends the rest of the story pining for Gohan before being turned into candy by Buu. Like the smaller characters listed above, she's much less active than she used to be and doesn't even appear to be a fighter anymore.
20	** ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' didn't change openings very often, which often led to them sticking around long past the point of relevance, but no arc got hit harder with this than the Buu Saga's opening, "We Gotta Power." The arc's beginning features a change in opening song (the first since the start of ''Z'') to reflect the beginning of the new story, showcasing Gohan in his Great Saiyaman outfit, Goku only briefly appearing, and all manner of wacky antics, suggesting the arc is going to be mostly focused on Gohan's role in protecting the city and his new supporting cast. However, Toriyama when writing the manga famously found he didn't like Gohan as a protagonist and quickly reverted the spotlight to Goku, resulting in nearly all those elements being [[AbortedArc thrown into the background or expunged]] in favor of focusing on Goku's return and the battle with Majin Buu. Consequently, an opening that ran for 92 episodes seems to be dedicated to what happened in the first ten--including fairly prominent appearances by Sharpner and Erasa, who were DemotedToExtra almost immediately.
21	** Repeating history, it was blatantly evident that past the Baby arc of ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', the writers had no idea what to do with Pan. Pan's explicit function, according to the writers, was to be TheMillstone and provide an objective for Goku to rescue. Annoying, sure, but not too out of place when Goku was fighting wimps like the Para Para Brothers, and it made sense as a reference to Bulma's role in the original series (which much of early ''GT'' was meant to invoke). She also managed to at least contribute in the battle against Baby, most crucially helping Goku control his transformation. After that point, though, there was no meaningful reason for her to stick around or be Goku's companion: nearly any other character could have done her job, and she actively hindered Goku multiple times, which was far more egregious against villains that were supposed to be actual threats. It didn't help that the writers seemed to have an allergy to making Pan actually useful (which is bizarre given that she's a Saiyan and thus could feasibly compete in most fights), meaning that by the show's final battle, she was left sitting on the sidelines while Vegeta and the four-star dragon did the actual legwork at Goku's side. Trunks suffered as well to a lesser degree, but he at least stopped appearing once it was obvious he had no purpose anymore.
22	** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'':
23	*** Beerus served to introduce the concepts of Gods and the multiverse, as well as providing an AlwaysSomeoneBetter role for Goku. By the midpoint of the series, though, it was kind of evident that he didn't have much purpose anymore, which was especially pronounced because, unlike most Artifact characters in the franchise, Beerus is extremely strong to StoryBreakerPower levels, and should be able to crush just about any threat to the protagonists with ease. What was more, unlike most rivals in the franchise, his whole narrative function is that Goku can never really surpass him, so having the cast and their threats catch up to him couldn't be done. At the same time, he couldn't be written out of the series, because he was a package deal with his attendant Whis, who slotted into the role of being Goku and Vegeta's mentor and MrExposition. Consequently, in the majority of story arcs, Beerus [[AllPowerfulBystander does nothing of importance]], and when he does try to do something, [[YouCantThwartStageOne it usually fails]]--probably best punctuated by his appearance in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', where his only appearance is a minor subplot about him taking care of baby Bulla.
24	*** The name of the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan transformation was decided on in very early material centered on ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''. It became evident very quickly to both the writers and the fans that the name was far too wordy and [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment sounded kinda dumb]], which led to most fans nicknaming it "Super Saiyan Blue" instead, and characters in the show following suit. Despite this, most merchandise still labels it "Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan", since that was the name that said merch was established under.
25	*** Vegito's design is meant to be a [[FusionDance fusion]] of Vegeta and Goku's. However, when he reappeared in the Goku Black arc, his design there was the same as his design in the Buu Saga, which includes the singlet Vegeta was wearing then, despite Vegeta wearing a grey bodysuit and armor in ''Super''. This was due to the fact that redesigning him to include Vegeta's actual ''Super'' outfit would make his design less recognizable (and, it's often theorized, would mean [[MerchandiseDriven already-existing Vegito toys]] [[PaletteSwap couldn't be recolored]]).
26	** Despite the series DoingInTheWizard to a degree, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu remained being called "humans" despite their unusual features (although some sources state Tien as being descended from an ancient three-eyed alien race).
27	** The Kintoun/Flying Nimbus was rendered completely irrelevant by the start of ''Z'', since pretty much every character of importance could fly under their own power. Despite this, it has a habit of being used in later parts of the franchise more or less just to remind the audience that it exists, especially when nodding to the story's beginnings (''Super'' actually did [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman manage to make it useful once]], by having a scene where Goku couldn't use his own energy to fly without alerting his enemies).
28	** Nyoi-bo/the Power Pole has similar issues as the Flying Nimbus: Goku really has no need for it once ki attacks became common rather than special moves. Incidentally, its very name in the Funimation dubs is this: it was inherited from the Harmony Gold dub from 1989, which refers to the pole giving Goku his tremendous strength (that dub ended after five episodes, long before the writers would have to face the logistical issues of this). The Funimation dub keeps the name, but not the backstory.
29	** The Super Saiyan 2 transformation has fallen into this in most modern versions of the franchise, especially by the time of ''Super''. Aside from the SoLastSeason problems that afflict a lot of older transformations, it provides no utility over standard Super Saiyan aside from an ambiguously high increase in power (which is far outclassed by the various higher Super Saiyan forms), meaning characters with the form active don't fight any differently, and even ''looks'' almost identical on most characters (particularly Goku and Vegeta), turning it into little more than a placeholder to fill out the RuleOfThree. There's really only one fight in ''Super'' where it actually has a significant effect on the fight's outcome--that being, Caulifla's fight with Goku. Tellingly, Toriyama claimed in an interview that he ''forgot the form existed'' until he was reminded during his work on ''Battle of Gods'', having confused it with Super Saiyan 3. But the mere fact that Gohan's initial transformation and subsequent battle remain an iconic moment in the series has guaranteed that the form will continue to crop up.
30	** Speaking of Super Saiyan, the increasingly bulked-up variants that Trunks and Vegeta assume in the Cell arc are usually referred to as "Super Saiyan Grade 2" and "Super Saiyan Grade 3." This is because a guidebook referred to ''all'' variants of Super Saiyan as some form of "Grade", with the "resting" Super Saiyan that Goku and Gohan use being Grade 4, and the at-the-time unnamed state that Gohan assumes against Cell being named Grade 5. When the manga declared that "Grade 5" was actually Super Saiyan 2, and a subsequent guidebook labeled "Grade 4" as "Super Saiyan Full-Power", Grade 2 and 3 became the only remnants of this old naming system. Nonetheless, it's worked better than some other cases, as Grade 2 and 3 are far more similar to each other than to any other form of Super Saiyan.
31	* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' Ishvalans all have dark skin, red eyes, and white hair as a racial characteristic. In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' this is [[AdaptationDyeJob changed]] so that most are brunettes. Scar is the only Ishvalan who doesn't have age-related white hair. He was born with brown hair but was LockedIntoStrangeness.
32	* An in-universe example is brought up in the final episode of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' where a few of the protagonists meet in a library. One points out the uselessness of printed media to which another points out that it is just a habit of mankind.
33	* The nickname of "[=JoJo=]" shared by all the protagonists in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' has arguably become this. Jonathan and Joseph were referred to by the nickname almost constantly, and Jotaro for a good part of Part 3 as well. Starting from Part 4 however, the nickname is much less commonly used. Josuke gets it used once at the beginning of the series by bullies lampshading how the spelling of his name in Japanese can also be read as "Jojo", Giorno doesn't have it (or the equivalent of [=GioGio=]) used at ''all'', and both Jolyne and Johnny actively dislike and avoid the nickname for different reasons, while the way it applies to the Josuke of Part 8 (whose name has a different spelling from Part 4's Josuke) is...complicated to say the least. Even [[spoiler:Part 8's Joseph]] didn't use the nickname, instead opting for "[[spoiler:Fumi]]".
34	* Kinkotsuman & Iwao from ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'', parodies of stereotypical {{Toku}} villains introduced when the series was a straight up spoof of ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' continued to show up long after the GenreShift to ProfessionalWrestling.
35	* ''Manga/KomiCantCommunicate'': DownplayedTrope but Najimi's status as the third part of the PowerTrio with Komi and Tadano got phased out in favor of Manbagi's increased prominence. Najimi's quirk of being "Everybody's Childhood Friend" also became less essential to the plot as Komi became more comfortable with her communication skills. Despite this, Najimi still tends to get prominently feature, though now more as [[ComedicReliefCharacters Comic Relief]].
36	* The font of the main titles of each new installment in the ''[[Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Madoka]]'' franchise. Originally, that was to pass the original anime and manga off as yet another cutesy MagicalGirl show, before it would show its true colors. The manga's volume numbers also retained this even after they had served their purpose, but afterwards, only the main titles for subsequent installments do so, while subtitles and volume numbers are displayed in a more serious font.
37	* Likewise Chrono's very distinctive outfit in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' is back from when he was designed to be a more important lead character -- and a villain -- rather than a side character. There [[ImprobablyFemaleCast not being much to compare him to]], even Erio's outfit is much less flashy.
38	** The name of Raising Heart also qualifies, since [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nanoha.jpg its original design]] was a fairly normal-looking MagicWand with a HeartSymbol on it.
39	** Yuuno having the ability to shapeshift into a ferret. He is the only human character in the franchise to display this sort of power, and the original justification for it, that Earth's "magic field" was incompatible with him, has never come up again.
40	* ''Manga/MegaManNTWarrior2001'': In the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games, Hub Style's name comes from the fact that [=MegaMan=] is actually Lan's brother Hub recreated as a [=NetNavi=]. The manga doesn't expound on this plot point at all, so there's no explanation as to why the name of [=MegaMan=]'s SuperMode is seemingly random.
41	* Although ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' was the first RealRobot anime, it still carried a lot of baggage from the SuperRobot genre, mainly the design aesthetic for Zeon vehicles and an AerithAndBob naming scheme for their people that evokes the Alien invaders common to Super Robot antagonists, and a number of gimmicky weapons and [[MerchandiseDriven accessories]] for the Gundam like the G-Armor, Beam Javelin, and Gundam Hammer. The latter were quickly retconned out of existence in the Movie adaptations, and later Zeon designs have tried to evoke a image closer to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germany.
42	** The design of the Gundam itself falls into this a fair bit. By most accounts, Tomino himself was against the idea of it being a blocky PrimaryColorChampion with an impractical-looking headcrest that wields a sword and shield, but this was necessary to get the toys made. Of course, by the time ''Gundam'' had properly gotten off the ground and Tomino could make the robots look like whatever he wanted, those design cues had become so iconic that they couldn't be easily ditched.
43	** Played with in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', where the eponymous Gundams were only called so a handful of times (once in the first series, twice in the second) because that's what their OS's acronyms spelled out. The units were almost always referred to by their production names.
44	** The Taurus from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' is a lesser-known example. Lucrezia Noin was originally going to be a DistaffCounterpart to the original series' Garma Zabi, and as such the Taurus (which was going to be her personal mobile suit) was made to be sleek and sinister in order to match her personality. Over the course of rewrites Noin was changed into a more [[AFatherToHisMen gentle]], [[TeamMom motherly]] character, but the Taurus's design remained.
45	* Main character Ginko from ''Manga/{{Mushishi}}'' wears recognizably modern clothes despite the story's setting suggesting a Pre Meiji Japanese location. The author eventually admitted that Ginko was made during the early design period where the story was supposed to take place in modern times, with him simply being left unchanged.
46	* ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' had a notable ToneShift from a MinimalistCast CringeComedy focusing on the attempts of a friendless girl's attempts to become popular to a ComingOfAgeStory focusing on a larger cast, which lead to a lot of early elements from the manga to become less relevant as the story keep going but that since they were major parts of the manga couldn't being deleted altogether.
47	** The original supporting cast was clearly conceived as characters that would allow having Tomoko someone to talk to without stopping her from being isolated from the rest given that was the premise of the manga. Tomoki was his brother and the only male she could talk to, but also found her insufferable and tried to avert being with her. Yuu was her OnlyFriend and acted as a recurring ThrowTheDogABone to her, but she also went to another school so she couldn't be around all the time. Ogino was her teacher that wanted to help her to make friends, but her attempts to help her tend to lead her to more embarassing situations that the usual so she tries to avert being around her. Komiyama was an old classmate, but also was her SitcomArchNemesis that hated her guts. After the Kyoto Arc however, all of these roles became pointless given Tomoko gained friends in her school that actually liked her so she didn't need to keep talking with Komiyama or Tomoki, Ogino didn't have any reason to keep pestering her around and Tomoko's life improving meant that she didn't need to be [[ThrowTheDogABone thrown a bone]] so Yuu losed any point in the narrative. However, given all of these characters were important parts of Tomoko's life or went to the same school and they were popular characters in their own right there was no convincing way to delete them completely of the manga, so the four characters remain in the story by giving them ocassional days in the limelight or small roles in larger arcs so audiences remember they are still there.
48	** Komiyama in particular suffered badly of this. While Tomoki was given some relevance thanks to becoming the central character of an UnwantedHarem involving other recurring characters, Yuu still ocassionally visits Tomoko often noticing [[LampshadeHanging how they are not as close as they used to be]] and Ogino became the default character every time they needed a chapter involving a teacher, Komiyama didn't have any reason to hang out with Tomoko and friends given she still merely tolerates Tomoko and isn't close to any of her friends ([[TheFriendNobodyLikes and none of them like her much]]). Yet most larger arcs find a convenient excuse to have her hanging around. Sort of lampshaded in the movie arc where she questioned why she was added into the movie and all Tomoko answer is [[BecauseISaidSo "I needed someone with glasses"]].
49	** After twelve years, Tomoko's still unable to talk with guys and hasn't formed any relationship with any male besides her brother. This element made perfect sense in the early days given it was her SeriesGoal and having NoSocialSkills, but now that her objectives have changed to studying for university, make a movie for the school festival or simply enjoying her remaining time in high school, there's no longer any reason why she keeps being like this other that StatusQuoIsGod.
50	** Tomoko's schems to become popular keeped being a recurring plotline a while after the Kyoto Arc where Tomoko gained friends, halfway through the third year it became obvious there was no need for Tomoko to keep doing these plans and the focus went to other facets of her newfound life.
51	** Despite being introduced in the Kyoto arc, Mako quickly became a redundant character. Her original purpose was to be Yuri's OnlyFriend with who she had a discussion right before the trip so there would be a justification why the otherwise antisocial Yuri didn't interact with Tomoko so far. Once the Kyoto trip was over, she became a SatelliteCharacter to Yuri and Tomoko's growing social circle rarely having screentime on her own, with the focus going to Yuri and Tomoko developing close friendships with the other girls and each other.
52	* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Manga/CaseClosed'' anime adaptations are a remnant of a past era where other long-runners kept a weekly release schedule, which led to stalling the plot with {{Padding}} and {{Filler}} arcs so that they wouldn't [[OvertookTheManga overtake the manga]]. With more recent anime switching to 12 or 24 episode seasons, the {{Padding}} techniques that were once industry standard have now become extremely apparent with fans believing that the ''One Piece'' and ''Case Closed'' anime series would be better off if they adapted to being seasonal as well.
53	* This is PlayedForLaughs in ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'' with Iyami. In ''Manga/OsomatsuKun'', Iyami was a BreakoutCharacter to the point that he eventually took over the Matsuno sextuplets' position as one of the main characters. In ''-san'' most of the characters were modernized for TheNewTens, but everything about Iyami, from his Showa-era style of comedy to his appearance to his obsession with France, is incredibly outdated and makes him stick out like a sore thumb. Much of the humor surrounding him is how he's in denial of this and how he tries to reclaim his former glory with little success, though in "Iyami-san is Troubled" he finally comes to acknowledge his status as TheArtifact and becomes so depressed that [[AttemptedSuicide he tries to hang himself]].
54	* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket]] have been this since the organization they belong to have ceased to be the villains of the main games the anime is promoting after [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]]. The ''Best Wishes''/''Black and White'' series attempted to rectify this by [[ReimaginingTheArtifact giving them actual purpose in the plot]] and then [[PutOnABus attempting to write them out]], but it didn't stick and they returned to TheArtifact status in the ''Pokemon XY'' series. Their high popularity in Japan contributes to why they're series mainstays. That said, there has been in an increase in episodes where Team Rocket only make brief appearances or don't appear at all, so they aren't quite as bad a case of this as they used to be. This is all a Downplayed example anyway, as Team Rocket still exists as an organization and functioning entity in the anime continuity.
55	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
56	** For the first three seasons, the Monsters-of-the-Day actually did something relevant to the {{plot}}, but in the fourth and fifth seasons, their only purpose was to give the girls something to fight before the end of the episode. It became especially bad in the last season; the targets were supposed to be potential Sailor Senshi (hence why they're attacked very early in the original manga) but no attempt is ever made to target those that ''show up to every single fight, in uniform''.
57	** In the anime, Mamoru Chiba was a SatelliteLoveInterest, unlike the manga where he had more characterisation. This meant that after he and Usagi hooked up at the end of ''R'', the writers really had nothing to do with him, and Usagi had plenty of other characters to emote at. Obviously, being Sailor Moon's destined love, he couldn't be written out completely, but he was pretty much "just there" in the third and fourth seasons, and he was PutOnABus in the fifth season to allow for Seiya to start a LoveTriangle.
58	** Funnily enough, one of Sailor Moon's most recognisable symbols, the red and white 'buttons' on Usagi's hairbuns, are technically an Artifact that didn't last beyond the first episode: after Usagi transforms for the first time, she hears Naru screaming through her hair buns, and this is what alerts her to the monster of that episode. The mechanic was never seen again, as often the tracking down of the monster was a plotline, and at other times the show was more than happy with letting the girls and monsters meet up though sheer coincidence. However, as there would be no way for Usagi to know where the monster was in this first episode otherwise, both the 90s anime and the Crystal reboot kept the strange function only to drop it just as quickly as the manga did.
59	*** This artifact was created by removing another artifact the manga used. In early chapters ''Sailor Moon'' wore a white mask similar to Sailor V's. In the first chapter it showed her a vision of Naru being attacked. She quickly ditched them and for a number of chapters was shown throwing it to the side after transforming. The mask shows up once more during the Black Moon arc (long after it stopped appearing when she transformed) to identify people who were replaced with droids.
60	** A few character design elements have become this in newer versions:
61	*** Makoto's long skirt. When the series first came up, an excessively long skirt on the uniform was a distinctive sign of a ''[[JapaneseDelinquents sukeban]]'' (and she had the fame of one), but by the time newer versions of the series came up it had been replaced by an excessively ''short'' skirt and other distinctive signs. On the other hand, Makoto ''needs'' a visual sign to justify her fame as a delinquent, so ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' still gave her it ([[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon the live action]] instead opted for a normal skirt and having her sometimes dye her hair, [[AnimeHair something an anime would be unable to do]]);
62	*** Minako and Naru wearing ribbons in their hair. When the manga was first published it was fashionable for a schoolgirl to wear a ribbon in the hair (and in fact the manga has Minako started to wear one in an effort to conquer a boy. She continued because it looked good), but nowadays it's not it anymore. Still, it's such a part of their characters' images they still wear it in ''Crystal'', and Minako does it as Sailor V and Sailor Venus in the live action (the live action was able to drop it with Minako's civilian identity and Naru because, for a real-life girl, it would have just been weird). Recently, however, this trend seems to be picking back up as girls would wear ribbons to tie their hair into ponytails or incorporate it into other hairstyles.
63	*** Minako and Makoto's looks in general in the new anime. ''Crystal'' being [[SettingUpdate set during its real-world release]], the logic progression would have been updating them into [[GyaruGirl some sub-variant of gals]] or make Makoto a [[BadassBiker bosozoku]] ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen something she was originally supposed to be]]) to convey the former being a [[TomboyPrincess tomboy who looks extremely feminine]] and justify the latter's fame as a delinquent, but instead they wore normal clothes in their civilian identities.
64	*** [[TransformationTrinket The Transformation Pens]] were originally chosen because they were fashionable accessories, but the fashion has since passed. Yet, ''Crystal'' still keeps them (the live action instead replaced them with charms that were fashionable back when the series was aired).
65	*** ''Crystal'' also retains both sets of the communicator watches, which in the era of cellphones would require some justification (never given outright by the series itself); their live-action counterparts ''were'' fancy magical cellphones which combined the functions of the communicators and the disguise pen.
66	* One of ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'''s most famous running jokes is the otherwise overconfident Lina Inverse's [[ACupAngst sensitivity about her endowment]]. While it's reasonable in the novels and comic, it seemed a case of HollywoodHomely in animated form only rationalized by her bawdy and ridiculously curvy cohort Naga. As the show usually compensated by enlarging everyone ''else'', one suspects it was ExecutiveMeddling in order to make a heroine a bit more cute to the television audience.
67	** ''Slayers Revolution-R'' dealt with this a little better than the 90s series (where she was easily a B-Cup going towards C), as her character design in the 2000s series is noticeably pretty flat - not a complete UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}}, but definitely an A-Cup.
68	* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'': Hero points and rankings by Season 2. While popularity in the public's eye is important, and not everyone accepts NEXTs, it's shown that points mean little compared to being genuinely heroic, and it no longer hinders any active superheroes like it used to.
69	* ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
70	** In the early [[Manga/YuGiOh manga]], Hiroto Honda/Tristan Taylor was a mainstay of the cast, helping out a lot in Death-T and Monster World and often acting as TheBigGuy. By the time of ''Duelist'' and the second series anime, the series became more cardgame-focused, and Honda spends most of his time just kinda standing on the sidelines cheering on his friends because he isn’t much of a duelist. The anime ended up doing its best to add stuff for him to do, but [[TrappedByMountainLions very little of it was consequential.]]
71	** The term "Duel Disk" came from the original prototypes, which were actually thrown discs that worked a bit like mechanical tops. In the Battle City arc, the production model was revealed to be an arm-mounted affair that didn't look much like a disk, and this became the standardized design. Needless to say, the name stuck, though anyone to have not watched those early arcs would probably be baffled as to why.
72	* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' seemed to struggle with handling certain characters as the series drifted away from its episodic school-slice-of-life origin, generally having them serve as {{Combat Commentator}}s at best. Alexis's main hook (finding the fate of her brother) got resolved about two-thirds of the way into the first season, and consequently left her with very little to do in the rest of the series aside from chasing off suitors and getting brainwashed into a cult. Tyranno no longer had much purpose once the Society of Light arc ended, as his deal of being ImmuneToMindControl came up only once afterward. Bastion was meant as a rival but quickly got displaced by more important ones, and his later character arc was basically one long LampshadeHanging on how he had no real purpose anymore and had fallen OutOfFocus, before he was written out completely.
73	* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' somehow had this happen to its entire ''premise''. The original concept of the series, as seen in the title and created by Kazuki Takahashi, was that there were five individuals known as the Signers who used their mystic dragon powers to battle ancient threats. However, the main mystical threat of the series, the Earthbound Gods, was defeated less than halfway through the series, and most of Takahashi's concepts and characters were exhausted. From then on out, the main characters almost never used their Signer abilities (Akiza, the most overtly powerful one, was even depowered without explanation for most of the show's last third), and most of their opponents had absolutely nothing to do with the Signers or mysticism in general. The show also largely jettisoned the concept of the Signers working as a team, with nearly everything from then on out being accomplished by Yusei, Jack, and Crow (the latter of whom wasn't even a Signer until it had stopped being relevant). Despite the clumsy ReTool, the series seemingly continued to advertise itself as being about the Signers. By the end of the series, [[ArtifactTitle there weren't even five Signers - there were six.]]
74	* ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' eschewed the traditional holograms in the series in favor of [[AugmentedReality AR Vision]], where the characters instead wore eyepieces that were linked to a network that showed the monsters. The idea was that this allowed monsters to appear to affect the environment. Over the course of the series, this came up about three times, and at every other point they're treated as identical to the holograms. It's also never really explained why, say, characters still flinch when hit, or how beings that couldn't possibly have a link to the network, like ancient spirits or aliens, can see the monsters. Despite this, characters still activate their eyepieces with dramatic flourish all the way to the end.
75	* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'':
76	** Performapal Hip Hippo featured very prominently in early advertising and the opening theme, and when it showed up in the first episode and was used quite a bit, it seemed like a long career would await the distinctive little cutie. One problem: Hippo's effect is one that makes Tribute Summons easier. Main character Yuya, by the third episode, specializes in a mechanic that renders Tribute Summoning completely unnecessary. Consequently, Hippo ends up showing up far less in Duels than outside of them.
77	** This is also the case with the Action Duel, what was supposed to be the series' gimmick duel that defined it ala ''5Ds'' Riding Duels. In the initial episodes, it is given heavy prominence, showing off varied locales and Action Card effects, even showing Action Traps which punished Yuya for going for Action Cards a bit too heavily. However as time went on the Action Card effects got less diverse (Action Traps disappeared completely) to the point where the only ones ever used involved just avoiding monster destruction. By the time the interdimensional plot kicks in, the idea of special Action Fields vanishes, meaning that the only real relevance Action Duels end up having is being able to use those aforementioned destruction-blocking cards.
78	* ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'' underwent a heavy retool before the series was even made, which significantly altered its premise and main character, seemingly with the intent of distancing itself from the prior ''ARC-V'' after that show suffered [[SeasonalRot a major backlash]]. However, two major characters remain that seem to be orphaned from this concept: George Gore and Skye Zaizen, who are both entertainers with prideful, glitzy public personas and feel like they'd be right at home in ''ARC-V''. ''VRAINS'' in its final form lacks any other signs of those themes, and consequently, both George and Skye, despite being prominent early on, are fairly infamous for the show not knowing how to handle them once it got into its actual narrative.

Context TheArtifact / AnimeAndManga