Adaptational Early Appearance / Anime & Manga

Adaptational Early Appearance in Anime & Manga.

---

• The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You started serialization just under four years before the anime started airing, so it's to be expected that many more of the titular girlfriends would appear as background characters well before they joined the harem in the anime:
  • Meme (#11) is among the students at Rentarou's high school opening ceremony in Episode 1.
  • Kusuri (#5) is shown working in a school lab at the end of Episode 1.
  • Hahari (#6) is shown in the Season 1 title sequence.
  • Downplayed with Mei (#8), whose ambiguous role in the manga is confirmed in the anime.
  • Girlfriends #7 - #11 are shown in a montage at the end of Episode 12.
• In the AKIRA manga, Kaori doesn't show up until halfway into the series. In the movie, however, she's Tetsuo's classmate and girlfriend from the beginning.
• Ascendance of a Bookworm:
  • The orginal light novel starts with the last moments of modern-day Japanese bookworm Urano before her death and her reincarnation as a young girl named Myne. Much later in the story (the part that became the last few episodes of the anime's first season), Myne joins the temple under the tutelage of a priest named Ferdinand. The anime adaptation adds a scene from Part 2 Volume 2 of the novel of Ferdinand using a magic item to explore Myne's memories after having figured out there is something strange about her as a Framing Device, resulting in him being introduced before the members of Myne's own family. It does emphasize his later importance to the story, as he otherwise doesn't show up until the end of the season.
  • In a later part of the novel, it's revealed, more than a year after the fact, that Ferdinand sent his two recently-introduced retainers to investigate Myne before taking her in as his student, resulting in that volume including a side story telling the reader how that investigation went. The anime has a Two Shorts bonus episode between Seasons 1 and 2, one of the shorts being an adaptation of the investigation side story that puts it in its proper chronological place, resulting in an early debut for the investigators.
• The Asterisk War: In the original light novels, the minor Queenvale student Violet Weinberg has a bit part in volume 7, chapter 4 (published in Japan in November 2014) where she asks Ayato for an autograph at the School Festival (it's hard to spot: Yuu Miyazaki only uses her given name). The anime gives her a much earlier introduction in season 1, episode 8 (aired as filler in November 2015), then ended after its second season at the end of novel volume 6.
• In the anime version of Asteroid in Love, Yuu and Chikage first appeared as School Festival visitors during the sixth episode (which mostly adapts the ninteenth and twentieth chapters). Chikage appears once more in the part of the eighth episode that adapts the twenty-fifth chapter, as one of the participants of the Earth Science Olympiad.
• Keen-eyed viewers watching Attack on Titan will spot cameos added in the second episode. A young Annie appears among the refugees waiting in the bread line, while a young Reiner and Bertolt appear in the crowd during the announcement of the operation to reclaim Wall Maria. It's also Foreshadowing that Reiner and Bertolt caused the mess in the first place.
• In Bakuman。, Kaya Miyoshi is briefly shown calling for Miho to come with her in the first episode of the anime. She doesn't appear until a few chapters into the series in the manga, when she meets the main characters on the roof. Koogy's music turns up a few times before he decides to make his debut as a mangaka.
• Bleach:
  • In the manga, Chad first appears in Chapter 7 (and this story is put into the anime at episode 4). But in the second episode, he's there offering to help repair Ichigo's house after the fight against Fish Bone D.
  • Ishida gets an odd treatment of this. He has a different Early-Bird Cameo in the manga versus the anime, but still gets introduced in the same story arc.
  • While less noticeable than other examples, in the anime, Kiyone and Sentarou (Ukitake's bickering third seats) first appear in Ukitake's debut when he hears about Aizen supposedly having been killed. In the manga, a faceless messenger tells him, and Kiyone and Sentarou don't arrive until he calls them out of hiding a few chapters later.
  • The anime briefly shows Meninas McAllon as the Sternritter who almost kills Rukia during the first Quincy invasion. In the manga, her debut happens much later in the arc (Rukia's early opponent was not shown on panel).
  • All of the Stern Ritter are present in the anime version of the scene where Uryu is named as Yhwach's successor, including Pernida Parnkgjas, Gerard Valkyrie, Nianzol Weizol, and Lille Barro who weren't introduced for over a year after this scene in the manga.
• The original Cardfight!! Vanguard anime introduced Leon Souryu in Season 2. The 2018 reboot (which is actually based on the radically different manga adaptation, where Leon wasn't even present) introduces it early during the very first arc.
• Case Closed:
  • The anime's first episode gives Conan's future first-grade friends, the Detective Boys, speaking roles.
  • Sonoko was introduced in a filler episode, the sixth episode. Her manga debut was in volume 5, during the Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case.
  • The 2016 TV special, Detective Conan ONE, which is largely a retelling of the first two episodes, contains a lot of cameos of characters who weren't introduced in the original two episodes, including some flashforwards.
• While it's only one episode early, in the anime adaptation of Date A Live, when it suddenly starts raining during Tohka and Sido's first date you can see Yoshino in front of the arcade they take shelter in. The first season OVA ups the ante with Yamai twins playing Breakout at the arcade in their Astral Dresses.
• In the Death Note Matt appears in episode 32 alongside Mello, while he didn't debut in the manga until a little later.
• Two major characters and a location that don't get introduced until the third volume of the The Demon Girl Next Door manga get very brief appearances in the final episode of the Animated Adaptation (which adapts the first two volumes), possibly as a sequel tease.
• In the anime adaptation of Dies Irae, a special super powered version of Ren's normal time stop powers called Eine Faust Finale appeared when he confronted Reinhard at the bridge prior to where the routes are supposed to split. Not only is this far earlier than in the novel where it only appeared near the end of Rea's route, but it also appeared one route too early as the anime adapts Marie's route which canonically takes place before Rea's.
• Dragon Ball:
  • In the manga, Pilaf and his henchmen Mai and Shuu aren't introduced until Goku and friends have collected 6 Dragon Balls and reached his castle (Chapter 18). In the anime, he shows up in the very first episode, and acquires the Dragon Ball that he has in the manga. For the rest of the meta-arc, their various exploits in attempting to acquire the other Dragon Balls are depicted. Which means, since Goku and friends get all the rest, Failure Is the Only Option for these exploits.
  • The introduction of Tenshinhan (Tien) and Chaozu. In the manga, they first turn up at the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. But the anime introduces them as the villains of a filler episode while Goku is doing his solo training.
• In Drug Store In Another World, the Demon King Garou Ezil shows up in chapter 38 of the original web novel. In the anime adaptation, he makes his first appearance in the previews of Episode 2.
• Kuon Kirise's first appearance gets earlier with successive adaptations of Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte. In the novels, he first appeared when the commentators are dating downtown, at Chapter 6B. In the manga adaptation, he first appeared on the cliffhanger of Chapter 5, which adapts Chapter 2B of the novels. In the anime, he appears at the end of Episode 1, which adapts both parts of the first chapter of the novel.
• From Eyeshield 21, the manga introduces Suzuna Taki in the Death March storyarc. The anime includes her in an earlier episode, trying to track down her brother Natsuhiko.
• Fist of the North Star:
  • In the manga, Kenshiro's initial nemesis, Shin, doesn't show up until Chapter 4, while his lost love Yuria (or rather a mannequin bearing her likeness) first appears in Chapter 6. In the anime, they both show up in the very first episode in the form of hallucinations in Kenshiro's mind while going through the desert with real Yuria being a prominent character throughout the first season of the anime.
  • The Hokuto no Ken 2 anime changes the order in which certain characters are introduced as well. In the manga, the initial villain Jakoh isn't introduced until Chapter 150 in order to make Falco (who is introduced earlier as an antagonist in Chapter 145) more sympathetic. In the anime Jakoh is introduced in Episode 110, while Falco and the other Gento warriors show up later in Episode 114.
• Freezing: The second season of the anime, subtitled Vibration, debuts the E-Pandoras the equivalent of two full tankoubon volumes early, seemingly skipping the preceding arc with Satellizer's half-brother Louis. This is a case of an Author's Saving Throw by way of a Pragmatic Adaptation: that arc is moved to the middle of the E-Pandora arc and its outcome adjusted to make Louis more The Atoner for his past sexual abuse of Satellizer.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • In the manga, Maes Huges is introduced during Chapter 6 when the Elric brothers have arrived at Central by train. In the 2003 anime, Maes Hughes first appears during the train hijacking incident and helps Ed and Al retake the train.
    • Roy Mustang is shown in the opening scene of Episode 1 in the 2003 anime.
  • Solf J. Kimblee is one of the characters briefly introduced in the first episode of Brotherhood; Isaac MacDougal offers to break him out of prison, but he refuses. Father also makes a brief appearance.
    • The first episode also features major appearances of many characters that were introduced a little later in the manga. Most notably King Bradley and Roy Mustang, who are introduced before even the Elric brothers.
• In contrast to the manga, the anime adaptation of Gintama starts with the core cast already assembled, though subsequent episodes still reveal how Gintoki met Shinpachi, Kagura, Katsura, Sachan and the others for the first time.
• In the anime adaptation of Granblue Fantasy, Rosetta appears early in Port Breeze, interrupting the fight between Gran and Drang. And again, in Auguste Isles where she warns Gran of impending danger and helps them to recover Lyria when she falls into a coma. In the game's actual plot, she only appears when the crew visits the Lumacie Forest.
  • In season 2 of the anime, Ferry's sister appears in a flashback, whereas in the game's version of the story arc, she was originally only mentioned. It took years for her to finally make an appearance in a fate episode.
• How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom anime examples:
  • The Three Dukes, Roroa and her butler, and the Euphoria sisters all appear briefly on the first episode of the anime, well before they any of them were introduced in the novels or manga adaptation.
  • Season 2 of the anime concludes with the last scenes of volume 4 of the novels, but the sequence the episode prior where Duchess Walter gives The Talk to Souma's harem is from the middle of volume 5.
• In Is the Order a Rabbit?, Aoyama first appeared within the first minute of the anime (00:51 to be exact), in an anime-only intro.
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • In the 2014 anime adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, there's Pet Shop. He is seen perched upon DIO's shoulder in the fifth episode, whereas the manga featured a generic parrot while Pet Shop did not appear until his battle with Iggy.
  • In the first episode of the anime adaptation of Diamond is Unbreakable, a crowd gathers to watch an unfolding hostage situation. Observant viewers will observe that the crowd in the anime version includes a number of enemy Stand users that wouldn't appear for several arcs, including the Nijimura brothers, Toshikazu Hazamada, Yukako Yamagishi, and even Rohan Kishibe.
  • The anime of Golden Wind follows the same trend as its predecessors, albeit even more strongly.
    • Shortly after Polpo's death, the montage of Capos talking about the rumors of his hidden treasure includes a short scene of Zucchero and Sale in a car together puzzling out that Bucciarati seems a likely candidate to know where the treasure is.
    • The Golden Wind anime even dedicates an entirely original episode to the backstory of La Squadra Esecuzioni. It featured them performing a mission in the lead-up to discovering the fate of Sorbet and Gelato, showing all their faces and personalities, and even adding a scene of the other members attending Sorbet and Gelato's funeral afterwards. In the manga, this backstory lasted two pages, showed all the members as no more than silhouettes, and didn't mention any names.
    • In episode 10 of Golden Wind, Cioccolata and Secco, Diavolo's most sadistic henchmen are seen as shadowy silhouettes in a flashback dedicated to the Hitman Team. Cioccolata is seen slicing up Sorbet, one of the hitmen, alive, while Secco films it all on a camera in the background. Although their faces are not shown, Cioccolata's distinctive hairstyle makes it very apparent that Diavolo sent the two of them as a warning for the Hitman Team for breaching his privacy. They don't make a full appearance until episode 29 much later on.
• Kaguya-sama: Love Is War:
  • Miko and Osaragi both make a small appearance in the final episode for season 1 during an adaptation of chapter 46. Neither of them showed up in the manga until chapter 65.
  • Ishigami had several cameos prior to his proper introduction in episode 6 (he had an Early-Bird Cameo on one of the chapter covers in the manga, but it wasn't adapted).
  • Tsubame, Onodera, Kazeno, and Shirogane's predecessor as Student Council President (as well as a few minor characters from the Culture Festival arc) all can be seen during the Crowded-Cast Shot in episode 17, long before any of them are introduced in the manga.
• Mysterious Joker: In the manga, Ginko and Momo didn't appear until all the way in Chapter 20 and only showed up sporadically after that. The anime adaptation has them present from the very first episode, presumably to give the show a stronger female presence.
• Every major character appears in the first episode of the 2006 version of Kanon, save for Amano Mishio. Yes, Makoto is there. For those who kept trying to spot the Makoto Sawatari we know, it's not her that we see in the pilot episode, but rather, her fox form, the fox that Nayuki approaches on the hill that we see. Many of them appear only as extras, making them Early Bird Cameoes.
• Ootani from Komori-san Can't Decline! showed up several times in the background of the first 5 episodes of the anime. In the manga, he never appeared until Komori bumped into him in chapter 16.
• The Legend of Zelda (Akira Himekawa):
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1999):
    • Epona tags along with Link during the Child portion. In the game, she can't be obtained until later.
    • Dark Link appears in Kakariko Village, not in the Water Temple.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016):
    • Midna's true form appears in the first volume.
    • The Hero's Shade is introduced early as a friend of Midna's.
• In the Little Busters! visual novel, Suginami-san and her Jerkass friends Katsuzawa and Takamiya don't show up until the beginning of Rin or Kurugaya's routes, but the anime briefly lingers over the three of them in an establishing shot of the classroom in the first episode. The anime also has brief cameos of Saya, a character who wasn't introduced until a route in the Updated Re-release that could only be unlocked upon finishing the game; however, this only half-counts, as while it's an early appearance from the viewers' point of view, Saya's route was actually set before the events of the VN proper.
• In the Locodol anime, the Awa Awa Girls appear briefly on TV in episode one. They are only introduced properly ten episodes later.
• The Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid anime begins with a scene showing Sankt Kaiser Olivie, Hegemon Klaus Ingvalt, and Wilfried Jeremiah during the time of Ancient Belka. In the original manga, the first two don't appear until after Einhart gets befriended a few chapters in, while the existence of Wilfried isn't shown until more than 40 chapters later near the end of the Tournament Arc.
• Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: In the original cartoon, Luka is only introduced to Marinette in Season 2, where they first meet through Juleka and her mother. In the manga, during the events of the Season 1 episode Dark Cupid, he meets Marinette's alter ego first while Ladybug is searching for the brainwashed Cat Noir. He explains that the fragrance Ladybug has been smelling on both Cat Noir and Adrien is actually a very popular scent, which helps convince her that the two are not the same person.
• Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid:
  • Kanna shows up near the end of episode 1 recognizing Tohru's Wave-Motion Gun. Doubles as Adaptation Expansion, since Kanna mentioned during her first appearance in the manga that it's how she tracked Tohru down.
  • Saikawa can be seen in the background at four different points during Kanna's first day of school before she's properly introduced. In the manga, she isn't seen until she confronts Kanna after class is over.
  • Ilulu's doll shows multiple times in flashbacks during her introductory arc in the anime. In the manga, it isn't even hinted at until long after her Heel–Face Turn.
• Moomin (1990) places Little My in storylines that took place before her debut in the original books.
• In Moriarty the Patriot Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes met and become significant to each other before Sherlock met John Watson or had any idea at all that he ever would.
• My Hero Academia:
  • The Stinger for Season 1 has Stain lurking in the shadows. In the manga, he doesn't make his first appearance until the end of the Sports Festival Arc before becoming the Arc Villain in the following one.
  • If the previews are any indication, Endeavor will play a role in the Jump Festa 2016 OVA between seasons one and two, where as in the manga, he didn't have his first speaking role until the Sports Festival Arc.
  • Gran Torino makes his first anime appearance in the first episode of season 2, reading a letter sent to him by All Might. This scene is not in the manga, where he doesn't appear until the Stain/Internship arc.
• In the original manga of Naruto, versus the anime adaptation:
  • Sakura and Sasuke (Sasuke is in the background of one panel) aren't shown clearly until after Naruto becomes a Genin. The rest of the "Nine" aren't introduced until the Chunin Exam arc. In the first episode of the anime, all the members of the Rookie Nine are seen lined up for the Henge Jutsu evaluation. Sakura and Sasuke are even shown going before Naruto.
  • Some of the dialogue is changed, as Shikamaru and Ino replace the generic students who complain about Naruto's mischief causing them to be tested on Transformation, with Shikamaru wondering why Naruto is among the graduates when they are assigned to teams.
  • In Episode 3, a few of the teachers appear while observing Naruto and Sasuke in the classroom, including Kurenai, who is incredibly Off-Model, has the red and white on her outfit reversed, and has a different voice actor for that episode.
  • In the manga, the Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu were only seen clearly when they make their first appearance in person, but in the anime they make an appearance as holograms during the Gaara Rescue, requesting to take care of Team Kakashi.
  • A Whole Episode Flashback of Jiraiya's has two of the ninja who would become the Six Paths of Pain, back when they were still alive. One of whom had already been introduced before the flashback. For the anime, the entire group was introduced.
  • In the Boruto anime, Kashin Koji appears as a cloaked figure casting a genjutsu on Katasuke, before his first appearance in the manga.
  • The Last: Naruto the Movie came out while the Naruto anime was still airing. It wouldn't end for over a year. The Stinger of the movie shows Naruto and Hinata's children, Himawari and Boruto. In the manga, they aren't revealed until the Distant Epilogue. As a result of the film and the Boruto film already having came out, the anime just skipped over the manga's epilogue and adapted a book showing Naruto's wedding arc.
  • Momoshiki and Kinshiki appear as shadow figures on the flashback of Kaguya's past on Naruto Shippuuden.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion:
  • In the original series, Kaworu Nagisa only appears in episode 24 of 26. He wound up as one of the most popular characters in the franchise, though, so every alternate continuity introduces him earlier and gives him a bigger part. The manga adaptation has him show up before Asuka's ill-fated confrontation with Arael; he actually pilots Unit-02 during the subsequent battle against Armisael, while in the show, he never saw combat in an EVA. Rebuild of Evangelion gives him Early Bird Cameos starting at the end of the first movie, with the third largely focusing on his relationship with Shinji.
  • Though mentioned a number of times, Yui Ikari was not fully shown onscreen until episode 21 of the original series, probably because seeing her risks revealing that Rei is her clone. The Rebuild movies assume that fans already know this, so the second movie actually emphasizes their resemblance before the third movie confirms the secret.
  • Lilith's first full appearance is in episode 15, with her existence treated as a Plot Twist; she's also mistaken for Adam, with her real identity being another plot twist in episode 24. By contrast, Misato reveals and correctly identifies her to Shinji near the end of the first Rebuild movie, in a part otherwise corresponding to episode six.
• New Game!: Umiko and Shizuku, who aren't introduced until chapters 15 and 25 of the manga, respectively, make appearances starting from the first episode of the anime to establish their characters.
• The anime of No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! downplays this by having the Nice Girl Student Council President appear a few minutes ahead of schedule, replacing the nameless girl who was originally there.
• The Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan anime not only has Gyuuki, the first major villain, appear early, but practically has him appear every other minute for no real reason.
• One Piece has the anime artists adding foreshadowing of future characters that recently appeared in the manga by using an Early-Bird Cameo:
  • In the manga, Nami first appears in chapter 8, at the beginning of the Orange Town arc. In the anime, however, she makes an appearance in the very first episode, before Luffy himself.
  • Akainu appeared in the background of a group shot just over a month after his present design was unveiled in the manga, Jimbei was shown among the Warlords, and Shiryuu's shadow showed up in Impel Down.
  • A minor example with Yokozuna. In the manga, the Straw Hats encounter him while sailing to Water Seven. In the anime, they meet some shipwrecked sailors, who had an encounter with a frog matching his description, who's briefly shown in a flashback.
• Pokémon: The Series tends to do this at least once a generation, normally to tease the following generation:
  • Generation 2
    • Ho-Oh appears in the anime's very first episode. Togepi, Marill, and Snubbull also appear before the cast gets to Johto and Donphan shows up in a small battle in the opening of the first movie. Lugia, Slowking, Elekid, Bellossom, Ledyba, and Hoothoot appear in the Orange Islands arc.
  • Generation 3
    • Kecleon first shows up about halfway through the Johto region and Wynaut, Blaziken, Seedot, Shroomish, Lotad, Zigzagoon, Wingull, and Pelipper all show up at the tail end of Johto. Azurill, Wailmer, Duskull, and Volbeat were shown off first in shorts prior to movies, and Latios and Latias were the stars of Pokémon Heroes.
  • Generation 4
    • Munchlax was first shown in Destiny Deoxys, Lucario, Bonsly, Weavile, and Mime Jr. in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Manaphy, Mantyke, Buizel, and Chatot in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, and Electivire in the last Gen 3 episode.
  • Generation 5
    • Zorua and Zoroark were first shown in Zoroark: Master of Illusions. Additionally, a cap worn by one of the movie's characters has the silhouette of a Woobat on it.
  • Generation 6
    • Sylveon first debuted in the short prior to Genesect and the Legend Awakened and Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Evolution as a whole debuted in the same movie. Helioptile, Gogoat, and Noivern debuted at the tail end of the Gen 5 season.
    • The original airing in Japan of Mega Rayquaza's debut was three weeks prior to the launch of the Gen 3 remakes.
  • Generation 7
    • The only Pokémon to debut from this generation prior to the new anime season was the mythical Magearna in the movie Volcanon and the Mechanical Marvel.
• Powerpuff Girls Z:
  • Princess Morbucks was the last of the Rogues Gallery to be introduced in the original cartoon, debuting in its Season 2 premiere. Her anime counterpart, Himiko Shirogane, makes an Early-Bird Cameo in the Pilot before the rest of the canonical Rogues Gallery sans Mojo Jojo were even introduced, though he still makes her formal introduction after Fuzzy Lumpkins'. And speaking of which...
  • Fuzzy Lumpkins plays with this. He technically first appeared in a pre-series short along with the Amoeba Boys and the Gangreen Gang, but in the original cartoon proper he was the sixth recurring villain introduced after Mojo Jojo, Sedusa, HIM, the Amoeba Boys, and the Gangreen Gang. In this anime he was the third introduced after Mojo Jojo and Princess Morbucks, second formally since Princess' first appearance was an Early-Bird Cameo.
  • Brick and Boomer of the Rowdyruff Boys immediately have their post resurrection (they are spared here) hairstyles instead of donning their initial ones.
• Two instances in the Pretty Cure All Stars series:
  • In DX 2, Itsuki and Yuri show up in a crowd shot, the movie airing prior to their appearances in the show, though Yuri's something of an exception.
  • In New Stage 3, Cure Honey shows up to lend a hand twice. The movie aired two weeks prior to her official appearance.
• In the anime of Reborn! (2004), Tsuna passes by Ryohei, Yamamoto, and Hibari when he is running to catch up with Kyoko.
• Reign of the Seven Spellblades:
  • In the novel (and manga), Luther Garland and Richard Andrews didn't appear until the first day of class after orientation. The anime adaptation gives them both Early Bird Cameos in the pilot episode (Garland briefly introduces Headmistress Esmeralda during orientation, while Andrews appears in a couple of scenes but has no lines), which rolls credits early in the morning before class.
  • In the novel, Teresa Carste wasn't introduced until the epilogue of the first volume (chapter 15 of the manga). The anime adds a scene in the pilot episode where she briefly meets Oliver outside his dorm and introduces herself to him, and a second similar scene in episode 2.
  • The novels and manga introduce Tullio Rossi, Stacy Cornwallis, and Fay Willock all in the same scene where Rossi proposes a dueling tournament between the first-years. The anime introduces all three of them an episode early: Stacy and Fay appear in an early scene where they walk by the Sword Roses on their way to morning class, while Rossi appears in The Stinger and monologues about how much the Sword Roses annoy him.
• Rosario + Vampire: In the manga, Ruby Tojou didn't appear until the arc immediately preceding the defeat of Kuyou and the Student Police, and never even met Kuyou until near the end of Season II when he reappears as a member of Fairy Tale. The anime changed the order the story arcs it was adapting so that Ruby appears before Kuyou does; she later shows up to rally Moka and the rest of the Newspaper Club to fight back against Kuyou and save Tsukune from him.
  • Similarly, Mizore's first manga appearance happens one arc after Ruby's introduction. In the anime, she already joins the Newspaper Club before they go on the trip where they would meet Ruby for the first time. Mizore herself never meets Kuyou in the manga.
  • In the manga, Yukari appears after the Swimming Club incident and after Ginei's introduction. In the anime, she appears before either of them.
• Sailor Moon Crystal has a slight tendency to tease characters before they appeared in the Sailor Moon manga, a perk of adapting an already-finished story.
  • Ami has a brief appearance at the end of the first episode, running to get out of the rain. In the original Sailor Moon manga, she didn't appear until Act 2.
  • Rei shows up briefly at the very end of the second episode with some shots focusing on her shrine. It also foreshadows her Psychic Powers. She didn't appear in the manga until Act 3.
  • In the most drastic example, Luna's human form makes an appearance toward the end of the first season. This form didn't appear until a short story published around the same time as the Infinity arc (third season) and didn't appear in the manga proper until the fifth and final arc, Stars.
  • On that subject, there are brief appearances by Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune in a flashback scene in Season 1, two whole seasons before they debut. It’s even more drastic because this scene is the first thing shown in the original dub, and by the time they got to that season, the dubbing company had changed.
• School-Live!:
  • Played with when it comes to Taroumaru. Chronologically he was a Posthumous Character by the time the manga started however this wasn't revealed until several chapters in. In the anime, which starts In Medias Res from the manga, he is an Ascended Extra.
  • Played straight with Miki. She doesn't meet the club until several chapters in, however the anime has her around from the get-go and her early scenes are treated as flashbacks. This created some trouble due to Megu-nee's reveal of being Dead All Along happening before Miki joined the club in the manga, but the anime had to tip-toe around the issue for several episodes while the manga never pretended Megu-nee was alive (and, as mentioned, Miki gets into fights about how the others aren't helping Yuki by supporting her delusions).
• Shaman King: In the Manga, Horohoro first appeared in chapter 32 after Yoh's fight with Silva. The 2001 Anime however introduced him in Episode 10 long before the Story Arcs where Ryu meets Tokagero and Yoh learns the power of Oversouls were adapted yet.
• Solo Leveling:
  • The first episode of features appearances from several characters who would not debut until much later in the story. The episode begins In Medias Res during the Jeju Island Raid which occurs midway through the story (being the first season finale of the manhwa), and so features prominent early appearances from S-rank hunters Baek Yoonho, Min Byung-gu, and Choi Jong-in. The episode also features original scenes featuring early appearances from the Chairman of the Hunters' Association Go Gun-hee (who also acts as the narrator), S-rank hunter Cha Hae-in (who ends up stopping a robbery), and Yoo Jinho and Han Song-yi (who are in the process of assessing their ranks as hunters).
  • The third episode has an early appearance from minor Arc Villain Kang Taeshik, who replaces the agent accompanying Jinchul when he debriefs Jinwoo. It also has a brief appearance from Park Heejin, who appears alongside Yoonho and other hunters from the White Tiger Guild when they arrive at the double dungeon and recover the unconscious Jinwoo when in the source material she did not appear until the Ice Slayers dungeon. Lastly, when Jinwoo enters the instance dungeon at the end, he briefly fights a few goblins, which in the novel only appeared around the same time as Taeshik as the monsters of the dungeon where he was fought.
  • The fifth episode has an original scene in the White Tiger Guild headquarters that features an early appearance from Kim Chul, the A-rank White Tiger Guild hunter Jinwoo is forced to kill and later raise as the shade Iron. Like Heejin, in the source material he does not appear until the Ice Slayers dungeon.
• In the Soul Eater manga, we first see Sid after he's zombified and fights Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki. In the anime we see him an episode earlier, before he became a zombie, in a scene added to the anime where Soul and Black Star try to find out about Kid. Likewise, we see Harvar, Ox, Kilik, Pot of Fire, Pot of Thunder, and Hiro in the fourth episode of the anime instead of some unnamed background characters, as all of them were shown significantly later in the manga.
• In Space Battleship Yamato 2199, the White Comet Empire shows up as early as episode 9, when the original series didn't reveal their existence until the second season.
• In Stitch!, Angel (Experiment 624) makes a cameo in the first episode "Ichariba Chodei" as a vision in Stitch's daydream and makes her first proper appearance in the sixth episode "Angel's Flight", whereas in the Western Lilo & Stitch: The Series, she doesn't appear until that show's thirtieth episode, in the last third of season one. This also extends to her second major appearances; her only other major appearance in The Series is "Snafu", the penultimate aired episode of the show, which first aired just before finale film Leroy & Stitch in 2006. In the anime, her second of several more appearances was "Foxy Beige", the twelfth episode.
• In Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Garrard and Hazel make their anime debut in Episode 30, which takes place between Chapter 20 and 21, rather than their canonical debut at the end of Chapter 31.
• Tekken: Bloodline:
  • The series is an adaptation of Tekken 3, but also features Steve Fox and Craig Marduk (both introduced in Tekken 4), Feng Wei (introduced in Tekken 5) and Leroy Smith (introduced in Tekken 7).
  • The series oddly features a number of early outfit appearances too. Ling Xiaoyu, Nina Williams and King all wear their outfits from Tekken 5, while Julia Chang sports her Tekken 7 design.
• The manga adaptation of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
  • Nia is shown right after Kamina, Yoko, Leeron, and Simon leave Ritoona Village. There's also some Early-Bird Ship Tease for Dayakka/Kiyoh and Rossiu/Kinon.
  • In Gurren-Hen, Guinble makes an appearance just after the destruction of the Doten-Kaizan. He looks (appropriately enough) younger than he did in the original series.
  • In Lagann-hen, the Anti-Spiral's face briefly appears on the moon's surface just as Nia accepted Simon's marriage proposal.
• In the reboot of Tokyo Mew Mew, Tokyo Mew Mew New, the chronological order of the Mews is changed so that Mint is the first Mew rather than Ichigo.
• Trigun Stampede
  • A shot of Millions Knives is seen in the first episode, and he terrorises Jenora Rock's inhabitants in person by the third, compared to his much later debut in the original manga and anime. Much of Vash's backstory is also made known to the audience from the beginning.
  • Livio the Double Fang and Elendira the Crimsonnail, two characters who didn't even exist in the manga yet at the time the 1998 Trigun anime was made, show up before we even meet the Bad Lads Gang.
  • Episode 12 establishes that lore-wise, Meryl and Wolfwood have entered Vash's life much earlier than they did in previous iterations of the story, being witness to the infamous July incident that gave Vash his $$60 billion bounty. Likewise, many other familiar plot points have been transplanted into happening just prior to and in the aftermath of July, including Vash taking on the pseudonym Eriks and staying with a girl named Lina.
  • The voice of Chronica, a character who in the manga doesn't show up until the final story arc, is heard as a mysterious transmission in space two years after the July incident.
• The anime adaptation of Urusei Yatsura gets most of the cast assembled way before the manga did. This means that episodes adapted from specific chapters sometimes had to rework the plots to account for characters that weren't yet in the story when the manga was written. The same holds true for the 2022 reboot, which, for instance, introduces Sakura and Mendo (who debuted in chapters 4 and 11, respectively) in the second episode, and Kurama (who debuted in chapter 16) at the end of the third.
• In the anime adaptation of Vinland Saga:
  • Thorkell shows up in the added Action Prologue set during the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, instead of appearing halfway through the first arc. The Battle itself is also an example as it first shows up in a flashback of Floki's in the third arc (interestingly, Floki does not appear in the action prologue).
  • The last moments of the anime is an anime-original montage that features characters that become important in arcs two and three of the manga, namely Einar, Gudrid and Hild.
• The first season of Virtua Fighter introduces Lion Rafale and Shun Di, who appeared in the second game in the video game series.
• In the manga adaption of Rusty's arrival in ThunderClan during Warrior Cats, Ravenpaw is in the camp. In the book, he didn't appear until later.
• The anime of Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl added a date scene with Yawara in the park with Kazamatsuri (who's trying to avoid all the girls he stood up) in episode #6. One of them (the one in the boat) is Yoko Nanda, who won't join the main cast until MUCH later (like, after the part that's come to the USA). Nanda's defining characteristic WAS her bad luck with men, so it works rather well.
• In Toei's Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Ryou Bakura appears before Monster World, where he was introduced in the manga.

---