Summary
- Some anime switch genres unexpectedly, like Vinland Saga Season 2, creating remarkable experiences.
- Shows like Shadow Star Narutaru and Yu Yu Hakusho shift genres to surprise and elevate the story.
- Series like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Neon Genesis Evangelion undergo dramatic genre shifts for impact.
Watching an anime that has represented itself as one thing and then switches things up can be a very jarring experience and sometimes pretty funny too. There are some shows that draw a watcher in with a supposed premise and then pull the rug out from under them.
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When anime does this, it could make for a remarkable experience. It can also go oh so very wrong, but when it is done well, it can elevate the anime to new heights. This is done to either deconstruct the show or genre in question, or just for plain old entertainment, but it is almost always surprising.
8 Shadow Star Narutaru
The Most Deceptive Show
Shadow Star Narutaru
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2003 - 2003-00-00
- Network
- Kids Station
- Directors
- Toshiaki Iino
- Seasons
- 1
Shadow Star Narutaru has one of the most deceptive opening sequences ever. It has a cute crayon aesthetic with kids and cutesy creatures that are playing around with them. It follows Tamaii who meets a creature called Hoshimaru while staying with her grandparents.
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After a relaxing first episode that seems to establish the show as a playful Pokemon-like show, it starts to devolve into a horror show as it turns out that Tamaii isn’t the only child being visited by strange creatures, and they aren’t as nice as Hoshimaru.
7 Yu Yu Hakusho
The Classic Shonen Did Hop Around A Bit, Genre-Wise
Yu Yu Hakusho
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1992 - 1994-00-00
- Seasons
- 4
- Studio
- Pierrot
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Yoshihiro Togashi
- Number of Episodes
- 112
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.46
When starting Yu Yu Hakusho and seeing Yuusuke die while helping out a little kid from an oncoming vehicle, one would be forgiven for believing that this was a drama/supernatural show about a boy trying to get his body back.
At first, it is exactly this, but as things unfold, Yuusuke does get his body back — and the genre shifts to a sort of mystery show as he becomes a spirit detective. Then later on, it shifts again to a more traditional battle shonen as a dynamic tournament arc unfolds.
6 Negima!? Magister Negi Magi
From A Generic Harem To An Action-Packed Battle Shonen
Negima!? Magister Negi Magi
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2006 - 2008-00-00
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Shaft, GANSIS
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Ken Akamatsu
- Number of Episodes
- 38
- Streaming Service(s)
- HIDIVE
- MyAnimeList Score
- 6.93 (Negima!? Magister Negi Magi)
Negima!? Magister Negi Magi is about a boy who finds himself in a classroom full of girls, and from there, hijinks ensue. This feels like a typical harem show with ecchi elements as there is plenty of fanservice to be had, but then Negima faces off with an enemy, and things start to shift.
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After fighting a vampire, the show starts to focus more and more on classic battle shonen tropes, complete with transformations and power-ups. In the blink of an eye, the show completely shifts into another genre, with the girls in Negima’s class becoming bonafide warriors.
5 Samurai Flamenco
Things Get Really Wild As The Story Goes On
Samurai Flamenco
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2013 - 2014-00-00
- Seasons
- 1
There are some shows where the stakes start off relatively low and then amp up to become insanely huge later on. Samurai Flamenco does just that, but it also shifts in its genre while doing so. It starts as a parody on sentai stories, with the protagonist Masayoshi trying to become a hero, but it soon becomes the very thing it parodies.
The show’s genre shift to a full-on sentai action show from something more akin to a comedy was sudden and quite shocking to many. Soon, Masayoshi was not simply dealing with low-level criminals, but the fate of the entire world.
4 Puella Magi Madoka Magica
One Of The Most Popular Genre Shifts
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2011 - 2011
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Shaft
- Japanese Title
- Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
- Creator
- Magica Quartet
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.37
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the most recognizable magical shows ever done, and it was the platform on which Gen Urobuchi became a household name. It starts off as a simple magical girl story with a girl gaining powers and making her dreams come true.
The genre shifts dramatically, and suddenly, the audience starts to witness a rather bleak psychological thriller where the dreamy magical girl scenario starts to show that things aren’t quite as they seem. Puella Magi Madoka Magica pulls this off to great effect, and many consider Madoka Magica as one of the best genre deconstruction shows out there.
3 Neon Genesis Evangelion
Many Forget It Didn’t Start Out This Way
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1995 - 1996
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Gainax, Tatsunoko
- Japanese Title
- Shinseiki Evangelion
- Number of Episodes
- 26
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.35
- Creator(s)
- Hideaki Anno
With the huge popularity of Neon Genesis Evangelion, few remember that it started out as a simple monster of the week anime. Yes, the premise was always a little dark, but it wouldn’t be the first action show to feature some discomfort.
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But, around the midway point, Evangelion became something else, more psychological, with a greater focus on the internal workings of the human being. It is one of the most important anime ever made, but if it had continued along the lines of its initial presentation, it would probably have remained just a decent action anime.
2 Reborn!
It Changed Genres To Save Itself
Reborn!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2006 - 2010-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 8
- Studio
- Artland
- Japanese Title
- Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
- Based On
- Manga
- Number of Episodes
- 203
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu, Pluto TV, Amazon Freevee
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.12
- Creator(s)
- Akira Amano
When the adventures of Tsunayoshi Sawada started out, most watchers thought they were being presented with an amusing, slightly bland, gag anime with a rather strange plot featuring a baby who also happened to be a hitman (and a legendary one at that).
However, a little later into the plot of Reborn!, the genre shifts, revealing an incredible battle shonen complete with power structures and huge battles. Reborn! Had been losing popularity for some time and was in danger of getting the axe when the mangaka, Amano Akira, decided to switch genre, after which the manga became more successful.
1 Gintama
The Best Of Both Worlds
Gintama
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2006 - 2021-00-00
- Seasons
- 11
- Studio
- Sunrise, Bandai Namco Pictures
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Hideaki Sorachi
- Number of Episodes
- 367
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.93 (Season 1)
Gintama doesn’t make a genre switch just once throughout its run; it does it several times over the course of the story. Gintama is one of the funniest gag anime out there, but with a premise that features a strong samurai and other very capable characters, it had all the potential to create some mesmerizing action, and that was exactly what it did.
Gintama mostly focused on the laughs, but from time to time would introduce an arc that was all about the action and fights, and those were some of the best action stories out there. Whatever genre Gintama was going for, it did it in spades!
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