text: [[quoteright:300:[[Manga/MahouSenseiNegima http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NegimaBeforeAfter.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:300:[-Wait a minute, wasn't this supposed to be a {{harem|Genre}} comedy? [[TookALevelInBadass I-is that the same little boy]]?-][==]]]->''(a montage of people driving in cars)''\\'''Narrator:''' I am your permit, your license, your permission to drive. I am a privilege, and an obligation... Your obligation to drive skillfully, carefully, and legally.->''(Someone suddenly gets into a car crash, with quick cuts to up-close shots of innocent bystanders reacting, before settling on a long shot of a traffic light in a fog of smoke.)''\\'''Josh Way:''' Suddenly, Creator/FritzLang's directing! ...(sigh) It's no time to get arty, movie.-->-- "''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe9043jM1vk Fun With Shorts: Your Permit to Drive]]''"The weird cousin of ExecutiveMeddling, except it can be planned in advance by the writers.Controversial or extremely different ideas are very hard to get past sponsors and audiences suspicious of anything new and unfamiliar. An easy if sneaky way around this is merely to present the beginning of the story as something familiar. However, once the main plot kicks in, your audience is hopefully loyal enough not to notice the quick shift in tone and pacing. If you did it well, in hindsight they might notice little hints you dropped about what was to come. As a side effect, the story will probably also undergo MoodWhiplash.Genre Shifts are sometimes used in {{Sequel}} stories.Genre Shifts sometimes occur at the ends of a series when the writers finally get around to [[WriterOnBoard soapboxing their opinions]]. Many fluffy, over-the-top comedies will suddenly find their last episode making an attempt at drama. On the other hand, some cutesy or romance-based stories can experience Genre Shift simply because they start running so long the writer figured if they have to derail the original plot, they might as well do it with something creative.It ''is'' possible for this to work, as long as the creators know what they're doing, and it can pay off quite well at times. Usually, however, this requires planning it from the start, allowing the writers to [[{{Foreshadowing}} set up the genre shift]] ahead of time so it doesn't feel like it comes [[AssPull out of nowhere]]. Because of their sudden onset, Genre Shifts motivated by ExecutiveMeddling are likely doomed.Even worse is if a genre shift is used as [[DeusExMachina the solution to a plot point]], which just feels tacky.If this happens one time only in a series before reverting back to the main genre, it's an OutOfGenreExperience. If it happens before the work is released to the public, it's a case of MidDevelopmentGenreShift.Not to be confused with ArtShift, GenreRoulette or GenreTurningPoint. Compare with ToneShift and CerebusSyndrome.----!!Examples:[[foldercontrol]][[folder: Anime and Manga]]* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' started off as a lighthearted action adventure series where many characters learn to take mercy on their enemies in the end. The arc focusing on Kurapika was noticeably more grimdark & intense, but goes back to normal with Greed Island. This goes out the window with the Chimera Ants; suddenly it's blood, gore, cannibalism, everything is a life or death situation. It's like it went from 90s Shounen to 80s Seinen.* ''LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokuroChan'' season one was a comedy that focused on over-the-top cartoonish gore. The 2ed season had no violence, but became an unwanted harem with comedy akin to ''Eiken'', ''Anime/PuniPuniPoemi'', & the last episode of ''Anime/ExcelSaga''.* The ''Manga/BlackButler'' franchise does this in both incarnations. The anime & manga both start out as shounen horror. The 2ed season of the anime is BL shoujo. After the Circus arc of the manga, the series seems to focus on movie parodies (''Film/{{Titanic}}'' or ''Film/GhostShip'', [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]], ''Franchise/HarryPotter'') & sports. Either way, there's a lot less boobs & more fanservice for the ladies.* The anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}} Reload'' & its follow-up differed from ''Gensoumaden Saiyuki'' is going from an action adventure series with nudity aimed at boys, to an adventure comedy with a few serious episodes aimed at women. While the tone of the manga did not shift, the franchise did migrate from a shounen genre to jousei.* ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'' the anime only covered the first half of the manga, which was a mystery comedy. In the 2nd half of the manga, a new bad guy shows up, an important character dies, & suddenly it's a gory horror survival.* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' started out as a supernatural story, then a supernatural crime drama, then a supernatural martial arts story, and ended up a supernatural psychological thriller.* A strange example occurs in the last ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi'' {{O|riginalVideoAnimation}}AV, a far-future prequel done in the format of a fairly serious drama instead of the show's usual bubblegum cuteness.* Naturally, ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' also surprised many fans ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids and parents]]) at its increasingly grimdark tone as the show went on. To be specific, it starts as a MonsterOfTheWeek [[RealRobotGenre giant robot series]] (albeit in a dark post-apocalyptic setting with clearly troubled characters) and ends up as a full-blown CosmicHorrorStory that is at the same time an extended philosophical and psychological treatise. It's so much of a genre shift that even the plot itself essentially fades away at the end, to the point where after the last two episodes, you're asking yourself "What did I just watch?" Even after so many years, [[GainaxEnding people still differ widely in their interpretation of the last two episodes.]] And then comes the movie to supposedly "rectify" the ending and give you closure... where all hell breaks loose and cranks every last horrible aspect that the second half of the series adopted to a soul-crushing threshold. It's so violent and disturbing, you'd better be on morphine while watching it.* ''Anime/MaiHime'' starts out looking like a postmodern take on the MagicalGirl genre, then [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne turns into something disturbingly like]] ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}''.* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', as pictured. This was actually invoked by the author. He wanted to do an action-manga but the executives wanted another fun harem series. So, he started with the fun harem and slowly started stripping bits away until it became what he wanted in the long run.* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', in its first season, was about a magical ballerina princess/therapist restoring emotions to her love interest. The second season revealed it just wasn't like a fairytale, and it turned into a dark, epic struggle against the sadistic author trying to wreck his character's lives. In other words, a slightly different type of fairytale.* Similarly, ''Manga/LoveHina'' became prone to Road Trip arcs as the series lingered and most of the romantic misunderstandings had been resolved. These were apparently brief but enjoyed changes of pace for the author, as the later series ''Negima'''s framework allows them to be used more extensively.* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'''s long run is likewise affected by this. Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship is paradoxically so far along while also being stunted that most chapters are about their quirky slice-of-life adventures rather than a romantic manga. Meanwhile, the series, in manga more than other forms, also has a tendency to dip into being a magical action show as opposed to a romantic comedy. Later manga story arcs have come to focus more on conflicts between the angels and the demons which tend to result in epic battles and intense situations wherein just a few chapters before, [[MoodWhiplash everyone was just fighting over what to watch on TV!]]* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' combines an initial genre subversion (a magical girl show pitched specifically at a male audience) with a genre shift halfway through the series. And then it goes from Shonen-Magical Girl to Military Action-Magical Girl with ''strategy'' in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS StrikerS]]''. Eventually, the series completely dropped the "Magical Girl" title in the manga ''Magical Wars Lyrical Nanoha Force.'' Even Vivid, which superficially appears to be a return to the cute magical girl fodder of the first series, is filled to the brim with fighting and martial arts related tropes, making it something of a genre "bait and switch" that at times comes off more as a Shonen fighting series than a magical girl series.* Parodied in ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', which changed to a new genre in nearly every episode (sci-fi, war drama, romantic comedy, horror, etc.), which it also parodied. And then the 2 penultimate episodes were straightforward drama/suspense/action eps.* ''Anime/SoukouNoStrain'' had a first episode much like a {{shojo}} series, and though its marketing in the BishoujoSeries-focused ''Megami Magazine'' could predict that that would change, no one predicted its quick shift to angst and its new motto in AnyoneCanDie.* Genre shift is the point behind ''Anime/AbenobashiMahouShoutengai''.* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' went through most of the {{anime}} as an over-the-top {{parody}} of {{Shoujo|Demographic}} drama, but in the last few episodes became more of a shojo drama with jokes added.* One may be excused for thinking that ''Manga/{{Guyver}}'' is a typical school-based shonen anime after the first few issues/episodes. But this changes pretty rapidly when [[spoiler:the school is blown up by either Zoanoids or Guyver 2, depending on what medium you prefer]] and Sho is almost never seen in school again.* ''[[VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork Rockman EXE]]''[=/=]''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior'' shifted from computer-based Mons to some kind of weird Sentai variant right around season 3, and completely gave up on its computer origins in season 4, with the advent of Cross Fusion. It forced the human protagonists to merge with their partners and fight themselves, at which point the Mons were rarely seen again. This is one of the reasons season 4 is disliked among the fanbase. Then, in season 5, it switched from computer {{Mon}}s to normal Mons when an AlternateUniverse setting made it impossible to Cross Fusion but forced Navis to be summoned into material space instead.* In the first few episodes (both in the Anime and Manga) of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', a reluctant teen fights ghosts (Hollows) [[MonsterOfTheWeek in a series of unconnected locations.]] However, once Ichigo travels to the Shinigami world, the series completely abandons ghostbusting in favor of high-power duels between [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil progressively more powerful rivals.]] Additionally, the series replaces its largely simplistic good spirit/bad spirit dichotomy with increasingly complicated plots, intrigue, and a much larger cast. Also, the first movie, ''Memories of Nobody'' ended up being somewhat of a [[WhamEpisode Wham Movie]] to those used to the dragging plot lines of the series, with a much different tone still.* The OVA ''Anime/{{Moldiver}}'' spends three episodes as a gender-bending superhero send-up before abruptly switching into a serious drama in the final two episodes.* While ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' generally keeps to being an action series with elements of horror and mystery, each of the shorter "Parts" which make up the whole of the series is of different genre. From earliest to latest these are classic horror, Indiana Jones style adventure around the world, a travel story, a small-town murder mystery, a mobster story, a prison drama, a western and finally another mystery story, this time with elements of a conspiracy story.* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', though it does show a number of demons at the beginning of the anime and a fight with demonic BloodKnight Nosferatu Zodd early on in the anime, goes from grim and gritty medieval fantasy into straight up horror in the final episodes when [[spoiler: Griffith makes his DealWithTheDevil and becomes DarkMessiah Femto, and the demons start coming ''en masse'' to rip apart the members of the Band of the Hawks who Griffith has marked out for sacrifice]]. Since both Guts and Casca are marked with the Godhand's [[MagneticPlotDevice Brand of Sacrifice]] as a result of Griffith's betrayal, both of them have to deal with the monsters from that point forward, and they soon become Guts' primary enemies.** Also before Guts' group meets Schierke, they find a man who was attacked by trolls while searching for a witch. Serpico {{lampshades}} that this had more of a fairy tale atmosphere to it, and that its nice that they've gotten a break from fighting horrible monsters.* The ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' series (both the original light novels and the anime) begins as a comedy series that, while featuring a very eccentric protagonist in GenkiGirl Haruhi, was still a fairly realistic SliceOfLife comedy. Then the aliens, time travelers, and psychics start turning up, and we get the big reveal that [[spoiler:Haruhi is [[TheOmnipotent God]] (or at least the next best thing), and her subconscious desires can warp reality, or even destroy the universe if she becomes bored enough. And then the STABBING and sci-fi battles begin...]] It actually remains a SliceOfLife comedy for the most part, but it's slices of much weirder lives than we originally thought.* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle''. It starts out as standard fairly light shonen fare, then takes an extremely abrupt left turn in Tokyo onto MindScrew Way towards Drama Town.* In general, Creator/{{CLAMP}} seems rather fond of doing this. It's happening also to ''Manga/XxxHOLiC'' in a rather similar way.* ''Manga/NaruTaru''. It initially shows signs of being a lighthearted, female version of ABoyAndHisX, only to suddenly change into a dark, depressing series with lots of horrible things.* ''Manga/DGrayMan'' has evolved somewhat from being a {{Horror}} Gothic {{Shonen|Demographic}} series to more of a... normal {{Shonen|Demographic}} series. Oddly enough, if the [[NightmareFuel/DGrayMan Nightmare Fuel page]] is to be believed, the switch from horror-style MonsterOfTheWeek plots to a more complicated storyline has actually made it a lot ''more'' scary.* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' had a ''major'' shift after 9 volumes of seemingly unrelated, silly fluff. It changes from a slapstick comedy to a SaveTheWorld Shonen series exactly from the point that Tsuna meets [[StrawNihilist Rokudo Mukuro]] onwards. From that instance on, Tsuna becomes much more serious and less of a ButtMonkey - this seems to have pleased the fangirls.* ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays''. The anime starts out as a typical romantic comedy, then slowly takes a turn for the worse, going into horror at the end. This can sometimes contrast with the original novel, which also begins as a romantic comedy before becoming more of a drama, but the horror-ridden bad endings only happen if you handle things [[EarnYourBadEnding really, really badly]].* ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'' is a comedy series with a touch of sci-fi for the first two-thirds or so. Then it becomes serious sci-fi with a touch of comedy for the remainder of the series.* ''Manga/OnaniMasterKurosawa'' is perhaps another poster child of this. It starts off as ''Manga/DeathNote'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY with]] [[ADateWithRosiePalms fapping]] (yes, ''seriously'') but then after a certain WhamEpisode the main character decides he'd rather be [[Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye Holden Caulfield]] than Light Yagami.* ''Manga/MedakaBox'' underwent a shift not unlike that of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', except far more sudden. It was a quirky series talking about the adventures of a GodModeSue and her harem, with just a bit of fighting here and there, for about 14 chapters. Then (probably as was planned from the beginning, considering swiftness of the change), [[KnightOfCerebus the first character with superpowers to match said Sue appeared]], and heralded a very swift change into a bloody, DarkerAndEdgier fighting series, with swiftly escalating power levels. As the series nears it's end ([[DangerouslyGenreSavvy if the villain is to be believed]]), this would indeed appear to have been the point, as it's now come full circle back to the original plotline, except much changed from all the fighting and genre savviness that arose from the first shift.* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' - at least, the later novels. Directly {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the author, who mentions that he's changing the series to have a darker, more depressing feel.* The plot of ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'' has come along way from the RomanticComedy[=/=]MonsterOfTheWeek story it once was, and while it remains an UnwantedHarem series, it is a very nonstandard one. [[UnluckyEverydude Tsukune]] received a major NextTierPowerUp, complete with a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide troublesome]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity alter-ego]] and some BodyHorror. Even the romance has gotten [[{{Deconstruction}} deeper and less comedic]]. Overall, the current series is much DarkerAndEdgier, and leans more heavily on shonen action these days.* The ''Manga/TriGun'' anime started as a humorous, lighthearted western with sci-fi elements, with a bit of mystery sprinkled throughout (courtesy of Vash, the show's protagonist). That all changed with the episode "Diablo." Suddenly, Trigun became DarkerAndEdgier, the comedic moments were few and far between, and the show was much more plot oriented. In this case, the shift worked very well, since the second half fleshed out details that were only teased in the first half. This happened because the anime took all the lighthearted and comedic parts of the manga, and used them in the first part. The manga version was a dramedy from the beginning - it became increasingly darker towards the end, but not to the point of complete mood shift.* The ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' Franchise/WhenTheyCry series starts off as a bloody horror show, much like a slasher flick, each arc unconnected from the others. The Second season, Higurashi Kai, turns it into a supernatural suspense with traces of an even an ''action'' series by the end, with the gorn of the first season all but gone, and focused now on conspiracies. Then there was Higurashi Rei, which goes from comedy to drama and then back to comedy. The {{O|riginalVideoAnimation}}VA, Higurashi Kira, aims to be comedy-fanservice. It makes sense since it's probably post-Kai [[spoiler:and thus none of the murder and mystery are in play anymore, since the everlasting June finished]]. Also, the Question arcs and some Answer arcs go from a comedic SliceOfLife to tragedy and death. * ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' starts off as an action-horror story about a [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction vampire hunting organization working for the British government]] who [[PsychoForHire employ a vampire of their own]], with a bit of mystery thrown in as they try to uncover a plot to artificially manufacture vampires. Once the primary villains, [[{{Ghostapo}} Millennium]], are properly introduced, the series evolves into a war epic depicting a huge three-way battle over London, with much [[ContemplateOurNavels introspection]] and many characters having to [[CharacterDevelopment rise to an enormous challenge]].* ''Manga/PhantomThiefPokemon7'' starts out as a quirky manga about a boy living a double life as a PhantomThief. It quickly turns into a dark, violent, adventure to save his sister from the unusually menacing Team Galactic. In the end it seems to turn into the original story, but in trio form. However it ended before anything came out of that.* ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'' changes genres each arc. They start as quirky adventures then turn more violent and team based.* ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'' is a lighthearted romantic action comedy. The second ''Tenchi Universe'' movie, ''Tenchi Forever'', is a serious romantic drama with little action or comedy.* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' started out as a DesertPunk mecha show with an extremely HotBlooded protagonist. Then roughly halfway through, it turned into a SpaceOpera.* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. Although the shift happens very early and there is heavy {{Foreshadowing}}. It does several shifts very casually when the elements are progressively revealed. [[spoiler:Kyubey also adds in an element of ScienceFiction and CosmicHorrorStory when he revealed that the Incubators are logical [[ClarkesThirdLaw aliens whose capabilities come from sufficiently advanced technology]], and are [[PoweredByAForsakenChild harvesting Magical Girls in an attempt to delay the death of the universe via Second Law of Thermodynamics]]. And then it decides to {{Reconstruct}} itself with a DeconReconSwitch of a GainaxEnding.]]* ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' shifts back and forth between action/supernatural and typical high school love story, though it stop shifting genre and generally gets worse in the later light novel version.* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' starts out as a somewhat grounded romantic comedy/action series with some semblance of an ongoing plot, but gradually turns into an increasingly wacky, episodic, sitcom-esque gag-fest punctuated by occasional "serious" story arcs.* ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' started off as a superhero parody, but eventually became more focusing on wrestling.* The second half of the 2nd OVA for ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'' switches from comedy/action into straight horror, borrowing elements from ''Literature/TheRing'', then suddenly switches back to comedy at the end.* The first half of ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' is a ComingOfAgeStory with {{Mon}}s. The latter half is CosmicHorrorStory...with {{Mon}}s.** Within the Franchise/{{Digimon}} franchise as a whole, Tamers is a genre shift from Adventure/Fantasy to Action/Sci-Fi.* ''LightNovel/IsThisAZombie'' is not so much this as a [[CerebusRollercoaster Genre Mix]], with regular moments of out-of-genre action. It's a {{Harem|Genre}} story about an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent average guy]] who happens to be a [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies zombie]] and accidentally gets a MagicalGirl's powers, complete with the Cute Dress. However, there is a [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank ridiculous amount of blood]], and at one point the protagonist defeats a [[GoodThingYouCanHeal multi-lived villain]] by {{chainsaw|Good}}ing her [[ImmortalityHurts to death]] [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap over and over again]] until she's back down to one life, complete with jets of blood and agonized screams.* This happens in ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', which switches very early on from an almost noir-like hospital drama to a horror story involving Neo-Nazis, espionage, and serial killers shortly after adult Johan shows up.* ''Anime/RingingBell'' starts off as a cute kid's movie about a baby lamb, but halfway through the film it turns into a dark tale of revenge.* Collectively, ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' gradually shift from a light-hearted comedic, sometimes tongue-in-cheek fantasy adventure series to a far more serious sci-fi martial arts series (with some fantasy elements thrown back in for the final arc). ''GT'' is somewhere in the middle.* This is a DownplayedTrope of sorts in ''Anime/CardfightVanguard''. Though it begins as a {{shonen|Demographic}} gaming series and remains one to the end, the majority of the first season was a completely mundane plot about some teenagers who hang out at a card shop after school, playing the eponymous card game. Then in episode 43, [[spoiler: Aichi develops {{Psy|chicPowers}}qualia, which can be described as playing on autopilot, which (almost) guarantees victory.]] Furthermore, it is revealed that the BigBad of the first season has had this ability all along. The show is never quite the same after that.* The ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' anime starts off as a sci-fi action series with it's first episode. After that, [[InMediasRes it goes back to the chronological beginning of the series]] and becomes a mafia drama as it goes into Brandon/Beyond the Grave and Harry's backstories, slowly reintroducing the sci-fi elements of the story until it becomes a sci-fi action series again.* The first half of ''Manga/ZetsuenNoTempest'' is extremely bleak and serious, with a GreyAndGrayMorality plot involving TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The second half abruptly becomes LighterAndSofter, with RomanticComedy elements. [[spoiler:Actually an InvokedTrope: the Tree of Genesis conquers the world during a TimeSkip and outlaws violent conflict.]] It drifts back into dark angstyness near the end, but [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a lot of people stop watching before they get that far]].* ''Manga/FairyTail'' seems to be shifting from being a straight shonen series (with extra fanservice) into a full-out battle ecchi. At the very least, there has undeniably been ''a lot'' more fanservice the past two years; even serious scenes have fanservice laced in nowadays. Take [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/fairy_tail/v35/c327/15.html this scene here]] with gratuitous {{Panty Shot}}s in the middle of a dramatic battle.** It's also noteworthy that at the start, Fairy Tail was typically shonen in its gender distribution. It did have a female SupportingProtagonist from chapter one and several interesting and competent female members of the guild in the early arcs, but most of the characters were still [[RatedMForManly manly men]] fighting and adventuring. Nowadays, there seems to an almost equal amount of male and female characters, but there are ''more'' girls than boys on the main characters' team, and because of {{Fanservice}}, the female characters (at least on the protagonists' side) generally get more screen time than the male characters, especially in non-action scenes. Since the series also has a certain amount of ShipTease, who knows if it is trying to drift into HaremSeries territory...* ''Manga/TheDaughterOfTwentyFaces'' starts off as a heist series about a young girl who joins a gang of thieves. Then, after a massive WhamEpisode [[spoiler: which results in the deaths of most of the cast]], the series becomes a detective show focusing on the girl's efforts to find [[spoiler: her missing mentor]]. * ''Manga/AnimalLand'' starts off as a simple story of a baby being raised by tanukis in the wild. Then after a few years, it turns into a story about the child trying to find a way to allow carnivores live alongside herbivores without starving in the small but ever growing animal utopia he created. When the child grows up, the manga turns into a straight up {{Shonen|Demographic}} wherein he commands herds of animals to fight against gigantic {{Animalistic Abomination}}s in order to change the CrapsackWorld they live in.* ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco'' started out as a realistic, slice-of-life comedy with the {{Deconstruction}} of the {{Tokusatsu}} genre. [[spoiler:Then, its WhamEpisode came where the MonsterOfTheWeek brutally kills people which led to the a full-fledged tokusatsu series]]. * ''Manga/YuGiOh'' is the opposite of most of these--it started out as a horror-comedy manga, with lots of action, torture, and death (all revolving around the theme of "games," most of them having nothing to do with the eventual card game tie-in). The protagonist is infamous for having set a man on fire... more than once. The villains ranged from bullies to actual murderers. The Genre Shift came as the card game got developed and marketed. Once the Duelist Kingdom arc (where the popular anime starts) begins, the emphasis is more on a single, bloodless game that's more easily marketable to children. Horror elements were still there but were rarer, especially in the 4kids dub that took pains to edit out anything involving guns, death, blood, etc.* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' started out very light-hearted mostly focusing on Yuya's attempt to become a pro with the dark elements in the background usually focused around the heroine, Yuzu. But since episode 7, foreshadowing kicked was into overdrive with the payoff being [[spoiler:an interdimensional war showing the realistic implications of forcing tenagers into a war. Especially Yuya who goes through numerious BreakTheCutie moments.]]* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' became the subject of this to an extent. During the first 10 or so volumes, it is a story of humans living within walls and fighting giant monsters that devoured humanity to near extinction, while trying to find out who are the enemies that apparently control said monsters from outside the walls. After the [[spoiler:Beast Titan]] arc though, the story has taken a more "political" turn with a faction war involving a coup d'�tat, more focus or ordinary citizens that are forced to take side and humans fighting each other, all of this painted with GreyAndGrayMorality, with nary a single titan in sight.[[/folder]][[folder: Comic Books ]]* During the tail end of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, many superhero characters were changed to civilian detectives, adventurers, horror hosts, etc, to accommodate the changing tastes of the reading public. Earlier, something similar happened to many non-superhero characters who went from pulp-style adventurers to pulp-style adventurers ''in tights''.** A character known as Phantom Falcon stands out because he went through both - he began as a non-costumed air ace, turned into a superhero after being presumed dead and then turned into a civilian detective.** The Crimson Avenger and Wing started off as {{Exp|y}}ies of Franchise/TheGreenHornet and Kato, complete with Wing wearing a [[BattleButler chauffeur's uniform]] and a DominoMask. When Franchise/{{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Robin}} started becoming more popular, the two became more traditional superheroes and started wearing proper costumes. ** The Black Hood gets an odd one in the very last issue of his Golden Age run when a villain unmasks him and he dropped the costume to become a civilian detective. The 'civilian detective' direction continued for a few back-up stories in Pep Comics.** Comicbook/TheSpectre went from being a dark supernatural hero to being a guardian angel for "Percival Popp, Super Cop!"** The original ''Comicbook/BlueBeetle'' title had the character in a FilmNoir setting and a CoatHatMask costume. He was later changed to a more traditional superhero, started wearing [[SuperheroesWearTights tights]], and now had superpowers granted to him by a magical scarab.** When the franchise was revived ''again'' in the 60's, Creator/SteveDitko killed off the original Comicbook/BlueBeetle and introduced his [[LegacyCharacter successor]], Ted Kord, who was more in line with the popular superheroes of the era like Franchise/SpiderMan and Franchise/{{Batman}}. * The initial ''Comicbook/StrangersInParadise'' miniseries was a {{Slapstick}} LoveTriangle comedy. When creator Terry Moore launched the ongoing series, he added a crime drama plot, and subsequent arcs alternated between this and the WillTheyOrWontThey love triangle story, which also took on a more serious tone. Then, about two-thirds of the way through, Moore wrapped up the criminal conspiracy plot and for the remainder of the series focused on the romance story which soon expanded into a LoveDodecahedron.* ''Savage'' started off as an AlternateHistory action series, with technology slightly more advanced than the present day. Around 2009 or 2010, it shifted to full-on ScienceFiction, with teleporting tigers and the predecessors of the ''ComicBook/ABCWarriors'' appearing.* ''Comicbook/CerebusTheAardvark'', which went from adventure-parody to straight-adventure, to... well, no one's quite sure ''what'' it ended up as.* This trope was probably the single biggest problem with ''Comicbook/NovasAventurasDeMegaMan'', an infamous Brazilian comic that [[ExecutiveMeddling Capcom actually authorized]] because TheyJustDidntCare, and that's saying quite a lot. The writers have actually ''admitted'' to changing the genre nearly every issue, because they wanted to see which sort of storylines the readers liked best. As such, one comic could be a flashback to a horrifying backstory about Roll's mind being taken from a young girl whom an evil scientist murdered for his mad robotics experiment, while another could be an anything goes, LargeHam comedy with NoFourthWall. By the time it settled into the action-adventure style of plot, most readers had probably dropped it in frustration.* ''Comicbook/MillieTheModel'' was a humor feature that became a romance-adventure in the mid-1960s, then shifted back to humor.* Likewise, fellow Marvel girl comic ''ComicBook/PatsyWalker'' went the romance-adventure route during the same time period. Amusingly, her books were cancelled around the time Millie's books shifted back. Oddly enough, the character herself went through a genre shift when she became a superheroine and member of both Comicbook/TheDefenders and ComicBook/TheAvengers. She no longer had a series at this point but the contrast was jarring.* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' started out as a horror comic firmly entrenched in Franchise/TheDCU, and gradually became a character-driven fantasy epic with only occasional {{continuity nod}}s to other DC characters.* Under Nunzio [=DeFilippis=] and Christina Weir, ''[[Comicbook/NewMutants New X-Men]]'' was essentially a teen drama WITH SUPERPOWERS! When Craig Kyle and Chris Yost took over, it rather abruptly (and with lots of StuffBlowingUp) became a more standard superhero comic.* Even though ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' was a fantasy magical girl comic series for young girls, it was supposed to be a ''lot'' darker. However, after the 2nd issue, Disney drastically altered the story and turned it into a really girly "happy fairy tale magical girl fantasy" comic. Here's a snippet from Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa's interview:--> "We conceived of "W.I.T.C.H." together with Elisabetta Gnone, the then director of girls publications for Disney. We worked for three years in secret on it and she then presented the project to the big bosses at Disney. They thought that this project was crazy, a sure-fire bomb, complete waste of time, and that mangas wouldn't have a chance in Europe anyway (!!!). However, we didn't let ourselves be led astray and worked for another year on it anyway, with a tiny budget and without publicity. And then the series became a worldwide hit. The official version from Disney is, of course, that "W.I.T.C.H." is a product of their brilliant, visionary marketing strategy...the end of the series was then taken out of our hands, we actually had something a lot more intelligent planned for it. Now, as you can see, Elisabetta Gnone and the two of us no longer work for Disney...a really sad story."* When atmospheric (and occasionally supernatural) western title ''ComicBook/JonahHex'' ended its eight-year run in 1985, DC published a followup series called ''Hex'', about the gunfighter getting sucked into a time rift and stranded in the post-apocalyptic 2050s.* ''Comicbook/AmeliaRules'' shifted from wacky comedy about a girl moving to a new town and making quirky friends to an emotional SliceOfLife ComingOfAgeStory about halfway through its run.* Creator/GrantMorrison seems to enjoy switching up or tweaking the genres of any previously-established characters he writes on, largely to reinvent the characters and "revitalize" the story. Some examples:** [[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Under his pen]] ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' shifted from a noir-style detective series with superhero styling to a ''Literature/DocSavage''-style, globe-trotting pulp adventure series. The plot changed from Batman fighting local crime in Gotham to Batman travelling the world to create a globalized crime-fighting force while trying to solve an AncientConspiracy.** In [[ComicBook/NewXMen his run]] on ''ComicBook/XMen'', he deliberately shifted the book away from the superhero genre, making it more of a general Sci-Fi adventure series. The plot changed accordingly, becoming about the X-Men dealing with mutant-related crimes and conflicts rather than fighting mutant-themed supervillains. [[/folder]][[folder: FanWorks]]* Fan Fiction in a meta sense is often done because a fan either wishes a series was a different genre or because they are curious to see what the story or the characters would be like in a different setting. Of course such stories can be anywhere from entertaining to terrible.* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': This story is a sequel to �A Throne of Bayonets�, a military fiction thriller set in a post-apocalyptic setting. ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'' adds a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy tropes, featuring physical gods, intergalactic empires, dimensional and time travelling, space-ships, power armours� the shift is so abrupt and unexpected than it adds coolness to the story.* ''Fanfic/TheWritingOnTheWall'' starts out as a story about AdventurerArchaeologist [[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Daring Do]] exploring an AncientTomb with a group of fellow archaeologists. The story proceeds as normal, using many of the usual tropes, including the protagonist's rival showing up, capturing them and the site, and trying to seize it for themselves. The ending reveals that everyone was WrongGenreSavvy about the place; it is not an AncientTomb at all, and the eponymous writing on the wall was not a curse meant to scare away tomb robbers, but a warning as to the dangers of disturbing what the place was built to contain, and it is actually a {{Horror}} story.* ''FanFic/RacerAndTheGeek'' is currently undergoing a transition from romcom to drama. Just compare [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/1/racer-and-the-geek/predawn this]] to [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/7/racer-and-the-geek/teatime this.]]* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/404359/1/Gaijin Gaijin]]'' started as a darkly comic SelfInsertFic in which the SI character was essentially Murphy's Law incarnate (''despite'' being more powerful than he had any right to be). Then he started disguising himself as Franchise/SpiderMan. Then more analogues of Marvel characters started appearing, such as the Fantastic Four and "Tako-sama" (DoctorOctopus)...* ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'' starts off as a fairly generic, albeit a little over-the-top, ''Literature/HarryPotter'' badfic with a typical MarySue protagonist and the [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls usual focus on relationships, clothing and teen popular culture]]. Then it gradually turns into a surrealistic mish-mash of fanfic clich�s and confused plot points involving such things as TimeTravel -- sort of like a badfic version of ''Series/{{Lost}}''.* ''Fanfic/UndocumentedFeatures'' started off as a joke, a corny self-insert fic in which college students launch part of their dormitory into space to fight anime villains. It quickly went GrimDark with the "Exile" plot, stabilized into an odd mash-up of science-fiction adventure, has intermittently gone SongFic, and has dipped into romantic fantasy with the "Symphony of the Sword" plot.* The Spanish-language ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fic called, unoriginally [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5125713/1/El_de_Haruhi_Suzumiya El ... de Haruhi Suzumiya]] starts out as your ordinary OC-with-[[SailorEarth new-powers]]-joins-the-SOS-Brigade fare, albeit with the twist that the OC's powers are rarely used. Then, the characters all graduate and join the [[AuthorAppeal military]] [[spoiler: [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] At that point, the genre shifts to war story and then to SpaceOpera, with the characters fighting [[HordeofAlienLocusts insectoid aliens]] who destroy one of Earth's cities. Might I add that the OC from earlier reappears with a [[{{Cyborg}} bionic arm]], and that their [[CasualInterstellarTravel faster-than-light]] spacecraft is so luxurious it has a ''[[SerialEscalation miniature shopping mall]]'' inside?]] The author expects his reviewers to understand what's going on, but he still has not provided a convincing explanation for the sudden shift in tone.* The ''Anime/CodeGeass'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4456924/1/ Code Geass: Infinity]]'' starts out as a regular FixFic AU, where [[spoiler: Shirley doesn't die and she helps Lelouch in the Black Knights; but then, when the fic starts to deal with the origins of Geass, the genre shifts to a Franchise/FinalFantasy-esque plot, where in the end Lelouch must battle an OneWingedAngel EldritchAbomination to save the world.]] The fic itself is [[SoOkayItsAverage not bad]] but if it were as complex as ''Fanfic/CodeGeassLelouchOfBritannia'', it could easily be the ''FanFic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' of the fandom.* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8896096/1/ The Biggest Fan]]'' starts as a parody of SelfInsert fics with a passionate but [[NiceGuy kind]] fan of the game wakes up in the body of Conrad Verner. [[spoiler:Then in the second chapter, the fic jumps into a full deconstruction with Conrad mourning the fact that he will never see his wife and this continues in the third chapter, with him becoming the CassandraTruth about the Reapers and starts to lose the memories of his life on the real word]].* ''Fanfic/SonicXDarkChaos'' starts out as a generic (if more violent) SpaceOpera like the original third season of ''Sonic X''. Then it turns into a CosmicHorrorStory.* Creator/HansVonHozel's ''Manga/{{Axis Powers Hetalia}}'' and ''Film/TheRoom'' fics abruptly turn to sci-fi in midstream.* ''[[FanFic/DumbledoresArmyAndTheYearOfDarkness A Peccatis]]'' keeps switching unpredictably between police procedural and political conspiracy thriller.* The writer of Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat stated it's The first half of the story is basically written in two parts: The first half of the story is much more focused on the Bat family in their personal, non-costumed lives, Cassandra�s being the most significant. The second half becomes more a more traditional action story. In a sense, the first half is more of a Cassandra story, while the second half is moreso a Batgirl/Angel story.[[/folder]][[folder:Film - Animated]]* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats: The Dog's Tale'' movie starts out as slapstick, then turns into an adventure film. * ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' starts off a soul searching Disney flick, moves into a parody of the "FirstPersonShooter" game, and then goes to "conspiracy move" when the stars land in "Sugar Rush".* ''Disney/TheLionKing'' has a particularly famous example of this trope. The first third or so focuses mainly on Simba's lighthearted escapades around his father's domain, with a tone and style typical of any Disney-made comedy. [[MoodWhiplash Then Scar kills Mufasa]] [[GutPunch and makes Simba think it was his own fault]]. The rest of the film becomes a practical drama that deals with Simba's guilt and his need to fulfill his destiny by kicking Scar off the throne of Pride Rock. [[HakunaMatata Though lighthearted elements are still present]].* ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'' starts out as a cheery musical film about cute talking dinosaurs, but about halfway through the film, it turns into an animated horror film about an evil scientist and his CircusOfFear.* ''Creator/DreamWorksAnimation'': Originally, Dreamworks focused on sweeping epics, and more serious stories such as ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. These unfortunately fell under the umbrella of ''AllAnimationIsDisney''. Now, barring some of their more [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda recent]] [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon efforts]], it can be hard to remember when their films weren't based primarily on pop-culture references and heavily marketed celebrity voice-acting. As alluded before, however, Dreamworks shifted once again, with its movies once more taking themselves seriously while remaining healthily comedic. While still not quite as serious as ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', the tone generally leans towards what was seen in ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado''.* The infamous ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' actually goes from a zany slapstick cartoon to a generic '90s cartoon film (with a generic plot to boot) within the first few minutes!* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' started out as a racing film; in 2 it became a action-spy film.[[/folder]][[folder:Film - Live Action]]* ''Film/{{Australia}}'' goes from screwball comedy to western to war movie throughout the film.* ''Film/{{Audition}}'' does this. The film starts out like a romance film, with a middle-aged widower holding a mock audition to find his perfect mate. Things go along this vein for quite a while, until brief scenes start popping up showing the man's "soul mate" alone and acting very creepy. The horror doesn't really start to kick in until after the halfway mark.* ''Film/WildThings'' starts out as a formulaic ClearMyName plot, complete with Bill Murray as a sleazy lawyer trying ThePerryMasonMethod... until the one hour mark. That's when it's revealed that the defendant was working with his accusers for a damages settlement, but they all have their own plans, which quickly create a JigsawPuzzlePlot.* ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' should end about 2/3 through, as technically Elle has accomplished her revised goal (instead of chasing Warner, she has become a serious person). Instead, she gets applied to a legal case. It's still a fun movie, and [[Theatre/LegallyBlonde the musical]] revises this by making Emmitt a legitimate romantic lead that you want Elle to be with at the end.* The original ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was a haunted house movie in space. ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', while retaining much of the horror elements of the previous film, is otherwise straight out [[ActionizedSequel sci-fi action]]... and it works perfectly. And then ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' shows a return to the haunted house style of the first film. And then another shift with ''Film/AlienResurrection'', which is actionized like ''Aliens''. And then ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' tones down both the horror and the action and instead becomes an intriguing, thought-provoking story about mankind's place in the universe and the eternal search for God, which is related somewhat tangentially to the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' films.* Similarly ''Film/PitchBlack'' was a Horror-action-adventure film with very Franchise/{{Alien}}s-esque creatures and a [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]]-esque Serial Killer who could see in the dark. The sequel, ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' is a fantasy story, making the serial killer (who now is no longer harmed by light whatsoever) the LastOfHisKind ProudWarriorRaceGuy being sought to protect the world from a Horrible Death Army, which has [[TheStarscream Uncertain members of its own ranks]], by a magical race of elementals and ending up on a fiery [[PenalColony Prison Planet]] like the one in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''.* The Oscar-winning film ''La Vita � bella'' (In English, ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful'') begins as a very charming, but rather generic romantic comedy, except that it happens to be set in Mussolini's Italy, and the characters are Jewish. Now, flash forward three years. The male and female leads are now married, have a son, and the Holocaust is about to start. Amazingly, it ''remains a comedy'', only with a different premise: the father starts telling his three-year-old son wild stories to protect him from the truth of what is happening.* One of the classic examples is ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', which begins as a dark crime drama about crooks on the lam kidnapping a dysfunctional family, but abruptly turns into a slapstick action movie with vampires over the course of a striptease.* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' is set in TheFifties and based on science fiction of that era. All three previous films were more heavily based on adventure serials of the pre-war period. This is disputed by some of the film's detractors who argue that it's just the same adventure serial formula from the first three films, except with a vague sci-fi element in it.* The movie ''Miracle Mile'' starts out as an indie romantic comedy. It ''sure'' doesn't end that way.* The 2007 film ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' starts out as a hard sci-fi film about a mission to reignite the dying sun. Then, at almost exactly the three-quarters mark, it suddenly becomes a horror film in space.* ''Film/EventHorizon'' also goes from near-future hard science fiction to Gothic horror that just happens to take place on a spaceship.* ''Film/HotFuzz'' spends the first half humorously {{deconstructi|on}}ng Nineties action film clich�s, and spends the second half [[{{Reconstruction}} playing every single one of those clich�s straight]].* ''Film/TheLostBoys'' begins as a bleak, played-straight vampire horror film and then takes on a humorous tone in the third act, with the teenage heroes spouting such lines as "Whoa, death by stereo!"* A pronounced shift occurs between the original ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' film, a parody of vampire horror flicks, and the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer subsequent TV series]] which, though it had its share of witty banter, was from the start a much darker and more dramatic effort with strong {{trag|edy}}ic elements. Creator/JossWhedon's original movie pitch was in fact more in keeping with the tone of the series, but ended up a comedy thanks to ExecutiveMeddling. In contrast, both the WB and the UPN networks allowed Whedon the creative freedom to realize his intended dramatic treatment. While the movie is not what Whedeon originally intended, the movie still has its fans, could be considered as one of the few cases where the ExecutiveMeddling didn't hurt the movie, and some fans think it actually helped.* ''Film/HollowMan''. Another ''sci-fi''-into-''thriller'' shift.* ''Film/{{Click}}'' started as a FantasticComedy, then very suddenly and very early turned into drama. [[NeverTrustATrailer Guess what part the ads were sampled from]].* ''Film/TheHangover'' and its first sequel were both gross-out comedies, but ''Film/TheHangoverPartIII'' is more of an action film with darkly comic elements thrown in.* This happens to the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' trilogy. The first film, ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'', is a more-or-less straightforward horror film. ''Film/EvilDead2'' is a strange hybrid of gory, serious horror, and slapstick comedy. ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'' drops almost all the horror and works instead as an action-comedy and managed to become the most popular film in the series. [[Film/EvilDead2013 The remake of the first film]] shifts back to that movie's gore-laden straight horror.* ''Film/{{Adaptation}}'', starring Creator/NicolasCage, starts as an amusing dramedy about a scriptwriter suffering from a writer's block, but slowly turns darker and darker, with elements of a thriller, until in the climax [[spoiler: the protagonist's comical twin dies]]. It still tries to [[BittersweetEnding end things]] [[EarnYourHappyEnding on a high note]], though. Another key shift is when [[spoiler:Charlie asks Donald for help on his screenplay]]; due to the highly self-referential nature of the movie, it's implied that [[spoiler:everything after that, all the drugs/guns/sex, is [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis being written]] by or on the advice of Donald]]. The thing to remember is that [[spoiler:Donald's the only character in the movie who isn't [[RealLife a real person]]]].* Every ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' movie starts with Mystery Inc solving a mystery, and ends with Mystery Inc fighting an army of the undead/[[spoiler: cat monsters]]/ [[spoiler: ancient samurai ghost]] / [[spoiler: ancient witch ghost]]. The movie in question, ''[[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland Zombie Island]]'', which could also count as a {{Deconstruction}} in a way, starts off with the Gang getting together to solve a few mysteries, matching the typical comedic feel of the original show but, in the middle, it becomes a supernatural horror mystery movie with very little comedy that gives you some very brief clues as to what's going on at Moon Scar island, in a way that worked.* The first two-thirds of ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'' are a [[BlackComedy very dark]] supernatural satire based around the rivalry between Creator/MerylStreep and Goldie Hawn's characters. Then in the last act it not only shifts into an action film but switches protagonists; Bruce Willis's until then secondary character becomes the point of view character for most of the rest of the movie, until the very end which returns to Streep and Hawn.* The first half of ''Film/{{Flightplan}}'' plays out as an interesting psychological thriller, where we begin to believe the main character [[spoiler: actually imagined her daughter and was completely crazy from grief.]] But then it turns out [[spoiler: her daughter actually WAS kidnapped, and every single one of her crazy and far fetched ridiculous theories were right, and terrorists actually DID kill her husband and kidnapped the daughter to get her to look crazy.]] It ends up as just another generic action flick with guns, explosions, and cheesy one liners.* In-story example: in ''[[Film/TheAddamsFamily Addams Family Values]]'', a rebellious Wednesday transforms a cheesy Pocahontas musical into a terrifying action play.* ''Film/MillionDollarBaby'' begins as a scrappy underdog sports movie and turns into a thoughtful but depressing drama about [[spoiler: spinal cord injury and euthanasia]].* ''Film/DreamHouse'' begins as a suspense/horror movie about a man who moved into a house with his family and finds out that a murder had taken place at the home. [[spoiler: After he learns that he was really the sole survivor of the massacre at the house, it becomes a movie about his grief]].* ''Film/TheForgotten'' begins as a typical drama about a woman who is told by every person in her life (including her ''husband'') that her recently-dead son never existed and gradually becomes [[spoiler: a sci-fi about abductions and alien experiments with the human mind]].* This is one of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's favorite tropes, and one that's unfortunately [[ItWasHisSled a bit spoiled]] by how famous his movies have become:** ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' in its first third, is a heist film, with Marion scheming to embezzle $40,000. Then Marion checks into the Bates hotel under an assumed name and it becomes [[spoiler: a psycho slasher film]].** ''Film/TheBirds'' starts off as either a quirky romance between two awkwardly charming leads, or perhaps a psychological thriller featuring a paranoid StalkerWithACrush. It's only as the A-plot's gradually eclipsed by the inexplicable bird attacks that the movie's true nature as apocalyptic horror starts to become apparent.* ''Film/{{Birdemic}}'' deliberately imitates ''The Birds'' by going from a romance to an apocalyptic horror with {{Anvilicious}} [[AuthorTract eco-tracts]], only this time so abruptly you can practically hear the gears shifting.* Due to its episodic nature, and a rotating set of writers and directors, the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' movies tend to shift dramatically from one genre to another with each film, often in response to previous movies' reception. ** ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' is a slow, philosophical ''[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey 2001]]''-style epic.** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' is a naval adventure with starships (specifically described by Creator/NicholasMeyer as "''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' [-IN SPACE!-]").** ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' and ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' heavily incorporated mysticism into the plot, often dipping into outright fantasy.** ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' is a FishOutOfTemporalWater comedy.** ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'' is a Creator/TomClancy-style political adventure paralleling the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.** ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' is a SurvivalHorror film, milking the Borg for all of their potential BodyHorror. ** ''Film/StarTrek2009'' rebooted the series by bringing it back to its naval adventure roots, though with [[DarkerAndEdgier a definite dark slant]] exemplified by [[spoiler: [[KilledOffForReal the destruction of Vulcan]]]].** ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' is a PostNineElevenTerrorismMovie in space, heavily incorporating elements of political thriller.* ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' starts off as a lighthearted comedy about a {{Jerkass}} SuperHero and the ad executive who tries to reform him. Then halfway through the movie [[spoiler:it turns into some weird mythological romantic tragedy something-or-other...]]* ''Film/DevilsOnTheDoorstep'' changes over the course of its running time from a black comedy to an even blacker drama by the end.* The entire ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' franchise tends to go through this (usually depending on the director, and not just the movies either.)** The Creator/TimBurton Batman movies were FilmNoir [[RecycledInSpace IN TIGHTS!]].** WordOfGod says that ''Film/BatmanForever'' was a "Smooth Transition" from ''Film/BatmanReturns'' to ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', which was {{Camp}} HoYay.** Creator/ChristopherNolan took the same approach to the Creator/JoelSchumacher movies that Creator/TimBurton took to the TV series, and turned into an action/crime movie with [[TheChessmaster multiple chessmasters]] and some {{Horror}} elements [[RecycledInSpace in tights]]. There's even a shift within [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga the Nolanverse]]. ''Film/BatmanBegins'' was equal parts crime drama and adventure film, with elements of mysticism figuring heavily into the plot. Its sequel, ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', was a much more straightforward crime thriller set completely in an urban environment. For the GrandFinale, ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' dropped the elements of crime drama and became a large-scale action epic/DisasterMovie, boasting a plot that wouldn't seem out of place in a ''Film/JamesBond'' film.* The third and final ''[[Film/TheInfernalAffairsTrilogy Infernal Affairs]]'' film made a Genre Shift from twisty but rational gangster film to all-out MindScrew PsychologicalHorror, baffling many fans.* ''Film/{{Them}}'' starts out as a detective story, investigating a couple of mysterious disappearances in the American Southwest. Then the heroes are attacked by giant irradiated ants.* The Franchise/{{Godzilla}} series has done this numerous times (it would have been a tremendous feat not to, considering that at twenty-eight films to date - thirty if you count the two American reboots - it's the longest-running series in cinematic history).** The Showa series: ''Film/{{Gojira}}'' is famous for being a dark, metaphorical, and frightening drama propelled by the human characters. ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'', being a rushed-out sequel meant to capitalize upon the previous film's huge success, eschewed most of the deeper story elements but retained a similar superficial tone. The third movie, ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', was a satire of commercialism and marketing in its original Japanese version, a layer of clever subtlety which the American dub did away in favor of a FantasyKitchenSink that was lighthearted but nonetheless played straight. ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla'' went back to being dark (the darkest of any film since the original despite the presence of a giant butterfly, thanks to a general tone of bitter hopelessness and the huge threat Godzilla poses), but the next film, ''Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster'', continued the lighthearted formula and made Godzilla TheHero for the first time. This style continued, becoming more and more campy as the series went on (with ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'' having a bizarre balance between camp and serious, with graphic casualties and BodyHorror on the part of Hedorah mixed in with trippy, surreal imagery and some of the silliest moments of the whole series - Godzilla using his nuclear breath to fly, anyone?), until ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla'' and ''Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla'' (the latter of which has a human sidestory that ends in tragedy for the first time since the original movie) established themselves as the most serious Godzilla movies in over a decade just in time for the series to be put on hiatus.** The Heisei series: ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'', with its horror elements meant to contrast against the image of child-friendly campiness that most of the previous series had established in the minds of the general public while using the nuclear power motif more as a plot device than something to deal with thematically, is perhaps most similar in genre and tone to the second movie. ''Film/GodzillaVsBiollante'', in addition to tackling themes of [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke the pros and cons of genetic engineering]] and the ethics of science and business practices in general, also featured a heavy element of espionage, broadened the more underplayed science fiction elements from the previous film, and began introducing mystical concepts like Miki Saegusa's psychic powers and Erica's soul being transferred to Biollante. With the next two movies, the series quickly evolved into an outright science fiction FantasyKitchenSink (though the final film, ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', is easily the saddest and one of the darkest of the series in spite of retaining the sci-fi/fantasy mix that most of the movies leading up to it had established, with a bittersweet ending in which [[spoiler: Godzilla is KilledOffForReal, but in the process causes Godzilla Junior to mutate into a fully-grown Godzilla [[LegacyCharacter to replace him]]]]).** The Millennium series: ''Film/{{Godzilla 2000}}'' and the movies following it have been primarily based in general sci-fi action, with ''Godzilla 2000'' being the darkest, the subsequent ''Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus'' being the lightest, and the two ''Mechagodzilla'' movies being somewhere in-between. The big exception is ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'', which returned the series back to its original roots once again via the most violent and horrific interpretation of Godzilla's character of the entire franchise, with fantasy elements replacing most of the science fiction that usually forms the basis for each movie. The last of the Japanese entries to date, ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'', was a bizarre, crazed tribute to the campiness of the Showa series. It took the plot of the classic ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' and turned everything in it UpToEleven while simultaneously injecting seemingly-random [[ShoutOut references to contemporary sci-fi action movies]] (most obviously ''Film/TheMatrix'') [[ReferenceOverdosed left and right]] and doing much to give itself a unique tone through the replacement of the orchestral score traditional to the series in favor of rock and techno music.* French movie ''He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not'' plays like a romantic lighthearted movie about an affair between a married man and a woman until the second half. Then, things get much darker.* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' starts off like a drama horror film that slowly builds suspense and makes some statements on society through various townspeople. Then, a few minutes after the halfway-mark, it launches into an epic ''Literature/MobyDick''-style battle at sea with the shark and just the three main characters.* ''Film/TheBreakUp'' starts as a semi-romantic comedy about a couple in the last parts of their marriage. About halfway through you realize it turned into an uncomfortably sad and bitter look at the central couple's role in the divorce, and the divisive effects it has on the couple's friends and acquaintances.* ''Film/FunnyPeople'' starts out as a dramedy with both dark and normal kinds of humor, until the plot involving [[spoiler: George's illness]] is resolved. It soon [[HalfwayPlotSwitch switches the plot]] and the mood shifts to more of a romantic-drama with little to no comedy. It shifts back to its normal mood when ''that'' plot gets resolved, with 15 minutes of the film remaining, with the changes made in the shift kept.* ''Film/ChungkingExpress'' starts as an urban thriller, and one third of the way through, becomes a romantic comedy.* ''Film/KillBill Volume 1'' is a kung fu action thriller that's given an excuse plot and little consideration as to character or story development. ''Film/KillBill Volume 2'' is a character-driven, plot-heavy ode to the Western. Both Volumes were originally intended as one four-hour movie.* In a bizarre example of this trope happening in a ''trailer'' a Creator/JackBlack [[Film/GulliversTravels2010 film]] initially appears to be a Creator/JuddApatow style slacker in love romantic comedy set in New York, then suddenly shifts gear into science fiction territory with a trip into the Bermuda Triangle, ''then'' finally reveals itself to be a modern re-imagining of ''Literature/GulliversTravels''. See it for yourself [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhoktf7X0aQ here]].* The tone of ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' changes dramatically once the team actually starts their mission. The first act could almost be considered a comedy. The second... [[KillEmAll not so much]].* ''Film/ThePrestige'' begins as a romantic tale of a professional rivalry between magicians, and ends very much as ScienceFiction.* ''Film/Cube2Hypercube'' to the original ''Film/{{Cube}}''. The first movie was at least ''somewhat'' grounded in reality, with the cube structure obviously futuristic, but still employing normal and believable machinery. The second replaces this with some sort of [[AlienGeometries physically impossible]] mega-structure consisting of millions of rooms that freely employs TimeTravel, intersecting [[AlternateUniverse parallel universes]], and many more "[[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness hardcore sci-fi]]" contraptions. ''Film/CubeZero'' goes back to the conventions of the first, but partly changes the [[POVSequel character point-of-view]] instead.* ''Film/LordOfWar'' starts out as a politically-minded dark comedy, but slowly turns into a straight (and very depressing) drama as it goes on. Which makes for a really cool metashift as the audience realizes the real cost of the glitz and glamour of gun-running along with Nick Cage's character.* The French "thriller" ''Cache'' starts off as a thriller, with a couple being video taped by a mysterious stranger. Halfway through the film, the video tapes become sorta irrelevant and the movie then becomes about racial tensions between the French and Algerians. In the end, [[spoiler: we never find out who was making the tapes at all]].* The Creator/JohnWoo movie ''Bullet In The Head'' starts as your typical HeroicBloodshed movie involving three triad gangsters looking to make a big score. But then they go to Vietnam, where [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar The War]] is in full swing, and the movie becomes a psychological war drama akin to ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' and ''Film/TheDeerHunter'' that tears apart the bond between BloodBrothers which in Woo's other movies was all but unbreakable, before going into something combining the two for the finale as [[spoiler:one of the surviving protagonists goes after the other in revenge for killing the other one]]. The movie is by far Woo's grimmest and most emotionally devastating movie.* ''Film/AngelHeart'' begins as something of a gritty period piece mixed with noir in a similar sort of style to ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' before turning into a particularly dark whodunnit, and then going into SurrealHorror before the final act brings us into [[spoiler: psychological terror [[ReligiousHorror and the supernatural]]]].* The ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' series does this. The [[Film/TheTerminator first flick]] is a SlasherMovie with a sci-fi bent. The [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay second]] and [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines third]] are more action/sci-fi movies that aren't quite as dark. [[Film/TerminatorSalvation The fourth one]] is a futuristic war movie.* ''Film/{{Predator}}'' begins as a typical war movie, a rescue mission in the jungle. Soon the commandos find the titular alien hunter, are slaughtered and the film becomes a one-vs-one fight to the death with Sci-Fi elements.* Western, ''Soldier Blue'' spends most of its time being a boy meets girl comedy. Until just before the end when it becomes a horrific, searing indictment on the US army's treatment of the Indian population, detailing an infamous massacre, including the dismemberment of children and rape of women, as the main characters look on in horror, unable to stop it.* ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' is an [[TheEdwardianEra Edwardian Era]] romance drama until almost exactly halfway through, at which point the ship hits an iceberg and it becomes a full-on DisasterMovie with a romantic subplot.* ''Film/PlanB'' starts out with all the makings of a romantic comedy of errors about a man so desperate to win his girlfriend back that he's willing to [[FauxYay pretend to be gay]] to mess with her new boyfriend's head, but gradually evolves into a genuine QueerRomance as the girlfriend becomes increasingly sidelined by the relationship between the two male leads* ''Film/TheSaltonSea'' starts out as a comedy StonerFlick. Then the main character reveals to us that he has been an UnreliableNarrator; something he hadn't told us before is about to change everything. In a meta sense, that means a shift to violent thriller.* ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' starts off as a convoluted but intriguing mystery/thriller centered around an amnesiac woman trying figure out who she is, then goes into lesbian romance, then goes into mind-boggling weirdness.* Each film in the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy, while broadly described as "sci-fi comedy", plays with a different genre. The [[Film/BackToTheFuture first]] is a fish out of water comedy that lampoons 1950s and 1980s culture by viewing the former through the lens of the latter. The [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII second]] is more densely plotted, dials up the sci-fi and is dark by the trilogy's standards. The [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII third]] places Marty and Doc in a double-barreled predicament reminiscent of the first film, only this time using the Wild West as its backdrop.* ''Film/KillList'' sets itself up as a pretty standard (if unusually {{gor|n}}y) crime thriller/hitman movie; then, about two-thirds of the way in, a weird, vaguely druidic {{Cult}} shows up, and the film abruptly shifts into horror territory.* The ''Film/LostInSpace'' film does this in relation to the original show. While the show was mostly a family-based sitcom disguised as sci-fi, the film is a straight sci-fi drama.* ''Film/XMen'':** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' incorporates many elements of the SpyFiction genre. ** James Mangold has referred to ''Film/TheWolverine'' as more of a FilmNoir piece rather than a {{Superhero}} film like ''Film/TheAvengers''. * Kevin Feige has stated that this is the goal of the Phase 2 Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse movies, as Marvel wishes to diversify the content of their films. To that end, he stated that ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' will be a DarkerAndEdgier political thriller, while ''Film/IronMan3'' will be more of a ScienceFiction story than an outright superhero movie. This turned out true for ''The Winter Soldier'', but the only thing in ''Iron Man 3'' to justify that comment would be the many action scenes which had Tony out of the suit or only using parts of it.* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is a light-hearted SpaceOpera, rather than an average superhero movie.* ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' starts out as a comedy about a charming, charismatic ManChild and his more grown-up friends trying to finish a pub crawl that they didn't manage 20+ years ago. The pub crawl is [[FirstLawOfTragicomedies promptly ruined]] by the protagonist's immaturity, a variety of unsettled business between the friends, and [[spoiler:an AlienInvasion]].* ''Film/{{Heartbreakers}}'' starts off as a film about a ruthless mother-daughter pair of con artists. The last third turns into a RomanticComedy.* ''Film/TheGuest'' by [[YoureNext Adam Wingard]] starts off as a mystery thriller while the last twenty minutes are more of an action film with the ending mocking slasher endings.* The two Tim Story ''Film/FantasticFour'' movies were rather straightforward superhero stories ([[Film/TheFantasticFour as was was the ill-fated 90's version]]) while the [[Film/FantasticFour2015 reboot by Josh Trank]] is much more sci-fi oriented. Trank has said he wants to get back to the characters' roots as science heroes and explorers of the unknown.* The 2014 version of ''[[Film/LeftBehind2014 Left Behind]]'' got one in the process of adaptation. While [[Literature/LeftBehind the book]] and [[Film/LeftBehind2000 the 2000 Kirk Cameron movie]] were more like political thrillers, this version mostly covers Rayford's attempts to land his plane in the aftermath of the Rapture and, as some critics remarked, becomes more reminiscent of 1970s airplane disaster movies like ''Film/{{Airport}}''.[[/folder]][[folder:Literature]]* Happens fairly early on in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. The first chapter, and parts of the second, are very comical and whimsical, except for Gandalf's confrontation with Bilbo, whereas the rest is much more dark and grim. This has a lot to do with Tolkien trying to write a sequel to ''Literature/TheHobbit'' by [[ExecutiveMeddling editorial mandate]], but giving that up pretty early in favor of something connected to ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' (which said Editor rejected). Even then, after the Fellowship splits, each character's story is, in many ways, a different genre, ranging from modern stories concerning war and morality to epic tales in a more medieval vein. These changes were more intentional than the shift out of a children's story, as Tolkien toyed a lot with the difference between medieval and modern works.* ''The Hedge Knight'', the first of ''Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg'' prequel series for ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', shifts the story away from the EpicFantasy of the original to a romantic story of an up-and-coming knight who has smaller stakes and local conflicts. It's a more straightforward an exploration of a chivalric code than the main series.* Creator/MichaelChabon's ''Literature/{{Summerland}}'' starts out as a ComingOfAgeStory with some MagicRealism, about a boy lives in a quirky island town and plays for his local baseball team. Then the [[OurFairiesAreDifferent baseball-playing fairies]] show up and the SaveTheWorld plot begins, and the book becomes full-on HighFantasy.* In Jeff Lindsay's ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' series, about a serial killer who only kills bad guys (on which the TV show of the same name was based), the first two books (''Darkly Dreaming Dexter'' and ''Dearly Devoted Dexter'') are mainstream crime thrillers aside from the unusual protagonist, but the third (''Dexter in the Dark'') takes a sharp left turn into dark fantasy territory, pitting Dexter against supernatural forces, ancient conspiracies, and CosmicHorrorStory.* ''Literature/{{Rant}}'' by Creator/ChuckPalahniuk is a fictional oral biography of... well, that's just it. He's an interesting character, but what we're supposed to think is significant about Buster Casey changes rapidly. There's a brief mention early on of a rabies epidemic, but by the end it's revealed that he [[spoiler: is his own adopted father, and ''biological'' father, and grandfather, and great-grandfather, and ''the villain,'' via ''car accident induced time travel.'']] In addition, it's not until an offhand remark by a character about a third of the way into the book about ports in the back of peoples head that you realize it's a sci-fi story set in the future.* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series started off as fairly straightforward parodies of HeroicFantasy. Later novels have been much more heavily focused on social satire, with heavy emphasis on philosophy and topics such as morality, class warfare, religion, theoretical physics, and modern city life. It works because they're still bloody hilarious.* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books started off as a slightly tongue-in-cheek UrbanFantasy and gradually became an epic HighFantasy in which AnyoneCanDie. Creator/JKRowling planned from the start that the series would become DarkerAndEdgier as Harry (and his readers) grew up.* In ''Literature/HowNOTToWriteANovel'', they have a section ("One [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Ring]] to Rule them All" said the Old Cowpoke) on genre shifts handled poorly. Opens with a woman writing in a diary hinting at a romance novel (an obvious AffectionateParody of ''[[Literature/BridgetJones Bridget Jones' Diary]]''), ends with [[ApocalypticLog an entry of OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD HE'S NOT HUMAN.]]* P.C. Hodgell's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'' series starts out in LowFantasy territory in the first book, ''God Stalk''; while there's foreshadowing there, the wider HighFantasy plot doesn't really emerge until the second book, ''Dark of the Moon''. The shift alienated some readers, who wanted more of the same style of book as the first.* Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''Treasure Box'' turns out to be [[spoiler: one of his "tales of dread,"]] but you don't realize it's in that genre until well into the story, about the same time the main character does. Also, in his Ender Saga, the first novel (and the most famous one) ''Literature/EndersGame'' is about a young boy who is taught to be a soldier in order to command humanity's fleet against the "[[BeePeople buggers]]". The sequel ''Literature/SpeakerForTheDead'' is focused on Ender (who is now in his 30s) 3000 years later (he survives due to frequent relativistic travel), helping a dysfunctional family and studying a new alien race. The third and fourth novels (which was originally one novel split for publishing reasons), ''Literature/{{Xenocide}}'' and ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheMind'', continue the story of the second novel (after a 30-year TimeSkip) with Ender slowly moving out of focus as the protagonist. Additionally, they add ''tons'' of metaphysics into the mix, to the point where [[spoiler:FTL travel becomes reality because a powerful AI can ''imagine'' it]]. The difference between the first and the second novels is justified because Card had always wanted to write ''Speaker for the Dead'' but couldn't find a compelling protagonist. Then, a friend suggested that he use Ender from a novella he wrote once. Thus, ''Ender's Game'' was expanded into a full-fledged novel with a chapter added to transition into ''Speaker for the Dead'' in order to avoid starting ''Speaker'' with a lengthy introduction of the character.* ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' begins in classic fantasy style - a young orphaned hero has to fight against an evil sorcerer controlling an army of monsters. However, in later books there's not a shred of the fantastic to be seen; indeed, one story deals with an old man using primitive science to fake magic.* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'' is a scathing deconstruction of both the LoveableRogue trope, and the concept of the StandardHeroReward, but you wouldn't know it from the first novel, which plays both tropes rather straight.* Creator/NikolaiGogol's classic short story "The Overcoat" is set in nineteenth-century Russia and appears to have no elements of the supernatural at all. Then, in the last few pages, [[spoiler:the main character dies and comes back as a zombie.]]* ''Literature/TheSagaOfTheNobleDead'' starts off looking like a very standard "vampire hunter" story that happens to have a HighFantasy setting rather than the more common modern one. From the end of the second book on, it becomes obvious that this is, in fact, a HighFantasy epic that happens to heavily involve vampires.* ''Literature/TheBoyWhoCouldntSleepAndNeverHadTo'' turns from a coming-of-age tale to a frenzied escape from TheMan about 2/3 through.* ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' undergoes one, together with some major CharacterDevelopment somewhere during the second book, and, most noticeably, between the second and third. It starts out as your typical fantasy story about a [[KidWithTheLeash preteen boy and his quirky sidekick demon]] defeating the bad guy and saving a whole lot of [[AdultsAreUseless useless adults]] in the process. In the later books the saved government is exposed to be oppressive and totalitarian, the glorified idols of the protagonist's youth are viciously unmasked. By the end of the series the books describe a dying empire, clinging desperately to its former glory. The most interesting part is probably that [[spoiler: the kid from the first book turns into one of the oppressors and the reader ends up rooting for LaResistance, that is originally introduced very briefly as nothing more than a bunch of deranged terrorists.]]* ''Literature/OutOfTheDark'' by Creator/DavidWeber is expanded from a short story he wrote. The genre shift doesn't take place near the end, resulting in a cry of TwistEnding or DeusExMachina. The original short story shifts about halfway through, the issue is though the novel's expansion of the story is entirely before the events, resulting in 90% in the first genre of hard scifi alien invasion. The last 10% however involves [[spoiler:Dracula]]* A story ''Distant Rainbow'' by Brothers Strugatski starts as a funny story about peculiar scientific experiments and shifts into a story about an apocalypse halfway through, as their experiment has GoneHorriblyWrong.* [[Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl Anne Frank's diary]] does not begin with her family hiding in the attic. It begins with a girl receiving a blank diary for her thirteenth birthday, having a party, attending school, describing her friends...* Creator/VladimirVasilyev's novel ''The Black Relay Race'', while not a direct sequel to his ''Death or Glory'' novel, takes place in the same 'verse. However, unlike ''[=DoG=]'', which involves a human colony discovering that there's more to humans than meets the eye, while alien races are hunting them, ''The Black Relay Race'' is a horror novel, taking place on a space yacht transporting strange cargo with the crew disappearing one-by-one. Then follow the novels ''The Legacy of Giants'' and ''No One but Us'', with an additional genre shift, although much more like the first novel than the second. These are pure war novels, inspired by Creator/DavidBrin's ''[[Literature/{{Uplift}} Startide Rising]]''.* DaleBrown books: ''The Tin Man'' was the first one to be almost entirely focused on the dirtside perspective, unlike previous titles that were almost solely the flyboys' game. More infantry-centric content started creeping in after that.* ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber Nine Princes in Amber]]'' starts off as a hardboiled ''noir'' detective story, complete with a PrivateEyeMonologue (you can practically hear "Carl Corey's" narration in Creator/HumphreyBogart's voice). It only takes a few chapters before "Corey" discovers that he's actually an [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] DimensionalTraveler whose native plane is a fantasy realm, however.* Kurt Vonnegut's ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' shifts between World War II fiction and science fiction involving AlienAbduction and MentalTimeTravel.* The first seven books of the Literature/VorkosiganSaga are MilitaryScienceFiction, followed by a few books of MysteryFiction mixed with political intrigue. Then comes ''A Civil Campaign'', which is a ComedyOfManners...* This is part-and-parcel of the premise of ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' as a fantasy "trilogy of trilogies" set each several hundred years after the previous in a world where MedievalStasis is ''not'' in effect. ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' is HighFantasy; ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'' and its forthcoming sequels (bridge books between trilogies one and two) is a quasi-Victorian mystery/adventure with fantastic elements and a vaguely steampunk aesthetic, the second full trilogy (as yet unwritten) is slated to be UrbanFantasy, and the third trilogy is set to be SpaceOpera. * Both of Creator/TamoraPierce's series undergo this:** The Literature/TortallUniverse format shifts from Fantasy-Adventure to Fantasy-PoliceProcedural with the ''Literature/ProvostsDog'' trilogy. It's also the first time we see Tortallan life from the commoners' point-of-view.[[note]]Yes, Daine is technically a commoner, but she's in the King's inner circle [[spoiler:and a demigod]] so she's not exactly ordinary folk.[[/note]]** The ''Circle Opens'' quartet in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' universe are also crime novels; each plot has the protagonist and student becoming entangled with a local crime spree--assassinations, gang murders, arson, and serial killings, in that order.* ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' turns from a {{Robinsonade}} to a story of psychological torture, BodyHorror, and struggles with what it means to be human. Though the blurb on the back does tell the reader ahead of time.* ''Literature/EatersOfTheDead'' (aka ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'') begins as a translation/retelling of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's visit to the [[HornyVikings Volga Buglars]]. Somewhere between the third and fourth chapters, however, it morphs into an ExternalRetcon {{Demythification}} of ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''.* ''Literature/RainbowDashAndTheDaringDoDoubleDare'' goes from SliceOfLife to adventure with the introduction of a villain near the end.* In Creator/GregEgan's ''Literature/{{Orthogonal}}'' trilogy, the first book is highly plot-oriented, but has little action aside from the launch of the GenerationShip. The ''second'' book is a highly-technical romp through the science of the trilogy's universe, in which not much actually ''happens'' aside from a brief kidnapping plot for the climax, which is over nearly as soon as it begins. In contrast, the third book is fairly action-packed. It's rife with sabotage, thoroughly-justified [[TimeyWimeyBall Timey-Wimey-ness]], questionably [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned]] [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Terrorists]], and more than a few [[StuffBlowingUp explosions]] (none of which are accidental, or have anything to do with {{Antimatter}}, unlike in the previous books).* While the first book in ''Literature/TheRing'' trilogy is a strictly horror story, the second is pretty much a medical mystery, and the third is just straight-up sci-fi. Complete lack of horror elements and tremendous amount of [[InfoDump infodumps]] can come as surprise for those who read the novels after the ([[AdaptationDisplacement much more popular]]) movie adaptation. [[/folder]][[folder: Live Action TV ]]* ''Series/BreakingBad'', for its first couple of seasons was a BlackComedy mixed with a certain level of drama. By the end of the second season, a shift began taking place as the stakes got higher and higher. Over the course of the rest of the series, the comedy was slowly shed and ''Breaking Bad'' transformed into a modern Shakespearean tragedy. By its final eight episodes, there was practically no trace of comedy left.* ''Series/LincolnHeights'' started out as a police drama about a man who decided to move his family to the neighborhood he polices. It then becomes the African American version of ''Series/TheOC'' The second version was arguably much more interesting since there are plenty of cop shows on television, but almost no dramas starting Black families.* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' was initially presented as just a drama about people stranded on a desert island with only subtle supernatural occurrences, but increasingly became a sci-fi/fantasy show in disguise. The show went from being more subtle SF/F to full-blown science fiction in Season 3 when [[spoiler: Desmond started time-travelling]], and cemented that change in Season 4 with an episode written with the specific purpose of smacking the viewers around the head with the message "LOST IS SCIENCE FICTION". And then season six ditches the science fiction in favor of becoming a fantasy show.* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' famously began drifting away from being a Black Comedy after the departure of Colonel Blake and Trapper John, and by the time Radar left in the 8th season, it had lost most of its dark humorous edge and had rebranded itself a "Dramedy."* ''Series/{{Passions}}'' started out as a typical soap opera and quickly mutated into a supernatural weird-fest. Ditto for ''Series/DarkShadows'' and ''Series/GeneralHospital'''s SpinOff ''Port Charles''.* The early episodes of ''WebVideo/{{lonelygirl15}}'' were in the style of a realistic video blog. Over time, it turned into a sort of soap opera/drama/thriller hybrid with evil cults, conspiracies, guns and laser beams. For an example of just how different the show has become, compare classic episode "Proving Science Wrong!"[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQEBobE9XZs]] to one of the early season 2 episodes, "Home Invasion."[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnVvMzQpGUo]]* ''Series/{{House}}'' was pitched to Fox as a show somewhat along the lines of ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'', where the doctors use their medical skills to solve crimes. It quickly moved away from this and became a drama centered on the fact that "everybody lies," from the patients to [[JerkAss House]] himself.* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' is a slightly odd example since, in hindsight, the static setting seems an obvious way to do more [[StoryArc arc-based]] storylines and use lots of recurring characters but, in the beginning, it was just normal Franchise/StarTrek with a gimmick -- the only important difference was that the [[OncePerEpisode alien of the week]] from the PlanetOfHats came to ''them'' instead of the other way 'round thanks to the wormhole discovered in the first episode. The first season is almost indistinguishable from other Treks, and only when the characters are established do the writers start doing different things.* For much of its long life, ''Series/TheBill'' was a PoliceProcedural, but when a new executive producer took over in 2002 it rapidly shifted into a CrimeTimeSoap, alienating many long-term fans.* ''BaywatchNights'' is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. Originally it was a ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' spinoff centered around Sgt. Garner Ellerbee and [[Creator/DavidHasselhoff Mitch Buchannon]] opening a detective agency and [[TheyFightCrime fighting crime]]. The show's low ratings coupled with the success of ''Series/TheXFiles'' caused the producers to ditch Ellerbee and have Buchannon battle ''the paranormal''.* ''LookAroundYou'' is one of the biggest users of this trope -- the first and second seasons are, to all intents and purposes, different shows. The first series is a series of 10 minute spoofs of educational videos from the 1970s, while the second is a 30 minute studio-comedy parody of shows such as ''TomorrowsWorld''. Apart from a couple of shared {{Running Gag}}s and a brief mention of shared minor characters, the two series are connected only by the theme of science and having the same writers.* As lampshaded by the announcer, following the move from [=TechTV=] to G4, the video game review show ''Series/XPlay'' became less about reviewing games and more about employing successive "[[GagSeries lame vaudeville gags]]." At one point, the show was able to provide thorough reviews of at least five games in one single airing, but due to the space the gags took up, they were barely able to get through three. They later became less frequent, thus leaving time for only one or two sketches a week, then the ''opposite'' happened: it changed from a sketch comedy/video game review show into a pure video game news and review show (with only about two reviews per episode and less comical news reports). * ''Series/RedDwarf'' has had a number of shifts throughout its run. The show was pitched as, and started out as, a SliceOfLife situation comedy with a spaceship as the setting, that morphed into a more action-oriented Sci-Fi Comedy in its third series, eventually morphing into more of an Action Comedy by its sixth series, then more of a Sci-fi Dramedy in Series 7, and then a Prison Comedy in Series 8. The shifts in tone were relatively subtle, but if it weren't for the consistent characters, episodes from different series would appear to be from completely different programs.* ''Series/ThePractice'' started as a gritty legal show focused on a firm that struggled to make the rent and convince clients to pay for traffic court. By the time the show was over, the firm was representing increasingly bizarre clients, getting cases related to [[AuthorTract current events]], winning impossible cases, and having endless episodes about the lawyers' personal lives. ''Series/BostonLegal'' completed the transition and added comedic elements. The universe therefore shifted from legal procedural/drama, to a soap opera/drama, and then finally to a soap opera/dramedy. Watching an early episode of the first show and a late episode of the second show is highly jarring.* Likewise, the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episodes "The Benders" and "Family Remains". The show's MythArc itself experienced a massive shift in the fourth season. Seasons 1-3 were a horror series focused on Sam and Dean fighting random monsters while also working to stop whatever BigBad was currently involved (Azazel in seasons 1-2; Lilith in season 3), and then with the fourth season the show transformed into an apocalyptic [[spoiler: angel and demon war]] with an ''occasional'' monster thrown in.* ''Series/DoctorWho'', the parent show of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', can and frequently does change genres from one story to the next. A show whose premise is that the main character travels throughout time and space lends itself exceptionally well to this. One can convincingly argue that almost the entire series is basically the Doctor gatecrashing various genres and bringing trouble with him.** All the way back in the 1960s, when the show first aired, it was meant to be an Edutainment show with a heavy focus on history and science. Now it's a sci-fi fantasy horror dramedy where Agatha Christie fought off murderous alien wasps and Winston Churchill sent spitfires into space to fight alien crafts. So, yeah, the genre changed somewhere there.** Series 6 turned into a [[ScienceFiction Sci Fi]] SoapOpera at times.** One of the reasons William Hartnell gave for leaving the show was that the producer wanted to drop most of the unpopular 'pure historical' and {{Adventure}} stories, and shift the show into DarkerAndEdgier science fiction horror aimed at the PeripheryDemographic of adult science fiction fans the show had, when Hartnell wanted to make a children's programme. There is a transitional period towards the end of Hartnell, but it's only Troughton's addition which fully sends the series into this, developing the stereotypical Second Doctor "base under siege" story type as a cheap way of doing claustrophobic monster-battling horror on a limited budget.* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' to ''Series/{{Caprica}}''. The former is a SpaceOpera that also happens to be a DarkerAndEdgier ContinuityReboot of a [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 70s action adventure show]]. The latter is a {{Cyberpunk}} story set in a setting similar to (though not actually) TwentyMinutesInTheFuture blended with a FamilyDrama.* ''Series/{{Jonas}}'''s first season was your average sitcom, featuring the Jonas Brothers in the title role. Its second season, ''Jonas L.A.'', has a stronger plot and is a borderline soap-opera, complete with PreviouslyOn and OnTheNext segments.* Season 1 of ''Series/PrisonBreak'' revolves around [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an honest-to-god prison break]] with a cast composed almost entirely of stock characters ripped from classic prison movies, and season 2 continues it with the escaped inmates on the run from the FBI. By the end of season 2, the escapees have all successfully evaded the law [[spoiler: (the few that survived, at least...)]] but the writers manage to justify the title by having the main characters all [[AssPull rounded up for random reasons]] and [[FromBadToWorse a new, even worse prison in Panama]]. Then the final season rolls around, and the whole series morphs into some weird cross between ''MacGyver'' and ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' about the main cast trying to take down some [[TheSyndicate evil shadow corporation]] using zany schemes whipped together with loot from the Dollar Store.* On ''Series/{{Community}}'', most episodes are comedic in tone, following the study group and their antics on the Greendale campus. However there are some switchups. "[[Recap/CommunityS2E10MixologyCertification Mixology Certification]]" keeps this up for the first five minutes, but as soon as things switch to the bar, things become more somber. The end of the episode isn't comedic, but poignant. Consuming alcohol doesn't make the characters do anything funny, but makes things ''sad'' (it's the [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek "Lifetime original movie of beverages"]] as Troy puts it). In short, it's been an action movie ("Modern Warfare"), a Rankin-Bass style Christmas Special ("Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas"), a spaghetti Western ("A Fistfull of Paintballs"), a single-camera documentary show ("Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking"), and a zombie movie ("Epidemiology"). The reason it can pull all of this off is because while each episode is a great example of the genre it's shifted to, it's also a great episode of ''Community'' at the same time.** The series as a whole has drastically shifted in genre since its beginnings as well. The majority of season one was a fairly straightforward and mildly pessimistic comedy centered on somewhat quirky people in mostly ordinary situations. After a while its occasional forays into meta humor became so memorable that it evolved into a surrealist show with jokes so meta that their very meta-ness is intended as a commentary on meta-ness itself. * ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' were mostly similar in setup. Yes, the Atlantis team was initially cut off from Earth, but subsequent seasons eliminated this problem. ''Series/StargateUniverse,'' you'll have to check to make sure you're actually watching a ''Stargate'' series. It goes with the "cut off from Earth" part and sticks with it (mostly), although the crew of the ''[[CoolShip Destiny]]'' is capable of communicating with Earth. Also, unlike ''SG-1'' and ''Atlantis'', ''Universe'' takes a page out of the reimagined ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' series and focuses more on individuals struggling to survive to the point where even the musical score is completely different from the "typical" Stargate music. The WagonTrainToTheStars aspect is entirely ditched, with few people who are not the ship's crew ever appearing, and only one alien race that appears quite infrequently. Mostly, it was about interpersonal conflicts on a broken ship. You will hear the phrase "SoapOpera [-IN SPACE!-]" a lot. It only lasted a season and a half, * ExecutiveMeddling notoriously forced the {{Camp}}y DetectiveDrama ''Series/BurkesLaw'' to become a TuxedoAndMartini spy series instead. The changes (which included firing virtually the entire cast and retitling the show ''Amos Burke, Secret Agent'') bombed spectacularly and the series was canceled midway through the season.* ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' was arguably one for the Heisei-era ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise as a whole. The creator even notes that before the show even aired, the fandom was up in arms about Kamen Rider "Being turned into a [[TeenDrama high school drama]]!"* ''Series/{{Touch}}'' becomes a more actionized thriller in the second season, as Martin is faced with more dangerous tasks which involve him running into really dangerous people. The first season was very SliceOfLife.* The TV film ''Reichenbach Falls'', based on an idea by IanRankin, shifts genres in a rather {{Mind Screw}}y way, reflecting the central character's growing GenreSavvy.* The TBS music video show NightTracks debuted in 1983 playing music from all genres (pop, rock, R&B, etc.) until the summer of 1991 when it went to an exclusively alternative rock music (not long before Music/{{Nirvana}} changed the musically landscape).* ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': Happened most notably with ''Rock and Chips'' which was a rather downbeat drama with some laughs rather than the traditional sitcom of the original, but it did occasionally happen within the series itself. ** The 1985 Christmas special "To Hull and Back" was treated more like a crime caper film than a sitcom** The series finale "Sleepless in Peckham," while still having plenty of comedic moments, had a far more serious atmosphere than most of the series.* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' has gone over the course of three seasons from [[UnbelievableSourcePlot a twist on the police procedural formula]] to a show about [[PostCyberpunk the grander implications of artificial intelligence]].* ''Series/{{Helix}}'' starts off with a group of CDC scientists trying to stop an outbreak of a zombie-like [[TheVirus virus]] in a remote research facility. And while there are hints of some kind of shadowy conspiracy involving the virus' creation from the start, there audience is not prepared for the reveal midway through the first season that the virus was created for the purpose of [[spoiler: allowing an AncientConspiracy of immortals to TakeOverTheWorld]], which completely changes the basis of the show.* Series/TheGame started out as a sitcom, but the laugh track became increasingly out of place in the middle of all the serious situations, until it was eventually done away with and the show became a full-blown drama.* The short-lived 1990's series ''Series/TheBradys'' was a continuation of ''Series/TheBradyBunch,'' with the same characters played by most of the same cast. But the spinoff was a downbeat drama rather than the lighthearted comedy its predecessor had been.* A {{downplayed}} example comes in the form of ''Series/OnceUponATime''. Yes, it's an UrbanFantasy, but for the first season, outside of flashbacks (which are set in a fantasy world), fantasy aspects like magic were seldom seen, more in a case of RealAfterAll than anything else, and it played out more like a SoapOpera than anything else. Then the finale came and TheMagicComesBack, cranking the UrbanFantasy UpToEleven to its proper trope.[[/folder]][[folder:Magazines]]* ''Billboard'' was originally a magazine dedicated to bill posting back in 1894. It evolved in the 1920s to advertise circuses, carnivals, fairs, and vaudeville shows, and continued to shift to a more entertainment-driven focus in the 1930s. By the 1940s, they began issuing music charts. The shift was completed in 1961, when the magazine moved entirely to publication of music charts and music industry-related news.[[/folder]][[folder:Music]]* Many rockers have found success by shifting to country after losing touch with the rock audience. Examples: Music/JerryLeeLewis, Music/ConwayTwitty, Music/KennyRogers, Billy Joe Royal, Dickey Lee, and, to some extent, Music/ElvisPresley.* Cerys Matthews' first solo album after leaving Catatonia was a country album, ''Cockahoop!''.* There's also the aptly titled "Country Song" by Music/{{Seether}} (though still much closer to rock overall).* Music/{{Metallica}}, in the 90's, gradually shifted from thrash metal to a bluesy hard rock and heavy metal style. 2003's "St. Anger" was a bizarre hodgepodge of thrash metal, punk/hardcore, nu-metal and hard rock. While 2008's "Death Magnetic" was, for the most part, a return to the band's classic thrash metal sound. * k.d. lang shifted genres from country to pop ballads beginning with ''Ingenue''. While she has done quite well as a balladeer, it's hard to say, given her vegetarianism and sexual orientation, whether she jumped out of country or was pushed.* Apoptygma Berzerk was an EBM band that many considered on par with VNV Nation and Covenant, and in fact was one of the two bands (along with VNV) to initially be considered in the sub-genre of "Futurepop." Now they make indy-sounding electro-rock, similar to the Killers or Shiny Toy Guns.* Music/TheyMightBeGiants. Shifted from [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAbZzdalZh4 catchy lyrical pop]] to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Kgj6EiZtw kid-friendly tunes]] and finally to the punky [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CccPPDe2JU "I'm Impressed"]] in ''The Else''.* Jesse [=McCartney=] started out singing chaste love songs aimed at tweens, then kept the style for the second album, but with slightly more sexual lyrics to match his aging audience. Then REALLY did this trope for his latest stuff. Switching to a more techno/hip hop style with ''much'' more sexual lyrics. One single is 3 minutes of him telling any female listeners to shake their ass.* The Cult started out as a heavily-produced, effect-laden musical experience that inspired modern Goth rock for their first two albums. On their third album, Electric, however, they had finished recording the entire thing when they realized that they didn't really like the way it sounded, so they found a new producer with whom they re-recorded the entire album as a straight-up hard rocker that sounded quite a bit like AC/DC and other heavy rock bands of the time. The resulting schism in their fanbase makes them seem like they became a new band.* Music/{{Miyavi}} has gone through several genre shifts, starting with a kind of Music/MarilynManson-esque kind of rock, moving to acoustic pop and rock, then into a fusion of hip-hop and punk, and now has his own blend of rock the showcases his percussive guitar technique.* Basic Element was a Eurodance group in TheNineties, then shifted to Italo-Electroclash during UsefulNotes/TheOughts.* Happens occasionally in HipHop. If a rapper is also a decent singer, there's a very high chance (that increases as they get older) that they'll abandon rapping completely in favor of singing. This isn't necessarily a ''bad'' move; the quality is still high and they're likely to appeal to a wider audience (especially if their career was beginning to stale), but fans of their older material might feel left out in the cold. See: Music/QueenLatifah, Music/KidRock, Music/LaurynHill, Cee-Lo, Andre3000, Music/TheBlackEyedPeas, etc. Music/KanyeWest did this temporarily during ''808s & Heartbreak'', and he still occasionally sings today.* Music/{{OFWGKTA}} is still mostly known for their rap music but one of their artists, Frank Ocean, did release an R&B album that contrasted the hardcore hip-hop of the other rappers.* Mod punk Paul Weller, after he broke up Music/TheJam and turned to Creator/{{Motown}} soul with the Style Council. To a lot of The Jam fans, it was more like GenreAdultery at first.* Music/TaylorSwift:** The singer switched from country to contemporary pop/rock. The change was evident as early as "Love Story", the first single off her second album, and culminated with ''1989'' (released in 2014) being her first entirely pop album, with none of its material at all being released to country.** "I Knew You Were Trouble" abruptly shifts from her at-the-time-of-release patent brand of country-pop in the verses to a ''dubstep'' chorus, twice within the song.* With her third album, ''Love Ain't Here No More'', Angelina (Camarillo) mostly abandoned freestyle in favor of contemporary R&B dance-pop (complete with AutoTune on some songs).* Charlie Simpson went from being a member of the clean-cut British boy band Busted to the lead singer of the post-hardcore band Fightstar to a folk rock solo artist.* Darius Rucker had huge success in the 1990s with guitar-pop band Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish, briefly flirted with R&B in the early '00s, and became a country music artist in 2008.* One of Music/KingCrimson's defining traits, with their biggest shift occurring in the early 1980s when Robert Fripp abandoned the prog based sounds of the previous lineups in order to dabble with minimalistic New Wave and World Beat music.* John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame had an interesting version of this where he released six albums of six different genres...all in six months. He further continued this by switching to electronic music after he left the band, eventually releasing a song shifting at least ten genres within four minutes in 2012; to demonstrate how 60s and 70s recording techniques and rock/pop can be combined with modern electronica and computers.* Marc van Linden went from epic trance to minimal tech-house, now he appears to be doing nu-skool Euro-house.* Liza da Costa, the first vocalist of the Eurodance band Captain Jack, is now singing only bossa nova songs.* Music/LinkinPark. Not only did the band change genres, but changed their logo as well. The shift of genre has gotten to the point where fans describe nu metal Linkin Park as "old" whereas the alternative rock style from ''Minutes to Midnight'' and onwards is "new".** As their Underground demos reveal, however, Shinoda has always built the songs up from his production, it's just that in the Nu-Metal era they used more guitars whereas now they use more synths.** Mike Shinoda did this between projects. Music/FortMinor, his SoloSideProject, is an Music/{{Eminem}}-esque hardcore underground RapRock that's rooted in HipHop culture. Compare this to his nu-metal rapping as a member of Linkin Park.* Music/DavidBowie built a career on this trope, switching between psychedelic folk-rock, glam rock, Philly soul, and Krautrock within a decade alone. This resulted in a NewSoundAlbum every time he stepped into a recording studio.* Bill Callahan started out doing avant-garde lo-fi rock for his first few albums as Smog, switched to baroque pop for an album, then folk for a while, and has settled now on alt-country.* Kerli started out doing alt-rock, but now does electro dance pop; compare [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdXvqMF-6vI&feature=relmfu Love is Dead]](2008) and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhgvWLs2rsM Army of Love]](2010).* Exile started out as a pop-rock band, having a big hit with "Kiss You All Over" but absolutely nothing else. A few membership changes later, they successfully reinvented themselves as a country-rock band which scored ten #1 hits.* Rozalla (Miller), best known for the Eurodance hit "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" back in 1993, now does easy listening soul jazz.* TheDoobieBrothers, after original frontman Tom Johnston left the band due to severe illness, and replaced by the more soulful Michael [=McDonald=].* Music/{{Behemoth}} went from BlackMetal to [[DeathMetal Blackened Death Metal]], and then DeathMetal.* It may be hard to believe, given songs like "I Kissed a Girl" and revealing photo shoots, but KatyPerry started out as a contemporary Christian singer.* Little Boots' debut album was quasi-80's electropop, but now she's doing retro euro-HouseMusic.* Music/TheOakRidgeBoys were originally a gospel group, but shifted to country in the early-mid 70s.* Nachtmystium used to be a standard spikes-and-corpsepaint BlackMetal band for their first couple albums, then in 2006 they started incorporating elements of PsychedelicRock with ''Instinct:Decay''. With their two ''Black Meddle'' albums ([[Music/PinkFloyd note the misspelling]]) they've almost entirely abandoned their black metal sound, mixing extreme metal with post-rock, psychedelic rock, and IndustrialMetal.* One hit wonder OMC (courtesy of the breezy pop song "How Bizarre") was previously the lead singer of a hardcore band.* The Music/BeastieBoys started out as a hardcore band, then by the time they were recording albums, had morphed into a Run DMC-ish rap-rock band, then achieved critical acclaim via sample-based hip-hop.* Ex-''Series/HannahMontana'' teen star Music/EmilyOsment began with straightforward [[IdolSinger teen pop]] like "I Don't Think About It" and "Hero In Me". She recorded a guitar-driven, "adult alternative"-influenced EP in 2009 called ''All The Right Wrongs'', followed by a synthesizer-heavy, dubstep-electronica-dance-pop full-length album, ''Fight Or Flight'', in 2010. The song "Drift", recorded for the ''Film/{{Cyberbully}}'' soundtrack, sounds like ''Kid A''-era Music/{{Radiohead}}. Her new music (as of 2012) is as part of the unsigned duo "Ramshackle", and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW9ySA5Tz0E sounds much more acoustic and folksy]].* Diamond Rio abandoned country music in the mid-2000s for Christian music.* Up until about 2010, DJ Scot Project was one of the top figureheads in the trance scene, now he produces {{LMFAO}}[=/=]{{PSY}} style electro house/trouse.* Upon her CareerResurrection Robyn went from American-geared R&B boy/girl band pop to [[{{Retraux}} 80's retro]] {{synthpop}}.* Music/{{Birdeatsbaby}} has gone from Dark Cabaret to Orchestral Rock. [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly Maybe]].* Music/PorcupineTree went from PsychedelicRock / ProgressiveRock to ProgressiveMetal starting with 2002's ''In Absentia''.* Job for a Cowboy started as a {{Deathcore}} band on their first extended play, to the point that they were one of three bands responsible for popularizing the genre, as well as the "pig squeal" vocal style. Come 2007's ''Genesis'', and they shifted into a modern DeathMetal sound, much to the surprise of some listeners. Later on, ''Demonocracy'' took them in a more technical direction, while 2014's ''Sun Eater'' was their biggest shift since ''Genesis'', being a progressive death metal album with significant doom metal influences.* CountryMusic singer Music/KennyChesney started out as a fairly typical mainstream country artist in a cowboy hat, pressed shirt, and jeans, but after a detour in to country-pop, his material since about ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems'' around 2002 has reflected his interest in boating and island living, causing him to incorporate Caribbean influences into his music and lyrics about laid-back beach life. Some people have even speculated that he is attempting to become this generation's Music/JimmyBuffett. * Child prodigy Music/HunterHayes started out as a Cajun musician before shifting to mainstream country-pop in the late 2000s. His debut single "Storm Warning" is somewhere in between the two extremes.* Trentemoller went from micro-minimal trance to ambient rock, and now appears to be headed towards chilled dubstep.* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucI5h3hoztY This]] Website/YouTube video. In roughly a minute, they shift through 13 genres, changing tempos appropriately while they're at it, all while playing the same Justin Timberlake song.* The CherryPoppinDaddies started in 1989 as a punk/funk band who played the occasional swing jazz cover, then transitioned into a ska punk band by the mid-1990s. The band brought back the swing elements in the late 1990s and has since settled as a combination swing and ska band, though has released albums dabbling in varying genres including soul, pop and world music.* Music/TheAquabats began as an eight-or-nine-member {{ska}} band, recording two ska albums before wanting to break away from genre typecasting by recording 1999's ''The Aquabats! vs. the Floating Eye of Death!'', an album featuring no ska and mostly New Wave-influenced rock and punk. The band has since continued with this style, and now exist as a five-member group after the departure of their horn section in the early 2000s.* Music/AvengedSevenfold's SelfTitledAlbum does this thrice, with "A Little Piece Of Heaven" suddenly being composed mostly of brass and showtune instruments and is composed in a style more similar to Music/DannyElfman than any of their previous songs, then immediately. Another one includes "Dear God", which has more in common with a country blues song than a metal one. Then there's also "Gunslinger" -- which can best be described as a blend of country, blues, and rock. They also do this a few times on the "Nightmare" album: particularly with the strictly piano-based ballad "Fiction" (which was the last song Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan wrote, and the one song on the album to feature his vocals) and the heavily blues-based "Tonight the World Dies" (with slide guitar to boot). Then, on "Hail to the King", the album ends with the blues ballad "Acid Rain".** Throughout the band's career, Avenged Sevenfold has gradually shifted from being a pure {{Metalcore}} band to doing straightforward hard rock bordering on heavy metal to a style that lead singer M Shadows described as being "more {{blues rock}}-influenced and more like classic rock and classic metal in the vein of Music/BlackSabbath and Music/LedZeppelin".* Speaking of Music/LedZeppelin, they've certainly changed styles quite a bit throughout the band's career. Their first two albums were primarily BluesRock. Then their third album consisted largely of folk-based music, with one blues ballad on it. Then their legendary untitled album pretty much consists of gritty hard rock - and their SignatureSong "Stairway to Heaven", which builds up from a ballad to hard rock. Then there's "Houses of the Holy", which is more polished than anything they recorded to date. They've experienced with various styles - such as the reggae-tinged "D'yer Mak'er", the country-sounding "Hot Dog", the Latin-inspired "Fool in the Rain", and the carousel music sounding "Carouselambra".* Metal band Music/{{Slipknot}} were NuMetal in their early years (especially with their first two albums), but shifted to AlternativeMetal for their third album, and then GrooveMetal for their fourth. Their fifth album was something of a return to their earlier style but with the newer elements kept largely intact.* Music/{{Gob}} used to be bright, catchy PunkRock, then they got inspired by running buddies Music/{{Sum 41}} and focused more on accessible PopPunk, and nowadays have dropped that in favor of AlternativeRock with some more experimental stuff.* A general example, if an alternative act has a mainstream friendly BlackSheepHit, there's a good chance that their next album will have songs that's much more in the style of that hit. Some good examples of this are Music/{{Staind}} (NuMetal to PostGrunge after "It's Been Awhile"), Music/TheGooGooDolls (PopPunk to acoustic rock after "Name"), and Music/TaylorSwift (country to pop after "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "We Are Never Ever Back Together").* The first two albums of ''Series/AmericanIdol'' finalist and CountryMusic singer Kellie Pickler were mainstream country-pop, sounding somewhat like a watered-down version of Music/TaylorSwift (who co-wrote and sang backing vocals on her biggest hit, "Best Days of Your Life"). With her third and fourth albums, she shifted to a bolder, sassier, more traditional sound, first exemplified by the stripped-down, funky "Tough".[[/folder]][[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]* Chester Gould's strange twist of ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' from crime drama (albeit with futuristic technology) to SCI-FI, one of the most obvious genre shifts of all time. This is so (in)famous, it could almost be the trope namer.* The first few years of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' focused on the daily life of the titular cynical cat and his long-suffering everyman owner Jon. Then in the mid 1980s the strip adopted a light surrealist style, with Garfield becoming a playful CloudCuckooLander and Jon becoming a LovableLoser, and started to focus on their interactions with the other equally-bizarre inhabitants of the strip. This iteration lasted until the late 1990s, when the strip became {{flanderiz|ation}}ed into a strange hybrid of the first and second iterations, with Garfield regaining his older cynical personality but with Jon keeping his loser characterization.* During the Great Depression, a good number of comic strips shifted from domestic comedy to comedic adventure.* ComicStrip/{{Blondie}} started out just before the Great Depression with the couple being fabulously rich. When the stock market collapsed, Dagwood lost his fortune overnight, shifting the strip from flapper comedy to everyday struggles.[[/folder]][[folder:Pinball]]* While ''Pinball/{{Fireball}}'' was a fairly conventional electro-mechanical pinball [[NoPlotNoProblem without any real plot]], for some reason the sequel was advertised as part of Bally's "Superhero Series".[[/folder]][[folder:Tabletop RPG]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''** Adventure S3 ''Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'' starts off as a standard "clean out the monster-filled dungeon" scenario. After the {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs enter, they discover that the dungeon is actually part of a derelict spacecraft and they're fighting alien monsters armed with high-tech weapons.** The 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide had advice for sending a party of {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs (whose players were playing a fantasy RPG) to TheWildWest, an AfterTheEnd setting or adventuring on a derelict starship. Each possibility used one of TSR's other games as the basis for the new setting (''Boot Hill'', ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' and ''Metamorphosis Alpha'', respectively.* Lesser Shades Of Evil -- the book ''begins'' with a disclaimer telling would-be [=PCs=] not to read any further, which is setting them up to make blessed champions of the gods in a high fantasy setting, then face all of the following in ''the very first session'': that was all centuries ago, their powers are all genetic engineering and nanomachines, the intervening time has moved the setting AfterTheEnd... and the idyllic fantasy setting was after a separate, ''earlier'', end. Also, their main superpower is creating multiple bodies for themselves. After this exposition-heavy first session (which fast-forwards the [=PCs=] through their actions over these hundreds of years), one assumes the players are meant to go home and contemplate why any of that was kept secret if it were just going to be revealed as soon as they made their characters, anyway.* TabletopGame/{{Exalted}} Started off as a {{Deconstruction}} of fantasy with a PulpFantasy feel, then faded DarkerAndEdgier and ultimately {{Grimdark}}. The latter parts of Second Edition went into a [[WorldOfBadass gonzo high-powered direction]] around Infernals, and a third edition has been stated with the intent of returning to the Pulp roots of the game.* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':** The primary campaign setting, Golarion, has different nations that could be considered a FantasyCounterpartCulture [[FantasyKitchenSink Kitchen Sink]], with regions that resemble colonial America, revolutionary France, the Wild West, Transylvania, the Conan mythos, Darkest Africa, etc, allowing for vastly different story genres. Perhaps the most out of place one (in a typical fantasy RPG anyway) is Numeria, which similar to the "Barrier Peaks" D&D example above involves a crashed alien spaceship, futuristic technology, and all sorts of robots and GreenRocks.** They also created rulebooks for the other planets in Golarion's solar system--one is populated by alien-worshipping robots who don't understand their own technology, another is the undead ruins of a planet that destroyed itself when it used a superweapon on a neighboring world. The gas giants have merging gas-creatures as the primary form of life, while their (many) moons serve as more conventional adventuring worlds. A planet tidally locked to the sun has one side that is murderously hot and another that is equally cold, permitting life only in the border between them--this planet is an actively space-faring culture. Another world is a jungle-planet of psychics, while near the outer edges of the system is a planet that is actually just a rocky crust over a gigantic spaceship meant to collect genetic samples. And on the very outmost part is a world that may be a living creature--and an EldritchAbomination to boot, and it serves as a central point of the cultists of the Lovecraftian entities of the Dark Tapestry (this is meant in the most literal manner possible. The presence of the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones is canon).** Many of the Adventure Path's represent different genres. Iron Gods is Science Fantasy (set in the aforementioned Numeria), Mummy's Mask is an IndianaJones style archeological adventure, Skull & Shackles is piracy on the high seas, Reign of Winter starts as a take on Russian fairy tales then turns into a world hopping adventure reminiscent of DoctorWho with a chapter set in WorldWarOne. Carrion Crown however is the king of this trope; it takes on Horror Movie tropes, but each chapter is based around a different subgenre; haunted house, Frankenstein story, lycanthropes, Lovecraftian horror, vampire story, and apocalyptic horror.* In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' expansion ''Zendikar'', the first two sets of the block are about adventure and surivial on a Death World. The last set turns it into a CosmicHorrorStory.[[/folder]][[folder:Theater]]* Something similar to this - the couching of ideas or stories that may be disturbing and/or controversial within a more conventional, non-threatening story - has happened throughout the history of art and literature.* OlderThanSteam: Creator/WilliamShakespeare [[JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples did it]]:** ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' goes from sweet and funny romantic comedy to an AnyoneCanDie {{Tragedy}} with lightning speed.** Witness ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' turning the standard bloodthirsty revenge plot into a more philosophical meditation on the human condition. Indeed, a lost play by the same title (c. 1589-1594), which if written by Shakespeare would have been one of his earliest works, was apparently a far more straightforward revenge tragedy (and according to one source, [[OldShame not a particularly good one either]]).** ''Theatre/TheWintersTale'' plays this the straightest: for the first half it's a tragedy similar to ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' with a king falsely accusing his wife of infidelity, ending with [[spoiler: the queen and their young son dying and their newborn daughter being abandoned to die in the wilderness.]] [[TimeSkip Fast-forward sixteen years]] and it's a pastoral comedy, complete with an archetypal Clown and the people-in-disguise hijinks reminiscent of ''Theatre/AsYouLikeIt'' and ''Theatre/TwelfthNight.'' For added fun, there's some Greek mythology mixed in throughout, with a Chorus of narrators, a trip to an oracle, and [[spoiler: [[PygmalionPlot a statue of the queen coming to life]].]]* Most of the first act of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' is a BeYourself kind of story, with the WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}-esque outcast protagonist hating, then befriending the preppy girl, falling in love with the class clown, [[SoapboxSadie dreaming of a political career]], and discovering that she's a powerful witch. Then she actually goes to pursue said political career, [[CrapsackWorld and absolutely nothing is how she expected.]][[/folder]][[folder:Toys]]* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'' had two forms of this. The first is a gradual fantasy-to [[ScienceFiction Sci Fi]] shift done by revealing the true origins [[DoingInTheWizard of seemingly mystical elements of the plot.]] This was planned from the start. Additionally, there is a case of Cerebus syndrome, as the plot went from a cartoonish NeverSayDie ActionAdventure story to a much DarkerAndEdgier story that borders on CosmicHorrorStory at times.[[/folder]][[folder: Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' starts out as a 2.5D beat 'em up, and then changes so dramatically that it's almost like a collection of minigames rather than a cohesive whole. It changes nearly every stage, with only hints of the first few beat 'em up levels surfacing every so often* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' likes to tease the player with hints and suggestions of genre shift. For example, the first portion of the game seems to be a shooter set in a "normal" world with normal enemies, specifically a mafia group that the titular Payne had infiltrated, but then was exposed after being framed for murdering his partner. Following the connections up the hierarchy leads to a Hellfire Club-like nightclub called Ragnarok, where multiple references to The End of the World are brought up, and it seems the mafia heavy who uses it as a front is worshiping demons and practicing dark magic. However, it turns out that he's just a little insane and full of crap, even if he was killing people in his demented worship--no dark magic, just lots of creepy atmosphere, and then it goes back to what it was. Well, with a few bizarre dream sequences that seem to have installed a door in the FourthWall.* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' starts off as HeroicFantasy, but slowly and surely turns into a HackAndSlash version of SurvivalHorror, the {{horror|Tropes}} aspect being the emphasis here. When things start to really get weird, they [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on it when one of the mission descriptions is "Time and space fall apart, and the fantasy begins."* The ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' series started life as a NintendoHard {{Mon}}s series that blended elements of a management simulation with [[ActionCommands action-based RPG combat]]. ''Monster Rancher EVO'', however, threw it all out the window and was an ordinary RPG with weird, half-and-half combat (half "classic ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher''" style and half standard RPG) and a stats system based on playing a rhythm mini-game. No, really. It also added towns, missions, almost completely axed tournaments, and it had a bizarre circus theme.* ''Franchise/{{PhantasyStar}}'': The original tetralogy is a relatively straightforward series of Japanese [=RPG=]s, though at least one of the side-story games is a text adventure. After the tetralogy, the series became a multiplayer Online Action RPG with ''Phantasy Star Online'', ''Phantasy Star Universe'' and the portable games based on or inspired by these entries.* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}: Combat Evolved'': Two words: The Flood. The game starts off as a fun little shooter where you fight aliens with multi-coloured blood and where marines shout at the fallen enemies. Then you get to "343 Guilty Spark" in which you [[spoiler: wander through a creepy fortress with no enemies, discover what happened to the squad before you then fight through a Flood infested forest. The Flood are like the Left 4 Dead infected, but they can fire weapons AND ROCKET LAUNCHERS. And they can sprint, too.]]* The same case goes for the Trigens in ''VideoGame/FarCry''.* Played with in ''Uncharted 2'' when [[spoiler: you bump into what seems like a yeti-type monster while in the mountains. However, later on it turns out to be a bunch of apparently bullet resistant natives in suits. Which you then discover are actually mythical ape-like Guardians of Shangri-la, so everything is okay again.]]** Something similar happens in its predecessor, Uncharted, where you play a seemingly simple (Albeit still fun) thrid person shooter similar to Tomb Raider but having a bigger emphasis on combat rather than exploration. Come [[WhamEpisode episode 17]] and [[spoiler: the game suddenly turns into a third person ''survival horror'' with the sudden appearance of conquistadores and WWII zombies.]]** This starts happening near the end of Uncharted 3 when [[spoiler: Djinns start possessing the bodies of the mooks you kill, making them incredibly difficult to destroy.]] As it turns out, [[spoiler: it�s actually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]; the Djinn are hallucinations Nate is suffering while under the effects of the [[MindControl mindcontrolling]] MacGuffin]].* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' started as a deconstruction of IJustWantToBeBadass, and still stands as one of its most shining examples.* After a couple of hours in post-alien-invasion urban wasteland, the ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' level ''Ravenholm'' turns the game almost into a survival horror game similar to ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''. Once you reach the end of the level by climbing up an old mine shaft in the early hours of the morning, it's back to regular gameplay and atmosphere again.* In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Airborne'', after 5 missions of largely realistic gameplay based on actual historic UsefulNotes/WorldWarII campaigns, the final mission throws bulletproof, heavy-machinegun-wielding Nazi {{Super Soldier}}s at you, and takes place in, as [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]] put it, "a giant concrete tower that can only be described as a '''Doom Fortress'''", [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower which is]] [[TruthInTelevision actually real]]. 8 were built, they were ridiculously sized, and they had more refuge in intimidation than use.* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: Stranger's Wrath'' starts out as the Oddworld equivalent of a western. Mysterious BountyHunter? Check. Gun toting outlaws? Check. Hick Towns populated by chicken men? ...Um, Check. But then in the final third of the game, [[spoiler:after stumbling into an ambush set up by the BigBad, and getting hit with a TomatoSurprise,]] the game shifts to a more traditional Oddworld setting as you help the native Grubbs overcome the BigBad. This change completely overhauls the game. Stranger's costume changes, the concept of Moolah (and therefore the concept of enemy bounties) is removed (enemies are turned into ammo instead. Don't ask), the soundtrack changes from spaghetti western music to epic orchestrated pieces, the enemies change from gruff outlaws to military Mooks, new gameplay mechanics are added, and the scenery colors shift from browns and reds to blues and greys.* The ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'' goes from fairly conventional (but good) horror, to [[RecycledINSPACE SPACE horror]], to CosmicHorrorStory.* Similarly, ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' starts off as pure humour, then goes to sci-fi at the Cave of the Past, then shifts to horror at the end of said cave.* In terms of in-game Genre Shift, ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' goes from the hunt/gather adventure-game-esque "Cell" and "Creature" stages, to real-time strategy for "Tribal" and "Civilization," to a WideOpenSandbox for "Space."* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' gets a bit of a shift towards the end, from a feudal Japan mythical fantasy to a feudal Japan [[spoiler:Sci-Fi]] fantasy. [[spoiler: Near the end, you see Kaguya, a woman born from a Bamboo shoot in the myth, have a ''rocket that looks like a bamboo shoot'', and in the last part of the game, the eponymous Ark of Yamato turns out to be a ''spaceship'', also implying that these monsters you've been facing are ''aliens''.]]* Similarly to ''Okami'', ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' spends the entire game in typical JRPG swords-and-magic fantasy, only to [[spoiler:switch to Sci-Fi in the ''epilogue'']].* ''TalesOfGraces'' is yet another JRPG to switch gernre to [[spoiler: Sci-Fi]], though in this case it happens halfway through the plot.* ''TalesOfVesperia'' starts as a lighthearted journey storybefore it takes a ''very'' dark shift as [[spoiler: the protagonist becomes a VigilanteMan and [[PayEvilUntoEvil murders several villains who were "above the law"]], with his increasingly extreme methods [[OrderVsChaos bringing him into conflict with his friend]] who intends to go the InternalReformist route.]] Then it becomes a slightly lighter, but still dark, take on a [[spoiler: typical rescue-the-princess story]], and then the mood becomes much lighter and the plot turns into [[spoiler: an elaborate analogy for global warming.]]* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series wavers back and forth on how fantastical its court drama is. In the first game spirit channeling is simply a way to talk to [[SpiritAdvisor Mia Fey]] after her murder. The magatama shows up in the second game, upping the fantasy factor, and by the third game the entire final case revolves around the angry spirit of [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] and her attempt to murder [[spoiler:Maya Fey.]] However, ''Apollo Justice'' trades the spiritual for a scientific (if slightly implausible) explanation for the Perceive ability and in ''Investigations'' the closest we get to unrealism is the holodeck-esque [[SchizoTech Little Thief]]. ''Dual Destinies'' now runs the full gambit of fantasy and scientific (though with leaning on the latter), with the Magatama and Perceive abilities returning, a new futuristic method of therapy, a case based around a mythological demon supposedly being released from his chambers, the revelation that robots exist in this setting, and a heavy focus on space travel.* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' shifts from a linear world to an openended one - the game begins in the World of Light, a bright, happy world with a linear plot and virtually no subquests. The second part of the game, the [[ApocalypseHow World of Ruin]], is a dark, dreary place and is entirely open for exploration, the player free to recruit allies and do subquests in any order before heading to the final dungeon.** In general, the series has toyed with adding in modern and [[ScienceFiction Sci Fi]] elements from time to time, starting with a race of moon people and a giant robot in VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV (or even earlier than that, with [[BonusBoss Warmech]] from the very first game.) and hitting full force by VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII, which went from straight up fantasy with the occasional Sci Fi element to UrbanFantasy.** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'' goes with episodic series with all of them being emotionally challenging stories filled with character developments. After you reach the Moon, however, the game shifts right into a linear and almost plotless dungeon crawler with BossRush.* The game system in the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series remains mostly unaltered, but the story and style subtly shift between games.** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is gritty modern military (unless playing ''The Twin Snakes'').** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' is postmodern MagicalRealism.** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' is [[TuxedoAndMartini martini-flavored]] SpyFiction.** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' is gritty MilitaryScienceFiction.** Also the final boss battles: ''[=MGS1=]'' ends with a fist fight and a chase sequence, ''[=MGS2=]'' ends with a sword duel, ''[=MGS3=]'' end with a cat-and-mouse stealth battle, and ''[=MGS4=]'' ends with a hand-to-hand brawl.** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' finally dropped the stealth and jumped headfirst into HackAndSlash ActionGame.* KOEI's ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' was a 1997 [=PS1=] FightingGame using characters from the ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' storyline; starting with ''2'' for the [=PS2=] it morphed into a HackAndSlash that over time became possibly more popular than the turn-based strategy game (one of Creator/{{KOEI}}'s flagship series), and in turn spawned its own Genre Shift, the ''Empires'' standalone games (for ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' through ''6'', plus ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors 2: Empires'') that uses TurnBasedStrategy between the battles, where the dynamic focused less on enemy commander defeat and more on controlling bases, which would end up getting worked into ''Dynasty Warriors 6''.** ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' had a so-called Duel mode (certain officers could issue challenges which if accepted would turn into 45-second duels inside an enclosed square that however used the same controls and camera as normal gameplay), while ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi 2'' has a versus mode that harkens back to the original ''Dynasty Warriors'' game in being viewed sideways.* The original ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' game started out in the style of a basic DatingSim, but shifted gradually into the horror and {{Gorn}} over the course of the arc. Later on, starting around ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' but becoming most evident in ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', though, the series slowly shifted into being less about horror and more about ThePowerOfFriendship to ScrewDestiny.* The first arc of the sequel series, ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', is a definite horror story [[GetOnWithItAlready once the murders start]]. However, while the later arcs have more {{gorn}}, the simple fact that there's a BigBad to be confronted and argued with shifts it over much more to a "mystery" feel. In fact, a sizeable chunk of the story consists of the characters fighting amongst ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall themselves]]'' about what genre the story's supposed to be.* The first ''VideoGame/{{Dune}}'' game was an AdventureGame. ''DuneII'' established the RealTimeStrategy genre. Note that the first game did have some strategy elements. In fact, you had to set up consistent spice production using the Fremen tribes you find and befriend (which takes some doing), while training other Fremen tribes to fight and arming them in order to defeat the Harkonnen. The game is clearly based more on Creator/DavidLynch's film than the book, even though Duncan Idaho looks like a [[Series/BabylonFive Centauri]], for some reason.* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' is a first-person shooter through and through. But while it starts off as a spy thriller similar to ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}'' (to which ''Perfect Dark'' is a SpiritualSuccessor), the story becomes increasingly sci-fi to where the final level takes place on an alien planet that's at war with another race.* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' began as an atmospheric horror series. By [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 the fifth numerical installment]], the series had shifted to the point that it took place largely in broad daylight, replaced the slow, plodding (but frightening) zombies of the first three games with faster and more intelligent enemies that used firearms (and provided the player with enough guns and ammo to respond in kind), and featured a co-op focus. This was a progression from the fourth game, which shook up the series formula with the introduction of similar gameplay to the fifth, but still had a horror tone to it (as well as a pervasive element of campy self-parody in its story that wasn't present in the previous games and hasn't returned since). With the fifth [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 and now sixth]] games, the horror that the series was once based on has been substituted almost entirely by action. Also, within the aforementioned ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', the soundtrack undergoes a genre shift about two thirds of the way through. For the first three and-a-half chapters, the music is mainly {{drone|OfDread}} or dark ambient, but starting with the later part of Chapter 4, it becomes more action-oriented and orchestral. After that, the Mercenaries sub-game has a techno soundtrack, with two of its songs recycled from ''VideoGame/PN03''.* ''[[VideoGame/MagicalVacation Magical Starsign]]'' does this, in much the same way ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' does.* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}''. During the first parts of the game, the game is very quirky, and quite a few jokes are made, and the focus is mostly on an escape from home, but then, it develops into a fight against a conspiracy involving stealing brains of fellow Psychonauts, from that point on, the game's humour becomes a little darker, the minds more and more creepy, and it shifts towards a psychological thriller - with the final level being a rather infamous example of [[NightmareFuel/{{Psychonauts}} Nightmare Fuel]] (And ScrappyLevel).* The original ''VideoGame/StarControl'' is an action/strategy sci-fi game with very little plot. The sequel is a plot-heavy action/adventure game, and [[GrowingTheBeard much better]] for it. The creators have [[WordOfGod said]] that this was quite deliberate; they weren't too excited by the idea of a sequel that was just more of the same.* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':** The first three games were all RTS games where you could build and command entire armies In fact, ''Warcraft'' more or less refined the RTS format. ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', however, is a MMORPG where you command ONE character. But the first three games provide most of the backstory, and there's even places in the ''World of Warcraft'' where you can site where specific events in the previous games happened. For example, the throneroom above Undercity was directly based on a cinematic from ''Warcraft III'' where [[spoiler: Arthas betrayed his people and murdered his father.]] Alot of the original in-game builds are based on the buildings (Mostly the Alliance and Horde Barracks) straight out of the 3rd game.** The Expansion for the third game was what slowly shifted the genre from strategy to RPG; it introduced Heroes that could be revived, had numerous abilities, and more importantly could level up and become stronger. The various campaigns were more focused on your hero units than your other ones, with a harsher food cap that resulted in much smaller armies compared to the previous installments. This culminated in the Frozen Thrones campaign for the Orcs, which was a RPG in all but name as you were given control of, at most, 3 units during the whole campaign, but were all hero units that broke the level cap of 10. * ''VideoGame/ThunderForce'' is an arena shooter. ''Thunder Force II'' is part arena, part sidescroller. Every TF game past ''II'' is a sidescroller.* The independent game ''Suguri'' is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up, while its sequel, ''Acceleration of Suguri'', is a one-on-one arena shooter.* ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'' does this intentionally, as the game is based on [[PlayingThePlayer having things not exactly as they appear]].* The cute and sweet dating sim series Franchise/{{Angelique}} did this a few times for spin-off titles, but the best example is the RPG "Tenkuu no Requiem" which flirts with getting DarkerAndEdgier by bringing in a group of villains who aren't afraid to [[KickTheDog kick some dogs]]. (Quite literally in the accompanying RadioDrama.) This was a temporary shift though as following games returned to the series main genre.* Each game in the ''VideoGame/BitTrip'' series is based on different gameplay mechanics.** ''BEAT'' is a paddle game similar to ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}''.** ''CORE'' is a double-axis shooter.** ''VOID'' is a free-roaming collection game.** ''RUNNER'' is a PlatformGame.** ''FATE'' is a BulletHell shooter.** ''FLUX'' returns to ''BEAT'''s gameplay design, while applying some gameplay mechanics and concepts from the other games.* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: SWAT'' started as a first-person InteractiveMovie, then changed to isometric overhead RTS, then to a ''VideoGame/RainbowSix''-style TacticalShooter. Going back further, ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest 1''-''4'' were all Creator/{{Sierra}} adventure games. The first game was a straightforward PoliceProcedural. The second game was mostly a police procedural with more of a ''Film/LethalWeapon'' flavor. The third game was a DarkerAndEdgier tale of revenge. And ''Police Quest: Open Season'' was an even darker AuthorTract about trying to hunt a [[DepravedHomosexual crossdressing serial killer]] despite the media's interference.* ''Iji'' has a decidedly Survival/Horror twinge to it, especially in the very first level, but that is very quickly dispelled, and it very rapidly progresses into an epic Sci-Fi battle to secure the safety of the planet, with increasing levels of epic warfare depending on how you progress.* ''VideoGame/BoilingPointRoadToHell'' most of the game is set in a Troperiffic WideOpenSandbox BananaRepublic. You deal with the drug lords, the rebels, the army and the CIA. The final act: Stop the BigBad in his volcano lair from using his giant mind control device.* The ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi (Do)DonPachi]]'' features this not exactly in its gameplay[[note]]the later games play differently from earlier games, but in ways [[PublicMediumIgnorance nobody cares about]][[/note]], but in its characters and plot. The series started off as two shooters with mainly mechanical graphics for the player and enemies, much like other shmups of their time; the only characters you see are the player character (in ''[=DoDonPachi=]'''s true ending), the Colonel, and [[TrueFinalBoss Hibachi]]. In ''[=DoDonPachi=] dai ou jou'', the "mecha-loli" element starts to creep in: the player character is accompanied by one of several different Element Dolls, who make prominent appearances on the covers of the [=PS2=] and XBox360 ports. By ''[=DoDonPachi=] Daifukkatsu'', the mecha-loli trend is in full force; the Element Daughters (successors to the Dolls) appear as ''bosses'' and you'd be hard-pressed to find official ''Daifukkatsu'' art that is devoid of the Daughters, let alone features the player ships.* ''VideoGame/UltimaI'' begins as a more-or-less typical fantasy RPG and then gets to the point where you have to use a time machine and go into outer space to defeat twenty spaceships to gain the title of "Space Ace." All this in 1980.** Ultima IV shifted from a traditional fantasy adventure with "Kill the BigBad" as the primary goal, with a story that was more about philosophy and attaining personal enlightenment, without a primary villain. Later games had villains again, but the philosophical overtones represented by the Virtues remained an important theme throughout.* ''VideoGame/RainbowSix'' switched from a plan-based multi-team TacticalShooter to a more straightforward single-team semi-tactical shooter starting with the console versions of ''3''.* The first two installments of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' had fairly realistically-handling cars, then it shifted to arcade-style handling starting with ''Hot Pursuit'', then to WideOpenSandbox racing from ''Underground to Undercover''. Only with ''Shift'' did it return to its simulation roots.* ''Franchise/WonderBoy'' went from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''-style platformer to linear ActionRPG to ShootEmUp to {{Metroidvania}} in the span of four games.* The ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' GameMod ''[[http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/day-hard-complete-half-life-2/ Day-Hard]]'', usually a straightforward parody FPS, has a part where you need to enter a HellHotel sans weapons for a FetchQuest. What follows is ''Franchise/SilentHill''-esque SurrealHorror. It doesn't last too long, but it's very out-of-place nonetheless.* The original ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'' was a ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''-inspired run 'n gun shoot-'em-up essentially developed to be SNK's answer to Capcom's ''Commando''. The sequel, ''Victory Road'', retained the same game system from the first game, but was now set in outer space and featured alien enemies and high-tech power-ups. The third and final game in the series, ''Ikari III: The Rescue'', returned to the military theme of the first game, but was now an overhead beat-'em-up instead of a shoot-'em-up.* There was a minor trend among game developers to turn established belt-scrolling franchises into competitive {{fighting game}}s as a result of the "fighting game boom" of the 90s:** All three versions of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters'' by Konami, which were all preceded by various ''Turtles'' beat-'em-ups such as the [[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheArcadeGame original arcade game]] and ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Turtles in Time]]'', as well as the console-exclusive ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheManhattanProject Manhattan Project]]'' and ''Hyperstone Heist'' (although to be fair, [[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the first NES game]] and all three Game Boy games were platformers).** ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon V: The Shadow Falls'', a Tradewest-developed game based on the ''WesternAnimation/DoubleDragon'' animated series, and the Technos-developed Neo-Geo game simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Double Dragon]]'', which was based on the movie.** ''Golden Axe: The Duel'', the third VideoGame/GoldenAxe arcade game (later ported to the SegaSaturn).** ''Final Fight: Revenge'' for the arcade and Saturn, which is ironic since the original ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' began development as a beat-'em-up spin-off of ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' titled ''Street Fighter '89''.* The original ''VideoGame/SaturdayNightSlamMasters'', along with its upgraded edition ''Muscle Bomber Duo'', played as one would expect from an arcade-style WrestlingGame. The sequel, ''Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters II'', plays like a wrestling-themed version of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' (i.e. multiple punch and kick buttons, command-based special moves, [=2D=] playing field, victory by KO, round-based matches).* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' started out as a tribute to martial arts cinema. Apart from the MultiArmedAndDangerous monster dude Goro, nothing out of the game was too out of the ordinary for those who've seen martial arts movies, and its main claim to fame was being the first major "bloody" fighting game. Then ''VideoGame/MortalKombat2'' came around, and the main plot of the series -- a dimension-wide conflict for people's souls -- took center stage. Then ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' turned things in a post-apocalyptic direction, with some sci-fi elements added in the form of the Lin Kuei cyborg ninja program. And so on and so forth.* The original ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' for the GameBoyAdvance was a puzzle platformer modeled after ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'', but the NintendoDS sequels, from ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis'' to ''Miniland Mayhem'', were ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}''-style puzzle game that utilize the touch screen and stylus. The latest installment, ''Minis On the Move'' for Nintendo3DS, is a ''VideoGame/{{Locomotion}}'' clone.* ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'''s story is an extreme example of this; the story starts out as an occult murder mystery, but, somehow, it suddenly turns into a philosophical sci-fi action flick a la Film/TheMatrix near the end.* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' is an extensive RPG with dating sim elements and {{Mon}}s based on demons. The sequel ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is a fighting game by Creator/ArcSystemWorks. In fact, this has happened a lot with the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series. The main series tends towards dark, post-apocalyptic stories, the first two games and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' having heavy sci-fi elements (you use some kind of technological device to summon your demons,) while ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' does away with all the sci-fi elements. Meanwhile, the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' series ditches the post-apocalyptic elements and introduces high-school life and Jungian psychology into the mix, with the demons becoming aspects of a person's psyche, and the enemy demons doing the same, turning into Shadows starting with ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}''. By ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', SliceOfLife and DatingSim elements are introduced, while ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' turns into a more [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted]] Franchise/ScoobyDoo-style murder mystery with [=MegaTen=] trappings. Meanwhile ''again'', the VideoGame/{{Raidou|KuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy}} [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]] games are AlternateHistory with more action elements and also more light-hearted, while ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' acts very much like a {{Deconstruction}} of the {{Mon}}s genre in general. And that's only counting a ''few'' of the games in the franchise.* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' starts off like most typical ''Mario'' games, where the title plumber had to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser (in this game, Bowser kidnaps Peach and carries her off into space), but about halfway through the game, the plot unexpectedly shifts to a sad story about the loss of a different princess' family, but then cuts back to Mario still trying to save Peach from Bowser.* The first half of ''Lionheart'' was a rather good RPG with a decent backstory, interesting dialogue and plenty of opportunity for roleplaying and character development. Then around the midpoint the whole thing devolved into a hack-and-slash fest with hardly any side quests.* The original ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'' game was an RPG with shooting elements, while the sequels are more of an action-shooter game with a few RPG elements thrown in.** ''MassEffectAndromeda'' makes the jump from the SpaceOpera of the original trilogy to the SpaceWestern that defined shows like ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. * ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir'', as the title implies, starts out as an AffectionateParody of the FilmNoir genre. Once you figure out the sinister plan behind the events, however, it turns into a CosmicHorrorStory.* ''Tecmo's VideoGame/{{Deception}}'' was a first-person RPG which made use of common conventions such as a ManaMeter, recovery items, buying and selling from merchants, and SummonMagic. The sequels ditched all of this in favor of more action-oriented third-person gameplay with an emphasis on {{combos}}.* ''VideoGame/LittleInferno'': [[spoiler:After being a pure puzzle game in which you group objects together in a fireplace and set them on fire to unlock combos, which only consists of just two screens of which one is the inventory/store, completing the last combo results in the fireplace exploding. From that point on, the final 15 minutes are much more like a point and click adventure where you see your own character for the first time and wander outside into the frozen wasteland that has been hinted to in some letters you burned.]]* ''VideoGame/SilentStorm'' starts out as a fairly realistic SpyFiction set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII where you command a squad of Allied or Axis commandos and tasked with finding traitors and following clues. Then [[PoweredArmor Panzerkleins]] are introduced, followed by {{Energy Weapon}}s and a shadowy organization straight out of ''Film/JamesBond'' that seeks to get both sides of the war to obliterate each other, so that they can pick up the pieces. The change was so jarring, a mod was created shortly after release to remove Panzerkleins from the game (although that makes the plot a little nonsensical).** The stand-alone ExpansionPack ''Silent Storm Sentinels'' takes place a few years after the war, with the game going back to its SpyFiction roots, and the titular organization (made up of some of the commandos from both sides) trying to stop the formerly-defeated organization from going back to its old tricks. Then (sigh) the Panzerkleins are re-introduced (apparently, everyone forgot about them, and none were left in the Sentinels' stocks), and (with TheReveal that [[spoiler:the Sentinels' commander is the head of the villainous organization]]) it goes right back into ''James Bond'' territory with Panzerkleins and energy weapons.** ''Hammer & Sickle'', surprisingly, averts this, as the developers have finally listened to the players and did their best to stick to the SpyFiction genre. This time, since the events take place during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, the fiction is of this flavor. The PlayerCharacter is a Soviet soldier sent across the Iron Curtain to form a spy network and subvert the Allies without starting WorldWarIII (an actual [[NonStandardGameOver possibility]])... The the Sentinels and the organization (that just won't die) show up... but without their high-tech toys.* ''MissionCritical'' is a fairly hard sci-fi first-person adventure game, where the PlayerCharacter is the last surviving crewmember aboard the USS ''Lexington'' after it is ambushed by a more powerful [[UnitedNationsIsASuperPower UN]] ship, and most of the crew play the role of a Trojan Horse in order to [[ISurrenderSuckers sneak a nuke aboard the enemy ship]] and give the player time to complete the mission. A good first part of the game is devoted to the player trying to fix immediate problems with the ship, such as an overloading reactor, the frozen main computer, a hole in the hull, inactive communication dish, etc. Then it switches to a more typical sci-fi about exploring other planets and alien ruins. Cue TimeTravel, and the genre switches again, only to go back to its original genre in time for the FinalBattle ([[spoiler:which is also the first battle which was originally lost]]). The game also features an UnexpectedGameplayChange, where the typical first-person adventure game changes to a space RTS for {{Space Battle}}s.* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' starts out as a typical (if slightly sub-par) military shooter. Then you get to [[WhamEpisode Chapter 8]], and the game changes into a deconstruction of military shooters with heaps of PsychologicalHorror.* ''VideoGame/ADarkRoom'' begins as a text-based civ builder, suddenly turns into a roguelike, and ends up as a classic ShootEmUp. * You can do this yourself with the extremely versatility of ''VideoGame/TheSims'', in the sense that you can alter the setting of the game world. ''The Sims 3'' in particular has mastered this trope. In that game alone, you can have your RidiculouslyAverageGuy go about averagely paying bills, get in an average amount of exercise, enjoy average family barbecues, work in an average dead end job at the ole business office, shoot the breeze with the average neighbors, go on average bowling nights, get married to an average girl and have average kids... but then you can turn your average guy into a vampire-werewolf hybrid and have him fight with your alien neighbors, get a job as a ghost hunter, become insanely muscular, have sex with every able bodied female in the world, detonate public property for fun, die and come back to life, craft a man-sized {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}} from scratch... among other things. * The ''Saints Row'' series has had this happen a couple of times. The original game was a deadly serious drama about police corruption , gang warfare, and urban decay. The second game was a ''Scarface''-style revenge story that slowly got DenserAndWackier as it progressed. ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' jumps the rails and goes into full-on AffectionateParody mode. ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' shifts again, starting off as wacky as the third game, but quickly becoming a surprisingly [[DarkerAndEdgier grim]] sci fi story that borrows heavily from ''Film/TheMatrix.''** Gameplay has undergone a slow but steady shift, as well. The first game was a dyed-in-the-wool ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' clone, and the second mostly followed suit. Changes to ''Saints Row: The Third'' pushed more into action-RPG territory (with an XP/level system and customizable perks). ''Saints Row IV'' seems to have embraced that genre full-on, actually calling XP by name, changing "Missions" to "Quests" and adding side-quests and a spellcasting-like superpowers system.* A relatively subtle example happens in ''VideoGame/EmeraldCityConfidential'' after Chapter 2. As more magic gets used by the characters, the story takes on a less cynical FilmNoir tone. [[spoiler:It even has a genuinely happy ending, which isn't noir-ish at all.]]* The ''Diablo'' franchise has always been an action-RPG with emphasis on action. That said, the games have slowly lost the trappings of [=RPG=]s. With the third game's switch to automatically assigning attribute points and removing any perment decision trees (for example, skills can now be respec'ed almost at will, rather than being permanent), it has essentially become a pure Action title with class loadouts.* The ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' series; once a 3D platformer, it went through several different owners and many genres until it became a game where you control monsters to fight other monsters.* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' Starts out as a light-hearted NoPlotNoProblem first person shooter, then switched gears with a wackier backstory, [[CoolHat hats]] and comedy, then of course, Gray Mann came into the story, and it turned DarkerAndEdgier, with the team fighting an endless horde of robots, based on themselves, and eventually lost their jobs. The current (non-related to game) story is of Ms. Pauling, the StopHelpingMe announcer's sidekick attempting to [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether put the team back together]].* This trope is one of the defining features of the company Creator/KeyVisualArts - the original four main games they created (''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Air}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', and ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'') all start off as light-hearted slice of life comedies that slowly segue into romance and serious drama with [[MagicRealism supernatural elements]]. The first game to diverge, ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}'', only did so by adding in a new genre, taking it from slice of life comedy with urban fantasy elements to an outright fantasy romance.* ''VideoGame/SilentHills''' playable teaser shifts from previous ''Franchise/SilentHill'' titles' third-person survival gameplay to first person exploration.* ''[[VideoGame/LaraCroftTombRaiderChronicles Tomb Raider Chronicles]]'' does this every 4 levels, being comprised of 4 stories about Lara's past: first, standard action-adventure fare set in Rome, with a twist of comedy (due mainly to the presence of [[ThoseTwoGuys Pierre and Larson]]), then an espionage-themed adventure set in a Soviet Submarine, followed by a straight-up horror story starring TheFairFolk and teenage Lara and lastly, another espionage story set in a skyscraper, but this time including more action elements. The game itself is much darker in tone (appropriately, as the four speakers are [[spoiler:mourning Lara's ([[DisneyDeath not]]) death]]), and serves as a bridge between ''Last Revelation's'' balanced tone and ''Angel Of Darkness''' [[BloodierAndGorier extremely dark]] [[DarkerAndEdgier storyline]].* The ''Franchise/MuvLuv'' franchise turns this UpToEleven.** First, you have VisualNovel/MuvLuvExtra, a harem visual novel that mostly plays out like a silly high school romantic comedy.** Then you have VisualNovel/MuvLuvUnlimited, which transports the protagonist to a post-apocalyptic setting where humanity is threatened with annihilation, but still manages to retain much of the romantic comedy elements of Extra. Though it does [[DownerEnding end tragically]].** And finally there's VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative wherein you return with all your "experience" of Unlimited intact, and try to stop mankind's impending doom. This VN abandons most of the comedy of the earlier installments and become a full-fledged apocalyptic horror story, with many, many traumatic and painful events to endure.* The [[WhamEpisode Bad Boys Love]] route of ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'': The game abruptly transitions from a humorous (if sometimes [[Heartwarming/HatofulBoyfriend surprisingly heartfelt]]) pigeon dating sim to a [[spoiler:dark and violent murder mystery/thriller story]].* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' has done this twice. Originally it was a WorldWarII shooter, much like ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' and countless others. Then, in 2007, they released ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' to massive success, launching the Modern-Military Shooter genre and [[FollowTheLeader spawning numerous imitators]]. However, due to oversaturation on the market (among other things), the Modern-Military Shooter became DeaderThanDisco much like the WorldWarII shooter before it. As such, the series threw the genre overboard to rid itself of the title (ironic since they were the ones who popularized it in the first place), and has now settled on being an AlternateHistory[=/=]SciFi shooter.* ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'' was a spoof of [=JRPGs=]. [[VideoGame/Barkley2CurseOfCuchulainn Its sequel]] is a more Western-styled Action RPG with a ''Diablo''-ish focus on loot.* ''VideoGame/Hitman'' is a series of stealth-action games. ''Hitman GO'' uses the series' stealth mechanics as the base for a turn-based puzzle game.* The first entries in the ''VideoGame/RType'' series had always hinted on the evil nature of the Bydo. But it wasn't until ''Delta'' that the shmup franchise really took a turn for a DarkerAndEdgier direction, replacing the colorful sprites of previous games with a ''substantial'' dash of NightmareFuel. The series itself had ''another'' one later on, with the turn-based ''R-Type Tactics'' spin-offs.[[/folder]][[folder: Web Comics ]]* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'''s [[CerebusSyndrome change from comedy to dramedy]] was apparently planned from the very beginning.* Ditto ''Webcomic/UnicornJelly'', which goes from a quirky almost-but-not-quite Fantasy series (the main character is a witch with apparently no magic) to science fiction spanning hundreds of thousands of years and multiple universes. A Powers Of 10 map on the site really hits it home, going from the main character's home out into the multiverse.* ''Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' is looking like it might be doing this. The strip started out as the standard light college campus humor, but little hints and bits have added up so that it looks like it might have always been intended to end up with an apocalyptic ending. If the author has stated for sure one way or another, I haven't heard.* ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' started out as a lightweight and slightly surreal urban SitCom, but gradually began adding elements of ScienceFiction and/or {{Fantasy}} with the introduction of characters who might be gods, immortals or aliens, the concept of humans possessing (or being possessed by) inner demons, and a 12,000 year old mystery. In spite of all this, the sitcom elements are still present, and often just as strong as ever.* ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' began as a relatively light-hearted, family-friendly BettyAndVeronica comic with brief story arcs and a long stretch of unconnected gag-a-day strips. WordOfGod says this was because the creators tried to pitch it as a syndicated [[NewspaperComics newspaper comic]]. When the syndicates failed to show interest, the creators took advantage of the Webcomic medium's greater flexibility by increasing the drama-to-comedy ratio and by introducing more experimental storytelling techniques ("Second Looks," "20 2020 Pennies"), [[HotterAndSexier mature themes]] ("Behind Closed Doors," "Awakening," "The Last Summer of Youth"), and arcs running several months ("Dinner for Six," "The Popsicle War," and "Missing Person," the first chapter of which was a PoliceProcedural, and the final chapter a PsychologicalThriller).* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', while quite often is still the ScienceFiction[=/=]{{Fantasy}}[=/=]SliceOfLife comedy it started out as, has made increasing use of darker, more dramatic storylines as it's continued.* ''FOG Club'' began life as a romcom about four college anime fans, before - with little to no explanation - having the cast sucked through a portal into an alternate dimension based on Trigun, where they fought an evil scientist called Falco Amadeus and an android duplicate of the main character.* ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' shifts back and forth between domestic, observational strips that find humor in the mundane, and surreal fantasy arcs involving Mexican MagicalRealism, three-hundred-man outdoor brawls, and Heaven burning down.* ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' began as a simple, four panel webcomic about two friends trapped in Japan, the focus being more on the two men playing off each other verbally and [[TwoGamersOnACouch talking about video games]]. As time went on, [[ContinuityDrift the comic drifted away from this]], and began to focus more on the relationships Piro and Largo were creating in Japan, and [[{{Deconstruction}} picking apart aspects of popular Japanese culture]].* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' started out about a post-college Indie rocker, his friends, and his weird little RobotBuddy. Then Faye got her tragic backstory, Pintsize got increasingly destructive and psychotic, Raven got kinda skanky, etc, until you can barely recognize the characters from the early strips.* ''Webcomic/YuMeDream'' starts out as a romantic story between two girls at a Catholic school, dealing with the various issues that comes with, with some family drama -- an average young adult romance story. Then after a hefty WHAMEpisode it turns into a slightly-psychological adventure-based story on an epic scale.* Within [[http://xkcd.com/734/ this xkcd strip]].* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' was originally intended to be a superhero comedy webcomic about the titular brothers. It changed into a sprite comic after the author realized he couldn't draw.* Webcomic/KidRadd started out as a general parody of video games. Then Cerberus syndrome sets in.* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' started out as a simple SpiritualSuccessor to ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'', but in time became a riff on epic stories and creation mythos, which made the series much more popular. Later, When [[EnsembleDarkHorse the trolls]] [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent were introduced]], the entire comic shifted to have RomanticComedy elements and took a turn for the darker.* Since-ended Website/{{Keenspot}} comic ''Cool Cat Studio'' started out as a mundane office comedy without any hint of unusual goings-on. Then one of the characters underwent alien abduction and cloning. Eventually the comic became an all-out FantasyKitchenSink, with arcs centered around ghosts, magic, secret agents, and extraterrestrial war.* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' starts out as a comedic [[DeadToBeginWith Bangsian Fantasy]] about the periphery of Hell, but rather abruptly turns into a WalkingTheEarth fantasy adventure a few years in.* Janet Steele in ''Webcomic/ContestJitters'' was a budding amateur bodybuilder. In ''Webcomic/SatinSteele'', she has become a professional bodybuilder who confronts aliens and a conspiracy.* The {{Walkyverse}} has done this over the course of its various entries. ''Roomies'' was a SliceOfLife story about dorm life, which slowly became more of a dramedy after the introduction [[spoiler:and later death]] of Ruth. An initially one-off alien abduction plot also returns and takes over the final arc, leading into the next comic. ''It's Walky'' is half sci-fi adventure story and half sitcom, following the various alien abductees as they fight the machinations of the Head Alien while dealing with their own personal problems. After that the story splits in two: ''Shortpacked!'' is a DenserAndWackier sequel about the quirky and geeky staff of a toy store, and engages in frequent pop culture parodies, along with the odd serious storyline. Finally ''Joyce and Walky'' more directly follows It's Walky, beginning as a domestic sitcom, but eventually reintegrating the science fiction elements and tying up loose ends from the alien plot. This is averted with DumbingOfAge, a spin-off-slash-reboot of the Walkyverse that excises the sci-fi elements, combines the casts of all the previous comics, and is a straight up dramedy throughout.[[/folder]][[folder: Web Original ]]* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' veers all over the genre map as it progresses. Beginning as a mildly surreal, Halo-themed take on ''Series/{{Mash}}'', it quickly becomes more and more [[Creator/MontyPython Pythonesque]] until it's nearly crossed into slapstick, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' territory. Then, beginning with side stories like ''Out of Mind'', it suddenly veers into serious science fiction, which spills over into the main series before settling into a very odd fusion of all the above genres. Which genre or combination of genres works best is definitely a matter of personal taste. As of its later seasons, it is firmly entrenched in SeriousBusiness, albeit with some gags.* While many of the chapter reviews on the [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/ Mark Reads Twilight weblog]] follow the traditional "quote the source text, [[SnarkBait mock it ruthlessly]], add some funny {{Angrish}}" formula that's far too common in most {{MST}} blogs, reviewer [[Blog/MarkReadsHarryPotter Mark Oshiro]] often goes out of his way to mix up the structure of his posts. A handful of his best genre shifts include: Bella and Edward [[FourthWallMailSlot writing letters to Stephenie Meyer]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4437901/ questioning their own character development;]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4442971/mark-reads-twilight-chapter-9/ Mark's own autopsy report]] after the chapter's stupidity [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to "suicide";]] [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4489601/ legendary announcer Vin Scully giving a play-by-play of the infamous "Vampire Baseball" scene]]; [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4523531/mark-reads-twilight-chapter-24/ Charlie and Jacob staging an intervention to stop Bella from submitting to "Cullenism";]] and [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4608661/mark-reads-new-moon-chapter/ Bella Tweeting away while she stalks Jacob Black.]] He also likes to change his targets, for example, mocking the hate mail he gets from ''Twilight'' fans, liveblogging the ''Twilight'' movie with his readers, [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/4839521/mark-reads-story-behind-writing/ (attempting to) read the "Making of New Moon" page on Meyer's website]], and [[http://markreadstwilight.buzznet.com/user/journal/5259711/mark-reads-eclipse-chapter-10/ calling out a relationship counsellor who uses Edward Cullen to give boys advice on romance.]] Although he far preferred ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' which he also reviewed at ''Blog/MarkReadsHarryPotter'', he also mixed those ones up. He'd write the reviews as a script of the book, with characters commenting on plot developments, liveblog entries from various characters, and Hedwig-the-spy writing entries on her mission to guard the boy who lived.* "[[Roleplay/RubyQuest Okay, so we're playing as an adorable bunny with amnesia.]] And we have to rescue our little cat friend from his cell. Okay, seems to be a standard puzzle game, so far so good...hey, is there someone behind that door?"* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick talks about how ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'' went from ABoyAndHisX to Buddy Comedy halfway through. Similarly, The Nostalgia Chick herself went through a major genre shift. Going from the linear nature of the Critic to doing analytical reviews with her friends doing sketches related to the movie. She also no longer reviews movies aimed toward women exclusively, reviewing different films like ''Film/CoolRunnings'' every once in a while.* Used to creative effect in this short film by Mathieu Ratthe: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4meeZifCVro "Lovefield"]]. In the middle of a secluded cornfield a man appears to be finishing killing a bloodied woman off screen. Hurrying back to his truck, he grabs a towel and the audience presumes he's trying to cover up the body and perhaps dispose it in some way. During this time, suspenseful music plays to heighten the horror. Then just at the end the man says "It's a boy", and a newborn baby appears in view. The woman who sounded like she was dying was in fact in the midst of giving birth and the blood was just the afterbirth. The ending is accompanied by heartwarming music.* Website/TheOnion's reality TV satire ''WebVideo/SexHouse'' starts out as, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a satire of reality TV]], and a hilarious one, at that. While the series takes on [[DarkerAndEdgier a]] [[BlackComedy darker]] [[ComedicSociopathy tone]] pretty early on, the later episodes seem to be heading to full-on horror territory.* "The Review Must Go On" to both WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic and WebVideo/DemoReel. Both had their moments of horror, but the former was a character-driven review show and the latter was a {{dramedy}}. The only genre that can describe "The Review Must Go On" is PsychologicalHorror.[[/folder]][[folder: Western Animation]]* The first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' mostly consisted of Orel wanting to [[SpoofAesop do the right thing]], but ultimately [[HilarityEnsues interpreting the lessons wrong]] and taking them to their literal end. However, the last two episodes of season two and the entirety of the third season took [[MoodWhiplash a sharp turn]] into [[CerebusSyndrome dark territory]], going from a satire of authority and conservatism to the semi-deconstruction of the [[CrapsackWorld effects of such a setting]].* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':** ''South Park'' initially started out as a simple surrealist comedy, but the creators later shifted it to a commentary of the real world, from everything such as politics to celebrities. The creators intentionally wrote Mr. Hat out of the show as a symbol of the transition.** In-universe: in "Sexual Healing", the video game franchise ''Tiger Woods PGA'' Tour turned into a pastiche of fighting games based on Woods' marital infidelity. Cartman, Stan, and Kenny loved the game. Once Woods got over his sexual addiction at the end of the episode, the next ''PGA Tour'' game went back to the status quo, upsetting Cartman and Stan (Kenny, meanwhile, had died. Again).* Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is just slapstick comedy in a parody setting; season 2 downplays the raw slapstick and up-plays the parody/satire/{{Deconstruction}} elements of the show, culminating in a funny but fairly serious season finale. Seasons 3 & 4 still feature a lot of humor, and it's definitely still a comedy show, but there's been a significant shift from it being a parody of sci-fi/action/everything to now being a genuine example of those genres.* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' started out as an episodic comedy with heavy ExecutiveMeddling from ABC's standards and practices. This changed in the middle of season 2 when ABC dropped the show and the writers were given free rein on the show. The episodic nature was dropped in favor of longer story arcs and a much darker tone. The comedy is still there, just mixed in with the darker story.* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was an Asian-influenced HighFantasy that featured its heroes WanderingTheEarth to stop an EvilOverlord with few {{Steampunk}} elements and couple asethetics in final season. The SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', by contrast, is an Asian-influenced UrbanFantasy series with the protagonists fighting an AntiMagicalFaction in a CityOfAdventure, with the following books dealing with [[EvilOverlord stopping the Evil Water Tribe leader]] from [[EvilReactionary opening the Spirts Portals which the first Avatar, Wan, closed ten thousands years ago]] and stop [[GodOfEvil Vaatu]], preventing a group of anarchists [[RenegadeSplinterFaction (Whose faction was created by rogue memebers of the White Lotus)]] from [[BombThrowingAnarchists destroying all nations and the Avatar]], and the consequences of the fall of [[TheKingdom the Earth Kingdom]] and the latter creation of the [[TheEmpire Earth Empire]] under [[PuttingOnTheReich Kuvira's regime]].** Technology from the show has also advanced from {{Steampunk}} across most of the original series to a more RoaringTwenties aesthetics in the sequel Books and with these developing into {{Dieselpunk}} themes during Books 3 and 4.* The two-part series premiere of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' was a MagicalGirl story that just happened to star ponies. Once the episode's villain was defeated and the world saved, the show immediately shifted to a SliceOfLife ensemble comedy featuring AnAesop at the end of (nearly) [[OncePerEpisode every episode]], though it switches back to the MagicalGirl elements combined with increasingly-prominent HighFantasy tropes on occasion, mostly in season premieres and finales. CerebusRollercoaster is in full effect when directly comparing the "normal" episodes to the "event" episodes, with a slight ongoing [[CerebusSyndrome shift toward seriousness]] overall. And then there are times where individual episodes shift to other genres, such as a Western or a Mystery.* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' shifted from an action-comedy spoof of superhero shows to a downright ''bizarre'' GagSeries late in its run. It was unsurprisingly not well received, and it wasn't long before the show was cancelled. * ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' starts as a MonsterOfTheWeek comedy with [[ScoobyDooHoax guys in]] [[PeopleInRubberSuits costumes]] with silly back stories and motives. As time goes by, the [[CerebusSyndrome mysteries get darker]], the [[EvilGenius villains]] [[AxCrazy get more dangerous,]] and [[spoiler:the [[CosmicHorrorStory monsters are real]].]]* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' shifted from action-comedy to action-drama with a few comedic elements.* ''{{Archer}}'''s season 5: ''Archer Vice''. They're now inept cocaine smugglers hiding out from the law in a mansion instead of inept spies working together in an office. [[spoiler:Completely undone by the season finale, however.]]* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' is a comedic fantasy series about the world through babies eyes. It's sequel, ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' has none of the fantasy and instead opts to be a SliceOfLife series about middle schoolers, comparable to ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger''. Needless to say it's a little odd seeing Tommy and co discussing puberty and having their first crushes. * Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' marked a shift from an episodic series with little continuity to a more [[HalfArcSeason story-driven one]]. Seasons 4 and 5 take it further, ArcWelding plots from previous seasons' episodes into a broader MythArc.[[/folder]]