The shonen series Gintama has been one of Shonen Jump's best successes over the years. Part of what makes it so popular is how easily it switches between genres, and it's able to cater to multiple fanbases. But Gintama isn't the only series that's been able to pull this off— though it might very well be the only one that flips back and forth so effortlessly.
Still, there are plenty anime that give off the feeling of being about one kind of story at first, only to introduce very sudden shifts in genre. Most of the time, the series in question is beloved for being willing to take such a major risk while already working for most fans.
10 Gintama — From Comedic Parody To Serious Action
Gintama has the most unique genre shift in that the series never completely gives up on what it is. The show starts out as a loving parody of action series, with the lead Gintoki being a samurai in a world that doesn’t need samurai.
It’s more of a comedy for several episodes, but eventually it hits an arc where the series delves into hardcore action. The series will shift back to comedy mostly, but will always pop back up with serious action arcs eventually.
9 My-HiMe — From School Anime To Highlander-Esque Adventure
My-HiMe starts out simply enough, focused on Mai Tokiha, a young woman who’s been brought to Fuuka Academy, a massive school on an island away from the rest of the country. Mai is eventually introduced to her power as a HiMe, having the ability to defeat giant monsters known as Orphans with their weapons combined with their own monsters known as Children.
But before it can properly settle into that role, My-HiMe shifts into becoming a series that’s not unlike Highlander, as the HiMe learn the truth about their powers.
8 Kiddy Grade — From Space Action Series To Political Drama
Kiddy Grade is at first a straightforward space series about a pair of young women who work for an organization known as the GOTT, the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs, a police force in space.
The young women, Eclair and Lumiere, go on missions for the GOTT as members of the ES Force, beings with special powers above other GOTT members. But once the truth about Eclair’s past is made clear, things take a sharp turn into a decidedly darker, more political story.
7 Yu Yu Hakusho — From Ghost Story To Detective Series
When starting Yu Yu Hakusho, one might assume the story is entirely about Yusuke getting his body back. The setup initially seems to be that the story will have him be a ghost for the bulk of the series, and that the series will end with him getting his human form back.
But instead, Yusuke becomes a human again in episode five, and that’s when the real story begins. Yusuke suddenly gains has brand-new powers, and is invited to become a Spirit Detective, becoming the intermediary between the human world and the demon world.
6 Negima!? — From Silly Harem Comedy To Full-Fledged Shonen Action
Negima starts out as another harem series from Ken Akamatsu, the creator of Love Hina. Love Hina was a massive success, so as the story goes the writer was strongly pushed to create one more harem series. So Negima starts out with it’s main character Negi being the lone guy in a class of junior high school girls, with a sneeze that could obliterate the clothes of anyone in range.
But after Negi battles a vampire a few episodes in, suddenly more and more shonen elements started making their way in. Eventually Negi has classic shonen power-up transformations and his students become competent magicians and fighters themselves.
5 Madoka Magica — From Magical Girl Genre Cliche To Magical Girl Genre Deconstruction
Madoka Magica starts out as a magical girl series, albeit a bit aiming to be a bit more high-brow than the usual series. The Magical Girls are forced to do battle with powerful witches who attack humans, but then they eventually learn where witches come from.
Madoka Magica is a complete deconstruction of the magical girl genre after that, and as a result it becomes one of the most popular anime of the last decade.
4 Dragon Ball — From Goofy Comedy About Kids To Serious Action About Men-Turned-Gods
From the moment the original series transitions into Dragon Ball Z this franchise changes into something completely different. Early Dragon Ball was more comedy than action, but arcs would later add elements of adventure and straight up combat.
But by Dragon Ball Z, the comedy was largely shoved aside in favor of exploring more action and even sci-fi elements. By the end of the Saiyan Saga, Dragon Ball Z didn’t resemble its original series much at all aside from having the same lead, as even the side characters became less useful.
3 Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V — From Light, Small-Scale Battling To Intense, Multi-Dimensional War
Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V begins in a silly fashion. The main protagonist, Yuya Sakaki, wants to be an entertainer. So his duels are all about being an entertaining duelist, performing tricks for the people watching him.
But it doesn’t take long before they introduce the show’s real plot, which involves multi-dimensional warfare and the entire cast of main characters being plunged into that war. Card games have never been more serious business.
2 Samurai Flamenco — From Tokusatsu Parody To Legitimate Action Series
Samurai Flamenco starts out as a parody of tokusatsu series, with the main character being a model who wants to be a superhero and fight crime. People who bailed on the series might believe the show never becomes more than that, but in fact Samurai Flamenco makes several shifts to become more than that from the very beginning.
The main character eventually becomes an actual superhero and fights crime, before becoming hunted by the authorities after protecting the country.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion — From Typical Mecha Series To Deep Meditation On The Ramifications Of War
Arguably, this series has the biggest genre shift. Early on, Evangelion starts out as a series about high school students piloting giant robots to fight monsters, and there was not much making it different from any other mecha series that were coming out.
But then mid-way through the series, events happen that make every character realize what’s at stake each time they make the choice to fight. From there, the series becomes a deconstruction of mecha anime and what it means to use teenagers in life-threatening battle.