Gateway Series: Difference between revisions

A [['''Gateway Series]]''' is a series that introduces a significant niche of viewers to a genre that is new to them, and that is a positive enough introduction for them to hunt down other examples of the genre.

[[Trope Namer]]: In the drug world, a ''gateway drug'' is a drug that entices you or makes it easier to try other drugs. This name is mostly used by anti-drug programs, so there is debate about whether gateway drugs are real. But ''gateway series,'' series that makes you start watching new genres you never used to watch, are definitely real.

If you don't grow too passionate about the genre after watching a [['''Gateway Series]]''', after a few years you'll still end up with a vast knowledge about it and maybe a big pile of DVDs. If you do become passionate, then your room may be devoted to your new addiction. It all depends on how strongly you embrace your new tastes.

Someone's personal Gateway Series will be granted immunity from criticism thanks to the [[Nostalgia Filter]].

Maturity level also matters. In genres with [[Animation Age Ghetto|age ghettos,]] a Gateway Series will likely double as [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?]]? Or have many [[Parental Bonus|Parental Bonuses]]es.

Contrast [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks]]. Not to be confused with [[Frederik Pohl]]'s ''[[Heechee Saga|this]]'' or its [[Gateway (video game)|video game adaptation]]. See also [[TVAll The Tropes as a Gateway Drug]].

* The classifyingclassification of anything as being a '"gateway something'" does not in any way imply that it is less good than the less accessible material it leads on to. All that we're saying is that for a lot of people, these examples lead on to discovering and enjoying other things. ItsIt's not a value judgement, just an observation of how fans tend to start from common points.

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Virtually anything aired on [[Toonami]] and/or [[Adult Swim]] has been a gateway anime for many viewers. Of course, [[Cartoon Network]] seems to have been pretty careful about selecting shows with mainstream appeal -- andappeal—and clearly they've been successful. This makes it even more alarming that both daytime CN and Adult Swim have drastically decreased their amount of anime programming over the last year or two. Many have pointed at Cartoon Network's...[[Network Decay|controversial changes]] [[Screwed by the Network|as the reason why]].

* Anime reached France en masse at the end of the 70s, and for a good part of the 80s, almost the most programs on children's television were anime. Also, due to [[Animation Age Ghetto]] syndrome, some totally non-suitable for kids series were broadcasted. It backfired spectacularly in the late 90s (until [[Cardcaptor Sakura]] then [[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]] made their way). Let's just list the biggest ones: ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer|Goldorak]]'', ''[[Magical Princess Minky Momo|Gigi]]'', ''[[Captain Harlock|Albator]]'' (this one being extremely well-beloved. [[Interstella 5555|Did you wonder how]] [[Daft Punk]] knew [[Leiji Matsumoto]]?), ''[[Space Adventure Cobra]]'' (which main character was explicitly modeled after a French actor), ''[[Candy Candy|Candy]]'', ''[[Lady Oscar]]'' (there even was a movie by a famous French director), the furry version of ''Sherlock Holmes'', ''[[Cat's Eye]]'', ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' and ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' of course, ''[[Saint Seiya|Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque]]'', ''[[Mahou Tenshi Creamy Mami]]'' (provided the [[Magical Girl]] page picture), ''[[Hokuto no Ken|Ken le Survivant]]'' (Sadly, not kidding. The dub deliberately [[Macekre]]-d and [[Gag Dub|Gag Dubbed]]bed it to tone down the violence.), ''[[Maison Ikkoku|Juliette je t'aime]]'', ''[[City Hunter]]'', ''[[Kimagure Orange Road|Max et Cie]]''. And so on.

** One would think that the ways in which the series extensively plays with -- andwith—and brutally subverts -- animesubverts—anime tropes, the notoriously confusing plot, the highly divisive characters, and the all-around weirdness of the show would make it less than ideal viewing for someone unfamiliar with the medium. A whole new generation of ''Eva'' fans has arisen ever since the series was broadcast on -- youon—you guessed it -- [[Adult Swim]].

* One of the first well-dubbed series imported into the United States was ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma 1/2]]''.

** Having a good dub helped, but the manga was a breakout hit too. Pretty much any [[Rumiko Takahashi]] series functions as a gateway series, thanks to her impeccable skills of characterization that transcend cultural boundaries. Just look at how many people in more recent years got hooked on anime after watching ''[[Inuyasha]]'' on [[Adult Swim]]. Or via ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' before ''Ranma''.

* Genres inside a medium do it too. ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', ''[[Kanon]]'', ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi|The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'', and ''[[AIR]]'' have converted many a [[Shojo|shoujo]] fan to the [[Seinen]] series they once dismissed as [[Fan Service|fanservicey]] junk.

** It's the gateway ''[[Girls Love|yuri]]'' series.

* The first Yu-Gi-Oh series. A lot of younger tropers probably grew up with it before even knowing what anime was.

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' is the [[Gateway Series]] for the audience in [[The New Tens]], [http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Spa_Weekly!_2011-07-19 its sheer popularity gets it noted people with intellectual creds]. The problem is it's definitely [[Decon Recon Switch|not a good representation]] [[Magical Girl|for its genre]]. But then, ''[[Evangelion]]'' wasn't a typical [[Humongous Mecha]] show...

* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)|Preacher]]'' to Vertigo Comic Books.

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''

* [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' and [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' novels are good introductions to the ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' Universe; being not quite as [[Grimdark]] as the rest, but introducing the concepts and names via genre mixing.

* ''Rescue911[[Rescue 911]]'' has been this to Crime, Survival, and rescue shows. Not to mention, a couple people who watched the show in [[The Nineties]] were inspired in part by this show to become Police officers, firefighters, emergency dispatchers, and paramedics.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' seemed to attract a certain segment of viewers who weren't otherwise sci-fi fans.

** Since [[Woodstock]] and through much of the 80's80s, Sha Na Na occupied the same position as gateway group to ''a cappella'' singing, sharing it with The Manhattan Transfer. Which group was your gateway primarily depended on your age and whether your preferred musical style was doo-wop rock-and-roll or swing/jazz.

* The music composed for shows such as ''[[Doctor Who]]'' or ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' can be a gateway for more classical music and famous composers.

* [[Nirvana]], and to a lesser extent [[Pearl Jam]], serve as a gateway to grunge at first, and then to alternative music in general. Sometimes this also leads to non-mainstream music of other genres in general.

* [[Bob Marley]] &[[ The Wailers]] are the usual gateway into reggae and dub. Also, they've covered many songs from the mento, calypso, soul, doo wop, funk and African genres which means that hearing the originals can often attract people to those genres as well.

* [[Jamiroquai]]'s early work in the acid jazz style is a gateway into latin jazz.

* Any time a song is used in a movie/TV show/game/etc., [[Revival by Commercialization|it gets people into that song or band.]]

* Mumford & Sons is a gateway to the British Folk genre, and in turn indie music. [[Coldplay]] can also be considered a gateway into indie music.

** Perhaps the best example of the last DECADE''decade'' is Kids by [[MGMT]]. Without that, songs like 1901 by Phoenix and Pumped Up Kicks by [[Foster Thethe People]] would not become popular. Both this and the above example of Mumford led to [[Adele]] having a worldwide smash and [[Gotye]]'s Somebody That I Used To Know hitting number one for weeks and weeks.

* [[TVAll The Tropes|Look no further than the very website which you happen to be browsing]] at this [[Tropes Will Ruin Your Life|(probably) late hour.]] How many books, TV shows, etc. were ''you'' blissfully unaware of before coming here but [[TVAll The Tropes as a Gateway Drug|now have a sudden unrequited urge to experience?]]

* [[YoutubeYouTube Poop]] introduces many younger people who weren't able to watch them when they first aired to cartoon adaptations of popular video games such as ''Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog'', to the ''Philips CD-i'' as well as ''Volvic'' mineral water, ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' and since the rise of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwoOWTABYbk #71519 fad] to ''[[The Critic]]''.

* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' Fourth Edition in particular has been rather successful at being friendly to new players.

* ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' of the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' has been a more recent gateway game.

* ''[[Warhammer 40000|Warhammer 40,000]]'' is often a gateway to [[Tabletop Games]] as a whole. You start with 40k after coming across it as a teen, then after a few years you might move along and start playing spin-off game or even ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]''. If you play at a multi-gaming club, you'll probably end up at the very least being interested in those systems as well and there's no telling just how many you might get into.

* The ''[[Literature/Choose Your Own Adventure|Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' and ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' books were a gateway for many roleplayers of the 80s.

** Related to it, practically everyone got into [[Platform Game|Platform Games]]s due to ''Mario'' and ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]''.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' was a gateway [[RPG]] for a lot of players -- toplayers—to the detriment of the genre, some might argue. And it doubled as a bit of a gateway introduction to anime as well.

* Many games designed by [[Nintendo]] for the DS and Wii were intended to be gateway videogames for people who never tried them before -- likebefore—like ''[[Wii Sports]]'', ''Nintendogs'', ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]'', and so on.

* The ''Tony Hawk'' games are a two-way gateway -- theygateway—they've gotten a lot of skaters into gaming, but it's when they get gamers into skateboarding that [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* The ''[[Super Smash Bros.]].'' series has a wide variety of Nintendo characters, and some players might become more interested in the individual series if they see a character they'd never heard of before. The appearance of Marth and Roy in ''Melee'' for example, led to the introduction of the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series to the US.

* A variation of this trope: a lot of people become regular readers of [[Game FAQsGameFAQs]] after getting stuck in [[Guide Dang It]] moments.

* Long-time series such as ''[[Castlevania]]'' -- espeically—espeically ''Symphony of the Night'' tend to be gateways for modern players into the world of retro gaming, especially those curious about references to characters from previous games.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' served an almost identical function to Thief on an entirely different system. Also, due to its slow-paced gameplay, its focus on storytelling and the ability of the player to [[Talking Is a Free Action|pause the action to talk to the other characters about trivial things]], it also makes a great gateway series for people raised on [[JRPG|JRPGs]]s trying to break into [[Action Game|Action Games]]s.

* If you stick around the ''[[Dance Dance Revolution]]'' community long enough, you may come to try out other [[Rhythm Game|Rhythm Games]] -- ups—up until the release of ''[[Guitar Hero]]'', this would be things like ''[[Beatmania]] IIDX'' and ''Dance ManiaX''.

** Of course, neither of these games would have been possible if ''[[Parappa the Rapper]]'' hadn't opened up the world of rhythm gaming to start.

** Tetris for older tropers.

** If your first RTS wasn't ''Warcraft II'', then it was probably ''[[StarcraftStarCraft]]''.

****** All these games can be considered Gateway Series depending on your age. ''Westwood Studio'' games like ''Dune II'' and the ''Command & Conquer'' series were extremely popular at the time. ''Blizzard Entertainment'' only became a clear leader when they released ''Starcraft''.

* The ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' series can potentially be a good [[Gateway Series]] for many [[Giant Robot]] [[Anime]], considering that the plot for each game basically takes the plot of every series involved in the [[Massive Multiplayer Crossover]] and shoves them all together.

* Nintendo games almost always serve this trope, but this console generation aiming for this has basically become their entire marketing strategy. The self-proclaimed "hardcore" gamers may lament that women and old people are getting in on their hobby, but it's hard to fault Nintendo when they're clearly getting results -- gamesresults—games and systems, Nintendo and otherwise, are selling better than they ever have even in the economic recession.

* Although two games predate it (in America, at least), ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' was the [[Gateway Series]] to ''[[Tales (series)]]'' for a lot of Western fans. It being one of the better RPGs on the GameCube meant that it drew a lot of attention from people who had previously dismissed the previous games in the series. Also, ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' to an extent, purely because it was for the PS2.

* Sakevisual, the artist of ''[[RE: Alistair]]'', wants her game [http://sakevisual.blogspot.com/2010/06/eight-reasons-why-you-should-plug-re.html to become a gateway series] for fans who don't yet know about [[Romance Game|otome games]].

* [[Interactive Fiction]] started the [[Adventure Game]] genre, but many felt it to be too inaccessible. The move to graphic adventures was fairly rapid, but despite some awesome games like ''[[King's Quest]]'' and ''[[Maniac Mansion]]'' they remained a niche genre for several years. Then [[Lucas ArtsLucasArts]] (at the time still a strict part of Lucasfilm) went and made a game called ''[[Loom (video game)|Loom]]'', one of the most accessible adventure games ever created. This created a veritable explosion in the PC adventure game market, which ended almost a decade later. And for those who were not yet fully convinced, Lucas Arts followed the left punch with the right soon thereafter, giving us the most famous PC Adventure Game ever created, ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]''.

** ''Kichikuou [[Rance|Kichikuou Rance]]'' was a [[Gateway Series]] in its native Japan since it is one of the highest selling [[H-game|H Games]]s of all time.

* ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' is one partly because it is English Language [[Freeware]], partly because its relation to [[Image Boards|4chan]] and its concept as a [[Disabled Love Interest]] [[H-game]] made it [[No Such Thing as Bad Publicity|somewhat famous]], and partly because it is well made.

** [[''Katawa Shoujo]]'' is such a [[Gateway Series]] that it made the '''front page''' of [[Game FAQsGameFAQs]] as the top of the list of 10 Most Wanted Faqs.

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' serves as an introduction into the DCAU, and to the overall Batman mythos.

[[Category:Gateway Series{{PAGENAME}}]]