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.

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.

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.

* 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]].

* ''[[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...

** 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]].

* 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''.

* 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.

* A main gateway series to [[Visual Novel|Visual Novels]]s is arguably ''[[Tsukihime]]'', and in a broader sense, the ''[[Melty Blood]]'' fighting game series. While some eroge can surely bring with them a great story and be classified as [[Porn with Plot]], it usually isn't [[Fetish Fuel|marketed]] or [[Porn Without Plot|seen that way]] in the West. Many a Visual Novel has been consumed since then, and since something as broad as Visual Novels is rather variated, rather guiding newcomers to ''[[Planetarian]]'', and from there:

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

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