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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Marco:''' "You know, [Cassie] is just not getting the whole superhero thing. Would [[X-Men|Wolverine]] look things up in the phone book?"
'''Rachel:''' "Yeah, well, Wolverine has a big advantage over us. He's not real."
|''[[Animorphs]]''}}
A sort of [[Lampshade Hanging]] affirmation of the [[Fourth Wall]], with a subtle joke and a bit of dramatic irony rolled in. Basically, one character tells another, "This Is Reality", "This is not a movie", etc. in order to get them to divorce themselves from an unrealistic
Not to be confused with [[You're Insane!|madness]]. [[Memetic Mutation|Or]] [[
Pretty much a message to the viewers that "Hey, this show/movie is more grounded in reality than average." This message is [[Informed Ability|not always true]]. Sometimes its done for [[Reconstructed Trope|reconstruction purposes]], where the characters ridicule the trope but then the trope somehow comes into play anyway (a very common example involves [[Santa Claus]] turning out to be real and [[True Meaning of Christmas|bringing joy to cynical modern adults]].) Its somewhat common in sci-fi and comedy, genres that feature wildly varying levels of realism and can be used to help the audience get a feel for what the limits are.
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Killua thinks this in the 85th episode of the 2011 version of ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]''
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]] ZZ'' had an [[Anime Theme Song|opening theme]] titled "Anime Ja Nai", or "It's Not Anime", whose final lyric is "Honto no koto sa" ("It's the real thing!"). In this case, it was used to signify a lighter tone than the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''Zeta Gundam''—at least for the first half of the series.
** Amusingly, ZZ was, [[G Gundam|untill the mid nineties]], the most cartoonish non-SD Gundam show there was. If you take the time to check the rest of the lyrics, the song actually does fit the tone of the series better. It's either about a bratty kid trying to convince the grownups that his daydreams have some kind of significance, or to convince them there's more to life than their dreary, buttoned down worldview. [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|Which intrepration you prefer will probably tell you all you need to know about whether or not you'll enjoy this]] [[Broken Base|polarizing]] series.
* Danced around in the final episodes of ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'', in which several characters point out that reality isn't as black and white as anime.
* On ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', upon seeing one of Pegasus' [[Western Animation|Toon]] monsters, Kaiba exclaims, "This isn't some lame-brained after school cartoon!"
* In ''[[Digimon Frontier]],'' Koji once chastices Takuya for recklessness: "It's not a game! If we lose, we cannot just start from scratch, we are dead!"
* ''[[Naruto]]'': Kakashi makes it clear to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura that if they don't take being a ninja seriously, they're going to suffer the consequences. And yes, he is a Sink Or Swim Mentor, as opposed to Kurenai who is willing to take Hinata in despite her being perceived as weak. This is what also leads to Kidomaru's demise, Kidomaru treats fighting Neji like a game instead of taking the fight seriously. So, when he discovers a weak point, he decides to keep targeting it, instead of assuming that Neji would notice his weak spot and would prepare accordingly. Needless to say, this leads to Kidomaru being beaten to death by Neji's bare hands.
* A military officer {{spoiler|(who is Envy in a disguise)}} in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' scolds Edward for his overly dramatic behavior by saying "Stop acting like you're in a manga!"
* As they're preparing for a dance contest in ''[[Rave Master]]'' Lazenby tells Elie "If this were a manga the last man standing would be the winner"
* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]''
* In ''[[Macross II]]'', Hibiki's mentor tells him off for only wanting the "good parts" of the battle reported on, stating that "they're not making some series to get ratings." Which is all well and good, since Macross II had disappointing sales.
* ''[[Lucky Star]]'' does this all the time. It's a pretty consistent source for jokes involving Konata.
* In one episode of ''[[Pokémon]]'', Ash confidently declares that he's not a "cartoon character".
* The introduction to ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' is exactly this; Kyon begrudgingly accepts the fact that he lives in the real world, where [[Human Aliens|ali]][[Starfish Aliens|ens]], [[Time Travel|time-travelers]], [[Psychic Powers|and espers]] don't actually exist. Of course, [[Real After All|they do.]]
* In
* In one issue of [[Bleach]], Karin says about Ichigo, "He's a normal guy. He's not some anime character." True, this was in the manga, but he ''is'' an anime character.
* In ''[[Durarara!!]]'', a [[Gang of Hats|Blue Square member]] complains about Kadota and Chikage [[Defeat Means Friendship|teaming up after a fight]] on the basis that "this isn't a fucking manga." He's right. It's a [[Light Novel]].
** Erika and Walker, as well. They're both complete Otakus and theorize on "if this was a manga" and "I'd like to go to the 2D world."
* ''[[Kaze no Stigma]]'' episode "Pandemonium":
{{quote|'''Vesalius''': When will the climax of our little play take place? When will all three of you come together and meet up for the last time in your final scene together? [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall|The main characters miraculously discover the secret hideout of the sinister magic user.]] But then suddenly fall into a trap and get separated, and each of them encounters a formidable enemy. What do you think, quite an exhilarating story, isn't it? And obviously an unexpected plot twist is needed to crown the climax and bring our drama to its bloody conclusion.
'''Ren''': This isn't some kind of play, this is real life! }}
* In ''[[You're Under Arrest]] Full Throttle'', in episode 10, Natsumi and Miyuki have to operate
* Happens in ''[[Attack on Titan]]'' episode 8 when someone begins to realize on a fully conscious level, how [[Hopeless War|terrifyingly futile mankind's prospect for survival is]]. The tone and sense of imminent danger might have taken out the joke part of this trope. In the
== Audio ==
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'''Holmes''': Is it? Sometimes I wonder.
*doorbell rings* }}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In the [[Archie Comics]] story "See You in the Funny Papers" (no longer online?), Veronica says to Betty when the latter shows [[Medium Awareness]], "We live in the real world, girl! Not comic books!"
** A similar story had Archie [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|lecturing the audience]] on how unfair teenage life was, with really outlandish things happening to kids for no reason. After a tricycle nearly runs him over, he complains that sometimes he feels as if he's trapped in a comic book. Then, in the next panel, he almost seems to ''[[Ping-Pong Naivete|realize]]'' [[Ping-Pong Naivete|that he's a character in a comic book]] - but in the panel after ''that'', [[Contractual Genre Blindness|he becomes the butt of the very same joke he had anticipated]].
* In ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]
** [[Watchmen (film)|The movie]] changes the line to "[[Leaning on the Fourth Wall|I'm not a comic book villain.]]"
* More or less the point of ''[[Superman: Secret Identity]]'' is Clark comparing his life and powers to his [[Superman|comic book namesake]].
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** Of course he had a plan, he's the [[Memetic Mutation|goddamn Batman]] after all.
* An issue of ''[[Animaniacs]]'' has a subtle, ''almost''-subverted example. Dr. Scratchansniff has to babysit Yakko, Wakko, and Dot on a day when he would rather read comic books. He decides he might as well combine the two activities and gives the kids a lecture about how comics are put together. He compares a comic to an unborn baby, pointing out that just as with a baby, it takes many steps for a funny idea to "gestate" into a funny comic book. (At one point, Yakko [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|turns to the audience]] and asks: [[Metaphorgotten|"Is anyone else getting tired of this metaphor?"]]) The ironic thing is, Dr. Scratchansniff and the Warner siblings are ''themselves'' in a comic book, so the doctor's pregnancy metaphor is actually quite apt where they are concerned.
* Phoebe of ''Phoebe and Her Unicorn'' once told another little girl that she'd changed her hair style because, "It's a different day. It's not like I'm a cartoon character."
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* {{spoiler|Tsuruya}} dismisses using their prodigious anime collection as a basis for a confession, reasoning that real life is more complicated than that in ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]''.
* ''[[Harry Potter and
* There's a ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' fanfic where someone, upon hearing a song from [[Megumi Hayashibara]], notes that for [[Voice Actor|some reason]], she sounds like Rei.
* Used several times in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'':
** Right at the beginning, when John and Paul [[Nobody Poops|have to pee]], Paul mentions that it seems “a bit crass” to have to pee when they never do in [[Star Wars]] or whatever. To which John replies: “Maybe they don't [[Incredibly Lame Pun|water the crass]] in fiction, but they do in real life.”
** Later, after Paul has become [[Super Strength|super-strong]] and realizes that [[Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex|he never dare have sex with anyone ever again]], he wonders how [[Superman]] has sex, and immediately answers himself: Because his writers let him. (Actually, as the book is set in 1980, he also notes that [[Superman]] simply never had sex at all.)
* A Tumblr user who participated in a roleplaying game based on ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' once posted a cap of the aforementioned quote by the [[Big Bad]] as adjusted for the game: "I'm not the villain of some over-hyped action film."
* In ''[[Connecting the Dots]]'', Beast Boy, while showing the internet to Kiba, explains to him the concept of fanfiction. Beast Boy is shocked when Kiba asks him if there's fanfiction about
* This trope is the ultimate theme of, and pretty much the [[Arc Words]] for, the ''[[RWBY]]'' fic series ''[[Emergence]]''.
== [[Film]] ==
* The English remake of the movie ''[[Funny Games]]'' has this dialogue between two characters:
{{quote|'''Paul:''' You can see it in the movie right?
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'''Peter:''' Bullshit.
'''Paul:''' Why? }}
* A snippet of dialog from ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
{{quote|'''Greg:''' Can't he just... beam up?
'''Elliott:''' This is ''reality'', Greg. }}
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* Played straight in ''[[The Boondock Saints]]'':
{{quote|'''Agent Smecker''': Television is the explanation for this. You see this in bad television. Little assault guys creeping through [[Air Vent Passageway|the vents]], coming in through the ceiling? That [[James Bond]] shit ''never'' happens in real life! ''Professionals'' don't do that!}}
** In a sense, this is an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]]. Usually, the character is contrasting [[Real Life]] and fiction, declaring that they are not in a work of fiction (and causing the audience to chuckle). Smecker, on the other hand, has just unwittingly ''likened'' [[Real Life]] to fiction (since a trope that only happens in "bad television" has just popped up). His intended point was that the killers were
* Played straight in ''[[Star Wars]]: Attack of the Clones,'' where Padme tells Anakin that "we live in the real world; come back to it."
** Which is pretty much smashed to bits by her following line: "You're studying to become a Jedi Knight, I'm a senator."
* Played straight, but intended for subtle humor according to the filmmakers, in ''[[Star Trek]] III,'' where the following exchange takes place.
{{quote|'''Obnoxious Cadet''': What, have you lost all your sense of reality?
'''Uhura''': This isn't reality. [points a phaser at him] This is fantasy.
* In what may be case of the fiction [[Turkey City Lexicon|protesting too much]], the film ''[[The Bourne Series|The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' seeks to remind us again and again that "you couldn't make this stuff up", "this isn't some story", and so on.
* In ''[[The Incredibles]],'' Helen/Elastigirl warns her kids that the [[Evil Minions]] are not like the villains in the [[Saturday Morning Cartoon
** This whole scene makes a lot more sense if you've seen the deleted scene where {{spoiler|Helen's old friend the pilot is still on the plane when it gets hit. Of course, it still makes plenty of sense even without that scene, as the kids were on the plane when missiles were fired, despite Helen's warning of "children on board!"}}
** When Syndrome shows the captured family the TV footage of the landed
* In ''[[Spaceballs]]'', Lone Starr yells "Welcome to Real Life!" to the Princess, when she complains that she has to carry her own luggage. Minutes later, the movie's villains use a copy of the movie itself to track them down.
* Near the end of ''[[Dial M for Murder]]'', [[Genre Savvy]] thriller author Mark is desperate to save Margot from being executed and comes to her husband Tony with an idea he's worked out of how Tony could claim he had been trying to kill Margot and spend a few years in jail in exchange for saving her life. Unknowingly, he proceeds to outline almost the exact same plan that Tony actually used. Tony says that nobody would believe a story like that.
* In ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'', Benny the Cab warns an armed Roger, as he goes off to rescue Eddie and Jessica, "Careful with that gun! This ain't a cartoon, ya know."
** Justified, as Roger is an actor, and Benny tells him this ain't a cartoon starring him: the perils are real.
* In ''[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]'', the two lead characters are being walked, at gunpoint, into a nearby building. One of them starts [[Seinfeldian Conversation|talking to his friend]] and fellow hostage about the difference between movies and reality. Specifically, how in the movies anyone you turn a gun on is a hostage, whereas in real life, the professionals like to keep a distance of at least five feet, lest the "hostage" take the gun and "make them eat it". He then proceeds to do exactly that.
* A favorite line of the main character in ''[[In the Mouth of Madness]]'' is that "This is reality." He is, of course, wrong {{spoiler|on more levels than you can count as he is not only a character in a movie where a book is controlling reality but a character in a movie who is part of a mind warping movie which is revealed to be the movie that you are watching. With a small chance that he's just hallucinating and it's still not real
* In ''Silver Streak'', Gene Wilder is surprised at how quickly his gun runs out of bullets. Richard Pryor comments "What do you think this is, a western?" Of course, since the movie itself is not a western, this could also be a genuine fourth wall breaking comment.
** It's probably also a [[Shout-Out]] to Gene Wilder's gunfighter character from ''[[Blazing Saddles]]''... especially when you consider that Pryor co-wrote the movie.
* Inverted in the movie ''[[eXistenZ]]'', which has several 'nested' realities thanks to people playing a virtual reality game that uses all of one's senses. Hence, the characters might be playing the game, then in the game start playing the game, then in that game start playing the game to further something in the 'earlier' level of the game. When finally all the strangeness 'resolves' in [[The Reveal]], the shock causes one minor character to comment, "Wait, we're still in the game, right?" So maybe this is not reality.
* The first ''[[Superman]]'' movie began with Jor-El declaring "This is no fantasy — no careless product of wild imagination." He was referring to the conspiracy between General Zod and his cohorts, but the line also plays as a wink at the audience.
* ''[[The Last Unicorn (animation)|The Last Unicorn]]'': Robin Hood is a myth! We are the reality!
* In ''[[Whatever Works]]'', the main character has [[No Fourth Wall]], which his pals doubt.
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* In ''Super,'' one of Sarah's friends accuses her of acting as if she lives in tv because she plans to marry Frank (who later dresses as a superhero from influence of tv and comic books).
* Near the end of ''[[Hugo]]'', Papa Georges sadly states that {{spoiler|he knows his automaton was destroyed}}, because "happy endings only happen in the movies". Cue Hugo running off to get it, because of course, this ''is'' a movie, and there ''is'' a happy ending.
== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''[[The Dresden Files/Blood Rites|Blood Rites]]'' Henry states that the book's Big Bad is to cliche to be a Hollywood movie villain. Well, The ''[[Dresden Files]]'' is a book series, not a movie, so maybe he's right.
* ''[[Animorphs]]'' often contrasts the characters' experiences with video games, movies, and comic books.
* From the same author, ''[[Everworld]]'' often does the same, just [[Darker and Edgier]].
* Some of the less [[Genre Savvy]] characters in the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels use this line in one form or another.
** It's also played with in other areas, such as in ''[[Good Omens]]'' where, when a character is looking for her lost book, she employs several tropes that, as the narrator notes, would work in any story worth its salt, but alas, not here.
** In ''[[Feet of Clay]]'':
{{quote|'''Carrot:''' Maybe we can reason with it--
'''Angua:''' Attention! This is the ''real'' world calling! }}
** Used by the titular cat in ''[[
* In ''[[Christine (King novel)|Christine]]'', there's a scene where one of the main characters, the scrawny, eternally-victimized Arnie, decks his longtime tormentor. The narrator comments that if it had been a movie or a book, the punch would have knocked him out; unfortunately, this was not the case.
** Most of [[Stephen King]]'s works are rife with this. In ''[[Misery]]'' Paul Sheldon contemplates how to kill the crazy woman holding him captive, only to shoot down every idea he comes up with with "well, maybe in a book that would work, but here, no."
* [[Older Than Steam]]: ''[[Don Quixote]]'' was one of the first works to consciously do this.
* The protagonist of Mil Millington's ''[[A Certain Chemistry]]'', a writer, describes his (supermarket manager) girlfriend's unusual eating habits by saying "If she likes ice-cream, and likes eggs, she might have ice-cream and eggs for dinner. If I was writing her character, I might say that her job means she sees the food as just an output when it goes into the bags at the checkout. But no, she was like that before she worked there." [misquoted from memory]{{verify}}
* [[Roald Dahl]]
* [[Tom Clancy]] frequently points out in his fiction works how things in his stories differ from the movies. The books themselves are only slightly closer to reality, however.
* Many, ''many'' modern detective novels (such as Michael Connelly or James Patterson to name a few) feature entries where the protagonist thinks how they could easily resolve the case...[[Noticing the Fourth Wall|if it was taking place in a detective novel]]. It is sometimes used effectively, other times ham-handedly.
** [[Agatha Christie]] [[Older Than They Think|did this]] [[Running Gag|all the time]].
* In the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'', the character Roran has to come to terms with several issues after the destruction of his family, one of which being that, "Justice, the oldest stand-by in songs and legends, had little hold in reality."
* In ''[[Gone (novel)]]'', after learning that he had launched one of his henchmen into a wall, Caine asks if he's all right.
{{quote|'''Diana:''' This isn't the movies, Caine. [[Ludicrous Gibs|He looked like roadkill.]]}}
* In the [[Andrew Vachss]] Burke book ''[[Mask Market]]'', Wolfe tells Burke that "this is real life, not a TV show".
** In ''Terminal'', one guy Burke speaks to tells him that neo-Nazi prisoners on their way to death row can blame snitches, not undercover cops, as "those movies where they put undercovers in prison, never happen. ''Couldn't'' happen."
* In ''[[The Last Unicorn (novel)|The Last Unicorn]]'', Molly Grue is tired of the made-up stories of Captain Cully's exploits and asks for one about [[Robin Hood]]. Captain Cully angrily replied that Robin Hood is a myth.
* One of the Riders of Rohan in ''[[The Lord of the Rings|The Two Towers]]'' laughed at Gimli for suggesting that hobbits were real. Only in the book, though.
* Early in ''[[The Deed of Paksenarrion]]'', Saben, having just escaped captivity at the hands of a villain, with two of his friends, is excited to imagine bringing word back to the Duke, rescuing the rest of the company, and being "heroes in this tale". Canna replies, "this is no fireside tale, no adventure for a hero out of songs: this is real. We aren't likely to make it as far as the Duke, though we'll try".
* A scene in ''[[Gentleman Bastard Sequence|Red Seas Under Red Skies]]'' has the two protagonists, Locke and Jean, discussing the relative merits of romantic fiction and non-fiction. The two characters make their living through elaborate grifts and confidence games, pretending to be people they aren't. Thus the phrase "we've made it our meal ticket" is an amusing double entendre: the characters mean their profession as thieves, but the readers could take it as a reference to the author's book sales.
{{quote|'''Locke:''' But romances aren't real, and surely never were. Doesn't that take away some of the savor?
'''Jean:''' What an interesting choice of words. 'Not real, and never were.' Could there be any more appropriate literature for men of our profession? Why are you so averse to fiction, when we've made it our meal ticket?
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* Subverted in the first book of ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', Mat says "It isn't much like the stories," to which Perrin disagrees -- "I don't know... Trollocs, a Warder, an Aes Sedai. What more could you ask?"
* In ''Captain French, or the Quest for Paradise'' by [[Mikhail Akhmanov]] and Christopher Nicholas Gilmore, the titular protagonist muses on an old novel he read once that cited the Three Laws of Robotics. He then points out that this is complete bull in [[Real Life]], as his robots will do whatever he tells them to, including kill.
* The very first of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''Black Widowers'' mysteries involves a [[Private Detective]] telling the Widowers about a case he had years before: something was stolen, but the victim had no idea what had been taken. At last, there was only one thing the detective could do. His listeners are at a loss to guess what that thing is; he explains that this is because they're used to stories in which a detective always solves the mystery. '''He''', on the other hand, was forced to admit he '''couldn't''' solve it. But Henry, the Black Widowers' waiter, '''can''' {{Spoiler|— because Henry was the "culprit" all those years ago}}.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* The ''[[Scrubs]]'' episode "My Life in Four Cameras" has J.D. fantasizing about what life would be like if he were in a [[Sitcom]]—completely oblivious to the fact that ''he already is''. (To be fair, though, he's thinking of the more conventional sitcom style than the style ''Scrubs'' uses.)
** Also used by Dr. Cox, when he claims that medical mysteries that happen in TV medical dramas are unrealistic. Cue the entire episode being ''full'' of said medical mysteries, and the good doctor even walking with a cane a la ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''.
*** Complete with him saying there are no cameras out there and gesturing at... the camera.
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{{quote|'''Ivanova''': This isn't some deep-space franchise, this station is ''about'' something!}}
* Kevin Shinick, the host of the game show ''[[Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?]]?'', was billed as "the Squadron Leader". His mother appears in one episode, and the two get into an argument about his job, but she's satisfied by the end, saying, "At least he's not a game show host."
* Factual television example: [[Narrator]] Robert Lee points out in an episode of ''[[
* On ''[[The Sopranos]]'', Tony attempts to make Carmela less leery of his gambling habit by arguing, "Hey, I was shot. I almost died, but here I am. That's tremendous odds. I'm lucky!"
* In the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' episode "Tangent", when Daniel assumed that ''[[Star Trek]]'' tropes would carry into the "real world", this exchange occurred:
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'''Sheppard:''' The TV character that Dr. Beckett plays in real life. }}
* [[Running Gag]] in the ''[[Charmed]]'' episode "Chick Flick", which revolves around movie characters coming to life. "This is the world of illusion, and you girls are reality."
* Done once in ''[[Greg the Bunny]]'', when Sarah Silverman's character explains to Seth Green's why she's not interested in him. She compares him to the quirky guys who always get the unattainable beauties in romantic comedies, then reminds him that "this is the real world"
* ''[[Space Cases]]'' in the [[Evil Twin]] episode:
{{quote|'''Miss Davenport:''' Doppelganger? Sounds like science fiction.
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* On ''[[Boy Meets World]]'', Cory gets caught in a [[Two-Timer Date]] scenario and Shawn teaches him to play it out like Fred did in one episode of ''[[The Flintstones]]'', leading to this exchange:
{{quote|'''Shawn:''' ...and Fred never spent more than 75 seconds at either location.
'''Cory:''' Shawn, that was a cartoon, [[Cartoonland Time|time was compressed]], we're real, we're in real time.
'''Shawn:''' Trust me, [[Medium Awareness|it's the same thing]].
'''Cory:''' No it's not. You see a television show can cover many days in only one half-hour program.
'''Shawn:''' ''Trust'' me, it's the same thing.
'''Cory:''' ''(shrugging)'' Okay! }}
* In ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'', Caroline asks Damon why he doesn't sparkle, to which he replies, "Because I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun.
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* During the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] feud between Triple H and John Cena, Triple H told Cena that he had a lot of heart, and if this were a ''[[Rocky (film)|Rocky]]'' movie, heart would be enough... but this is reality, and Cena, being a terrible wrestler, would lose, and lose badly. Of course, Cena ended up winning the match at WrestleMania 22, so what does that say?
== [[Theatre]] ==
* [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[The Mikado]]'' includes the line, "I'm really very sorry for you all, but it's an unjust world, and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances." Needless to say, virtue does indeed triumph eventually.
* In [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'', new managers Andre and Firmin watch their star soprano throw a fit and comment, "You'd never get away with all this in a play/But if it's loudly sung and in a foreign tongue/It's just the sort of story audiences adore/In fact, a perfect opera!"
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'''Dirk''': In the movies the door is pieced together by the prop men so all you have to do is blow on it! }}
* ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'' introduces the [[Last-Minute Reprieve]] for its [[Villain Protagonist]] by commenting that since the work is fictional, there will be a [[Happily Ever After]] ending.
* In ''[[The Solid Gold Cadillac]]'', Mrs. Partridge introduces herself to the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* During the first codec conversation between Snake and Otacon during Act 2 of ''[[Metal Gear Solid|Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Otacon wonders anxiously whether Vamp is immortal. Snake dismisses this notion immediately, stating "Not a chance. This is the real world, not some fantasy game." As it turns out {{spoiler|Vamp's healing factor is technologically enhanced, allowing him to regenerate wounds from bladed weapons in seconds and recover from a bullet wound to the head in a few seconds more. This explanation distracts everyone, most players included, from the fact that his regeneration ''itself'' is never explained; we saw it work less efficiently, without the enhancement, in [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]].}}
** Snake seems to be forcing himself into a state of genre blindless; in [[Metal Gear Solid]], he fought more than one supernatural enemy. In [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]], he brushes off Fortune's ability to have bullets curve away from her with the line "There's no such thing as a witch." {{spoiler|It turns out he's right in this case and her ability is completely technological, but he has no way of knowing that going in.}} In [[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]], he dismisses anything that seems supernatural as some sort of magic trick, not just Vamp. {{spoiler|He's actually right in some cases; Screaming Mantis can't possess a fly. What she ''can'' do is use the nanomachines in people to manipulate their bodies. On the other hand, Screaming Mantis is also just a shell possessed by Psycho Mantis, Snake's psychic enemy from the first game.}}
** This is especially jarring, since the first three ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games go out of their way to exaggerate the fact that they ''are'' fantasy video games. Characters [[He Knows About Timed Hits|actually talk about game mechanics as character development]], among other
* Near the end of ''[[Resident Evil]] 4'', Lord Saddler tells Leon via radio he'll never defeat Los Illuminatos because life isn't, "one of your Hollywood movies."
** Well, he was right, it wasn't a [[Wrong Genre Savvy|Hollywood movie.]] Leon kicks his ass anyways though.
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* In ''[[System Shock]] 2'', Polito tells the player to hurry with phrases like "Do you think this is some kind of game?" and later, "this isn't a game".
* In ''[[Saints Row]] 2'', pedestrians will occasionally shout "This isn't one of your stupid video games! This is real life!" as they jump out of the way of your speeding car.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' (which also makes uses of [[Not a Game]]), the possessed Ultimecia kills the dictator Vinzer Deling and then comments "This is reality. No one can help you. Sit back and enjoy the show."
* Near the beginning of ''Shin Megami Tensei [[Persona 3]]'' Mitsuru gives the warning, "This isn't a game, Akihiko." As though that would stop him anyways...
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* In ''[[Space Hulk|Space Hulk - Vengeance of the Blood Angels]]'', your squad regularly report on what they can see or hear (or smell). One of the lines is admonishing another marine, telling them that "this is not a game".
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Used in ''[http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/d/20081126.html Venus Envy]''{{context|reason=MOD: Of course this trope is used in that work, or the work wouldn't be listed here. HOW was it used? A link is not a description.}}
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' one of the french immortals ''[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-02-27 mentions it]''
* Employed in ''[[Templar, Arizona]]'', when [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/spike/Templar/series.php?view=single&ID=72321 Reagan is disappointed] that Red Eric isn't ... good looking.
* Shows up a few times in ''[[Megatokyo]]'' used by Yuki or her friends. Ironic (subverted perhaps?) because later on, {{spoiler|Yuki becomes a ''[[Magical Girl]]''}}.
* Subverted in ''[[Killroy And Tina]]'':
{{quote|'''Fulcrum''': This isn't science fiction, Tina.
''exposits''
'''Tina''': So wait. How is that any different from science fiction?
'''Fulcrum''': It's science ''fantasy''.}}
* ''[[Weregeek]]'': [http://www.weregeek.com/2010/10/01/ This is real life, not a shoujo manga!]
* [[Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki]] is not a Magical Girl manga. Or so Hermod believes anyway.
* ''[[Shadowgirls]]'' [http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/i-am-providence-pt-4/ had] it [[Played for Laughs]]:
{{quote|''"The Harbormaster"''. I have read that story. It is ''fiction''.
Perhaps, but am I not speaking to a [[Fish People|fish man]]?
Technically, I am crustacean.}}
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In the second RP of ''[[Darwin's Soldiers]]'', this exchange occurs:
{{quote|'''Zachary''': Hans, do you think this was a good idea, try to disguise ourselves as staff?
'''Hans''': It seems like a good idea but I was thinking about going in through the areas not covered by the security cameras and cutting the power long enough for us to get in and disguise ourselves like base personnel.
'''Zachary''': Also works but remember that the fusion reactor is in the basement and protected quite well by autoturrets and cameras. Also, few areas are not covered by cameras.
'''Aisha''': Uh, yeah this isn't like the Oceans 11 movies }}
* The [[Genre Savvy]] characters of ''[[Sailor Nothing]]'' frequently remind each other that their story is not like the [[Magical Girl]] manga and anime that they're used to.
* In [http://www.spacetree.com/ Space Tree], [http://spacetree.keenspot.com/spacetree50.html this exchange]:
{{quote|'''Mee''': Plus another great thing about this invisible smoke is if this were a cartoon, the fat lazy hack animating it wouldn't have to draw any smoke. But unfortunately this isn't a cartoon, Space Tree... this is real life. I just hope that one day... you'll be able to accept that. }}
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The first episode of ''[[Rugrats]]'' has Tommy's mother, Didi, concerned that she won't live up to the mothers on TV; her friend Betty reassures her by telling her, "TV's TV. We're real." (Ironically, she ''really'' wouldn't live up to the mothers on TV... a good deal of the series has Tommy wandering off places.)
* Skippy says it in an episode of ''[[Animaniacs]].'' His aunt Slappy then turns to the viewers and directly addresses them with, "Don't tell him, he might crack."
* ''[[The Fairly
* Once, in ''[[Futurama]]'', Leela interrupts Fry's eager pop-culture musing with a caustic "Fry, this isn't TV, this is real life -- can't you tell the difference?" This, of course, was spoken when they were about to engage an alien war fleet in battle in the year 3000 (and naturally, Fry prefers pop culture to reality anyway).
** Obsoletely Fabulous gives us
{{quote| '''Bender''': If that stuff wasn't real, how can I be sure anything is real? Is it not possible, nay, probable, that my whole life is just a product of my or someone else's imagination?
'''Technician''': No. Get out. NEXT!}}
* ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]'' had various characters stating how "...this isn't some Saturday morning cartoon show."
* In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Homer tries to get rid of a trampoline by tossing it off a cliff that looks like scenery from Coyote and Roadrunner Cartoons. The trampoline catches on a mesa and rockets upward, falls on Homer, and hammers him into the cliff. He then comments on how if this was a cartoon, the cliff would break now. It eventually does but not until after a long wait well into the night.
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** "Lisa the Vegetarian":
{{quote|'''Bart:''' Cartoons don't have messages. They're just a bunch of hilarious stuff like people getting hurt. * Homer opens the door, smashing it into Bart's face}}
* In the ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' episode 'Film Flam', Darkwing takes Gosalyn to see an animated feature at the local cineplex. Dismayed by the violent themes, he hastens to explain the difference between [[Lampshade Hanging|cartoons]] and
** Another ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' episode has Darkwing meet a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[James Bond]] named Derek Blunt, who turns out to be very different from the way he is portrayed in the movies. In particular, he is unimpressed by and dismissive of Darkwing's various gadgets, calling them "gimmicks" and declaring "A real agent works with what's at hand." Darkwing, [[Even Heroes Have Heroes|a fan of the movies]], is [[Fan Disillusionment|disappointed by the reality of the situation]], but, as is typical of these stories, they end up as friends anyway by the end of the episode.
*** "Derek Blunt" sounds like he was more directly inspired by Derek Flint of ''[[Our Man Flint]]'', who was a ''parody'' of [[James Bond]].
* Also used in ''[[Disney Animated Canon|Cinderella]]'' by The Grand Duke, ribbing the King for setting up a ball in hopes that the Prince would find a bride. The scene plays out exactly according to The Duke's description, to the point where he finishes with "...a fine plot for fairy tales, but in real life, it is foredoomed to failure!"
* ''[[Ace Lightning]]''
{{quote|"Ace, we've been through this, they're ''gnomes'' -- they're not going to attack you!" }}
* In the ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' episode "Urban Ed", Eddy and Ed are on the top of a cardboard "skyscraper" pretending to be pigeons and dropping spoonfuls of yogurt onto the people below. Ed [[Anvil on Head|drops an anvil]] off the building, and Eddy tells him "You're gonna hurt someone! This ain't a cartoon!", at the same time seemingly oblivious to the fact that Ed has just [[Hammerspace|produced an anvil from nowhere]].
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* In ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]'', when the Sun Riders (Who at this point are Evil) have taken over the Super Robot and forced the Hyperforce to flee. Chiro suggests that they instead use the Sunriders old fighting Mecha and they head to where they've been told it's stored... only to find out that it is only 20 feet Tall (Compared to the Super Robots Skyscraper) and is in disrepair, at which point the following Exchange Takes place:
{{quote|'''Chiro:''' * Slams his fists into the ground* That's IT! I Give up!
'''Sprx:''' If this was just some TV show, Kid, We could give up.
* An episode of ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' detailed the replacement of Dee Dee with a [[Dumb Blonde|Blonde]] [[Brainless Beauty]]. After Dexter expresses frustration at her failures to recapture Dee Dee's naivete and mischieviousness, she exclaims, "What kind of crazy show is this, anyway?" Noticing Dexter's confusion at this outburst, [[Fourth Wall Observer|the blonde asks him if she truly has entered]] "''[[Fourth Wall Observer|Dexter's Lab]]'', [[Fourth Wall Observer|the TV show"]] only for Dexter to respond, "This isn't a TV show! I'm a real little boy, and this is my lab!"
** In addition, this is brought up in the opera episode: Near the end, Dexter actually sings out, "This isn't fantasy. This is reality."
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{{quote|'''Doofenshmirtz''': This isn't a sitcom, [[Everything's Better with Platypi|Perry the Platypus]], this is real life! [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|(glances at fourth wall)]] And, I'm... [[Subverted Trope|(glances at fourth wall again)]] And I'm the father!}}
* Subverted in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' when Kim's gamer [[Geek]] cousin Larry says he has an idea for dealing with the current sitch: "This isn't one of your stupid science fiction games, Larry! Ron's facing [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|a kung fu mutant with bio-engineered hands, and mystical monkey powers, and]]..." At that point, Kim decides that Larry might be on to something and hands him the Kimmunicator.
* In ''[[Turtles Forever]]'', the 2003 Turtles are baffled by the 1987 Turtles' occasional asides to the audience ("Who are you talking to?!") and
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''2003 Donatello''': Why is he narrating? Is he ''crazy?''}}}}
* In the ''[[The Garfield Show|Garfield: Pet Force]]'' special, Garfield berates Nermal for getting so into his comic book. When Nermal wonders aloud if it could be really real, Garfield scoffs:
{{quote|'''Garfield:''' That isn't real life [[Medium Awareness|like the newspaper comics]]!}}
== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[Shaped Like Itself|Real Life is Reality.]]
* See [[wikipedia:Simulation hypothesis|Simulation Hypothesis]] on [[The Other Wiki]].
* Usually inverted, with people crying: [[This Cannot Be!|"I can't believe this is happening to me!"]] or "This is like some bad dream!" (Of course, [[Art Imitates Life|both are said in fiction, too]].)
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