History Main / FranchiseKiller

** The "Battleground" name was retired following the 2017 event, which was widely panned as the worst of the year's events- best exemplified by its main event, which saw the return of the heavily panned Punjabi Prison match as part of the ill-advised title run of Wrestling/JinderMahal.

* In 2004, Creator/ELFCorporation would attempt to blow new life into the ''VisualNovel/{{Doukyusei}}'' series after it had by and large been lying dormant since 1996, where they released the spin-off ''Kakyūsei'' (the only releases in the series since then had been a VideoGameRemake of the original game in 1999 and the TabletopGame/{{Mahjong}}-themed spin-off ''Jankyūsei'' for the UsefulNotes/GameboyColor in 2001). The project, ''Kakyūsei 2'', was meant as a come-back of sorts, both for Elf as a developer and for the ''Dōkyūsei'' series in general, and Elf certainly set all in on its promotion, commissioning two anime series based on it and putting [[DuelingGames it directly up against]] the popular ''Rance'' series by releasing it on the same day as ''Rance IV''. Elf, however, ended up stumbling in a way that might seem inconsequential in hindsight, but at the time, it was extremely drastic. The studio had prominently marketed ''Kakyūsei 2'' as a "Pure Love Story", but one of the potential love interests, Saimon Tamaki, was in revealed in her storyline to already be in a sexual relationship with a boyfriend. The inclusion of a love interest with sexual experience, even though her storyline was just one of several and the only one to defy the expections of the genre, made fans of both the series and the genre ''very'' angry. Several of them took to the Internet forums, which were still in their adolescent state at the time, to voice their complaints, causing one of the first major Internet-based controversies in Japan. The bad word of mouth quickly caused sales to plummet, and ''Kakyūsei 2'' ended up as a clear financial failure. Though Elf had plans about getting a proper ''Dōkyūsei 3'' off the ground, it would [[{{Vaporware}} never materialize]] and Elf would eventually shut down in 2015, with the damage to the company's image and finances caused by the controversy caused by ''Kakyūsei 2'' being suspected of [[CreatorKiller being the main reason why]].

* ''Anime/PokemonVolcanionAndTheMechanicalMarvel'' was not this for the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' movies as a whole. However, it ''did'' end up killing the series of movies based directly on the anime that had been ongoing yearly since ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' 18 years prior. Its poor performance -- the lowest of any ''Pokémon'' movie -- meant that all future movies would not be directly based on the main anime, and instead set in an AlternateContinuity beginning with the following year's ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou''. Though, the creators ''were'' planning on making the "I Choose You" film a ''Sun & Moon'' one, either having Ash and his classmates on a new adventure or a ''Pokémon'' All-Stars film where Ash and his friends encountered the protagonists from the previous films. The decision to make the film an alternate continuity came about because the writers realized that with the anime being a LongRunner, people watching by now might not know how Ash and Pikachu first met. Even than the movies came to a halt suddenly following ''Anime/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle'', with no word if any ''Pokémon'' anime will return to the big screen, especially following the retirement of Ash Ketchum as the main protagonist.

* ''Anime/PokemonVolcanionAndTheMechanicalMarvel'' was not this for the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' movies as a whole. However, it ''did'' end up killing the series of movies based directly on the anime that had been ongoing yearly since ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' 18 years prior. Its poor performance -- the lowest of any ''Pokémon'' movie -- meant that all future movies would not be directly based on the main anime, and instead set in an AlternateContinuity beginning with the following year's ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou''. Though, the creators ''were'' planning on making the "I Choose You" film a ''Sun & Moon'' one, either having Ash and his classmates on a new adventure or a ''Pokémon'' All-Stars film where Ash and his friends encountered the protagonists from the previous films. The decision to make the film an alternate continuity came about because the writers realized that with the anime being a LongRunner, people watching by now might not know how Ash and Pikachu first met.

** In North America (and to an extent overseas), the ''Gundam SEED'' series rendered the franchise moribund for more than a decade. Desperate to replicate the success of ''Wing'' after a lukewarm performance of the 1979 series and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'', Bandai Entertainment tried to have the show air on a daytime slot on Toonami, just as with those previous three shows. What they failed to realize was that ''SEED'' was [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent than they thought]]. Rather than have it air unedited and uncut on Creator/AdultSwim, Bandai still stuck with having it air on Toonami, resulting in them making bizarre and drastic edits for Creator/CartoonNetwork such as the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearm Disco Guns]], drastically changing the battle scenes, and forcing the characters to NeverSayDie. The end result was that the edits turned the show into a complete mess, causing the fanbase to not take the show seriously when it should have been and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series had been shafted to [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]], which ironically got less edits but by then the damage had been done. ''SEED'' 's performance was so disastrous that Cartoon Network would never air ''SEED Destiny'', and the network swore off anything ''Gundam'' for a while, resulting in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' airing on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] and the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} not airing ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]] The impact of ''SEED'''s abysmal performance on Cartoon Network is best showcased when Jason [=DeMarcho=] swore off the ''Gundam SEED'' series when asked about airing HD remasters of shows that the Cartoon Network-era Toonami aired for the Adult Swim-era Toonami due to this.

** In North America (and to an extent overseas), the ''Gundam SEED'' series rendered the franchise moribund for more than a decade. Desperate to replicate the success of ''Wing'' after a lukewarm performance of the 1979 series and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'', Bandai Entertainment tried to have the show air on a daytime slot on Toonami, just as with those previous three shows. What they failed to realize was that ''SEED'' was [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent than they thought]]. Rather than have it air unedited and uncut on Creator/AdultSwim, Bandai still stuck with having it air on Toonami, resulting in them making bizarre and drastic edits for Creator/CartoonNetwork such as the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearm Disco Guns]], drastically changing the battle scenes, and forcing the characters to NeverSayDie. The end result was that the edits turned the show into a complete mess, causing the fanbase to not take the show seriously when it should have been and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series had been shafted to [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]], which ironically got less edits but by then the damage had been done. ''SEED'''s performance was so disastrous that Cartoon Network would never air ''SEED Destiny'', and the network swore off anything ''Gundam'' for a while, resulting in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' airing on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] and the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} not airing ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]] The impact of ''SEED'''s abysmal performance on Cartoon Network is best showcased when Jason [=DeMarcho=] swore off the ''Gundam SEED'' series when asked about airing HD remasters of shows that the Cartoon Network-era Toonami aired for the Adult Swim-era Toonami due to this.

** In North America (and to an extent overseas), the ''Gundam SEED'' series rendered the franchise moribund for more than a decade. Desperate to replicate the success of ''Wing'' after a lukewarm performance of the 1979 series and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam", Bandai Entertainment tried to have the show air on a daytime slot on Toonami, just as with those previous three shows. What they failed to realize was that SEED was [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent than they thought]]. Rather than have it air unedited and uncut on Creator/AdultSwim, Bandai still stuck with having it air on Toonami, resulting in them making bizarre and drastic edits for Creator/CartoonNetwork such as the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearm Disco Guns]], drastically changing the battle scenes, and forcing the characters to NeverSayDie. The end result was that the edits turned the show into a complete mess, causing the fanbase to not take the show seriously when it should have been and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series had been shafted to [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]], which ironically got less edits but by then the damage had been done. ''SEED'''s performance was so disastrous that Cartoon Network would never air ''SEED Destiny'', and the network swore off anything ''Gundam'' for a while, resulting in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' airing on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] and the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} not airing ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]] The impact of ''SEED'''s abysmal performance on Cartoon Network is best showcased when Jason [=DeMarcho=] swore off the ''Gundam SEED'' series when asked about airing HD remasters of shows that the Cartoon Network-era Toonami aired for the Adult Swim-era Toonami due to this.

** In North America (and to an extent overseas), the ''Gundam SEED'' series rendered the franchise moribund for more than a decade. Desperate to replicate the success of ''Wing'' after a lukewarm performance of the 1979 series and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam", Bandai Entertainment tried to have the show air on a daytime slot on Toonami, just as with those previous three shows. What they failed to realize was that ''SEED'' was [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent than they thought]]. Rather than have it air unedited and uncut on Creator/AdultSwim, Bandai still stuck with having it air on Toonami, resulting in them making bizarre and drastic edits for Creator/CartoonNetwork such as the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearm Disco Guns]], drastically changing the battle scenes, and forcing the characters to NeverSayDie. The end result was that the edits turned the show into a complete mess, causing the fanbase to not take the show seriously when it should have been and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series had been shafted to [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]], which ironically got less edits but by then the damage had been done. ''SEED'''s performance was so disastrous that Cartoon Network would never air ''SEED Destiny'', and the network swore off anything ''Gundam'' for a while, resulting in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' airing on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] and the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} not airing ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]] The impact of ''SEED'''s abysmal performance on Cartoon Network is best showcased when Jason [=DeMarcho=] swore off the ''Gundam SEED'' series when asked about airing HD remasters of shows that the Cartoon Network-era Toonami aired for the Adult Swim-era Toonami due to this.

** In UsefulNotes/{{America}}, it was ''Gundam SEED'' that killed the franchise. In this case, one can blame [[{{Bowdlerise}} the heavy edits Toonami made.]] Desperate to air the show in a daytime slot, Creator/CartoonNetwork's cuts turned the show into a complete mess, most notably by forcing the series to NeverSayDie, drastically changing battle scenes, and featuring [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms the notorious "Disco Guns"]]. Despite the show's serious nature, the bizarre and drastic edits caused the fanbase to not take the show seriously and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series could only be seen at [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]]. After its shaky Western run, ''Gundam'' would go back to being only seen on DVD until [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] revived the franchise by airing ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', and Creator/{{Toonami}} didn't air ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]]

** ''SEED''[='s=] Japanese success once even started talks that the Cosmic Era timeline could become the new Universal Century in terms of production of sequels and side-stories. However, [[TroubledProduction production troubles]] involving ''Destiny'' and the subsequent release and success of non-CE series ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'' have since dashed those hopes. A movie meant to tie up the Cosmic Era timeline was stuck in DevelopmentHell for years (due to the declining health and in 2016, [[DiedDuringProduction eventual death]] of head writer Chiaki Morosawa, [[CreatorCouple the wife of]] ''SEED'' and ''SEED Destiny'' director Mitsuo Fukuda), and would not officially enter production until [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-05-31/gundam-seed-director-mitsuo-fukuda-confirms-film-is-sequel-to-destiny/.173440 2021]], a full fifteen years after [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer the last Cosmic Era anime production]].

* The mixed-to-negative reception and low BD/DVD sales of ''Anime/BloodC'' nearly killed the ''Blood'' franchise. The movie, ''Anime/BloodCTheLastDark'', attempted to fix the damage. While it performed modestly with home viewers, it flopped at the Japanese box office. Five years later, an {{Interquel}} entitled ''Blood-C: The Last Mind'' was released as a stage play written by Junichi Fujisaku, co-writer of the ''Blood-C'' and ''Anime/BloodPlus'' and a live-action prequel of the series was released on August 2017. The stage play was released well but the live-action movie completely bombed in Japan. To this day, Production IG doesn't have plans for any new anime adaptation of ''Blood''.

** In North America, ''Gundam'' took a serious blow with Creator/{{Toonami}}'s broadcast of the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', a series that was made in 1979 and was just simply too old when compared to the much more recent ''Wing'' and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'', both of which just aired right before. The end result was that it never finished its original run, with Cartoon Network using 9/11 as an excuse to pull the show a good chunk of episodes from the end. That being said however, it was briefly revisited during a New Year's Eve special, in which series belonging to favorite Toonami block villains (as voted upon by fans) were broadcast on the Midnight Run. Surprisingly, Char Aznable was voted near the top slot (beating out ComicBook/TheJoker as he appeared in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', no less), and as a result Toonami ran the final episode of the series in his honor. Right after the 1979 series came the ''SEED'' series that delivered the final deathblow to the franchise in North America and left it moribund for more than a decade. Desperate to replicate the success of ''Wing'', Bandai Entertainment tried to have the show air on Toonami, just as with ''Wing'' and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam''. What they failed to realize was that ''SEED'' was [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent than they thought]]. Rather than have it air unedited and uncut on Creator/AdultSwim (which would have ultimately garnered a better performance), Bandai still stuck with having it air on Toonami, resulting in them making bizarre and drastic edits for Creator/CartoonNetwork such as the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearm Disco Guns]], drastically changing the battle scenes, and forcing the characters to NeverSayDie. The end result was that the edits turned the show into a complete mess, causing the fanbase to not take the show seriously when it should have been and it showed in the ratings. By episode 26, the series had been shafted to [[FridayNightDeathSlot Friday at midnight]], which ironically got less edits but by then the damage had been done. ''SEED'''s performance was so disastrous that Cartoon Network would never air ''SEED Destiny'', and the network swore off anything ''Gundam'' for a while, resulting in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' airing on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] and the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} not airiing ''any'' new ''Gundam'' series until 2016, when they got ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''.[[note]]While the network did air an episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' as part of its April Fools broadcast in 2012, ''SEED'' was the last full TV series the network aired until ''IBO''.[[/note]] When asked about airing HD remasters of shows that the Cartoon Network-era Toonami aired for the Adult Swim-era Toonami, Jason [=DeMarcho=] swore off the ''Gundam SEED'' series due to its abysmal performance on Cartoon Network.

** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Gundam SEED Destiny]]'' managed to kill Sunrise's official English-language Gundam message board (the centerpiece of the English language website), despite not even airing outside of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} until years later (and even then it only aired in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}). Despite the lack of a widespread localized release, numerous American fans were watching fansubbed ''SEED Destiny'' episodes and thus it was the biggest topic of discussion on the message board. While the discourse was mostly civil, the reaction to the finale was almost universally (and often quite vehemently) negative. Shortly afterward (and without advance notice), Sunrise pulled the plug on the message board entirely, leaving [=GundamOfficial.com=] little more than an empty shell that to this day no longer gets updated (when ''Gundam 00'' aired on Sci Fi, it was given its own separate English-language website).[[note]]Particularly tragic in that [[FandomVIP Mark Simmons]]' excellent fansite "Gundam Project" was shut down after he was hired by Sunrise to run [=GundamOfficial.com=].[[/note]] In fact, given that the ''SEED Destiny'' finale aired in Japan less than six months after the ''SEED'' finale aired in UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica, this incident may have played a role in ''Gundam'''s long disappearance from American TV airings and its more than a decade-long AudienceAlienatingEra, with Sunrise falsely assuming that negative reaction to the ''SEED Destiny'' finale meant that Americans just didn't like ''Gundam''.