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zexal's premise is very much not "down to earth", being that it involves aliens, other dimensions, and cards that possess people, but it is straightforward, since it basically amounts to "get those magic cards before the bad guys do"
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** This is the main reason why ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' did very poorly on its initial airing, with its Japanese airing being a particular underperformer. It aired on weekdays and is as obviously a MerchandiseDriven card game advertisement as any other ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' series, and the whole premise of "card games on motorcycles" is a bit too goofy for most adults to take seriously. However, it has a fast-paced and tightly-serialized narrative, a dystopian {{Cyberpunk}} setting heavily wrapped in occultism (and [[{{Mayincatec}} fairly nontraditional occultism]], at that), more complex duel plotting due to the addition of Synchro Summoning, and [[DysfunctionJunction a fairly troubled]] and more gender-mixed cast anchored by an older, serious-minded protagonist who spends most of the early arcs in a TraumaCongaLine. [[PeripheryDemographic Older fans]] loved those elements, but they were rating poison to the primary demographic of younger boys, and it's quite telling that Creator/FourKidsEntertainment had seemingly no idea what to do with the show. It's not for no reason that the halfway point of the series saw a massive shift, almost completely ditching the occult and dystopic elements in favor of a pure sci-fi plot about a tournament arc and robots from the future, downplaying the presence of female characters, [[ArcFatigue slowing down the pace and making the series more episodic]], and [[LighterAndSofter massively reducing the level of angst]] in favor of making the protagonist into an InvincibleHero--those aforementioned older fans hated these changes and cited them as a sign of SeasonalRot, but they were almost certainly an attempt to save the show. Notably, followup series ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' would be clearly targeted at kids from the start: simplified duel plotting, a [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter youthful and exuberant protagonist]], and a primarily episodic story with a [[GottaCatchEmAll a more down-to-earth premise]] and a lighthearted setting and tone.
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** This is the main reason why ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' did very poorly on its initial airing, run, with its Japanese airing being a particular underperformer. It aired on weekdays and is as obviously a MerchandiseDriven card game advertisement as any other ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' series, and the whole premise of "card games on motorcycles" is a bit too goofy for most adults to take seriously. However, it has a fast-paced and tightly-serialized narrative, a dystopian {{Cyberpunk}} setting heavily wrapped in occultism (and [[{{Mayincatec}} fairly nontraditional occultism]], at that), more complex duel plotting due to the addition of Synchro Summoning, and [[DysfunctionJunction a fairly troubled]] and more gender-mixed cast anchored by an older, serious-minded protagonist who spends most of the early arcs in a TraumaCongaLine. [[PeripheryDemographic Older fans]] loved those elements, but they were rating poison to the primary demographic of younger boys, and it's quite telling that Creator/FourKidsEntertainment had seemingly no idea what to do with the show. It's not for no reason that the halfway point of the series saw a massive shift, shift: almost completely ditching the occult and dystopic elements in favor of a pure sci-fi plot about a tournament arc and robots from the future, downplaying the presence of female characters, [[ArcFatigue slowing down the pace and making the series more episodic]], and [[LighterAndSofter massively reducing the level of angst]] in favor of making the protagonist into an InvincibleHero--those InvincibleHero. Those aforementioned older fans hated these changes and cited them as a sign of SeasonalRot, but they were almost certainly an attempt to save the show. Notably, followup series ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' would be clearly targeted at kids from the start: simplified duel plotting, a [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter youthful and exuberant protagonist]], and a primarily episodic story with a [[GottaCatchEmAll a more down-to-earth premise]] straightforward premise]], and a lighthearted setting and tone.
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* ''WesternAnimation/MegamindVsTheDoomSyndicate'' was made by [[Creator/DreamWorksAnimation DreamWorks]]' television division fourteen years after [[WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}} the original movie]], which has become a CultClassic in the years since its release. The sequel was marketed towards fans of the original, but its writing and humor is more aimed at children, who would likely be unfamiliar with the original because it's not as ingrained in popular culture as other [=DreamWorks=] franchises like ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' or ''Franchise/KungFuPanda''. Unlike [[WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar other]] [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness television]] [[WesternAnimation/DreamWorksDragons spin-offs]] of [=DreamWorks=]' [=IPs=], which started running shortly after their respective theatrical films hit theaters, ''Doom Syndicate'' was released far too late for those who grew up with the original to still be children. The result is a movie that tries to cater to two very different audiences at the same time (quite literally -- one of the ''first lines'' of the movie has Megamind address both "old friends" and "new friends" in the audience), and has come under heavy scrutiny for failing to capture the wit and charm of the original or sell the character (who requires the context of the original movie to sell his gimmick) to new audiences.
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* ''WesternAnimation/MegamindVsTheDoomSyndicate'' was made by [[Creator/DreamWorksAnimation DreamWorks]]' television division [[SequelGap fourteen years after after]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}} the original movie]], which has become a CultClassic in the years since its release. The sequel was marketed towards fans of the original, but its writing and humor is more aimed at children, who would likely be unfamiliar with the original because it's not as ingrained in popular culture as other [=DreamWorks=] franchises like ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'', ''Franchise/{{Madagascar}}'', or ''Franchise/KungFuPanda''. Unlike [[WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar other]] [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness television]] [[WesternAnimation/DreamWorksDragons spin-offs]] of [=DreamWorks=]' [=IPs=], which started running shortly after their respective theatrical films hit theaters, ''Doom Syndicate'' was released far too late for those who grew up with the original to still be children. The result is a movie that tries to cater to two very different audiences at the same time (quite literally -- one of the ''first lines'' of the movie has Megamind address both "old friends" and "new friends" in the audience), and has come under heavy scrutiny for failing to capture the wit and charm of the original or sell the character (who requires the context of the original movie to sell his gimmick) to new audiences.
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* Before the second generation of the toy line and animated series mentioned below, ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' had another controversial alternate universe: the novels by Lisi Harrison. These were targeted at a teen audience and tried to sand down some of the sillier aspects like the {{Punny Name}}s by giving everyone human aliases and/or nicknames, as well as introducing a new LeadYouCanRelateTo who came off to many fans of the franchise as a [[SpotlightStealingSquad spotlight thief]] when they came for the actual monsters. (Melody was later revealed to be a monster herself, raised ignorant for the sake of [[PassFail passing]], but the damage had been done.) And that teen audience they were shooting for largely avoided the series, being disinterested in a spinoff of a doll line even if it was a different continuity, while the books were too mature for the kids the dolls, show, and specials were aimed at. Once these books were discontinued, they were replaced by ''Ghoulfriends Forever'', a series set in the G1 continuity and aimed at the middle-grades market.
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* The infamous 2016 G2 ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' SoftReboot failed partially because of this issue. The reboot took a LighterAndSofter approach towards the franchise, resulting in a number of controversial changes being made to the dolls, the characters, and the setting of the tie-in animated specials. As part of the relaunch, most of the main characters were dramatically redesigned with brighter color palattes, tamer clothing, and softer expressions, and some (most notably fan-favorite [[AttractiveZombie Ghoulia Yelps]], who was orginally part of the main lineup) were AdaptedOut completely. The remaining characters were aged down slightly, and many were given younger siblings--in some cases, [[MassiveNumberedSiblings loads and loads of younger siblings]]--in an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. However, most of the monster branding was kept. This resulted in an extremely confused reboot that attempted to target older fans of edgy, monstrous dolls ''and'' younger fans of softer, more conventional dolls at the same time. Existing fans were put-off by the reboot's lower budget, childish designs, and TamerAndChaster approach, with many saying that the franchise had lost everything that made it special to begin with. Meanwhile, shoppers who preferred more conventionally pretty, non-supernatural dolls were not won over by the reboot, and continued to gravitate towards brands like ''Toys/{{Barbie}}'' instead. Ultimately, G2 lasted less than two years, and was quietly discontinued in 2018. It would be followed up in 2021 by the [=G3=] reboot, which largely reinstated the DarkerAndEdgier aesthetic of [=G1=] and refocused on the older kids' demographic, alongside offering [=G1=]-style new figures and reprints for adult collectors for good measure.
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* The infamous 2016 G2 ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' SoftReboot failed partially because of this issue. The reboot took a LighterAndSofter approach towards the franchise, resulting in a number of controversial changes being made to the dolls, the characters, and the setting of the tie-in animated specials. As part of the relaunch, most of the main characters were dramatically redesigned with brighter color palattes, palettes, tamer clothing, and softer expressions, and some (most notably fan-favorite [[AttractiveZombie Ghoulia Yelps]], who was orginally originally part of the main lineup) were AdaptedOut completely. The remaining characters were aged down slightly, and many were given younger siblings--in some cases, [[MassiveNumberedSiblings loads and loads of younger siblings]]--in an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. However, most of the monster branding was kept. This resulted in an extremely confused reboot that attempted to target older fans of edgy, monstrous dolls ''and'' younger fans of softer, more conventional dolls at the same time. Existing fans were put-off by the reboot's lower budget, childish designs, and TamerAndChaster approach, with many saying that the franchise had lost everything that made it special to begin with. Meanwhile, shoppers who preferred more conventionally pretty, non-supernatural dolls were not won over by the reboot, and continued to gravitate towards brands like ''Toys/{{Barbie}}'' instead. Ultimately, G2 lasted less than two years, and was quietly discontinued in 2018. It would be followed up in 2021 by the [=G3=] reboot, which largely reinstated the DarkerAndEdgier aesthetic of [=G1=] and refocused on the older kids' demographic, alongside offering [=G1=]-style new figures and reprints for adult collectors for good measure.
