History Main / UnreliableVoiceover

'''Denathrius:''' In this manner, we'll keep our people strong and our land healthy. ''(picture shows a poor venthyr sharing his cup of anima with a starving family)'\\

But wait a minute! What we're seeing on screen doesn't fit what the voice-over is saying. While Joe tells the cops he had to work late, we see him in a bar. And when he admits he went to see the murder victim, but they came to an amicable agreement, the flashback shows them screaming at each other, and then him storming out. The visuals are understood as depicting the '''truth''', and not just a potentially inaccurate version of the events (in contrast to SelfServingMemory, where the visuals depict a '''false''' version of the events).

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Fanfic/DaringDosBipedalAdventure'', where the narration repeatedly insists that Daring Do's sanity has been shattered by being transported to Canterlot High and transformed into a human. Daring herself barely reacts to any of these supposed horrors. The narration also ignores Cara's changeling guards being named in the dialog, repeatedly referring to them by numbers instead.

* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': This is PlayedForLaughsin the anime when Lina cheerfully [[PreviouslyOn recaps previous episodes]] -- glossing over awkward moments that the video recap ''does'' show. The second episode got one where she's being MetaphoricallyTrue:

--> '''Denathrius:''' I have decided to implement a strategy of conservation and rationing (of anima). It should keep the anima flowing to those ''most'' in need. ''(picture shows a group of decadent [[ManOfWealthAndTaste men of wealth and taste]] drinking their fill of anima)'' \\
'''Denathrius:''' In this manner, we'll keep our people strong and our land healthy. ''(picture shows a poor venthyr sharing his cup of anima with a starving family)'' \\
'''Denathrius:''' (we'll punish them) with fairness and mercy, of course. After all, I am nothing if not... compassionate. ''(same poor but kind venthyr from before [[WeakenedByTheLight has been forced into the light]] as punishment for his transgression and is slowly disintegrating)'' \\

* PlayedForHorror in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation''. There are many beats where you ostensibly need to rely on on [[ComputerVoice the automated HandUnit guide]] to give you instructions on how to deal with [[HostileAnimatronics the animatronics]], but you'll quickly realize that it's not good at its job or keeping track of the things that are ''supposed'' to be in its system. One example is where it'll ask you to shine a light on Circus Baby's stage, but it will "helpfully" announce that she's still there [[NothingIsScarier even though she very clearly isn't anymore.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheWotch'', Jason [[http://thewotch.com/index.php?epDate=2003-09-10 recounts]] his reaction to the Mythos virus turning him into a satyr girl.

* {{Inverted}} and PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode ''[[Recap/FuturamaS6E15MobiusDick Mobius Dick]]'', when Professor Farnsworth has a flashback to an earlier adventure. Zoidberg is shown [[HairTodayGoneTomorrow with a full head of hair]] when he first appears, to the surprise of the listeners -- until the Professor replies "I never said he had hair! You are the ones who decided to imagine him that way!"

* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': This is played for laughs in the anime when Lina cheerfully [[PreviouslyOn recaps previous episodes]] -- glossing over awkward moments that the video recap ''does'' show. The second episode got one where she's being MetaphoricallyTrue:
-->'''Lina''': In the end, peace was restored to the village... ([[spoiler:transition from the scene of nuking a dragon to the crater where this village once stood]])\\
'''Lina''': After bidding farewell to the grateful villagers... Gourry and I continue our journey... ([[spoiler:villagers chasing them with pitchforks]])\\

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Anytime Genma or Happosai talk about the past.
* ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'' ''starts'' with one of these courtesy of our protagonists [[HeroicComedicSociopath Oga]]: "Long long ago, in a certain place, there was a very handsome, cool, well-respected, entirely angelic young man..." When explaining the circumstances that led to him being declared surrogate dad to a demon for his friend, he talks about entirely innocent things while we see him beating on other delinquents and yakuza and making the former bow down to him while laughing manically.
* In the finale, ''Manga/YourLieInApril'' features [[spoiler:late]] Kaori stating in her goodbye letter that Watari will probably forget about her. As her voice says this, the viewer sees that Watari still keep a picture of himself and Kaori on his cell phone [[spoiler:and seemingly affected by her death]].

--> Just then, the giant dog awakes itself and is just much faster than last time. It's so fast, dear readers, that you guys can't even see that it just goes right ahead and takes a big chunk out of Harmony. He bites what is most of her head off. She is dead in an instant. Harry blacks out. Out of him come powers no-one even knew existed. Time is stuck on the cog of Harry's will. He turns the dog inside out and then dissolves it into a pudding. Harmony is in two pieces, but Harry, with eyeballs turned completely white, recapitulates her form and blows life into her.

* ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' features a corrupt detective talking about how he was busting some drug-dealers when the seven-foot bat creature attacked him for no reason, but he managed to fight it off. The art shows Batman breaking in on the detective taking his cut from the criminals the detective alleges he was apprehending. Batman does not approve.

* A really [[PlayedForHorror horrific example]] is in the first issue of Vertigo's ''ComicBook/HouseOfMystery'' series. The narration is a rather uneventful story about a girl who moves back to her hometown after her parents died, becomes a wife and mother, but doesn't love her children. None of this is actually untrue, but the art fills in minor gaps like the fact that [[spoiler:the other residents of the city are all BigCreepyCrawlies, and her children were loads of maggots that left a huge hole in her back that she still has]].
** Also used more humorously in the rather mundane tale a young man tells about his almost being late for work. And it IS mundane...to him. [[spoiler:He's so used to his world being overrun by supernatural creatures ranging from giant spiders to vampire cats (not a typo) that he doesn't even think the constant peril he has to deal with is worth mentioning.]]

* Played with in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' oneshot that introduced Harley Quinn. When Harley summarizes her time with the Joker, at first the art shows the Joker being a lot less enthusiastic about her than her account would have you think... but as the narration progresses, the images begin to match up with what she's saying.
* ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2022'' uses this in the first issue. Nick Fury tells Maria Hill how Mrs. Stuart convinced herself that her dead husband was actually an alien shapeshifting Skrull, and that her real husband must still be alive. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, so ended up staying for dinner. [[spoiler:At which point the flashback diverges - the narration talks about an uneventful meal, the comic itself shows him overpowered by Skrulls]].

* ''Comicbook/CableAndDeadpool'': during a quiet moment in between story arcs, Cable and Deadpool swap stories of their respective childhoods. However, what we see happening in the flashbacks is subtly different from what they tell each other in narrative captions, and Cable and Deadpool know each other well enough not to take the stories at face value.
* In ''[[Comicbook/{{Fables}} Jack of Fables]]'', Jack's highly unreliable MartyStu narration captions are placed right on panels showing exactly what ''really'' happened, and just ''how'' grossly Jack is exaggerating.
* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
** One ''[[ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks Future Shocks]]'' strip had a man in a bar telling his life story to a stranger. The teller told of how he was a loving husband and father whose family were abducted by a warlord, and so he took revenge by entering the warlord's services as a blacksmith and making shoddy weapons, then running off on the eve of a major battle. The panels show that he was actually a cruel miser whose wife ran away, taking her kids with her. He beat his son to death, and the weapons he made were of substandard quality due to incompetence rather than design. The strip ends with him lying in an alley in a pool of blood, the stranger standing over him with a knife.
** The first strip in ''[[ComicBook/TheGrievousJourneyOfIchabodAzrael The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the Dead Left in His Wake)]]'' uses this is bit. The narrator says he heard that Ichabod's introduction to killing was when he killed 20 horsemen, but we see him killing one man in a duel. Later, the narrator relates a story about how Ichabod had a secret love who was able to calm his insane rage and dismisses it as nonsense, but the images show that that's exactly the case.
** In ''Thistlebone: The Dule Tree'', Callum remembers his drunken, violently abusive father, and explains that he was always expected to have the man's bath drawn for him. One day, when his father was particularly violent, Callum was so panicked he forgot he was supposed to add cold water to the bath, and his father was so drunk he got in without noticing and was scalded to death. The panels show young Callum watching the hot tap intently as the bathroom fills with steam, then pushing his father in. The drunk and abusive part appears to be accurate.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel UK'': In one story, Octane tells Ratbat about how he bravely stood up to the vast Autobot onslaught only to be pushed back by overwhelming numbers. The images show him running like a coward from just two Autobots.
* The ''Franchise/TransformersTimelines'' comic ''Wings of Honor'''s framing device is local CoolOldGuy Kup telling stories about his youth. Naturally, he's very willing to embellish events. For instance, he claims he was able to defeat the hypnotist Hellbat because he kept a clear head and had everything planned out from the start to make his escape. He actually fell under Hellbat's sway almost immediately, and escaped because [[AlwaysABiggerFish a kaiju-sized member of the local wildlife emerged from the ground and tried to eat his captor]].
* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' has Emil Burbank discussing his past to a military contact while we see the truth, that reveals Burbank as a murderous sociopath.
* ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' manages to sneak it in under the radar, only obvious [[EasterEgg to those who pay close attention]]. When ComicBook/TheQuestion surprises Renee Montoya on Day Three of Week Two, she panics, grabs her gun and begins firing. However, [[StealthHiBye he vanishes without a trace]]. The next morning Renee is trying to figure out what the hell happened, especially since "I ''know'' I hit him ''dead center''," but he left without trouble. However, if you look back at the previous panel, there are two "blam" effects to indicate gunshots and two holes in his jacket...''next'' to his body. She might "know" she hit him dead center, but we can see that she just plain missed him completely.
* ''ComicBook/{{Fell}}'': Detective Richard Fell "[[PoliceBrutality cleverly negotiates]] with the [[CrazyHomelessPeople king of Yaakistan.]]"
* The 2010 ComicBook/IronMan annual features [[SuperVillain The Mandarin]] describing his life story to the director he's forcing to adapt it. The captions are what the Mandarin [[BlatantLies claims]] happened while the images are what really transpired and they paint the Mandarin in a considerably [[JerkAss less]] [[ForTheEvulz flattering]] light.
** At one point, the Mandarin looks over actors to play Tony Stark, running down ones who are total dead ringers as wrong but when he sees a short, unattractive overweight man, yells "that's him!"
* An ComicBook/IronMan story in ''Marvel Comics Presents'' had Tony speaking to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting about a problem he had recently. His speech makes it sound like a business situation, but we see in the story that he was actually fighting Zzzax.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'': In "Greetings from... Gotham City", a small-town boy who recently moved to Gotham sends a postcard back home describing how he got to see Batman take down a gang of jewel robbers. The text of the postcard appears as narration over the visuals of the fight scene, and at first it seems like the narration is basically reliable, if a bit short on detail due to the space restrictions of the postcard. Then it turns out the postcard writer left out some fairly significant details, such as [[spoiler:the fact that he was one of the jewel thieves, who was seen in the fight scene making several attempts to injure or kill Batman]].
* ''Franchise/JamesBond: The Body'' #1 features Bond explaining various injuries to a doctor examining him after a mission. He describes his ribs being broken when a bomb went off during a huge action setpiece with seven armed men and a helicopter, while we're shown that he actually took a tumble down a fire escape while wrestling with one knife-wielding assassin who was CampingACrapper. The assassin's neck was broken in the fall; Bond also lies about taking him in alive.

** The film does this, but it isn't the narrator's fault. When [[spoiler:Ennis finds out Jack died]], he calls his widow to know what happened. She tells him [[spoiler:Jack]] was fixing a flat tire when the hubcap blew off in his face and he choked to death on his own blood, but while she's talking, we see soundless clips of [[spoiler:Jack beaten to death with a crowbar by a man the couple met at a party, whom Jack presumably came onto later]]. [[HumansAreBastards What really makes it enraging is how any blind cop could have seen through the hubcap story, unless the police deliberately looked the other way.]]
** In the case of the short story the [[AdaptationExpansion film was based on,]] the trope applies, as the majority of it was from Ennis' point of view. A recurring theme for Ennis is what his dad made him witness when he was young, and something in Lureen's voice makes him think "So it was the tire iron."
* ''Film/Cube2Hypercube'': One of the characters said he was a management consultant, but his flashbacks showed he was actually a private detective. The other ones don't so much directly lie as leave out the fact that they're all connected to the hypercube's creators or know more than they let on. For instance, one of them is actually [[spoiler:a freelance superhacker who designed the thing]] and another [[spoiler:is an operative working for the organization behind it.]]

* In the movie ''Eat and Run,'' [=McSorely=] is constantly NarratingThePresent. When he finds a locked door he needs to open in a hurry, he describes shooting it with his gun, the locks flying off. In reality his gun was empty and he had to unlock the door using a set of keys.
* Sara tells Aiden in ''[[Film/TheForest2016 The Forest]]'' about her parents' death in a car accident right in front of their house while we see that the actual cause of death was murder/suicide.

-->"And where were the police? ''([[AnswerCut Cut to police officers playing cards]])'' On duty. Keeping a sharp eye on things."

-->"Dignity, always dignity!"

* George [=MacDonald=] Fraser would seem to have borrowed the above technique in the {{Literature/Flashman}} book ''Flashman's Lady''. The novel contains extracts from the diary of Flashman's wife, Elspeth, a BrainlessBeauty who he suspects is a serial adulteress throughout the series. These extracts, which are written in a melodromatic "female novelist" style (think a bad version of ''Jane Eyre'') are edited by Elspeth's sister who doesn't think Elspeth is quite as innocent as she presents herself.

* [[ChildrenAreInnocent Innocent little Bert]] tells his karate teammates he was "buying...milk" at the mini-mart in the ''Series/CobraKai'' season 1 finale "Mercy". The camera shows him slapping the latest issue of ''[[{{Fetish}} Big & Bootylicious]]'' on the counter (featuring the "42 Phattest Cabooses").

** In ''Thistlebone: The Dule Tree'', Callum remembers his drunken, violently abusive father, and explains that he was always expected to have the man's bath drawn for him. One day, when his father was particularly violent, Callum was so panicked he forgot he was supposed to add cold water to the bath, and his father was so drunk he got in without noticing and was scalded to death. The panels show young Callum watching the hot tap intently as the bathroom fills with steam, then pushing his father in.

** In ''Thistlewood: The Dule Tree'', Callum remembers his drunken, violently abusive father, and explains that he was always expected to have the man's bath drawn for him. One day, when his father was particularly violent, Callum was so panicked he forgot he was supposed to add cold water to the bath, and his father was so drunk he got in without noticing and was scalded to death. The panels show young Callum watching the hot tap intently as the bathroom fills with steam, then pushing his father in.