History MarthDebutedInSmashBros / AnimeAndManga

** Since ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'' debuted before the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' on Creator/{{Toonami}}, American viewers met the CharClone Zechs Marquise before the original villain Char Aznable. This got so bad that in the early 2000s, the single best way to identify a "new Western fan" was whether or not they mis-identified a Char cosplayer as Zechs. This happened a ''lot''.

* The ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'' films and [=OAVs=] were made shortly after the TV series ended in Japan, but when brought over the U.S. were released right when the dub of the TV series started, and thus several characters such as Shampoo, Mousse, Cologne, Happosai, Ukyo, Principal Kuno, Gosunkugi, Sentaro, Sasuke, and even Ranma's own mother made their U.S. debuts in the [=OAVs=] before anywhere else. And Pantyhouse Taro made his English-debut not in either the manga or the anime, but rather the video game ''Hard Battle'', which was released shortly after the English dub of the anime started.

* The only American appearance of the ''Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries'' has been in the guise of the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 game ''VideoGame/KeithCourageInAlphaZones''. The anime has yet to be offially released westward as of 2021, but its revival ''Anime/MashinHeroWataruTheSevenSpiritsOfRyujinmaru'' does come with English subtitles.

** ''Fusion Reborn'' was released in North America in March 2006. Before that, the video game ''Budokai 3'' had Gogeta as a playable character in 2004, and 2005's ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' had Gogeta and the movie's antagonist, Janemba. Gogeta was also in the game ''Ultimate Battle 22'', but they tried to cover it up by calling him Vegetto (another fusion). ''Budokai 3'' also came out a few months before ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' ended, so it additionally spoiled Super Yixinglong and Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta. The aforementioned Gogeta is also playable in his Super Saiyan 4 state from the end of GT, making him a double spoiler. Oddly enough, the events of ''Fusion Reborn'' were also covered by the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game ''Buu's Fury'' before it was released in English, despite the game being developed in the US.

** ''[[VideoGame/DragonBallZLegendarySuperWarriors Legendary Super Warriors]]'', a UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor title released in November 2002, covered the entire DBZ saga beginning to end. This is notable for the fact that it featured the ending of the Buu saga where Goku destroyed Kid Buu with the Spirit Bomb, only a few months before the corresponding episodes made their debut in the U.S.

* In America, most ''Manga/InuYasha'' fans were introduced to Kagura not via the manga or anime, but through the fighting game ''Inu-Yasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, which was released in the U.S. a few months before both the manga volume with her debut was released by Viz, and before her first episodes aired on Adult Swim. Also, Naraku's "[[http://lounge.moviecodec.com/images/attachment/naraku-vs-orochimaru-vs-aizen-vs-sensui-42951.jpg super]]" form was first glimpsed by American audiences in ''VideoGame/InuYashaTheSecretOfTheCursedMask'', which was released over a year before the episodes that showed how he gained his appearance would air.

* Only ten Literature/Anpanman movies were dubbed in English and released in North America.

* Unlike some Western countries, the United Kingdom never saw a release of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi''. This didn't stop Picture House from releasing ''Looking for Magical [=DoReMi=]'' in their theaters in December of 2021, making it the first official release of ''Ojamajo Doremi'' media in the country.

** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': The series was preceded by a theatrical short film that debuted the day before the show's Japanese television premiere, in which all eight Chosen Children were shown off. This short film didn't air before the show in the West, meaning outside Japan, viewers were introduced to Hikari in Episode 21. This arguably worked in the show's favor overseas, turning the "who's the eighth child" search in the second half of the show into a mystery plot; albeit one where Hikari is still the prime suspect, as Western audiences' first impressions of Hikari was now that of a rather mysterious CreepyChild who knows a lot more about Digimon (at least, Koromon) than she should. For its part, the series does explain the events of that first movie on two separate occasions, and the short film it did eventually release internationally as part of ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie'' following the success of the first two seasons.

** Another example would be Takato's cousin Kai. He first appeared in the first ''Tamers'' movie, which wouldn't be dubbed till several years after the show ended in the U.S. His second appearance (first in the dub) is toward the end of ''Tamers'', where Takato clearly recognizes him but not in a way that the show is introducing him.

** The series has several near misses where this trope ''almost'' happened, but was barely missed because of the obscure Nippon Golden Network television channel. Unless you had seen episodes of ''Dragon Ball'' from this obscure channel, every one of Goku's fellow Z-Warriors (with the exception of Yamcha, who appeared in the aborted syndication of the first 13 episodes) would have been introduced when ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' debuted, not with their original Dragonball appearances.

** ''Raging Blast 2'' averts this with Hatchiyack, since the game comes with a remake of the anime special he debuted in. However, it's played straight with Tarble, from the yet-to-be-dubbed ''Son Goku and his Friends Return''.

* For ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the character of Alex Louis Armstrong made his U.S. debut in the video game ''VideoGame/FullmetalAlchemistAndTheBrokenAngel'', which was released just a few weeks before the first episode with him in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist anime]] aired on television and months before the first manga volume with him was released.

** The Italian dubs of ''Gold'' and ''Stampede'' similarly introduce a lot of characters to Italian audiences, since the Italian dub of the series [[UnfinishedDub had a 7-years-long hiatus after the Fishmen Island arc]].
* Kaito Kid has his own [[Manga/MagicKaito Manga and Anime adaption]], but most people know him as an reoccurring character in ''Manga/CaseClosed''[=/=]''Case Closed''.