"Crap, that was a cutaway panel, wasn't it? I bet that was a cutaway to them talking about how they found me!"
"Don't you realise I can't be killed before page three-hundred-and-twenty?"
—Simon Templar, "The Million-Pound Day"
This is my show, and I'll do what I like with it. Cue the carollers!
— Basil Brush on his own series, The Basil Brush Show
Kogoro: With his super speed, Kogoro can don his helmet faster than the eye can perceive!
Keroro: He's talking as if someone else is narrating!
Giroro: Yes!! I was almost fooled by that square balloon!!
Keroro: He's talking as if someone else is narrating!
Giroro: Yes!! I was almost fooled by that square balloon!!
— Sgt. Frog, Encounter 51: Target: The Hinata Household
Pit: Am I ever going to get to the top of this tower?
Viridi: I warned you before we got here that it was a long way up.
Pit: Yeah, but this place is so huge, we even had a loading screen back there.
Viridi: Shhh, they're going to hear you! We're not supposed to talk about that!
Viridi: I warned you before we got here that it was a long way up.
Pit: Yeah, but this place is so huge, we even had a loading screen back there.
Viridi: Shhh, they're going to hear you! We're not supposed to talk about that!
— Kid Icarus: Uprising, "Chapter 19: The Lightning Chariot"
What are we talking here? Mini-Boss? Final Boss?
— Pit, Kid Icarus: Uprising, "Chapter 2: Magnus and the Dark Lord"
"Well," laughed Melvin's father, "obviously you don't know anything about science, little boy. You can't expect to reverse the effects of a highly complex cellular-moleculizing Combine-O-Tron just by switching the batteries around. That type of thing only happens in obnoxious children's books."
"Ahem," said George self-consciously.
"Well... why don't you just give it a try, anyway?"
"Ahem," said George self-consciously.
"Well... why don't you just give it a try, anyway?"
End of first sequence, and fade to black!
— Ed, Ed, Edd n Eddy, "An Ed in the Bush"
An iris-in would be appropriate, don't you think? (iris-in to black) Thank you.
— Edd, Ed, Edd n Eddy, "Here's Mud in Your Ed"
Hey! Yeah, you! I'm down here, busting my ass, while you sit on yours, watching me jump around? How is that fair?!
Skippy: I feel airsick. Urp!
Slappy: Dissolve to the next scene, quick!
Slappy: Dissolve to the next scene, quick!
Fade Out already! We got the joke.
— Slappy, Animaniacs
Iris out already, please!
— The Warners, Animaniacs
Miner: What brings you to these parts, sonny?
Yakko: The player with the controller in their hands, if I'm not mistaken.
Yakko: The player with the controller in their hands, if I'm not mistaken.
— Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt (Ye Old West soundstage)
The truth was a burning green crack through my brain. Weapon statistics hanging in the air, glimpsed out of the corner of my eye. Endless repetition of the act of shooting, time slowing down to show off my moves. The paranoid feel of someone controlling my every step. I was in a computer game. Funny as Hell, it was the most horrible thing I could think of.
What is this mysterious enigma of mystery that has been mentioned about 15 times in the story without really telling us what it is?
— Mille, Ilivais X, Day 11: Darkened Holy Knight
Skippy: But Aunt Slappy, those were cartoons, and this is real life!
Slappy: (Addressing the viewer) Don't tell him. He might crack.
Slappy: (Addressing the viewer) Don't tell him. He might crack.
— Animaniacs (which has quite a lot of this trope, if you couldn't already tell)
Ed: I should have all the feeling back in my feet after this word from our sponsors, Double D.
Edd: Cursed broadcast commercialism!
Edd: Cursed broadcast commercialism!
— Ed, Edd n Eddy (which also has quite a lot of this trope), "If It Smells Like an Ed"
Being self-aware sure is hilarious!
— Alpha 5, Truncated Power Rangers
*Headset attached to Trucy.*
Trucy: "Attached?" I'm not some kind of robot, Apollo!
Trucy: "Attached?" I'm not some kind of robot, Apollo!
— Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Turnabout Serenade
I won! The screen says I won!
With a wink, Sonic vanished into the crowd, probably off to find some other girl to dance with. The thought made Amy burn, especially considering she was stuck with Link-
Link: Hey! I can hear the narration, you know!
What the heck is Link talking about?
Link: Hey! I can hear the narration, you know!
What the heck is Link talking about?
— Super Paper Mario X, Chapter 60
Ed: I am a sassy cat and so full of sass. If you don't like it, you can kiss my-
Edd: Ed, if you finish that sentence, the show'll get cancelled in a second.
Edd: Ed, if you finish that sentence, the show'll get cancelled in a second.
Karen: Who is that girl dancing with Prince Coco?
Rin: It's Cinderella, the title character.
Karen: I already know that, but I still have to say my lines.
Rin: It's Cinderella, the title character.
Karen: I already know that, but I still have to say my lines.
— Yes! Pretty Cure 5, the Cinderella episode. They're both playing the 'Wicked' Stepsisters, btw.
Swerve: Oi—ship's genius—what happens if I press this button?
Brainstorm: Don't press it. Did you press it? Swerve? Tell me you didn't press it.
Swerve: Course I didn't press it... but what if I had pressed it?
Brainstorm: You'd have activated an abstract weapon— a meta bomb.
Swerve: A what what?
Brainstorm: A metafictional bomb. It blows a hole in the fourth wall.
Swerve: Me no understand.
Brainstorm: Basically, it makes the enemy think they're characters in someone else's narrative. Robbed of agency, they lose the will to fight. I'm still working on it.
Swerve: Guess what? I pressed it. Nothing happened.
Rewind: I didn't see you press it...
Swerve: Yeah, it must have happened off-panel.
Rewind: What does that mean?
Swerve: I have no idea.
Brainstorm: Don't press it. Did you press it? Swerve? Tell me you didn't press it.
Swerve: Course I didn't press it... but what if I had pressed it?
Brainstorm: You'd have activated an abstract weapon— a meta bomb.
Swerve: A what what?
Brainstorm: A metafictional bomb. It blows a hole in the fourth wall.
Swerve: Me no understand.
Brainstorm: Basically, it makes the enemy think they're characters in someone else's narrative. Robbed of agency, they lose the will to fight. I'm still working on it.
Swerve: Guess what? I pressed it. Nothing happened.
Rewind: I didn't see you press it...
Swerve: Yeah, it must have happened off-panel.
Rewind: What does that mean?
Swerve: I have no idea.
Professor Ian Duncan: Abed, how many fingers am I holding up, and more importantly, are they still made of clay?
Abed Nadir: Three, and I told you, it's not clay. We're silicone bodies with ball-and-socket armatures.
Abed Nadir: Three, and I told you, it's not clay. We're silicone bodies with ball-and-socket armatures.
Manabe: "What's wrong, Kotoura? Why the glum face?"
Kotoura: "There are tons of people on the other side of the TV thinking dirty thoughts."
Manabe: "What'd you say?! I'm the only one who's allowed to have dirty thoughts about Kotoura!"
Kotoura: "Shut up, you pervert."
Kotoura: "There are tons of people on the other side of the TV thinking dirty thoughts."
Manabe: "What'd you say?! I'm the only one who's allowed to have dirty thoughts about Kotoura!"
Kotoura: "Shut up, you pervert."
Buster, it may come as a complete surprise to you to find that this is an animated cartoon, and that in animated cartoons they have scenery, and in all the years I've...
Gatekeeper: How long do you think you'll be staying in the city?
Durkon: Och, geez, I dunno... At least 'till tha end o' tha current plotline.
Gatekeeper: So, like, what? Twenty strips?
Durkon: Make it thirty. They always run long.
Durkon: Och, geez, I dunno... At least 'till tha end o' tha current plotline.
Gatekeeper: So, like, what? Twenty strips?
Durkon: Make it thirty. They always run long.
"Static panels, speech bubbles, 72 DPI... I'm inside a webcomic! They will probably mock me like always, better get out of here!"
Rocky: Bullwinkle, I'm worried.
Bullwinkle: Ratings down in the show again?
Rocky: No.
Bullwinkle: That's odd.
Rocky: I'm worried because there have already been two attempts on your life.
Bullwinkle: Oh, don't worry. We'll get renewed.
Rocky: I'm not talking about The Bullwinkle Show!
Bullwinkle: Well, you'd better. We could use the publicity.
Bullwinkle: Ratings down in the show again?
Rocky: No.
Bullwinkle: That's odd.
Rocky: I'm worried because there have already been two attempts on your life.
Bullwinkle: Oh, don't worry. We'll get renewed.
Rocky: I'm not talking about The Bullwinkle Show!
Bullwinkle: Well, you'd better. We could use the publicity.
"The Big Cheese is up to no good. I have nothing in particular to go on except a hunch and the fact that it's about this time of the show that he usually gets up to no good, so get out there and stop him!"
—Big Al Dente, Samurai Pizza Cats
Thor: I mean, obviously we were scraping the bottom of the idea barrel when we came up with "self-aware stick figure fantasy parody."
Durkon: I wanna be offended by tha', but it explains so much.
Durkon: I wanna be offended by tha', but it explains so much.
Freakazoid: Who are you?! What have you done to the others?!
Mystico: There'll be time for questions later.
Freakazoid: No, there won't. The show's over in 10 minutes!
Mystico: There'll be time for questions later.
Freakazoid: No, there won't. The show's over in 10 minutes!
Pearl: Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th
Marina: DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!
"If this is a game...are my words being displayed in a text window right now?!"
— Kazuichi Souda, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Narrator: Phantomon. A Perfect Level Ghost Digimon whose giant scythe with chains is his trademark. His special attack is...
Phantomon: Soul Chopper!
—Digimon Adventure, episode 35 (original Japanese version)
"Damn, that incidental music's scary!"
—Ralph Rhodes, Bloodsuckers from Outer Space
James Humphrey: You guys! I just thought of something too.
Alferd Packer: What?
Humphrey: Okay, now, you remember when Swan was building that snowman? Well, how the hell did he make that tapping sound with his feet?
George Noon: You just now thought of that?
Humphrey: Well, it's pretty fucking weird, isn't it?
Alferd Packer: What?
Humphrey: Okay, now, you remember when Swan was building that snowman? Well, how the hell did he make that tapping sound with his feet?
George Noon: You just now thought of that?
Humphrey: Well, it's pretty fucking weird, isn't it?
Sir Lancelot: Look, my liege!
King Arthur: Camelot!
Sir Galahad: Camelot!
Lancelot: Camelot!
Patsy: It's only a model!
King Arthur: Camelot!
Sir Galahad: Camelot!
Lancelot: Camelot!
Patsy: It's only a model!
It starts off the same for every week
And ends with a game on PS3
Pick something right out of the drawer
Then hold it up against the floor
Spew some junk about no sex
Then a vegan comes just to say Gex
At the desk, look like a hoarder
Surrounded by some big blue border
And ends with a game on PS3
Pick something right out of the drawer
Then hold it up against the floor
Spew some junk about no sex
Then a vegan comes just to say Gex
At the desk, look like a hoarder
Surrounded by some big blue border
—"Closing In", Borderline Forever - Scott The Woz
You now know so much about the world that you know that everything in this world is decided by dice. And you are good at dice. You have some very special dice that you will use from now on.
—Description of the Knowledge (World) Mythic Trick, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Buford: Yu-rah-noose, check!
Baljeet: Buford, that is not how it is pronounced.
Buford: It is on this channel.
Baljeet: Buford, that is not how it is pronounced.
Buford: It is on this channel.
"This is going to be a very short movie."
— Mary, The Muppets (2011)
"Oi! Don't swear! This site is family-friendly!"
— Petpets when you swear or accidentally trip the swear filter, Neopets
Piggie: "A reader is reading us!"
Gerald: "How is a reader reading us?"
Piggie: "The reader is reading these word bubbles! We are in a book!"
Gerald: "We are in a book? THAT IS SO COOL!"
Both: "WE ARE IN A BOOK! WE ARE IN A BOOK! WE ARE BEING READ! WE ARE BEING READ!"
"You and I were bound together, especially since cartoons live forever."
— Offscreen Singer, ASDF Movie, "The Muffin Song"
"Oh, you'll feel better after the camera cuts away."
— Lincoln Loud, Peeking Through the Fourth Wall, Episode 35
"Could you please stop talking in uppercase letters? It really messes up the page."
— Jack the Narrator, The Stinky Cheese Man
