So I was talking to someone the other day about how the writers for a show I love and grew up watching horribly botched their own story and contradicted canon several times (I could count three times they changed a single established fact) on multiple issues. This doesn't exactly irk me to no end, but it does bug me a bit that they would split the show's canon into so many different parts until in the end, you don't know which is to be considered fact.

The show is Boy Meets World.
Now in the first season the star - Cory Mathews - meets a girl at school - Topanga Lawrence - who is more than a little weird. At first he and his friend Shawn really don't like her at all. However, they eventually start getting along fairly well. Cory was eleven I believe they said, and season or two later Cory decides he really has quite a crush on Topanga. The story follows this path for years.

Then one day an episode airs that declares that they met when they were maybe five years old (it shows a "memory" of them meeting, so I can only guess at the exact age) at the zoo. So now they have met for the first time twice? Add to that the fact that they liked each other when they met as kids and we have a split canon on both their meeting and their feelings about one another.

Enter split number three.
During the last few seasons they reveal that Cory and Topanga have known each other all their lives, and in fact, their parents used to take them on walks in their strollers side by side.
Also, Cory liked her when they were children until his brother told him girls were icky.

So then, they meet for the first time as infants, then they meet for the first time...again...as five year olds, and finally meet for the first time (a third time) as preteens? Is it possible that the writers paid less attention to the script than the viewers did? And surely the actors said something about this to them, right? Maybe? Honestly if you watch the entire series (it's awesome, so you should) it's easy to see that they were changing it because they wanted it to accent the current story better. This is dumb. Whatever, at least it was still good.



So what are some examples of writers messing up canon that you have seen as a fan?


Summons:
Sword legion : Because I know how you are about these sorts of things (Yay Sonic!)

(Old people summons)
MattyIce :
Kruzer :
geeogree :
Because you folks are old enough to remember this show, and I want someone here to make me feel better when all the young users come in saying "I've never heard of that show" and make me feel old. I'll give you some free prunes and Geritol if you can remember this show (assuming your memory is still what it used to be).

To some degree, Naruto also messed up with the canon heavily. We've had several databooks, and in some occasions they contradict each other. It's absolutely irritating, because a book that is said to unveil some mysteries the anime and manga didn't reveal can't be trusted anymore, so instead of unveiling mysteries it just creates more confusion to the fans.

The canon of the story is also a bit messed up. For example, one character was said to die nearly a century before the start of the anime, yet that same character later said he lived long enough to meet his granddaughter, which was in her mid 30s by the start of the anime. Kind of impossible, even more when he was reincarnated right like he was at the time of his death and looked decades younger than the then nearly 70 years old Hiruzen.

There was also Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan. He seemingly awoke it during the time skip between part I and II, but many episodes later it's revealed he awoke it 15 years before the time skip. Basically, one of the most skilled ninja in his village took more than a decade to find out he had some hidden power, even after using his Sharingan "extensively". He really never had the need to explore if his eye had hidden powers? He didn't even notice or remember his eye had changed its properties? Sounds like heavy BS.

I'm surely forgetting more examples, but hey, Naruto ended years ago after more than a decade running, so it's not that hard to forget some details.

Eirinn : Why not summon me too! I'm part of the era!

But in all seriousness. I do remember watching that show when I was young. I never read the book. My mother did. But when the show started out it was good. Then as the storyline went on somehow it was off in a way. Like they didn't progress as they should had with the book. And from there the show became boring to watch in a way. There are many great books out there. But when people make a movie of them....watch out. Because the people who read the books would see if the film is keeping to the book or not.

Most book films out there are like not good or bad even. lemme say one for an example Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm not gonna lie I love the film. But the thing is that it wasn't kept to the book see and that easily got the people upset that read the book of it. That's my kinda input of it. Its just sad as you said when bad writing strikes because it does for most live action films of books. :/

Eirinn :

Oooohh boy.

Yeah, that's annoying.

Sonic never really did that as far as I am aware. I mean, people complain about Shadow was supposed to die, but I really didn't feel that way. Sure, it was intended that he had died, but they didn't write that in explicitly, and I think that they had room to bring him back after SA2. Besides, what they did with him in Heroes, 06, and his own game was great!

I especially like how Metal Sonic was handled in Sonic Heroes a lot.

The key to avoiding the kindof writing that you mentioned is. . .

1. Not to fall in love with an idea you KNOW that you've already set out in the Universe. . .

2. Avoid setting anything to clearly until later in the series. (Believe me, this has helped me in my writing a LOT.)


I think that what happens is some people just get obsessed with a "good idea" and determine that messing up the canon is of little cost. I hate it, because it really doesn't make sense. The other thing that happens is people are on a time limit. . . higherups start pushing from up above, at which point writing stops becoming a perfectionist art and becomes a collar holding job. Then the writer, realizing who's breathing down his neck decided to ruin his own baby, and then be okay with it because he can just blame it on the producer, and he needs to do what it takes to survive.

Another great reason to NEVER sign stupid contracts which force you into situations that will ruin the said piece of art. Take Sword Art Online. It was never supposed to have the second half of season 2. Season 2 sucks. . . even though Sword Art Online is only kindof okay to begin with.

Welp, season 2 became a thing because producers MADE it become a thing. Same with the later part of Deathnote, ect.

When I wrote my own book, I had some small ideas for sequels, ect, and I was pretty sure that I wanted the first book to be almost stand alone as a masterpiece WITH more book after the fact, which tied in well, used resources ect, but were far more entwined with each other than they were the first book necessarily. I didn't alienate the first book at all, but more or less, I didn't make the later book (ideas at this point) necessary. And things are always changing. Better to have a few projects all going slowly with lots of time to think than one going really, REALLY fast in the world of writing. It'll save you a lot of mistakes, and give you lots of time to make a good idea great.

It's probably the time limit that comes with AAA writing and the writer just. . . getting tired of following a T so much or not coming up with anything different. And he knows that if he can make us forget one important detail, that we may buy all the rest! I hate that and avoid it like a rock, but thankfully Sonic hasn't fallen into that category of attacks.

they just change writers to a new guy who knows nothing about anything, so he could hardly reference the past to begin with. Great stuff thanks Ken Pontac, glad you're not writing for us anymore now actually.

Eniitan : Oh wow, I didn't know you were old enough to remember. Sorry! And I loved the series. Awesome show, despite the contradictions.

EX Palen : Wow that's a lot of goof ups. xD That would irritate me to no end having to guess THAT much at what should be considered canon.


Sword legion : Well I don't know anything about Sonic, I just knew about the new writer they had for Sonic Boom that didn't know anything about the series.

Eirinn : I was born in 1990 don't forget that meaning I am 25 and vegan now.
So I do remember it. My bro and I watched it. My sister was too young at the time. So it used to be just me and him watching a lot of things. And yeah I have to agree with you on the contradictions of it. '-'

Pretty much any anime/manga I've ever come across has this happen at some point. Many of them last for so long that what was true 3 years ago is no longer true and needs to be changed in order for the current storyline to make sense. It isn't the worst writing that happens in these cases but I do get annoyed that the consistency of the world sort of goes out the window when these things start to happen.

Eirinn : I'll make this short and sweet. I have definitely heard of this show, but I have never watched even one second of it. Sorry that this is absolutely no help to you Thanks for the summon though.

Akira Toriyama fades characters in and out of Dragon Ball, Launch completely disappears because he forgot she existed.