History YMMV / SenranKagura

** The male characters (Kiriya, Hanzo, Murasame, Kurokage and even Dougen) have had a warmer reception in America. Murasame in particular has many lamenting that he hasn't been playable since ''Deep Crimson''. And in the case of Hanzo and Kiriya, the fact that they ''still'' aren't playable ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen despite coming very close to being so]] in ''Shinovi Versus'').

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:Dōgen]] shows himself to truly earn his title of evil shinobi in both the game and anime continuities:

** Anime & Manga: [[DiabolicalMastermind Headmaster Dōgen]] is the man who runs Hebijo Academy and the antagonist of ''Ninja Flash!'' and the manga adaptations. Desiring to TakeOverTheWorld, Dōgen manipulates several troubled girls into serving him. As Headmaster, Dōgen instills a [[TrainingFromHell brutal training regime]] intended to beat his students into obedience. He orders Homura and her friends to steal one of the Super Secret Ninja Scrolls, then once the Hanzo girls arrive to take it back, he invokes the yoke technique to [[YouHaveFailedMe force Homura and her friends to die if they fail him]]. Intentionally getting as many of his students killed as possible so he can feed them to the Yin and Yang scrolls, Dōgen powers himself with them and tries to kill the girls in a final battle. Upon failing, he [[TakingYouWithMe activates a self-destruct device that will destroy Hebijo]], admitting his complete lack of care that he will be killing many students in the process.

** ''Senran Kagura: Ninja Flash!'': [[spoiler:[[DiabolicalMastermind Headmaster Dōgen]] is the man who runs Hebijo Academy and the first season's antagonist. Desiring to TakeOverTheWorld, Dōgen manipulates several troubled girls into serving him. As Headmaster, Dōgen instills a [[TrainingFromHell brutal training regime]] intended to beat his students into obedience. He orders Homura and her friends to steal one of the Super Secret Ninja Scrolls, then once the Hanzo girls arrive to take it back, he invokes the yoke technique to [[YouHaveFailedMe force Homura and her friends to die if they fail him]]. Intentionally getting as many of his student killed as possible so he can feed them to the Yin and Yang scrolls, Dōgen powers himself with them and tries to kill the girls in a final battle. Upon failing, he [[TakingYouWithMe activates a self-destruct device that will destroy Hebijo]], admitting his complete lack of care that he will be killing many students in the process.]]

* CompleteMonster: Dōgen shows himself to truly earn his title of evil shinobi in both the game and anime continuities:
** [[DiabolicalMastermind Dōgen]] is an investor of Hebijo Academy and the true mastermind behind the first three games who seeks to TakeOverTheWorld. In ''Burst'', having manipulated several troubled girls into serving him, Dōgen sparks a conflict between Hebijo and Hanzo Academy in order to get many shinobi killed. After sacrificing them to the [[TheHeartless yōma]] Orochi, he forces Homura and her friends to fight the Hanzo girls under pain of death if they fail, and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sacrifices Homura's friends]] to Orochi, forcing Homura to fight Orochi to save them. In ''Shinovi Versus'', he returns and [[IHaveYourWife kidnaps Miyabi's father to force her to work for him]], then brainwashes four other girls into working for him and has Homura and her Crimson squad declared traitors, ordering them hunted down. After setting up the Shinobi Battle Royale with Hanzo and Gessen Academy, he kills Tsumuji in front of Homura, taunting her about it. In ''Deep Crimson'', Dōgen begins raising yōma so he can [[WarForFunAndProfit sell them and cause war]], and tests them on the Hebijo students; when initially thwarted, he instead takes the blood of the Hanzo and Crimson girls to create the yōma generals and unleashes them on Kyoto, intending to have them invade all Japan and power up Kagura so he can steal her Reincarnation Sphere to give himself ultimate power.
** ''Senran Kagura: Ninja Flash!'': [[DiabolicalMastermind Headmaster Dōgen]] is the man who runs Hebijo Academy and the first season's antagonist. Desiring to TakeOverTheWorld, Dōgen manipulates several troubled girls into serving him. As Headmaster, Dōgen instills a [[TrainingFromHell brutal training regime]] intended to beat his students into obedience. He orders Homura and her friends to steal one of the Super Secret Ninja Scrolls, then once the Hanzo girls arrive to take it back, he invokes the yoke technique to [[YouHaveFailedMe force Homura and her friends to die if they fail him]]. Intentionally getting as many of his student killed as possible so he can feed them to the Yin and Yang scrolls, Dōgen powers himself with them and tries to kill the girls in a final battle. Upon failing, he [[TakingYouWithMe activates a self-destruct device that will destroy Hebijo]], admitting his complete lack of care that he will be killing many students in the process.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them after losing to Yumi & Asuka and revealing her plans to kill all Shinobi in the world, we're expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzo girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, outside of feeling their lives were "empty" until they found records of Kurokage's exploits and instantly think it's their life's calling to continue where he left off after his death. Once their backstory does come up, they come off as arrogant, delusional fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different beliefs, and forcing their own onto others in the process. They clearly never knew the man personally, otherwise they'd have known that Kurokage stopped his personal crusade against evil because he realized that trying to eradicate all evil in the world is impossible, and he did not want Yumi and the other Gessen girls to follow the same path he did.

* MostAnnoyingSound:
** Every single mook's [[DeathCryEcho death cry]] will slowly get on your nerves.
** Estival Versus has a gag censor in the form of a gunshot noise. While it can be humorous at first, it'll get to the point where it starts to get irritating to listen to.

** The ''Estival Versus'' thirty minute OVA's different [[ArtShift art style]], and the fact that it was being done by a completely different studio. Some thought it was fine, while others disagreed and say that the shinobi girls look like Manga/KOn rip-offs. This also applies to some of the game's animated cutscenes.

* EarWorm: The theme song to ''Bon Appetit''.
** Asuka's stage song from ''Bon Appetit'', too.
** The theme song to Estival Versus is the worst/best at this. Combined with a dance number full of bikini-clad characters, the video is popular to say the least.

* HolyShitQuotient:
** The player's first fight with a yoma.
** Ryōbi and Ryōna have their own brand of craziness, but Ryōki takes this even further with her OneWingedAngel form using her coffin instead of her shotgun and shield; and while the [[ImprobableWeaponUser act of using a coffin in battle]] may sound a bit strange, Ryōki managed to surprise players at ''how'' said coffin is used. Not only is she capable of bashing enemies with it, she can also use it as a rocket launcher and gatling gun!
** Every team leader, excluding the ones from ''New Wave'', gaining a super form throughout the course of the series came as a shock to some fans. While Asuka's form had mixed reactions to it (since [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks it's basically just]] a SlipknotPonytail and BattleAura), Homura, Yumi, and Miyabi's forms played this straight.

** The upcoming ''Burst'' remake will include, surprisingly enough, the Gessen Girls along the New Hebijo ones, none of whom ever appeared in the original game.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them after losing to Yumi & Asuka and revealing her plans to kill all Shinobi in the world, we're expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzo girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, outside of feeling their lives were "empty" until they found records of Kurokage's exploits and instantly think it's their life's calling to continue where he left off after his death. Once their backstory does come up, they come off as arrogant, delusional fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different beliefs, and forcing their own onto others in the process. They clearly never knew the man personally, otherwise they'd known that Kurokage stopped his personal crusade against evil because he realized that trying to eradicate all evil in the world is impossible, and he did not want Yumi and the other Gessen girls to follow the same path he did.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them after losing to Yumi & Asuka and revealing her plans to kill all Shinobi in the world, we're expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzo girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, outside of feeling their lives were "empty" until they found records of Kurokage's exploits and instantly think it's their life's calling to continue where he left off after his death. Once their backstory does come up, they come off as arrogant, naive fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different beliefs in the process. They clearly never knew the man personally, otherwise they'd know that Kurokage stopped his personal crusade against evil because he realized that trying to eradicate all evil in the world is impossible, and he did not want Yumi and the other Gessen girls to follow the same path he did.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them for losing to Yumi and Asuka, we're expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzo girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, and once it does come up, they come off as arrogant fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different beliefs in the process.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them for losing to Yumi and Asuka, we’re expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzou girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, and once it does come up they come off as arrogant fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different believes in the process. By the end, they're way too EasilyForgiven for their transgressions and arrogance.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them for losing to Yumi and Asuka, we’re expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzou girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his granddaughter and other adopted children, moving on from his hatred of evil as a result. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, and once it does come up, courtesy of Gekko, they come off as arrogant fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality, belittling those who share different believes in the process. By the end, they're way too EasilyForgiven for their transgressions and arrogance.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Gekko and Senko in the Shinobi Masters anime. After Fubuki abandons them for losing to Yumi and Asuka, we’re expected to feel sympathy for their plight. However, before then, they spend a great deal of screen time mercilessly attacking and kidnapping the Hanzou girls, leaving Asuka traumatized, looking down on Team Gessen, Yumi especially, and preaching nonstop about the extremist beliefs of Kurokage, who by the time of his death had long discarded those beliefs in favor of living in peace with his adopted daughters, moving on from his hatred of evil in the process. Additionally, their backstory doesn't seem as turbulent or tragic as the other groups, and once it does come up, courtesy of Gekko, they come off as naive fan girls attempting to make a dead man's discarded wish a reality. By the end, they're way too EasilyForgiven for their transgressions and arrogance.

* CriticProof: While some gaming news sites have tried to demonize the series for its [[AudienceAlienatingPremise fanservice elements]], this hasn't effected Senran Kagura's growing popularity in the slightest.

** The game being localized also received this treatment from BeatEmUp fans, as many saw it as a pointless fanservice game while some actually like the story and characters and either appreciate or ignore the fanservice.
** The announcement of male player characters being added to ''Senran Kagura 2'' (starting with Ikaruga's brother, which some feel has its own issues due to how he was presented in the anime), since some see it like ruining the franchise's appeal while others think than it could do wonders for the series reputation.

** ''Senran Kagura 2'' was hit with this within its first week of release (in Japan). The fans were split between those who say that its increased difficulty (compared to the first game) and [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks new mechanics]] are terrible and wish it was more like ''Shinovi Versus'', and those who welcome the changes as attempts to make the game less like it was solely made as a vehicle for fanservice.
** Some fans aren't amused that the new characters from ''Shinovi Versus'' don't show up in ''[=SK2=]'' at all.
** The ''Estival Versus'' thirty minute OVA's art style, and the fact that it's being done by a completely different studio. Some think it's fine, while others disagree and say that the senrans' look like K-On! rip-offs. This also applies to some of the game's animated cutscenes.
** Although a very minor one compared to the other entries, ''Estival Versus''[='=] release on UsefulNotes/PSVita and UsefulNotes/{{PS4}} made some UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} owners a little disappointed.
** Because of the series branching off into two different platforms, there's one side of the fandom that thinks the 3DS games are better, while another side thinks the [=PlayStation=] games are the best. Then there's another portion that prefers both games and feels the other two sides are being ridiculous.
** The OVA bundled with ''EV'', showing fully bare breasts, fractured the fanbase even more. Some are happy that the series has finally went past simple teasing while others think that very same tease was part of the franchise's charm.
** How emphasized should Daidouji's abs be? Her new ''Estival Versus'' profile art gives her the most prominent set yet and the fandom simply cannot decide whether this is good or bad.
** At first the addition of Legend Rare, LR, cards in ''New Wave G Burst'' have sparked some debates as to whether or not they're worth fighting for.
** Should the ''New Wave'' characters be playable in the main games? Some think that they can be expanded upon, while others think they're better off in their home game.
** Expert route in ''New Wave G Burst''. On one hand, some argue that defeating an expert-class boss can help for those who want to jump higher in overall, and damage rankings; On the other hand, others think that expert route was introduced as an excuse to create a gap between [=F2P=] and [=P2W=] players, and make everyone pay for resources and more powerful cards.
** ''Bon Appetit''[='s=] difficulty scaling. Some find the harder difficulties reasonable enough and can be beaten with enough practice, while others think that the higher difficulties are rife with FakeDifficulty, often featuring button presses that don't match the rhythm, making the gameplay feel less "{{rhythm|Game}}ic" and more "[[TrialAndErrorGameplay frustratingly tedious]]".
** The Dressing Room, aside from being where players can change the girls' outfits, also gives players the ability to mess around with the girls via the camera, as turning the character models still invokes JigglePhysics.[[note]]At the very least, most of the girls will [[WhatTheHellPlayer call out players who do this too often]].[[/note]] Simply put, it's usually seen as divisive by fans of the series.
** ''New Wave'' itself for being a freemium mobile game.

** Whether it's the game's Dating-sim nature, Asuka being the only character so far, or the fact that it's another side game; It's safe to say that the announcement of ''Reflexions'' also caused some divide amongst the fanbase.
** The announcement of ''Peach Ball'', however, only made things even more heated. Some have no issue with it whatsoever, while others resent it for not being a traditional SK hack and slash. It doesn't help that, with this and the above ''Reflexions'' game but no hack and slash titles, Switch players are left with nothing but side games.
** Fans aren't very happy about Burst Re:Newal reusing assets from EV. As a matter of fact, they are just tired of the reused assets from EV in general and want a new one. On the other hand, there are at least a few, particularly those who don't own a 3DS and have a [=PS4=], who are looking forward to playing it, because they'll be able to experience the story that started it all, but with better graphics, and a playstyle they've adapted to from the previous ''Versus'' games.
*** Recently, it was revealed that the rest of Gessen and New Hebijo will be added as free DLC for two weeks. Most fans are happy to get their favorites; the others are disappointed as it now comes off as Estival Versus with Burst slapped on the title.

** Oddly enough, the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' fandom had this towards the SK fandom because of both sides wanting a spot in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle''. This sort of died once the fifth fate was revealed to be ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'', though it started up again after a sixth fate was teased.

** In ''Burst [=Re:Newal=]'', Haruka's [=DEATHxKISS=] is extremely dangerous at point-blank range. If you're unlucky enough to be directly in front of her when she pulls the secret ninja art off, it is a garenteed OneHitKill, no matter how much health you have.

** To some fans, ''Shinovi Master's'' revelation that [[spoiler:[[NonMaliciousMonster the youma are not all bad]] because of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds the main villain, Fubuki, who is half-youma and half human,]] which is that is shared and accepted with most of the main cast.]] While the idea itself isn't new, it only feels like an Ass Pull because [[spoiler:1) Nearly every game spends most of the time explaining that the youma are nothing more than dangerous creatures, while also having some act as the LastBoss, 2) A few of the characters (Miyabi, for example) have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting them dead, and 3) Creating a character (Kagura) ''whose very existence'' is for the sole purpose of ''eradicating'' the youma.]]

** To some fans, ''Shinovi Master's'' revelation that [[spoiler:[[NonMaliciousMonster the youma are not all bad]] because of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds the main villain, Fubuki, who is half-youma and half human,]] which is shared with most of the main cast.]] While the idea itself isn't new, it only feels like an Ass Pull because [[spoiler:1) Nearly every game spends most of the time explaining that the youma are nothing more than dangerous creatures, while also having some act as the LastBoss, 2) A few of the characters (Miyabi, for example) have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting them dead, and 3) Creating a character (Kagura) ''whose very existence'' is for the sole purpose of ''eradicating'' the youma.]]

** To some fans, ''Shinovi Master's'' revelation that [[spoiler:[[NonMaliciousMonster the youma are not all bad]] because of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds the main villain, Fubuki, who is half-youma and half human.]]]] While the idea itself isn't new, it only feels like an Ass Pull because [[spoiler:1) Nearly every game spends most of the time explaining that the youma are nothing more than dangerous creatures, while also having some act as the LastBoss, 2) A few of the characters (Miyabi, for example) have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting them dead, and 3) Creating a character (Kagura) ''whose very existence'' is for the sole purpose of ''eradicating'' the youma.]]

** To some fans, ''Shinovi Master's'' revelation that [[spoiler:[[NonMaliciousMonster the youma are not all bad]] because of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds the main villain, Fubuki, who is half-youma and half human.]]]] While the idea itself isn't new, it only feels like an Ass Pull because [[spoiler:1) Nearly every game spends most of the time explaining that the youma are nothing more than dangerous creatures, while also having some act as the LastBoss, 2) A few of the characters (Miyabi) have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting them dead, and 3) Creating a character (Kagura) ''whose very existence'' is for the sole purpose of ''eradicating'' the youma.]]

** To some fans, ''Shinovi Master's'' revelation that [[spoiler:[[NonMaliciousMonster the Youma are not all bad]] because of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds the main villain, Fubuki, who is half-youma and half human.]]]] While the idea itself isn't new, it only feels like an Ass Pull because [[spoiler:1) Nearly every game spends most of the time explaining that the youma are nothing more than dangerous creatures, while also having some act as the LastBoss, 2) A few of the characters (Miyabi) have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting them dead, and 3) Creating a character (Kagura) ''whose very existence'' is for the sole purpose of ''eradicating'' the youma.]]