YMMV / Ikki Tousen

• Best Known for the Fanservice: Ask the majority of the Ikki Tousen fandom what they remember the most - chances are boobs and lesbians (explicit or subtext) will be more common answers than anything remotely related to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Then again, that's probably intentional.
• Broken Base: Ikki Tousen is a very divisive series at best. Many love it for its fanservice and characters and think that the story, while nothing groundbreaking, isn't too bad, while others dislike the fanservice and feel the plot makes no sense.
• Complete Monster:
  • Chūei Tōtaku, the Big Bad of season 1, is the leader of Rakuyo Academy, and the descendant of Dong Zhou. Having participated in the Big Fighting Tournament as a freshman, Tōtaku killed numerous fighters, claiming control over many Kanto high schools. Sending Shishi Ouin to destroy Nanyo Academy from the inside, Tōtaku later orders Ryofu to kill him after he tried assassinating him. Doing whatever he can to prevent his destined death, Tōtaku commences the Big Fighting Tournament to have Hakufu Sonsaku killed, even banning finals so that no other fighter can kill him and take away his control over the schools. Knowing that Ryofu will be the cause of his death, Tōtaku gives a deadly curse to Hakafu and has her show up at his place to kill Ryofu, promising to murder Ryomou if she doesn't comply. When Ryofu kills Tōtaku, he cures Hakafu's body before implanting his soul into her, later taking control of her and attempting to gleefully murder Ouin and all of Hakafu's friends.
  • Dragon Destiny & Xtreme Xecutor (anime seasons 2 & 4): Chūtatsu Shiba'i, the descendant of Sima Yi, is the paraplegic chief strategist for Kyosho Academy. Desiring to bring about a new age of war and rule over Kanto, Shiba'i makes a deal with the spirits of ancient fighters to acquire the Dragon Jade and use it to help them possess their descendants. Willing to use torture and psychological manipulation to further her goals, Shiba'i tricks Sōsō into getting possessed by his inner dragon and leading an attack on Seito Academy for the Dragon Jade. Shiba'i attempts to murder the Seito survivors afterwards, even using her dying breath to activate the Dragon Jade to awaken Sōsō and Gentoku's inner dragons and have them kill everyone. Returning from the dead as Kentei, Shiba'i creates a fake tournament where the Academy fighters' blood will be used to resurrect thousands of corpses to serve as her army, arranging to have them possessed with the ancient fighters' spirits and conquer all of Kanto.
• Fanon Discontinuity: The 2011 OVA, Ikkitousen: Shuugaku Toushi Keppuuroku (Ikkitousen in Kyoto) is largely ignored by most fans, and with good reason. The plot is mainly being about Hakufu with her friends and Kanu with her friends starting a unnecessary conflict with each-other for no reason at all. Kanu is especially out of character in this OVA, where she is now a petty Jerkass and Designated Hero who is antagonistic and vindictive towards Hakufu and her friends just for the sake of it. It also has very little fan-service, something that the series is best known for.
• Fetish Retardant: The series' fanservice is a double edged sword. While it can attract fans, several commented they quit because of it.
• Fridge Brilliance: The initals of the subtitles of each series after the first season (DD, GG, XX) could be indicative of bra sizes.
• Narm Charm: The Tokyopop translation may be a huge Macekre but damn if it's not funny sometimes.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Whenever a character with a Dragon gets their body taken over. Specially when said character is either Sousou or Ryuubi, as they're utterly kind and caring people who end up turned into the embodiments of pretty much CHAOS and DESTRUCTION.
  • Kaku's horrifying Wounded Gazelle Gambit in the manga. Read about it and get ready to be squicked outta your mind.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: A crossover version. In the western Senran Kagura games, the crossover characters go by psuedonyms because of legal issues concerning the franchise, with the characters initally not even planned for the western release at all.
• Superlative Dubbing: The English dub by New Generation Pictures for season 1 was so well-cast and adapted that when Media Blasters opted instead to use New York-based Headline Studios for the second season, the fans did not take to the news well.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: A group of high schoolers discover that they're reincarnations of a legendary group of real world warriors, and some embrace it while others try to fight the destiny that history maps out for them. Just imagine if this setup was thought up by someone who actually wanted to make a serious story out of it. The manga and the later seasons of the anime heads to that direction somewhat, as it develops into a more serious setting, while still keeping some humor elements.

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