YMMV / Maria Clara at Ibarra

• Award Snub: Many believed that Julie Anne San Jose was left out in individual awards despite having a strong performance like the rest of the cast.
• Genius Bonus: The hotel where Crisostomo Ibarra stays is called "Fonda Francesca de Lala Ary", which in Real Life is one of the most famous hotels of the Spanish-era Philippines. The real Jose Rizal may have stayed here when he was a student in Manila and is actually mentioned in the text of Noli Me Tangere.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: While still considered good overall, there are criticisms of the El Fili arc being compressed and squeezed out to fill the show's last twenty episodes instead of fleshing out its Story Arc more.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Most fans of the show watch it for its smart writing, concept, cinematography, and political commentary, which are leagues ahead of the average Filipino series. This has also led to an interest in the original novels.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Klay. There are three major ones: "Klaybarra" (Klay/Ibarra), "MC2"/"Malay" (Klay/Maria Clara), and "Filay" (Klay/Fidel). However, apparently some people put her in the most random pairings too, shipping her even with Big Bad Padre Damaso, the creepy antagonist Salvi, and anguished mother Sisa.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Due to the premise, many netizens, including GMA themselves, already call this as "Noli Me Tangere as an isekai".
  • Padre Salvi's actor, Juancho Trivino, has posted a series of Instagram stories where he explores the real world in-character, which has became quite popular online.
• Misaimed Fandom: The show shines a critical light on how poorly women were and still are treated in society. However, several fans vilify Klay for slapping Fidel, despite the fact that it was in self-defense as he was blatantly trying to smack her simply for being a woman who spoke her mind. Ibarra even had to physically restrain him.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • In some scenes, it's easy to see that some lanterns, especially the one on Ibarra’s carriage, are actually electric lights.
  • One scene at a hotel shows a plastic water dispenser◊ peeking through the door.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Many fans were drawn to the series by the initial premise of Klay simply observing the events of Noli Me Tangere in the flesh, bringing the novel to life while contrasting it againt modern society. However, later episodes had Klay interact with the characters, adding romantic hints and making the show diverge wildly from the novel's canon.