YMMV / OverSimplified

• Anvilicious: In light of the rampant debate over the Confederate flag and issues surrounding it (mainly the question of why southern states seceded from the Union), a notable chunk of Civil War Part 1 is spent going over the reasons and justifications for the Civil War, with almost every point being made pointing back to the issue of slavery and white supremacy. In case that didn't clue you in, the narrator even reads portions of seceding states' justifications that explicitly state they left over slavery, and continues by pointing out that nearly half of the residents in the burgeoning Confederate States were slaves. It is impossible to watch the video and miss this piece of information.
• Catharsis Factor: Winfield Scott finally snapping and beating the shit out of Harney. Considering Harney (nearly) escalated a minor border dispute into an all-out war with the British, and behaved like an incompetent nutcase who has only held his position through connections, it is very fun to watch.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • The Russian Revolution videos shamelessly make fun of Prince Alexei's hemophilia. Normally, it would be offensive to mock a child's potentially fatal genetic disorder, but there's something so hilarious about Alexei spurting blood whenever he appears on screen.
  • The Pig War video pokes fun at Manifest Destiny by discussing how Americans believed it was their God-given duty to multiply and spread across the continent "like rats or disease." Then later there's a seconds-long montage of settlers cheering as they open fire on a herd of buffalo with automatic weapons, call in air strikes on the plains from stealth bombers, and slam a fully-built McDonald's down on top of a Native American village.
• Cry for the Devil: While the atrocities Adolf Hitler committed are inexcusable, having to grow up with an abusive father, losing his beloved mother via cancer and his younger brother via measles, failing to pass the entrance exam for art school, which he needed to pass to become an artist, his dream career, and living a harsh life as a homeless man on the streets during his early adulthood can make one feel at least a little sorry for him.
• Friendly Fandoms:
  • With Extra History, another humorous cartoon YouTube show that focuses on history. When Extra History released a video on the Three Kingdoms era of China, their comment section was filled with references to Oversimplified's video on the same topic, released less than a month before.^note The timing of the videos were not a coincidence; both videos were sponsored as an advertisement for the then-upcoming Total War: Three Kingdoms. Similarly, the comments Extra History's video on the Field of the Cloth of Gold were littered with references to OverSimplified's video on Henry VIII, which was released shortly beforehand.
  • Also with Jack Rackam, a similarly-styled edutainment channel that focuses on snappy animations and humorous depictions of historical characters. When Jack released his video on Frederick II of the HRE, there were numerous references to OverSimplified's video on the Bucket War, which was set against the backdrop of popes and Holy Roman Emperors deposing each other, just like how Jack's video opened with a similar gag.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Hamilcar and Hannibal's relationship, being probably the healthiest father/son bonding in a series chock full of Abusive Parents (even if Hamilcar comes off as a bit too clingy at times).
  • On a meta level, YouTuber Mr. Terry History was given a shout-out via some bathroom graffiti in The Second Punic War (Part 2).^note The graffiti in question reads "Mr. Terry wears nice hats." His reaction to the shout-out drives him to tears, saying that he didn't think he would get anywhere with his YouTube channel when he first started it, and that it first took off when he started reacting to OverSimplified's videos.
• Jerkass Woobie: Tsar Nicholas II was an oppressive autocrat, but was abused and neglected by his father Alexander III his whole life, which left him timid and completely unprepared to rule. His reign was short, disastrous, and ultimately resulted in him and his family being brutally executed.
• Memetic Badass:
  • The emus. They won every single battle against Australia in The Emu War.
  • The Bucket. It really is the perfect bucket.
• Memetic Loser: Australia. They lost the Emu War.
• Memetic Psychopath: Adolf Hitler's father Alois. In the show proper, he is an ill-tempered man whom Adolf constantly antagonizes. According to a given comments section, he becomes enraged at the drop of a hat. He then punishes people severely.
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: At the end of the Pig War video, OverSimplified goes on an insanity-fueled tangent about how the United States should invade and conquer Canada. His Canadian fanbase were good sports about it and joined in on the joke themselves. The video even managed to hit #1 trending in Canada. It probably doesn't hurt that the video also spends a good deal of time poking fun at the US, so it was clear the talk about Canada was all in good fun.
• Nausea Fuel:
  • Henry VIII's ulcered legs leaking stinking pus.
  • Hannibal's eye infection that he gained from crossing the Arno marshes, which covers most of his face with diseased flesh. If that wasn't bad enough, he then removes his own eye with his sword.
• One-Scene Wonder: Jimmy the Arsonist.
• Paranoia Fuel: During a segment of Cold War (Part 2), the United States loses four hydrogen bombs above the Spanish town of Palomares in 1966. OverSimplified notes that, at this point, they had lost 14 bombs since 1950. He also stresses that nobody knows how many bombs the Soviet Union lost... so sleep well tonight.
• Parody Displacement: "The War of the Bucket" assumes that you've seen earlier YouTube videos about said war, which claimed that the war was fought purely over the bucket, and that it's setting the record straight. This is why the video spends a lot of time setting up the notion that the people of Bologna love their bucket enough to go to war for it, only to subvert it at the end and reveal that the bucket wasn't actually important at all. However, the OverSimplified version is now way more popular than the numerous older videos it was parodying, and many people will find out about the War of the Bucket from the OverSimplified version, which makes the joke fall a little flat.

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