YMMV / Yuki Yuna is a Hero

• Adorkable: Because of the Slice of Life aspects of the series, outside of the Magical Girl battles and darker aspects, all of the girls exhibit these qualities in their everyday lives, Yuna and Fu especially.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Were Togo's multiple suicide attempts in episodes 8 and 10 simply her experimenting with the fairies' powers, or did she really intend to kill herself?
  • Following The Reveal in Episode 8 that the Sange is permanent, are the Taisha Kyubey-level bastards who are willing to throw the lives of innocent girls into a Fate Worse than Death just to preserve their world a while longer, or are they just Well-Intentioned Extremists who had no other choice to preserve the world and sincerely worship the girls that they sacrifice?
  • What exactly were Sonoko's intentions when she told Togo the truth about the outside world? Did she simply want her old friend to know what she was really fighting for before Togo ended up like her? Or was she using Togo to destroy the world and end her own suffering?
    • Hanayui no Kirameki does not help dissuade this line of thought; if anything it merely reinforces it since the drama behind several events is the result of the Sonokos (especially the middle school-aged one) screwing around Terumi style to get ideas for a new plot. In the valentines day event she proves to be more effective in screwing with the hero club than Akamine the actual antagonist at the time.
  • It's commonly believed that Togo initially refused to become a Hero because she was afraid of her disability holding everyone back. However, upon reading what she went through as Sumi Washio in the prequel LN, some theorized that she was actually suffering from PTSD. Word of God confirms that Togo reacted that way because even though her mind didn't remember fighting the Vertex before, her body and soul did.
• Audience-Alienating Premise: Subverted. The premise of the series is not the issue, but instead it's how it is presented. A lot of (mostly Western) feminists noticed the Handicapped Badass Togo but got turned off by the fanservice (especially since they're middle schoolers).
• Base-Breaking Character: Togo after the events of episode 10. Is her want to Kill All Humans justified or is she dragging everyone down her own suicidal path when they're just fine living as is?
• Broken Base:
  • Over the Twist Ending. After several dozen helpings of increasing suffering having the disabilities 'fixed' and Yuuna even becoming healthy again feels like a cop out for many. This has healed somewhat since the release of the Sonoko After epilogue; the revelation that the Hero System will be mass-produced without fairies or Sange means that adjustsments seem to be made.
  • The ending of Hero Chapter: Was it an excellent and satisfying conclusion to the Yuusha de Aru series and the Hero Club as a whole? Was it a rushed mess that tied up the loose ends a bit too conveniently that all the other plot threads established previously in the other series and spin-offs ended up getting tossed aside for no reason (especially with how KuMeYu was handled)? Or did it end the series well but could have benefited from having more episodes than the meager six Hero Chapter was given?
• Esoteric Happy Ending: The Hero Club has killed enough Vertex to suspend the attacks "indefinitely," and the girls were able to retire as Heroes and recovered from their disabilities. However, the world beyond the Shinju's barrier is still an infernal hellscape and the Vertex will come back eventually, which will probably necessitate a new group of Heroes sometime in the future. Sonoko After expands upon this: the Vertex will eventually return, but the Taisha are going to reveal the truth of the world to the general public and mass-produce the Hero System in order to reclaim the outside world; the new system no longer has the Sange, but it also does not have the fairy barriers, meaning that the Heroes are once more vulnerable to death. Sonoko states that although it will be a hard path for humanity, it's preferable to an eternal siege that humanity is doomed to lose eventually.
• Fandom Rivalry: Tends to have one with the Puella Magi Madoka Magica fandom, thanks to them having similar character designs. The revelation that the show is just as dark as Madoka Magica, if not darker, didn't help.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Egg-kun for Aobouzu, Togo's egg spirit.
  • Megalopolis for Togo, after Fu's Unusual Euphemism for her bust in episode 7.
    • Some also call her Botamochi after the snacks that she makes for Yuna (and tries to force Karin to eat in Episode 3).
  • Nibosshi for Karin, due to her habit of constantly eating dried sardines (called ''nibosshi''). This also applies in-universe.
    • The dub changes this into "Fishface."
  • Cheesecake Forest for the Jukai, from a mishearing of the opening lyrics. ^note The first words of the opening are "Shizukeki mori no naka" (inside the silent forest), which sounds like "Chizukeki mori no naka" (inside the cheesecake forest)
    • Seems to have become an Ascended Meme as an official event cafe has "Cheesecake ~mori no naka~" as one of its menu items.
  • Some people like refer to the series as "Yucky Tuna", although usually jokingly so.
  • Bakaba for Wakaba because of how dense and easily duped she can be in social situations and how baka ^note  The Japanese translation of "dumb" or "idiot". goes well with her name.
    • Her spiritual form in Hero Chapter, which took the shape of a crow, is referred to as Bakabird.
  • C-Shadow for Chikage, because it's the name she uses as her gaming moniker and how it's a play and almost direct translation of her name.
• Friendly Fandoms: On the other hand, it tends to be Friendly Fandoms with the Symphogear fandom, due to them both having Hot-Blooded, manly protagonists who punch things while living to protect their Ambiguously Lesbian best friends. When Symphogear XDU announced a collaboration event, there was much rejoicing.
• Funny Moments:
  • At one point, the actress for Yuna gave a commentary about the visual novel. During a Les Yay moment between Yuna and Togo where they kiss, she outright jumps out of her seat, as if she never saw it coming despite what series is known for.
  • When Karin offers up supplements for Itsuki's vocal training, Fu goads her into actually using them. The anime gives a set of Do Not Attempt warnings regarding what she does next: downs three bottles of pills and a bottle of olive oil. This only makes Karin need to relieve herself in a Vomit Discretion Shot, cutting from her leaving and cutting back to her return.
• Genius Bonus: The "Vertexes" are computer-generated creatures in a traditionally animated world. They are literally made of vertex coordinates.
• Growing the Beard: The first seven episodes was seen as a generic, if serviceable Slice of Life/Magical Girl anime. However, when episode 8 kicked in with the Plot Twist of the Hero System, the series was received significantly better and became more well-known for its numerous Tear Jerkers.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • In the anime's second season, Togo sacrificed herself to the Heavenly Gods to atone for attempting to destroy the world and requested Shinju to Ret-Gone her existence to keep Yuna from rescuing her. Togo's voice actress would later voice Hikari Kagura who's appearance, personality, amd relationship to the main character is similar to Togo's. Hikari also attempts a Self-Sacrifice Scheme similar to Togo's minus the Retcon.
• I Knew It!:
  • Since the very first episode fans were saying it wasn't quite as cute and sweet as it seemed. Confirmed halfway through the series, when we learn the truth about Mankai.
  • Togo being Washio Sumi, from the prequel light novel, and having lost the use of her legs in a Magical Girl related accident.
  • Most fans were certain that the disabilities were permanent, except they recovered at the last minute, at the very end of the episode.
  • When Togo was confirmed as being in love with Yuna most of the fan reaction was "Well yeah, water is wet."
  • Many fans predicted that Sonoko would transfer to Sanshu Middle School and join the Hero Club, which is exactly what happens in Sonoko After.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: A common sentiment regarding The Great Full Bloom Chapter's Compressed Adaptation of both the KuMeYu and especially NoWaYu storylines in Episodes 2-4 and 5-8, respectively. While it is generally agreed upon that the material that WAS covered was well-executed, it also cut out many of the defining moments for their respective casts, leaving them less developed compared to the main cast. And with the season's nature as the Grand Finale of the YuYuYu series, it made those who have been clamoring for a proper KuMeYu and NoWaYu adaptation extremely disheartened.
• It Was His Sled: Some of the twists, mainly the fact that Mankai causes its users permanent disabilities with each activation and that Togo is Sumi Washio have become this by now.
• Jerkass Woobie: Chikage Koori from the Wakaba Nogi is a Hero prequel light novel series is the most aloof and brooding of Wakaba's team, can be standoffish when provoked, and is bitterly resentful of Wakaba for her talents, popularity, and her position as their Hero team's leader, spending most of the story driven by her jealousy of her and being kind to only Yuna Takashima alone at least initially. But considering her past of being horribly bullied and ostracized by her village because of her mother's affair (something she had no control over) as well as with her father neglecting her and with Yuna being her only support, it's no wonder she craved for others' approval and attention so much for most of the series.
• Just Here for Godzilla:
  • A lot of people were first drawn to the series due to its inclusion of a wheelchair-bound magical girl who doesn't lose her disability when she transforms. Unfortunately, some of those people were turned away when they learned that she was also the subject of most of the show's fanservice.
  • When the show's true nature was revealed in Episode 8, people stuck around to see how things could possibly get worse with each episode.
• Les Yay: There's so much of it that it required its own page.
• Memetic Badass:
  • Yuna is quickly becoming this.
  • Karin's awesome fight in Episode 11 propelled her straight into this category, with some fans considering her more heroic than Yuna.
  • Gin Minowa from the Washio Sumi novel is also popular for driving back three Vertex on her own without fairies or Mankai to protect her friends, and despite succumbing to her injuries dying a heroic standing death.
  • Sonoko, thanks to her status as the strongest Hero in the original series combined with her nigh chessmaster-level intellect backing it up. The mobile game even follows up on this as she's unanimously considered the best and most powerful unit you can acquire in Hanayui no Kirameki.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Hey Wasshi...LET'S ENJOY KAGAWA LIFE!" ^ExplanationThis fantastic line of Sonoko's from the 2nd Washio Sumi movie has spread to internet infamy among the fans.
  • Among fans of both anime, comparing Togo to Homura from Madoka. More precisely, Togo has everything Homura wish she had (friends, a close bond with her pink-haired best friend/crush, far less despair and misfortune), etc.
  • EVERYTHING IS FIRE ^{Explanation (spoilers)}Mutated off "Everything is fine" to describe the Fire and Brimstone Hell the outside world has become. Also used to express how everything isn't fine.
  • READ NOWAYU ^Explanation Whenever a reference from the NoWaYu series pops up in either Hero Chapter or Hanayui (or an important detail in the series' lore that was only explained in the prequel series), expect fans of NoWaYu to constantly utter this phrase in any discussion thread you can find.
  • Shinju-sama is a lolicon!^Explanation The Shinju's preference for choosing only "pure young girls", all of whom are no older than middle schoolers for the most part, to fight on its behalf as Heroes is something that didn't go unnoticed by the fandom. Yuna being asked to "marry" it in the Shinkon ritual during Hero Chapter made the fandom raise their eyebrows even further.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Sange in general is this. You either slowly become increasingly disabled while forced to still fight, or you go Sange multiple times and quickly lose several abilities.
  • Also, the true nature of the world, being a demonic hellscape.
  • Bonus point when ribbons start to wrap around the parts of Karin's body that she's about to lose in Episode 11, after each use of her Mankai. Hearing her whimpers of fear before silencing them and using Mankai again and again is heartbreaking.
  • Episode 5 of the Hero Chapter reveals that humanity is out of time, the Shinju is dying fast. Unless the Hero Club finds a miracle, the only options are either dying from exposure to the outside world because of the sky gods' attack on the barrier or Yuna sacrificing herself to the Shinju. And the latter plan wouldn't truly save the region, it would cause everyone to ascend to where the Shinju lives.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Karin wasn't really disliked, she was just mercilessly mocked for being seen as The Load. Then came episode 11, which boosted her straight out of there and into "awesome!".
• Salvaged Story: The ending of The Great Full Bloom Chapter addresses the rushed nature of the ending of Hero Chapter by adding some additional scenes of the Heroes and Taisha and showcasing the contributions of Mebuki and the Sentinels during the final battle while also exploring the world following the final battle, both in the immediate aftermath and in a Time Skip epilogue.
• Ship Mates: People who ship Yuna/Togo also tend to ship Fu/Karin or Itsuki/Karin
• Ship-to-Ship Combat:
  • Yuna/Togo vs Togo/Sonoko is the most common, though Yuna/Karin is debated as well. This subsided a bit after the bonus chapter of the Washio Sumi 4koma was translated, in which Sonoko approves of Yuna/Togo. She also ships them in Sonoko After.
  • Yuna/Karin shippers also occasionally run afoul of people who ship Fu/Karin. Karin/Itsuki has also become more popular after all of their events in Jukai no Kioku, leading some people to argue over which Inubozaki sister Karin would be best with. That is, of course, if people don't decide to ship the sisters together.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: The last 3rd of 'Corolla', while epic, sounds kinda similar to Ashes of Dreams, especially the bridge before the last chorus. It helps that both Yuki Yuna is a Hero and the NieR series share the same lead composer.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: After episode 8, some factions of the fandom turned on this show and began deriding it as a copycat of Madoka due to similarly using a cutesy facade to mask dark plot twists that involve the characters being deceived into sacrificing themselves via Power at a Price.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Sonoko explains that the reason the Taisha keep her around despite not letting her transform is to stop rogue Heroes from attacking them or the Shinju, which is exactly what Fu and Togo eventually do. The fact that she doesn't show up in the climax was a disappointment for many, since she's stated to be more powerful than the entire Hero Club combined with her twenty-one fairies and everything. The bonus chapter of the Washio Sumi Light Novel, which takes place during and after Episodes 9-12, justifies this by saying that even though the Taisha begged her to transform, she refused to as punishment for the Taisha lying to her and to the Hero Club about the Sange.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Little Girls?: The anime features middle-school girls helping others as well as fighting in bloodless battles with cute fairy pets and colorful costumes based on flowers, albeit with mild Fanservice elements. It even has an inspiring message about how people with disabilities can have normal lives too! Did the wheelchair girl just try to kill herself?