Kagerou Project / YMMV

Abandon Shipping: Konoha/Ene was quite popular with the early fandom, but as the series progressed on and it became more evident that Konoha was not Haruka, a lot of fans jumped the ship. The unhealthy parts of the ship were only realized more and more that Ene's treatment of Konoha is fueled by bitterness and being stuck in the past.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Did Ayano commit suicide solely out of wanting to protect her family? Or was she subconsciously trying to find any reason to commit suicide in between things like terrible grades, distant friends and general low self-esteem? Did she try to frame an already wanted suicide as a good thing because of some sort of messiah complex?
- Is Hiyori a rude and bitter character who disregards the feelings of Hibiya for no reason whatsoever? Or is she a young girl lashing out after being stalked at her hometown by people like Hibiya, who have her schedule memorized and shrines dedicated to her?
Angel/Devil Shipping/Mind Game Ship: Kuro Konoha/Marry is rather popular with some fans despite their interactions with each other in "Outer Science" being decidedly less than friendly.
Base-Breaking Character:
- Momo. Her fans like her for being the most upbeat girl among the cast full of woobies and for doing her best to cheer up Hibiya after his incident with Hiyori. Her detractors however, find her backstory to be forced and her character to be boring, and they also complain about Momo tending to wrest away the spotlight from the more interesting characters.
- Depending on who you ask, Ene is either charming, sympathetic, and one of the series' funniest characters, or an annoying Jerkass who messes with Shintaro for no reason.
Broken Base:
- There seems to be a division within the fandom Shaft's renderation of Kagepro. Some people believe Shaft is doing an amazing job at it while others feel Shaft is being lazy. Any more on either side sets off very heated discussions.
- The Kano/Kido ship has caused some fights to break out, especially with Kido/Momo fans. Some see it as an incestuous ship, and others don't see them as brother and sister at all. After the Future anthology was released, it led to some really nasty spats and threats from both parties.
Complete Monster: The Snake of Clearing Eyes/Wide-Open Eyes Snake is the Big Bad of the franchise. The only one of Azami's snakes to develop consciousness, the Snake manipulates Azami into freeing him and the other snakes, escaping to the real world and possessing Kenijrou Tateyama. Promising to reunite Kenijrou with his dead wife but never fulfilling it so he can exist forever, the Snake arranges for the murders of his students, tricking Kenijrou's daughter into killing herself when she discovers his plan. Forcing the girl's stepbrother to help him cover it up, the Snake goes on to carry out his murder spree uninterrupted. Possessing Konoha to try and kill the protagonists for discovering his plan, the Snake forces the timeline to be reset indefinitely, killing his victims over and over again to remain immortal and satisfy his sadism while leaving the whole world locked in a "Groundhog Day" Loop.
Crack Pairing: Despite the Kagerou Project fandom's arguments over some ships, most, if not all, of the fandom can agree that Shintaro/Soda is canon.
Designated Monkey: Shintaro can often fall into this, since he hardly ever does anything truly mean, and yet is the second-biggest Butt-Monkey of the cast outside of Kano. Episode 5 of the anime features a particularly massive example of this, with Ene completely humiliating Shintaro in front of the entire Gang for no discernible reason. The unfair treatment Shintaro tends to receive is why Ene veers into Base-Breaking Character territory for some.
Draco in Leather Pants: The Snake of Clearing Eyes, or rather, his Kuro Konoha form, very frequently gets this. Plenty of fan works portray him as merely The Friend Nobody Likes to the rest of the Gang, or one act of compassion away from a Heel–Face Turn, or sometimes is outright shipped with some of the other characters. All of this, of course, completely ignores that he's the source of virtually all of the characters' suffering, personally had a hand in killing several characters, and finds all of the pain he inflicts amusing. And most of it is just because he looks attractive when possessing Konoha. Needless to say, Canon Defilement is firmly in effect with most works that subject him to this.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Ayano, who was already pretty popular way back when she was first introduced in "Toumei Answer" (in which she served as The Lost Lenore to Shintaro). And when she was confirmed to be Mekakushi Dan's founder and Kido, Seto, and Kano's surrogate older sister, her popularity skyrocketed and she's now arguably the most popular female character, pretty impressive given that she's a posthumous character only seen in flashbacks.
- Kuroha is loved for his general Psychotic Smirk and Ax-Crazy nature making him a Draco in Leather Pants. It helps that he has heavy plot relevance and his song "Outer Science" is a Wham Episode that's catchy.
Fan Nickname:
- Before Seto's official name was revealed, most fans took to calling him "Forest-kun" in reference to Imagination Forest, the song he debuted in.
- Haruka was called "Dead-kun" by the English fandom before his official name was released based on the Children Record PV where there's one scene he appears in where he lying on the ground looking dead.
- Takane was nicknamed "Actor" based on the PV "Headphone actor" until her official name was released.
- Kuroha for the Snake of Clearing Eyes while possessing Konoha. Some merchandise calls him Black Konoha, Dark Konoha, or Konoha? though. Jin later confirmed Kuro Konoha (which could be translated as the first or second options) to be his canon name.
- Mekakushi Trio or Orphan Trio for Kido, Seto, and Kano, and Yuukei Quartet for the high school kids Shintaro, Ayano, Takane, and Haruka.
Fanon Discontinuity: Due to the anime's questionable quality and how its version of the story worked out, many fans who were in the fandom before the anime aired have chosen to either ignore its existence, or take it for what it is while not actually considering it part of the canon.
Harsher in Hindsight:
- Shintaro making a wacky joke about killing himself upon Ene's comment seems funny, if not a little dark when it's said in the first novel. Its comedy value quickly plummets once you watch "Lost Time Memory" or episode eleven of the anime.
- While the fandom likes to celebrate August 15 as Kagerou Day to commemorate the series' most popular song, the Japanese fandom find the celebration as less joyous. The date coincides with Japanese Memorial Day, or known as Victory Over Japan Day.
Heartwarming Moments: "Otsukimi Recital" as a whole. Especially considering it came after many really depressing songs. Momo's interactions with Hibiya are all too cute, and it's nice to watch Momo help Hibiya slowly get over his Survivor Guilt was very nice to watch. Shintaro watching out for Momo at the end made it sweeter.
- "Summertime Record", and the fandom's response to it. Ayano would be proud.
Hilarious in Hindsight: Takane making a huge deal out of calling Shintaro 'Master' if he beats her in Dead Bullet is hilarious, once you think about how it's truly Ene making this promise.
Ho Yay/Les Yay: With mainly the pairings Kido/Momo, Seto/Kano and Konoha/Shintaro.
- The creators were talking about their 'fetishism' and went on talking about Konoha and Shintaro's relationship
- Haruka is the person that offered Shintaro his first Cola... which is his trademark favorite drink.
Hollywood Pudgy: According to Kido and Shintaro in the novels, Momo's quite heavy.
Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Almost everyone, but the KagePro fandom's town bicycle has to be Shintaro, who beyond the more common pairings with Ayano, Ene, and Konoha, is also shipped with Marry, Kido, Seto, Kano, and even Kur oha.
Love to Hate: The Snake of Clearing Eyes is almost cartoonishly evil, and yet fans can't help but be mesmerized by how over-the-top he is with his sadism.
Memetic Mutation:
- "May soda be eternal" and Shintaro/Soda in general.
- Kuroha being associated with bees, in reference to his color scheme.
- "Welcome to my womb".
- Konoha's expressions in the announcement of his voice actor.
- "Maternity Spiral"
Moe: Marry, Konoha, Haruka, and Seto. While Hibiya is often portrayed as a Bratty Half-Pint, "Otsukimi Recital" just goes to show how adorable the little guy is beneath all that snark.
Mood Dissonance: Yuukei Yesterday is a cute, fun song about Takane's feelings for Haruka, except towards the end, when we see her video game persona running up a hill and crying... Oh god. That means that the song ends with Takane in the Daze, going through the events of Headphone Actor. The song never loses its cheery vibe.
Moral Event Horizon:Kuroha crosses it prior to the series' beginning, when he tricks Ayano into committing suicide. Or, arguably even earlier when he manipulates Azami into creating the Daze, knowing fully that she'd suffer forever because of it.
Narm: Ayano's Theory of Happiness in the TV broadcast of the anime is... something to behold, alright.
Never Live It Down: Ene's detractors have a very difficult time looking past episode 5 of the anime, where she's at her most pointlessly cruel.
Nightmare Fuel: Kuroha's expression in the MekakuCity Records crossfade PV.
- "Outer Science" in general.
  - Everything about Kuroha for that matter.
- Marry, screaming silently at the end of "Outer Science" as her hair falls out, forms into snakes, turns black and scales grow over her skin. Seeing the series' most Moe character like that is... just upsetting.
No Yay: Any ship involving Kuro Konoha, due to how much suffering he inflicted on pretty much every other character in the franchise, and especially Shintaro. Crimes against him include driving his best friend Ayano to suicide, forcing Kano to pose as Ayano's corpse, indirectly causing Shintaro to blame himself for her death, killing his other two friends and turning them into a cyborg and an AI, and severely injuring another one of his friends and possessing their body.
Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: My Funny Weekend improved some fans' opinion of Hiyori, since it portrays her as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who treats Hibiya more like a friend than a lackey.
Sacred Cow: The original Vocaloid songs are so universally treasured that merely criticizing them is considered blasphemy. Part of the backlash against the anime was how much it diverged from the original. Its rendition of "Ayano's Theory of Happiness" was particularly loathed for turning one of the most beloved songs in the fandom into a poorly animated CGI nightmare.
The Scrappy: Hiyori is seen as this by some for her callous treatment of Hibiya.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Konoha. For all of his importance in the story, he ends up possessed by the Snake of Clearing Eyes, revealed to be the result of Haruka's body on "autopilot", and in the most positive route uses his base snake to give Haruka back control of their body, resulting in him ceasing to exist. While fans are more than happy to have Haruka back and enjoying a life once denied to him, some are miffed that Konoha is narratively shafted in favor of the boy.
Tear Jerker: Ayano's suicide, and Shintaro's reactions in "Toumei Answer" and "Lost Time Memory".
- And then "Ayano's Theory of Happiness" came along and made it even worse.
- Challenge. Watch "Yuukei Yesterday" and then "Outer Science". Or just read the manga up to Haruka's death and try NOT to cry a single time. If you win: good for you. If you lose: congratulations and welcome to everyday life of the fandom.
- The Kagerou Daze time loop, and its affect on Hibiya in "Otsukimi Recital". The poor kid is literally having flashbacks from minor things like seeing a cat or a child on a swing.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: So far, every route in the series except for Mekakucity Actors has ended with the Clearing Eyes Snake winning. Some fans have gotten upset that the light novels and manga, which they had been following for years, both ended with Clearing Eyes killing most of the cast and Marry rewinding time again.
Values Dissonance: Jin has been forthright about the fact that he intended Shintaro to be an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, to the point that he finds the comparisons to him unflattering. However, the traits that he's supposed to be scorned for - Being a dropout, an internet addict, and a bit of a smartass, aren't seen as that bad overseas compared to the stricter society the franchise originates from, as well as mental health being taken far more seriously in western countries than Japan, where being emotionally compromised is considered a sign of weakness. This has led to Shintaro being considered something of a Designated Monkey in the States, with fans who find him too sympathetic and relatable to look down upon.
Viewer Gender Confusion: Kido. Even everyone in-universe who meets her initially describes her as having a masculine appearance!
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Lying beyond the upbeat songs about familial love and cheering people up lies a much darker storyline full of domestic abuse, murder, discrimination, depression, suicide, and chronic illness. Those who are sensitive to these subjects should tread carefully.
The Woobie:
- Shintaro was always apathetic with the world, and had a hard time caring about things because of how easy it all was to him. When he finally made some vague friends, one committed suicide, and the other two were murdered. He managed to block out the deaths of the latter two, and lock himself in his room for a full two years over the trauma. Even after Summertime Record and Mekakucity's endings, it's implied he still has his power and remembers all the timelines. While everyone else is happy and can finally relax, he'll forever remember timelines and timelines of things like "Outer Science".
- Kano was beaten by his mother from a young age, but he still loved her anyway. Trying to protect her jewelry from robbers, both he and his mother were stabbed to death. He came back with the Snake of Deceiving Eyes, who encouraged him to lie. Then, when he finally found a new family his new big sister and rolemodel committed suicide. He was forced to work for the Snake of Clearing Eyes after that, practically scheming against his own family under the risk that they'd be killed otherwise. He has to shoulder this all on his own, and keep up a masquerade that everything's okay.
  - The mother incident is made significantly worse with the fact that he associates physical harm with himself so strongly that it deactivates his power.
- Marry spent 40 years living inside a small secluded house, warned by her loving mother of the dangers of going outside. When she went outside anyway, humans ambushed her and murdered her and her mother. She came back with the Snake of Combining Eyes, and spent more than 100 years locked inside her house, thoroughly terrified of encountering any more humans. When she finally does make a friend in Seto, the Snake of Clearing Eyes eventually swoops in and murders everyone Marry cares about purely to drive her across the Despair Event Horizon so that she'll reset time. And yet despite her traumatic early years, Marry retains her kind demeanor and willingness to make new friends out of desire to not spend any more time alone.
- Kenjirou lost the love of his life, and has the Snake of Clearing Eyes put inside of him. In a futile effort to make itself immortal, the Snake manages to drive his biological daughter to suicide. Not only that, but it also kills his two dearly beloved students. His three adopted children then proceed to run away and leave him all alone. Despite all of that, he continues to be kind and patient with a student like Momo.

YMMV / Kagerou Project

Edit Locked