History YMMV / HighGuardianSpice

* BrokenAesop: Sage claims Snapdragon can't possibly understand her feelings because they're a man. She's meant to be in the wrong for this, and Snapdragon is quick to call her out on being sexist, but WordOfGod that Snapdragon would have been revealed to be a trans woman had the show continued past season 1 accidentally reinforces the idea that Sage was right about TheUnfairSex and men being out of touch with their feelings.

* UncertainAudience: ''High Guardian Spice'' was picked up by anime distributor Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and is marked as being for mature audiences, but it has practically ''no'' resemblance to a mature anime. Instead, we are treated to a [[PuniPlush cutesy art style]], simple dialogue, and young protagonists going to school in a very basic StandardFantasySetting... but the show ''does'' use its mature rating for occasional swearing and (inconsistently) bloody violence (and not in a self-aware SubvertedKidsShow way), making it technically inappropriate for a young audience, but still [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids feeling too much like a kids' show]] for anyone older.

* UncertainAudience: ''High Guardian Spice'' was picked up by anime distributor Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and is marked as being for mature audiences, but it has practically ''no'' resemblance to a mature anime. Instead, we are treated to a [[PuniPlush cutesy art style]], simple dialogue, and young protagonists in a very basic MedievalEuropeanFantasy school setting... but the show ''does'' use its mature rating for occasional swearing and (inconsistently) bloody violence (and not in a self-aware SubvertedKidsShow way), making it technically inappropriate for a young audience, but still [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids feeling too much like a kids' show]] for anyone older.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: A variation, in any case. Despite having a ContentWarning, this show's use of strong language and blood is ''really'' tame compared to other mature cartoons, much less adult-oriented anime fare, and the "sexual content" never really surpasses what would otherwise be DemographicallyInappropriateHumour territory, aside from Olive saying the word "dong" twice. WordOfGod is that it ''was'' originally intended to be a kids' show, but [[ExecutiveMeddling Crunchyroll higher-ups]] pushed to [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating add mature content into the final product]], resulting in a few gratuitous adult elements being tacked onto the otherwise kid-friendly series.

* ClicheStorm: Many of the criticisms stem from the premise being ''very'' similar to several other shows, as a plucky girl with a missing parent going to a fantasy school, a mean girl who bullies the protagonists, and an aloof ally who turns nice are all common character archetypes that frequently get used together (such as in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', and ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017''). The setting is also a typical MedievalEuropeanFantasy world that doesn't do much to stand out from others like it. Further playing on the ''Little Witch Academia'' cliches, the show also presents both anti-Traditionalism as an overarching message and the swap between a lighthearted SliceOfLife first half and a [[CerebusSyndrome much darker, dramatic second half]] where a heavy overarching plot kicks off.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The disastrous reveal trailer, followed by Crunchyroll going mum about it for two years, then essentially washing their hands of it immediately after release is constantly brought up whenever the show is being discussed or reviewed. Even those who don't mind the show admit that the two years of silence gave that initial first impression time to sink in.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The disastrous reveal trailer, followed by Crunchyroll going mum about it for two years, then essentially washing their hands of it immediately after release is constantly brought up whenever the show is being discussed or reviewed.

* ClicheStorm: Many of the criticisms stem from the premise being ''very'' similar to several other shows, as a plucky girl with a missing parent going to a fantasy school, a mean girl who bullies the protagonists, and an aloof ally who turns nice are all common character archetypes that frequently get used together (such as in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', and ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017''). The setting is also a typical MedievalEuropeanFantasy world that doesn't do much to stand out from others like it. Further playing on the ''Little Witch Academia'' cliches, the show also presents both anti-Traditionalism as an overarching message and the swap between a lighthearted Slice of Life first half and a [[CerebusSyndrome much darker, dramatic second half]] where a heavy overarching plot kicks off.

* {{Anvilicious}}: People tend to agree that some of the messages are hammered in to the point of repetitiveness, particularly with the AppealToTradition conflict theme throughout the series getting explained ''every single time'' it's brought up. And if it's not being repeated, the message is often delivered via the characters effectively giving a blatant textbook explanation for the themes or the morals of the episode. This is likely explained by the messages and themes being ''meant'' to be simple so as to be understood by children; the series was originally intended for younger audiences before Crunchyroll demanded it be retooled to be more mature. By this point it was impractical to completely rewrite the show, so the delivery comes off as heavy-handed to older viewers.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: A variation, in any case. Despite having a ContentWarning, this show's use of strong language and blood is ''really'' tame compared to other mature cartoons, much less adult-oriented anime fare, and the "sexual content" never really surpasses what would otherwise be DemographicallyInappropriateHumour territory, aside from Olive saying the word "dong" twice. WordOfGod is that it ''[[IKnewIt was]]'' originally intended to be a kids' show, but [[ExecutiveMeddling Crunchyroll higher-ups]] [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating pushed to add mature content]] into the final product, resulting in a [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating few gratuitous adult elements being tacked onto the otherwise kid-friendly series.]]

* OvershadowedByControversy:
** The disastrous reveal trailer, followed by Crunchyroll going mum about it for two years, then essentially washing their hands of it immediately after release is constantly brought up whenever the show is being discussed or reviewed.
** Creator Kate Leth's abundance of sexist tweets and her completely unapologetic attitude toward them overshadow a ''lot'' of criticisms and discussions of the show. A lot of the show's writing decisions regarding morals, its InformedWrongness, and its characterizations which would have otherwise been taken for granted or merely been acknowledged are often blamed on underlying misandry and instead discussed in great depth.

* BileFascination: Due to the show's ''very'' controversial nature within Crunchyroll's community, many people checked it out to see what people were getting in such an uproar over. But those expecting (hoping?) to see an epic disaster were instead disappointed to find a show that's merely [[SoOKItsAverage thoroughly mediocre]]… which arguable makes it worse since an [[SoBadItsGood outright disaster would at least be somewhat entertaining with how terrible it was]]. It's often cited as the quintessential Exhibit A of how ''not'' to write a show as it does everything wrong in such an inoffensive way and has so few defenders that anyone can openly criticize any aspect of it without fearing much, if any, fan retaliation -- critics and the like heavily encourage anyone interested in storytelling or creating media to watch this show to learn from its mistakes and discuss them among their peers.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Sage almost killing the Scypith is treated as a major plot point for her character due to her losing control of her magic for a moment. Despite it initially being treated as a huge moment, it largely has no impact on her or the plot after the moment, and it goes unmentioned after like it never happened.

* CriticalBacklash: A lot of people who watched the show because they heard what a trainwreck it supposedly was have found that while it's not exactly good, it's not as terrible as some made it out to be; while it has a lot of flaws in terms of writing and animation, many viewers find it to be mediocre rather than flat-out awful and believe it had some good points and potential for improvement if it had more than just one season.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNGYLE1o8Y The ending theme]] has been compared to something you would hear in a toddler's show about friendship, with lyrics like "finding who I am, you by my side" and "so happy to be with you, you make me happy too."