History YMMV / RingingBell

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Many people felt the other sheep were complete {{jerkass}}es, because they do nothing while Chirin mourns his mother, and shun him at the end even though he defeated Woe in front of them, which, had Chirin not been known at that point as a notorious hunter to them, would've painted them as outright {{Ungrateful Bastard}}s. It's even worse in the other versions of the story where they now remember Chirin as a boogeyman who kills lambs if they cry.

* BrokenAesop: The moral of the story is supposed to be that VengeanceFeelsEmpty and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters obsessing over it can make you into a monster]], as [[spoiler: Chirin kills Woe but other sheep reject him (or in the original book he himself feeling he can't go back to sheep life) for his monstrous appearance and behavior, and he's now alone in the world after having killed someone who he came to see as a surrogate father figure.]] The anime somewhat fumbles this, however, as [[spoiler: Chirin attacking Woe isn't portrayed as him doing it out of the desire for revenge, but rather to protect the other sheep in the pasture after being reminded of his mother protecting him. This makes the other sheep rejecting Chirin at the end come off more as a mix of NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished and UngratefulBastard.]]

* FandomSpecificPlot: Most readers and viewers who feel Chirin didn't deserve what he got at the end have created {{Fan Sequel}}s where he finds a happier life, a prominent one being finding a mate who loves him in spite of his horrific form.

* MisaimedFandom: Some viewers and readers believe that Chirin should have killed the flock. And considering the way they treated Chirin even after he pretty much ''saved their lives'' by killing the wolf, it's understandable. But not only is this just missing the point of the story that a vengeful mind can lead you down a nasty path, but it also is worth remembering that killing the sheep ''was'' the original plan, so it's understandable they have little reason to trust him after seeing him kill the guard dogs, and even after his HeelRealization. BothSidesHaveAPoint.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: While it ''does'' have a good reception overall, the movie is infamous for being incredibly painful to watch and thus hard to suggest to people, which is due in no small part to the unrelentingly depressing tone where protagonist Chirin suffers from [[TraumaCongaLine misfortune after misfortune]] once his mother dies, along with the DownerEnding where he implicitly freezes to death. Not to mention almost every character, [[SavageWolves especially Woe]], is ignorant at best or coldhearted at worst, with the few exceptions being [[GoodParents Chirin's mother]] and the [[ChildrenAreInnocent other baby lambs]], and as stated before Chirin becomes a VillainProtagonist part of being motivated by vengeance. It can be a challenge to find anyone who thinks children and their families were the target audience for this movie.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This picture book turned into a movie was aimed at children as a cautionary tale, but is dark, violent (blood-free however), and depressing.