History YMMV / SamuraiDeeperKyo

** [[BigBad The Former Crimson King]] is a MagnificentBastard [[LackOfEmpathy without a shred of empathy]] for the dying people under his command, ''lives'' in the UncannyValley with his creepy dissonance between appearance and personality, is a prime provider of NightmareFuel, and crosses the MoralEventHorizon several times in the story. He's referred to as Aka-chan by much of the fandom.

* UncannyValley: Kyo's [[RedEyesTakeWarning Crimson Eyes]] look strange and intimidating, but they fit with his overall aesthetic and personality. [[spoiler:The Former Crimson King's and Kyoshiro's variants]] just don't look right, and the Mibu Reconstruction Plan's child experiments are even worse.
** The fully awakened eyes are downright scary.

** Akari is beloved by the fandom, partially because she's one of the best-handled {{Transgender}} characters in manga history (even over a decade later!). She's incredibly badass, always portrayed as a ''woman'', not a crossdressing man, and when there are jokes centering around the fact that she is trans, they are ''always'' at the expense of the {{Jerkass}} mocking her.

** [[CuteClumsyGirl Santera]] is an sweet, awkward ten-year-old {{Meganekko}} who has never touched another human being because [[MonsterSobStory the corrosive spores that she uncontrollably emits would kill them]]. She's a ShrinkingViolet who doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she's been recruited by the Jyunishinsho because of her abilities and is [[TorturedMonster forced to kill]]. Thankfully, Yuya and Akari manage to save her.

* MagnificentBastard: The Former Crimson King, certainly. Yukimura also definitely qualifies, and Nobunaga might.
** Specifically, Yukimura's tactical and strategic skills are such that Ieyasu would rather bribe him than have him as an enemy. At the end of the series, he successfully anticipates the Former Crimson King's plan and has already had Okuni rally together the combined forces of the Tokugawa, the Sanada, and the Date to contain the King's blood soldiers and keep them from rampaging out into the human world.

* AwesomeArt: The manga. Kamijyo's compelling style, [[SceneryPorn stunning scenery]], and visually attractive characters are among its main selling points.

%%* ZeroContentExample

* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse. In the final chapter, Kyoshiro surprises Yuya at the site of their first meeting (in front of Kyo's wanted poster). [[spoiler:He's holding Tenro and ''has his damn Crimson Eyes activated''. She naturally thinks he's Kyo, her LoveInterest who has been missing for three years. She is very much ''not amused'' when she realizes the truth, and retaliates by [[CallBack shooting at Kyoshiro and then tying him up and leaving him hanging upside down in a tree]]]].
** JustJokingJustification: He tries it, saying he thought she would find this funny. She shuts him right the hell down and says it was insensitive and horrible.

* FandomBerserkButton: The anime. Good ''god'', the anime. To the point that most fans of the manga pretend it doesn't even exist, because it's such a departure from the source material that it's essentially SDK InNameOnly. And because it only loosely followed the first sixteen volumes, two of the above {{Ensemble Darkhorse|}}s (Hishigi and Akari, who debuted in volumes 20 and 22 respectively) didn't even make it in. "SDK anime? What SDK anime?"

** Akari is beloved by the fandom, partially because she's one of the best-handled {{UsefulNotes/Transgender}} characters in manga history (even over a decade later!). She's incredibly badass, always portrayed as a ''woman'', not a crossdressing man, and when there are jokes centering around the fact that she is trans, they are ''always'' at the expense of the {{Jerkass}} mocking her.

* MoralEventHorizon: The Former Crimson King has plenty of these moments.
** [[spoiler:By the time Tokito finds her father (Fubuki) after regaining her memories, he is near death. She begs the Former Crimson King to save him. The Former Crimson King attempts to kill her instead; but Fubuki (already dying and likely beyond saving) [[RedemptionEqualsDeath takes the fall.]]]]

* ValuesDissonance: One of the reasons Kyo reads so much like a DesignatedHero[=/=]JerkSue is that he's presented as incredibly admirable despite being a [[{{Jerkass}} giant dick]]. But in the context, being a badass is an admirable trait in and of itself, so it's a little easier to accept.

** IronWoobie: Akira. Jaded street urchin, turned TagalongKid to Demon Eyes Kyo, turned ChildSoldier (a willing and enthusiastic one, but ''still''). Intentionally [[EyeScream blinded himself]] to [[DisabilitySuperpower attain greater strength]] after Kyo disappeared. Worked harder than anyone in the entire story to get to his current level, then is told that it's physically impossible for him to get any stronger than he already is because he doesn't have samurai lineage. Finding a way to temporarily power up and defeat Tokito, but [[DentedIron completely and permanently wrecking his body]] in the process. He never seems particularly upset or bitter about any of this, aside from Anthony telling him he can't get stronger.

** [[CuteClumsyGirl Santera]] is a ten-year-old girl who has never touched another human being because [[MonsterSobStory the corrosive spores that she uncontrollably emits would kill them]]. She's a ShrinkingViolet who doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she's been recruited by the Jyunishinsho because of her abilities and is [[TorturedMonster forced to kill]].

* {{Moe}}: Shinrei was ''ridiculously'' adorable as a child. It's a serious contrast to Hotaru around the same age; he was incredibly angry and already scarred by the time he was six. Shinrei had the world handed to him -- Hotaru had to fight just to survive.

* TheWoobie: Tons of characters, like [[MrFanservice Yukimura]]. Pretty much any character who gets any attention from Kamijyo has some Woobie elements.
** StoicWoobie: Hishigi, good ''god''. He is in constant, excruciating pain from the Devil Eyes and the Death Disease. He has watched countless friends die horribly while he was helpless to save them. But he keeps fighting for Fubuki, because Fubuki is all he has left. And not once does he [[AngstWhatAngst complain]] about any of this. He even tells Fubuki not to feel sorry for him [[spoiler:while he's ''[[DiedInYourArmsTonight dying in Fubuki's arms]]'']], because Hishigi chose his own path and Fubuki is not allowed to blame himself.
** JerkassWoobie: Kyo, Fubuki, frigging ''everyone''.

* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse. In the final chapter, Kyoshiro surprises Yuya at the site of their first meeting (in front of Kyo's wanted poster). [[spoiler: He's holding Tenro and ''has his damn Crimson Eyes activated''. She naturally thinks he's Kyo, her LoveInterest who has been missing for three years. She is very much ''not amused'' when she realizes the truth, and retaliates by [[CallBack shooting at Kyoshiro and then tying him up and leaving him hanging upside down in a tree]]]].

** Hishigi. He isn't a main character and doesn't get much spotlight in canon, but he is a Badass [[{{Bishonen}} Biseinen]] AntiVillain, complete with a DarkAndTroubledPast and StoicWoobie qualities, so naturally he's one of these. Being voiced by Creator/ShigeruNakahara in the audio dramas doesn't hurt either.

* HarsherInHindsight: Yuan refers to Hishigi as "an incredibly efficient executioner" when explaining why getting any information out of him is going to be difficult. [[spoiler: We find out later that Hishigi has quite literally acted as the Former Crimson King's executioner, and he killed Yuan's mother on the king's orders]].

** [[spoiler:He manipulates Kyoshiro (through Chinmei) into killing Sakuya's brother, and arranges for Sakuya to watch. Made worse since Nozomu was also Yuya's adoptive brother, and his death was her CynicismCatalyst]].

** His WeHaveReserves speech on not bothering to cure the Death Disease is what caused Muramasa to abandon him.

** His WeHaveReserves speech on not curing the [[spoiler: false]] Mibu is what caused Muramasa to abandon him.

* TooCoolToLive: Muramasa, Taihaku, [[spoiler: Fubuki and Hishigi]]. One can also make an argument for [[PosthumousCharacter Kyosaburo]], who created the Mumyo Jinpu Ryu and passed it on to Muramasa and therefore, by extension, to Kyo.
* UncannyValley: Kyo's [[RedEyesTakeWarning Crimson Eyes]] look strange and intimidating, but they fit with his overall aesthetic and personality. [[spoiler: The Former Crimson King's and Kyoshiro's variants]] just don't look right, and the Mibu Reconstruction Plan's child experiments are even worse.

* FandomBerserkButton: The anime. Good ''god'', the anime. To the point that most fans of the manga pretend it doesn't even exist, because it's such a departure from the source material that it's essentially SDK InNameOnly. And because it only loosely followed the first sixteen volumes, two of the above EnsembleDarkhorse characters (Hishigi and Akari) didn't even make it in. "SDK anime? What SDK anime?"

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Hishigi. He isn't a main character and doesn't get much spotlight in canon, but he is a Badass [[{{Bishonen}} Biseinen]] AntiVillain, complete with a DarkAndTroubledPast and StoicWoobie qualities, so naturally he's one of these. Being voiced by Creator/ShigeruNakahara in the audio dramas doesn't hurt either.
** Shirogarasu was also surprisingly popular and stayed in the top 10 in character polls for a long time, despite his short tenure as a character and very minor role in the overarching story. He was still 18th in the ''final'' poll... when he'd been dead and unmentioned for over 30 volumes.
* FandomBerserkButton: The anime. Good ''god'', the anime. To the point that most fans of the manga pretend it doesn't even exist, because it's such a departure from the source material that it's essentially SDK InNameOnly. "SDK anime? What SDK anime?"

** JerkassWoobie: Kyo, Fubuki, frigging ''everyone''.
** WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: One can make this argument for The Former Crimson King. [[spoiler: Kyoichiro was the first of the Crimson Cross Knights, four Battle Dolls that were the closest thing the True Mibu ever created to their own power. When the True Mibu died out, Kyoichiro tried to keep their world together and rule with benevolence, but millennia of watching people hurt each other jaded him into a breakdown that eventually led to him losing all faith in both the Mibu and humanity]].

* ValuesDissonance: One of the reasons Kyo reads so much like a DesignatedHero[=/=]JerkSue is that he's presented as incredibly admirable despite being a [[{{Jerkass}} giant dick]]. But in the context, being a {{Badass}} is an admirable trait in and of itself, so it's a little easier to accept.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Hishigi. He isn't a main character and doesn't get much spotlight in canon, but he is a {{Badass}} [[{{Bishonen}} Biseinen]] AntiVillain, complete with a DarkAndTroubledPast and StoicWoobie qualities, so naturally he's one of these. Being voiced by Creator/ShigeruNakahara in the audio dramas doesn't hurt either.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Kyo is a fine example, both InUniverse and in the fandom. Many other characters fall into the fandom category as well, but Hishigi stands out.

* MisaimedFandom: [[BigBad The Former Crimson King]] is a MagnificentBastard [[LackOfEmpathy without a shred of empathy]] for the dying people under his command, ''lives'' in the UncannyValley with his creepy dissonance in looks and personality, is a prime provider of NightmareFuel, and crosses the MoralEventHorizon several times in the story. He's referred to as Aka-chan by much of the fandom.

** Hishigi. Being an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette AntiVillain who remains [[TheStoic expressionless]] and [[BewareTheQuietOnes soft-spoken]] in nearly all situations, [[EyesDoNotBelongThere covered in Devil Eyes]], and harboring a ''terrifying'' [[NotSoStoic vicious streak]] when [[BerserkButton provoked]], he's walking NightmareFuel. Add his [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic backstory]], {{Determinator}} nature, [[spoiler:RasputinianDeath]], and swordsmanship so impressive that he can one-shot the main character despite [[HandicappedBadass severe deterioration of his body from the Death Disease]], and he's also a walking CMOA.

** Hishigi. Being an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette AntiVillain who remains [[DissonantSerenity expressionless]] in nearly all situations, [[EyesDoNotBelongThere covered in Devil Eyes]], and harboring a ''terrifying'' [[NotSoStoic vicious streak]] when [[BerserkButton provoked]], he's walking NightmareFuel. Add his [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic backstory]], {{Determinator}} nature, [[spoiler:RasputinianDeath]], and swordsmanship so impressive that he can one-shot the main character despite [[HandicappedBadass severe deterioration of his body from the Death Disease]], and he's also a walking CMOA.