History YMMV / SchoolLive

* FanonDiscontinuity: Some fans feel like the series should have ended with [[spoiler: the girls leaving the highschool forever]] in Chapter 30 instead of moving onto the controversial University arc. It helps that the anime also ends at that exact point.

** ''Taroumaru''. Multiple scenes from the manga were drastically altered to include him, these alterations caused [[AdaptationalPersonalityChange changes to characterization]], and he gets a supreme amount of focus [[spoiler:especially in the final episode]]. Most of Miki's friendship with Yuki was essentially given over to Taromaru.

* TakeThatScrappy: Chapter 54 is basically one long instance of this trope against Takahito, [[spoiler: as the zombies he let inside end up killing nobody, he's stabbed, betrayed and threatened by his best former ally Shino, and he ends up limping away in sheer defeat before suffering a very brutal death at Ayaka's hands while also being proven wrong on his claims that he was "Chosen" to survive and lead]].

** Similarly, the reveal that [[spoiler: Shino is pregnant]] surprised very few people.

** The University cast had a fair amount of focus throughout; the University arc but not much development, and they had so much potential to be interesting characters. [[AntiVillain Shino]] in particular had some promising development and would have made a great addition to the main cast. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: with the exception of Asosi, the surviving University characters are all staying behind while the main characters move on to the Randall Corporation, and while they do eventually return, the manga ending soon kills any chance of them ever being utilized properly and fully developed as characters]].
** Ayaka receives a considerable amount of build up throughout the University arc, hinting at her becoming a major antagonist. Instead, [[spoiler: all she ultimately does is attempt to lure zombies into the University, which ends up failing thanks to the Fallen Crew, murder Takahito, and ultimately die off-panel when her car breaks down near some zombies. It's made worse by how her fate wasn't confirmed for several chapters, teasing at the possibility of her return, only for her to just randomly pop up as a zombie in the middle of the third to last chapter]].

* EarWorm: The anime's opening, "Friend Shittai", particularly since many viewers would want to watch the opening with every episode to see when any images got changed so they'd end up hearing the song a whole lot of times.

* VindicatedByHistory: The anime adaptation; when it first came out, many fans of the series called foul on it for its AdaptationDecay, [[{{Flanderization}} cutting out characterization and backstory of the leads]] and adding a SpotlightStealingSquad KidAppealCharacter in the form of Taroumaru, who ended up changing the context of many scenes just by his presence. Fans nearly universally preferred the manga then, but as it entered its own SeasonalRot with the University arc, the anime has started to be reevaluated. One of the biggest sticking points in its favor is that unlike the manga, which dove deep into DarknessInducedAudienceApathy, the anime at least gave the girls an optimistic ending, and for as much of a spotlight hog as Taroumaru could be, he was still just a mascot character and nowhere near as obnoxious as Takahito and the Militants. As such, the anime has become viewed as a good series in its own right instead of a butchering of the manga.

** Yuuri in the second arc is slowly starting to get flak for her [[spoiler:deepening delusions about Ruu. Unlike Yuki, whose condition makes her more sympathetic and endearing, Yuuri's delusions make her outright unstable and unlikable. It doesn't help that she still believes that Ruu is still alive even after seeing Ayaka "Kill" her (In reality she just stepped on the head of the teddy bear that Yuuri thinks is Ruu).]] And Chapter 49 makes her even ''worse'', [[spoiler: as she's more concerned about a teddy bear then ''her actual living friends'', to where she has to be reminded that Kurumi is still missing]].

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Kougami is male but looks either like a young boy or a tomboyish teenage girl. Apparently he is OlderThanTheyLook.

* SeasonalRot: The School Life arc (Chapters 1-30/anime) is widely considered to be the best of the series. In contrast, the University arc and those that followed are more contentious, mainly for introducing [[ReplacementScrappy widely-reviled new characters]], increasing the DarknessInducedAudienceApathy to ridiculous levels, and [[ClicheStorm playing zombie media cliches straight]] when the first arc sought to be a unique take on the genre.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise:
** It's a ZombieApocalypse story masquerading as a {{Iyashikei}} SchoolgirlSeries, though that didn't stop the show from [[SleeperHit becoming a success]].
** The University arc has this problem among other issues. A fair amount of fans are turned away from it due to it's {{Darker and Edgier}} tone (The Militants in particular are generally criticized for being overly-edgy and unnecessary antagonists who drag the story down), the overabundance of underdeveloped characters introduced, and the almost complete lack of the original {{Slice Of Life}} and Psychological Horror mixture that made the series unique to begin with. Not being helped by this is the fact that [[spoiler: almost all of the surviving University characters are staying behind at the University while the main cast heads to the Randall Corporation building]], more or less rendering the entire arc completely pointless.

** Due to the MoodDissonance factor to the series, fans are heavily divided on the series itself. Some enjoy the dissonance factor since it deconstructs the SchoolgirlSeries SliceOfLife genre by keeping the traditional {{moe}} and cheery elements of a traditional slice of life series while reminding the readers and viewers of the post-apocalyptic zombie apocalypse horror atmosphere. Others feel that the cutesy slice of life factor takes away the horror aspects of the series and it makes relatively difficult to sympathize with several characters (especially for Yuki's PTSD).

* EarWorm: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNjHxhljAck opening]] and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsSklPZ5t-U ending]] songs for the anime, though they certainly play on MoodDissonance once you've seen TheReveal at the end of episode 1. And in case you're curious about the EvolvingCredits, here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-spX4x5-UI comparison video]] of episodes 1 & 2's openings. If you want the full series comparison, check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1-ckswawIc this video.]] There's spoilers, so be careful if you haven't caught up yet!

*
** TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The University cast had a fair amount of focus throughout; the University arc but not much development, and they had so much potential to be interesting characters. [[AntiVillain Shino]] in particular had some promising development and would have made a great addition to the main cast. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: with the exception of Asosi, the surviving University characters are all staying behind while the main characters move on to the Randall Corporation, and while they do eventually return, the manga ending soon kills any chance of them ever being utilized properly and fully developed as characters]].

** One primary criticism that the University arc gets [[BrokenBase from some fans]] is that it focuses far too much on the Militants, with the actual main characters being {{Out of Focus}} aside from Miki.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The University cast had a fair amount of focus throughout; the University arc but not much development, and they had so much potential to be interesting characters. [[AntiVillain Shino]] in particular had some promising development and would have made a great addition to the main cast. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: With the exception of Ayaka and Asosi, the surviving University characters are all staying behind while the main characters move on to the Randall Corporation, and it's very unlikely that we'll ever hear from them again]].

** When more information is revealed about the Militants, we find out that their lifestyle and moralities are the polar opposite of the School Living Club, with the SL Club trying to do more then just survive while also still trying to live a normal life, while the Militants have resorted to brutality and have gained a {{Social Darwinist}} mentality. The story could have been very interesting if these two opposite viewpoints and ways of handling things had clashed more, but in the actual manga it only comes up briefly once, and the Militants aren't defeated in a way that directly proves their viewpoints wrong. And it's unlikely to come up again now, [[spoiler: given how Shino has made a {{Heel Face Turn}}, Ayaka has left the University and the rest of the Militants were killed off over the course of the University arc]].

** As to be expected, the clips for the anime's English Dub have gained a mixed reaction. Some people find the dub to be fine and the voices spot-on. Others aren't too keen on it, with Yuki's dub voice in particular gaining some criticism for being too low pitched and not cheerful and energetic enough to suit her. And then there's the third camp that thinks the fanbase should wait until the full dub is released, since most of the clips don't touch upon the more serious moments in the series.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The Chinese title translates to ''Campus, the Isolated Island'', which more than spoils the actual setting of the series.

* EarWorm: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNjHxhljAck opening]] and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsSklPZ5t-U ending]] songs for the anime, though they certainly play on MoodDissonance once you've seen TheReveal at the end of episode 1. And in case you're curious about the EvolvingCredits, here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-spX4x5-UI comparison video]] of episodes 1 & 2's openings. If you want the full series comparison, check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1-ckswawIc this video.]] [[CaptainObvious There's spoilers, so be careful if you haven't caught up yet!]]

* ItChangedNowItSucks:
** Taroumaru is no longer a simple oneshot character in the anime. He's a major character now.
** The anime switched around many scenes, removed even more, and added in more comedic fluff. Fans of the manga were not happy about most of these changes. The final episode in particular completely skipped [[spoiler:Yuki killing a zombie]], [[spoiler:the helicopter crash]], and [[spoiler:Rii's FreakOut]] to focus on [[spoiler:Taromaru's death]]. All those scenes were things fans were excited to see animated.
** The fact the anime starts InMediasRes is often considered a horrible choice as it ruins the tension of scenes involving Miki's backstory, despite the fact it was a ForegoneConclusion that she wouldn't die.

** In a MaybeMagicMaybeMundane case, is [[spoiler:Megu-nee]] just another hallucination or is really her ghost acting as the club's SpiritAdvisor, while trying to [[spoiler:keep her zombified form at bay from [[MamaBear harming them]], which also make viewers wonder if Megu-nee is present as both a ghost that Yuki can only see and interact and a zombie lurking in the basement are each a LiteralSplitPersonality]].

** It's a ZombieApocalypse story masquerading as a {{Iyashikei}} SchoolgirlSeries, though that didn't stop the show from [[SleeperHit become a success]].

** Due to the MoodDissonance factor to the series, fans are heavily divided on the series itself. Some enjoy the dissonance factor since it deconstructs the SchoolgirlSeries SliceOfLife genre by keeping the traditional {{moe}} and cheery elements of a traditional slice of life series while reminding the readers and viewers of the post-apocalyptic zozmbie apocalypse horror atmosphere. Others feel that the cutesy slice of life factor takes away the horror aspects of the series and it makes relatively difficult to sympathize with several characters (especially for Yuki's PTSD).

* CriticalResearchFailure: Yuki doesn't fit any criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder despite Miki accusing her of it. Yuki has auditory and visuals hallucination, not any sort of SplitPersonality. It acts more like a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, kicked into gear by [[spoiler: Megu-nee dying and everything going to hell]]

** Even though [[spoiler: Kurumi]] has gotten a ton of death flags throughout the later half of the manga and has resulted in some people thinking that she'll die, there's still plenty of people who think that [[spoiler: she'll either be cured permeantly, find more samples of the temporary cure, or will end up becoming a zombie hybrid instead of being killed off {In fact the Zombie Hyrbid theory is a very popular fan theory}. The fact that she's arguably the most popular character in the series probably plays a role in this as well]].

** While many of Takahito's actions are utterly despicable, he becomes truely irredeemable in Chapter 51, [[spoiler: when he delibritely opens up the gate keeping the zombies out of the university, knowing full well that this could kill everyone there ''including his own teammates'', just so he can try and get a supposed antidote to save himself. It's further cemented later on when he tries to murder Miki in cold blood and threatens to do the same to Aki. Thankfully Shino stops him, the zombies he let inside end up killing nobody, and he dies accomplishing nothing]].

* TakeThatScrappy: Chapter 54 is basically one long instance of this trope against Takahito, [[spoiler: as the zombies he let inside end up killing nobody, he's stabbed, betrayed and threatened by his best former ally Shino, and he ends up limping away in sheer defeat before sufferring a very brutal death at Ayaka's hands while also being proven wrong on his claims that he was "Chosen" to survive and lead]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The University cast had a fair amount of focus throughout​ the University arc but not much development, and they had so much potential to be interesting characters. [[AntiVillain Shino]] in particular had some promising development and would have made a great addition to the main cast. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: With the exception of Ayaka and Asosi, the surviving University characters are all staying behind while the main characters move on to the Randall Corporation, and it's very unlikely that we'll ever hear from them again]].

** Is Takahito remorseful about [[spoiler: leaving Kougami alone and, as far as he knows, indirectly causing his death]] due to genuinely feeling sad about losing a friend and alley? Or is he only regretful about it due to pragmatic reasons {Namely [[spoiler: losing a valuable member of the MFC who Shino, an even more important member, cares dearly about]]}? Considering that he usually [[JerkAss only views other people as tools to be used in order to keep himself alive]] and [[BadBoss will kill his own allies if it suits his needs]], the latter interpretation is very possible.

* EarWorm: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNjHxhljAck opening]] and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsSklPZ5t-U ending]] songs for the anime, though they certainly play on MoodDissonance once you've seen TheReveal at the end of episode 1. And in case you're curious about the EvolvingCredits, here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-spX4x5-UI comparison video]] of episodes 1 & 2's openings.

** Yuuri in the second arc is slowly starting to get flak for her [[spoiler:deepening delusions about Ruu. Unlike Yuki, who's condition makes her more sympathetic and endearing, Yuuri's delusions make her outright unstable and unlikable. It doesn't help that she still believes that Ruu is still alive even after seeing Ayaka "Kill" her (In reality she just stepped on the head of the teddy bear that Yuuri thinks is Ruu).]] And Chapter 49 makes her even ''worse'', [[spoiler: as she's more concerned about a teddy bear then ''her actual living friends'', to where she has to be reminded that Kurumi is still missing]].

* TakeThatScrappy: Chapter 54 is basically one long instance of this trope against Takahito, [[spoiler: as the zombies he let inside end up killing nobody, he's stabbed, betrayed and threatend by his best former ally Shino, and he ends up limping away in sheer defeat before sufferring a very brutal death at Ayaka's hands while also being proven wrong on his claims that he was "Chosen" to survive and lead]].

** When more information is revealed about the Militants, we find out that they're lifestyle and moralities are the polar opposite of the School Living Club, with the SL Club trying to do more then just survive while also still trying to live a normal life, while the Militants have resorted to brutality and have gained a {{Social Darwinist}} mentality. The story could have been very interesting if these two opposite viewpoints and ways of handling things had clashed more, but in the actual manga it only comes up briefly once, and the Militants aren't defeated in a way that directly proves their viewpoints wrong. And it's unlikely to come up again now, [[spoiler: given how Shino has made a {{Heel Face Turn}}, Ayaka has left the University and the rest of the Militants were killed off over the course of the University arc]].

** Similarly to Yuki, does [[spoiler:Yuuri]] really hallucinate that [[spoiler:a teddy bear is her little sister]] or is she pretending in order to keep her self sane?

** The anime's version of Miki. Much like Taromaru the viewpoints on her tend to depend on whether you started with the anime or the manga. Anime fans tend to find her to be a cute and sympathetic character, while manga fans think she has so little in common with Miki Naoki that she's that character {{In Name Only}}, especially since the anime completely changed her personality and left out the acclaimed storyline where she questions the situation regarding Yuki's delusions.

** The direction the manga has taken Yuuri is another point of diversion. It's either an interesting and logical progression for her characterization to go in, or it [[TheScrappy makes her extreamly unlikeable and annoying]] and ruins the character entirely.

** Taroumaru's increased role in the series is a sticking point for people who've read the manga, especially in the finale [[spoiler:where he more or less saves everyone by helping Yuki get to the audio-visual room]]. Anime-only viewers by comparison, are more accepting of his addition, particularly with regards to his relationship with Miki (which is an anime-only addition as well).
** The multitude of changes in the plot and characterization upset many fans of the manga. Several aspects were removed or altered between manga to anime that make manga fans feel the anime is a poor adaptation. People who began anime first on the other hand often feel the anime removing certain scenes was good.
** The current arc has divided the fandom as well. Some people think that it's a interesting and fresh direction to take the series in, with plenty of new characters to expand on the story, actual human antagonists and plenty of twists and turns. Others find it inferiour to the first 30 chapters, think that there's too many characters {With some further diversion on whether any of the new characters are interesting or boring}, that the Militants are flat and boring antagonists who hog screentime from other more interesting characters and plotlines, and {{The Reveal}} that [[spoiler: the virus is possibly airborne and thus able to infect anyone at any time]] pushes the series into {{Darkness Induced Audience Apathy}} territory. It doesn't help that the University arc is almost entirely lacking the {{Slice Of Life}} and Psychological elements that originally made this series stand out from most other zombie works.

* CatharsisFactor: In a retroactive way, [[spoiler: seeing Takashige getting cornered by several zombies and practically crying for Kurumi to save him, only to be ignored and promptly torn to shreds is ''really'' satisfying after not only his attempts to murder her, but also seeing how much of a bastard he was in the flashbacks shown in the following chapter. It especially counts as this [[KarmicDeath if some of the zombies who killed him were the very same teammates he and the rest of the Militants betrayed and killed]].]]

* FandomRivalry: School Live! fans have recently developed a nasty rivalry with ''Manga/PrisonSchool'' fans, mainly because both anime have a dark take of the high school setting.

* FirstInstallmentWins: The manga's first main story arc {Chapters 1-30} and the anime are far more well-known and acclaimed then the chapters that came out afterwards. In particular that portion of the series is what most fanart is based on and what most people talk about.

* MemeticMutation: '''HEALING ANIME.''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]The production was ''so successful'' in fooling people that the show was going to be a relaxing ''Manga Time Kirara'' romp, that the reveal at the end of the first episode shocked watchers who weren't familiar with the manga's premise to begin with. The fact that it was written by a contemporary of "[[FanNickname Butch]]" Creator/GenUrobuchi at Creator/NitroPlus, and comparisons with the latter's work ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' and its own use of dissonant themes became VERY easy.[[/labelnote]]

* MoralEventHorizon: While many of Takahito's actions are utterly despicable, he becomes truely irredeemable in Chapter 51, [[spoiler: when he delibritely opens up the gate keeping the zombies out of the university, knowing full well that this could kill everyone there ''including his own teammates'', just so he can try and get a supposed antidote to save himself. It's further cemented later on when he tries to murder Miki in cold blood and threatens to do the same to Aki. Thankfully Shino stops him, the zombies he let inside end up killing nobody, and he dies accomplishing nothing]].

* TheScrappy: Yuuri in the second arc is slowly starting to get flak for her [[spoiler:deepening delusions about Ruu. Unlike Yuki, who's condition makes her more sympathetic and endearing, Yuuri's delusions make her outright unstable and unlikable. It doesn't help that she still believes that Ruu is still alive even after seeing Ayaka "Kill" her (In reality she just stepped on the head of the teddy bear that Yuuri thinks is Ruu).]] And Chapter 49 makes her even ''worse'', [[spoiler: as she's more concerned about a teddy bear then ''her actual living friends'', to where she has to be reminded that Kurumi is still missing]].

* SignatureScene: TheReveal and quick, ''brutal'' GenreShift that was the end of the anime's first episode, cementing the series as a psychological post-apocalyptic zombie survival series instead of the cutesy moe slice of life schoolgirl series the anime/manga initially marketed itself as.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: ''Taroumaru''. Multiple scenes from the manga were drastically altered to include him, these alterations caused [[AdaptationalPersonalityChange changes to characterization]], and he gets a supreme amount of focus [[spoiler:especially in the final episode]]. Most of Miki's friendship with Yuki was essentially given over to Taromaru.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: When more information is revealed about the Militants, we find out that they're lifestyle and moralities are the polar opposite of the School Living Club, with the SL Club trying to do more then just survive while also still trying to live a normal life, while the Militants have resorted to brutality and have gained a {{Social Darwinist}} mentality. The story could have been very interesting if these two opposite viewpoints and ways of handling things had clashed more, but in the actual manga it only comes up briefly once, and the Militants aren't defeated in a way that directly proves their viewpoints wrong. And it's unlikely to come up again now, [[spoiler: given how Shino has made a {{Heel Face Turn}}, Ayaka has left the University and the rest of the Militants were killed off over the course of the University arc]].

** Ayaka's exact reason for [[spoiler: killing Takahito]] is up for interpretation. [[spoiler: It's very likely that she did indeed kill him just to satisfy her own sadism and then just lit his corpse on fire for fun, but she also made a comment about him suffering due to the virus's effects shortly beforehand and was also pleased with his efforts at killing the other students. This combined with her giving him a quick death and how they were on good terms up to this point could instead paint her murder of him as a unwanted {{Mercy Kill}} and then burning his body as a cremation attempt, and her smiling at it would just be due to her enjoying death in general]].