History YMMV / WITCH

** At the beginning of the television series premiere, Will/Caleb was far more favored than Cornelia/Caleb. It seemed to die out pretty fast, but still has a strong following in fanfiction, to say nothing of the GirlsLove slash shipping.

* AdaptationDisplacement: To an extent. In the countries where the comics were not available, or any translation was quickly CutShort due to low sales (the United States being the biggest example), the animated series is more well-known. Up to the point where many don't even know they were based on comics.

** At the end of the [[spoiler:Ragorlang]] saga in the comics, [[spoiler:Edward Folkner, the Ragorlang hunter, is forced to [[KarmicTransformation fuse himself with the Ragorlangs]], when the magical box he had created to capture the Ragorlangs is threatened to be taken away from him.]] He's going to come back some sagas later as a dangerous foe, right? ''Wrong''! In the next issue, the girls [[spoiler: defeat him quite fast at the end of that issue.]]

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** Matt's band's songs, "The Will to Love" and "The Demon in Me" are both catchy and touching, though for very different reasons. Having Creator/JasonMarsden play Matt's singing voice as well as his speaking doesn't hurt.
** The soundtrack inspired by the show and comics has really great songs. It even has songs that reflect each member of the Guardians
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np_ZoCgaM60 "Keeper of the Heart"]] has a disco flair that explains Will's role as leader and, as the title suggests, Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCrAPbU70SI "Flow"]] reflects Irma's can-do attitude and power over water with its 2000s pop meets R&B/hip-hop inspired vibe.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxMZgriYQXo "Fire"]] is soft but passionate, fitting the bright Taranee to a tee.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGs0jVX8AEg "Bloom"]] illustrates Cornelia's girly personality and power over earth.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWqzSo6qtMU "Swifter"]] reflects Hay Lin's free spirit, which connects to her power over air.
*** Both the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldyraUyiU-A American theme]] by Marion Raven and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVAxcFqSwnc International theme]] by Sabrina are excellent songs that do a good job conveying the premise of the show while still being different in mood and tone.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YEBA5bTXU8 "Power of W.I.T.C.H."]] is an awesome BraggingThemeTune.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWHjI6hba8Q&list=PL0443655E23C7B85D&index=3 "United"]] conveys the importance of ThePowerOfFriendship.

* FandomRivalry: With ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', another western MagicalGirl series starring a FiveManBand that uses ElementalPowers and debuted in the same year. Though it's not universal among fans[[note]]In fact, most fans tend to actually be fans of both.[[/note]], it is official in the sense that a former Disney executive apparently derided ''Winx Club'' for being produced quickly, stealing the spotlight from his own company's show and leading ultimately to its cancellation (well that and the fact the comics came out so late in the U.S.) according to [[https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/hope-for-w-i-t-c-h-season-3.4378091/post-67025651 this forum post]].
** Then it becomes both [[HarsherInHindsight Harsher]] and HilariousInHindsight (depending on how you view it) when the live-action reboot of ''Winx'' titled ''Series/FateTheWinxSaga'' released on Creator/{{Netflix}}, many fans find this to be more closer to ''W.I.T.C.H.'' in terms of tone and visual style to the point of being SpiritualAdaptation.

** The show is vastly more popular in Russia (having a following on the now-defunct {{ImageBoard|s}} 0chan among other places) than anywhere else in the world, though compared to other shows that's still not saying much. The comics are still pretty popular there as well. Notably, the second season opening is generally preferred to the first.
** The cartoon series is quite popular in Poland as well. Unlike in Russia though, the season 1 OP is generally preferred.

* GrowingTheBeard: The second season of the show, headed by Disney action veteran Creator/GregWeisman, greatly cut down on the bad comic relief, introduced a very cunning villain in Nerissa, placed more focus on WITCH itself, made the story an interesting battle of wits and trickery, and improved the combat sequences. This is less than surprising given that Weisman was the creator and showrunner of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', trope namer for the XanatosGambit. Shame the cartoon was cancelled right after.

* InformedWrongness:
** Cornelia in "F is for Facade". She and Caleb had broken up since the start of the season, and she had a point that he cared more about reforming Meridian and helping Elyon than building a relationship with her, something Caleb eventually admits. Thus, Cornelia was well within her rights to move on with Taranee's brother; the real issue is that she was pretending to be older with her powers and didn't tell Caleb she was dating someone else. Caleb had inadvertently crashed her date thanks to Elyon encouraging him not to give up on love, though Cornelia was touched that he would make a fool of himself to win her back. He had no right to judge her for kissing another guy when he interrupted her date with Peter.
** Irma in "L is for Loser". When Uriah tricks Martin into reading a love poem dedicated to her on the school radio and announces to the entire school that he and Irma are now a couple, Irma snaps and delivers a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech blistering tirade]] to Martin that is unfortunately heard by everyone thanks to Uriah turning on the radio equipment. This leads to almost everyone at school turning on her and she apologizes to Martin the next day. The thing is, Irma had repeatedly made it clear to Martin in previous episodes that she was not interested in him and his behavior towards Irma is a clear case of harassment and refusal to take no for an answer In fact, it's not until ''after'' this episode that Martin finally stops nagging Irma for a date. And while being blasted on radio can be rather humiliating, that was not Irma's intention as she didn't know Uriah was broadcasting them. In short, the episode portrays Irma as being in the wrong for rejecting the advances of a boy whom she'd tried to let down easy in previous episodes.
* JerkassWoobie: The cartoon version of Nerissa. While she does a lot of heinous acts, she's remorseful for killing Cassidy, and she does love [[spoiler:Julian]] and [[spoiler:her son Caleb]]. [[http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=18329 When Greg Weisman's opinion is asked about her, he responds like this]]:
--> ''That she's complex, interesting and fascinating with the tragic flaw of most great villains. Plus she loved and mourned Cassidy. And in her twisted way, loved [[spoiler:Caleb]] and [[spoiler:Julian]] too. And that makes her at least a little sympathetic. Though, of course, the fact that she killed Cassidy and used her, [[spoiler:Caleb]] AND [[spoiler:Julian]] also undercuts that sympathy more than a little.''
* [[HoYay Les Yay]]:
** "E is for Enemy" has Irma and Cornelia sleeping together, ''with Cornelia's hand on Irma's breast'', as you can see in this [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/ce64773a41dcf462c931a6b8212d974d/7fe42694e5a1c79d-af/s2048x3072/be7b35becd32bc6786c2a1773c010f89313f91eb.png image]].
** In the episode 12 of the first season, "The Princess Revealed", Cornelia gave to her friends the description of Elyon's type in boys. The thing is that the description perfectly fits Cornelia.

** In "Happy Birthday Will", Irma teases Will by calling her by Will's mother's [[SickeninglySweet ridiculously saccharine]] pet name for her -- "Pink Poopy Perky Pumpkin" in the English dub, "mon petit lapin rose en sucre" ("my little pink sugar bunny") in French.

* NauseaFuel: "Z is for Zenith" has a surprisingly graphic scene of Phobos [[spoiler:using his powers to distend Cedric's gastrointestinal wall, causing some of it to rupture and inflame, at which point blood and digestive fluid fly directly at the screen]].

* OutOfTheGhetto: The series has its fair share of male fans and is seen as a good, western example of a MagicalGirlWarrior series. It helps in America that the theme was rock based, instead of the original pop.

* TheScrappy:
** Blunk, though it's not so bad as people make it out to be, especially once he's toned down by the end of Season 1. It still says something that a character voiced by Creator/SteveBlum could be so unpopular in the first place.
** In the comics, Matt in [[spoiler: New Power]] saga onwards. [[spoiler: His revelation that he came from Kandrakar - a ''complete'' {{Retcon}} - and his cold attitude don't help.]]

* ShockingMoments:
** In "J is for Jewel," the viewers and new Meridian court learning that [[spoiler:Trill was never real and another disguise for Nerissa. She proceeds to reveal she manipulated Elyon into giving up her powers and traps her in the Heart of Meridian jewel]]. There is no way to see it coming, but it's brilliant in hindsight. Caleb admits in the next episode that [[spoiler:as a cook supporting the rebels, Trill gained all of their trust and was able to get close to Elyon to steal her power]].
** "O is For Obedience": Caleb learns [[spoiler:Nerissa is his mother, and she still is fond of him.]] [[spoiler:Nerissa later reveals that she gave birth to Caleb to ensure he became the new ruler of Meridian]], offering a WeCanRuleTogether. What does Caleb do? He pretends to agree, only to [[spoiler:try and steal her staff, because as he puts it, he's not making himself a tyrant or supporting another]]. In case you needed a reminder that Caleb is awesome; he may have failed to [[spoiler:steal the staff]], but he wins on principle. [[spoiler:Nerissa]] also can't bring herself to hurt him.
* {{Squick}}:
** Will's reaction in "T is for Trauma" when Cornelia accidentally brings up the subject of ParentalIncest between [[spoiler:Caleb and Nerissa]].
** In the same episode [[spoiler:when Altermere!Yan Lin tries to steal her granddaughter's boyfriend. Even though she has a youthful appearance, Yan Lin's flirting with her potential grandson-in-law is quite unsettling]].
** Also Irma and Hay Lin's response to MinionShipping with Cedric and Miranda. The second is pretty understandable, as it is both bestiality and pedophilia. Miranda is a little girl that transforms, Cedric is a monster disguised as a man.
** Nerissa [[spoiler: essentially ''raped'' Julian via a BedTrick, and that's how Caleb was born.]]
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: A recurring instrumental rock tune heard throughout season 2 sounds only slightly off from "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** The comic purists dislike the show for making random changes and inserting more "boy/kid friendly" elements to the story like wacky comedy or obvious comic relief sidekicks (Blunk). Cartoon fans say the story is still well-developed and fixes a lot of the weird things present in the comics that the purists don't acknowledge. To this day, there's still no pleasing. There are some who like both versions for their own qualities, however.
** A new comic reboot named W.I.T.C.H. Il cuore dell'amicizia, has caused some discourse between the still alive online community. They don't seem to agree on whether or not the new character designs are likable.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** Sometimes it can be hard not to find Will as this. Despite the fact her mother is also having trouble adjusting to Heatherfield, Will gives her attitude a lot of the time and shows her very little empathy even though her mother just presumably got divorced. While a child blaming the parent that's still around for a family split is probably TruthInTelevision, this reaches uncomfortable levels in the episode Will's astral drop gains sentience, as her astral drop is far kinder to her mother. Happens in the comics as well, leading to many thinking Will was "whiny" and disliking how often her problems took center stage above the other girls' issue (and noting how the other girls didn't make a fuss about their problems as much as she did). She had so many problems it even leads to a point of her [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] it after [[spoiler:her dormouse is put to sleep]] in the comics.
** Some find Elyon to become this as the first season of the TV show goes on. She starts out legitimately sympathetic, learning that her whole life is a lie and that her adoptive parents and best friends have been deceiving her, driving her into the arms of her brother who is ''also'' deceiving her and with actual harmful intentions behind it. However, more and more things start to clearly poke holes in Phobos' facade and should reasonably make Elyon start to question everything, and yet she stubbornly refuses to and clings to the belief that her friends are evil and Phobos is good, only pulling a HeelFaceTurn ''after'' Phobos reveals his true colors and tries to kill her, with her friends having to bail her out.

*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCrAPbU70SI "Flow"]] reflects Irma's can-do attitude and how it reflects her power over water with its 2000s pop meets R&B/hip-hop inspired vibe.

* EvilIsSexy: Phobos gets special mention for bathing naked a lot in the comic, though he is censored by water or the whisperers holding up a towel around his... [[UnusualEuphemism Fortress Of Kandrakar]]. It also acts as {{foreshadowing}} when [[spoiler: [[GrandTheftMe Phobos-Possessed-Endarno]] is bathing in one of the issues in the fouth saga]]

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The comic purists dislike the show for making random changes and inserting more "boy/kid friendly" elements to the story like wacky comedy or obvious comic relief sidekicks (Blunk). Cartoon fans say the story is still well-developed and fixes a lot of the weird things present in the comics that the purists don't acknowledge. To this day, there's still no pleasing. There are some who like both versions for their own qualities, however.
A new comic reboot named W.I.T.C.H. Il cuore dell'amicizia, has caused some discourse between the still alive online community. They don't seem to agree on whether or not the new character designs are likable.