YMMV / Aoharu × Machinegun

• Draco in Leather Pants: Midori, for all the terrible things he does to people just because it's fun, has his share of fans; apparently his Bitch in Sheep's Clothing routine works through the Fourth Wall.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Early on, Tohru is complaining about not wanting to train and Masamune jokingly responds that someone with Tohru's lack of stamina would be useless in survival games, spurring Tohru to take interest. We later learn that Tohru genuinely believes that Masamune will abandon him if he's not good enough at airsoft.
  • We're told that Tohru and Masamune's friendship ensued when the latter protected the former from bullies, resulting in Tohru's Undying Loyalty to Masamune. Much later, we learn that Tohru was being bullied because of Masamune, who was popular enough that other students became jealous when he started hanging out with Tohru.
  • Pretty much all of Masamune's interactions with Midori before and during the TGC match becomes even more wince-inducing after the extended flashbacks revealing their past.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Allison Keith as Hanako Sagara. Chris Patton voices Toru Yukimura. Back in Full Metal Panic, Chris Patton voices Sousuke Sagara and Allison Keith voices Melissa Mao.
• Ho Yay:
  • Abundant between Masamune and Tohru. They come across as more of a couple at times, if not for Masamune's host job and continuous flirting with girls; may be rooted in the fact that the original oneshot was all about them.
    • In the anime special, Masamune comments that Tohru's maid outfit fits him well and Tohru keeps talking about how cute Masamune is in his own costume as the latter gets increasingly embarrassed.
  • Kanae and Hotaru, especially after Hotaru's Heroic BSoD.
  • Fujimon acting as a masochistic housewife towards Midori. He cooks for him, does the chores (in an apron) and freaks out every time Midori praises or punishes him. Even though Midori treats Fujimon like shit, he keeps on talking about how much he adores him.
• Just Here for Godzilla: The premise of the series is airsoft and airsoft competitions, but there's probably a sizable number of fans who stick around solely for the attractively-drawn cast and their interpersonal drama.
• Memetic Molester: Midori often receives this treatment in the Aoharu X Kikanjuu fandom, targeting Masamune and to a lesser extant Tohru, likely due to their being his favorite victims in canon. The fact that he's shown no compunctions about restraining them or invading their personal space doesn't help.
• Wangst:
  • They really milk the Hotaru-is-secretly-a-girl thing for all its worth, even after Midori and then Haruki find out.
  • Depending on how you feel about Masamune's backstory, it can become this. He's definitely The Woobie, but after a while it becomes clear that Toy ☆ Gun Gun's problems stem from Masamune's inability to deal with his own; this can get tiresome, especially when paired with Masamune's fixation with Midori and the narrative's need to remind us of it.
• The Woobie: Masamune's Dark and Troubled Past and the way it still affects him qualifies him for this, as elaborated on in his Character section. He then spreads this status to every other member of Team Gun Gun, past and present.
  • The team's former female member, while we don't learn much about her, is depicted as being a cheerful type who enjoyed airsoft before being terrorized by Midori and shot point-blank in the face. It didn't have anything to do with her, being just another way for Midori to torture Masamune, and the girl was so traumatized that she quit without saying a word to anyone.
  • Haruki used to love airsoft since it was a refuge from his demanding family and his obsessive brother, but he was also a victim of the Masamune vs. Midori conflict and grew to hate the game, cutting off contact with everyone and locking himself in his apartment. He gets better thanks to Hotaru and makes up with Tohru and Masamune, but he's clearly become more cynical, is stalked by Haruka and is locked in his family's home by his father on the day the TGC begins.
  • Downplayed with Hotaru, who goes through quite a few hard knocks as a result of getting involved with airsoft and Toy Gun Gun, including having to hide her gender from her new friends, and even briefly enters a Heroic BSoD after Toy ☆ Gun Gun loses their TGC match and Hotaru's ideals are called into question. However, her resilient personality, strong morals and ties to her friends have kept her from sinking too deeply into this trope.
  • Similarly downplayed with Tohru, mostly because his issues don't initially get much focus and his personality means he rarely lets it show. Still, let's not forget that he was bullied and betrayed before being forced to move away from his only friend, becoming a shut-in until meeting Masamune again and spending years trying to pick up the pieces Midori left behind. Pretty much everything he's done since has been to help Masamune move on, only for him to realize that Masamune is still seeking Midori's acknowledgement. Tohru is incredibly insecure about losing Masamune's friendship and has a fear of abandonment that matches Masamune's, worrying that Masamune will abandon him if he can't be of use on the battlefield.

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