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YMMV / Codename: Kids Next Door

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kids next door mission

operation:
y.m.m.v.
 
 
 
your
mileage
may
vary

YMMV tropes for the Codename: Kids Next Door series

Tropes with their own pages:

  • Accidental Innuendo: In "Operation: N.O.-P.O.W.U.H.", Grandma Stuffum's liver and onion minions hang from the bottom of her dress as they are overwhelmed by the hamsters. However, due to the placement of where her minions are hanging (right next to the crotch area) and their design (the two onions are round and the liver is fleshy and long), they look like a pair of testicles.
  • Adorkable: Numbuhs 2 and 3. A lot characters come off as this in general, being children.
  • Alternative Joke Interpretation: In "Operation: K.A.S.T.L.E.", Numbuh 3 gets mad at King Sandy for calling her "grandma". Is she upset that she got compared to an adult, or is she mad at him for insulting her looks?
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: One episode deals with a mythical fourth flavor of ice cream alongside vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. While the episode never reveals how it tastes, ice cream really was marketed with four flavors when it first started being produced in the United States in the 1800's. In addition to vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, butterscotch ice cream was heavily marketed. It fell out of favor sometime in the early 1900's.
  • Ass Pull: The idea that Chad Dickson was a double agent and was helping Sector V throughout all their missions. While his sudden incompetence and telling Cree not to send the Moon base to the sun after he did the same thing do foreshadow his true allegiance, in other episodes that featured him prominently, it's clear that he was evil and that his defeats weren't due to any self-sabotage on his part, with the only hand wave for this being that his resentment of Nigel always brought him to blows with Sector V and distracted him from fulfilling his sabotage missions for the Galactic KND.
  • Awesome Music: The rock opera episode "Operation F.O.O.D.F.I.T.E.", complete with a score by GWAR, who re-performed the song themselves after being unable to find stock copies. The episode was mostly Squick but the music was awesome.
    • There's also Licorice, a catchy sea shanty about Stickybeard and Heinrich crossing paths with Captain Black John and his cursed crew.
  • Badass Decay:
    • Father lost a lot of his credibility after "Operation G.R.A.D.U.A.T.E.S", and lost it completely when his role as the sinister main villain was taken away from him by Grandfather in "Operation Z.E.R.O". Even after Grandfather was defeated, Father never fully recovered. Also qualifies as Villain Decay.
    • Chad after his Face–Heel Turn. He was once one of the best KND operatives there is, but he's reduced to a Mook Lieutenant and loses a lot of competence points as a result. Justified given his status as The Mole in the teens.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
    • In "Operation: W.H.I.T.E.H.O.U.S.E.", Numbuh One goes Hulk and briefly fights off all of the U.S. forces before they Zerg Rush him and he wakes up from what appears to be a normal dream. It makes slightly more sense in context. The apparent assumption was he realized it was a dream, and thus he could do almost anything he wants.
    • The Live-Action dramatization segment in Operation: C.L.U.E.S., featuring a huge grown man cosplaying as Mushi. To drive the point home, this same segment would be animated properly during a flashback sequence in Operation S.P.A.N.K.E.N.S.T.I.N.E., making the original Live-Action scene entirely pointless outside of humor.
  • Continuity Lock-Out:
    • Start out early in the series and you can enjoy almost any episode, as most are standalone and Status Quo Is God. After the end of season one, however, plot points start wracking up, Character Development gets well under way, and the series Myth Arc is ever-expanding and ever extensive. Not even halfway through the series, you'll start missing out on episodes that continue from previous parts of the story and numerous nods or references, and late series has character cameos, plot and characterization that all come together. This makes it Better on DVD to be able to watch the series in one go instead of all over the place, even if standalone episodes still exist almost up to the very end.
    • The Grand Finale of the series is filled to the brim with Continuity Porn, as numerous cameos, plot points and returning individuals make some appearance or another all over the place like a celebration of the series as a whole. But perhaps the most awkward point is towards the very end, where Nigel's father and mother are temporarily recommissioned as Numbuh 0 and Numbuh 999, respectively, to see their son off. If you didn't watch The Movie that focuses on the former character's entire mystery and revelation, this comes completely out of nowhere.
  • Creepy Cute:
    • The titular lice is "Operation: L.I.C.E." — they eat hair and sport some rather impressive fangs, but the bugs are rather adorable. Especially the baby lice seen on Numbuh Two near the end.
    • The hamster ghosts from "Operation: G.H.O.S.T.". Numbuh 3 herself thinks they're still adorable despite being "all glowy and squeaky".
  • Crosses the Line Twice: According to a brief line Grandma Stuffem sings in "Op: FOODFITE," her giant "Slamwitch" is "made of cheese and puppy feet!" After a culmination of Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick lyrics that get progressively squickier, it's darkly hilarious.
  • Designated Villain:
    • Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb are made to be villains in "No P In The Ool" for not wanting kids to swim in their pool. It also helps that even the other members of Sector V didn’t even mind swimming in the kiddie pool (it was only Numbuh 1 who made a big fuss about it).
    • Done deliberately with Professor XXXL, who in all his appearances is just trying to create the perfect snowcone, but the KND always ruin his plans thinking he is doing something evil. Even Numbuh One knows his plan and goes along with it, and the kicker was he actually tried the perfect snow-cone before he was taken back by his friends.
    • Some characters like the truck driver from Operation: "Operation: P.I.A.N.O." are sometimes included into villain team shots despite being just people doing their jobs.
  • Diagnosed by the Audience: Given that Numbuh 4 is shown to be borderline illiterate at times, yet the finale reveals that he grows up to become a doctor of all things, some fans have wondered if he actually suffers from an undiagnosed learning disability.
  • Die for Our Ship:
    • Lizzie tends to get all sorts of shit flung into her face from fans that prefer pairing Numbuh One with anyone but her, particularly Numbuhs Five and 362.
    • Numbuh Two sometimes gets this from fans who prefer Abigail to be with someone else.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • Rachel, a.k.a. Numbuh 362, who literally ate her way through broccoli to stop the spread of it. Not to mention, a lot of fans pair her with Numbuh 1, causing her popularity to raise even higher. On the Kids Next Door Wiki, they had a poll where users could vote on their favorite operative. Numbuh 362 had more votes then Numbuh 2, a main member of the team.
    • Sector Z from Operation: Z.E.R.O., who developed a huge fanbase despite only having five minutes of screen-time.
    • Tommy Gilligan, a.k.a. The Tommy, Numbuh Two's younger brother. He was a big secondary character later in the series, but only because of his popularity early on.
    • Vin Moosk, the snake tie-fighting survivalist who embodies Crazy Is Cool and is one of the few examples of adult that earns Numbuh One's respect. Unfortunately, he is merely an One-Shot Character.
    • Numbuh 60 only has a few sporadic appearances throughout the series, with his role in "Operation: T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G." being his biggest (and he was mostly absent anyway). Still, he's easily the most popular of the "minor" KND agents and appears frequently in fan works.
  • Evil Is Cool:
    • Father, a pitch-black Man on Fire with a terrifyingly hammy voice.
    • Grandfather himself is truly epic at being the main villain. He's so menacing that even Father couldn't stand up to him. He's also an Evil Genius who gives a sinister vibe to "Operation Z.E.R.O.".
  • Fanon Discontinuity: A number of fans choose to view the TV Movie Operation Z.E.R.O. as the Grand Finale while ignoring Season Six. This camp finds Operation: Z.E.R.O. offered a more satisfying and thematically appropriate finale compared to what Operation: I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S. provided.
  • Fan-Preferred Couple
    • Numbuh One×Numbuh Five and Numbuh One×Numbuh 362 were both more popular than the official Numbuh One×Lizzie. The former for their great leader/second-in-command dynamic and emotional scenes and the latter for their more frequent interactions in later seasons and clear unrequited feelings from Rachel. Cartoon Network took notice of the popularity of the latter ship, as, in a Valentine's Day instagram post featuring fanart of various couples from various shows, one of Nigel and Rachel was featured along with the canon Numbuh Three×Four.
    • Numbuh Three×Four were this in the first season thanks to fan reaction to "Operation: O.F.F.I.C.E.". The escalating Ship Tease in the subsequent seasons upgraded them into Official Couple status. Even the last episode revealed that they'd be husband and wife.
    • Numbuh 23 (Virginia)×35 (Bartie) is a notable example since they're just a pair of minor agents who happened to be prominently shown together in "Operation S.L.U.M.B.E.R." and a few background scenes (and 35 actually saves 23 at one point). The Fan-Preferred part mostly comes from the ship's relative popularity compared to both of the characters' actual importance in the show.
  • Fandom-Specific Plot:
    • Fics about the kids being decommissioned, usually with them ceasing to be friends afterwards (though Kuki and Wally almost always fall in love somehow which is canon), are incredibly common. There's a sub-genre of these where Kuki and Wally are angsty, lonely teens who are mysteriously drawn to each other despite not recognizing one another. And this is assuming they just don't straight up become Teens Next Door agents and beyond, which the series finale heavily implies anyway.
    • The main characters' children time-traveling back from the future is also a fairly common one.
    • A lot of shipping stories will have Numbuh 1 dump Lizzie before hooking up with Numbuh 5 or Numbuh 362.
    • At the end of the series, Numbuh 1 leaves Earth in order to join the Galactic Kids Next Door. This will either be ignored or have him return from space, generally as a teen.
    • All fics that involve the Mirror Universe will most likely have the Nega version of Numbuh 362 (Lehcar). Her personality is mostly the same across all fics: She was a supporter of Nega Numbuh 4 before he was overthrown and is trying to either get him back in power, or take over for herself. She can also have a Villainous Crush on Numbuh 1, which tends to combine nicely with the above plot of Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 362 hooking up.
    • Sector Z returning in some way is extremely common, complete with a subgenre of them somehow being split from the Delightful Children.
  • Fan Nickname:
    • Before Alessandra, Bruce and Constance of the Delightful Children had their names revealed, they were nicknamed as "Ashley", "Rick" and "Ogie", respectively. Oddly enough, as of August 2022, they are still referred as such in Japanese version of The Other Wiki.
    • "Moonbase Trio" for the group of Numbuh 362, Numbuh 86 and Numbuh 60.
  • Fanon:
    • Even though it's never fully confirmed in the series, Sector V is always depicted as stationed in Virginia, to the point it could be considered Common Knowledge.
    • Kuki being able to speak Japanese, as the original concept for the show had her only knowing that language, but the actual show itself doesn't explicitly confirm it besides Kuki's occasional accent (which could simply come from her household). To a lesser extent, there's Abigail and Cree being fluent in French due to their heritage.
    • Number 362's favorite food being cheesecake, thanks to a certain fanfic writer.
    • The Steve, leader of the Teens, is frequently believed to be a grown-up Numbuh 100 (Chad's predecessor as a KND leader) and tends to be identified as such in fanworks as a result. Even Word of God doesn't know if this is true or not.
    • The Kid's name being "Ace", since that's how Mr. Washer refers to him, although the episode itself implies that's just a general nickname for Ace Pilots like Hoagie too.
    • Numbuh 10 being an Alpha Bitch is a popular belief, repurposing an unused concept about her being hated by her own Sector.
  • Genius Bonus: In "Operation F.A.S.T.-F.O.O.D.", the father shark complains about having to stop at a red light, saying, "Doesn't anyone realize I need to keep moving?" Biologically speaking, this is true — sharks need to be in constant motion, or else they die.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The show has a small yet impressive cult following in Japan, judging by all the fanart from that country.
    • The show is extremely popular in Mexico and Latin America, thanks to it’s Superlative Dubbing (Such as Óscar Flores as Numbuh 1 for example) and Woolseyism note 
  • Growing the Beard: The Season 1 Finale established continuity for the series, as well as the introduction of Father and the fact that the KND is not just the five featured on the show, but rather many different sectors. Many agree that this change to the show was for the better.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: Numbuh 5's father being a parody of Bill Cosby is a lot more uncomfortable to watch now, given the scandals surrounding the actor.
  • Heartwarming in Hindsight: "Operation: O.O.M.P.A.H." already gives Numbuh One and his father Mr. Uno several sweet moments. However, as noted on the Fridge Logic and Heartwarming subpages, Operation: Z.E.R.O. reveals that Mr. Uno had a horrible, horrible father, and instead of growing up into a child hater like his brother, Mr. Uno tries his best to keep up with his son and be a genuinely good dad.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Ho Yay:
    • Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb. Not only are they always joined at the hip, but they also live together and the James Bond villains they're based on are canonically gay.
    • Nigel and Chad spend most of "Operation: T.R.E.A.T.Y." chained to each other, forcing them into the longest nonviolent interaction they've had since Chad defected from the KND. Their hostility towards each other is because Nigel thinks of Chad as a traitor while Chad is angry that Nigel's been chosen over him for the Galactic Kids Next Door, but they used to be extremely close, and their bitter attitudes can come off like exes who had a bad breakup.
  • Inferred Holocaust:
    • Stickybeard's land-travelling ship is huge and tends to leave a lot of suburban destruction in its wake, but the show promptly ignores the rather dark implications.
    • The sheer amount of ways children could have gotten maimed or even killed by the scheme of certain adults. Ms. Goodwall's zoo is probably the worst case of this, since one of its most popular attractions was a kid-eating bully that had already been fed multiple times.
    • We don't see what happens with Sally and the other rebel children from the Bad Future in Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E. after the KND manages to foil Madame Margaret's plans, but it seems safe to assume that the timeline was altered enough that they might not exist anymore, just like Old Man Wally.
  • Iron Woobie: Numbuh 5. While she usually is quite self-assured, it's easy to feel a bit sad for her sometimes. Her Dark and Troubled Past consists of her sister's betrayal, the Noodle Incident that caused Numbuh 1 to lose his hair permanently and her to step down as Sector V's leader (for God's sake, she nearly freaked out at the thought of stepping back into the role!), and then there was what happened with Heinrich. Not to mention the things that happened to her onscreen, such as when she was turned into a weredog. One can't help but feel a bit of respect for her as well for keeping her cool through it all, though.
  • Jerkass Woobie:
    • The Delightful Children. As it turns out, they were the former members of the KND called Sector Z.
    • Father, after Operation: Z.E.R.O. (and minor moments in "I.T." and "C.A.K.E.D.-F.I.V.E.") Turns out that he spent most of his childhood under an abusive father, constantly treated as The Unfavorite, and is always afraid of standing up to his dad. After recommissioning Grandfather, he's repaid for his efforts with disdain and humiliated in front of his fellow villains. No wonder why Villain Decay set in, given that most of his self-confidence was shattered into pieces.
    • Chad following the reveal that his betrayal of the KND was a ruse. On one hand, he's still an incredibly egotistical and bitter person, to the point that he tries to kill Nigel in Operation T.R.E.A.T.Y. However, it's easy to feel some degree of sympathy for him given the fact that he willingly sacrificed his own reputation and friendships within the KND; for the sake of his mission.
    • Numbuh 86. She's an unpleasant Jerkass who constantly gets on people's nerves with her incessant nagging. However, "Operation S.L.U.M.B.E.R." reveals that she never really had any friends because of her unpleasant attitude, with Numbuh 12 being the only person then to befriend her. But once Numbuh 12 makes a Face–Heel Turn and defects to the teens, you can't help but feel a bit sorry for her.
  • Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: The series has several villains, from Father, to Cree Lincoln, all of which fans agree are too over the top to truly hate. Numbuh 1's girlfriend Lizzie Devine on the other hand, is widely disliked by fans for being rude not only to him, but to almost every other character on the show. Not to mention she is shown to be rather abusive to Nigel as well. To the point of even brainwashing him in a very painful process because he tried to save face when his friends started making fun of him. Lizzie has on more than one occasion outright SABOTAGED the team because she wanted to put her own needs over all the other kids. Yet only once did she ever have to face consequences for what she did. Every other time she was Easily Forgiven.
  • Karmic Overkill: Yes, Mushi did destroy her sister's Rainbow Monkey and wanted to keep it for herself, but getting grounded for life (and later on, longer than that) for that one misdeed comes off as excessive.
  • Launcher of a Thousand Ships:
    • Numbuh 1 easily has the most ships to his name. He has been shipped with all of his teammates (although Numbuh 5 is the most popular), Numbuh 86, Lizzie, Numbuh 362, Chad, Numbuh 60, Father(!) and even The Delightful Children!
    • Numbuh 5 is perhaps second only to Numbuh 1. The list includes Numbuh 1 himself, Numbuhs 2, 3 and 4, Heinrich/Henrietta, Maurice, Cree(!) and Valerie.
    • Numbuh 362 isn't much farther behind. Beyond Numbuh 1, she has been shipped with Numbuh 60, Numbuh 86, Chad, Maurice and Numbuh 10.
  • Les Yay:
    • Numbuh Five and Henrietta Von Marzipan. Their reunion in "C.A.R.A.M.E.L." was nothing short of adorable. Add to that the fact that Henrietta's nickname for Abby, "Liebchen", means sweetheart in German...
    • Operation L.O.V.E. has Numbuh 3 about to kiss the DCFDTL, girls included.
  • Magnificent Bastard:
    • Stickybeard is a boisterous, candy-stealing pirate who nonetheless possesses honor and guile. A frequent foe of the Kids Next Door who often outdoes them with his candy-themed weapons, Stickybeard has swiped all of the candy of their members more than once, using clever tactics to leave them robbed blind. Having a genuine admiration towards and kinship with Numbuh 5, Stickybeard regularly offers her a place by his side on his crew, teams up with her to outsmart take down the evil Black John Licorice, and saves her and her friends from the Asparagus Sea out of respect for their status as enemies.
    • Jimmy Nixon McGarfield is a corrupt school politician, who uses his power to oppress KND and find true love. Introduced as a beloved class president liked by all students including Sector V, Jimmy manipulates Sector V into being his allies long enough to transport him to City Hall, where he then reveals he has teamed up with Father to increase restrictions on local schools and make KND's missions harder. Later, Jimmy uses a vast arsenal of weaponry and tactics to wage war on KND, trying to brainwash Numbuh One's girlfriend into falling for the villain instead, and even when his plans are foiled solely by the trickery of his own aide, Jimmy happily looks forward to prison with her, hoping they can kindle a relationship.
    • "Operation: Z.E.R.O.": Grandfather is the greatest threat the Kids Next Door's entire organization has ever faced in history. An ancient evil who once reigned supreme over the world, Grandfather was supplanted only when one of his own sons betrayed him and stole his powers and memories. Years later restored to his former glory, Grandfather immediately turns the most useful supervillains into his Senior Citizombies, using their talents to spread the infection as fast as possible until nearly all life on Earth is reshaped to Grandfather's whims. Planning to destroy the Book of KND so no hope can survive amidst children, Grandfather is so fierce that he terrifies his villainous son Father, defeats his other boy Monty in combat, and survives the KND space headquarters crashing into him, even facing defeat with just a snark to Monty that he's no longer in the will.
  • Memetic Badass: Just watch "Operation: K.N.O.T." and try to say Moosk doesn't have the makings of this.
  • Memetic Molester:
    • It's nearly impossible to not think of Count Spankulot as some sort of deviant child predator considering his modus operandi of invading homes at night to spank naughty children, to the point that the character was clearly reworked after his debut (since the implications ended up too big to ignore).
    • Knightbrace and his tendency to ambush lone children at night in order to clean their teeth.
    • Chester and his countless schemes that exploit children for profit. It's really easy to see how such a villain could be distorted into something much worse.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • One fansite dedicated to re-captioning screenshots had characters discuss a clothing-optional resort. "The resort" has been a KND meme ever since.
    • "I hate everyone" Explanation
    • "As you can clearly see, LeBron James..." Explanation
    • Crank Up Those TunesExplanation
  • Moe: Numbuh 83 and 84 are Badass Adorable and are much nicer than their Bratty Half-Pint leader Numbuh 383.
  • Moral Event Horizon:
    • Father trying to bake children into a cake. He's revealed to have crossed it long ago when he transformed Sector Z into the Delightful Children permanently.
    • A good introduction to the escalation of later seasons is Mr. Fizz, a Root Beer addict of an adult in charge of making sure children don't drink it illegally themselves. His method? Bottling them up until adulthood, as in literally sticking them cramped into soda pop bottles and sealing them away indefinitely. The cast go from considering him just another Villain of the Week to being horrified and treating him completely seriously.
    • Chester crossing the MEH a standout among the rouges of the KND by being one of the few whose initial scheme is based in reality. In this case, a child labor camp; brainwashing children into making camp Knickknacks. If that didn't do it? Attempting to drown a baby skunk certainly did.

transmission interrupted
 
 
connection re-established
  • One True Pairing: While KND shipping is often comparable to a minefield at the best of times, just about every fan ships Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 together.
  • Paranoia Fuel: More than one viewer 13 and older has entertained the thought that maybe, just maybe, they had once been KND operatives and have since been decommissioned.
  • Periphery Demographic: Like many before and after it, this is a show in a child-centric network about children who fight teens and adults that many teens and adults love.
  • Realism-Induced Horror:
    • Compared to most of the exaggerated villains and schemes the KND face on a daily basis? Chester's very first appearance in Operation: C.A.M.P. is exactly what it entails. A child labor camp where the children are brainwashed into making cheap affordable lanyards and wallets. Considering the existence of Troubled Teen Camps (essentially concentration camps for children) it makes Chester the most realistically monstrous villain in the series.
    • Father himself is this. Many of the villains in KND represent a childhood fear or dislike, such as the threat of spanking, a grandmother who insists you eat her disgusting food, or having to go to the dentist. Father, however, is a clear representation of an abusive parent. He actually IS one as well- he constantly screams at and terrorizes the Delightful Children From Down The Lane throughout the series, to the point that they panic and cower when he bursts into flames and raises his voice. If that wasn't enough, it turns out that they're not even his real children, having been former KND operatives that he kidnapped and brainwashed to obey him. And no one does anything to stop him, even after learning this. It's enough to make his actual villainous plans look like charity work.
  • Recurring Fanon Character: Lechar, the Nega Universe version of Numbuh 362, is extremely popular in fanfics, since she was planned, but scrapped from the final episode, with her being a devoted follower of Negative Numbuh 4 and usually either trying to get him back in power or take over for herself. If a story involves the Nega verse in someway, chances are that Lechar will be present.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: After getting Character Development in several staring roles in episodes such as Operation: S.L.U.M.B.E.R. and Operation: C.A.K.E.D.F.I.V.E., Numbuh 86 went from being one of the most hated side characters to a fan favorite.
  • Ron the Death Eater: Lizzie gets this a lot solely for being Numbuh One's girlfriend for the vast majority of the series. Doesn't help that she's considered unpleasant even in canon, which makes it easy for fans to justify Numbuh 1 dumping her in favor of someone else.
  • Salvaged Story: Adulthood being equated to a "disease" by a representative of the Galactic KND was seen by a few viewers as seeming just a bit too outlandish for the series. The April Fools' Day Viral Marketing has since revealed the Galactic KND to be Scary Dogmatic Aliens, somewhat amending this particular complaint.
  • The Scrappy: Lizzie Devine's first appearance where she's Easily Forgiven for attempting to brainwash Numbuh One didn't do wonders for her reputation among fans, and even after Characterization Marches On, it was a Fandom-Specific Plot in even non-shipping fanfics to have Numbuh One dump her for the better-liked Numbuh 362.
  • Ships That Pass in the Night:
    • Numbuh 86 and Numbuh 60 is a rather popular ship, despite the fact that they never really had any onscreen interaction. (The closest was Operation: T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G., when Arctic Base got a distress signal from Moonbase. And even that turned out to be just Father disguised as Numbuh 86.)
    • The Kid and Henrietta Von Marzipan have a decent following despite the two characters never meeting on screen.
    • Tommy x Mushi used to be popular at one point mostly because of their shared status as Annoying Younger Siblings of two of the main characters. They have never interacted though, not even in the episodes that featured their families dining together.
    • The Kid and Numbuh 10 also are shipped a fair bit, mostly due to them being considered to be the two most attractive kids on the show In-Universe, in spite of never once meeting.
  • Special Effects Failure: "Operation: N.A.U.G.H.T.Y." plays the usual opening, but with a Christmas green background and snow over top — without actually changing anything for the animation. All the characters have faint white outlines around them, and their respective numbers fade to white like the usual background rather than matching green.
  • Spiritual Licensee: This show can be considered the closest thing to an animated version of the Spy Kids films (aside from Spy Kids: Mission Critical).
  • Squick:
    • Anything that involves Nurse Claiborne. Her apple crumble is topped with pinkeye, and even that's nothing compared to what the apple crumble filling is implied to be. How can Numbuh Two stand to eat the stuff, knowing just what it's made out of?
    • Rainbow Monkey Cereal is made with shredded Rainbow Monkey dolls.
    • Zombified old Numbuh Three and Four kissing each other.
    • The toenails collection and the subtle revelation that the Delightful Children use the bathroom together!
    • The chicken pox looked like tiny chicken heads coming out of the skin of the kids, but from further away where the details of the little chicken heads couldn't possibly be well rendered, they ended up looking like maggots growing out of the children.
    • The unpoppable pimple that the KND scientists created in revenge for the chicken pox is revealed to be a giant puss-filled lump that is so big that it nearly covers all of the victim's (Cree's) cheek.
  • Suspiciously Similar Song: The two songs by GWAR that are featured in "Operation: F.O.O.D.F.I.T.E.".
  • Take That, Scrappy!: Lizzie can get this on rare occasions.
    • "Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-T.W.O." Unlike her debut episode, Nigel is angry at Lizzie for helping the DCFDTL just for cake and furiously calls her out on it.
    • "Operation: S.N.O.W.I.N.G." President Jimmy forces a boyfriend helmet on Lizzie just to get her to be his girlfriend. Considering that she did the same thing on Numbuh 1 in her first appearance, it comes off as Catharsis Factor and her getting punished for her actions.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • The KND "Splinter Cell" arc foreshadowed an internal civil war in the KND between the extremist Splinter Cell that believes all adults must be destroyed vs. the more moderate faction that believes only the evil adults should be stopped. It is also revealed that the Splinter Cell had been kidnapping KND scientists for unknown reasons. However, near the end of the series, it turns out that the Splinter Cell is just an front for the KND scientists, who fake their kidnappings so they have more free time to watch their favorite science fiction shows as well as manage "the Galactic Kids Next Door", the workings of which were left very vague in the end. However, a teaser animatic featuring the original cast and produced by Mr. Warburton suggests that a civil war plot expanding upon the working of the GKND may be on the way. Still, many fans would've preferred this plot without the GKND.
    • There's also the matter of the 1/362 Ship Tease. Despite Operation: I.T. showing how close they were and Operation: G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D. all-but-confirming that Rachel has feeling for Nigel beyond friendship, it was never resolved. The trope comes in with after Lizzie dumped Nigel, which looked like it was foreshadowing that he would end up with Rachel. You can imagine how many fanfics have centered around them getting together.
    • Tommy bonded well with his friends Sonia and Lee in "Operation: T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G." and was able to cooperate with them as a team. Him losing the opportunity to become a member of the KND in "Operation: G.R.A.D.U.A.T.E.S." took away any more chances of interacting with the two again.
    • Some fans were hoping that more would've came from Numbuh 1's report in "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E.S.", especially since the ending indicated that there was at least some level of truth in it.
    • In most fiction, adults hate teenagers far more then they do small children and teenagers hate being bossed around by adults. Instead of being complete allies to the adults, it would have been interesting if the teenagers were a more independent group that battled both adults and kids.
    • As revealed in Operation Z.E.R.O. Nigel Uno is the nephew of the KND's greatest enemy, Father. However this relationship dynamic between them is never explored or touched upon again for the rest of the series and considering Father was aware of this, it is odd it was never brought up before.
    • Despite learning that Chad never betrayed the Kids Next Door, Numbuh 1's thoughts on remaining a KND operative after turning 13 was never revealed. His hatred towards Chad was so personal that he initially refused to believe he was a Fake Defector the whole time. He never talked about the Teens Next Door in the Grand Finale.
  • Toy Ship: Several. In the main team alone; 3+4 didn't so much have subtext as it was just plain text from the start. 2+5 was a slightly more debatable case, and 1+5 had some good chemistry. But let's not get into the web that the fans (and creators) have spun.
  • Trans Audience Interpretation:
    • In Operation: F.U.T.U.R.E., Numbuhs 1, 2, 3, and, 5 are hit with "Girlifying Rifles" which turns any non-girl into a girl (or the "girly" equivalent of clothes and objects). It has no effect on Numbuh 3, yet it works on Numbuh 5. Did it just change her clothes and personality, or was Numbuh 5 not a girl to begin with?
    • For that matter, why did Numbuh 4's parents send him to a girls boarding school in the first place (other than to kick off the plot/being generally clueless)? It is a running gag throughout the show for Numbuh 4 to be forced to participate in girl-y activities (Operation: O.F.F.I.C.E.), or be mistaken for a girl (Operation: P.L.A.N.E.T.). For this reason many trans fans relate to and/or interpret him to be a trans boy.
  • Ugly Cute:
    • Ramon 4 from Operation S.A.T.U.R.N.
    • The Rainbow Monkeys. The actual live ones, with their fangs, drool and technicolor fur.
  • Unintentionally Sympathetic: We're supposed to see Numbuh 4 as a brat in "Operation: H.U.G.S." for not wanting to be at a Rainbow Monkey amusement park. The thing is that Numbuh 3 knows fully well about his dislike of Rainbow Monkeys, yet she drags him against his will to the park, making her come off as selfish. And while it was rude and dumb of Numbuh 4 to make fun of the brand in front of her and the fans, he does it out of frustration over being forced to go to the park by Numbuh 3, who told him they were going to the "extra super coolest place ever".
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic: In "Operation S.N.O.W.I.N.G.", we're supposed to feel bad for Lizzie when Jimmy forces a Boyfriend Helmet onto her. However, considering Lizzie did the same thing to Numbuh 1 and walked away a Karma Houdini, many instead saw the moment as some long overdue karma towards her.
  • Unpopular Popular Character:
    • Numbuh 86 is a Straw Feminist feared by pretty much every other KND operative out there due to her generally confrontational personality and position as Head of Decommissioning, but she's very popular with the fandom and it isn't hard to find fanworks that focus on her.
    • The Toiletnator is never taken seriously by the KND and completely despised by his fellow villains due to his incompetence, ridiculous gimmick and Laughably Evil tendencies, but he's equally beloved by fans for those same reasons.
  • Values Dissonance: Given how the attitudes towards corporal punishment have changed over the years, it's unlikely that a character like Count Spankulot would ever be thought of had the show been produced today. Even the idea of some random guy you don't know breaking into your house to spank your kids for misbehaving wouldn't ring well with pro-spanking advocates.
  • The Woobie: Sector Z. "Operation Z.E.R.O." reveals that they were permanently transformed into the Delightful Children, with no hope of turning back into their former selves, robbed of their free will and ripped apart from their families and loved ones who have no idea what became of them. What's worse is that they've forced to turn on their beloved organization, becoming one of the KND's greatest enemies. When they are forced to turn back into the Delightful Children, their last words to Numbuh 1 is to tell the KND that they missed them.
end transmission

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