YMMV / Hissatsu

• Bishōnen Jump Syndrome: Especially enforced after the Shigotonin series, after it proved to be very succesful at getting a higher female viewership.
• Broken Base: Most Hissatsu fans fall under two groups: Pre-Shigotonin or post-Shigotonin fans. The earlier usually dislike the series' Seasonal Rot, while the latter prefer its family friendly Lighter and Softer tone and iconic characters. Shin Hissatsu Shiokinin is especially divisive: it's either considered an acclaimed swan song to the pre-Shigotonin Mondo Nakamura series, or an early example of the problems that would become a mainstay in the Shigotonin series.
• Critical Dissonance: The Shigotonin series transformed the show into a TV sensation and something of a Cash-Cow Franchise... But for many fans, the massive change in tone meant a lower quality overall.
• Franchise Killer:
  • Hissatsu Uragoroshi was nearly responsible for the show's end, with a viewership rate of 2%.
  • Averted with Hissatsu Kengekinin, which technically didn't kill the show despite being the last. The series had falling ratings during its last years, and its unsuccessful and contracidtory attempts to Win Back the Crowd only deepened the problems: the producers simply planned to end the series with Kengekinin no matter how it was received.
• More Popular Spin-Off: The Hissatsu Shigotonin series, which started in the show's 15th entry, is by far the most famous sub-series of the franchise in its native country, to the point that most of the main entries since its debut are named after it.
• The Scrappy: Junnosuke Nishi, the Tagalong Kid of the Shigotonin series. It's probably no coincidence that he features in some of the lowest-rated Shigotonin entries... And that Gekitou-hen, which was the character's brief hiatus in the series, had slightly better critical ratings than the rest.
• Seasonal Rot: Most diehard Hissatsu fans agree that the series' first half is, with some exceptions, superior to the second half. The exact point where the seasonal rot started is debated: Shin Shiokinin is usually regarded as either one of the very best series or the start of the tendencies that would later plague the Shigotonin series, the later Karakurinin entries are regarded as increasingly worse albeit solid, Shobainin is regarded as the low point of the critically-acclaimed early Mondo series, and Uragoroshi was a ratings failure almost responsible for killing the show but was later regarded as a solid entry. However, it's generally agreed that the Shigotonin series is the season responsible of a family-friendly Audience Shift that alienated many older fans (and gained a much bigger viewship than usual), especially the entries with the Tagalong Kid Junnosuke Nishi.
• Sequel Displacement: Shiokinin to Shikakenin, and Shigotonin to the Mondo Nakamura series, or the whole franchise.
• Spiritual Adaptation: Hissatsu Urakagyou, a PlayStation 2 video game, is practically a non-licensed adaptation, to the point that the member that uses strings to kill is voiced by Ryu of the Braid Shop from Shigotonin fame.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: In general, fans of the first half of the series don't appreciate the post-Shigotonin shows.
• Vindicated by History: Hissatsu Uragoroshi isn't quite considered to be one of the best entries, but its experimental approach has been reevaluated after the family-friendly approach and the repetitive plots of the post-Shigotonin shows.
• Win Back the Crowd: The showrunners attempted to appeal the pre-Shigotonin fans with the Darker and Edgier Hashikakenin and Shigotonin V · Gekitou-hen to mixed results... And, ironically, when that backfired, they tried to gain the Shigotonin crowd with the Lighter and Softer Masshigura! and Shigotonin V Senpu-hen / Fuun Ryūko-hen to even worse results, which basically ended the series for a while.