YMMV / Van Houten Rises

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Several lengthy comments on the videos express the belief that Nelson is actually a Tragic Villain who turned to evil as a result of the environment that he was brought up in. Some go so far as to say that he intentionally threw his fight with Milhouse to both stop the cycle of torment that he was perpetuating and to end his painful existence.
• Anti-Climax Boss: After revealing just how powerful he really was, Nelson ends up getting done in by a cheap shot from Milhouse.
• Broken Base: Was Milhouse's victory over Nelson ultimately a sign that, despite the bleakness of the situation, humanity will continue to prevail even as it grows beyond its physical body and evolves into the next stage of existence? Or that the only way to truly rid the world of evil and corruption is by getting rid of humanity entirely? The fanbase is split over which interpretation they believe.
• Draco in Leather Pants: See Alternate Character Interpretation above. Nelson's popularity has resulted in several fans trying to find heroic justifications for his actions.
• Evil Is Cool: Nelson is a murdering, remorseless psychopath, but he's also ridiculously strong, obscenely good at delivering one-liners and unwaveringly confident in himself, which makes him stand out when opposite the reserved and serious Milhouse. It also helps that, unlike Milhouse, Nelson's strength is entirely his own.
• Growing the Beard: Both the art quality and the running time increase substantially over the course of the three parts.
• Narm Charm: Everything about the movie is ridiculous and cheesy, so much so that it somehow manages to wrap right back around and become cool.
• So Bad, It's Good: Intentionally so. The child characters from The Simpsons acting like brutal warriors? All done in an exaggeratedly-manly Animesque style with Limited Animation? Fantastic.

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