History YMMV / BigNate

* DorkAge: During the late 2010s and early 2020s, the series found itself stuck in this as it recycles plots and humor like Nate finding a girlfriend and failing, Nate losing his temper in class and getting sent to detention, and Nate getting picked on for how his hair looks. It also has been relying too heavily on KafkaKomedy while making it mostly needlessly mean-spirited and unjustified like Nate continuously being manhandled by Kim with her [[KarmaHoudini suffering no consequences]], his friends treating him more like crap, and random background characters beating on and threatening Nate for petty reasons. Arcs also end too early with predictable endings that offer very little growth or variety to the series as a whole, and they don't really try to make a single attempt to bring out new ideas.

* TheWoobie: A downplayed example, but Mr. Rosa qualifies. He's an overworked and underpaid art teacher who has to work at ice-cream parlours during summer vacation, gets little respect and recognition despite having three Bachelor's degree, a Masters and being a generally NiceGuy. It's implied he actually hates his job, especially when a lot of his former students are now more successful and doing better in life than he is.

* MemeticMutation: Big Nate is sus. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Scenes from the show that look like something dirty out of context have been made into contemplation videos on [=YouTube=]. [[/labelnote]]

* WTHCastingAgency: Some of the casting choices for this show ended up raising eyebrows, with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wlrE8x3aCw&ab_channel=RogerRabbit Randy Betancourt in particular, who sounds like the squeaky-voiced teen from]] ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.

* FanPreferredCouple: Nate and Dee Dee, to the point where so many fans want to see them get together.

* WTHCastingAgency: Some of the casting choices for this show ended up raising eyebrows, with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wlrE8x3aCw&ab_channel=RogerRabbit Randy Betancourt in particular who is given a voice that just doesn't fit his character]].

** There's a strip where Nate and friends construct two sand towers…published on ''September 11, 2011''. It's so offensive and audacious that it somehow circles back to being hilarious.

** Kim's treatment of Nate also flies into this with how characters like Nate's dad react to it so calmly. In the comic, Kim's abusive and manhandling treatment of Nate is depicted by other characters as them being a loving couple, while in real life, this kind of relationship would be seen as a toxic and abusive relationship. Also in real life, if a father saw their child being treated this way by their boyfriend/girlfriend, they would furiously report to the police as an assault case instead of batting an eye while viewing the relationship as lovable.
** Even though it's played for laughs, the teachers' favoritism towards Gina, especially from Mrs. Godfrey, is pretty much a promotion of social inequality as Gina tends to often get away with things other students would be punished for like shouting in class and framing others for misdeeds. If this were to happen in real life, the teachers would face losing their jobs, as well as the principal for neglecting to enforce equality among the students and staff.

* MemeticMutation: Even though the animated series is still yet to premiere, people have been uploading "Big Nate is Sus" videos on [=YouTube=], possibly due to some of the scenes in the shorts being taken out of context.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: While this series is CG animated, it's art direction is intended to go for a stop motion style with the character animation and designs, and the Big Nate comic art style translates very well into this show's animation as a result.

* MemeticMutation: Even though the animated series is still yet to premiere, people have been uploading "Big Nate is Sus" videos on [=YouTube=], possibly due to some of the scenes in the shorts being taken out of context.

* TheWoobie: A downplayed example, but Mr. Rosa qualifies. He's an overworked and underpaid art teacher who has to work at ice-cream parlours during summer vacation, gets little respect and recognition despite having three Bachelor's degree, a Masters and being a generally NiceGuy. It's implied he actually hates his job, especially when a lot of his former students are now more successful and doing better in life than he is.

*** Some of Nate's outrageous behavior (notably regarding his failed attempts to get with Jenny) can prompt a WhatAnIdiot response from the reader. Given a few strips have [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall leant on the fourth wall]] though, is Nate just ''that'' bold and oblivious, or is he aware/suspects he's a cartoon character and does so because he knows he'll get away with it?

*** Given a few strips have [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall leant on the fourth wall]], is Nate's sometimes outrageous behavior (notably regarding his failed attempts to get with Jenny) because he's bold and oblivious, or because he's aware/suspects he's a cartoon character and knows he'll get away with it?

** Nate: Is he an ItsAllAboutMe JerkWithAHeartOfJerk with only the occasional PetTheDog moments, or just a BrilliantButLazy SmallNameBigEgo JerkWithAHeartOfGold ButtMonkey? The comic strip seems to support the former, while the books support the latter.

** Another one, which is part of the Nate/Trudy strip series, has him walk away, smiling, until he literally starts FLYING. Also may count as a TearJerker.

** In “Big Nate: In a Class by Himself”, Nate builds a replica of the Roman Colosseum out of LEGO. [[https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/colosseum-10276 Guess what was released in November of 2020.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Nate's not a nice person to say the very least, but his friends often tease him, his teacher gives him a terrible grade for making a replica of the coliseum out of blocks, and it just seems that the universe hates him. There are multiple times Nate's just minding his own business and something bad has to happen to him or his friends purposely screw him over for amusement.

** Kim has this status among many fans for being a FlatCharacter who exists purely just to make Nate's life a misery by being a bully who frequently beats him up whenever he insults her or refuses to do what she says, and tries to force romance onto him while being insensitive about him not liking her and having no respect for his personal space. The fact that she is always a KarmaHoudini whenever she mistreats Nate adds even more hate to her, along with her making even more recent appearances and adding to the comic's current DorkAge, and possibly even make her a CreatorsPet at this point.

* HumorDissonance: Both Francis and Teddy often get a kick when it comes to making fun of Nate. Viewers do find it funny, but when they carry it on for too long it makes it come off as straight up bullying to the viewers, to the point where it makes them question why Nate is even friends with them.

** Kim has this status among many fans for being a FlatCharacter who exists purely just to make Nate's life a misery by being a bully who frequently beats him up whenever he insults her or refuses to do what she says, and tries to force romance onto him while being insensitive about him not liking her and having no respect for his personal space. The fact that she is always a KarmaHoudini whenever she mistreats Nate adds even more hate to her, along with her making even more recent appearances and adding to the comic's current DorkAge.

* TheWoobie: A downplayed example, but Mr. Rosa qualifies. He's an overworked and underpaid Art teacher who has to work at ice-cream parlours during summer vacations, gets little respect and recognition despite having three Bachelor's degree a Masters and being a generally NiceGuy. It's implied to actually hate his job, especially when a lot of his former students are now more successful and doing better in life than he is.

* FridgeHorror: How does Chester treat his family members? Lessened by the fact that his parents have enough authority over him to make him quit the baseball team to focus on schoolwork, as seen in one arc.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop:
** Nate was once in detention with a kid who had never been in detention before. The kid said that if Nate wanted to get detention all the time, that's okay with him, but ''he'' was going to turn his life around and become a kid the school could be proud of. Nate's reaction, and the last line of the story arc? "What a loser."
** At one point, a girl expressed interest in joining the cartooning club but backed out when she realized that the club mainly drew insulting cartoons. After she said that they were cruel and left, Nate said to the class, "Okay, who wants to draw cartoons about miss goody-good?"
** Many recent comics with Gina. It's only this because Gina's {{Flanderization}} turned her into not only a smart kid but also an InsufferableGenius and the DesignatedVillain, making it seem that the strip is trying to convince readers that being a good student is a bad thing. It's balanced out by the fact that Nate's best friend Francis is also a good student, but even then he's occasionally mocked for it.
** One arc sees Nate being able to get an excuse for missing homework due to a "family emergency". Mrs. Godfrey actually reacts with sympathy, letting Nate off the hook. Nate's reaction? To continue using the phrase "family emergency" so he doesn't have to do any Social Studies homework. This strategy ends up failing after a call to Nate's Dad reveals there is no emergency. Since the ending of the arc is played like any other in which Nate gets punished, the strip seems to be implying that Nate abusing the one piece of sympathy he got from his teacher was a good thing.