History YMMV / ChargemanKen

** The Juralians, as there is something oddly charming about their design, and due to how unintentionally psychopathic Ken comes across, and how not all of them are shown to be evil can make them quite sympathetic. [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/c/ce/Oinfiodfn.png There's also a downright endearing shot of one with the killer butterflies perched all over it's body]].

** The hair - every so often a hair that was caught on some of the animation cels and not cleaned off before filming will appear. This isn't exactly unheard of in cheap animation in general but it happens so frequently it became a meme. When their was a live action stage play made of the show in the [=2000s=] they put a hair on the poster.

** How dare you sell such a schizo record!" (よくもあんなキチガイレコードを!)

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The OpeningTheme, [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=of9DiKKlBWA "Chargeman Ken"]], is a powerful song that encapsulates the heroism of the titular character. Such a shame that the actual series is of very poor quality.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** The Chinese deliveryman from the 29th episode, mostly due to the fact that he literally only appears in one scene, where he shows up to deliver a CatScare to Ken and the titular model, and then question what's happening before never appearing for the rest of the episode.

** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow, dated, and all round offensive that it loops around to being hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[BreadMilkEggsSquick extremely muscular old man wearing nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra who roars animalistically]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person literally just being him acting and speaking sluggishly being another hilariously offensive thing as well.
** The Chinese delivery man from the 29th episode ''Eliminate the Fashion Model'', due to his overly stereotypical eastern asian features, from his slanted eyes and Fu Manchu mustache, as well as his outdated outfit and broken grammar.

** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]][[labelnote:Explanation]]Hoshi makes some strange noises twice in episode 4 while playing rugby; once when jumping high and once when effortlessly throwing another player aside. Both of these sounds are very commonly used in YTPMVs and Nico Nico Douga videos.[[/labelnote]]

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Close-ups of the characters' faces (especially Ken and Caron's faces) are often drawn in a very realistic style that often falls into this trope. It's particularly noticeable with their eyes and lips.

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny:
** A meta example: When Creator/DiscotekMedia licensed the show, they went all out in [[OurProductSucks using its awfulness as a selling point]], from pointing out all of the hilarious scenes and memes, even on the ''[=DVD=] box set'', to intentionally writing the episode descriptions in a way that lampshades just how awful everything is and pointing out their flaws.
** Website/{{Crunchyroll}} also gets in on the humor, as this is their description on the show's page:
--->Infamous among anime fans in Japan, this 1974 series by Knack Productions is known for its nonsensical plots, absurdly incompetent animation, and brutal 10-year-old hero. See young Ken Izumi gun down wave after wave of ineffectual aliens, while dealing with misaligned animation cels, repetitive music, and a near total lack of sound effects. The best joke is that none of this was meant as a joke.

* UncannyValley: Close-ups of the characters' faces (especially Ken and Caron's faces) are often drawn in a very realistic style that often falls into this trope. It's particularly noticeable with their eyes and lips.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** The series title in that Creator/{{Capcom}} would eventually create characters named [[VideoGame/MegaMan5 Charge Man]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Ken]].
** In the anime's futuristic setting, everyone still uses vinyl records to listen to their music. By the time that the anime became an international meme, other storage forms had risen to prominance, making the records seem outdated... And then the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_revival Vinyl revival]] happened.
* HoYay: Hoshi and Ken in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2zxWiGCHx4 fourth episode]]. Hoshi drives Ken to a secluded place, and the closest he comes to explaining why before they get there is saying that "You have admirers, Chargeman Ken"[[note]]Although the Discotek Media subtitles would later render the line as "I've always wanted to see Chargeman Ken"[[/note]]... Then he immediately starts begging a disinterested Ken to show him his "Charging Go" technique once they are alone. By the point Ken gets fed up with this and decides to leave, [[spoiler:Hoshi reveals himself to be a Jural and attacks him.]] The creators probably wanted to write Hoshi trying to uncover Ken's superhero secrets, but it's almost easier to interpret the scene as Hoshi having a romantic interest in Ken and [[NotGoodWithRejection not liking the fact he got rejected]].

* LostInMediasRes: The very first episode. No explanation whatsoever is given as to what the Juralians are, why they want to conquer the world, or where Ken got his powers.

** [[https://youtu.be/W2zxWiGCHx4?t=1m8s WEIIII!!!]]

* SelfFanservice: Fairly common in the fandom, and not just in RuleThirtyFour. Aged up versions of Caron and Yuuichi ([[NoYay or even their usual selves]]) are especially prominent in this respect. And then there's [[HotForTeacher Ms. Nagisa...]] Though she and other characters like Hoshi, who were meant to look good but didn't due to OffModel animation, can be considered a subversion.

** The villain in Episode 23 commits suicide. This isn't so bad back then but would be downright unthinkable to depict in a children's anime today, given Japan's notoriously high suicide rate.

** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow and offensive that it loops around to be hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[BreadMilkEggsSquick extremely muscular old man wearing nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra who roars animalistically]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person literally just being him acting and speaking sluggishly is also hilarious as well.

* WhatAnIdiot: Maou is notorious for this. In Episode 47, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-jNE5ZKCg&t=1m3s a Jural comes up to him,]] wanting to talk with Maou regarding Chargeman Ken.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Maou, noting that Ken is ''very'' good at killing Jurals, decides to listen to one of his loyal soldiers.\\
'''Instead:''' "[[MemeticMutation Never mind!]]".\\
'''Then:''' The Jural reasonably explains that Ken has killed lots of their brethren and prevented them from carrying out the invasion of Earth as Maou planned. Maou ''[[TooDumbToLive says that Chargeman Ken is insignificant and]] [[SuicidalOverconfidence says that the Jural should not be concerned about him,]]'' after which Maou sends out the X-Corps to attack an airport.\\
'''The Result:''' Ken defeats the Juralian spaceships and slaughters (presumably) the entire X-Corps.

** The Chinese delivery man from the 29th episode ''Eliminate the Fashion Model'', due to overly stereotypical eastern asian features, from his slanted eyes and Fu Manchu mustache, as well as his outdated outfit and broken grammar.

* HilariousInHindsight: The series title in that Creator/{{Capcom}} would eventually create characters named [[VideoGame/MegaMan5 Charge Man]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Ken]].
* HoYay: Hoshi and Ken in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2zxWiGCHx4&feature=related fourth episode]]. [[spoiler:This becomes irrelevant when Hoshi is revealed to be a Jural.]]
* ItWasHisSled: In the fandom, it is pretty much well-known that [[spoiler:[[{{Bishonen}} Hoshi]] and many, many other one-shot characters are Jurals.]]

* MemeticMutation: The entire damn series. The number of videos uploaded to Website/NicoNicoDouga and Website/YouTube (although most if not all of the YT videos are re-uploads of the fansubs for accessibility) and fan art devoted to the series just keeps increasing. For the more traditional meaning of meme, many lines have mutated in Japan. Here are some examples:

** The villain in Episode 23 commits suicide. This isn't so bad back then but is downright unthinkable to depict in a children's anime today, given Japan's notoriously high suicide rate.

* SoBadItsGood: The animation is godawful even by mid-70's standards. Recording quality is bathroom level; 95% of sound effects are missing (Ken's laser gun is often the only exception). The pacing is horrendous; episodes can and do switch from too-quick to sluggish on a dime. Finally, the [[DesignatedHero "hero"]] is a certified jackass. This show is terrible. And it's ''glorious''.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic
** Ken himself. Despite being the hero of the series, his brutality and sheer ruthlessness makes it hard to cheer for him, especially considering that he'll kill Juralians who are perfectly harmless. [[spoiler:Like Miyuki as an example, who tries to run away from him instead of trying to fight him off.]]

** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow and offensive that it loops around to be hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[BreadMilkEggsSquick extremely muscular old man wearing nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person literally just being him acting and speaking sluggishly is also hilarious as well.

** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow and offensive that it loops around to be hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers extremely muscular old man wearing]] [[BreadMilkEggsSquick nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person literally just being him acting and speaking sluggishly is also hilarious as well.

** An unintentional example, but the portrayal of mentally ill people in the 23rd episode "Mental Hospital Terror", is so shallow and offensive that it loops around to be hilarious, due to first three inmates seen on screen being a man with an air-headed smile on his face laughing, a happy-looking man curled up against a wall with his arms wrapped around his legs, and an [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers extremely muscular old man wearing]] [[BreadMilkEggsSquick nothing but a wrestling singlet and a bra]], as well as Ken's attempt at impersonating a mentally ill person is just acting and speaking sluggishly.

** A meta example: When Creator/DiscotekMedia licensed the show, they went all out in using its awfulness as a selling point, from pointing out all of the hilarious scenes and memes, even on the ''[=DVD=] box set'', to intentionally writing the episode descriptions in a way that lampshades just how awful everything is and pointing out their flaws.

* UglyCute: Barican was certainly intended to be a cute character but the art and animation are so bad this is the best way to describe him.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Ken refuses Hoshi's request to see his "Charging Go" because Ken considers it unacceptable even among friends, but Hoshi tells him that it doesn't matter because he took him to where no one can see. It results in an Accidental Innuendo-induced HoYay because most Japanese audience [[{{Mondegreen}} mishear]] "Charging Go", "''tomodachi'' (friend)", and "''Boku zettai shaberanai yo'' (I won't talk about it to anybody)" as "''Charging Bō'' (Charging Stick)", "''homodachi'' (homosexuals)", and "''Boku zettai shaburanai yo'' (I won't suck it)" respectively.

* UglyCute: The Juralians, as there is something oddly charming about their design, and due to how unintentionally psychopathic Ken comes across, and how not all of them are shown to be evil can make them quite sympathetic. [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/chargeman-ken/images/c/ce/Oinfiodfn.png There's also a downright endearing shot of one with the killer butterflies perched all over it's body]].

* FridgeHorror: [[{{Fridge/Chargeman Ken}} Seen here]].
* FriendlyFandoms: Crossovers with {{VideoGame/Touhou}} are so common that they have their own tag on Website/NicoNicoDouga, 東方充電男[[note]](Touhou Juuden Otoko, including a BlindIdiotTranslation of Chargeman into "Electric Charge Boy")[[/note]], with nearly 600 videos.

* DesignatedHero: Ken, which is part of why the show is so hilarious. He basically goes around doing horrendous and needlessly cruel things and gets no reprimand or punishment. It's almost like he does stuff like that so often that no one is surprised by it anymore.

* FridgeHorror: [[{{Fridge/Chargeman Ken}} Seen here.]]

* HoYay: Hoshi and Ken in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2zxWiGCHx4&feature=related fourth episode]]. [[spoiler:This becomes irrelevant when Hoshi is revealed to be a Jural.]]