History YMMV / Gorillaz

** Is 2D an IdiotSavant, or an intelligent young man whose mind was destroyed by severe head trauma and constant pain killer usage.

* MisaimedMarketing: The 20th anniversary reissue of the band's debut album in 2021 ''really'' didn't sit well with fans [[https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-celebrate-20-years-of-their-self-titled-debut-album-2908720 due to its bundle advertising NFT art collectibles]]. While it's unknown exactly whose idea it was, fans blasted the support of [=NFTs=] given [[https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22328203/nft-cryptoart-ethereum-blockchain-climate-change the increased awareness of their negative impact on the environment]], especially hypocritical given that the band made [[Music/PlasticBeach an entire album]] [[UnderminedByReality centered around and bringing awareness toward ecological destruction]].

** Octavian's feature on the ''Song Machine'' track "Friday 13th" is a lot more harshly ironic as during November 2020 (and just before its own [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Friday the 13th]]), he came under heavy fire from domestic abuse allegations, [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor which were so damning that he was dropped by his record label and management, effectively ending his career]].

** Octavian's feature on the ''Song Machine'' track "Friday 13th" is a lot more harshly ironic as during November 2020 (and just before its own [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Friday the 13th]]), he came under heavy fire from domestic abuse allegations, [[RoleEndingMisdemanor which were so damning that he was dropped by his record label and management, effectively ending his career]].

** The lyric "The sea is radioactive" from "Superfast Jellyfish" became a lot harsher in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, in which the Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered a partial meltdown, sparking fears that the ''entire sea'' could be irradiated by waste leaking out of it.[[note]]This did not come to pass, but still.[[/note]]

---> Person: What genre is Gorillaz?
---> Me: [[MathematiciansAnswer Yes.]]

* NoYay: For a few fans, shipping any of the characters together leads to a number of problems: Murdoc seems to be incapable of having a healthy, non-abusive relationship with anyone, Noodle is over a decade younger than even the group's second-youngest member, having joined the band at the age of ''eight,'' and even now that she's older the thought of her in a romantic relationship with another band member still [[Main/{{Squick}} squicks]] some fans out, and the only remaining possible ship, 2D and Russel, barely interact, let alone in a romantic sense. Not to mention 2-D's [[IdiotSavant highly-suspect mental capacity...]]
* ReplacementScrappy: EMI lost a lot of the fans' esteem when the originally-intended, storyboarded and plot-advancing music video for "Rhinestone Eyes" was cancelled in favor of "Doncamatic".

* TearJerker: They now have [[TearJerker/{{Gorillaz}} their own tearjerker page]].

** With ''Plastic Beach''[='=]s main concept and message being about environmentalism and scorning excess consumerism, the band's announcement in early 2021 that they would be releasing [=NFTs=], known for being unhealthy for the environment, was taken by many fans as destroying or going back on what they preached initially. Thankfully, Jamie confirmed that they're not releasing NFTs after all.

** Is 2D an IdiotSavant, or an intelligent young man whose mind was destroyed by severe head trauma and constant pain killer usage?

** With ''Plastic Beach''[='=]s main concept and message being about environmentalism and scorning excess consumerism, the band's announcement in early 2021 that they would be releasing [=NFTs=], known for being unhealthy for the environment, was taken by many fans as destroying or going back on what they preached initially.

** ''Demon Days'' includes a collab with Music/{{MFDOOM}} entitled "November Has Come". MF DOOM died on October 31st, 2020 - the day before November.
** The lyric, "The sea is radioactive", from "Superfast Jellyfish" on ''Plastic Beach'' became a lot harsher in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, in which the Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered a partial meltdown, sparking fears that the ''entire sea'' could be irradiated by waste leaking out of it.[[note]]This did not come to pass, but still.[[/note]]
** The album Plastic Beach's main messages are about environmentalism and scorning excess consumerism. However, in the video "The Lost Chord", Plastic Beach is destroyed. Come 2021, the band ends up releasing [=NFTs=], known for being unhealthy for the environment. Fans have seen this as a metaphor for destroying or going back on what they preached initially.
** In the MTV Cribs episode, Murdoc sees graffiti left by Dennis Hopper insulting him and he says "I'll get him." In 2010, Dennis Hopper died.

** The album Plastic Beach's main messages are about envioronmentalism and scorning excess consumerism. However, in the video "The Lost Chord", Plastic Beach is destroyed. Come 2021, the band ends up releasing NFTs, known for being unhealthy for the envioronment. Fans have seen this as a metaphor for destroying or going back on what they preached initially.

** Ace's time as Murdoch's replacement show him as a much more stable person compared to his teenage self. Does this mean that the rest of the Gangrene Gang have ''also'' matured in their adulthood? Or are they still trouble-making thugs?

* {{Mondegreen}}:
** "''Are we the last lemon soles?''"
** "''You've got depression on you...''"
** "''Make up something to say no to...''"

* MisaimedMarketing: The 20th anniversary reissue of the band's debut album in 2021 ''really'' didn't sit well with fans [[https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-celebrate-20-years-of-their-self-titled-debut-album-2908720 due to its bundle advertising NFT art collectibles]]. While it's unknown exactly whose idea it was, fans blasted the support of [=NFTs=] given [[https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22328203/nft-cryptoart-ethereum-blockchain-climate-change the increased awareness of their negative impact on the environment]], especially hypocritical given that the band made [[Music/PlasticBeach an entire album centered around and bringing awareness toward ecological destruction]].

* MisaimedMarketing: The 20th anniversary reissue of the band's debut album in 2021 ''really'' didn't sit well with fans [[https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-celebrate-20-years-of-their-self-titled-debut-album-2908720 due to its bundle advertising NFT art collectibles]]. While it's unknown exactly whose idea it was, fans blasted the support of [=NFTs=] given [[https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22328203/nft-cryptoart-ethereum-blockchain-climate-change the increased awareness of their negative impact on the environment]], especially hypocritical given that the band made [[Music/PlasticBeach an entire album bringing awareness to ecological destruction]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Murdoc became one of these during Phase 3. While he was always a character fans were meant to LoveToHate, his increasingly heinous crimes, KarmaHoudini status and [[SpotlightStealingSquad tendency to dominate the vast majority of screen time across the phase]] made a sizable chunk of fans become sick of him. Still, he remains a beloved part of the group with most others.

** 6LACK's verses in ''The Pink Phantom'' off Song Machine Season 1 are either thematically relevant with good flow that just contributes to the song's overall surreal feeling, or they're overproduced and hinder/ruin the song. It doesn't help that most, even the people who like 6LACK's verses, agree they are weakest part of the track.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Quite a few fanfictions either downplay or completely subvert the negative aspects of Murdoc's personality, usually for the sake of shipping.

* FanonDiscontinuity: ''The Fall'' is not considered an official part of the Gorillaz "canon", as it was largely just Damon Albarn [[{{Pun}} noodling]] around with various music apps on his iPad with no specific attention paid to the band's mythology.

* FountainOfMemes: The "Saturnz Barz" video.

* ViewerGenderConfusion:
** About a quarter of the comments on some Website/YouTube copies of the "DARE" video are people asking if Noodle is a boy or a girl, and another quarter are people telling the aforementioned that she's female, with varying levels of politeness. She was even more ambiguous in Phase 1, before she reached puberty. In Phase 3, she wears a much more feminine ensemble -- a dress, stockings and lipstick -- and Cyborg Noodle wears belly shirts and hot pants, so presumably that'll stop now.
** [[https://youtu.be/hMqe-9fwYeI Listen to "Doncamatic"]] without looking at the comments. Good? Now read the note. [[note]]The singer is a guy.[[/note]]

** After ''Humanz'' [[BrokenBase polarized fans and critics alike]] -- one of its bigger criticisms being how it was less about the band itself and more like Damon Albarn just collaborating with whichever artists he could find -- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzJGWAfmBco "Sleeping Powder"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44GmrCQezBU&t=18s was made specifically as a direct response to it,]] being a very 2D-oriented song based on his drug addiction. The reaction to it has been very positive, with many fans finding it better than most songs off of ''Humanz'' as a result.
** ''The Now Now'' [[https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/6653051/gorillazs-damon-albarn-new-album-the-now-now/ was specifically made to address the overfocus on featuring artists from their last album]], instead becoming much more oriented on 2D and the band itself. Hits like "Humility" and its music video, as well as the strange but entertaining inclusion of [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Ace]], have made many fans regain confidence in the band once again.

* NoYay: For a few fans, shipping any of the characters together leads to a number of problems: Murdoc seems to be incapable of having a healthy, non-abusive relationship with anyone, Noodle is over a decade younger than even the group's second-youngest member, having joined the band at the age of ''eight,'' and even now that she's older the thought of her in a romantic relationship with another band member still [[Main/{{Squick}} squicks]] some fans out, and the only remaining possible ship, 2D and Russel, barely interact, let alone in a romantic sense. Not to mention [[IdiotSavant 2-D's]] highly-suspect mental capacity and Russel's bad mental state during the earlier Phases...

* NoYay: For a few fans, shipping any of the characters together leads to a number of problems: Murdoc seems to be incapable of having a healthy, non-abusive relationship with anyone, Noodle is over a decade younger than even the group's second-youngest member, and the only remaining possible ship, 2D and Russel, barely interact, let alone in a romantic sense.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: ZigZagged. On the one hand, a minority of well-intentioned parents have brought their children to see their live shows, unaware that this "cartoon" band has several songs about death and violence, and the fictional characters who make them up include oversexed psychopath Murdoc. To say nothing of the violence and sexual content of their videos (Murdoc's [[FanDisservice "bass shagging"]] in "Feel Good Inc." and attempted animal abuse in "19-2000"). On the other hand, the band's inherently gloomy visual style tends to be a good tip off that they aren't child-friendly. More importantly, the concept of the cartoon characters being the actual band has been respected by both music journalists and MTV, who even gave Murdoc his own episode of ''Cribs''.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Being band that consists of [[AnimatedActors animated music stars]], it's only inevitable that a large chunk of their music videos would feature top-notch animation, especially with the MediumBlending consisting of fluid 2D animation, [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects photorealistic 3D animation]], and [[RogerRabbitEffect live-action]]. Standouts include "Clint Eastwood", "Feel Good Inc.", "On Melancholy Hill", and "Humility".

** "Clint Eastwood" and "Feel Good Inc." are tied for the band as a whole.
** "Dirty Harry" from ''Music/DemonDays'' blends many of the attributes for which the band are famed.
** "Demon Days", the title track of ''Music/DemonDays'', is a signature tune which closes most of Gorillaz's live performances, stating Noodle's philosophy for the band and the world around them.

** "Désolé" from ''Song Machine''.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: ZigZagged. On the one hand, a minority of well-intentioned parents have brought their children to see their live shows, unaware that this "cartoon" band has several songs about death and violence, and the fictional characters who make them up include oversexed psychopath Murdoc. To say nothing of the violence and sexual content of their videos (Murdoc's "bass shagging" in "Feel Good Inc." and attempted animal abuse in "19-2000"). On the other hand, the band's inherently gloomy visual style tends to be a good tip off that they aren't child-friendly. More importantly, the concept of the cartoon characters being the actual band has been respected by both music journalists and MTV, who even gave Murdoc his own episode of ''Cribs''.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** "Hallelujah Money" is an extremely politically-charged song, as it was released on the day before Donald Trump's inauguration.
** "The Lost Chord" uses the backdrop of [[AbortedArc Plastic Beach]] getting destroyed as a metaphor for moving beyond the past no matter how painful and lingering its effects may seem to be. Like "Hallelujah Money", it was released at the end of 2020; an infamously difficult year worldwide.

* {{Fanon}}: Cyborg Noodle is never said to have been based on the real Noodle's appearance as a teen at any point, and is in fact shown to be nearly identical to an adult Noodle in the few pictures where they appear together. Despite this, you'd be hard-pressed to find any fanfiction that ''doesn't'' claim this to be true, simply because it avoids dealing with the the FridgeLogic of how Murdoc (the Cyborg's creator) would know what Noodle would look like as an adult despite last seeing her as a young teen.

*** For a brief period in 2018, "Feel Good Inc" itself became a meme in the same vein as "[[Music/SmashMouth All Star]]" and "[[Series/LazyTown We are Number One.]]" And nobody knows why.