History YMMV / Medabots

* {{Sequelitis}}: The brief hiatus during the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS era was a result of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor being saturated with ''Medarot'' games, followed by a number of questionable spinoffs: ''Medarot Navi'' with its battle changes, fighting game spinoff ''VideoGame/MedabotsAXMetabeeAndRokusho'', the near-universally-disliked ''Medabots Infinity'', a [[VideoGame/MedabotsMetabeeAndRokusho remake]] of ''Medarot 2'' that was largely [[RemadeForTheExport intended for international audiences]] and was otherwise old hat, and finally the extremely divisive ''Shingata Medarot''.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The [[ArtShiftedSequel artstyle change]] for ''Shingata Medarot'' did not go over well with hardcore fans. Given that everyone else was sick of the nonstop ''Medarot'' games at that point, ''Shingata Medarot'' ended up with an UncertainAudience and was the final straw for the series until ''Medarot DS''.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Adding {{Fanservice}} to ''Medarot Girls Mission'' didn't really make the fans happy, since previous entries didn't rely on that.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Many fans either ignore ''Spirits'' or they just see it as a ''separate'' [[{{Retool}} retooled]] series. This is because ''Spirits'' only acknowledges the events after the Robattle Tournament, ''not'' beyond it (such as Dr. Meta-Evil manning a gigantic Medabot during the climatic battles, [[spoiler:and the concept of "Ten Days of Darkness"]]), familiar faces from the first show are absent (Koji, Karin, Hikaru/Phantom Renegade, the Rubber-Robo Gang, etc.), and the sudden implementation of the "Ammo system" (a concept which is non-existent prior).

* FanonDiscontinuity: Many fans either ignore ''Spirits'' or they just see it as a ''separate'' [[{{Retool}} retooled]] series.

* FirstInstallmentWins: This anime, and the games and mangas it adapts, is the most popular and known part of the franchise (helped by the fact that in several countries, the anime was the only installment of the franchise distributed). ''Spirits'' and ''Girls Mission'' are commonly subjected to FanonDiscontinuity.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The brief hiatus during the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS era was a result of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor being saturated with ''Medarot'' games, followed by a number of questionable spinoffs: ''Medarot Navi'' with its battle changes, fighting game spinoff ''VideoGame/MedabotsAXMetabeeAndRokusho'', the near-universally-disliked ''Medabots Infinity'', a [[VideoGame/MedabotsMetabeeAndRokusho remake]] of ''Medarot 2'' that was largely [[RemadeForTheExport intended for international audiences]] and was otherwise [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny old hat]], and finally the extremely divisive ''Shingata Medarot''.

!!''Girls Mission''
* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The game suffers from this; to begin with, it wasn't made for children even though [[AudienceShift it was part of a series whose past entries were relatively kid-friendly]]. That alone might not have done it in, but those who were on board with that were turned off from the game by its {{Fanservice}} elements; mainly, the fact that ClothingDamage is used as a ''game mechanic''. Not to mention those who enjoy works with {{Fanservice}} were likely looking elsewhere for their fix.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Many don't know of ''Girls Mission'', but those who do ignore it to an even greater extent than they did with ''Spirits''.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: ''Medarot Girls Mission'' is a game with a largely female cast [[AudienceShift made for an older audience]]. Some fans felt that wasn't a bad idea on its own, but using ClothingDamage as a game mechanic, among other {{Fanservice}} elements, turned many people away from the game.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: ''Medarot: Girls Mission'' was not made with children in mind, [[ClothingDamage and it shows]].

* TearJerker:
** There is one heartrending episode in the anime that stands out. [[spoiler: Fossilkat, a Medabot villain, was once her master’s best friend and soulmate. But her master grew up and tried doing other things; Fossilkat took this to mean she had been discarded like a toy, and ran away. She ended up in a graveyard of discarded Medabots, and over time she took control of them and set out to lead a rebellion on humanity. However, during her rampage, she learns that her master had been permanently heartbroken by her running off. She ceases her rampage, in sheer grief and horror over what has happened. Thankfully, she finds another master to be with.]]
** There's also Metabee's dream from episode 51, when it starts Metabee finds himself in an idyllic civilization of Medabots, then progresses to see the Medabots succumb to war. When Ikki enters the dream he finds Metabee holding the lifeless form of his only friend sat under his favorite tree in full HeroicBSOD.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Black Beetle is pretty much the ''only'' character from ''Spirits'' that is accepted or liked for several reasons: her cool design, being an EvilCounterpart of sorts to Metabee, and her somewhat interesting backstory.

* CultClassic: Though still obscure, the anime is surprisingly well remembered by those growing up during the 2000s, some of which consider it a hidden pleasure of the period. It helps that, despite being a parody of the {{Mons}}/MerchandiseDriven anime of the time, ''Medabots'' was still a strong series in terms of character development and arcs, things that are not common in that genre.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** The Tenryou family in the anime is actually quite different from the games. In the original games, for example, Chidori is rather stern with Ikki, enough to surprise anyone who only knows her through the anime, though in Medarot 4, her personality was retconned to be the same as her anime counterpart.
** Somebody on the writing staff for ''Spirits'' apparently forgot to watch the original anime, as Mr. Tenryou is explicitly shown to have a desk job for some corporation... in blatant contrast to [[{{Spoiler}} his work]] in the original show.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: ''Medarot Girls Mission'' suffers from this; to begin with, it wasn't made for children even though [[AudienceShift it was part of a series whose past entries were relatively kid-friendly]]. That alone might not have done it in, but those who were on board with that were turned off from the game by its {{Fanservice}} elements; mainly, the fact that ClothingDamage is used as a ''game mechanic''. Not to mention those who enjoy works with {{Fanservice}} were likely looking elsewhere for their fix.

** Black Beetle is pretty much the ''only'' character from ''Spirits'' that is accepted or liked for several reasons: her cool design, being an EvilCounterpart of sorts to Metabee, and her somewhat interesting backstory.

* FanonDiscontinuity:
** Many fans either ignore ''Spirits'' or they just see it as a ''separate'' [[{{Retool}} retooled]] series.
** Many don't know of ''Girls Mission'', but those who do ignore it to an even greater extent than they did with ''Spirits''.
* HarsherInHindsight: In the first episode, Henry tries to help Ikki out by selling him Medabots parts that are actually in his price range, which basically amount to a dusty box of untouched Metabee armor parts. In a stunning display of ingratitude, Ikki and Erika laugh at him for suggesting such lame and old parts, and for a moment you can see Henry trembling. [[spoiler: Henry once had a Metabee as his own partner, but he died prior to the events of the series. Those are his old Metabee's parts ''in that box'']].

** In ''Spirits'' Kilobot users tend to cheat by transferring parts midbattle. This can now actually be done in ''Medarot 9'' as a new feture called trans parts which allows a robattler to transfer a part to their leader once per battle.

* SeasonalRot: ''Spirits'' fails hard when it is compared to the original anime... especially in regards to its pacing. The original managed to insert a lot of plot and character subplots in few episodes, and yet never felt (too) rushed. ''Spirits'', on the other hand, stuck with a single plotline (Kam's) through its entire run, and suffered dearly for it, as episodes had to constantly [[StatusQuoIsGod reinforce the status quo]] to stop the plotline from ending, thus advancing the plot ever so slowly for its 39 episodes. The exclusion of most of the original cast helped to make that more apparent -- with less characters, episodes had to focus exclusively on Ikki, Erika and, sometimes, new character Zuru, making stories less varied. ''Spirits'' did away with the first series' strengths, and played up its weaknesses.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Nothing is explained about Metabee's medal from the time before Phantom Renegade dropped it in the river. It was clearly being delivered between parties in a way that suggested grave importance and secrecy and the Rubberrobo Gang saw fit to ''kill the deliveryman'', but no details ever come forth.
** ''Medarot Girls Mission'' is a game with a largely female cast [[AudienceShift made for an older audience]]. Some fans felt that wasn't a bad idea on its own, but using ClothingDamage as a game mechanic, among other {{Fanservice}} elements, turned many people away from the game.

* ViewerGenderConfusion:
** If she hadn't had such a feminine voice, it would have been hard to tell that ''Spirits'' Black Beetle is a female-frame Medabot. Hell, the Latin American dub even [[ShesAManInJapan turned her into a guy]]. It's '''that''' confusing.
** Ikki for his very girly voice, name that rhymes with "Nikki" and a topknot hairstyle. It doesn't help that there is at least one scene that involves him crossdressing.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: ''Medarot: Girls Mission'' was not made with children in mind, [[ClothingDamage and it shows]].

* FanonDiscontinuity: Many fans either ignore ''Spirits'' or they just see it as a ''separate'' [[{{Retool}} retooled]] series.

* TearJerker: There is one heartrending episode in the anime that stands out. [[spoiler: Fossilkat, a Medabot villain, was once her master’s best friend and soulmate. But her master grew up and tried doing other things; Fossilkat took this to mean she had been discarded like a toy, and ran away. She ended up in a graveyard of discarded Medabots, and over time she took control of them and set out to lead a rebellion on humanity. However, during her rampage, she learns that her master had been permanently heartbroken by her running off. She ceases her rampage, in sheer grief and horror over what has happened. Thankfully, she finds another master to be with.]]

* ValuesDissonance: In "Phantom Renegade: Unmasked" (season 1, episode 11), [[{{Paparazzi}} Seamus [=McRaker=]]] slanders Ikki because he believes Ikki is the Phantom Renegade. At the end of the episode, Ikki defeats Seamus in a Robattle and Erika publishes an article that [[ClearMyName clears Ikki's name]] but Seamus faces no legal comeuppance for slandering a child. What makes things even more stupid is that everyone believes Seamus' stories without giving Ikki the opportunity to explain himself. In fact, everyone ignores that Ikki is a kid while the Phantom Renegade has been proven to be an adult. AdultsAreUseless, indeed. The whole episode operates on RuleOfFunny.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The premise of the anime series at first could have gotten the attention of the kids who watched the series back in the day. However, it took several layers of building up the story, with its dark elements (the "Ten Days of Darkness" events, for example) that you could really question yourself about its kids demography... something that became superlative from other similar {{Mon}} series out there in the earlier 2000s.
** WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: ''Medarot: Girls Mission'' was not made with children in mind, [[ClothingDamage and it shows]].