History YMMV / Redwall

** Whether or not a certain character (mainly Vitch from ''Mattimeo'') or one of the villains (e.g. Slagar and/or Cluny) [[HesJustHiding actually survived their deaths]] is a popular candidate for fanfictions.

** In the original book, Matthias tells Warbeak and Log-a-Log "It's do or die now!" as they set off to retake Redwall from Cluny. [[spoiler: In ''Mattimeo'', both of the characters he's talking to die]].

* RootingForTheEmpire: Let's face it, we've all rooted for at least one villain to win ''somewhere'' in the series, whether it's because they're just plain [[EvilIsCool cooler]] than the goodbeasts, have a lot more personality than the relatively vanilla protagonists, just to have a change from the norm, or if you're simply a fan of mustelids, vulpines, and/or felines. Or some combination thereof.

** Matthias tells Warbeak and Log-a-Log "It's do or die now!" as they set off to retake Redwall from Cluny. [[spoiler: In ''Mattimeo'', both of the characters he's talking to die]].

** Matthias tells Warbeak and Log-a-Log "It's do or die now!" as they set off to retake Redwall from Cluny. [[spoiler: In "Mattimeo", both of the characters he's talking to die]].

* HarsherInHindsight: The line near the start of ''Outcast'' about [[spoiler: Skarlath leaving his nest "never to return"]] sure comes off harsher on a re-read. His fate is also foreshadowed in the line [[spoiler: about him being "shot like an arrow" into the forest]].

* EnsembleDarkHorse:
** In the earlier books when the supporting villains (e.g. Redtooth and Cheesethief from ''Redwall'') got character development, many of them ended up popular with fans.
** Surprisingly brave and dignified PhantomThief Shadow is more of the most popular of Cluny's horde in the first book despite only appearing in a few chapters.
** Warbeak is one of the most colorful characters in the original book despite actually getting little focus (she's only there for a single story arc halfway through, then she comes back for the final battle). She gets enough love from fans that you'd think she was one of the main characters. She gets an expanded role in the TV series and comes back in ''Mattimeo'', [[spoiler: where she tragically dies saving everyone else.]]
** Romsca is extremely popular for being a ''very'' rare case of a character who is part of an [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "evil" species]] to pull a HeelFaceTurn. She rises above the popularity of even that small group for suffering no BadassDecay whatsoever while doing it. She is a tough PirateGirl captain assigned as a Co-Dragon with Lask Frildur to bring the Abbott to Ublaz. However, due to [[OddFriendship forming a genuine bond with the Abbott]] and already having a case of TeethClenchedTeamwork with Lask Frildur anyway, she ultimately turns on Lask (and by extension the BigBad Ublaz) to protect her new friend, and pulls off a MutualKill while doing so. In her dying moments, she asks for the Abbott's blessing, which she is given, earning her forgiveness both by the readers and the characters InUniverse (the latter of which almost ''never'' happens, best seen by the [[UngratefulBastard Redwallers' reaction to Veil's]] HeroicSacrifice). Overall, she's the perfect combination of EvilIsCool, ActionGirl, and for those with an appreciation for open-mindedness, a great example of why the FantasticRacism of Redwall isn't always right.
** Rasconza, simply for being a ManipulativeBastard who managed to outsmart [[SmugSnake Ublaz]] on multiple occasions.
** General Ironbeak and Korvus Skurr for being two of the few major bird villains in the series.
** Vallug Bowbeast and his team of vermin from ''Taggerung''. This does ''not'' include Gruven.
** Plugg Firetail is one of the few characters from ''Triss'' that everyone agrees to like, due to his charismatic AffablyEvil characterization and being a rare BenevolentBoss among villains.
** The [[FanNickname Adder Triplets]] from Triss are also very popular, most likely for their HeroKiller status, for being far less annoying and far more badass compared to [[DirtyCoward Princess]] [[SmugSnake Kurda]], [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie and for being three adders tied together like a hydra]].
** Notice how often Blaggut from ''The Bellmaker'' has been mentioned? He wormed his way into the hearts of readers for being one of the few vermin to [[spoiler: do a full HeelFaceTurn and [[EarnYourHappyEnding Earn His Happy Ending]] in doing do.]]
** Dingeye and Thura from ''Salamandastron''. Many of the fans love their {{Adorkable}}-ness.

** Mostly residing in ''Triss.'' It is far easier to say that the only characters who ''aren't'' Scrappies are Plugg Firetail, Drufo, Shogg, the adders, and all of the MauveShirt Freebooters like Grubbage and Slitfang. A breakdown of the Scrappies in this book and the flak directed at them: The Pure Ferrets (barring the late [[TooCoolToLive Sarengo]]) are {{Dirty Coward}}s that come off as pathetic even compared to other cowardly villains in the series, Triss is a boring excuse of a female protagonist [[ReplacementScrappy that wasn't written nearly as well as the iconic Mariel]], Scarum is a selfish, gluttonous jerk that never shuts up about food and [[TheMillstone is more of a hindrance than anything]], and Sagax has [[FlatCharacter no personality to speak of]].

** Emperor Ublaz “Mad Eyes” isn't just a typical ''Redwall'' [[TheCaligula insane villain]]; he's a victim of ThePeterPrinciple. His flamboyant sense of personal style, ruthless willingness to betray anyone and to use terror to keep his underlings in line served him well as a pirate captain, and complemented his genuine mastery with a sword and hypnotic powers, allowing him to claim the island of Sampetra as his home base and the army of weak-willed monitor lizards living there as his unstoppable muscle. But then he tried to set himself up as a warlord instead of a "mere" pirate captain, and these same strategies and qualities quickly destroy his handful of genuinely loyal men and turn all of his minions against him. Even his obsession with style and looks seals his doom, since it drives him to burn more resources than he ought on the Tears of All Oceans.

* EvilIsSexy: The animated versions of Badrang the Tyrant and Slagar the Cruel have gained this reputation in the furry community. With Badrang, it’s due to his [[AdaptationalCurves more muscular physique]], and with Slagar, it’s due to having the voice of Creator/TimCurry.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Quite a few books in the series have been criticized for having [[TrappedByMountainLions largely irrelevant subplots]]. This trend got its start as early as the third book, ''Mattimeo'', which had a secondary plotline about General Ironbeak trying to conquer Redwall Abbey that had little, if any, impact on the main plot concerning the pursuit of Slagar the Cruel. At the time, this was largely accepted, as Ironbeak and his minions were memorable villains and his side plot gave the characters staying at the Abbey a lot to do (most notably Cornflower's scheme to demoralize Ironbeak's troops by pretending to be Martin's ghost). Most later cases of this weren't as compelling to read, however, resulting in them being derided as only existing to meet a page count.
** Likewise, the complaint of Dibbuns taking center stage and causing problems for the characters by being TheLoad was a plot point that started as early as the second book Mossflower when Ferdy and Coggs get kidnapped by Tsarmina and have to be rescued. In the early books this was tolerated mainly because the presence of the baby animals was kept to a minimum and they also contributed what they could to the plot, such as Baby Rollo actually being a big help in solving the riddles in Mattimeo or three Dibbuns slicing the ropes of the sea rats trying to ascend the walls of Redwall with sharp knives in what they think is a fun game in Mariel of Redwall. The problems started in the later books where most of the time the Dibbuns are there just to be a pain in the ass and obnoxious with their cutesy-wootsy antics, causing headaches and trouble for those watching over them or to be captured by the villains causing a rescue needing to be staged that would have been wholly unnecessary if the little brats just stayed put and did as they were told in the first place. A blatant example is Dwopple in Marlfox, who spends his entire screentime being a malicious brat causing trouble. When he gets captured by the Marlfoxes, he indirectly gets ''three'' named characters killed because they're trying to rescue him, something that didn't need to happen if he hadn't acted like an idiot child to begin with.

* FandomSpecificPlot: You’ll be hard-pressed to find many fanfics that ''don’t'' deconstruct the books’ GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals BlackAndWhiteMorality (with varying degrees of success), usually by showing that the vermins’ villainous nature is (at least partially) the result of FantasticRacism, fueled by the woodlanders being [[NobleBigot Noble Bigots]] ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity though some might not be noble at all]]).

*** To an extent, this is also in a way, the [[ WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids opposite trope]]. The usage of anthropomorphic animals may be unique and adds a charm to the books, but this also creates the impression that the target audience is much younger than it actually is.

** Lord Stonepaw and Brocktree were using incense that could be mistaken for a GRatedDrug. Incense is not classified as a drug but is a fragrance used for relaxation, meditation and spiritual purposes.

** Martin is TheWoobie of all woobies. To start off, when he was only a babe, his mother, Sayna, was killed by Vilu Daskar [[ForTheEvulz for shits and giggles]]. A few years later, Luke left his son in the paws of Windred, Martin's grandmother, so Luke could go kill Daskar. Even though Martin wanted to go along, Luke told him to stay behind, promising he'd return [[spoiler:(and we all know how that [[TakingYouWithMe turned]] [[HeroicSacrifice out)]]]]. Later on, Martin and Windred get captured by Badrang and his tyrants (again, for shits and giggles) and during the trip to Fort Marshank, Windred dies. Martin spends several seasons as a slave to Badrang and his tyrants, until one day he manages to get free and slowly develop feelings towards a mouse named Rose. Eventually, the two gather up an army of their own and assault Fort Marshank, but just when Martin is about to kill Badrang, Badrang [[spoiler:kills Rose]]. Afterwards, Martin goes through a HeroicBSOD and stays silent for several days; the only time he even bothers walking is so he can head into the forest to go cry. And then, [[spoiler:Martin decides to leave all his friends behind, and to never mention them, Rose, or her home Noonvale again so he can keep their memories and happiness locked away in his heart.]] After that he roams the land, until one winter, he's captured by Tsarmina's forces, [[spoiler:has his sword snapped in half]], and is then promptly held prisoner ''for the entire season''. If it hadn't been for Gonff showing up, Martin would've died. Going on a quest to find Boar the Fighter, and finding in him a rare kindred spirit, [[spoiler: Boar goes to his death not days later]]. Badly wounded in his battle with Tsarmina he survives only by the skin of his teeth, before journeying to the coast and learning what became of his father. Even after hanging up his sword he is stated to never find true happiness, dying without ever knowing a wife or children... Talk about BreakTheCutie...

* ToyShip: Canon example - WordOfGod is that Matthias and Cornflower were about thirteen during the ''Redwall'' time period, and they married at the end of the book. And had a kid by sixteen, probably a season earlier.

** Much less funny version during Mariel's capture scene; the searats grab her, call her "pretty", and then do ''something'' which she can't even describe because it causes a panic attack. Context suggests they were throwing her friends overboard since one makes a remark about "feeding the fishes", but certain readers have wondered if that line may be, excuse the pun, a red herring.

** Martin and Sunflash in particular- their lives weren't happy.
** Brome makes it out okay, but he has to live with [[spoiler: the deaths of both Felldoh and Rose]], combined with being generally traumatized by everything he's been through.

** General Ironbeak from Mattimeo is the fiercest fighter in all the northlands, and [[CleverCrows also incredibly clever]]. To the point that of all Redwall villains, he’s come the closest to capturing the abbey.

** Zwilt the Shade from ''The Sable Quean'', is one of the most fondly remembered villains of the series' later run for being a cool, cunning sable who also manages to put up a legitimate fight in comparison to the legion of villains in the series who serve as an AntiClimaxBoss (or suffer DeathByFallingOver -- [[spoiler:including the titular Sable Quean herself, who trips and falls on her own poisoned dagger.)]]

** From the same book and TV season is General Ironbeak, who is one of (if not) the best examples of the FeatheredFiend trope. Wayne Best’s performance for him in the TV series is particularly memorable.

** This was the reason why ''Outcast of Redwall'' and ''Taggerung'' got so much flak. Both novels introduced a new plot that involved making the main character different from the standard formula (Veil was intended to be an AntiHero, and Tagg an AntiVillain, or vice versa), but after much anticipation of reading something new and creative, Tagg, [[AlwaysLawfulGood an otter]], ends up being good, and Veil, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil a ferret]], ends up being bad, and no one cares about him even after [[spoiler:he sacrifices his life ''to save his adoptive mother''.]] To make Veil's case particularly damning, the previous book ''The Bellmaker'' had ''two'' vermin characters that did break the vermin species' AlwaysChaoticEvil mold and were both well-liked for it, making his plot come off as massively disappointing.

** This was the reason why ''Outcast of Redwall'' and ''Taggerung'' got so much flak. Both novels introduced a new plot that involved making the main character different from the standard formula (Veil was intended to be an AntiHero, and Tagg an AntiVillain, or vice versa), but after much anticipation of reading something new and creative, Tagg, [[AlwaysLawfulGood an otter]], ends up being good, and Veil, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil a ferret]], ends up being bad, and no one cares about him even after [[spoiler:he sacrifices his life ''to save his adoptive mother''.]]