Line #19 YMMV/WorldTrigger


1	* AbandonShipping: Downplayed, as they were never a prominent ship, but fans who assumed Osamu and Chika would by default be an OfficialCouple eventually faded out. The introduction of Ema--whose canonical crush and chemistry with Chika have made them by far each other's most popular pairing--was pretty much the final nail in the coffin.
2	* {{Adorkable}}:
3	** Osamu, who's a little awkward, constantly nervous, and not all that impressive. Very sweet and endearing, though, and easily gets along with just about anyone.
4	** Ikoma, who's silly in an endearing way, such as learning to play the guitar because he thinks it'll impress girls, and if not, then thinking about taking up cooking next.
5	*** During the Sealed-Environment Phase, it's revealed that he's become a SupremeChef after Jin told him it'd be a good way to impress girls.
6	** Kitora has her moments, such as being hilariously crushed when Futaba treats her coldly.
7	* ArcFatigue: While the rank battles are quite interesting, there's a lot of rank battles. The rank battle arc takes over 100 chapters to complete, which is longer than every other previous arc combined! Even if it can be engaging, it can make waiting for the story to get moving again somewhat tiresome.
8	* AwesomeEgo:
9	** Jin is the self-proclaimed [[TheAce Talented Elite]], but you won't find anyone who disagrees with that assessment, in-universe or out of it.
10	** As Jin's rival, [[MasterSwordsman Tachikawa]] is one of the best in Border and he knows it, with his casual confidence making for a number of memorable moments.
11	** Konami's confidence and her being an ActionGirl who can back it up have made her one of the most popular characters in the series, going by popularity polls.
12	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
13	** The anime's first opening, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfGHc-BeGDM GIRIGIRI]] by Sonar Pocket, is ''very'' catchy, as is the second opening, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5RfjyVhEWU Ashita no Hikari]] by AAA.
14	** The second and third seasons don't disappoint either, introducing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFWxOjfgUMk Force]] by TOMORROW x TOGETHER in Season 2 and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWAjOtkFUA Time Factor]] by Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjgywZJvCog Ungai Doukei]] by FantasticYouth.
15	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOinaN2-uHw Climax]] is the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin climactic]] and fitting track that plays during Tamakoma 2's final assault on Ninomiya's Squad at the end of Round 8. The music comes to an abrupt halt when Osamu's attack misses, but it resumes in full force the moment [[spoiler: the shot [[TrickBullet finally hits its mark]].]]
16	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Osamu's fans love him for his [[ClassicalAntiHero Classical Anti-Hero]] and earnest {{Determinator}} tendencies, as well as his being a very strong and respectable example of an underdog protagonist. [[NotBadassEnoughForFans However, he has a lot of haters as well for the very same reason]].
17	* CaptainObviousReveal: Yuma being a Neighbor, since his white-haired design and personality is so distinct from everyone, already making him alien-like. Even more so with the fact that he has a Trigger and Osamu considers that he might be a Border Agent, but that they'd never hire a guy like him.
18	* EnsembleDarkhorse: While the main characters are very popular themselves, there was bound to be plenty of these when you have a large cast.
19	** [[ActionGirl Kirie Konami]] was ranked 3rd place in the first poll[[note]]4th excluding multiple votes[[/note]] despite not being part of the main cast, and 2nd in the second[[note]]6th excluding multiple votes[[/note]].
20	** Haruka Ayatsuji, the operator of the Arashiyama Unit placed 15th place in the first poll, which is higher than a lot of combatants, despite only doing mission control and barely appearing.
21	** Kōhei Izumi started mostly as a supporting character to Tachikawa but became very popular almost instantly and ranked 9th in the first poll, 5th in the second[[note]]including or excluding multiple votes[[/note]]. His role was expanded in the invasion and even moreso when acting as a [[TheMentor mentor]] to Osamu in the Rank Wars and he even made the cover of volume 8, even before Miwa did.
22	** Like Izumi, Sōya Kazama is another fan-favourite who debuted in the [[GrowingTheBeard Black Trigger Retrieval Arc]], ranking 4th in the first popularity poll[[note]]5th excluding multiple votes[[/note]] (and therefore being the only character alongside the aforementioned Konami to beat out some of the main cast) and 6th in the second poll[[note]]4th in the single vote version[[/note]].
23	** Mirai Hatohara, the deserter from Ninomiya squad, is already very popular with fans and fanartists despite not even appearing outside of flashbacks and photos yet.
24	** Tetsuji Arafune, since his debut, has done very well in popularity polls (8th place in both the single votes and multiple votes version) and fan Valentines, despite having little presence in the story outside of his rank battle with Tamakoma and his relationship with Kō. Even Ashihara admits to being surprised by his popularity (he suspects it's Arafune's "manly aura").
25	** Tatsuhito Ikoma became popular from introduction due to his {{Cloudcuckoolander}} FunPersonified personality, which made him stand out instantly. Many fans see him (and his squad as a whole) as stealing the show whenever he appears due to his antics.
26	* EpilepticTrees: Yotaro's parentage, as ''BBF'' deliberately (and uniquely for him) avoids revealing his relatives. Theories range from Shin[[note]]connection to Rindo and physical resemblance[[/note]] to Mogami [[note]]the only other deceased Old Border member of note[[/note]] to Yotaro being a Neighbor, [[spoiler:which ended up being correct.]]
27	* EstrogenBrigade: Pick any male character and this probably applies to them, though standouts include:
28	** Ashihara outright acknowledged that Miwa's introduction brought in more female fans.
29	** Izumi, despite his secondary character status, ranked #1 on a Valentine's Day poll (even with, as Ashihara joked, his questionable fashion sense).
30	** A very specific case with Utagawa, who has a few fans so devoted that while Utagawa doesn't rank in Valentine's Day polls if multiple votes are excluded, include them and he placed ''first''. Jokingly, a popularity poll even had someone vote for said fan(s).
31	* EvilIsCool: "Evil" is stretching it for some of them, but the Aftokrator characters are fairly popular as stylishly badass, threatening antagonists who leave swathes of destruction in their wake, with Ashihara even acknowledging Viza as possibly the strongest character in the series.
32	* FanNickname:
33	** Satoken for Satori Ken, used by Ashihara himself (who may have actually been the originator). He's never called this InUniverse, though.
34	** The Bonchi(age)/Rice Crackers Trio, for Jin, Tachikawa, and Kazama.
35	** Godzuma, for [[MemeticBadass Azuma]]. He's one of the most lethal snipers in Border and is one of the hardest agents to kill due to his expertise in staying hidden on the battlefield.
36	** Idiot A-Rank Trio for Izumi, Yoneya, and Midorikawa.
37	* GottaShipEmAll: If they're a Border agent, fandom ships them with someone (or rather, multiple someones)--no exceptions. When it's pretty much canon that everyone knows each other and that there are various friendships/rivalries running in the background, this was inevitable.
38	* GrowingTheBeard: Most people agree that the series improved a lot after the focus shifted from Yuma being wacky and [[CurbStompBattle curbstomping everything]] towards the Border organization and the more strategic team-based battles.
39	** In particular, the Black Trigger Retrieval arc is where the series settles into its niche, as the first arc that showcases team vs. team battles and how tactical the fights can get. That it also introduces numerous characters who go on to be fan favourites doesn't hurt, either.
40	** The Large-Scale Invasion arc is where, for many, the series goes from being "good" to "great". Not only does it add another dimension to the conflict by showing the enemies' side of things, it ramps up the tactical elements even further and has both the main characters and the (very large) side cast shine, demonstrating just how Border works together to deal with its most serious threat yet.
41	** Season 1 of the anime was enjoyable, but it was very obvious that the show had to make do with the lower tier studios at Toei. Season 2, however, gave the series a huge upgrade in not just visuals, but music and tone as well, allowing the show to stand alongside its contemporaries.
42	* HilariousInHindsight:
43	** In ''[[AllThereInTheManual Border Briefing File]]'', while talking about custom decorative requests for triggers that the engineer smight receive, Ashihara mentions that a [[RuleOfCool a black Kogetsu]] might be cool. (Real-life) Years later, he finally throws it in when [[spoiler:Ko uses a black Kogetsu for a genuine tactical purpose]]!
44	** Dub example: this isn't the first time Creator/CathyWeseluck has voice a character with [[Manga/DeathNote white hair]].
45	* IKnewIt:
46	** Knowing that Suzunari-1 had some kind of special plan up their sleeve, a number of fans correctly guessed, upon seeing everyone's placements and Taichi's movements, that it was to [[spoiler:overload the opponent operators by turning the lights on and off]].
47	** Once the photo of Old Border was shown, fans quickly deduced which one was Shin[[note]]the resemblance to Kazama and his proximity to Rindo[[/note]] and which one was Mogami[[note]]the sunglasses resembling Jin's[[/note]], which was ultimately confirmed when the Vol. 19 extras listed names with the photo.
48	** Many people predicted that with Hiura moving away from Mikado City, [[spoiler:Izuho would be recruited to replace her]].
49	** Some fans (particularly in the Japanese fandom) suspected that Karasuma's previous squad (before joining Tamakoma) was Tachikawa Squad. Volume 22 extras later confirmed it.
50	* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Hyuse joins Tamakoma]], thanks to being a LateArrivalSpoiler (including on this site's character page!). It doesn't help that the series' return from hiatus coincided when this was the main event in canon, meaning that a good chunk of promotional material, fan discussions, and celebratory fanart focuses on it.
51	* JerkassWoobie: As hostile as Miwa is, it's clear that he's still grieving over his loss. Details from [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] further paint a pitiable picture of a teenage boy who has almost no life outside of defeating Neighbors (or any ''desire'' for a life), in contrast to most of the cast who do have other priorities outside of Border.
52	* LoveToHate: Enedra is a smug, sadistic BloodKnight who's one of the few characters with confirmed murder under his belt [[spoiler:and fittingly is one of the only characters who himself is killed off]], but his uniquely {{Jerkass}} personality is precisely what makes him enjoyable to watch.
53	* MemeticBadass:
54	** Kazama is, [[PintSizedPowerhouse while standing at 158 cm/5'2]], one of the manliest characters in the series depending on who you ask. One Q&A even has a fan ask why he's so "overflowing with manliness", which the author went along with.
55	** [[FanNickname Godzuma]].[[note]]Starting with Azuma's SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome where he [[spoiler:sniped Osamu through a wall]], accompanied by the reveals that he was the captain of the former A-Rank No. 1 squad and mentor to several top-tier agents, etc.[[/note]]
56	** [[TagalongKid Yotaro]] and [[TeamPet Raijinmaru]], thanks to their jokingly inflated official stats in ''BBF'', the [[SmallNameBigEgo former's cockiness]], and the latter being InexplicablyAwesome. It certainly doesn't hurt that Yotaro's [[spoiler:revealed to be ''royalty'']].
57	* MemeticMutation:
58	** '=3='[[note]]Due to the regular duck-faces made throughout the series.[[/note]]
59	** Hyuse jokingly referred to as a Canadian or a "leaf".[[note]]After his debut fight in Round 7, where he gains an advantage through clever and thorough use of Escudo, all while posing as the nephew of a Canadian immigrant in order to hide his Neighbor status.[[/note]]
60	** Kazama and food.[[note]]Though there's technically no indication Kazama eats more than the average person, he happens to be eating in a lot of scenes, and because [[TheComicallySerious Kazama]] with chipmunk cheeks is an amusing image, fans often characterize him as a BigEater.[[/note]] ''Smash Borders'' practically made it AscendedFanon, giving him a unique eating model for the White Day event and one of his system quotes having him eating something.
61	* MemeticPsychopath: [[WalkingDisasterArea Taichi]], the genuine evil.[[note]]A joke stemming from his volume profile that refers to him as such, due to him accidentally boiling Kuruma's fish alive[[/note]]. It didn't help that come Ch. 169, he suggests ''giving the opponent operators food poisoning'' to win the match.
62	* {{Moe}}: Chika is tiny, a bit timid, and extremely cute--though one could argue that she's actually a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]. The reaction to her InUniverse is not to coddle her but to teach her how to fight, and similarly, fans tend to look forward to seeing her grow as a fighter.
63	* {{Narm}}: The anime has a lot of this due to the OffModel animation and blatantly padded scenes. Special mention goes to the end of the fight with Lamvanein, which takes a single action spread and extends the screaming to last for about [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY7PrOkWxpY 30 seconds.]]
64	* NarmCharm:
65	** In any other series, the fact that Border gets around Enedra's black trigger via [[spoiler:''turning on the AC'']] might come across as silly due to how utterly mundane it is. However, it fits ''right'' in with ''World Trigger's'' themes of how tactics and creativity win battles, not flashiness.
66	** The duck-faces are prevalent, even right in the middle of otherwise tense and dramatic scenes. However, it's because they're so iconic that they come off as endearing, rather than jarring.
67	* NeverLiveItDown: [[TheStoic Ko]] is often (fondly) remembered for that one time he cried via InelegantBlubbering.
68	* NightmareFuel:
69	** Tsukihiko Amo. According to Netsuki, his appearance while fighting is not Human, and he has a tendency to level everything within a radius of hundreds of metres, leaving nothing but barren wastes in his wake. Just how powerful is he?
70	** While later knowledge of trion bodies makes it no big deal and the reader will get used to it over the course of the series, seeing Mikumo get his arm lopped off towards the start can be shocking, as it contrasts sharply with the relatively light-hearted atmosphere until then.
71	** The nightmarish appearance of whoever attacked Yuma in his backstory. [[NothingIsScarier We don't see how they fought--only the aftermath]].
72	** Koarai's near-capture during the second invasion is like something out of a horror movie: held in place by the Rabit, he has both of his arms grabbed and torn off, leaving him helpless as wires emerge from the Rabit and slowly approach him...
73	* PeripheryDemographic: For the usual demographic, you have a smart, action-oriented series that averts blatant BishonenJumpSyndrome. For women (aside from the {{Shipping}} potential regardless), while there are notably few female characters, the ones who do exist aren't sexualized--{{Fanservice}} is virtually nonexistent in the series--and aren't pushed to the side in favour of the male characters.
74	* TheProducerThinksOfEverything: Ashihara has evidently been planning this story out in the long term. Characters who only recently have been given a name will make appearances as seeming nobodies very early in the story, and abilities and plot details are set up well in advance. Strategies in particular are very nicely foreshadowed and set up. If a character demonstrates a new tactic seemingly out of the blue, you can flip a few pages back and see that they were preparing for it before it even came into play.
75	* SignatureSeriesArc:
76	** The Large-scale Invasion, where the series fully breaks out of the "introductory" stage; as noted above, it's seen as where the series ''really'' starts GrowingTheBeard. It's one of the longest consecutive arcs[[note]]The Rank Wars are technically much longer, but broken up by other arcs in between[[/note]], introduces a significant portion of the cast, and sets up the highest stakes in the series yet, which in turns shows the characters at some of their best. The animation studio seems to acknowledge this, given that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_CALJPXVQY the Season 2 opening]], which serves as a recap of Season 1, focuses on this arc especially.
77	** The Rank Wars, in part because it's by far the longest arc, but it also contains the lion's share of Osamu and Chika's CharacterDevelopment and best showcases the tactical battles that fans consider to be what makes ''World Trigger'' unique. When it ended, many fans were torn between being [[ArcFatigue glad it was finally over]] and sad that there wouldn't be any more rank battles, after they'd become so iconic to the series.
78	** The Sealed-Environment Phase, while contentious, is a deep dive into characterization, strategy, and the structure of Border as a whole. While its fans adore the arc, its detractors bemoan the fact that [[BottleEpisode the whole arc consists of people sitting in conference rooms talking to each other, with no actual combat]].
79	* SlowPacedBeginning: While there's plenty of action right from the start, the series' beginning is mainly devoted to setting up the (many) setting mechanics before it can [[GrowingTheBeard introduce the large cast and tactics-oriented battles the series is known for]], with the Black Trigger Retrieval Arc generally considered to be the official step towards this.
80	* StoicWoobie: It's easy to forget with his attitude, but Hyuse is a 16-year-old who was left behind to become a prisoner of war for somewhat dickish reasons on Hairein's part, and when he's flat-out told that [[YouCantGoHomeAgain his country has abandoned him and doesn't want him back]], his reaction makes it clear that yes, it ''does'' hurt.
81	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many fans weren't fond of the dub removing the soundtrack as well as making a dub version of the openings.
82	* UnpopularPopularCharacter: Satori might not be popular with women within the series itself, but the Valentine's Day rankings make it clear he's at least popular with fans.
83	* TheWoobie:
84	** Mirai Hatohara. If Yuzuru's memories of her count, she had a rough life in Border because she was unable to shoot humanoid targets.
85	** Chika, being both BlessedWithSuck and suffering from similar self-esteem issues to Hatohara above (to the extent that Ema, seeing Hatohara in Chika, is trying to prevent Chika from cracking the same way his mentor did).
86	* Kageura quickly became associated with [[Characters/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirlsMasters7thTo14th Akira Sunazuka]] from Idolmaster Cinderella Girls upon her introduction, due to both of them having black hair and sharp teeth, and wearing dust mask upon their first introduction. Similarly, Mai Kitagawa's bizarre appearance led to her being associated with the meme "[[Memes/TouhouProject Yukkuri Shiteitte Ne.]]"

Context YMMV / WorldTrigger