Either the work or the audience plays up something in the work as something it's clearly not (mostly).
When done In-Universe, it's often Played for Laughs (see Does This Remind You of Anything?), Rule of Cool, or the writers just having fun. When done by the viewers, it can be Fan Dumb, or it can be them legitimately assuming something if the show unintentionally makes the thing look like the trope (see Unexpected Reactions to This Index).
Since titles in this format and figuring out whether to use "It's ____" or "It's Not ____" can be confusing, remember this: The "It's ____" part is what was originally intended by the work.
- Esoteric Happy Ending: What Do You Mean, "It's a Happy Ending"? A Happy Ending only seems to be considered as such by the author.
- Faux Symbolism: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Symbolic"? Imagery that doesn't actually symbolize any theme in the story.
- What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: A work intended for kids finds itself with an unexpected adult fandom, often due to and/or leading to, large amounts of radar evading Parental Bonus/Service. Alternatively a work aimed at kids uses themes you would expect to find in more adult works. Can end up being used by Moral Guardians as a result.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not Didactic?: A work that is not intended to be an Allegory is explored for hidden meaning.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: A work that is decidedly non-family-friendly (and/or not intended for children exclusively/at all) is mistaken for such. Frequently overlaps with Animation Age Ghetto.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: A work is mistaken for having political tones, frequently due to Unfortunate Implications, Accidental Aesop or Accidental Innuendo.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not for Little Girls?: A work is mistaken for being aimed at little girls. Overlaps with All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles in the worst scenarios.
Closely related:
- Accidental Innuendo: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Sexual"?
- Accidental Nightmare Fuel: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Scary"?
- All Animation Is Disney: What Do You Mean, "This Animated Film/Video Game's not made by Disney/Nintendo"? All quality examples of a medium or genre are Wrongfully Attributed to the most well known creator.
- All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Hentai/Gorn"?
- Animation Age Ghetto: What Do You Mean, "Cartoons Aren't Just for Kids"?
- Crosses the Line Twice: What Do You Mean, "It's Highly Offensive"?
- Designated Hero: What Do You Mean, "They're the Good Guy"?
- Designated Monkey: What Do You Mean, "They're a Butt-Monkey"?
- Designated Villain: What Do You Mean, "They're the Bad Guy"?
- Do Not Do This Cool Thing: What Do You Mean, "This Issue Shouldn't Be Appealing"?
- Dude, Not Funny!: What Do You Mean, "It's Funny"?
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: What Do You Mean, "This Is Goodness"?
- Faux Horrific or Nightmare Retardant: What Do You Mean, "It's Scary"?
- Felony Misdemeanor: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Heinous"?
- Fetish Retardant: What Do You Mean, "It's Sexy"?
- Girl-Show Ghetto: What Do You Mean, "It's for Boys, Too"?
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: What Do You Mean, "This Is Evil"?
- Hollywood Homely: What Do You Mean, "She's Ugly"?
- Ho Yay: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Homoerotic"?
- Informed Ability: What Do You Mean, "They're Good at This"?
- Informed Wrongness: What Do You Mean, "They're Wrong"?
- Joke Title, Real Role: What Do You Mean, "That Epithet Is Literal"?
- Mundane Made Awesome: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Awesome"?
- Narm: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Funny"?
- Nightmare Retardant: What Do You Mean, "It's Scary"?
- Non-Standard Game Over: What Do You Mean, "Game Over"?
- Quirky Work: What Do You Mean, "It Wasn't Made On Drugs?"?
- Stylistic Suck: What Do You Mean, "It's a Bad Work"?
- Surprise Difficulty: What Do You Mean, "It's Not for Newbies"?
- Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: What Do You Mean, "We're Supposed to Root for Someone in Here"?
- Trivial Tragedy: What Do You Mean, "It's Not Tragic"?
- Unintentionally Sympathetic: What Do You Mean, "We Should Root against Them"?
- Unintentionally Unsympathetic: What Do You Mean, "We Should Root for Them"?
- Wangst: What Do You Mean, "It's Saddening for Them"?
- You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: What Do You Mean, "You Know Who You're Dealing With"?
