YMMV / Erma

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • With the knowledge that Mitsu and Momo are Zashiki Warashi (good luck spirits that are essentially in a gilded cage for whoever captures them in their home), is their reckless and childlike behavior just a disguise for the fact that they're gonna have some shitty lives in the future being trapped and giving blessings for someone else? Are they naturally just troublemakers? Or is the absence of their dad in their lives responsible for such?
    • Issue #15 of Tales of Outcast gives them A Day in the Limelight and features them being treated like garbage by their peers even when they do initially try their best to be good, so it’s possible they act the way they do because their lack of a support system has made them cynical.
  • Osamu giving a birthday gift to Erma: is he trying to get to know his granddaughter or is it a warning that he knows about her mother running away to marry Sam? Turns out it was a mixture of both leaning more on the latter.
  • Momo and Mitsu saying the local kids had been bullies to them until they decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. While the readers tend to agree the twins were saying what they thought was true, some readers think they had misinterpreted actions as antagonistic that weren't meant that way.
• Arc Fatigue:
  • Some fans felt that "The Rats in the School Walls" arc dragged on a bit, especially since it took about six months (from early November 2016 to late April 2017 specifically) to complete.
  • While most were excited about it, many were likewise already dreading "The Family Reunion" arc since it was going to deal with Emiko's side of the family and act as a sequel to Spirit's Bloom, meaning it was very likely going to a bit lengthy. The arc started in Feb 2018 and ended in August 2023, roughly five and a half years since it first started. In universe it was only one week, It was even lampshaded by the creators themselves. What's more, for the majority of this arc the comic's main setting, Erma's hometown of Blairwood, and the rest of the main cast besides her family, were barely seen.
• Ass Pull: The reveal in "Reunion's End 4" that Mitsu and Momo were only bullying the Yokai District children because they bullied them first. A reveal that is never hinted at or shown before said page, coming off as a very last-minute attempt to make the readers sympathize with them before Erma leaves for home.
• Awesome Art: The comics are very well-drawn and have some really cute designs.
• Awesome Moments: As Erma's family gets ready to go home, Emiko tells her father something. It's unknown what it was she said, but it is enough to cause Osamu to collapse to his throne in fear. Emiko states what she said to him was something he wouldn't forget.
• Cliché Storm: Of course, cramming in just about every cliché known to the horror genre is the whole point of the comic, and makes it more fun to read.
• Creepy Cute:
  • Erma is the most adorable little Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl you'll ever see.
  • The Rat Children from The Rats in the School Walls arc, and Sidney's 'normal' form in particular.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: Erma encounters Pennywise. It's HEAVILY implied she kills him. Considering the clown's reputation, that's quite a feat for a child (even if she's every bit as supernatural as him).
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Erma's babysitter Felicia is very well-liked for being a Badass Normal who isn't scared of Erma like most adults and truly cares for her.
  • As for the Family Reunion arc, Erma's aunt Mayumi has also become a fan-favorite, despite (or maybe because of?) being The Blank with no facial features. Yori is popular as well for being a Cool Aunt with a friendly personality and being the only one to never fall for any of her daughters' lies.
• Fan Fic Fuel: Invoked with the Erma-ween art, which shows Erma interact with characters from other shows, like Freddy Krueger and Luz Noceda.
• Friendly Fandoms: Many fans of this Webcomic are also fans of Satina, considering how both center around a dangerous, yet adorable Half-Human Hybrid, with plenty of Black Comedy in both.
• Genius Bonus: Brandon does not laze around with the variety of youkai in "The Family Reunion" Arc, that's for sure.
• Heartwarming Moments: See here.
• Jerkass Woobie: Mitsu and Momo are introduced as being awful bullies to Erma and the Yokai Kids. Then it is revealed that they only acted that way because the yokai kids had been bullying them first, prompting them to retaliate. Momo especially falls into this as when Erma gets caught up in all of this and forced into Jubokko, Momo realizes that Erma didn't deserve anything she went through.
• Memetic Badass: Sam and Felicia, for being (usually) unfazed by scary, supernatural goings-on. Sam even more so as he's able to charm an entire village of Youkai.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Mayumi's facial expressions are the best." "She's getting way too many lines, it should be cut down a little." ^Explanation  Mayumi's the blank, which means she has no facial features or even a mouth to express anything whatsoever. However, the fanbase finds her amusing for that exact reason, and starts making jokes about her "facial emotions".
  • "Sam ain't scared of anything." "He's chill af." ^Explanation  Sam's status as a Seen It All Badass Normal and how he's just utterly calm no matter what happens to him is also an endless source of jokes.
  • "There's always that one in the family." ^Explanation  This is said regarding Rin, who is the only one in the maternal relatives to be openly and nastily hostile toward Sam and Erma.
• Moe:
  • Take one good look at Erma and try to say she isn't this.
  • The other kids in the comic are just as adorable.
  • Heck, even some of the adults can fall under this trope (especially the female ones), thanks to the comic's art style.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Wittle Wallace crosses it when he bullies Erma while using Felicia's possessed body to break her spirit and attempts to steal Erma's body to gain her powers.
  • The 3 yokai thugs freeze and shatter a friendly yokai who offered to help the girls. Later on, they cross it further when they convince the bullied yokai kids to kidnap Erma with the intention of killing the latter by feeding the Jubokko with her. The Bullied Yokai Kids meekly cross the line alongside with how cruel they were to Erma before she was tossed inside the Jubokko, despite her attempts to befriend them.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: While the twins had a few moments before that showed that they weren't all bad, Momo won over the readers when she realized she and Mitsu had unintentionally created the circumstances that had lead to Erma being stuffed in the Jubokko, and insisted on helping Emiko and Sam stop Erma's berserk rampage.
• Shocking Moments: In "Rats in the School Walls", Connor asks his older sibling for some walkie talkies. His older sibling happens to be Erma's former baby sitter!
• Sweet Dreams Fuel:
  • Strips depicting Erma's interactions with her parents are always this.
  • As are strips where Erma interacts with Connor.
  • As menacing as their appearance is in the Family Reunion arc, Erma meeting her mother's family becomes this when Ena and Kentaro start gushing over her. Too bad Emiko's Mama Bear entrance and Rin's bad behavior ramps some of the tension back up.
  • Erma in her kimono for the Night Parade in the final panel of Part 29.
  • Most of the 13 Days of Erma-ween strips are just wholesome scenes of Erma interacting with characters from horror media.