YMMV / Record of Ragnarok

• Acceptable Targets: Any character who is portrayed as a sexual predator is shown to be killed in a gruesome fashion (e.g. Incubus and The Serpent).
• Accidental Innuendo: When Qin Shi Huang sits in the VIP room, he gestures with his two long fingernails to tell Hermes to kneel. However, because of where he's pointing (as well as his pose), he looks like he's telling Hermes to suck his dick.
• Adaptation Displacement: Adam is strongly coded in European Catholicism despite originating among the Hebrews.
  • He's a blue-eyed blond with pale skin rather than a more tawny color.
  • Throughout his appearance, allusions to renaissance art can be seen. Watchful viewers will notice his half-lidded eyes.
  • The soundtrack for his scenes incorporates choral and organ like in a traditional Latin mass.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: For a guy that's supposed to hate even his fellow gods, it's conspicuous that all of Poseidon's attacks are named after his mythological lovers. Additionally, his elder brother Hades fights to avenge him after his death, implying they were close. Is Poseidon's hatred exaggerated or are these just exceptions to an otherwise uniform hatred?
• Americans Hate Tingle: Sasaki Kojiro is, obviously, popular among Japanese readers, being one of the most portrayed warriors in the fan arts. However, his introduction raised a few eyebrows among Western readers, as, after the deaths of likable and badass warriors such as Lü Bu and, especially Adam (who came close to winning his intense fight), with the third representative of the humans being a Japanese swordsman, very few people thought he was going to lose and give three consecutive defeats to humankind. Doesn't help that, Kojiro, the only Japanese warrior so far, managed to win his fight, with some readers claiming that the authors favored him for his nationality. To make things worse, since there are three other Japanese warriors that are going to fight for the humans, some are fearing that the non-Japanese fighters are going to lose and get axed in favor of the Japanese ones. This sentiment died a bit when Jack the Ripper (An English European) won his fight against Heracles while Raiden (A Japanese sumo-wrestler) lost to Shiva.
• Anti-Climax Boss: Many consider Zerofuku this, as, despite his impressive power, he spends most of the sixth round despairing and lamenting about his inability to surpass Buddha without being able to land a single hit on his enemy, with Buddha dominating the fight for the most part. Even worse, the only of his attacks that manages to strike Buddha ends happening towards the end of the fight, and only cause Buddha lets himself be hit in order to teach Zero about happiness. Because this, many fans found themselves disappointed by Zero's performance, especially compared to the gods preceding him, who were more competent and presented a true challenge to their human adversaries even if they lost to them. As such, it's no wonder fans consider the Hajun part of Round Six more exciting and unpredictable, as the demon comes close to kill Buddha many times through the fight despite his part of the battle being considerably shorter than Zero's one.
• Awesome Ego: Qin Shi Huang. The first emperor of China may have an ego that makes the gods look humble but he more than backs it up with his sheer confidence, skills, and accomplishments.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Goll is either considered a poor girl whose excessive crying is justified due all the losses she has to face in Ragnarok or an annoying crybaby whose cries ruin the mood of the fights and doesn't apports much to the manga.
  • Heracles is also among the most divisive participants of the tournament (see Broken Base). As such, he's either the most likeable or sympathetic member of the side of the gods for some or a huge idiotic hypocrite who represents the worst traits of your average shonen main character for others. The attitude around him got split up further when Gautama Buddha decides to fight for humanity, something even human-loving Heracles thought he couldn't do.
  • Even among the rest of the Japanese fighters, Souji Okita is divisive in the fandom (especially among Western readers), not only for being another skilled Japanese swordsman like Kojiro Sasaki, but also because he's a character transplanted from co-author Shinya Umemura's previous work Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem. With that, you have a camp of fans who dislike him because he recycles Kojiro's shtick, and they think he will win his fight thanks to the favoritism of the author rather than for his own merit (also arguing he could've been replaced by some non-Japanese warrior), and another camp that likes him for his fierceness despite his small stature and Blood Knight tendencies.
• Broken Base:
  • It seems that, except for the 1st fight, the rest of the fights have been more contentious:
    • The second match is generally liked thanks to Adam's charisma and his lines about protecting his children, however, his eventual defeat at the end of the battle has split the fandom into those who disliked it cause they think Adam deserved to win after giving his best for the sake of mankind, with his loss ruining an otherwise great fight and those who find that Adam losing, but still inspiring his children to win Ragnarok, all while keeping fighting after dying and still standing made for a sad yet heartwarming moment that would have been spoilt had Adam won.
    • While the third battle is generally agreed to be good and Kojiro Sasaki remains a popular and likeable character, it was doomed to suffer from controversy, coming after Adam's polarizing defeat in the previous round and featuring the first Japanese human fighter out of the four announced in the human roster back in chapter 4, which quickly divided the fandom when it was announced. Kojiro winning his fight against Poseidon is either considered an amazing moment that changed the course of the tournament by giving humans the first taste of victory and giving Kojiro a deserved karmic retribution after losing through his entire life or a proof that Japanese fighters will receive a preferential treatment over the others and are going to win all their fights, with some claiming Poseidon not using his hydrokinetic abilities against Kojiro was done to give the samurai an advantage (ignoring Poseidon's arrogant personality) and others being angry because Adam lost in favour of a Japanese.
    • The battle of Heracles vs Jack the Ripper, unlike the other fights (where the audience generally cheered for the champion of humankind), divided the readers completely. From Heracles's side, his supporters claim that Heracles, the pinnacle of justice and goodwill among the Gods, should win against Jack, who is a scumbag and a vicious serial killer with no empathy, also arguing that he's fighting for humankind and that he will try to convince the Gods to spare humanity, while Jack's camp accuses Heracles of being a massive hypocrite that, despite claiming to fight to save the humans, chooses to fight for the Gods, and that his victory would lead humanity a step closer to utter annihilation, preferring to root for the cooler and sophisticated Jack, who at least will bring victory to humankind despite being evil. This seems to be an Intended Audience Reaction, as, even in the own manga, some of the humans wonder many times if they should root for a despicable individual like Jack, while Heracles's former human friends are completely rooting for his friend despite the fact that his victory may contribute to their disappearance. Strangely enough, the ending of the battle didn't end being as divisive as the ones of rounds 2 and 3 as, though many supporters of Heracles were sad he lost, most agree him dying and managing to redeem Jack by being the first person able to understand and show him true love and respect was a fitting way to give closure to his character, managing to save the vilest human to ever exists from his inner demons and sticking to his goal of guiding humans even with all the bad things and vices they carry.
    • The following fight, Raiden Tameemon vs Shiva, also was a point of contention to some. Ignoring the fact another Japanese fighter was heavily hyped, the beginning of the fight wasn't particularly interesting (especially after coming from the well-liked 4th round), with fans complaining it was a rehash of Adam vs Zeus with both fighters limiting themselves to do little more than throw physical attacks to each other and even with a subplot focusing of Loki/Buddha interrupting the fight (a first for the manga) that merely served to hype future contestants such as Buddha himself or Bishamonten and that didn't lead to anything major. However, once the flashbacks of Shiva/Raiden were revealed (giving both of them the characterization they needed) and Shiva got finally serious after being on the receiving end of the fight for most of the match, most fans consider the fight improved considerably, and the final clash is believed to be awesome both in terms of storytelling and art. Also, though some fans were quick to call Shiva's Tandava Karma a convenient way for him to win the fight, Raiden's death is considered badass (as he never fall to the ground and went out with dignity, even being recognized by Shiva himself) and bittersweet (Raiden dies embraced by his valkyrie Thrud, who decides to die along with the man she loves).
  • The visuals of the anime as a whole are one of the biggest criticisms of the adaptation, with the fights being a mix of the worst aspects of both Limited Animation and Padding to reaction shots. This is all compounded by the animation studio, Graphinica, being both primarily a post-production and CGI support studio first and foremost with a rather spotty reputation when leading anime productions. Other fans however, enjoyed the anime for its good soundtrack and voice acting, not minding the animation much and simply trying to enjoy the good things the anime has to offer.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Some of the Gods and even some of the heroes are subjected to being admired for their handsomeness and have several fanarts dedicated to how endearing they appear to be in contrast with reality:
  • Poseidon is handsome, especially compared to his younger brother, Zeus in the context of the story, and often portrayed as a sulky Troubled, but Cute man who is incapable of smiling in fan material. It's quite a different take from the kin-slaying, misanthropic and Not So Above It All elitist the manga portrays him as. Some fans don't mind this and subject him to Love to Hate in addition to his looks.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Hermes is the most popular god not fighting in the tournament, due a combination of a cool design (being the only major god to wear a suit instead of more traditional clothes), his knowledge about the divine warriors and the implications he's stronger of what he seems. As such, some fans wish to see him in action at some point despite the full roster of fighters for Ragnarok being revealed as early as the 4th chapter and Hermes not being part of it.
  • For characters who don't receive much screentime, the supporting Valkyries are popular in the fandom due their character design and their support to humans. Among them, Hrist is generally the most liked, thanks to her fun double personality and her good looks. Many cheered when she, unlike her previous two sisters, managed to survive thanks to Kojiro's victory.
  • Eve quickly got popular despite being relevant just for the second match, in part due her attractive design and her devotion to Adam, who is already a very loved character himself.
  • Despite her brief role in the series, Anne, the drunk prostitute who was kind to Jack in his past is well-liked because she was the only person who cared for him when he was a child, and because she's one of the few people supporting Jack in his fight against Heracles, even defending Jack against those who were badmouthing him.
  • Jesus Christ himself appears cheering for Buddha during the sixth round. It didn't take long for fans to celebrate this, as Jesus is a popular character to use in fanfics, both as a fighter for both human/god sides and/or as a Brunhilde-like figure who defends humans against the other gods, and very few thought he would actually appear in the story. It went so far that for some fans his brief appearance overshadowed the actual fight despite Jesus not saying anything during the whole chapter and the manga implying he doesn't have divine heritage here. Furthermore, he placed 14th in the first popularity poll, above characters like Goll, Aphrodite and Zeus, despite his minor role in the series.
• Epileptic Trees:
  • The inclusion of non-combatant human fighters among the roster such as Nostradamus, Nikola Tesla and Grigori Rasputin has led to many wild and fascinating theories online that try to make sense of how they can possibly compete against gods.
  • The level of involvement of the Big G himself in the plot, given that Adam and Jesus appeared in the manga.
• Evil Is Cool:
  • The god fighters are imposing enemies to mankind who embody the might of the legends of mythology. Each one of them puts a challenge to the human champions and force them to give everything they have in order to overcome them, and they don't always manage to surpass their divine adversaries. As such, the gods are liked for being badass villains that don't go down easily.
  • Jack the Ripper is this in spades. Despite being a deranged serial killer, his gentlemanly and polite behavior, coupled with his design and his cunning in battle (that managed to make him seriously wound Heracles through their fight despite being inferior to him in strength) quickly garnered him the support of many fans despite being the evilest of the human combatants presented in the tournament.
• Evil Is Sexy: Likely the reason why Poseidon is popular despite not having a very likeable personality. He has a handsome face and a muscular body he exposes with his outfit, certainly evoking the traditional image of Ancient Greek beauty.
• Fan-Disliked Explanation: The sidestory explaining that Jack the Ripper is not the real Jack the Ripper and is in fact a Professional Killer posing as the Ripper is widely disliked. Essentially, it robs his fight with Heracles of its symbolic purpose and refreshing nature (The Token Evil Teammate of humanity— a vicious Serial Killer— versus a genuinely heroic God when most of them have been arrogant and cruel) alongside completely invalidating Heracles' moral victory through redeeming Jack, since he's not "the greatest evil of humanity" after all and is instead more of an Anti-Hero as well as making little sense and over-explaining Jack as a character.
• Fan Nickname:
  • "Dad" or "Father" for Adam. Also "the original chad".
  • "Sushi" is a popular nickname to refer to Poseidon, cause he's the god of the oceans and because he's killed by Kojiro (a Japanese man) by being cut into pieces.
  • "Salt Frog" and "Salt God" for the humanoid frog that briefly appears at the start of the 5th match to provide salt for Raiden's sumo ritual, due to the fact that its appearance in the arena interrupted Shiva. The joke in the fandom is that this interruption was a display of power and dominance over the supreme Hindu deity.
  • "Jack the Dripper" for Jack the Ripper, because of his stylish clothing.
  • "Gigachad Raiden" for Raiden, because of his extremely defined muscles and the fact that he is first introduced sleeping with multiple females of multiple species.
  • "Shiva cuck" for Shiva, due to being shut down or pushed aside by the Greek gods multiple times. The official art from the manga's artist doesn't give him much of a break either.◊
  • "Chinese Gojo" for Qin Shi Huang, as his blindfold and arrogant attitude reminded fans of Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen.
• Fandom Rivalry: The series has one with the Fate Series, due to both being prominent works using historical and/or mythological figures fighting each other in a tournament (though the approach given to the tournament differs in both works). Fate fans consider the latter a rip-off that got its fame by following Fate's formula with slight changes, while the fandom of Shuumatsu no Valkyrie accuses the Fate series of being a bland, stagnant franchise that maintains relevance from relying on fanservice.
• Fanfic Fuel: The very premise of the manga (13 humans vs 13 gods fighting in one to one battles to decide the fate of humankind) allows for so many different interpretations that has inspired many fans to create fanfics about their own version of Ragnarok, with a new cast of humans and gods according to the interests of the writer.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Fans generally prefer to think that Jack the Ripper being an impostor isn't real due to the impact it has on his fight with Heracles and character on the whole, and instead prefer to think of him as just being the real Jack the Ripper.
• Friendly Fandoms: This series' fans have a love-hate relationship with fans of the Kengan Ashura franchise, especially those who liked Kengan Omega. Since some fights feel similar to each other's manga, lots of comparison goes around.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff:
  • While popular in its native Japan, the series has reached an unexpected success in Latin America, garnering a loyal and dedicated fanbase. In fact, when the cast of the western language dubs of the animated adaption were announced, the first ones who were announced first were the Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese ones, over the English one, or even other languages besides Japanese.
  • In spite of being also liked in Japan, Adam is THE fan-favorite of Western readers, to the point he usually eclipses any other character of the manga around those circles.
  • The anime immediately debuted in the US Netflix Top 10 most-watched programs within 24 hours of its debut, peaking at #9 for the most-watched shows of the entire month, and the only animated show on the list at that.
• Growing the Beard: While the fight of Lü Bu against Thor was well-received, most of the readers agree that the point where the series truly starts to shine is during the fight of Adam and Zeus since the stakes got even higher and the fighters started to be fleshed out more.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Strangely enough, this story isn't the first time Jack the Ripper and Heracles have fought each other.
  • Early on in the story, Brunhilde chides a Buddhist priest for praying, as her side is fighting for human survival and most gods (including the Buddha) are against that. Cue the sixth round, where the Buddha himself joins Brun's side. Even better by the end of the round, when Buddha manages to get the victory for humanity after many close calls. That priest has got to feel vindicated.
  • In a more morbid example, along with reprising his role as Diarmuid from Fate/Zero, Hikaru Midorikawa also gives voice to Red Hare in Fate/Grand Order. For Shuumatsu no Valkyrie, Midorikawa was casted for Thor, who not only ends killing Red Hare's master in brutal fashion, but later kills Red Hare too. Even better, since Fate's Red Hare may be or not a fusion of the horse with Lü Bu, that means Thor (in a meta sense) killed himself twice.
  • This series has been compared with Kengan Ashura due the tournament plot featuring manly macho men partaking in brutal one-on-one fights both works display, although Kengan's one shows a more conventional system via classification for rounds rather than the gladiatoresque standalone fights of Shuumatsu. Come the sequel, Kengan Omega (released two years after Shuumatsu started its serialization), and is eventually revealed that the main plot of the manga is to win a tournament following the system of Shuumatsu, with 13 fights in total to add more similarities. Even better, so far, the first six fights of both Shuumatsu and Kengan Omega (with some big differences) have ended with the same result (with the "bad side" winning rounds 1,2 and 5 and the "good side" winning rounds 3, 4 and 6).
  • Many fans were questioning the addition of Michel Nostradamus into the roster, seeing how he was a French Prophet in life. Then when he appears, he is revealed to be so strong that he’s considered humanity’s Wild Card.
  • This manga depicts a massive court of Crossover Cosmology led by Zeus. While the comics' version is a bit ambiguous, the MCU version in Thor: Love and Thunder would replicate this very setup.
• Ho Yay: Being a manga centered in a tournament with battles to the death between attractive men of very different kinds, it was inevitable:
  • This is basically the whole battle of Lü Bu and Thor. Bored of winning easily against weak opponents and having become the strongest of their respective worlds, they felt empty and unsatisfied with their lives, so, after meeting an opponent who could give them a challenge, they took it gladly. Their battle is basically both of them having the time of their lives as they beat the crap out of each other. Noticeably, Thor ends on a melancholic state after killing Lü Bu, knowing he ended with the only one able to understand him and the closest thing he had to a friend.
  • Chen Gong is VERY devoted to his general Lü Bu, to the point he's unable to say anything that is not praise for his lord. It goes to a point where he (along with rest of the army of Lü Bu) prefers to follow his lord in death than to live in a world without him.
    • Thor also has his own fanboy in the form of Forseti, the Norse God of Justice, who professes for him an almost fanatical devotion, not unlike the one Chen Gong shows for Lü Bu.
  • Likewise, the duel of Heracles against Jack the Ripper ends having some of this, with Heracles trying to save Jack from his darkness and Jack feeling murderous glee upon seeing the color of Heracles's soul, wanting to "dye him in his favorite color".
    • The ending of the fight was full of this too. A dying Heracles hugs Jack and comforts him before vanishing, and Jack ends up feeling sadness for killing the only person who truly understood him in his life.
    • And that without talking about the aftermath, where Jack wishes to meet Heracles once again, even if that is impossible due the nature of Ragnarok.
  • Like with Chen Gong and Forsetti, Ares is also shows to have an unbreakable faith for Heracles, to the point that at times his relationship with him seems less than best friends and more like a wife supporting his husband that went to the war.
  • In their debut scene, Genpaku Sugita and Hokusai Katsushika are shown to be very invested in Raiden's impressive body. Granted, one wanted to dissect him and the other wanted to portray a legend like Raiden in his paints, but the first thing Hokusai draws from the sumo wrestler is... his butt.
• Love to Hate:
  • Despite wanting to end humanity and causing Adam's death, some fans enjoy Zeus due his trollish, eccentric personality and his comedic scenes, while still being a competent and serious antagonist when the time is needed.
  • Poseidon is one of the least sympathetic characters of the manga and clearly designed to be disliked, but this hasn't stop fans from finding him a great villain due his chilling and imposing presence and his ideal of what a god should be, that he follows no matter the situation, making him a badass antagonist you can root against without feeling conflicted. His good looks also help.
• Memetic Badass:
  • Thanks to his brief stare with Shiva, the frog-like being who brings Raiden the salt to start his battle has become this for the fandom, with some theorizing him to be some kind of Supreme God above Zeus or directly the strongest character of the manga.
  • Like mentioned above, it didn't take much for Jesus to become one after his debut chapter, with fans often attributing him incredible feats and abilities despite being just an spectator who most likely doesn't possesses any fighting abilities.
  • Similar to the Salt Frog, the fabulous bird belonging to Hades quickly gained this status after its brief appearance during Beelzebub's flashback, where it is seen playing chess with its master. The bird forces the usually brilliant Hades to make a truly bizarre maneuver (castling his own queen), painting it as a being of unmatched intelligence that can push even the smartest gods to their limits.
• Memetic Loser:
  • Especially before the fifth fight, Shiva was this for the fandom due to his tendency of being cockblocked by the Greek Gods anytime he tried to participate in the tournament. Some people joked that he was going to be interrupted so many times he was going to participate in the last fight of Ragnarok. It went to a point that, when he finally got his chance to fight in the fifth round, some people at first even thought he was either going to get interrupted again or that the one fighting was Loki disguised instead.
    • The fact that, in the middle of his fight, the plot shifted the focus on the skirmish of Buddha and Loki didn't help to improve his reputation, as the interest of the fans went into another direction just when he was receiving his spotlight.
    • Fortunately for Shiva, this feeling died down as his fight went on, thanks to a better showcase of his powers, having his personality fleshed out, The anime putting the skirmish between Buddha and Loki Prior to Shiva's battle. and, especially, after he ended victorious by the end.
  • Likewise, Ares garnered the mockery of the fans due to generally not living up to his title of War God, not realizing what is happening during the battles and needing the help of Hermes to understand what is actually going on in the fights, apart of not looking very impressive either.
• Memetic Molester: Beelzebub became one with the revelation that he's the responsible of the resurrection of Hajun in Ragnarok when he dropped one of the Hajun seeds he cultivated next to a young Zerofuku by sneaking into his room while he was sleeping. Unsurprisingly, this has turned Beelzebub into a creepy figure among the fandom who waits for any chance to experiment on unsuspecting kids. Wearing an outfit that makes him look like a Catholic priest doesn't help matters.
• Memetic Mutation: With the airing of the anime, this shot of Aphrodite having her breasts hold by her golem servants◊ didn't last long until being noticed by viewers, who proceeded to make their own version of the image featuring different characters from other franchises.
  • A gif of her breasts getting blown into her face by sudden updraft has also made for a viral post on Tumblr.
• Narm: The portrayal of Jack the Ripper as the embodiment of the worst evils of humankind as well as the reaction of disgust from both Gods and humans towards him anytime he appears on-screen ended up being laughable to some readers, as there have been people who have committed more heinous acts than the ones of Jack through the history of our species, including some serial killers who had a higher body count than Jack's one (whose confirmed victims number only five) and, while the fans agree that the murders that Jack performed were horrible, they are not enough to warrant him so much hate among the audience of the Ragnarok. Even better when you consider that Rasputin, one of the other fighters announced, can have an equally bad, or even worse, reputation.
• Narm Charm: The sheer over-the-top quality of the whole thing - that is, or at the very least seems to be, very much intended - can make this story a hilarious read, while still being enjoyable for its serious moments.
• Never Live It Down:
  • Ever since Kojiro became the first fighter to earn a win for humanity, especially with his fight coming after Adam's contentious loss, a large number of fans have accused the author of having a bias towards Japanese characters, with many claiming that people of other nationalities will keep losing their fights just to make the Japanese characters look better; never mind how the Big Bad of the story is Zeus and the Big Good Brunhilde, in addition to how historical and mythological figures of Japan have had a largely minor role in the story so far. Even after Jack the Ripper, an English figure, scored a second win for humanity, and Raiden Tameemon, a Japanese figure, lost his fight for humanity, the accusations haven't died down.
  • Raiden's introduction showed him sleeping with a bunch of naked female deities. Among the group, one of them was a humanoid female dog. This didn't got unnoticed by the fandom, that quickly created countless memes about Raiden being a furry fan or being obsessed with committing acts of bestiality. While the rest of women who slept with Raiden were fairly human-like and he has done a lot more of stuff since then, the fans will always remember Raiden as that guy who had sex with a dog.
• One-Scene Wonder: The little frog deity that brings Raiden the salt he throws on the stadium before he starts his fight with Shiva has become very popular ever since his appearance, garnering a surprising big fanbase for a character that at best appears in three pages. It goes to a point where people jokingly refer to him as the Supreme God (see Memetic Badass above).
• Padding: A major point of contention for the manga is its tendency to shove in flashbacks, backstory and Combat Commentator at practically every blow exchanged, greatly breaking the flow of the fight itself. This problem has became more prominent in the anime, in where fights get dragged out over multiple episodes while the actual combat takes around 10 minutes at most.
• Signature Scene: While the series has a lot of memorable scenes, perhaps the most remembered one is the one where Adam reveals to Zeus and the spectators that he's fighting to save his children (basically the entirety of humankind) from annihilation and he, as their father, doesn't needs a reason to protect them, prompting the entire human population watching Ragnarok to pray in unison for Adam's victory. That scene is pretty much what elevated Adam to the most popular character of the series, and is one of the most quoted lines of the manga by fans.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Among other reasons, one of the things the fans disliked of the anime adaptation was the change of Brunhilde's over-the-top manga expressions for more normal or less exaggerated ones, citing that these faces are one of the things who make Brunhilde so fun as a main character, and both her and the series lose quite of their charm without them.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Some fans lament that the story barely fleshes out the supporting valkyries, as the focus of the fights is almost entirely centered around the human and god fighters, while the valkyries only get a couple of lines and a few panels of screentime before leaving the story for a while or dying despite their role in giving the humans godslaying weapons and special abilities. The worst offender is probably Reginleif, who only gets two lines in her introductory scene, dying at the end of the second round without getting much characterization except for what her sisters comment about her. To the credit of the authors, it seems they realized this, as subsequent valkyries such as Hlokk or Thrud have received some decent characterization even if the focus still mainly goes to the fighters. Furthermore, author Fukumi Takui uploads in his Twitter some drawings of the valkyries interacting more with their Einherjar partner, implying he at least cares enough for them to make illustrations in their honor.
  • A group of fans believe Bishamonten was a good choice of a fighter by himself and didn't need a fusion of him and the other Seven Lucky Gods taking his place in the tournament to make him interesting. Furthermore, with Zerofuku's death (taking the Lucky Gods with him) at the end of the 6th Round, now the chances to see Bishamonten as a fighter are completely gone.
  • Hades, oddly enough, can feel this way to some. His backstory isn't as fleshed out as his opponent's and receives less narrative focus, with Qin Shi Huang getting the lion's share of development. Some also consider his fighting style isn't very complex and too reminiscent of Poseidon's, instead of having his own one.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Sasaki Kojiro's whole thing is learning from the opponents who defeated him. Miyamoto Musashi is known to have provoked him in various way during their duel, throwing him off and then winning. It's a theme of the series that gods are arrogant, and Poseidon particularly so, which is what leads to his eventual defeat, despite the gods winning their fights against far more powerful humans. It would seem that Kojiro learning from Musashi how to unnerve your opponent and use it against them would be the perfect fit, both thematically and logically, for this fight. Instead this occasion is completely lost by choosing to portray their duel as completely honorable instead.
• Tough Act to Follow: As a result of its amazing storytelling and impactful ending, the second fight is the most popular battle of the manga and is often used to compare the fights succeeding it, with some fans going to the extreme of considering the second match the only good fight of the manga, with the next ones failing to meet the standard set by it.
• Unexpected Character: The list of humans includes expected heroes like Sasaki Kojiro, Lü Bu, and King Leonidas, as well as highly unexpected or seemingly randomized picks such as Nikola Tesla and Michel Nostradamus, neither of whom were fighters of any kind and Simo Häyhä, who is more well-known for being a sniper, thus unsuited for a tournament style one-on-one fight.
• The Woobie: Many fans felt terrible for Zerofuku after his backstory was revealed. He was originally an innocent and kind child god who only wanted to help ease the suffering of humanity, but his attempts to do so only made things worse for himself and the humans he helped. He drove humans to arrogance and hedonism by removing their hardships and solving their problems for them, and was left a broken shell after absorbing so much suffering into himself. His efforts are not acknowledged and he is insulted by the people he saved, only to get his failure rubbed in his face when Buddha appears and gets the hedonistic humans to change their ways without even trying. Buddha unintentionally destroys Zerofuku's entire worldview with a single explanation of his philosophy, breaking the child god's will completely and causing him to hate humanity out of pure jealousy. Things don't get much better for him during the match proper, as Buddha seems to be actively mocking Zerofuku during their battle without showing even a single ounce of pity for the one he accidentally broke. For the first half of their fight Zero couldn't manage to land even one single successful attack on his opponent, and only grew more desperate and miserable as all his attempts failed, ultimately being forced to face the truth of his despair, that he simply wanted to be someone loved like Buddha is. This moment of self-reflection causes Buddha to start encouraging him to love himself first, which seems to turn things around for Zero, as he is able to experience true happiness in an honest fistfight with Buddha, finally redeeming himself and returning to his pure, original form... only to suddenly be taken over by the demon Hajun, in a process where the poor boy is terrified as he is transforming, reaching out to Buddha and begging for help before being overcome by the evil demon. And he ends up dying with Hajun when Buddha wins. The poor kid just can't catch a break.

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