YMMV / The Magnificent Kotobuki

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • From what we see of his still-in-development tower, Isao really does love the Yufang the same way Torihei loves his daughter's ukiyo-e paintings - a man who loves something from a second-hand information told to him. From there, his obsession about the Yufang hole becomes slightly ambiguous. Does he want to invade the world beyond the hole and monopoly the Yufang's prosperity through his military force, or does he want to be the only one who is "loved" by the Yufang and will destroy anyone he perceives as "being loved more" by them? Is Leona right when she says that he's not that kind of person and got corrupted in the eight years she hasn't heard about him, or does he always act that way and just really good at hiding it?
  • On the same subject as the above, the way he panders to Isao makes it looks like that his butler is The Corrupter, and likely a Yufang just like Old Sabu.
• Awesome Art: The sheer amounts of realistic aerial combat maneuver and sound design of these old WWII airplane are a sight to behold. Each plane has different gunfire sounds and metal creaks depending on its specs, the first person view of the dogfights, and the 2 minutes long plane start-up that Kylie does in Episode 1 are just some of them.
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • The Kotobuki pilot's, and the other pilots' to the lesser extend, respective past, especially Leona and Zara's meeting Sapoh Airfield and the reason why they make sad faces when talking about it.
  • Because of the various towns in Ijitsu and the game's examples of one squadron protagonist in each town, there's a lot of Japanese fanfictions in Pixiv about original character squadrons, often all female also, doing their own business in the setting where the plotline is just writing itself.
• Les Yay:
  • Leona and Zara definitely has something going on. Not only they share a room while the other four girls of the Kotobuki Squadron are bunking together, they sleep and walk around in their underwear only in each other's presence. They knew each other for the longest time, the Kotobuki Squadron was started by them, they snicker when Adolfo is trying to woo them, and their interactions to the younger pilots are more like a father and mother pair. The last episode goes into its logical conclusion; Zara practically asks Leona to elope with her, away from obligations that always burdening the squad captain, while knowing full well that Leona's personality would never let her leave her folks. So the moment Leona rejects her suggestion, Zara settles as her loyal wingwoman instead, sharing those obligations through thick and thin together. Leona would have asked that herself, but gets cut off.
  • Lulu and Julia, in a more Vitriolic Best Buds way. They knew each other since kindergarten and the way Julia says it, she deliberately seduced boys away from Lulu when they were younger because she wanted to hoard Lulu for herself. While Lulu is more aloof, it is known that she's aloof to those she adores. That Lulu decides to go to war for Julia is a sign that she indeed cares for the exiled councilor.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Pancakes. ^Explanation Kylie is so obsessed with pancakes, that the show in general is associated with pancakes by the fandom.
  • Because Sentai Filmworks' English subtitles initially rendered the characters' name in all capitals, fans tend to jokingly type the names in all caps even after the subtitles changed it to normal.
  • Julia's city symbol and her status as a protagonist cause a lot of claims that the show is an anarcho-capitalist propaganda.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Even before he openly admits of shooting down Old Sabu and Allen, and then taunting their families over their suffering, Isao ruthlessly shoots down Leona, the only Kotobuki who believes that he's not murderous psychopath, when she begs for the lives of Rahama-Porokka Coalition's men and asks him to allow their retreat, claiming that he's kidding when he says he would. All that comes with it are the Porokka flagship and her God-knows-how-many crew get shot down and explode, numerous lives from both sides are lost from two air skirmishes, and the final nail in the coffin that confirms Isao is a horrifying war criminal.
  • Isao's butler dives down on Zara after he smashed her plane with a crane, intending to strafe her while she's sitting duck on the water and with her canopy open.
• Never Live It Down: Emma is a lot of things, but what the viewers are likely to remember about her is when she has a Potty Emergency that one time.

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