YMMV / The Ship of Fools

• Evil Is Sexy: True for several characters, especially Benedict Lo.
• Jerkass Woobie: Perhaps one of the more famous examples on the wiki is Chiyome Lys. On the Jerkass end of the spectrum, she's openly admitted to disliking anyone and everyone, and even distrusts her own allies and loved ones. To make things worse, she often makes use of threats and violence on anyone who meets her displeasure; all without regretting a thing. On the Woobie end though, we find out she used to be a slave to a World Noble at a young age, who then sells her off to another slave master for an additional three years. Just when it seems she finally gets relief from her anguish, and comes across True Companions she can count on, one of them, Nova Blade, ends up leaving her for reasons unbeknownst to her, causing her to become even more disillusioned with the world. Therefore, while there are readers who'd want to give Lys a swift punch in the face for her horrid attitude, there are others who can't help but feel sorry for her instead.
• Les Yay: Masa Mune, the first mate of the Storm Pirates and Dracule Sakura's second in command (before her recruitment into the Jolly Pirates) shows moments of this here and there whenever her captain's involved. It becomes so obvious, that even Rose Glory begins to wonder if it's more than just camaraderie.
• Throw It In!: Bergmont, the first major antagonist of Obsidian Voyage, was literally created on a whim to give Dimitri a reason to fight in the tournament. The author realized while writing him that having him fight Dimitri in the final would be a more satisfying conclusion than the originally planned one.
  • This is essentially how the majority of One Dream started out before the author got serious about his work and turned it into a full blown fan series. The Jolly Pirates in particular were comprised entirely of this trope, except for their captain, who had been thought out beforehand in advance. Roughly a year or two after laying the basic outline of the story out, the author eventually stopped with the trope and began to put much more serious thought into his pages. It was around the same time One Dream became a genuine series in its own right.