History YMMV / WarriorCatsAVisionOfShadows

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After the complaints ''Literature/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars'' and ''Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans'' received for the amount of poorly written romance, many view arc six's lack of [[ImpliedLoveInterest (major)]] romance as this.
** Fans previously complained about the previous two arcs, ''Power of Three'' and ''Omen of the Stars'', feeling like they dragged out for far too long and could even be filler-ish at times. They were pleasantly surprised by the much tighter pacing and focus of ''A Vision of Shadows'' ([[SeasonalRot until the second half, anyway]]).

!![[center: [[YMMV/WarriorCats Main page]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheNewProphecy The New Prophecy]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsPowerOfThree Power of Three]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars Omen of the Stars]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans Dawn of the Clans]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsAVisionOfShadows A Vision of Shadows]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheBrokenCode The Broken Code]]]]

** What's interesting is that many of these fans had been begging for a female antagonist for ''years''. At least they got what they wanted...

Then there's Finleap. Good fucking ''[=StarClan=]'', Finleap. He was initially an EnsembleDarkHorse who became a popular character to ship Twigbranch with. Then Raging Storm turned him into a ''huge asshole'', who is quite [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], ignoring Twigbranch when she refuses to bear his children. He then accuses her of liking ''her sister's mate'', and he ignores her for the rest of the journey ''again'', only to apologize out of nowhere. The readers are expected to forgive him, but his actions caused most fans to hate him, practically turning him into TheScrappy.

** Needletail is meant to be seen as a TragicHero for [[spoiler:helping to try to stop Darktail and sacrificing herself to save Violetpaw, but many readers point out that she ''only'' does it ''after'' Darktail kills her mate Rain, thus making her actions seem selfish (prior to Rain's death she never shows any problems with Darktail's cruelty and brutality). Not helping matters is that, even after she is accepted into [=StarClan=], Needletail lays [=ShadowClan=]'s problems all on Rowanstar and [[NeverMyFault never takes any responsibility for her part in shattering the Clan]]. Even Yellowfang and Shadowstar point out how absurd her way of handling it is.]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Needletail is meant to be heroic for [[spoiler:helping to try to stop Darktail and sacrificing herself to save Violetpaw, but many readers point out that she ''only'' does it ''after'' Darktail kills her mate Rain, thus making her actions seem selfish. Not helping matters is that, even after she is accepted into [=StarClan=], Needletail lays [=ShadowClan=]'s problems all on Rowanstar and [[NeverMyFault never takes any responsibility for her part in shattering the Clan]]. Even Yellowfang and Shadowstar point out how absurd her way of handling it is.]]
** There's also the way Smoke raised [[BigBad Darktail]]. While she's supposed to be seen as a mother who's upset that her mate abandoned her, her handling of the situation is definitely ''not'' easy to see in a positive light. She raised Darktail to loath and want to destroy clans... [[DisproportionateRetribution Because Onestar left them]]. Out of '''[[CruelToBeKind genuine concern]]''' for their safety. Yup, [[SarcasmMode totally reasonable]].

** [[spoiler: Violetshine being pregnant with Tree's kits, which wasn't even ''hinted at.'' Granted, Tree and Violetshine we're in love, but at no point did they mention that they '''mated''' (something which Warrior Cats ''does'' bring up).]]

* MisaimedFandom: Some fans on Tumblr accuse the authors of killing off [[spoiler:Briarlight]] in ''River Of Fire'' because of ableism. This is in spite of Brightheart, a [=ThunderClan=] warrior whose face had been mauled by dogs, being a respected warrior, as well as Deadfoot, the lame-pawed yet capable deputy of [=WindClan=].

** Before the preview chapters, there were lots of theories about Leafpool, including one that she was dead and Lilyheart's daughter Leafkit was named after her. There are still tons of wild theories, since unless there's a twist, [=ThunderClan=] will have three medicine cats.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Needletail is meant to be heroic for [[spoiler:helping try to stop Darktail, but many people point out that she only does it after he killed her mate Rain, thus making her actions seem selfish. Not helping matters is that she lays [=ShadowClan=]'s problems all on Rowanstar and [[NeverMyFault never takes any responsibility for her part in shattering the Clan]]. Even Yellowfang points out how absurd her way of handling it is.]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Needletail is meant to be heroic for [[spoiler:helping try to stop Darktail, but people feel that she only does it after he killed her mate Rain, thus making her actions seem selfish. Not helping matter is that she lays [=ShadowClan=]'s problems all on Rowanstar and [[NeverMyFault never takes any responsibility for her part in shattering the Clan]]. Even Yellowfang points out how absurd her way of handling it is.]]

* BrokenBase: As is inevitable with ''Literature/WarriorCats'' fans.
** Should Briarlight survive this series, or should she be let go due to her continued survivals getting ridiculous? [[spoiler:She doesn't, leaving fans divided over whether her death was poignant and fitting or cheap and full of iffy implications]]
** Just like [[Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans last time]], the time period the series takes place in. Some fans are happy to see the modern characters again, while others feel like their story was wrapped up well enough in ''The Last Hope'' and ''Literature/BramblestarsStorm'', or that it had grown stale, and would have preferred either another series following the ''Dawn of the Clans'' characters, or one set in the distant future.
** Bramblestar and Squirrelflight having four kits, only for two of them to die. Is this an interesting development, or is it completely pointless? It doesn't help that all of the other protagonists of major ''Warriors'' books from 2013-2016 (Gray Wing, Clear Sky, Thunder, Moth Flight, Tallstar, and Bramblestar himself) all have siblings who died as kits as well.
** Alderheart being a medicine cat. While some are excited for another medicine cat protagonist, others are unhappy, since unless there's some twist, [=ThunderClan=] is going to have three medicine cats, which seems like overkill. This was given a bit of a nod in ''Thunder and Shadow''.
** Inevitably, shipping. Case #1: Breezepelt x Heathertail. Some are peeved that Breezepelt [[KarmaHoudini gets a family]] after everything he's done, while others like the pairing a lot and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot think it's a shame we don't see how it played out]]. Also, due to Breezepelt himself being a huge BaseBreakingCharacter, opinions are split over whether Breezepelt will be a great father or a horrible one. [[spoiler:''Crowfeather's Trial'' shows he's at least a loving mate, and Kate has stated she thinks he'll be a great father, so the implication is more for the former.]]
** Shipping case #2: Ivypool x Fernsong becoming canon in ''Darkest Night''. Some are ecstatic because of the hinted potential of [[spoiler:a male queen]] and the breaking of gender roles, while others find this annoyingly shoehorned into story, arguing that there are no gender roles to be broken in the first place in Clan society. And that's not even going into the upheaval about whether Ivypool should have a mate in the first place.
** Kate's statement that "there are currently no plans for a female arch villain". Some don't really mind, but others are disappointed, since there's only been one female main villain and a sprinkling of female minor villains so far. It doesn't help that two of the most popular candidates for the arc's main villain were Sparkpelt and Featherpelt.
** Bramblestar [[spoiler:and Rowanstar's]] decision to [[spoiler:separate Violetshine and Twigbranch.]] Some think it was the fairest trade, while others believe it to be a heartless decision stemming from selfish motives, and contributing to [[spoiler:the sisters' BrokenBird status]] at the end of ''Thunder and Shadow''.
** [[spoiler:Tigerheart]] becoming [[spoiler:deputy after Crowfrost's death]]. Some believe it'll create a good ying-tang with [[spoiler:Tigerstar -- Tigerheart being a good deputy and eventual good leader in dark contrast with his grandfather Tigerstar]]. Other believe [[spoiler:he's done nothing to prove himself worthy of the deputyship and that he's too young]]. There's also the fact that [[spoiler:Rowanstar first picked his daughter's mate as deputy, and now his son, leading some to believe he's being bias in his decisions]].

** Sparkpelt being DemotedToExtra after ''The Apprentice's Quest'' has taken many by surprise. Some are okay with it, since this gives more interesting characters spotlight, while others think TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.

!![[center: [[YMMV/WarriorCats Main page]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheNewProphecy The New Prophecy]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsPowerOfThree Power of Three]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars Omen of the Stars]]| [[YMMV/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans Dawn of the Clans]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsAVisionOfShadows A Vision of Shadows]] | [[YMMV/WarriorCatsTheBrokenCode The Broken Code]]]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

* SeasonalRot:
** After four fairly solid books, ''River of Fire'' takes a sharp nosedive in quality. Despite its ominous name and the many dangers in it, [[spoiler:''only one [=ThunderClan=] cat dies'', which fans complain about since they're bloated with CListFodder ''and'' old cats who should by all rights be dead or retired. Even worse, nothing really happens plot-wise.]] It's essentially {{Filler}} as everyone waits for [[spoiler:Tigerstar II to come back.]]
** In general, the second half of the arc is agreed to be extremely weak, after a strong start; many fans state that [[spoiler:Darktail died too soon, and the last three books meander about with no real villain and weak writing.]]

** Fans previously complained about the previous two arcs, ''Power of Three'' and ''Omen of the Stars'', feeling like they dragged out for far too long and could even be filler-ish at times. They were pleasantly surprised by the much tighter pacing and focus of ''A Vision of Shadows''.

** Some have theorized that [[spoiler:Sleekwhisker]] is pregnant by [[spoiler:Darktail]] after she displayed jealousy over his favoritism and was shown to be rather possessive toward him. Many think that she [[spoiler: will give birth to his kits à la [[Disney/TheLionKing Zira.]]]]

* SeasonalRot: After four fairly solid books, ''River of Fire'' takes a sharp nosedive in quality. Despite its ominous name and the many dangers in it, [[spoiler:''only one [=ThunderClan=] cat dies'', which fans complain about since they're bloated with CListFodder ''and'' old cats who should by all rights be dead or retired. Even worse, nothing really happens plot-wise.]] It's essentially {{Filler}} as everyone waits for [[spoiler:Tigerstar II to come back.]]

** Some have theorized that [[spoiler:Sleekwhisker]] is pregnant by [[spoiler:Darktail]] after she displayed jealousy over his favoritism and was shown to be rather possessive toward him. Many think that she [[spoiler: will give birth to his kits à la [[Film/TheLionKing Zira.]]]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Breezepelt and Heathertail having kits. Is it a Crowfeather and Nightcloud situation, or do they genuinely love each other?

** Inevitably, shipping. Case #1: Breezepelt x Heathertail. Some are peeved that Breezepelt [[KarmaHoudini gets a family]] after everything he's done, while others like the pairing a lot and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot think it's a shame we don't see how it played out]]. Also, due to Breezepelt himself being a huge BaseBreakingCharacter, opinions are split over whether Breezepelt will be a great father or a horrible one.

** Should Briarlight survive this series, or should she be let go due to her continued survivals getting ridiculous?

* SeasonalRot: After four fairly solid books, ''River of Fire'' takes a sharp nosedive in quality. Despite its ominous name and the many dangers in it, [[spoiler:''only one [=ThunderClan=] cat dies'', which fans complain about since they're bloated with CListFodder. Even worse, nothing really happens plot-wise.]] It's essentially {{Filler}} as everyone waits for [[spoiler:Tigerstar II to come back.]]