Sakana/YMMV

All spoilers are unmarked. Read at your own risk.

• Angel/Devil Shipping: While not as popular as other pairings, especially the "Genkara" (GenkeixArata) ship, people see the "Taiara" (TaiseixArata) ship as this, considering the former's status as a Pure Cinnamon Roll and the latter being a few steps away from Complete Monster status.
• Cargo Ship: Jiro and Cheepii, the Cheapies donut mascot.
• Catharsis Factor: Jiro finally getting a date with Cashier Girl. Even better, he starts dating her!
  • Taro punching Genji for mooching off money, considering he has spent most of the time Bullying a Dragon and using the "we're family" card to get away with it. Unfortunately, his dealings with the Yakuza are anything but this.
  • While it was very brief, seeing Arata lose his smugness when told Yuudai's text wasn't for him was more than enough to satisfy most readers.
  • Taisei getting a Love Epiphany regarding Yuudai, thus canonizing the immensely popular TaiDai ship made the fans go wild.
  • Yuudai asking Taisei out for a date. Even Mad herself lampshades it!
• Complete Monster: Heavily implied with Arata Tasaki. Considering his actions, his status as a sinister Knight of Cerebus, the amounts of Fridge Horror surrounding him (there's hints he's a sexual predator) and the fact he's the polar opposite of Taisei, there's a very good chance he'll turn out to be this trope.
  • Mad pushed this even further by calling him "the worst character in the entire webcomic" which, by the way, features freaking Yakuza. Brrr...
• Die for Our Ship: Largerly averted, but there's a downplayed case regarding Kaede, Genkei's wife. Fans don't hate her, but there's very little fanart of her and Genkei together, mostly because most of the couple fanarts are the slash kind.
  • Arata plays with this. While some people play this straight regarding the "Taidai" ship (justifiably enough), others just either pair him with someone else (Genkei in particular) or ship the three altogether.
  • Defied with Sango in regards of the Jan/Shigeru ship, mostly due to her personality.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Japanese fans tend to view Arata Tasaki this way, due to his looks and attitude. The rest of the world has a very different opinion...
• Ensemble Darkhorse: IT'S MISTER EEL HEAD!
  • For that matter also the crab that Jiro talked to in the first comic strip.
  • As of characters, Genkei has proven to be immensely popular despite his limited screentime. The fact Mad has confirmed him to be a crucial character (most likely regarding Taisei and Yuudai's relationship) only added more fuel to the fire. His younger brother Kei has become a smaller one as well.
  • Later updates set Michio and Kento Kusagawa as this, both for their playful nature as well as worshipping Jiro.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: TaiseixYuudai (affectionately titled TaiDai in most cases), so much that the artist even talked about their popularity in a Lifestream. A lot of the fanart of Sakana out there is featuring those two. Because of said popularity, they're slowly becoming an Official Couple, with JiroxYuudai taking up the mantle. Shigeru/Jan is very popular too, supported by the fact they're always seen together.
  • Really, many slash pairings are popular enough, but one that sticks out is the GenkeixArata ("Genkara") ship. Talk about a Crack Ship!
• Foe Yay: Taro and Mori just scream Belligerent Sexual Tension at every turn. Mad even lampshades this.
  • Speaking of Taro, he has this with Genji.
  • Genji himself and Endo and Billy, especially the former.
  • Yuudai and Arata would be just plain No Yay if the fandom wouldn't misinterpret their relationship as this.
  • Apparently, this is the appeal of the "Shigeara" ship, due to the confirmed fact Shigeru utterly loathes Arata for what he did to Yuudai.
• Funny Aneurysm Moment: An object example. The "This Guy" hat was seen as nothing but an hilariously cheesy brand. Once Arata Tasaki enters the scene, most fans aren't going to look at the hat brand the same way again.
  • Yuudai hating being touched? Hilarious. Yuudai hating being touched due to an horrendous past relationship that only ended with him getting hit with a freaking bottle and gaining his trademark scar? Not funny at all.
• Harsher in Hindsight: A lot of Yuudai's traits and behavior become less funny and more heartbreaking once his Dark and Troubled Past gets revealed.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: A mix of this and Harsher in Hindsight. Taro's protectiveness is heartwarming enough (not to mention hilarious), but it becomes doubly enough when you take into account the trauma of losing his parents and distancing himself from the people that care about him, making clear Taro wants to keep his loved ones' safe so as to not lose them yet again.
  • Jiro and Yuudai slowly becoming Fire-Forged Friends sure counts as well.
  • All of Taisei and Taro's interactions turn out to be this since, in their teenage years, Taro was very mean to Taisei, to the point he threatened to beat him up (the situation was Played for Laughs, but still).
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This movie. No, really.
  • Let's see: An Opposites Attract couple composed of a blonde Tsundere and a happy-go-lucky brunette whose trademark colors are green and orange and which is supported by most of the characters and fanbase? Sure this hasn't been seen before.
  • Angry Lady/Mori stating that "flowers don't betray you" becomes hilarious once Flowey is taken into account.
• Ho Yay: Oh boy. Due to Taisei having No Sense of Personal Space, he oozes this. One example is his bromantic relationship with Jiro:

Taisei: Did I try to ride you like a bike last night?

• • Taisei and Yuudai, hoo boy. For starters, Yuudai is visibly lovestruck when Taisei appears at the stall. Taisei isn't discouraged at all when Yuudai behaves like a total Jerkass when he tries to find out Yuudai's first name just after meeting him and enthusiastically tries every first name he knows, making Yuudai blush. Then, after Taisei pulls him into a brohug of sorts, Yuudai freaks out like he was being touched inappropriately. The crowning moment is when Taro leaves to spy on Jiro in disguise and Taisei and Yuudai find themselves alone, waiting for him. Then Taisei is exceptionally nice to Yuudai, making him compliments. Yuudai doesn't believe him at first, and when he finds out he is actually genuine with his kindness, he blushes heavily.
  • Shigeru and Jan also ooze this: They live in the same apartment, they're together for most of their appearances, and have an endearing Sempai-Kohai relationship. The fact their relationship has a lot less drama than either Jiro/Chie, Taro/Mori and Taisei/Yuudai makes them a very suitable Beta Couple for most of the fanbase.
• I Knew It!: Many fans correctly guessed the true identity of "Cashier Girl": Chie Yamamoto, Jiro's Loving Bully from his childhood.
  • It was unanimously agreed by the fanbase that Yuudai was gay even before Mad revealed it in a strip. Also, many people cheered when Mad started to canonize the very popular "TaiDai"(TaiseixYuudai) ship.
• Incest Yay Shipping: Yes, there are Jiro/Taro shippers. The fact they're canonically very close helps. Same with Taisei/Genkei.
• Iron Woobie: Jiro. Despite all the bad things that happen to him, he doesn't give up. This is even acknowledged In-Universe as one of ther reasons the Kusagawa twins admire him so much.
• It Was His Sled: Many things concerning the true identities of some characters, namely "Cashier Girl" (Chie Yamamoto, Jiro's former childhood bully), "Angry Lady" (Chie's sister Mori) and especially "This Guy" (Arata Tasaki, Yuudai's abusive ex). Then there's the I Knew It! entry above.
• Jerkass Woobie: Yuudai. He's incredibly rude and abrasive to almost everyone he encounters, but this is confirmed to be a defense mechanism due to trust issues thanks to his abusive ex. His status as this gets increasingly clear in later chapters.
  • Mori "Angry Lady" Yamamoto turns out to be this as well. She's quite cold and bitchy, but she used to be a lot sweeter until she caught her fiancé cheating on her, with an awful breakup ensuing and forcing her to live with her younger sister. Her statement that "flowers don't betray you" just drives this further.
  • Genji is a jackass who is frequently fighting with his family, but he has an awful case of No Social Skills and certainly doesn't deserve being screwed over by Nishimura and his gang.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Both Genkei Tachibana and Arata Tasaki are the most frequent candidates.
• Love to Hate: Ryoji Nishimura and his Co-Dragons, Endo and Billy, have picked up a fanbase.
  • An even greater example would be Arata Tasaki, whose status as a grades-weapon Knight of Cerebus Hate Sink has made him memorable in many fan circles.
• Memetic Mutation: Whenever Taisei's eye shows up, things are going to be Serious Business/magical things are going to happen.
  • Taro throwing people down stairs whenever he get's serious/angry/protective of Jiro.
  • The reaction of Sakana fans to this movie were, to say the least, hysterical.
  • Jiro's hot new nose.
  • Pugging has become an in-joke between Mad and the fandom. Mad often answers questions about Sakana characters on her Tumblr blog. Whenever a question pops up which can't be answered since it would inevitably spoiler upcoming events in the comic, Mad instead posts a picture of a pug and claims to be too distracted by it's cuteness to answer the question.
  • And let's not forget Taisei's "ravish" line and face.
  • The "This Guy" hat. No, really.
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: Japanese and Korean people adore Sakana, to the point of having a fan translation circulating through the net, as well as having lots of fanart on Pixiv and Twitter.
• Misaimed Fandom: Downplayed. Japanese fans tend to see Arata as a handsome Bastard Boyfriend who is shipped with virtually everyone, when canonically, he's a thoroughly disgusting Unsexy Sadist whose creepy vibes just scream Nightmare Fuel. That said, most fanartists are aware of his canon douchebaggery and don't try to deny it or make excuses for him. This is generally averted in the West, though.
• Moe: Jan. Oh Jan. Just look at him enthusiastically presenting the menu, awkwardly waving with one hand in the background and trying to say Taro's name!
• Moral Event Horizon: Arata crossed the line In-Universe and out when following a drunken argument, he smashed a bottle into Yuudai's face, which left him with his trademark scar. The fact he acts completely unapologetic about just clinches his status as a completely repulsive character.
  • Nishimura isn't a nice guy by any stretch of the definition, but he really crosses the line when he forces Genji into a Sadistic Choice and threatens him with death if he doesn't comply.
• Narm Charm: Normally, a character with a "This Guy" hat who uses telephone slang and the phrase "Hey, bud" would be very hard to be taken seriously... but Arata Tasaki manages to twist them around and make them genuinely terrifying.
• Nightmare Fuel: The face Taisei makes in the last panel of this strip is kinda creepy.
  • A much more serious example are the interactions between Yuudai and Arata. Let's be honest here, Arata Tasaki is pretty much Fridge Horror personified.
• No Yay: Every ship involving Arata. Especially the "Arata/Yuudai" ship. Similar to Frollo, many people start shipping him with everyone in the cast.
• One True Pairing: Taisei/Yuudai, no doubt about it. Not to mention Jiro/Chie (which is now canon) and Shigeru/Jan.
• One True Threesome: Taisei/Yuudai/Arata, Jan/Sango/Shigeru and Genji/Endo/Billy are the most frequent.
• Ship Mates: Take a seat...
  • There's Jiro/Cashier Girl and Taro/Angry Lady (combined with Double In-Law Marriage).
  • Shigeru/Jan serve as this to Taisei/Yuudai. In fact, Shigeru/Jan is a popular Beta Couple for many pairings, since the vast majority take for granted the two are/will become a couple.
  • Then there's the Crack Ship Genkei/Arata, if only to include the latter into the main group.
  • Jiro/Taisei gets along rather well with either Shigeru/Yuudai and Taro/Shigeru. Jiro/Jan is also a popular one.
  • Then there's Jiro/Yuudai and Taro/Taisei.
• Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped: The current story arc has very important ones, all of them revolving around Domestic Abuse.
  • First: LGBT+ people are not exempt of entering abusive relationships. In fact, one could argue they have it even worse than straight couples due to the rampant homophobia/transphobia present.
  • Second: No one deserves to be abused, even if that person was a Jerkass to you, as shown when Jiro defends Yuudai (who at that moment had done nothing but treat him like shit) from his abusive ex.
  • Third: Liking a terrible person doesn't make you terrible, as Jiro states to Yuudai. Moreover, abusive people usually seem nice and likable at first glance (supported by Mad's extra material involving Yuudai meeting Arata), which further supports the point.
• The Woobie: It's really hard not to see Jiro as this. This makes it all the sweeter when things start going right for him.
  • Let's not get Taro off the hook either. He was a very troubled teen due to his vicious cousin rivalry with Genji and the loss of his parents as a child, and feels really guilty for distancing himself from his brother in those years, trying to make up for it in the present.
  • Then there's poor Jan. Stranded in a foreign country he wasn't supposed to go in the first place, has a hard time communicating and fitting in, and according to Mad, he feels terribly homesick. He does have the Sakana cast as his friends, but damn...

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