Gorillaz/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
/wiki/Gorillazcreator
  • Artistic License: Biology: Even disregarding all the Art Major Biology, Murdoc refers to his pet raven with male pronouns but has made mention of it laying eggs. Though perhaps it's just Murdoc's biology failure and not the creators. Nobody ever said that captain Crazy Awesome there knows that much about birds.
  • Broken Base: The last single from Plastic Beach, "Doncamatic", is shaping up to be this. Half the YouTube comments are lauding it as a spiritual successor to "DARE", the other half are criticizing it for its lack of Damon Albarn and similarity to current pop. Its release as a single also provoked anger, as it was chosen over fan favorite "Empire Ants". Then Doncamatic had a video made for it, which was considerably less epic and plot-advancing than the planned "Rhinestone Eyes" video.
  • Cargo Ship: The "Feel Good Inc." commentary makes reference to Murdoc's "bass-shagging action".
  • Complete Monster: Judging from his recent actions (kidnapping and forcefully keeping 2D and several other musicians on Plastic Beach just to record the same-titled album), it seems Murdoc has started becoming this.
    • Becoming? His actions before Plastic Beach aren't much different. There's his entire history with 2D. The fact he originally kidnapped Russel. And may or may have not have been keeping Paula inside a suitcase under his bed.
    • Murdoc recently claimed to have burned down Kong studios for insurance money between phases 2 and 3 and blamed it on some local kids who landed in jail for the crime. He looks back on it FONDLY.
    • Also, he's recently gotten in trouble with various shady groups for making illegal deals, and then delivering faulty goods... double whammy.
    • If you look around his room when he wakes up at the end of "DARE", you can see a picture of a baby. He uses it as a dartboard.
  • Crazy Awesome: Their Geep has a built-in missile system, which they used to attack a giant elk. No, seriously.
  • Darker and Edgier: Phase 2 and onwards.
  • Die for Our Ship: Paula, 2D's ex-girlfriend, is absolutely loathed by the fandom—though this may not really count since she's not all that pleasant a person, and isn't supposed to be.
  • Ear Worm: "Stylo", "DARE", "On Melancholy Hill", "Feel Good Inc.", "Clint Eastwood", "Superfast Jellyfish", "Doncamatic"... and that's not close to all of them.
    • While their songs in general are extremely catchy, special mention goes to "Rockit".

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  • Epic Riff: "Every Planet We Reach is Dead," the bass riff in "Feel Good Inc.," "Clint Eastwood."
    • "Sound Check (Gravity)" has a truly epic violin riff that comes in halfway through the song.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Song variety. "Rhinestone Eyes" and "Empire Ants" are almost universally beloved among fans, and neither were ever official released as singles, though "Rhinestone Eyes" came close.
  • Face of the Band: 2D and Noodle in the videos, Murdoc in "interviews".
  • Fan-Preferred Couple: It's a tie between 2D×Murdoc and 2D×Noodle. In the early years of Gorillaz, 2D×Noodle was considerably more popular, while, these days, 2D×Murdoc is much more used in fanart and fanfiction (especially on Rule 34), probably due to the fact that 2D and Murdoc interacted in most interviews and not in a good way, or as many fans put it: "they bickered like a married couple". Also, the fact that they're two men (one being a ditz who does everything the depraved Manipulative Bastard tells him), who have lived alone on a island for a quite a long time, leads to many Unfortunate Implications. Murdoc×Noodle is popular as well, but not to the extent of the previous two.
  • Fan Service / Fan Disservice
    • Murdoc fits one or both in pretty much everything he's in. In about half of his appearances he's naked and/or thrusting his hips in a way that starts making you feel kind of queasy.
    • 2D could fall into either category as well, given his Uncanny Valley looks. Especially in "Rock the House" *shudder*
  • Foe Yay: Murdoc with both of the other male band members, particularly 2D. Murdoc has practically destroyed 2D's life, but the latter views him as a role model and looks up to him, as to an older brother, in spite of the fact that Murdoc abuses him physically and mentally. 2D has even declared at one point he loves Murdoc. Still, in Phase 3, 2D gets smarter and realizes he was actually mistaken about him.
  • Hell Is That Noise: At the 1:50 mark in The Speak It Mountains, Damon has inserted what sounds like digitally-altered screams of pain. Last-Note Nightmare indeed. It's actually just a picture of a mountain that you can find by putting the song through a stereograph.
  • Ho Yay: Its own page.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Preadolescent Murdoc. He grew out of woobiehood pretty quickly, and by all accounts he was a horrible little boy, but ... poor kid. He gets a little bit of it back in his recent pirate radio broadcasts, in which a reoccurring theme is how depressingly lonely he is. Every time it hits him he chugs more rum to put it out of his mind, but since it comes up at least three or four times per broadcast it's clearly not helping much anymore.
  • Magnificent Bastard: Oh Murdoc, why must we hate to love you?
  • Memetic Mutation: At this point, it's pretty much safe to say that "lifebewtz", as said by a steward who offers to escort the real Noodle in her Plastic Beach indent, has reached this status.
  • Mary Sue: Some people have accused Noodle of being this, what with being widely talented with musical instruments, having a pretty good singing voice, being quite attractive, cheerful and optimistic even after finding out about her unpleasant past, possibly the most intelligent and strongest (both physically and mentally) out of the band despite being the youngest, being treated very well in the band in comparison to the way the other members regard each other and having purple hair. However, the whole story doesn't evolve around her, she isn't what made the band be successful and her character is not based around the concept of Wish Fulfillment. She might have certain traits of a Mary Sue, but she lives in an environment where most of those traits are not considered of importance, which in turn makes her quite tolerable, even likeable.
  • Moe: Noodle and, arguably, 2D.
  • More Popular Spinoff
    • In America, where the band's first two albums have outsold Blur's entire discography.
    • They're arguably this for Deltron 3030 as well. All three members of Deltron appeared on the first album and "Time Keeps on Slipping" is usually referred to as a "proto-Gorillaz" song.
  • Nausea Fuel
    • This video shows you more of Murdoc than you ever wanted to see.
    • As does the band's segment on MTV Cribs.
    • "More of Murdoc than you wanted to see?" Try this funny but traumatic animated short.
  • Needs More Love: Every song has fans that feel this way, including "19/2000," "Soundcheck (Gravity)" and "O Green World."
  • Nightmare Fuel: Constantly.
  • Replacement Scrappy: EMI lost a lot of the fans' esteem when the originally-intended, storyboarded and plot-advancing music video for "Rhinestone Eyes" was cancelled in favor of "Doncamatic".
  • Squick
    • In Murdoc's lair in the Plastic Beach game there are several boxes labeled "Edible panties", "Nipple tassles"... Fetish Fuel, maybe, if not for the ridiculous amount of flies hovering around them...
    • In the "02 Priority Walk" video, keep in mind that Noodle is an android build by Murdoc to replace the real Noodle. Then note that she's wearing hot-pants. Then remember that she's supposed to be a 14-year old girl. (This may be a reference to certain hullaboos involving Miley Cyrus.)
      • Actually, she's been aging and she's turning 20 this year. Every October 31 people subscribed to the Gorillaz newsletter receive a "Noodle turns XX this year" mail. Quite jarring for her fans during the last couple of years with her disappeared.
      • Does the cyborg age? It's made out of DNA from a teenage Noodle... then again, it's, y'know, a cyborg, so age-of-consent laws may not necessarily apply.
    • Noodle is often shipped with either 2D or Murdoc. Even when she was 10. Not squicky now as Real!Noodle is 18-20.
      • On Rule 34, you would expect an adult Noodle to be the most used character in fanart. It's not like that. 2D and Murdoc are actually the ones who appear the most, a lot more than her. Together.
  • Tainted by the Preview: The demo of "Stylo" was not well-received and people assume it is what the finished version sounds like. The finished version actually sounds much better.
  • Tear Jerker: They now have their own tearjerker page.
  • Ugly Cute: Murdoc and 2D. The manatee from the "On Melancholy Hill" animatic counts as well.
  • Uncanny Valley
    • Well, just look at the videos. Or, for that matter, the stills. 2D is, in some of the pics, frankly terrifying.
    • 2D scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, especially in that picture and the video for Feel Good Inc (his eyes are red as well as having no whites!). Which is kind of ironic because in personality he's this fairly sweet, harmless (unless Paula Cracker is mentioned) idiot.
    • The video for "Stylo" has them in a live-action setting in a new CG-animated style. The first time you see them, man... straight creepy.
  • Unfortunate Implications: 2D and Murdoc living alone on a island for quite a long time. Now, this wouldn't be so unfortunate, if the said characters weren't a naive guy, easy to take advantage of, and a manipulator, who is also apparently bisexual. This could be either No Yay or Ho Yay, for the people who are into this.
  • Viewer Gender Confusion: About a quarter of the comments on some YouTube copies of the "DARE" video are people asking if Noodle is a boy or a girl, and another quarter are people telling the aforementioned that she's female, with varying levels of politeness. She was even more ambiguous in Phase 1, before she reached puberty. The cyborg wears belly-shirts and hotpants and the "On Melancholy Hill" video shows Real!Noodle in a dress and lipstick, so presumably that'll stop now.
    • This is the newest Gorillaz song, "Doncamatic". Listen to it without looking at the comments. Good? Now read this: The singer? It's a guy.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?: Animation Age Ghetto seems to have worked on them some, as parents have mistakenly brought their kids to live concerts. It's an animated band with and ridiculously catchy music... that features a character like Murdoc Niccals. Many of their songs and videos have prominent adult imagery: the "Stylo" video features a shooting scene and the Boogieman, "On Melancholy Hill" has a discretion gore shot and Cyborg throwing up an octopus, "Feel Good Inc." has Murdoc's "bass-shagging action" and the tower gives off a general feel of a nightclub or a brothel. Most of the lyrics are highly ambiguous, and it's not rare to see Murdoc with emptied tequila bottles, 2D switchblade knives and cigarettes (hell, even the profile picture has, of all people, Noodle with a switchblade on her neck!), and dead animals. One early, unreleased music video for the song "5/4" would have started off with a view of a girl masturbating (for no reason) and the animatic treats the viewer to a naked Murdoc with a very much visible penis.
  • The Woobie
    • 2D. Less so in Phase 2, where he realized his fame and started to turn into a massive jerk, but back in full force for Plastic Beach, as when you meet him on the website he's in the fetal position because of the huge whale Murdoc hired.
    • Cyborg Noodle might qualify now, as the "Rhinestone Eyes" storyboard shows her weeping even as her expression is fixed in its usual Slasher Smile. And that she's now been killed by Real Noodle.
    • The whole band, really. Russel's friends were killed and then he got possessed and expelled from school for mauling some other students, Murdoc whilst being a complete dick did have an admittedly abusive childhood, Noodle's life has been pretty much crap since Phase 2 although she's now back with her bandmates as of Do Ya Thing, and 2D... doesn't even need explaining.
  • Yoko Oh No: Paula
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