@coalsonicmario19: Oh yeah, people did used to hate on poor miju...
I believe that a lot of people didn't really think of miju's potential when it was first revealed and for a while thereafter. When the anime showed it using its shell as a shield, and shell blade was revealed as a move from the BW demo bus, people started thinking "Oh, well, that looks pretty cool. Never thought of it that way." Then of course everyone began speculating if the "shell blade" meant miju would evolve into a samurai otter. Everyone loves samurai's, so naturally it stuck. When the actual evos were shown, people couldn't help but be a little dissapointed, but feel they are still great designs regardless.