The perennial cycle of syndication keeps Seinfeld at the forefront over twenty years after its conclusion. Given its popularity, however, it's not at unexpected that it has fan followings who weren't even alive when it was on TV. There are a lot of great characters, but there is only one Hipster Doofus.
Kramer is impossible to define (or dissect); he is best described with the same vague terminology that Winston Churchill once used for Russia: "memes — although there are several things he has done that are not as impressive as they are claimed to be (and vice-versa.)
Overrated: His Sliding Entry
The story behind the famous forward slide through Jerry's front door is a fascinating one: apparently, Michael Richards was late for his cue during a particular scene and tried to enter the shot in haste.
This resulted in the birth of one of his most famous trademark features. It does get a bit tiresome that he does it whenever he enters apartment 5A; and though it seemed to please 90s audiences greatly, this is the sort of gimmick that does not improve with time.
Underrated: He Is A Devoted Friend
Kramer might be absurd, annoying, and unpredictable, but he's nothing but deeply loyal towards his closest pals, specifically Jerry. Though he is also close to Newman, he almost always takes Jerry's side in the comedian vs. postal worker feud.
In fact, Kramer actually has a framed picture of himself with Jerry that he keeps next to his bed. He often makes friends with the most difficult of people, like the Soup Nazi, who allows him to loiter around the ordering area (an honor refused to every other person in NYC.)
Overrated: His Blunt Honesty
Kramer is praised for his directness of thought, usually by those whom he insults without realizing. This total absence of diplomacy leaves him safe but causes considerable distress to his friends who get unwillingly caught up in the situation.
For instance, when he insists that Elaine's friend, Wendy, retain her out-of-date hairstyle (getting Elaine extremely irritated as she wants Wendy to change it.) Kramer's alleged candor is a mask for political incorrectness on many occasions, like when he offers his Japanese guests dresser drawers to sleep in — playing on the tired stereotype of the living situation in Japan.
Underrated: His Stance Against Capitalism
Elaine's communist boyfriend, Ned, tempts Kramer over to the "dark side". Even though his friend, Mickey, warns him not to get too involved, advice that falls on deaf ears. Instead of backing away, Kramer takes it to the next level by spreading communist tenets to children (while playing a department store Santa!)
The child automatically reacts with hatred, calling him a "traitor to our country", and Kramer is fired instantly. He later tells Mickey that he "didn't realize that was such a sensitive issue," showing that he actually weighed the concept on its merits and without judgment or bias.
Overrated: His Stint In Los Angeles
While trying to find himself some of that sweet silver screen fame, Kramer has a whirlwind L.A. romance with Chelsea (until she is murdered and the blamed pinned on him.) George and Jerry fly to get him back, but as a suspected serial killer, there is little hope for bail.
The whole series of events is a tad repetitive, as well as deeply hurtful in of how the episode treats victims of rape and murder. The only interesting/funny thing that happens to Kramer in Hollywood is when he makes a total fool of himself in front of Fred Savage.
Underrated: His Sense Of Style
Kramer acknowledges no law against freedom of expression (irrespective of how far he might take some of those freedoms.) His fashion choices, for instance, lie exactly midway between sparkling elegance and basically-a-clown. In other words, Kramer is made entirely of pure spunk.
One of his best outfits is the Dreamcoat from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, which he combines with a fur-lined hat and a pompous walking stick — encapsulating the inescapable wackiness of the city they all live in.
Overrated: His Thievery Of Jerry's Food (And Other Domestic Items)
Exhausting though Jerry finds it, he allows Kramer to "borrow" various items of small to medium importance (even if said items are returned in dilapidated conditions.) This is another cliché that gets boring really fast, although the show does try to keep up by adding in some twists: like having Kramer creep up on Jerry sleeping, regardless that the latter is irrationally terrified of potential burglars and/or serial killers.
Looking at it another way, one might also argue that the characters on the show are not meant to show any form of emotional growth anyway, but this attitude should have been done away with long ago.
Underrated: Kramerica Industries
Kramer always has a bunch of schemes ready for potential investors (whom he inexplicably finds.) His fake business is known as Kramerica Industries, under whose banner he has come up with some pretty ingenious ventures.
These include the "Make Your Own Pie" pizza parlor, a "roll-out tie dispenser", "PB&J's", the cologne known as "The Beach", and the semi-successful "Coffee Table Book Of Coffee Tables." Some of his inventions have resulted in ruinous lawsuits, but many of them could have made him a lot of money if marketed properly (and if he weren't so weird.)
Overrated: His Gangly Awkwardness
Kramer's sliding intro aside, his anatomy and gait are common objects of mockery on the show (body positivity precludes making fun of someone simply being the way they are.) Nevertheless, he performs all kinds of Chaplin-esque physical humor, such as when he pours concrete powder into a laundromat machine but gets most of it sprayed all over his face and body.
When Calvin Klein offers him a modeling job, he jumps at the chance, but his attempt at catwalking is only slightly better than the tighty-whities he dons with immense pride until it gets worse: when he tries to strike a sexy pose and falls flat on his face.
Underrated: His Mysteriously Perfect Life
Kramer has no apparent job, no source of possible income — yet, in George's envious but accurate words, his "whole life is a fantasy camp... Do nothing, fall ass-backwards into money, mooch food off your neighbors, and have sex without dating."
How he manages to pay for an obviously expensive Manhattan apartment is another twist that fans have been trying to untie for years. To summarize by quoting Kramer (when he is asked how he makes any money), "I get by."