History Literature / ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades

** In the novel and manga, Professor Garland explained the concept of a Spellblade on the first day of class. The anime moves this to the second day.

''Reign of the Seven Spellblades'' (''七つの魔剣が支配する Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai Suru'') is a DarkFantasy light novel series with TeenDrama elements written by Creator/BokutoUno (author of ''Literature/AlderaminOnTheSky'') with illustrations by Creator/MiyukiRuria, published under Kadokawa's Creator/DengekiBunko imprint beginning in September 2018. There is also a SpinOff volume, ''Side of Fire: Chronicle of Purgatory'', released 7 July 2023, which fills out the backstory of StudentCouncilPresident Alvin Godfrey and the Kimberly Campus Watch.

The novels and manga were licensed by Creator/YenPress for English publication beginning in 2021.

** Volume 10 between Oliver and [[spoiler:Yuri Leik, Oliver's teammate during the TournamentArc and a SoulFragment of Professor Demitrio Aristides whom Oliver has just mortally wounded with Yuri's assistance. As a gesture of [[DyingReconciliation recompense for his role in the murder of Oliver's mother]], Demitrio permits Yuri to take control of their body so that he and Oliver can say their farewells.]]* LastStand: In a {{flashback}}, Nanao led the rearguard of a defeated army, holding a mountain pass. This ended in a cavalry suicide charge when the enemy general brought up their archers, with Nanao making it almost all the way to the general and killing his son-in-law in passing before the ashigaru got her surrounded with a wall of spears. At which point a Union mage suddenly arrived and pulled her from the battlefield.

* LastStand: In a {{flashback}}, Nanao led the rearguard of a defeated army, holding a mountain pass. This ended in a cavalry suicide charge when the enemy general brought up their archers, with Nanao making it almost all the way to the general and killing his son-in-law in passing before the ashigaru got her surrounded with a wall of spears. At which point a Union mage suddenly arrived and pulled her from the battlefield.

* {{Precursors}}: Volume 8 explains that the labyrinth underneath Kimberly was built by an ancient civilization called the Parsu, which was destroyed by a ZombieApocalypse when its army of UndeadLaborers went out of control.

** Present StudentCouncilPresident Alvin Godfrey got his start as a campus organizer trying to protect weaker and underprivileged students from bullies and rogue upperclassmen, where the former student council were a clique of {{Social Darwinist}}s who mostly let them do as they pleased. As dangerous as Kimberly can be, Tim Linton says it was ''way'' worse before he got involved, and a significant plot in volumes 6-10 revolves around the fact he's about to GraduateFromTheStory and the old council is hoping to make a comeback.

*** The Rizett Style, favored by Chela, is a more offensively oriented fencing style. One known technique is the Hero's Charge, a sudden headlong rush ending in a thrust at full extension.

* DrivenByALoveInterest: Nanao Hibiya falls in LoveAtFirstPunch with protagonist Oliver Horn when they spar in their first class, and has essentially been attached to him at the hip ever since. She firmly believes they're destined to be together and has been known to decline offers from other groups on campus simply because he did. For his part, Oliver returns her feelings, but is wary of the fact that, by her own admission, she also still can't fully kick the desire for a DuelToTheDeath with him.

* ArcNumber: Seven ([[RuleOfSeven which is a trope in its own right]]), but also one-fifth: if someone cites a statistic or a probability, it's almost invariably a one-in-five chance. According to Esmeralda's opening remarks to the Sword Roses' freshman class in volume 1 ([[Recap/ReignOfTheSevenSpellbladesS1E01Ceremony the anime's pilot episode]]), one of every five students who matriculate to Kimberly will not survive to graduate. Nanao cites a similar statistic in volume 3 ([[Recap/ReignOfTheSevenSpellbladesS1E12Possibility episode 12]]) to dissuade Guy from a half-baked plan to go into the labyrinth in search of Pete after Ophelia kidnaps him: in her days as a {{samurai}}, when comrades of hers went missing on the battlefield, only one in five ever turned up alive. On a somewhat lighter note, Chela also says in volume 4 that statistically four out of five Kimberly students will have [[TheirFirstTime their first sexual experience]] at the school.

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* DisposableDecoyDoppelganger: Rosé Mistral and Teresa Carste both have the ability to create "splinters" of themselves, illusory copies without substance used to divert attention from the real attacker. Mistral can additionally place them over top of his allies to make them look like himself, letting him mix additional real attackers into the copies.

* InterplayOfSexAndViolence:
** Nanao is essentially unable to separate her desire for a romance with Oliver from her wish for a DuelToTheDeath with him.
** The Campus Watch's tournament match in volume 10 features enough homoeroticism to make ''Film/TopGun'' blush, between Leoncio Echevalria's previously known VillainousCrush on Alvin Godfrey, Khiirgi's {{Combat Sadomasochis|t}}m against Lesedi Ingwe who hates her for seducing her girlfriends and making them cry, and Gino Beltrami's duel with Tim Linton literally ending with Beltrami kissing Tim with DruggedLipstick.