History YMMV / TheSwordOfGood

* AuthorTract: Aside from the obvious lesson(s), there are [[NatureIsNotNice more subtle ones]] tucked in there as well.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot / TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Because the story is eager to get to the big twist, huge chunks of the story are just glossed over. As such, the twist is less impactful because we barely know anything about the characters. Not helping is how [[spoiler: we don't see people being oppressed, making the reveal that the Forces of Good are actually evil verge on TakeOurWordForIt.]]

* AuthorTract: Aside from the obvious lesson, there are [[NatureIsNotNice more subtle ones]] tucked in there as well.

* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: Hirou was on the WrongSideAllAlong. The so-called "Forces of Good" are nothing but agents of a malignant status quo, the "Bad Races" are its victims, and the "Lord of Dark" is the only one trying to solve this problem -- or any of the world's many, many problems.]] The twist is, at this point, better-known than the setup.

* BrokenAesop: [[spoiler: At one point, Hirou mentally kicks himself for thinking he [[AristocratsAreEvil should rule over millions of people just because of who he is parents are]]. Yet, he never actually asks what the peasants want and aids the Lord of Dark in overthrowing the current system.]] Mitigated by the fact that [[spoiler:''someone'' has to educate them about democracy and Dolf’s allies will never tell them about it because it would be a threat to their power. The people are intentionally kept in ignorance like the peasants of Ancien Regime Europe, and the Lord of Dark is proven to actually have their best interests in mind since the Sword of Good doesn’t kill him]].

* BrokenAesop: [[spoiler: At one point, Hirou mentally kicks himself for thinking he [[AristocratsAreEvil should rule over millions of people just because of who he is parents are]]. Yet, he never actually asks what the peasants want and aids the Lord of Dark in overthrowing the current system.]]

* ClicheStorm: If you've read any attempt at deconstructing fantasy fiction, you've read this story before. [[spoiler: It hits every single beat on the "Good is bad/bad is good" chart without variation or twist.]]

* BrokenAesop: [[spoiler: At one point, Hirou mentally kicks himself for thinking he [[[AristocratsAreEvil should rule over millions of people just because of who he is parents are]]. Yet, he never actually asks what the peasants want and aids the Lord of Dark in overthrowing the current system.]]

* ClicheStorm: If you've read any attempt at deconstructing fantasy fiction, you've read this story before. It hits every single beat on the "Good is bad/bad is good" chart without variation or twist.
* ItWasHisSled: Hirou was on the WrongSideAllAlong. The so-called "Forces of Good" are nothing but agents of a malignant status quo, the "Bad Races" are its victims, and the "Lord of Dark" is the only one trying to solve this problem -- or any of the world's many, many problems. The twist is, at this point, better-known than the setup.

* ItWasHisSled: Hirou was on the WrongSideAllAlong. The so-called "Forces of Good" are nothing but agents of a malignant status quo, the "Bad Races" are its victims, and the "Lord of Dark" is the only one trying to solve this problem -- or any of the world's many, many problems.