Literature / Record of Grancrest War

Record of Grancrest War is a series of Fantasy Light Novels written by Ryo Mizuno (author of Record of Lodoss War and Rune Soldier Louie) and illustrated by Miyu (previously the illustrator of Chrome Shelled Regios), which was published from 2013 to 2018 for 10 volumes. It was adapted into an anime in 2017 by A-1 Pictures.

One day, demons from the dimension of Chaos invaded the continent of Atlatan, bringing heavy destruction with them. To fight back, humanity used Crests, a type of magic capable of sealing Chaos. To truly obtain victory, the Grancrest, most powerful of the Crests, is needed.

However, since whoever owns the Grancrest would become Emperor of Atlatan, the nobles instead fought each other to gain more Crest powers and lands, rather than joining forces to defeat the demons of Chaos. Enter Siluca Meletes, a young mage who scorns the feuding lords for abandoning their people. She then meets Theo Cornaro, wandering knight and Crest holder who is trying to liberate his hometown from its tyrant lord. Joining forces, Siluca, Theo and their allies fight together to end the war between the different noble factions, and put an end to the threat of Chaos.

The series is licensed by Aniplex USA for a North American release, with the first half of the series being released in May 2019 and the second half in August of the same year. The manga adaptation, illustrated by Makoto Yotsuba, has been licensed by Shogakukan and Shueisha's English-language imprint VIZ Media. It ended in June 2019 with 48 chapters and adapted only two volumes of the original light novels.

Has no relation to Granblue Fantasy or Record of Agarest War.

Please move any character tropes to the proper character page.

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Record of Grancrest War provides examples of:

• Abdicate the Throne:
  • After holding off the Alliance's invasion, Theo cedes his territories to Lassic after becoming a knight under Villar's service.
  • And much later Marrine and Alexis tell Theo they intend to grant him their crests so he can become the Emperor and form the Grancrest. After the Grancrest is formed and the Era of Order begins, Theo steps down from the throne and grants it to Alexis, while Marrine becomes chancellor; Theo retires to his earldom in Sistina with Siluca as his countess.
• Abusive Parents: Aubeste does love his daughter but he's also a very strict Mage who caused Siluca to be discriminated against and almost killed if not for Aishela's or the university's principal's protection. Queen Marrine herself ends up feeling sorry for Siluca because the failed negotiations mean that he'll most likely have to kill her in the battlefield.
• A-Cup Angst: Downplayed with Siluca. She doesn't care that much about it but wasn't happy to hear Aishela comment on her 'lack of growth' during the Furo Scene. Being groped against her will might also have to do with that.
• Action Girl: Aishela, Siluca, Emma and Luna.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Priscilla originally appeared after the battle against the King of Savis while in the anime she appears even before the Salamander demon attacked. She also took Siluca's role in healing the blacksmith.
• Aerith and Bob: The names in the setting alternate between common, like Theo, Priscilla, Emma and Luna, and fantasy-sounding like Siluca, Villar and Lassic.
• Alas, Poor Villain: In spite of their cruel deeds, it's hard not to feel sorry for the Rossinis when Federico's sons are are killed and the former willingly surrenders to Theo's forces.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Mages who can manipulate Chaos are discriminated, which sometimes can be lethal. Siluca and Aishela suffered this until they were adopted by Aubeste.
• Almighty Janitor:
  • As of Episode 5, Theo Cornaro's been busted down to Knight due to his desire to remain with Siluca, but a goodly chunk of the lords he's brought into the Union are loyal to him first and the Count of Altirk as an afterthought. When he raises his own banner again after retaking Sistina, he is given the court rank of Earl, which accurately describes his strength.
  • After the war in Savis and an opportunistic land-grab following that, Count Villar of Altirk is only theoretically a count. In Episode 8, it's made clear that if he would just claim the rank, it would be Archduke.
• Aloof Big Brother: Gender Flipped. Turns out Aishela was this to Siluca for seemingly taking her place in the family. Surprising, considering how she is at present.
• Altar Diplomacy: The story opens with an attempt to end the conflict between the Union and the Alliance by wedding their heirs, which was later revealed to be a politically beneficial love match rather than a straight political matching. The attempt ends in disaster when a major Chaos convergence occurs in the cathedral, killing the fathers of the bride and groom.
• Always a Bigger Fish: The Earl of Altirk doesn't care about Theo in particular in the Savis War, and apparently refuses to help him when the Alliance attacks. However, he does come in anyway after the Alliance is completely committed, hitting them in the back and significantly weakening his own enemies.
• Ambiguously Bi: Aishela is VERY attached to Siluca and even described as loving her in the manga (though most of the Les Yay has been Adapted Out of the anime) but she kissed Petr and loves glomping and chasing him everywhere.
• Anti-Climax: The final battle with the Mage Academy never really happens. Once the walls of Eramu are breached and the Vampire King is defeated, the head of the Academy makes a non-violent and unsuccessful attempt to talk Theo out of creating the Grancrest and then commits suicide.
• Anyone Can Die: Try not to get too attached to these characters. It's no Game of Thrones but it comes pretty damn close.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: The nobility are shown to not care of the plight of their subjects and are more interested in gaining more lands and Crest power.
  • The Rossini family that rules the nation of Sistina is probably the worst seen so far.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: The higher a Lord's Crest power level is, the more power he gains.
• Ax-Crazy: Yana, the sadistic Black Witch.
• Back for the Dead: Margaret came back right on time for Villar's Last Stand.
• Badass Crew: Theo's personal retainers are all this. He's accompanied by a prodigal mage, a butler slash assassin, a valkyrie, a pair werewolf sisters, a lord and his mage, and a priest.
• Bald Head of Toughness: Captain Gluck is completely bald and has the ability to turn his entire body into metal, which gives him Super-Toughness. He used that power to survive being chewed by a Cyclops.
• Bald of Authority: Captain Gluck is completely bald.
• Beast of Battle: Schaan uses a huge rhino-like monster in the same way War Elephants are used.
• Battle Butler: Irvin, the Ninja butler.
• Battle Cry: Aishela's "Allow me to guide to you to the afterlife!"
• Better to Die than Be Killed:
  • Villar's head mage, Laura, takes poison right in front of Marrine after the latter takes over Castle Unicorn. She shouldn't be in danger under the Treaty rules, but doesn't trust Marrine to obey them, so she decides to end it all with a mic drop. Actually, she's faking her death.
  • Jana calls the Demon Lord to take her soul when she's about to be burned at the stake.
• The Big Damn Kiss:
  • Between Theo and Siluca in episode 9.
  • Between Villar and Margaret in episode 11.
  • Theo kissing Siluca in front of his army - and Marrine - in episode 12, thus proclaiming the ideals he fights for.
  • And in the finale, Theo and Siluca and Marrine and Alexis do this during their double wedding
• Bittersweet Ending: At the end of it all, Theo and Siluca have become rulers of a liberated Sistina, the Chaos has been eradicated, the Rossini family is reduced to one White Sheep member, Alexis and Marrine are finally married, and the Grancrest is formed. However, thousands have perished during the conflicts, Priscilla is dead, and both the crests and the Mages' magic disappear.
• Blood Knight:
  • Aishela is a bit too murder-happy.
  • Lassic David has this trait as well. He at first uses it against Theo, but after being defeated and serving him, he turns it towards Theo's enemies.
  • Prince Milza seems to reject any strategy that doesn't come with a maximum enemy body-count.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Lassic's a big man with a love of battle, and is Theo's first and most loyal vassal Lord.
• Book Ends: The series begins with a wedding, and ends with a wedding. To make it an even more obvious bookend, the weddings take place in the exact same location, and the same people are getting married.
• Braids of Action: Irvin and Carla have the 'single braid' variety.
• Brick Joke: The first episode opens with Siluca at a wedding, wondering why she's even there ^note (the bride and groom could've chosen a more accomplished mage to represent the Academy, in her opinion). In the last episode, there is another wedding, which Siluca also attends as the bride...and she still doesn't understand why she's there.
• Burn the Witch!: Jana's sentence for causing the Great Hall Tragedy. In her case, of course, she completely had it coming, and it was interrupted when she called the Demon Lord to take her soul.
• The Bus Came Back: Margaret secretly returned to Altirk after Milza's betrayal.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: The Waldlind forces arrive to Altirk just as Milza has been defeated and Theo has reclaimed his crest. Marrine quickly orders a retreat before their enemies have a chance to route them.
• Chivalrous Pervert: The Count Villar of Altirk , who only hires female Mages and makes them wear Stripperiffic outfits. That's the main reason why Siluca didn't want to contract him. According to Margaret, though, his people's beliefs in witchcraft are why he hires women mages. He also dissolves their contracts when they're 25 so they can be free and live a fulfilling life. The outfits are still never explained, though. Even later, it's revealed that he's actually a bit gynophobic due to his Mommy Issues, which is why he ultimately remains celibate despite Margaret really wanting to marry him.
• Chrome Champion: Captain Gluck.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Siluca has no loyalty to either the Union or the Alliance, and which side she declares Theo to be on depends on who she's targeting at the time. She first declared for the Union because Theo's initial fief was surrounded by Alliance domains, but as Theo's Arch-Enemy is also Union-affiliated, it's clear that they'll have to switch sides again to fight him. Ultimately, they don't need to abandon the Alliance to fight the Rossinis, because the Rossinis attack Theo first and get kicked out of the Alliance for attacking an Alliance noble.
  • Comes to bite them in the ass later on when they try to switch sides. The Alliance's Court Mage points out that accepting a domain with a backstabbing background will not sit well with the other Union-affiliated domains and it could damage Marrine's position as queen since she was just recently crowned. Theo conquering several territories also could motivate other Lords to do the same and then Marrine wouldn't be able to suppress them.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Aishela is rather suspicious and critical of Theo for being contracted to Siluca.
  • Turns out that she was this to her adoptive father Aubeste and even disliked Siluca, for seemingly taking her place.
• Colossus Climb: Lassic does this when fighting against the Cyclops.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: The member of the Alliance who is most vocally opposed to doing anything to provoke the Union is in fact a secret member of the Union seeking to prevent the Alliance from having a coherent strategy against the Union so that they can be conquered.
• Compressed Adaptation: Certain minor events like Theo getting to know his townspeople and helping them (which in turn leads to their loyalty to him), Moreno meeting Lassic and his grudge on Siluca, were not adapted into the anime.
• Connected All Along: Marrine of the Alliance and Villar of the Union are cousins.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: Averted. Episode 17 shows that even in a setting with magical powers that make it possible, even The Juggernaut has limits. Milza exhausts himself fighting through Theo's allies while trying to reach Theo, rendering him unable to defeat him in their duel.
• Courtly Love: Gender Flipped. Altirk mage leader Margaret "Hellfire" Odius is in love with her Lord, Villar Constance, Earl Altirk, but mage guild rules forbid a contracted mage to marry and Villar's Mommy Issues keep him from properly returning her affections, and he dismisses her from his service on her 25th birthday (as he does with all his contractees). After Waldlind and Dartania invade Altirk, she returns to him and they fight a Last Stand together.
• Crapsack World: Being a commoner sucks in Atlatan where you either get attacked by demons from another dimension or get suck into petty wars between the nobles.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The king of the Savis region ends up being on the receiving end of one in episode 3 after several independent lords join Theo against him when they find out he intends to conquer them all by force. His army quickly falls apart after this, though he somehow manages to escape.
  • So far anyone facing off against Milza suffers one of these.
• Cut Short: The manga was cancelled after volume 7 and ends with a rushed conclusion to the Forest of Eternal Darkness arc, followed by a "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue that sets things up for Volume 3. The manga's author, Makoto Yotsuba, expressed quite a bit of disappointment and frustration in the volume's afterword at the serialization being axed, as he had already planned out scenes he wanted to draw as far as 90% of the way into the original story.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Theo ends up earning the loyalty of the people whose lords he defeats and takes crests from. Some of the lords he defeats also ally with him, such as Lassic David.
• Defector from Decadence: After Villar's death, his vassals and allies form the Altirk Treaty, which operates separately from the Fantasia Union to take the offensive against the Alliance in the absence of leadership from the Fantasia Union. They're not on hostile terms with the latter, though.
• Darker and Edgier: The manga adaptation is significantly gorier than the earlier anime, as well as having a fairly explicit sex scene between Yana and one of the Waldlind officers under her thrall.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Villar and Margaret go out fighting Waldlind soldiers in a Last Stand that both know that will result in their deaths.
  Margaret: Then, how shall we lose?
• Earth All Along: The world of Grancrest is actually Earth, several centuries after a disaster, possibly involving nuclear weaponry, destroyed the previous civilization. The survivors of disaster ushered in the Era of Chaos in an effort to rebuild the world through magic instead of science.
• End of an Age: With the formation of the Grancrest at the end of the story, the Era of Chaos ends and the Age of Order can finally begin.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Federico Rossini maybe a ruthless overlord, but he truly loves his sons. He even willingly surrenders so Theo can spare the life of his only remaining son.
• Exact Words: This is how Siluca figures out that Villar will come to Theo's aid. When she originally came to request that Theo join the Union, Villar didn't want to see her right away, because he was waiting for the Alliance to leave Marrine unprotected.
• Eye Scream: The guy fighting Irvin in episode 2 has an ability to turn his skin into metal. After his daggers fail to penetrate the skin, he instead throws one at the guy's eye, which stops him.
• Face Death with Dignity: Federico Rossini, knowing his rule is doomed, willingly surrenders to Theo's forces despite knowing he will be executed for the crimes of his family.
• Faceless Goons: When Lassic's men fight Aishela in episode 2, she kills several of the ones whose faces are obscured by their helmet. The guy leading them, Peter, is helmet-less, and aside from being able to deflect some of her attacks, she also surprises all of them by giving him a kiss, prompting them to run away from her.
• Failure Knight: Irvin feels like he was a Failure Butler to his master as him stopping Siluca during the Great Hall Tragedy lead to the death of the Archduke of Kreische. To atone, he decided to serve her instead.
• Faking the Dead: Laura takes poison after the fall of Villar of Altirk, which turns out to be nonlethal.
• Fan Disservice: Marrine agrees to have sex with Milza for one night in order to gain his support for conquest. It's clear that there's no love between the two as they do it (there isn't even any lust, either - Milza just wanted to see how far Marrine was willing to go to get the resources she needed to become Empress), and are only in it for political purposes; as a result, the scene is devoid of titillation. In the anime adaptation, it even happens in the same episode as Theo and Siluca get a Relationship Upgrade, just to drive home the contrast.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The continent of Atlatan is an analogue of Europe, and there are some noticeable similarities and differences with our world.
  • Sistina's architecture and names bring Italy to mind.
  • Dartania is visually inspired by the Ottoman Empire, and occupies a nearby continent similar in shape and location to Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). The names of the two named royals, Milza and Sayid, also evoke the Islamic world: once you backtrack through transliteration errors, a "sayyid" is a male-line descendant of the Prophet Muhammad's relatives, while a "mirza" is a child of a sayyid mother.
  • Nord shows some obvious viking influences, including their ships and plundering culture.
  • Haman appears to be analogue of Moorish Spain.
  • Khilis is obviously based on Ancient Sparta.
  • Schann seems to be based on India while Nayuta is possibly based on China.
• A Father to His Men: Lassic surrenders after Theo captures his mage, though Theo spares their lives. He also often shows concern for his troops and people, which in turn earns their loyalty to him.
• Fictional Geneva Conventions: The Lords' Code and the treaty with the Mages' Association define the rules of conduct in war between Lords and the place of Mages in such conflicts. As the series goes on, the rules increasingly break down. Known rules include:
  • Don't attack a mage who is traveling to a contract. Lord Mest breaking this rule to attack Siluca in the first volume gets him stripped of rank in favor of Theo when his mage leader Saturnus refuses to obey orders and voids their contract due to the treaty violation.
  • Do not use wild Chaos as a weapon.
• Fur Against Fang: Averted. The Werewolf Queen and the Vampire King fought together against the Ultimate Chaos, and the only reason why she turns against him is because he prefers keeping the status quo rather than defeating Chaos for good.
• Godiva Hair: When Eudokia and Laura appear completely naked in front of their kingdom to motivate them into resisting the invading Nord army, their hair is the only thing covering their nipples.
• Godzilla Threshold: With the imperial army surrounding Elam, the Mages Association decides to unleash a gigantic Cyclops that was sealed beneath the city, despite knowing it could destroy the city as well.
• The Good King: Theo is such a nice guy to his villagers, that even Lassic, who's very lax around his men himself, was impressed. If not for Siluca, he would've even stopped collecting taxes altogether! In fact, this is what leads the villagers to join the battle against the King of Savis.
• Go Out with a Smile: Villar's final moments were him encouraging Marrine with a smile on his face, even though she was the one who caused his death.
• Graceful Loser: After his attack on Theo's new castle is foiled, Lassic David admits defeat and pledges allegiance to him.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Pandora, the embodiment of Chaos, is the one leading the Mages Association from the shadows with the intention of perpetuating its existence, and has Dimitrie as host. Subverted in the finale. Pandora is actually a series of recordings from the distant past. The real Pandora died ages ago.
• Head-in-the-Sand Management: The defining characteristic of the Union is that their heads have been surgically implanted in their asses. It's clear that Marrine is about to bring the full might of the Alliance to bear on the Union, and they offer a truce and negotiations, ceding the strategic initiative and getting Villar killed, at which point their leaders still try to negotiate a peace treaty. Villar and Alexis themselves play this for tragedy: They know what's about to happen, but refuse to take the offensive because they love Marrine too much, even though they know that she has no such scruples.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: When Aishela kills several Faceless Goons in episode 2, they're being led Peter, who isn't wearing a helmet. Naturally he survives while many of his men are cut down by her, and she spares his life because she thinks he's cute.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Rebecca, Theo's friend, takes a knife to the gut to allow Theo to strike down Salvador Rossini when he was trying to flee.
• Hidden Depths: Theo's one-panel flashback in which his younger self is facing his father's head stabbed on a pike implies that him rising against Rossini might be more personal than what he makes it sound like.
• Home Field Advantage: When the Dartania army tries to invade the Forest of Eternal Darkness, they lose several units to surprise attacks by the native werewolves and White Witches.
• Honor Before Reason: The Union offers peace talks after Altirk just knocked off two Alliance kingdoms. Most of the Lords know that, as a matter of realpolitik, all they're doing is giving the Alliance a chance to muster its forces and counterattack, but Alexis won't strike the first blow against Marrine, Villar won't take control of the Union if it means leading a war against his cousin, and the war hawks can't present a leader without such baggage.
• Hunk: Queen Eudokia's male harem consist of these. Including Solars and Joachim.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Siluca is a highly accomplished mage, serving the rookie Lord Theo. She gets called out on this, as it's clear to everyone that Theo's something of a Puppet King and it's Siluca who is getting all the credit for his victories.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: A variation with Milza of Dartania. He fights for whoever has the necessary willpower to conquer the continent. At first, he thinks Villar is that man, but when Villar proves to be too peace-loving, he defects to Marrine, who isn't bound by his scruples and really will do whatever it takes to win.
• Immortals Fear Death: Dmitrie confesses that he is afraid of dying, which is why he doesn't want the Emperor's Crest to be formed since Chaos is what fuels his vampirism and immortality.
• Inspirational Martyr: Villar's death only makes his vassals and allies mad. They form a new treaty and resume offensive operations against the Alliance, without any support from the Union leadership.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • Siluca is The Unfettered when it comes to her goals, a bit arrogant and forceful about her schemes with a tendency of leaving people out of them until the last minute, and she's also dismissive of the Order of the Crest. However, she is kind, always polite and ultimately has the best of intentions with her actions. Her dislike of the Order is also caused by the friction between the Mage's Association and the Order, as Mages view Crests as a manifestation of the user's will while the Order views them as a gift from god and should be controlled by the Order.
  • Moreno is your average haughty mage as well as a Servile Snarker but he's truly loyal to Lassic and wants to put him on the throne. He was rather sad when Lassic surrendered because of him being held hostage until Lassic reassured him that his ambition would still come to fruition as Theo's subordinate.
• Keystone Army: Lassic David's strategy for defeating Theo involves having his mage Moreno defeat Siluca, in addition to fighting a battle of attrition, hence his overhiring of mercenaries. Unfortunately Theo's troops put up a much stronger fight than he expected, and seeing Moreno defeated and captured immediately throws his plans down the drain. Fortunately for him however, Theo spares him and his men, and they vow to fight for him instead.
• Kiss of Death: An weird case happens between Aishela and Peter/Petol during the war against Lassic. She kisses him as a reward for his efforts and then proceeds to try strangling him to death.
• Killed Off for Real: Villar and Margaret go out in a last stand against Waldlind.
  • Later Milza is defeated and executed by Theo, while Terius kills himself to join his lord.
  • Priscilla lets herself be killed by Pope Leone so Theo has the support of the believers.
• Leave Him to Me!: Downplayed. Marrine insists that Waldlind be the country to finally defeat Count Villar and orders Milza to stand down, but she doesn't challenge him to a fight, instead ordering her crossbowmen to fire on him.
• Lie Back and Think of England: Marrine accepts Milza's proposal to have sex with him, but she definitely doesn't enjoy it and is only doing it to further her conquest; not only is she a virgin, but her thoughts are still with Alexis. Meanwhile, Milza refuses to pledge loyalty to Marrine, but is lending his aid on the sole condition of the aforementioned one-night stand.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Lassic's archer, Irvin, Count of Altirk .
• Love at First Sight: Alexis fell for Marrine on sight, and it didn't take her long to return the favor. On the other hand, Marrine's a lot more savvy to the political realities surrounding their relationship.
• Magic Enhancement: Crests can be used to empower weapons and people.
  • Artists are people who instead of manipulating Chaos to use magic, incorporate Chaos into their own bodies to empower themselves. They have red Power Tattoos which grow when they use their abilities. Their abilities can range from In a Single Bound, Super-Speed, becoming a Chrome Champion to vampirism and lycanthropy.
• The Magic Goes Away: Since Crests, Magic and Arts are all powered by Chaos, forming the Grancrest will destroy all those things together with Chaos. Some people like Yana and Dmitrie want to prevent that because they don't want to lose their magic and immortality, respectively.
• Make an Example of Them: The Rossinis love doing this to their subjects to keep them fearful and under their thumb. Theo's father was one of the many executed for daring to go against their unreasonable taxation and abuses.
• Master Swordsman: Lassic and Milza. It's hard to say who is the better - their one fight against each other ends in a draw.
• Medieval Stasis: Atlatan has been stuck in it since the start of the Age of Chaos over a thousand years ago, the Forever War between nobles preventing much advancement in anything except magic. Justified as it turns out this is enforced by the Mage Association, using the war as cover.
• Mêlée à Trois: Under Theo's leadership, the Altirk Treaty leaves the Union and becomes an independent power. Theo's goal with this is to force a three-way stalemate between the Union, the Alliance and the Treaty, opening the path to restart the peace negotiations.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Zelma the leader of the White Witches, is very short.
• Modest Royalty: Petr Moldava the King of Bultava dresses barely any different from his soldiers.
• Muggle Foster Parents: Subverted with Mages. Mages are adopted by other Mages so they can be taught how to control their power. For example, Aishela and Siluca were adopted by Aubeste Meletes.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Once a Mage has contracted to a Lord, they're obligated to abide by this so long as the Lord also plays by the rules. That said, if a Lord breaks the terms of the Mages' Association's treaty, his Mages are permitted to void their contracts.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: Aishela uses a naginata in 3.
• No Body Left Behind: Usually very averted but played straight and justified in a Tear Jerker fashion as Margaret's last spell reduced her to ashes right in front of Villar.
• Non-Indicative Name:
  • Moreno means 'dark-skinned/dark-haired' in Portuguese and Spanish. Moreno himself though, is a fair-skinned, blue-eyed Brainy Brunette.
  • The names of the possible crest ranks are the same as the names of possible court ranks, but the strength of a crest does not necessarily indicate the size of its holder's lands. There are kings who only have viscount level crests, and knights whose crests declare them to be earls.
• Not Good with Rejection: Played for Laughs in Moreno's backstory. He's the resident hotshot of the mage's school yet when he asked Siluca out for lunch, she didn't even know him. Ever since then, he got a little grudge on her.
• Not Quite Dead: Laura Hardly, who apparently committed suicide after Villar's death, turns out to be alive because her friend Helga didn't give her a truly lethal poison. She now serves Eudokia Colorha.
• Offered the Crown:
  • Villar gets offered leadership of the Alliance, but turns it down because he doesn't want to be point man in a war against his own cousin (which happens anyway).
  • Lassic is offered leadership of the Altirk treaty, but he tries to decline it in favor of Theo. But the other nobles refuse because Theo doesn't have the reputation to hold the group together. In the end, it is decided that Lassic will be the initial leader, with the question being reopened once Theo proves himself, which he does by taking Sistina and defeating Milza.
  • Eventually, the creation of the Grancrest, and the title of Emperor that goes with it, is offered to Theo.
• Off with His Head!: Happens regularly in battle scenes.
• Older Than They Look: Dmitrie seems to be on his late-twenties to mid-thirties but he's been around for more than 2000 years.
• OurVampires and Our Werewolves Are Different: Vampires and werewolves are actually just a different type of Artists and when they die, they release Chaos Cores just like normal monsters.
• Poor Communication Kills: If Marinne had explained to Alexis why she was breaking their engagement and starting a war of conquest, he likely would have helped her achieve her goals without the war part being necessary.
• The Purge: Once it's declared Theo will become the emperor, the Mages Association, fearing the loss of their power, begins killing every mage directly associated with the Lords. Meanwhile the secret organization Pandora drives all the Chaos users insane so they kill their Lords or get killed themselves.
• Rank Up: Early on, Theo gains at least one noble rank per episode - Knight and then Lord in episode 1, Baron in 2, and Viscount in 3. The first is gained through destroying a Chaos demon, while the latter come from conquering the other lords in the Savis region. This speedy promotion comes to an abrupt halt after Theo and Siluca learn that Chronic Backstabbing Disorder has consequences - by the end of episode 5, he's forced to relinquish his court rank and be downgraded to unlanded Knight again, though he retains a Viscount-grade crest. And then he starts ranking up again starting in episode 15, eventually reaching Emperor, though he chooses to abdicate after creating the Grancrest.
• Recap Episode: Episode 11.5 is a summary of the first 11 episodes with Siluca as the narrator.
• Rescue Romance: Zigzagged. Theo and Siluca first meet when he drives away some soldiers who were seeking to murder her to prevent her from taking employment with their lord's enemy, though Siluca then points out that as a powerful mage, she could have handled them by herself. Her attraction to Theo doesn't start until a second instance, when Theo shields her from an explosion caused by a dying demon with his own body.
• The Reveal: According to the grand finale, the world of Grancrest is actually Earth, several years after a disaster, possibly caused by nuclear weaponry, destroyed the previous civiilization, modern humanity. To prevent such disaster from happening again, the survivors ushered in the Era of Chaos so that magic could rebuild the world. The Mage Academy has been trying to prevent the start of the Era of Order because they believe that if the people of the world embrace science again, it would mean untold destruction, as it happened centuries ago.
• Revealing Cover-Up: Siluca figures out that the Mage Academy is responsible for the Great Hall Tragedy when they execute the Black Witch for it almost immediately. Normally there would be a lot more investigation and legal procedures before such a high profile execution, so if it's being rushed to such an unseemly extent, it means that they must have something to hide.
• Romantic Rain: Theo and Siluca confess their feelings towards each other while taking shelter after a storm breaks out while they're on the road.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Dmitrie leaves Yana to her fate after Siluca and Theo arrive at his castle.
• Spanner in the Works: Theo and Siluca's early rampage in Savis completely upends the existing balance of power. Altirk ends up as a superpower largely because the Count was the most effective at taking advantage of their uprising to strengthen his own position at the expense of the gut-punched Alliance.
• Squishy Wizard: Moreno tries to defy this by having sword skills besides magic. While many people at the Mage's Association ridiculed him for this, he correctly points out to Siluca that fighting at school and at war are very different things, and even had the upper hand during their fight because of this. In the battle of Altirk, Milza survives one of Siluca's blasts and almost kills her until Theo intervenes.
• Start My Own: After Altirk falls to the Alliance, having been hung out to dry by the Union, Theo and Earl Villar Constance's former vassals and allies refuse to surrender to the Alliance. They instead sign the Altirk Treaty, forming their own, third, faction, and plan to resist Alliance rule and eventually liberate Altirk.
• Supporting Protagonist: In the first three episodes, Siluca. She's the focus of the story and the mastermind behind Theo's ascension as a Lord, while Theo is largely there because Siluca, as a Mage, needs a Lord (she can't rule in her own right). Afterward, Theo starts acting more like a leader and a protagonist in his own right.
• Tareme Eyes: Moreno.
• Title Drop: The Grancrest is the crest of the Emperor of Atlatan. So far, no single Lord has been able to manifest it, only the leaders of the Union and the Alliance working in tandem.
• Together in Death: Villar and Margaret die during Waldlind's siege of Altirk. He even told her that she didn't need to do it but she insisted in staying by his side.
• Tough Leader Façade: Marrine is naturally a gentle-hearted woman. But to bring an end to Chaos, her duty requires her to wade through an ocean of blood and make war on her cousin and her true love, and she does this without flinching.
• Überwald: Played with with the Forest of Eternal Darkness. While it is an intractable stretch of dense, shadowed woodlands steeped in the supernatural, with frequent incursions by Chaos and an insular population that seems to be mostly vampires, werewolves or witches, the vast majority of said population regardless of pedigree are decent, friendly and even loyal to outsiders who prove their worth (such as Theo and Villar).
• Undying Loyalty: Villar of Altirk's greatest strength is the sheer loyalty he inspires in his people. Even after his death, Altirk remains loyal to him and fights against the Alliance, and his lead mage chooses to die rather than take another contract.
  • When the Mages Association declares war against the newly united Imperial Army, many mages, including Siluca, Moreno, Laura and Ellet all choose to remain loyal to their lords rather than return to the Association
• The Unfettered:
  • Siluca will use any means available to put Theo on the Imperial throne.
  • Princess Marrine will become the Empress, claim the Grancrest and end the age of Chaos, and Episode 9 shows just how far she's willing to go. A Deadly Gas attack in violation of the Lords' Code? Done. Murdering a captured Lord out of hand to warn her wavering allies what'll happen if they defect? Without hesitation. Give her virginity to Prince Milza in exchange for his military support, despite being in love with Alexis? It's the job, however much it hurts.
• The Unfought: The Demon Lord who did all the actual killing in the Great Hall Tragedy is never actually confronted and beaten, just sealed away by the creation of the Grancrest.
• Unwitting Pawn: Pope Leone turns out to be one for the Pandora organization, realizing too late Priscilla was a true saint and taking her emblem would only tarnish him even more in the eyes of the people. Unsurprisingly Gunther of the organization tries to kill him immediately afterwards.
• Valkyries: Aishela is referred as one in the manga descriptions. Both her winged helmet and Battle Cry in the anime further demonstrate it.
• Victor Gains Loser's Powers: How crests are transferred between holders.
• Victory by Endurance: This is how Theo wins in the Sistina and Altirk campaigns. Knowing that his enemies have both numerical superiority and fighting experience, he refrains from engaging them directly and instead lets them tire themselves out. By the time he confronts them, his enemies are too exhaused to put up a fight and he easily kills them.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Some soldiers in Arturk's army can turn into wolves.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Factory Alliance after being joined by Dartagnia has some serious difficulty working together, and even go out of their way to fight alone or leave their nominal allies to deal with their respective opponents without reinforcements.
• Wedding Smashers: A Chaos Lord shows up during the wedding between Alexis Doucet and Marrine Kreische, the heirs to the Fantasy Alliance and Factory Union. It kills both of their fathers, and ruins the opportunity for peace that would've resulted from their marriage.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Marrine is willing to march over the corpses of the Alliance to bring an end to Chaos.
• Wreathed in Flames: How Hellfire Margaret's fire magic works, although she first has to soak herself with a chemical.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: The Earl of Altirk manages to win pretty thoroughly when Siluca defects from him. Siluca's actions throw the Alliance into chaos, turn Savis to the Union, allow him to defeat the Valdrind Knights and build Siluca a fearsome reputation as a mage. And at the end of it all, he picks up Siluca as easily as a loose penny.
• You Are in Command Now: Lassic assumes rulership of Theo's lands after the latter becomes Villar's knight.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Captain Gunther of the Pandora organization tries to kill Pope Leone after he had fulfilled his purpose of killing Priscilla and in order to silence him. Irvin quickly foils the attempt.