The story is set at a private school that brings together "Saviors" – students who have awakened memories of their past lives as Shirogane (White Irons) or Kuroma (Black Mages). Shirogane use weapons gleaned with Praha from their bodies to fight enemies, while Kuroma use magic by manipulating Mana to banish their foes. Moroha Haimura has just enrolled into the private school and is the first Savior in history who has awakened memories of being both a Shirogane and Kuroma.
World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman is a Japanese light novel series by Akamitsu Awamura with illustrations by Refeia, which was published under the GA Bunko imprint from November 15, 2012 to June 14, 2018 for 22 volumes.
A manga adaptation, published in the Comp Ace magazine, commenced on June 2014, and presently spans 4 volumes.
An anime adaptation by Diomedea aired starting in January 2015. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime, which can be viewed here
worldwide excluding Asia.
Contributions to character page are appreciated.
World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman provides examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: Moroha is caught in these situations from time to time, such as when he accidentally gropes Shizuno's breast in episode 3.
- Action Prologue: The beginning of episode 1 starts with an epic battle against a huge dragon.
- Adaptational Personality Change: Due to the anime’s nature as a Compressed Adaptation, several characters lose the depth they had in the light novels. Moroha gets hit by this especially hard, as he loses his reluctance for being a Savior and his desire to live a peaceful and profitable life (to repay his aunt and uncle for their struggles in raising him), in favor of making him a more generic nice guy.
- All Your Powers Combined: The ancient dragon has the same abilities as all of the other metaphysicals Moroha has fought previously, such as the hydra's Taken for Granite ability.
- Almost Kiss: Subverted. Shizuno attempts to do this to Moroha in episode 12, but Satsuki rushes at them, and they both end up kissing him on the cheek at the same time. For some reason Moroha falls backwards, but then rolls back a good distance away from the two girls.
- An Ice Person: Episode 3 shows another past life of Moroha, when he was a mage with the power to freeze things.
- Animation Bump: It happens a few times, such as one monster stomping on the water with no splashing.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The lightning creature summoned by the Lightning Emperor in episode 10. It's so large that the mansion she is in only reaches up to the creature's ankle.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: In Moroha and Shizuno's past life. As a young slave, she brought him some food while he was a prisoner. He later creates a crystal for her, and she served him as a witch after he took over and created an ice kingdom. Episode 4 also reveals they were married in that life, and Shizuno says that while he did kill a lot of people, he saved even more of them because of the things he did, though what he did isn't touched on.
- Bedmate Reveal:
- Though he was sleeping on some grass rather than a bed, in episode 3 he wakes up and accidentally gropes Shizuno's breast after she fell asleep next to him.
- He wakes up staring at Angela's breasts in episode 10 after the latter strips down and cuddles with him to heal his injuries sustained from the Lightning Emperor.
- Berserk Button: Moroha grows enraged when the people he cares about are threatened, becoming a ruthless fighter that scares many enemies. A lesser version is when he sees food being wasted due to growing up relatively poor.
- BFS: Moroha uses a magical version on the ancient dragon in episode 12. Said sword is several times larger than the dragon itself.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Moroha saves Shizuno and Satsuki when the two are cornered by a hydra in episode 2.
- Several characters pull this off in episode 12.
- Breather Episode: The first half of episode 11 starts out with Ranjou and Elena having a contest of who's Moroha's little sister in the sauna. The next day they have a pajama party to help cheer Maya up after Moroha's return is delayed again. Then the ancient dragon shows up...
- Brother–Sister Incest: Satsuki Ranjou was Moroha's little sister in their past life, and she makes her affection toward him quite clear. First episode she openly rejoices because it's no longer a "forbidden love", implying that this was pretty much the only thing stopping her before.
- Satsuki is played off as one when talking about Moroha with Shizuno or Elena.
- Kamii is a more straight example, as his non-combat scenes are mostly for comedy relief purposes.
- But Now I Must Go: Edward and Angela leave Japan in episode 12 shortly after they defeat the ancient dragon. Before leaving, Edward warns him about the French representative, who like the Russian Lightning Emperor, didn't approve of seeing Moroha defeat the Fortress metaphysical back in episode 6.
- Catchphrase: Moroha's "I remember" in the anime. Also a pretty good reason to run. Satsuki and Shizuno say this as well in episode 12.
- The Cavalry: Several characters show up to help Moroha take on the Lightning Emperor in episode 10. They fight off the lightning creatures, while her personal guards do a Heel–Face Turn and help in defeating the creatures so that Moroha can focus on taking out their former leader.
- Clingy Jealous Girl:
- Ranjou gets extremely irritated when Shizuno steals Moroha's First Kiss. Made worse when the latter says she was half-asleep. She later continues teasing him around Ranjou in the cafe, and any other chance she gets afterward. And she gets upset when she hears Maya living with him in episode 4.
- In episode 3, Shizuno doesn't seem happy when she learns that Maya kissed Moroha in the nurse's office in the previous episode. Though Moroha claims it was for medical reasons, she elbows him anyway.
- During the sauna scene in episode 11, after hearing about Moroha and Angela spending time naked in a bed together while in Russia, Elena, Ranjou, and Shizuno all come up to him simultaneously to find out exactly what happened.
- Clothing Damage:
- The back of Satsuki's uniform rips after getting hit from behind by Isurugi.
- The female assailant that attacks Moroha at the end of episode 3 suffers this after he recalls an attack he used in a past life and uses it on her.
- Sophie did this to herself once without even noticing for a few seconds.
- Comically Missing the Point: Ranjou says that Moroha can easily become an S-rank fighter and surpass the Six Head elites. Shizuno however, states that S-ranks need permission to do just about anything, even something as simple as taking a walk. On top of that, they also have to fight tough demons that normally takes a large group of A-ranks to defeat. The takeaway Ranjou gets from this is that she can't date him very easily, and seems to ignore everything else Shizuno pointed out.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: Moroha tends to have more difficulty fighting one foe. However, when an army of lightning creatures attacks him in episode 10, he mows through them rather easily. One of the lightning emperor's henchmen says that instead of fighting a thousand man army by himself, Moroha is fighting a one on one battle a thousand times due to his speed and tactics.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Kamii is usually played off as a Butt-Monkey. But he has done useful things to help out the others, such as distracting the Fortress metaphysical in episode 6. And in episode 12, he was healing all of the injured Strikers while the ancient dragon was fighting Moroha. This allows them to distract it with their attacks so Moroha can finish casting his spells.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Shizuno's actions towards Satsuki can seem like this at times, such as when she steals the latter's fries and then teases Moroha in front of her. Though Moroha didn't like the method, he appreciates helping Satsuki come out of her slump.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Ranjou suffers one from Isurugi in the first episode.
- Moroha dishes one out to Kamii during their practice match in episode 3.
- The Lightning Emperor dishes one out to Moroha at the end of episode 9 in a sneak attack. He returns the favor in the next episode.
- The ancient dragon in episode 11 completely nullifies all of the Striker's attacks, and destroys part of the city and the academy in the process.
- Moroha's initial attempt to solo the dragon doesn't go very well either in episode 12. The dragon then is on the receiving end of one after everyone recovers and is able to attack it simultaneously.
- Cursed with Awesome: Ando Suruga, the Japan representative for the Six Heads organization, feels a lot of pain whenever a metaphysical shows up. Though useful for detecting them, it also cripples him, particularly if it's a powerful one such as the ancient dragon.
- Delaying Action: The Strikers attempt this in episodes 11 and 12 against the ancient dragon. But later some of them comment that the dragon could have easily destroyed the town had it of chosen to, and later find out it was merely toying with them while waiting for Moroha to show up.
- The Determinator: Moroha during his fight in the first episode. Despite getting knocked down or back repeatedly by Isurugi, he keeps getting back up to continue fighting.
- The Dog Bites Back: The Lightning Emperor's elite squad sent to stop Moroha in episode 10 ends up turning against her after witnessing Moroha risk his life to continually try to protect them despite trying to also fight against them and her lightning creatures at the same time.
- Dynamic Entry: Though he doesn't hit anyone doing it, Moroha crashes into the room Shizuno, her brother, and Edward are in during episode 4 via the window.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: It takes the efforts of not only Moroha, but the entire cast, to defeat the ancient dragon in episode 12.
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Moroha gains this in episode 12. He combines the powers of his two previous lives together. With the help of Satsuki and Shizuno, he defeats the ancient dragon after his allies buy him time to cast his spell.
- Elites Are More Glamorous:
- The Striker unit at Moroha's school. Collectively they've killed more metaphysical monsters than even the regular military forces.
- S-ranked fighters are considered a Personof Mass Destruction, as one of the requirements to become one is to take out a dangerous beast that normally requires a large group to take on by yourself. As such, they're highly revered and well paid, but Shizuno points out that they also have no freedoms whatsoever and are heavily monitored due to their power. She calls out her brother on it after he suggests that Moroha taking out the Hydra qualified him to be an S-rank.
- Enemy Eats Your Lunch: After Satsuki's humiliating defeat in the first episode, she's too depressed to eat at the restaurant she's at with Moroha. Shizuno then shows up, and asks about the fries on Satsuki's plate. She claims she's too upset to eat, prompting Shizuno to start eating it, claiming it would go to waste. Moroha concludes, and starts eating them as well.
- Establishing Character Moment: Several characters are seen with interesting intros in the anime:
- Moroha is seen fighting against a giant dragon with some backup from his classmates.
- Satsuki headbutts Moroha when he wakes up after the opening ceremony ends. She then immediately goes into Genki Girl mode when he recalls her past-life name.
- Shizuno is seen sleeping on the floor near Satsuki and Moroha. She then kisses him while still waking up.
- Edward Lombard strolls into the cafe Moroha, Shizuno, and Ranjou are in, and attempts to order a tea. He later uses his Super-Speed move on Moroha to test him.
- Kamii, being a second year student, attempts to show off to the first years in a Large Ham fashion. He calls on Moroha to be his partner for a match, and gets Hoist by His Own Petard when Moroha uses the same attack he just used moments before.
- Evolving Credits: In the ending, new characters are added to the cast in the ending as they appear in the show.
- Eye Scream: Angela throws one of her knives at the ancient dragon's eyes to prevent it from casting a spell in episode 12.
- Gilded Cage: When Moroha looks at Shizuno's room in episode 3, he notices it's rather plain and doesn't seem to suit her at all. She then mentions that everything in the room was chosen for her, and she doesn't have any real freedom due to her family heritage.
- Godzilla Threshold: In episode 10, Moroha uses a forbidden spell to defeat the Lightning Emperor's trump card. He justifies it by stating that she used one first, and promptly delivers a Curb-Stomp Battle to her afterwards.
- Gratuitous English:
- Edward does this in episode 3 while attempting to order a tea in a Japanese cafe. It later turns out he can also speak fluent Japanese, causing Ranjou to ask him why he didn't just do that in the first place.
- The phrase "We are the saviors!" is uttered in English, with "saviors" pronounced as "savers." Given that this first comes after the line "We are the swords of salvation!" it doubles as a pun on "sabers."
- Sophie tends to use a lot of English words as well. Though somewhat justified in that she's supposed to be from America, in episode 11 she utters the phrase "Let's pajama party!" note
- Heavy Sleeper: Shizuno, who is often seen sleeping or really tired if she's awake. She reveals to Moroha in episode 3 that she sleeps a lot because she's trapped in a Gilded Cage, and dreaming is the only time she can truly be free.
- Heel–Face Turn: Elena does this after Moroha promises to become her family after it's revealed that she never had a little brother, and that said brother was just a memory implanted in her to make her more complacent in following the Lightning Emperor's orders.
- Helping Would Be Killstealing: Though Ando and Edward want to send help to fight against the metaphysical that shows up, the other Six Heads reps tell them not to interfere, as they want to see if Moroha is really S-rank material, particularly the Lightning Emperor. When Moroha does end up defeating it, she doesn't take it well, and sends Elena in to assassinate him in the next episode.
- Heroic BSoD: Satsuki suffers one after her loss in the practice match during episode 1.
- Hero Killer: The ancient dragon. Moroha has some nightmares about it killing Ranjou and Shizuno in their past lives in episodes 10 and 11. He then remembers that said dragon has constantly showed up in the past and took away those he held dear, and vows to stop it this time.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Kamii attempts to bring Moroha down a notch in their practice match during episode 3. Unfortunately his attack doesn't even faze Moroha, and the latter responds with a similar fire attack, which does seem to burn him, both literally and figuratively.
- How We Got Here: After the Action Prologue, the proper story starts six months earlier, when Moroha and the others are new students at the school.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: During Shizuno's duel with Elena in episode 7, the former ends up having the upper edge in much of the battle.
- Instant Expert: Moroha learns how to use Isurugi's speed attack almost instantly after just watching him a few times. By contrast, the latter mentions that it took him two years to master it.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Maya offering herself to be Moroha's body pillow, and claiming to be "future harem material".
- Intimate Healing:
- The principal's little sister restores Moroha's magic by kissing him while he's recovering in the nurse's office.
- Angela strips down and spoons with Moroha to help heal him after he takes a direct hit from one of the Lightning Emperor's attacks at the end of episode 9. This causes a lot of Clingy Jealous Girl reactions from Elena, Ranjou, and Shizuno when they hear about it in episode 11.
- It's Personal:
- Moroha declares a 1-man war against the Lightning Emperor after the latter attempted to have Elena kill him. He heads to Russia and is supported by Angela only because Edward ordered her.
- He attempts this with the ancient dragon, but it doesn't go very well when he attempts to solo it.
- Large Ham: Kamii tends to talk in this fashion, as seen in episode 3.
- Loophole Abuse: The ancient dragon is able to dispel magic thrown at it. Moroha gets around this by carving the spell words into its body by slashing at it repeatedly with his sword.
- Marshmallow Hell: Shizuno subjects Moroha to this, in front of Ranjou no less. Ranjou tries it too, but due to her lack of breasts, Moroha complains that it feels rough.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Pretty much standard fare any time a huge creature shows up.
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: During Moroha's 1-man crusade in Russia, he doesn't kill any of his opponents as he wants to avoid needless casualties. Unfortunately for the survivors, the Lightning Emperor considers their attempt to stop Moroha a failure, and has them killed. Though some women are implied to have been killed, the only ones explicitly implied are men.
- Miss Exposition: Shizuno does this when explaining that damage sustained in the coliseum doesn't transfer over when they go back into their school due to it being in a different dimension. She also explains to Moroha about how Ranjou and Isurugi are able to summon their weapons during a practice fight.
- Ms. Fanservice: Shizuno has quite a revealing body, as seen when Satsuki calls her while she's sleeping in bed in episode 2, and while laying on her bed in episode 3.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Briefly, during the pillow fight in episode 11.
- Ninja Maid: Edward's maid, Angela is quite a proficient fighter when she takes on Moroha, and later Ranjou and Shizuno. And when she's traveling with him in Russia, she's quite the capable fighter and helps him quite a few times.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: Ranjou does it twice in episode 3. The first time is in the locker room, though she doesn't hold her hand up to her mouth. The second time is when mocking Kamii during his match with Moroha. She does it again episode 4 while having lunch with the others.
- No-Sell: Kamii unleashes an advanced fire attack on Moroha in episode 3. However, it doesn't do anything to Moroha.
- Not Blood Siblings: Though Ranjou and Moroha were related in a past life, in their current ones they're not. Though she still calls him "nii-sama" or "brother" and plays it up as if they were related.
- Oh, Crap!: Kamii has this look on his face shortly before Moroha unleashes his fire spell on him in episode 3's practice match.
- Paper Fan of Doom: Ranjou chases Moroha with a large, two handed one after finding him getting a little too friendly with Shizuno in episode 3.
- Past-Life Memories: An important trope in this series, as every character at the school is reincarnated from a hero from the past. Thus they retain their memories of their past life, along with those abilities.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Shizuno says this to Moroha in their past life, and he essentially says this to her in their current life during episode 4.
- Polyamory: It becomes tacitly accepted rather early into the story that Moroha shares a deep connection with both Ranjou and Shizuno, and that both of them are likewise aware that the other is necessary for him to reach his full potential. Ranjou tells Moroha that she "will allow him to cheat" for this reason, and Shizuno states she doesn't want to be pushy toward him. Maya has precognitive abilities and once introduces herself as "Future Harem Personnel", meaning she's not only aware of but expecting Moroha to be a Chick Magnet. The other girls show jealousy towards each other for Moroha's attention, but none of them are actively trying to keep him away from the others. On Angela's part, she even says she considers Moroha her "number 2", right below her beloved Sir Edward.
- Precision F-Strike: Edward's maid Angela says "damnit" twice in episode 4. She also says it in English no less. It becomes a Catchphrase for her.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Rank S people are considered to be so powerful that they can kill dangerous creatures by themselves. Meanwhile a normal, lower ranked group would require several dozen to defeat the same creature. As a result, Moroha's power is so immense that almost anything else his classmates in the Strikers unit do pales in comparison, such as against the fortress metaphysical in episode 6.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Though she's actually just going to England, Shizuno treats this that assignment as if it were this trope. Fortunately Moroha stops this from happening.
- Reincarnation: All of the "Saviors" are this with Moroha being reincarnated twice.
- Reincarnation Romance: Both of Moroha's past lives had a relationship with Ranjou and Shizuno respectively. Both girls want to restart the relationship in their own ways.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Moroha is told in episode 2 that the hydra metaphysical monster is beyond even the Strikers, and that it would take a force of at least a hundred men to defeat it. Despite that, knowing that Satsuki and Shizuno are both in danger, he rushes to the scene and battles it anyway.
- Secret Test of Character: Edward does this a few times on Moroha to see if he's worthy of becoming an S rank.
- Serious Business: Ranjou and Elena have an argument about who's Moroha's "little sister" in episode 9. Ranjou suggests Elena be the "older sister", but the latter refuses it. They end up having a contest about it in episode 11.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl:
- Tokiko, who will often touch Moroha inappropriately every chance she gets, before being stopped by Isurugi who then pulls her away via grabbing her head. Hilariously she uses her pent up frustrations on the metaphysical beast attacking in episode 6.
- Elena skirts this and Innocent Fanservice Girl. She touches Moroha inappropriately too in the theater during episode 7. She also tries to dress up in various outfits such as a maid one after hearing that they tend to turn men on. However, once she realizes it's not the norm, she will then get incredibly embarrassed by it.
- Shipper on Deck: Shizuno's brother is one after he manages to show himself worthy of being an S rank. He even encourages them to start having kids.
- The Snack Is More Interesting: Technically he was playing a handheld game, but Edward isn't interested in the match between Moroha and Kamii at all in episode 3. After the fast Curb-Stomp Battle, he then points out how fast it went as to why he wasn't watching.
- Sore Loser: The Lightning Emperor does not take Moroha stopping a Fortress type beast and showing he's worthy of being an S rank very well. So she sends Elena in to assassinate him. Unfortunately for her, that only serves to piss off Moroha, who then goes to Russia to face her directly.
- Spit Take: Edward does one in episode 3 after drinking the "natto milk tea" that Ranjou orders for him.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Once they've learned how to use their powers, the characters are able to summon weapons their past selves used.
- Taken for Granite: Satsuki and Shizuno both suffer from this in episode 2 after going up against a hydra. They're subjected to this again in episode 12, but this time they're able to break out of it with the help of their past selves helping them.
- The Team Wannabe: When Shizuno and Moroha are invited to join the Strikers in episode 2, Satsuki overhears it and wants to join to. However, she's denied because she hasn't shown any of her potential yet. However, by the end of the episode, she is invited after displaying courage and facing off against the hydra, which the leader mentions would have been impossible to defeat without at least a hundred men.
- Tender Tears: Shizuno shows some in episode 4 after Moroha attempts to save her from transferring to England.
- Thanks for the Mammary: Moroha accidentally does this to Shizuno when he wakes up in episode 3 with her napping next to him.
- The Tease: Shizuno likes to do this towards Moroha any time Satsuki is around and getting a little too friendly with him.
- Time Skip: A short one between episodes 4 and 5. Several more characters are shown, and interact with Moroha in a way that suggests he's spent a few months with them prior to being properly introduced to viewers.
- Token Mini-Moe: Maya Shimon, the little girl that Moroha meets in the nurse's office in episode 2.
- Took a Level in Badass: Ranjou goes from being a Faux Action Girl into a genuine one as the show progresses and Moroha helps train her. Several times she's helped turn the tide of a battle, or helped others to escape when retreating from beasts.
- Top Wife:
- A very odd variation occurs between Ranjou and Elena, who both want the special status of "little sister" to Moroha. The title may not matter much to the rest of the harem, but between the two of them, it's Serious Business.
- Another variation occurs with Maya, who (as Moroha's roommate) granted herself the title of his "body pillow". She's very protective of that status and is upset if Moroha sleeps beside anyone but her.
- Angela considers Sir Edward to be her top love, but admits that Moroha is easily her "Number 2".
- Transformation Sequence: Used when the characters summon their weaponry.
- Tsundere: Ranjou is a classic harsh type, mostly hot-headed, though she reveals her more calm side towards Moroha.
- Unstoppable Rage: In episode 12, Moroha loses it when the ancient dragon petrifies Satsuki and Shizuno. He gets gets around the dragon's ability to dispel magic by carving the spell words directly into its body via cutting at it repeatedly with his sword in his anger. Unfortunately this spell he uses is the same one used against the Lightning Emperor, meaning it'll destroy the town and its inhabitants in the process. Ultimately subverted, when Satsuki and Shizuno's former selves reawaken inside them, and help to calm is rage.
- Unwanted Harem: Moroha has quite the following, and unintentionally adds more as the show goes on.
- Use Your Head: The first thing Ranjou does to Moroha when he wakes up after the opening ceremony at school. After he mentions her past life name, she excitedly asks if he wants another headbutt to jog his memory some more.
- We Have Reserves: The Lightning Emperor treats her forces much in this manner, throwing body after body at Moroha in an attempt to stop him. Later she doesn't even care if her own summoned lightning creatures hits her own troops, which causes several of them to turn against her as a result.
- What Measure Is a Mook?: The Lightning Emperor uses orphans to do her bidding. This way no one can complain about their mistreatment as they have no family to rely on. She also has a tendency to order the death of anyone who fails to accomplish their objectives.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- In episode 2, Moroha doesn't like Shizuno playing the bad guy and taking all the blame for stuff that he's unable to do, such as hanging out with Satsuki. Though she was technically correct when she told Ranjou they were tired and wouldn't have too much time to spend with her due to training, Moroha hated how cold she seemed when she told Ranjou that. He ends up having to call Satsuki to cheer her up.
- Shizuno does this to her brother in episode 3 when the latter mentions to Moroha that attaining an S-rank status requires someone to take down a dangerous beast that normally requires a large group on their own. He then tries to sell Moroha on the idea, despite Moroha's insistence that Shizuno and Ranjou helped him defeat the creature back in episode 2. Shizuno gets mad because being an S-rank also means your freedoms are severely restricted and you're heavily monitored, and she doesn't want Moroha to have to live his life that way.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The hydra that attacks in episode 2. On top of being monstrously large, it has nine heads as well.
- World of Action Girls: Though there are guys as well, the females outnumber them significantly, and only a few guys are of any real importance in the show. And of those, only Moroha has a lot of screentime by virtue of being the main hero.
- You Are Not Alone: Satsuki and Shizuno tell Moroha this in episode 12, after he loses it when the dragon petrifies the two girls earlier.
- You Have Failed Me: The Lightning Emperor accepts no failures, and subordinates who don't carry out their tasks are summarily executed.
