Beware of unmarked spoilers.
- Alternate Character Interpretation:
- With the huge amount of Les Yay in the series (just see the series' HoYay page for details) it has become a popular belief that Izetta and Finé love each other. Does Izetta love Finé but feels she is unworthy of her love or does she not understand what romantic love is? Is Finé's affection for Izetta her indirect way of confirming her feelings for Izetta and wishes Izetta to realize it or does she feel like she shouldn't confess her feelings due the current circumstances?
- Due to the Les Yay and how the Eylstadt soldiers start cheering when Izetta and Finé hug each other in front of them in episode 3 (let alone the Shipper on Deck status of the Royal Guard's commander in episode 8), it's small wonder that a popular fan interpretation states the whole army is "a bunch of Yuri fans" and is "shipping them harder than an aircraft carrier" (to quote a certain imageboard).
- The events of episode 7 note have extended that interpretation to the whole Allied forces.
- That Izetta literally sinks an actual aircraft carrier in episode 7 made that Alternate Character Interpretation to be Hilarious in Hindsight.
- The Germanian Empire recruiting posters depicting young shirtless handsome boys playing together didn't exactly help, either. "So, it's literally Yuri fans vs Yaoi fans", states the interpretation. The insult Sophie uses against the Kaiser's aide ("manwhore") helped even less.
- Does Sophie 's clone actually remember her original self's past or is she relying on what information the Germanians are telling her about history? Well, whatever the case, Episode 11 proves that regardless of how Sophie came about the knowledge, what she believes about the people of Eylstadt betraying her is indeed true as Sieghart's family journal reveals.
- Another one for Sophie, is she really an Ax-Crazy Card-Carrying Villain, or is her bloodthirsty battle demeanor just something she plays up on the battlefield to distract from her pain (both physical and mental), considering how she acts so subdued and ready to die whenever she is back in Germania.
- At the end of the series, did Kaiser Otto really commit suicide or did Elliot kill him, so they could start having a dialogue for a peaceful surrender with the Allies.
- Awesome Music: From the first episode alone, viewers have stated they are impressed by the OST as well as the opening and ending theme songs.
- Base-Breaking Character:
- Berkman is seen as a potentially interesting villain who has proven to be Awesome by Analysis with an air of mystery around him or simply as a sociopath willing to kill his own men if the know too much.
- Jonas is either seen as a likeable character who didn't deserve his fate, an idiot who should have kept his mouth shut but didn't deserve to die, or an idiot who got himself killed.
- Sieg is this for being the Token Evil Teammate and executing Jonas. Some like how effective he was in covering up his mistakes, establishing a darker atmosphere in the series even during a Breather Episode, and to conduct morally questionable things which shows not all the 'good guys' are necessarily good. Some dislike him because of his willingness to kill his own country men which makes him not very different from Berkman.
- Broken Base: Although the show itself was generally accepted positively, it attracted more than a fair share of split opinions, such as the use of fanservice and small episode count. However, opinions are especially divided on the epilogue.
- The lack of explicit resolution to Izetta and Finé's potential romantic relationship left more than a few disappointed while some are fine with a Maybe Ever After since it seemed implied they were moving down that route.
- Izetta's survival following the final battle. Fans argue whether it would have been better for Izetta to die to solidify her Heroic Sacrifice. Others liked the fact she survived, so she could potentially live a happy life with Finé along with breaking the history repeats. They also point out the fact that Izetta seems to be permanently crippled and powerless as a fair price for her sacrifice.
- There is also debate about whether Izetta's survival made sense. Some pointed out that Izetta should have died from overusing the Magic Stone. Others have pointed out that during the final battle that Sophie was gathering magic on her own which might've reduced the strain on Izetta enough to enable her survival.
- The direction the series went in general. Many fans of the early episodes were expecting a gritty war drama, but were put off by the increased focus of slice of life, fanservice, and Izetta and Finé's Les Yay elements. On the other hand, many yuri romance fans contend that the series got better over time.
- Catharsis Factor: Episode Three became this after seeing how the Germanian forces had been dominating and killing both enemy soldiers and innocent civilians in the first three episodes along with how arrogant their commanders were. It was satisfying to see Izetta not only wipe out the Germanian planes and tanks, but seeing the Smug Snakes on the Germanian side begin having a Villainous Breakdown as well.
- Then it is inverted in Episode 9 when Sophie defeats Izetta and Eylstadt's capital is captured only moments later.
- Played Straight in Episode 11 when Izetta uses the magic stone to wipe out the Germanian forces that were ruthlessly slaughtering Eylstadt soldiers, including the ones they took prisoner.
- Draco in Leather Pants: Rickert, Basler and Sophie both got's some fangirls and boys, the former for being Bishōnen Punch-Clock Villain Trapped in Villainy following My Country, Right or Wrong up to his death, Basler being a Noble Demon and a Worthy Opponent for Izetta in air combat also following My Country, Right or Wrong and the latter being a Cute Witch and a Hot Witch who is also can be seen as a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds, despite being seen by some as an Ax-Crazy, vengeful, sadistic and sociopathic Evil Knockoff of Izetta.
- Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Almost everyone loves Dorothée, Princess Finé's adorable little corgi she had for a pet when she was a child.
- Gromon gained quite a following his one and only episode ("<expletive deleted> gunshipping in a Halifax, the absolute madmen"). The fact he appears to be a shipper for Finé and Izetta along with saving Izetta's life has left a positive first impression on the viewers.
- Fan Nickname:
- Notzis (the Germanian Empire)
- In imageboards where the Alternate Character Interpretation of "war of yuri fans vs yaoi fans" mentioned above is prevalent, "/u/ Army" (Eylstadt armed forces, from the usual name of boards devoted to yuri) and "The Gayser" (Germanian Emperor Otto, from Kaiser and, well, the most likely reason a male would like yaoi).
- The same imageboards tend to refer to Finé's rank as "Archdyke", in yet another polite and refined comment about her portrayed relationship with Izetta.
- Some spanish-speaking fansub groups refer to Izetta as "Y Z"
- Friendly Fandoms: For some reason, the fans of this series and Yuri!!! on Ice get along decently. Both shows aired in the same season, and the fans of the latter hoped that Izetta and Finé could get together as explicitly as its two male leads did. While not quite as explicit, fans were given their wish during episode 11's flying broom scene.
- Growing the Beard: Episodes 7 & 8 have been considered a major game changers when the buildup in the series starts to pay off. It has increased excitement for what will happen next. The events lead to the dark elements in the later episodes.
- Harsher in Hindsight: In Episode 8, the character Lord Redford is celebrating his birthday, and the Japanese version aired on November 19th, 2016. The day before that, Cole Brown, the English voice actor for Lord Redford died a tragic death.
- Les Yay: Between the promotional artwork, previews, and series proper, it has its own page.
- LGBT Fanbase: The series caught attention due to the Les Yay promotional material between Izetta and Finé which grew after the amount of Les Yay between the leads in the series proper. The relationship between Izetta and Finé quickly became one of the strongest points of the series, and pretty much anyone who is a fan of the series are many supporters for them to become a couple.
- Memetic Mutation:
- Izetta crashing into a tree after her one-sided Curb-Stomp Battle against the Stukas has lead to fans joking that trees are now Germania's greatest anti-witch asset.
- Not bad for a flying lesbian. Explanation
- Manwhore. Explanation
- A Whole New World Explanation
- Spirit Bomb Explanation
- Strangled by the Red String: Even though they only knew each other for a few hours at best, Episode 8 tries very hard to show that Rickert and Bianca seem to have feelings for each other. Thankfully, it is downplayed as it is a subplot, both Rickert and Bianca remain loyal to their respective countries, and Bianca kills Rickert in the same episode so nothing comes of it. However, some people still had a hard time buying the whole thing.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: The animation has proven to be really impressive, particularly any scene that involves Izetta flying high in the sky and using her magic.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: An unfortunate consequence of this being a 12 episode series, certain plotlines were not fully explored to their potential.
- While the Germanian spy network plotline was generally utilized, there were hints in Episode 7 there might be a spy in the Allied forces. However, that potential plotline was never addressed.
- At the end of Episode 8, the Ambassador of the United States of Atlanta recommended they send troops to fight Germania and Eylstadt due to fearing Izetta's power. However, any potential plotline regarding Izetta potentially needing to fight the United States forces and Germanian forces never comes to pass. While the issues regarding the United States of Atlanta's concerns are addressed and taken care of in Episode 12, it would have been interesting to see something along those lines happen.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Due to the nature of this only being a 12 episode series, it was bound to happen.
- Elvira was hinted at being a darker character due to her being aware of Seig's less than legal activities, but nothing much comes of it besides her occasional conversations with Seig. While these conversations furthered Seig's characterization and motives, the same could not be said about Elvira.
- Koontz is one of Seig's subordinates who conducts shadow activities for him. He only appears in one episode, but he proves to be valuable subordiante, but he is never seen again after his debut.
- Win Back the Crowd: When Hiroyuki Yoshino was announced to be the series composer, a.k.a. the head writer, of the project, it generated some mixed reactions due to his hit and miss history. However, the reception of the first three episodes has been very positive and many anime fans stated they look forward to future episodes.
- The Woobie: The anime does not waste time throwing Izetta into this territory. By the second episode, we learn that due to her power, Izetta was forced to travel from place to place with her grandmother with the implication her parents are no longer alive. Her grandmother tells her that she'll probably be the last of her kind, and while the power she is capable of is immense, it'll bring her nothing but misery. She admits to herself that she hated herself and her powers until she met Princess Finé. However, Finé is injured protecting Izetta from a literal witch hunt, and Izetta blames herself for Finé's scar. If that wasn't enough, the village that Izetta attempted to settle in was wiped out by the Germanian forces, and she herself was captured. If it hadn't been for Princess Finé inadvertently awakening Izetta, who know what the Germanians would have done to her. To top it off, while she manages to defeat Sophie, she ends up being paralyzed from the waist down and now requires a wheelchair.
