YMMV / The Unknown Soldier

• Ensemble Dark Horse: Honkajoki is introduced quite late, but he's a well-loved side character who brings humor into the second half of the book with his Comically Serious personality and lampooning of the war-time mentality, propaganda and the army's strict rules. He's also one of the few survivors.
• Jerkass Woobie: Corporal Lehto, a Sociopathic Soldier with Lack of Empathy, is given a Cry for the Devil reveal just before his death when the narrator suddenly tells why exactly he's so cold and heartless. Word of God makes it worse by telling that the reason Lehto was a Street Urchin was because his father was a violent alcoholic and that Lehto run away from home at young age, never having anyone to look after him or to care about him. The reason he can't stand Riitaoja is because Riitaoja's weakness and fear reminds him of the scared little child he himself used to be, and never wants to be again.
• Signature Scene: Lehto, Määttä and Rahikainen standing in the open as a punishment for stealing army supplies, with Lehto refusing to leave his position despite Soviet air missiles bombarding their troops from every direction.
• The Woobie: Private Riitaoja, who is terrified, incompetent and relentlessly bullied by Corporal Lehto. He's also kind and good willing like a child. His last words are characteristically "Please... please don't... I didn't mean anything bad."
• Ho Yay: Rokka's and Susi's extremely close friendship could be seen as this. Most of the Finnish fandom does.