History Anime / BibliothecaMysticaDeDantalian

[[redirect:LightNovel/TheMysticArchivesOfDantalian]]

[[redirect:LightNovel/BibliothecaMysticaDeDantalian]]

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''Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian'' (or ''Dantalian no Shoka'') is a LightNovel series written by Gakuto Mikumo. It was adapted into manga by Chako Abeno and a Summer2011Anime series by {{Gainax}}.

Huey, a young ex-pilot, inherited the old mansion of his deceased bibliomanic grandfather and with it the book collection stored in there. However, there was one condition: he also had to inherit the "Bibliotheca."

When he inspects the mansion, Huey discovers a cellar that is filled with piles of books. In the middle of these books he comes across a black-dressed girl who is silently reading a book. She is called Dalian and has a big lock hanging before her. She herself is the gateway to the "Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian," which contains the prohibited "Phantom Books."
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!This series provides the following tropes:

* AdventureDuo: Huey and Dalian, and Hal and Flamberge.
* AltumVidetur: ''Libricide''. You know what their job is. Also, the OP song.
* {{Angst}}
* AntiHero: Hal. All Libricide Officers are probably similar to him.
--> ''"Who says anything about reading it?"''
* ArsGoetia: The Great Duke Dantalian/Dantalion is the demon of knowledge and is the 71st demon in the listing.
* ArtShift: Most of episode 9 is drawn in a different style than usual to represent the fact that [[spoiler:it took place inside a story]].
* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler: Christabel Sistine.]]
** In episode 12, Rasiel refers to Dalian as a "doll" - with strong implications that all three Biblioprincesses are puppets/golems of some kind.
* AuthorExistenceFailure: In-universe; Leni Lentz dies before he can complete his ''Crown of the Dog Days'' trilogy.
* BadassAbnormal: Huey, just... Huey.
* BadassLongCoat: Huey.
* BerserkButton: Dalian has ''plenty'' when it concerns books or food. Or Camilla making a joke about Dalian being Huey's "daughter".
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Episode 12 implies that the Biblioprincesses accompanied many famous historical figures (such as Dalian seen at the side of who is very likely Joan of Arc). It's also implied that the girl trapped in the Black Library is in fact the classical Pandora.
* BigEater: When she's not solving mysteries or obsessing over books, Dalian can be quite the eater.
* {{Bishonen}}: Huey.
* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Estella Lillburn when her butler gets brutally murdered in front of her. [[spoiler: Nope, sorry, she killed him.]]
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: Paula Dickinson constantly killing Leni Lentz and his wife over and over again to revive them using each of them as a sacrifice for the other. They become resistant end evolve into another being that is unable to be killed.]]
* ButterflyOfDoom: Mentioned as part of the ...incantation... in episode 1.
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: Also mentioned in the same incantation.
* ChainOfDeals: The Book of Exchange enables this. Notably, it starts with a red paper clip (sound familiar?) and ends with Dalian getting a teddy bear she wanted.
* ChildhoodFriends: Huey and Camilla.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Dalian.
* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler: Estella Liliburn, being a female of the Liliburn family and all.]]
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Although it can actually not be redundant, since it could say that it's a supposed flying machine that actually works, the newspaper article Ilas discovers as a boy qualifies. It's entitled: ''A Flying-Machine That Flies''.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: When Viola is asked to choose between Armand and his four rivals, she walks over to Armand and [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption runs off with a sixth guy]] who [[AssPull shows up out of nowhere at the last second]].]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Dalian opens up her clothing and Huey uses his key in her lock, red liquid spurts out.
** The series dispense with subtlety with Flam Berge, it's clearly meant to be an ''[[HighOctaneNightmareFuel abortion]]''.
* ElegantGothicLolita: Dalian.
* EquivalentExchange: Episode 4 and Episode 8.
* ExpressiveHair: Dalian has a tuft of hair that perks up whenever she anticipates [[SweetTooth eating sugar]].
* FanDumb: [[invoked]] See the bit about {{Fangirl}}, below.
* {{Fangirl}}: The first chapter has Dalian gush over "The Castle of Wolves," which she insists is a romance novel and desires to read the last of the trilogy. [[spoiler: Paula Dickinson has the same idea, but only acted on it through torturing the author and his wife countless times to get the ending of the book that ''she'' preferred.]]
* FantasticDrug: Relic in Episode 6. It's a failed product which turns out to be heavily addictive.
** Somewhat TruthInTelevision, as the effects of Relic closely mimic a real-life drug, PCP.
* FixFic: [[invoked]] Dalian's first instinct upon reading the final book in Episode 4 is to write one.
* ForScience
* FranchiseZombie: The LightNovel was in danger of becoming one, having already been completed at 8 volumes; however, as the author was preparing a 9th, the editors screwed that over last spring by requesting the series be extended. After months of disagreements, the 9th volume, along with its scheduled OVA, was finally scrapped.
* GirlsWithMoustaches: Camilla wears a [[PaperThinDisguise top hat and fake moustache]], and then sticks the latter on Dalian.
* {{Golem}}: One of these guards the Lillburn house. Huey and Dalian have to fight it off.
* GratuitousEnglish: Dalian always says ''yes'' (and sometimes ''no'').
** GratuitousGerman: Rasiel, her EvilCounterpart, uses ''ja'' and ''nein''. She's even used ''Es ist das Ende'' (This is the end) once.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Hal and Flamberge.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard[=/=]KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Paula Dickison's constant killing and reviving of Leni Lentz and his wife eventually made them immune and resisted death itself, allowing them to become one body and soul that ultimately destroys their captor.]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Huey and Dalian.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: Fiona fights with perfume. And she's good at it.
* {{Invocation}}:
-->"I ask of thee, art thou mankind?"
-->"Nay, I am the world."
* IWillProtectHer: Armand, Lord Roskin and the other three rivals vying for [[spoiler:Viola's]] heart.
* LargeHam: The [[SmugSuper magician]] in episode 5.
* LibraryOfBabel: Dantalian's archives, a more magical variety placed in another dimension, it seems.
* LoonyFan: [[spoiler: Paula Dickinson has been torturing the Lentzes all because the character Dyer from "The Castle of Wolves" gets killed off in the third book, and she didn't take too kindly.]]
* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: [[spoiler:Viola]]
* NiceHat: Dalian when she goes out.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Dalian's incantation for summoning sealed Phantom Books:
-->"Labyrinth of bookcases, warden of 900,000 and 666 sealed Phantom Books, open the gates to wisdom."
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Viola]]
* MarionetteMaster: [[spoiler:Mabel Nash]], although she's more of a doll master.
* MindScrew: Thanks to its mixed up chronology (not to mention that freaky cloud giant) made Episode 11 nearly impossible to follow until the end, and even then it left a lot of questions unanswered.
* RapunzelHair: Dalian
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Dalian with purple hair.
* ReplacementGoldfish: {{Deconstructed}} in episode 6.
* SeriousBusiness: Dalian takes Sweets and books very seriously.
* SpellBook: 900,666 of them!
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is it Dalian or Dariane?
* StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler: Paula Dickinson.]]
* StopMotion: Used in the anime ending
* SoundtrackDissonance: The opening a calm operatic piece of music with action sequences overlayed.
* SweetTooth: Dalian. She even gets into a game of {{shiritori}} with sweets in the OnTheNext for episode 3.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Even though they're in the middle of combat, Huey can still read out loud some pretty long lines from the Phantom Books.
** Inverted in episode 6 [[spoiler:Mabel mentions that Hal has little time to read the book. He then shows that he doesn't have to read by loading the book into his staff and firing away... With fire.]]
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Huey recites and weaponizes the opening theme (in Japanese) in the final episode to blow away the advancing zombies.
* ThreeFacesofEve: There are three Biblioprincesses in the anime, and they each represent something. [[spoiler: Rasiel represents birth (she goes around seeking and encouraging the birth of new Phantom Books with the Professor), Dalian represents life/love (collecting/using already existing Phantom Books with Huey), and Flamberge represents death (any Phantom Books she brings forth are destroyed by Hal). Should also be noted that their personalities, and the position on their Keylocks also represent the same: books are born from the mind, loved by the heart, and destroyed afterward)]]
* {{Tsundere}} / ShanaClone: Dalian has hints of this to Huey.
* TwoShorts: Episode 3 consists of two separate stories.
* VerbalTic: Dalian ends nearly all of her sentences with "-desu"
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Huey has one under his coat.
* XMeetsY: It's {{Gosick}} meets the Supernatural starring [[MiyukiSawashiro Cordelia]].
** Possibly with a little {{Inkheart}} thrown in for good measure.
* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: Dalian's white-haired counterpart in the archive world, as well as Flamberge.
* YaoiFangirl: [[spoiler: Both Dalian and Paula Dickinson were hoping Dyer would end up with either Ignatius or Arthur in "The Castle of Wolves." and even ended up engaging in ShipToShipCombat]].
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* StopMotion: Used in the anime ED.

* BlackAndWhiteBeauty: Dalian with purple hair.

* HeyItsThatVoice: {{Durarara}}'s [[DaisukeOno Shizuo]] and [[MiyukiSawashiro Celty]] are Huey and Dalian.
** Huey's childhoodfriend and resident ChristmasCake is MamikoNoto.
** Episode 6's Mabel Nash and her younger sister are AyaEndo and RinaHidaka, respectively.

* ShoutOut: All of episode 4 is pretty much an anime version of ''{{Misery}}'' condensed into a half hour.
** And somehow makes the original [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel look tame in comparison]].
** From the same episode, a chapter title page (or something similar) in the book Dalian is reading says "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones", the title of a short story by Samuel Delany.
** Hal's staff greatly resembles [[MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha Raising Heart]]. It even goes "Cartridge Load" when he stuffs a Phantom Book at one end to fuel his attack magic.
** In episode 8, a stuffed bear appears in an auction catalog, whose design is noted to have become famous thanks to "[[TheodoreRoosevelt a certain president]]."
** A certain scene in episode 3 looks strikingly similiar to Gainax's earlier mini-series, [[HoukagoNoPleiades Houkago No Pleiades]]

* {{Tsundere}}: Dalian has hints of this to Huey.