[[quoteright:300:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zero_no_tsukaima.jpg]]
In a world largely reminiscent of ''HarryPotter'', young witches and wizards train at the [[WizardingSchool Tristain Academy of Magic]]. One of these students is Louise, who's so terrible at magic she's earned the nickname "Zero". When the time comes for students to summon their familiars, she ends up summoning Saito Hiraga, a normal teengaer from modern Japan. Even though he's being treated like a dog and forced to do menial labor, Saito stays to protect his mistress. This means dealing with incoming advances from other women around him and getting involved in a war between Tristain's neighboring countries...

Three seasons of the anime have aired: ''Zero no Tsukaima'', ''Knight of the Twin Moons'' and ''The Princess' Rondo''. The anime has been released in English as ''The Familiar of Zero''.
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!!This anime contains examples of:
* TheAbridgedSeries - Has one or two on YouTube.
* AdaptationDecay - The second series onwards tends towards this, and only the plot, which is actually quite good and which basically came prepackaged with the script, prevents it from totally collapsing into a fanservice-addled piece of junk. But even then, ever more precious frames per episode are spent filled by Tiffania's enormous...tits.
* AlienSky - The world the show takes place in has two moons, thus everyone assumes Saito's lying when he says his world has one.
* AndZoidberg - Happens to Saito after he becomes a knight
* TheAtoner - [[spoiler:Mr. Colbert]]
*BadassBookworm - Tabitha
* {{Baka}} - Louise constantly refers to Saito as "Baka-inu" (literally "Stupid dog"), usually when she´s about to beat him senseless.
* BeachEpisode - The recent OVA: octopus ensues.
* BigDamnGunship - End of season 1. Well, Big Damn [[spoiler:Zero Fighter]], anyway.
** That thing packs a couple [[spoiler: 20 mm cannons and two 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns]] and can hit speeds upwards of 400mph. If it's not a gunship, it's darn near good enough.
* BigEater - In the manga, at least, [[http://www.onemanga.com/Zero_no_Tsukaima/10/16/ Tabitha]] can put it away [[http://www.onemanga.com/Zero_no_Tsukaima_Gaiden_-_Tabasa_no_Bouken/2/05/ with the best of them]].
** Maybe she has some sort of disorder or has the metabolism of a hummingbird (it's a magical world). On the personality side it could be a leftover from her happier days. Reminds me of Lina Inverse. Wasn't Tabby supposed to get her own short flick? I bet it was cancelled. :(
**[[http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/2006/08/12/zero-no-tsukaima-6// Not just limited to the manga, though more prevelant there.]] that´s a lot of meat for such a delicate girl.
* BishieSparkle - Guiche, as well as his familiar
* BlowYouAway - Wind mages
* BoatLights - Julio, in the second season.
* BodyguardCrush - Familiars are summoned to protect their masters. Saito is a familiar and Louise is his master. Do the math.
* BottleFairy - Kirche
* BrokenBird - [[spoiler: Tabitha; more on RagsToRoyalty]]
* CannotStandThemCannotLiveWithoutThem - Pretty much the premise of the series.
* {{Casanova}} - Guiche, and possibly Julio, though he tends to have girls running after him instead.
* CensorSteam
* ChainsOfLove - The second season ending theme, in lyrics and imagery.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - [[spoiler: Saitou goes alone against up against an army of 70,000 bloodthirsty, berserk soldiers, and dies heroically]]. Big damn hero, even if he was fighting them for his girlfriend and not Tristain.
* CryCute - Louise, who's absolutely adorable when she '''actually''' allows herself to be honest with her feelings.
* DarkSkinnedRedhead -- Kirche
* DefeatMeansFriendship - Episode ten of second two, an enemy dragon-rider Saito shoots down helps him and Louise escape enemy territory.
* DirtyOldMan - Headmaster Osmond
* DismissedGender / DoubleStandard - If Louise was Saito's familiar and ''he'' whipped her, this would NOT be a comedy.
* DudeNotFunny - Never mind DismissedGender: in chapter 2 of the second light novel, it wouldn't be comedy anyway -- Louise whips him (not with a riding crop, but a ''real'' whip) until he passes out from the pain, after a previous beating from the night before. ''That's physical abuse'', plain and simple. AbandonShip!
* ElementalPowers - Magic is divided into the classical elements of fire, water, wind, earth and the lost element of void.
* EmotionlessGirl - Tabitha. However, she has a VERY good reason to be like that.
* EmpathicWeapon - Derflinger
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer - Louise has been kissed more than once by ladies, and is often victim to MarshmallowHell as well.
** Tiffania as well, at least in the anime. If there is a character, they have stared at her breasts at least once.
** EvenTheGuysWantHim - Saito. Both Marto and Julio act rather suspiciously around him. Oh and Scarron, the HardGay inn manager, said that Saito's just his type as well.
* {{Expy}} - Louise and Saito strongly resemble [[ShakuganNoShana Shana and Yuji]] and have the same voice actors to boot.
** Tabithia and Yuki Nagato. Seriously, what difference is there except for hair and background?
***Tabitha is more an expy of [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Rei]], which is also who [[HaruhiSuzumiya Yuki]] is an expy of.
* EyeCatch - Usually of a female character(s) in the show with a tiny animation of Saito and Louise on the bottom part of the screen.
* {{Familiar}}
* FantasticRacism - Tiffania hides her ears because of this toward elves. This may have something to do with religion, as evidenced by the inquisition Tiffania has to endure. This is probably [[AdaptationDecay expanded upon in the light novels]].
** References in the light novels indicate the elves hold the "Holy Land," and are resented for this as well as being feared for having unusually powerful magic. Montmorency said at one point that even a Square Mage is at a disadvantage against an elf.
* FanNickname - "Titania" for Tiffania. Bonus points for StealthPun.
* {{Fanservice}} - It's trowelled on in very thick amounts, especially in the later seasons, to the point where it can be distracting to the actual plot.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture - Most of the country and several of the character names are actual historical names, such as Prince Wales Tudor of Albion, Henriette Anne of England (Louis XIV's mistress, 'cuz her husband, Prince Philipe was ''busy'' with Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche) and her maidservant Louise de La Valierre (also Louis' mistress; the real Guiche was, prior to this, trying to get into her pants too, but Louis was...persuasive). At times, RealLife is far more depraved and interesting than fiction, namely Julio Cesar (just translate a little in your head). Maricorn isn't exactly historical, but has a rather...interesting...Spanish meaning.
** Julio arrogantly named himself after the Fantasy Counterpart of Caesar, who apparently lived centuries ago in the history of the setting. So he's not actually a fantasy counterpart of a historical figure, just a fanboy of the fantasy counterpart of a historical figure.
* FakeOutMakeOut - Times two.
* FishOutOfWater - Saito
* FloatingContinent - Albion's called "the White Country" because of the clouds that gather around its underside.
* ForeignSoundingGibberish - When he first arrives, Saito couldn't understand their language: French. It's indeed strange, since Louise and everyone around her was speaking Japanese before Saito ever showed up...
** TranslationConvention
* {{Gainaxing}} Tons and tons.
* GagBoobs - Tiffania. Actually, pretty much everyone with a chest that's not Louise's (Tabitha gets derided because she's ''flatter'' than Louise).
* GratuitousEnglish - Rather oddly considering they're supposed to be French-speaking, Queen Henrietta at least once clearly addresses Colbert as "Mister Colbert." Sheffield also uses the term "Miss" at one point to address Louise, although Sheffield is an English name, so she's got an excuse.
* HairColors - Pink, blue, purple, white, you name it! [[spoiler: There are several black-haired characters, but it turns out they're all descendants of an earlier visitor from our world]].
* HappinessInSlavery - Even after all the whipping and explosions Saito has suffered under Louise, he still loves her and steadfastly remains loyal and protective. Quite possibly best exemplified in the last episode of season one, where [[spoiler: instead of going home to his world, Saito throws away his only chance to help/save/stay with Louise]], and the first episode of season three, when [[spoiler: the runes disappear from Saito's hand, meaning he is no longer Louise's familiar. Despite this, he promises to never leave, suggesting they can now live as a regular couple. Of course, Louise, being the tsundere she is, promptly blows him up]].
* HardGay -- Inn manager Scarron.
* HeroicSacrifice - Last episode of season two.
* HeroicResolve - [[spoiler: In the last episode of season two, even as Saito's worn out and nearing his limit, he thinks of Louise and regains the will to fight an army of 70,000 diehard soldiers]].
* HesJustHiding - [[spoiler: Inverted! Colbert comes back from the dead with the kind of flimsy excuse so common in fanspec, it's borderline ridiculous]].
* HotChickWithASword - Agnes
* ItGetsEasier - Lampshaded by Colbert
* ItWorksBetterWithBullets - The [[spoiler:Staff of Destruction]] works better with a rocket inside.
* {{Joshikousei}} - In one of the light novels, Saito has a seifuku made and persuades Siesta to wear it. Guiche and Malicorn loudly express outrage at how "indecent" it looks, but they're clearly fascinated - and then Guiche asks where '''he''' can get one, implying he's going to try and talk Montmorency into wearing it ... in private.
* KickTheDog - Louise regularly calls Saito a dog. She treats him ''much, much worse.''
* LawOfInverseRecoil - Surprisingly done correctly: Saito fires off a rocket launcher with no recoil.
* LesYay - Siesta remarks that some think Agnes is into girls. [[FakeOutMakeOut There was that one time...]]
** And of course there's Tiffania [[SkinshipGrope "inspecting"]] Louise's chest in the bath. Poor Louise: she's kissed more girls than boys, so far.
** Let's not forget all the stuff that happened with the LovePotion. [[CursedWithAwesome Poor Louise indeed]]...
* LimpAndLivid - Guaranteed with Louise every time her and Saito's relationship gets rocky.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters - There's all the students, a couple of teachers, the familiars, the BigBad, the Queen...
* LostInImitation - Tabitha owes a lot to Rei (from Evangelion). So at first glance her mother's story looks like a tie in to Rei's Red Oni counterpart. Actually the reason for her mother's maddness is directly taken from Princess Kushana's story in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (which is also where Eva adapted it from).
* LovePotion - Not that it doesn't work as intended. In fact, it works TOO well.
** Love Potions return again in the third season. [[spoiler: Siesta plans to use one on Saito, but by FinaglesLaw, it ends up spreading to a good amount of the women at the academy]].
* LuminescentBlush - Louise. and it comes with the whole "tsundere" package.
* MagicAIsMagicA - Void magic can decimate entire armies! How? It's void magic, baby!
* MagicWand - Most of the mages use these, while some, like Tabitha and the headmaster, use staves instead.
* MarshmallowHell - Kirche is fond of using this to seduce Saito.
* MeaningfulEcho - As the {{Nakama}} makes its way toward rescuing Tabitha, she's reading a story about a girl being rescued from a dragon. Saito admits to Louise (in the light novel, at least) that he's trembling with fear of the elf they have to fight; the story Tabitha's reading mentions that the hero who rescues the girl trembles with fear of the dragon. And the overcoming of the elf's shields parallels the dragon's defeat as, both times, the sword suddenly glows (in Derflinger's case, with Louise's Void "Dispell") before striking the final blow.
* MeaningfulName - A mage´s "runic name" is chosen to reflect his or her elemental affinity and abilities. For example, Tabitha´s runic name is "Blizzard", implying she´s skilled with wind and water spells, while Guiche´s is "Bronze" because he prefers to summon bronze golems that fight for him.
* {{Meido}} - Siesta
* MistressAndServantBoy
* {{Moe}} Tabitha, [[http://www.onemanga.com/Zero_no_Tsukaima/16/24/ so very much]]. To quote someone from animeblogger:
-->"Tabitha has taken over Siesta as my favourite character, and not just because she is channeling Yuki. She is made of pure win, I don’t usually like the stoic silent types, but something about Tabitha just makes my inner moe meter go berserk."
* TheMole - [[spoiler:[[strike:Ms. Longueville]] [[strike:Foquet]] Matilda]]
* MoodWhiplash - Again, the last episode of season two where [[spoiler: Saito comes back alive, embracing a tearful Louise, but ruining the moment by telling he was saved by an elf. He makes this worse by talking about her breasts and staring at Siesta's]]. My god, Saito, just shut your mouth for once.
** This troper feels that Saito is almost - no, wait. Never actually in the wrong, so shutting his face would likely be a waste, as Louise would be her normal self and find a way to be angry anyways.
* {{Mons}} - All familiars besides Saito.
* MostCommonSuperPower - Making Louise "rare" for not possessing it.
* NewTransferStudent - Julio in the second season, Tiffania in the third.
* NotWhatItLooksLike - Often followed by magical explosions, whips or a combination of both.
** And whips were ''involved'' in at least one NotWhatItLooksLike.
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent - Saito
* OurElvesAreBetter - Tiffania Westwood in the third season has all the traits of a Wood Elf (while technically a Half-Elf), along with [[{{Gainaxing}} another set of "traits"]].
* OverlyLongName - Montmorency's full name is Montmorency Margarita la Fère de Montmorency.
** Long names, given the {{medieval}} setting, is common:
*** Louise's full name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, named after a real-life French courtesan.
*** Kirche's full name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst.
* {{Pettanko}} - Louise
* PossessionImpliesMastery - Saito temporarily gains mastery of any weapon he holds, though there's actually [[JustifiedTrope a reason for this]].
* PowerOfLove - The Light Novels make it very clear that Saito's powers as a Gandalfr increase when feeling strong emotions. Anger, sadness, happiness, any will do, but Saito most frequently fuels his powers via his love for Louise.
* PrincessCurls - Montmorency.
* RantInducingSlight - In episode 11 of the second season, Saito finally cracks near the end of the episode after a heated discussion with Louise about how much she (and others) care about their reputation more than their lives. Honestly, This Troper would have had the same reaction
* RapeAsComedy - Louise's mistreatment of Saito occasionally leans [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_zero_no_tsukaima2_louise_whip.jpg dangerously towards S&M...]]
* RagsToRoyalty - [[spoiler:Depending on how you look at it, Tabitha might qualify as either a Snow White or Goose Girl style version as she's actually Charlotte Helene Orléans, the rightful heir to the Gallian throne but was denied her position after her father got murdered during a duel with his own brother and her mother became mad after drinking a potent poison actually meant for Tabitha. She was then sent to Tristain to keep her out of the way and adopted the alias Tabitha, the name of a doll given to her by her mother. The conspirators then arranged for her to become a knight so they could use her magical talent as an excuse to send her on dangerous missions]].
* ReadyForLovemaking
* RelationshipVoiceActor: Satoshi Hino and RieKugimiya. Saito and Louise. [[ShakuganNoShana This speaks for itself.]]
* ResetButtonEnding - At least, the second season.
* SchizoTech - Magic is the norm, but occasionally technology from our world crosses the border by fluke.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend - More on the opposite end of the spectrum, as Saito's quite fine with expressing his love for Louise, while she gets into a blushing fit in the same situation. [[spoiler: Even after they get "married" in the last episode of the second season, she's still embarrassed to even think of such things]].
** In the light novels, at least, she [[spoiler: tried to commit suicide after Saito's heroic death, in distress not just because he was dead, but because even in a dream she couldn't say aloud that she loved him]].
* ShoutOut - Hard to say if it's this or ThemeNaming, but Guiche's giant mole-critter familiar is named Verthandi, the original (Norse) spelling of Belldandy's name from AhMyGoddess.
** And some of the translations actually render the familiar's name as Belldandy -- which may just mean the translator didn't realize that's '''not''' the Norn's original name.
* StatusQuoIsGod - No matter what happens to Louise and Saito you can rest assured that she'll be right back to blowing him up by the end of the episode.
* SubordinateExcuse - Used ineffectually by Louise and Saito.
* SuckMyRose - Guiche uses a rose as his wand and has the [[{{Casanova}} right personality]] to wield it.
* SummonEverymanHero
* {{Stripperiffic}} - Last quarter of season 3...[[SoYeah yeah]]...
* TakahashiCouple - Probably one of the best examples since the Takahashi originals.
* TheGlomp - In the last episode of the second season, where [[spoiler: Saito returns from the dead to Louise]], who flies through the air into his arms.
* TheMagocracy
* ThemeNaming - In this case, it involves swords: Saito's talking sword is ''Derflinger'' while the display sword was said to have been made by a ''Count'' Spee. Derflinger was a WWI German Battlecruiser (named for a 30 Years War General), while ''Graf (Count) Spee'' would be a WWI German Admiral or the WWII ''pocket battleship'' named for him.
* ThisIsMyBoomstick - The M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon is probably a play on this.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood - Tabitha is fond of hashibami leaf salad which according to [[http://www.onemanga.com/Zero_no_Tsukaima_Gaiden_-_Tabasa_no_Bouken/2/06/ other characters]] has a bitter and awful taste.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld - Not entirely true: even though Saito is "trapped" in Louise's world, he can still leave by flying into a solar eclipse. [[spoiler: Yet, the trope is averted, as Saito decides to help Louise in battle instead of returning home]].
** Played straight in the novels, one of his main motivations is getting back to his own world.
* {{Tsundere}} - Louise, with heavy emphasis on "tsun".
** Her sister Eleonore ''may'' also be this, considering her rather...uh...{{Squee}}-full dreams.
* TwelveEpisodeAnime
* UnwantedHarem - While Louise is the obvious [[FirstGirlWins winner]], most of the women in the show have expressed interest in Saito at one time or another, [[spoiler:including newcomer {{the quiet one}} Tabitha, [[http://watchanimenow.com/video/zero-no-tsukaima-princesses-no-rondo-episode-12/ who seals his lips with a kiss.]]]]
* UnusualEars - Tiffania's very nervous about her ears, and wears something to cover them most of the time.
* WhatAnIdiot - This troper wants to know when Saito will clock on that commenting about [[MostCommonSuperpower large breasts]] (or her [[{{Pettanko}} lack thereof]]) around Louise (our resident {{Tsundere}}. With a [[WhipItGood whip]].) is a very bad idea.
* TheWoobie - You really can´t help but feel sorry for Saito because of the abuse heaped upon him by Louise. Tabitha qualifies too, once you learn of [[spoiler: what happened to her parents]].
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman - Louise reasons that since Saito was summoned through her familiar-summoning ritual, he's a familiar, despite being blatantly obviously a walking, talking, thinking, feeling human being. She subsequently decides this means she doesn't have to ''treat'' him like a human and proceeds to treat him in a way that would have her [[KickTheDog arrested for]] ''[[KickTheDog animal cruelty]]'' in our world if it wasn't being played for laughs.
* WhipItGood - Louise and her sister Eleonore. Dealing pain must run in the family.
* WizardingSchool
* YamatoNadeshiko - Louise's other sister Cattleya.
* ZettaiRyouiki
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