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Anime: Library War

Library War (図書館戦争, Toshokan Sensō in Japanese) is a light novel/12-episode anime/ongoing manga series set in 2019, during an alternate timeline where the Japanese government has issued the Media Betterment Act to prevent the spread of supposedly dangerous information by allowing censorship. In response, local governments have set up the Library Defense Force to fight against the Media Betterment Committee, who frequently raid libraries. The story itself centers around Iku Kasahara, a recruit in the Force, who joined after being inspired by a mysterious Defense Force member who protected her and a book she was trying to buy that was being targeted for censorship. However, she quickly learns how demanding the Defense Force can be, mainly from her demanding instructor, Atsushi Dojo. Despite making several huge mistakes at first, Kasahara is promoted to her base's Library Task Force, which is essentially the most elite branch of the Defense Force. As the series goes on, she begins to improve in her duties, and she even finds out more about the mysterious "princely" figure that inspired her all those years ago...

Library War contains examples of:

A-Team Firing: Played straight (and somewhat justified) with the LDF, as their goal is usually not to actually harm members of the MBC and to just hold them off. The MBC soldiers, however, have few qualms with shooting LDF members.
Adaptation Dye Job: Kasahara has brown hair in the anime but blonde hair in the manga. Shibasaki has black hair in the anime but light brown hair in the manga.
Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Dojo's usual method of comforting Kasahara.
Alternative Calendar/Twenty Minutes into the Future: The series takes place in the fictional Seita era, with the majority of the story taking place in 2019.
Aloof Big Brother: Satoshi Tezuka, Hikaru Tezuka's older brother
Battle Couple: Kasahara and Dojo, by the end of the anime series at least.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: Kasahara and Dojo, naturally.
Bishounen: Dojo, Tezuka and Komaki, especially in their manga designs.
Bloodless Carnage: Seriously, this must be the cleanest civil war ever. Few people are actually killed by the series' A-Team Firing; most are only injured or knocked unconscious.
- It's actually justified: Both sides wear SWAT/riot police/military-grade body armor*
  the MBC appear to be wearing SWAT gear, while the LDF are wearing what appears to be JGSDF-issue
  , but both sides have very few high-caliber firearms that can effectively punch through it - most engagements are conducted with 9mm submachineguns*
  M P5s for the MBC and Mineaba M9s for the LDF
  . This means that being shot will undoubtedly be painful, but rarely outright lethal. The system implemented for what is and is not kosher in these firefights seems to have been designed to minimize actual human casualties.
- Also, as with modern warfare, most rounds are being fired to suppress the opposition, instead of being intended to kill.
Book Burning: What happens to 'unsuitable' books that the Libraries can't get their hands on.
Book Dumb: Kasahara states that she didn't do well in lectures. Cue scene of her passed out in class with her textbook over her face.
- The novel explains this a bit more — because the university Kasahara went to didn't offer the classes she needed to qualify for a library job, she had to take night school courses on the side. (That said, she's still not a great student.)
Brutal Honesty: Shibasaki, usually when Kasahara is being particularly flaily.
Bulletproof Vest: In the final arc of the anime, Genda takes a barrage of bullets to the torso, but survives thanks to his body armor.
Buttmonkey: Bonus strips in the manga chronicle the adventures of Maburo Agohige, Kasahara's secret admirer. Every time he tries to approach Kasahara, he stumbles upon an intense Dojo/Kasahara moment or otherwise gets shut down.
The Champion: Kasahara became a librarian to emulate her "prince," the unknown Library Force member who saved both her and her precious book from the Media Improvement Committee when she was in high school. It's Dojo.
Civil War: Essentially, this is what the Library War is all about. It's a very nice one, however, given that the JSDF would likely clamp down hard on any belligerents who would start involving civilians, heavy weapons and other things that leads to collateral damage or a breakdown in law and order.
Cold Sniper: Tezuka, during combat missions.
Combat Pragmatist: Kasahara is not afraid to attack people from behind during sparring sessions.
Cool Guns: Both played straight and averted; the MBC soldiers' arsenal is ripped straight from the Cool Guns list and consists of shiny new MP-5[hottip:*: Well, newer' compared to the Type-64. It's still an older weapon, albeit on the Cool Guns list]] submachine guns and L96 rifles. The LDF is stuck with using JSDF surplus weapons, namely the decent yet unremarkable Type-64 and Type-89 rifles and the Minebea M9 submachine gun.
Culture Police: The Media Betterment Committee.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: What Kasahara thinks of Dojo.
Everybody Lives: Despite a fierce battle in which there are casualties on both sides, none of the main cast die. However, Genda is seriously injured, and medically retired with a two-rank promotion, the Kanto Library commander resigns, and Dojo is temporarily afflicted with memory loss.
Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: Hot librarians with guns.
Five-Man Band: Kasahara, Dojo, Tezuka, Komaki, and Shibasaki don't always go on the same missions, but they are the core cast.
Flower Motifs: Part of the Library Force's emblem is a chamomile, which in the language of flowers means "energy in adversity".
Go Through Me: The climax of the anime sees Genda pull this on an anti-censorship art display. A Media Betterment Committee member shoots him point-blank in plain daylight, causing a PR nightmare for the MBC and saving the exhibit.
Heroic BSOD: Dojo develops memory loss (specifically, agnosia) following a battle.
Hey, It's That Voice!: Kasahara and Shibasaki will later fend offhordes of zombies.
Hot Blooded: Kasahara, big time. Dojo also gets this way whenever Kasahara is involved.
Hot Librarian: The novels indicate that Shibasaki has quite a following as an Aloof Dark Haired Girl among the library's male employees — and though she hates the attention (and the jealousy it provokes in some of her female colleagues), she'll take advantage of it when she needs to gather information.
Kaiju Defense Force: The JSDF is said to be staying out of the conflict, and some Library Task Force members remark they have more range and combat time than the JSDF. There are implications, however, that the JSDF is sympathetic to the LTF, given that the LTF's equipment is almost identical to the JSDF, in their weapons, personal kit, and vehicles.
Knight in Shining Armor: Kasahara's memory of her "prince" inspired her to join the Library Force.
Large and in Charge: Genda.
Little Miss Snarker: Shibasaki, who is blunt to the point of cruelty at times.
Loophole Abuse: A loophole in the Media Betterment Act is what allowed the Libraries to exist in the first place. Another loophole led to the first library raid. A few laws and loopholes later and we've got an institutionalized civil war, with lots of rules for what is and is not kosher, and lots of people abusing the loopholes found in those rules.
May-December Romance: How some characters (particularly Dojo) views Komaki and Marie's relationship due to their ten-year age gap.
Mildly Military: The Library Defense Force may get into gun battles, but they're still librarians and are responsible for everything from checking out books to running storytime for kids.
Military Academy: Early episodes focus on basic training for Library Defense Force members.
The Napoleon: Dojo.
Noblewoman's Laugh: Kasahara in Tezuka's Imagine Spot. Shibasaki also does this in another Imagine Spot after she pawns his expensive Rolex that was a present from his older brother.
Non-Lethal Warfare: Appears to be justified, given the average military-grade body armour and pistol-caliber rounds the MBC and the Librarians use in their SM Gs. Still, it's a wonder more people don't get hurt.
Not So Different: Kasahara is a Hot Blooded Wide-Eyed Idealist protector of books, which causes her to repeatedly butt heads with Dojo's by the book approach. Turns out both of them are pretty similar. Dojo turns out to be The Champion who inspired Kasahara.
One Head Taller: Inverted: Dojo is noticeably shorter than Kasahara. Needless to say, he's not exactly happy about this.
She Cleans Up Nicely: A bonus chapter of the manga focuses on Kasahara putting on a Pimped-Out Dress and not being able to figure out why all the guys are suddenly staring at her.
Ship Tease: Between Kasahara and Dojo at the start (well, a more belligerent version).
- Shibasaki and Tezuka.
Shout Out:
- In the Anvilicious Episode 6, several members of the Defense Force are tasked with retrieving a copy of a heavily-censored book. While the title of the book is 505K, the description is quite obviously that of Fahrenheit 451. Considering that the book in their world is referred to as the Book of Prophecy, perhaps Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped.
  - 505K is ~ 451 �F
  - 505K is ~ 446�F. 506K = 451.4�F
- In movie Eiga Toshokan Sensou: From Dojo remarked: "Absurdity of this world has thrown me into despair ."
Spell My Name with an S: Shibasaki or Shibazaki?
The Squad: Usually consists of the Five-Man Band plus other superior officers.
The Squadette/Tomboy: Kasahara.
This Is Reality:
"If anyone from a country who doesn't have a Media Cleansing Law sees this, they must think it's absurd. Unfortunately, this is our reality."
Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Much of the story takes place at the Kanto Library Base in the Tokyo area, with occasional forays outside the city.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Kasahara and Shibasaki, an unlikely roommate pair.
Tsundere: Dojo is a male version of this.
Unequal Pairing: Kasahara is Dojo's subordinate, after all. Not that they're officially a couple (yet).
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Kasahara, at the start of the series.
Well Done Sone Guy: Tezuka has shades of this towards his older brother.
Wunza Plot