Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian (or Dantalian no Shoka) is a Light Novel series written by Gakuto Mikumo. It was adapted into manga by Chako Abeno and a Summer 2011 Anime 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."
This series provides the following tropes:
Adventure Duo: Huey and Dalian, Hal and Flamberge, the Professor and Rasiel.
Altum Videtur: Libricide. You know what their job is. Also, the OP song.
Berserk Button: Dalian has plenty when it concerns books or food. Or Camilla making a joke about Dalian being Huey's "daughter".
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: 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.
Big Eater: When she's not solving mysteries or obsessing over books, Dalian can be quite the eater.
Blood-Splattered Innocents: Estella Lillburn when her butler gets brutally murdered in front of her. Nope, sorry, she killed him.
Body Horror: 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.
Butterfly of Doom: Mentioned as part of the ...incantation... in episode 1.
Chain of Deals: 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.
Cute and Psycho: Estella Liliburn, being a female of the Liliburn family and all.
Department of Redundancy Department: 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.
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. 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.
Franchise Zombie: The Light Novel 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.
Also, Japanese honorifics are rarely used, instead the characters use their English equivalents like Mister, Lord, and in one case Huey was even corrected to say "Mrs." instead of "Miss."
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.
The people who wanted to enthrall everyone with music and locked themselves into a soundproof room ended up still in the building when it fell, since they were the only ones who didn't hear the violinist's warning to get out.
Library of Babel: Dantalian's archives, a more magical variety placed in another dimension, it seems.
Loony Fan: 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.
Marionette Master: Mabel Nash, although she's more of a doll master.
Mind Screw: 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.
Phenotype Stereotype: While there certainly are blondes in Britain, they're not quite as numerous as shown in the anime.
Platonic Life Partners: Huey and Dalian are arguably this. In spite of Dalian's Tsundere tendencies, there is nothing remotely romantic about their relationship.
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 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.
Theme Music Power-Up: Huey recites and weaponizes the opening theme (in Japanese) in the final episode to blow away the advancing zombies.
Three Faces Of Eve: There are three Biblioprincesses in the anime, and they each represent something. 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)
Possibly with a little Inkheart thrown in for good measure.
White-Haired Pretty Girl: Dalian's white-haired counterpart in the archive world, as well as Flamberge.
Yaoi Fangirl: 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 Ship-to-Ship Combat.
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