What would it be like, not being able to choose your own life? What if your family died? How about the person you love? No one ever wants that, and yet the world hands out that sorrow for no reason, laughing all the way.Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes) is a 2010 anime series based on a popular series of Light Novels (which also has a Manga adaptation). It tells the story of Ryner Lute, a young mage who bears an Alpha Stigma, which grants him incredible magic power at the cost of making him go a tiny bit insane sometimes. After surviving a brutal battle, he is tasked by his friend Sion Astal (who also happens to be the king of Roland, the country they live in) with obtaining relics of the so-called legendary heroes who saved the kingdom from monsters in the distant past.Despite its relatively light-hearted premise, this show is extremely fond of Mood Whiplashes. Prepare yourself for Berserk undertones.Has a (developing) character sheet.
A Fate Worse Than Death: The Solver of All Equations is doomed to suffer hellish pain for all eternity when he's devoured by the hero. This is why Sion tried to kill Ryner, even though he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Badass Normal: Ferris. In a world where people either spam Rule Fragment in sword fights or have hit the Superpower Lottery HARD, she can still hold her own pretty well with most of them.
Blackmail: Sion does this to force Ryner into joining his team in the academy. Also the method he makes Ryner and Ferris go in journey, though the actual threat is formulated by Ferris's big brother Lucille.
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Ryner is tsukkomi to almost everyone in the show, but Ferris is the boke most of the times — a rather violent one who doesn't think she's the boke. This is especially obvious in a short story where Ferris writes a book and attempts to strangle Ryner whenever he points out how ridiculous her story is.
Butt Monkey: Ryner. Constantly prone to being abused by Ferris. Or Iris, who believes in Ferris's words that he is a wild beast. And Sion, who can be quite manipulative.
Cursed with Awesome: Anyone with a pair of magic eyes are gifted with abilities beyond normal humans, but they're also subject to heavy discrimination and persecution.
Curtains Match the Window: Just about every single character, with some exceptions, namely Sion, the Eris family, the people from Gastark, and that one blond guy from the Taboo breaker squad.
Dark and Troubled Past: Played straight by a huge portion of the cast. Ryner ranks pretty high amongst them.
Designated Hero: Sion was hailed as Roland's hero for single-handedly decimating a troop of 50 Magic Knights, but the actual deed was done by Ryner, who ended up in prison.
Despair Event Horizon: Ryner finds it interesting that he just can't seem to cross this, no matter how much crap happens.
Eldritch Abomination: The Goddesses. Beings whose sole purpose is to consume the entire world. The Lonely Demon as well, perhaps even moreso, considering that the ones who created the world are baffled by and utterly terrified of him, even though he's mostly benign.
Energy Absorption: Tiir's eyes can absorb 'spirits'(the fundamental component of magic), and magic is all but useless on him. Consequently, he cannot use magic himself.
Eyes Always Shut: Lucille. He opens them for a moment in episode 12 to show that he is seriously dangerous. Luke as well.
Eyes of Gold: Sion, though he does not really show the characteristics.
Definitely Sion — not only is he the current incarnation of the Mad Hero, but it's remarked in the novels that his gold eyes were inherited from his royal lineage. Which coincidentally is descended from the Mad Hero, and thus very decidedly not entirely normal humans.
Eye Scream: Anyone with a pair of Magic Eyes will be threatened with this. Sometimes it goes through.
Riphal as well, when he sacrifices his eye in a Magic Contract.
Fangirl: Sion has a lot, ranging from young girls to older women. In his empire and outside. And in a way, Iris is one to her big sisterFerris. Milk might count as one to Ryner.
Fantastic Racism: The bearers of magic eyes are on the receiving end. This is justified in certain individual cases, but there are an overwhelming amount of sympathetic examples where people are just being assholes.
Handicapped Badass: King Riphal Edea sacrificed his left eye, his sense of smell (and later his sense of touch) and his right leg in order to use the SacredSwordGlovil.
Humans Are Bastards: Mostly played straight. Even though they're essentially the same, humans and some possessors of magic eyes deem each other as different races, with the latter often suffering at the former's hands, ranging from being discriminated against(only rarely is this justified) to being slaughtered by people out to harvest their eyes.
Instant Expert: Spells usually take anywhere from a few months to a few years to learn, depending on the proficiency of the magician. However, Ryner can learn any spell the moment he sees it.
Married to the Job: Sion. Lampshaded by Ryner, who calls him a workaholic and the others by constantly having to force him to eat and rest.
Mega Manning: Anyone with Alpha Stigma can copy most spells instantaneously.
Mood Whiplash: The series is very fond of these, but episode 3 and 18 probably take the crown. This even happens in the short story collections: You've just finished reading about Ryner battling pirates and a seasick Ferris trying to down a ship. Wonder what kind of crack is coming up next....wait, we're reading about Ryner's past? Uh, okay....
Then there is episode 23, which starts with Ryner getting worked nearly to death by Sion, some more funny scenes about that, then funny birthday preparations for Sion behind his back which even involves Miran Froaude, a fleeing Sion a few days later (turns out he was fleeing from his birthday), a heartwarming birthday scene, and ends with a serious fight between Sion and his soldiers against Ryner. Wait, what?!
Odd Name Out: The three Eris siblings are named Iris, Ferris, and...Lucile.
Off with His Head!: This has happened a lot and it seems to be Lucille's preferred method of killing.
Older than They Look: Lieral Lieutolu, someone who should rightfully be in his 40s looks younger than his son. Granted, he could look whatever age he wanted to, and has indeed appeared as a man in his 40s.
One-Man Army: Tiir, although he can still be overwhelmed if you have the right tactic. Ryner might qualify if he doesn't completely abhor killing. Lucile also claims to be this, and you better believe him.
Orphanage of Fear: It's actually a hellish military training facility disguised as an orphanage. Those who cannot keep up are disposed of.
Our Demons Are Different: In the short time we knew him, the Solver of All Equations is a gentle, kind being despite possessing the power to destroy the world. His other half, the Weaver of All Equations seemed like a mad demon that's responsible for how twisted the Eris family is, but in the end voluntarily let himself be devoured by Lucile and genuinely wishes happiness upon him.
Ferris and Iris to an extent, but only because their big brother Lucille killed their parents to save Ferris from marrying him, because the entire Eris line thinks siblings shall marry to keep their bloodline pure. In the anime the parents attempted to rape her.
Milk, as she was in the same orphanage with Ryner, as it seems, and the siblings Fiole and Eslina.
Person of Mass Destruction: Ryner can disintegrate an infinite amount of objects, living and inanimate alike, through will alone when his true power awakens. Body count? More than 1,000,000.
Poisonous Friend: Miran Froaude, to Sion. On the other hand, Sion knows more about what Froaude is up to than he realizes.
Powers That Be: The priests who have been orchestrating almost all events in the series.
Razor Floss: Luke's magic, which is actually a Rule Fragment.
Reincarnation: Ryner is half of the reincarnation of a demon king... Lucille is the other half.
Their circumstances are a bit more complicated than good old reincarnation, but Milk plays this trope straight by being the reincarnation of the only Goddess that sided with the hero and the Lonely Demon.
Reality Warper: Ryner Eris Reed, or the Lonesome Demon, who can easily manipulate the very fabric of reality by fiddling the 'equations' that make up this world.
Red Baron: Ryner was once known as the Greatest Magician in Roland after wiping the floor with the previous holder at the age of 13. He still is, but it rarely gets brought up anymore.
Rescue Romance: Noa and Claugh. The first time Claugh rescues Noa from Miran, but the situation becomes inverted when Noa decides to negotiate with Miran instead of getting Claugh hurt. The second time is played straighter, when Claugh saves Noa from would-be assassins/rapists.
Star-Crossed Lovers: What one of the Goddesses believed the Hero and the Lonely Demon to be.
Squishy Wizard: Averted by Ryner. Seems like being the strongest magician in Roland does require some physical prowess.
Might be played straight with Sion, as he is more the tactican, is the king, is well-versed in magic and was saved by Ferris when he was back in the academy (he does fight and does attack offensively, but only after he knows he is superior to the situation by information). At least in the anime you don't see him fight too much, thus evoking this trope for now.
The Mole: Kiefer is blackmailed by Roland's aristocrats to expose Sion's squad's location to the enemy with the purpose of getting rid of Sion. Her sister, the blackmail material, turns out to be Dead All Along, though.
The Ophelia: Sion Note reveals that Ryner Eris Reed may be a male version of this. He's also a Stepford Smiler and gets strangely chippy at the thought of being killed.
Technical Pacifist: Ryner. Though he doesn't hesitate to beat up mooks if you get him riled up enough, he abhors killing and even once stopped Miran Froaude from killing an antagonist that was trying to take Ryner's life a few moments ago. Also, being the proficient magician he is, he has higher-level spells than the one he spams most often, but doesn't like to use them because they're too lethal.
These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: The very existence of several beings that hold the world in their palms. The Goddesses, the priests, the hero and the demon. Oh, and by the way, the world has been destroyed before. Many, many times. It got better. Then It Got Worse.
Tsundere/Kuudere: Ferris in episode 1; doesn't seem to be the case in the flashbacks with Sion, though. Sion even points it out, saying she never opened up to him like that.
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Ryner. Alpha Stigma bearers in general may count when they lose control. And besides them, maybe Sion later on, too.
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