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%% When adding or editing a trope, please make sure to use the pronouns "they/them" to refer to the gems, as those are the pronouns the gems go by in the source material.
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/houseki_no_kuni_volume_1_cover.jpg]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:''Beautiful and strong... they are the Lustrous.'']]
''Houseki no Kuni'' (Literal translation: ''Country of Jewels'') is an Action/Fantasy {{Seinen}} manga series created by Haruko Ichikawa and published by Kodansha. It is currently being released under the title ''Land of the Lustrous'' in the west by Kodansha USA, with a CGI anime series by [[Creator/RoughDraftStudios Orange]] premiering in October for the Fall 2017 season.
In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called gems, every unique gem must fight for their survival against the threat of the {{Lunarians}}, who routinely show up to kidnap gems and make them into jewelry. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of them, longs to join the battle, but is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, which they consider a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos’s seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?
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!!Tropes in this series include:
* OneHundredAndEight: When Shiro is cut into several "pieces" and the gems finally wrangle them all, it's noted that there's 107 of them. [[spoiler: Phos later finds #108 with Cinnabar.]]
* AdmiringTheAbomination: Alex wants Bort and Phos to capture a new type of Moon dweller alive. Bort tells them off on this.
* AfterTheEnd: Takes place on an Earth that's been pummeled by meteors repeatedly. [[spoiler: The gem people, the sea slug people, and the moon people are all distant evolutionary descendants of the remains of humanity, greatly changed to adapt to the new environment.]]
* TheAgeless: The gems don't age and don't have a lifespan. The oldest, Yellow Diamond, is over 3000 years old, and the youngest, Phosphophyllite is around 300 years old. They look about the same age.
* AllCGICartoon: The animated series. The manga's PV was in [=2D=]. However, it's done more in a similar fashion to ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' or ''Anime/Berserk2016'' by also having 2D elements blended in.
* AmbiguousGender[=/=]NoBiologicalSex: [[http://pepperanon.blogspot.com/2014/08/nichijou-138-141-houseki-no-kuni.html The gems]]. While they refer to themselves using male pronouns (earlier translations mistakenly used female ones) and they refer to each other as "Brother", the concept of gender is never brought up once. They are all androgynous in appearance, although their personal speech pattern differs from masculine to feminine. Phos in particular is confused when seeing Ventricosus's [[{{Gainaxing}} "water bags"]].
** Kodansha's English translation of the manga addresses this by wording each gems' dialogue so that no gendered pronouns are used, opting for "[[GenderNeutralWriting this/that gem/they/them/you]]" or simply referring to the other gems by name as a replacement when needed, likely to avoid the inevitable [[AmbiguousGender gender]] [[DudeLooksLikeALady debates]] among the English speaking readers.
%%** [[WordOfGod Word of God]] has gone on record saying yes, the gems are indeed genderless, as heard in one of the ''Houseki no Kuni'' Radio ''~Kongou-Sensei ga Oyobidesu!''
* AndThenWhat: As soon as Phos tells Cinnabar their plan to investigate Adamant-Sensei, Cinnabar immediately shoots back that they need to have an idea of what to do after they find out the truth.
* AnArmAndALeg: Happens fairly often, especially to the gems with a lower hardness rating; fortunately, limbs and other broken-off bits can be reattached easily. In cases where the broken-off bits are not recoverable, they can use materials similar in composition to replace them.
* AnatomyOfTheSoul: The soul ("spirit") is treated as a separate element of particular properties. Along with the bone and the flesh (implied to be the mind), the three formed the Humans who inhabited the land before the Gems. [[spoiler: Souls left behind by humans also conglomerate and form the Moon People.]]
* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:According to Sensei and the history of the Admirabilis by Ventricosus, a very long time ago, the land "broke" five times before a meteor strike did it in for the sixth and final time. The humans and other life were forced to flee to the oceans, as only "a single beach" had remained--now known as the Beach of Beginnings--while six moons formed from the debris of the meteor crashing into the Earth. From there, the Admirabilis, the Gems, and the Lunarians were born, though so far, we only know how the Gems are formed: lifeforms that couldn't escape to the ocean in time when there was still one moon ended up dying, with their sinking corpses being decomposed to the bone and being crystallized over time before gaining sentience and rising from the Beach of Beginnings.]]
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Most of Cairngorm's scolding to Phos falls on deaf ears, but when they calls Phos out on their constant projecting of lost partners on them, that's the one thing that prompts Phos to follow them.
-->"At any rate, when you're hurting... Antarc or Ghost, [[ReplacementGoldfish call me what you want]]."
* ArtificialLimbs: Whenever a gem loses their body parts, they can use something similar to replace it. Materials similar to Phos are rare, but in exchange their body is very receptive to other materials.
** When Phos' legs are lost, they're replaced with agate, which grants them SuperSpeed.
** When Phos' arms are lost, they're replaced with gold and platinum alloy, which they can shape at will.
** Even later, Phos' [[spoiler: head]] is lost, which is then later replaced by [[spoiler: the head of Lapis Lazuli, another gem]].
** [[spoiler: Phos gets a Pearl eye as a camera after deciding to work for the Lunarians.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Implied to be Shiro and the Pieces' demise after Sensei deals with them. [[spoiler: Later pretty much confirmed, and stated that this is the goal for every Lunarian still stuck in this world.]]
* AsleepForDays: The gems work on sunlight, so, during winter where the skies get cloudy they all go into hibernation. Sensei, Antarcticite and later Phos can however avoid that.
* AsYouKnow: The entire introductory chapter is just various Lustrous and Adamant explaining to each other what their focus and purpose is. In context, they talk about how amazing their body structure is and why Phos can't land a job respectively.
* AuthorAppeal: Just looking at Ichikawa's previous works makes one realize that ''Houseki'' is a combination on many of her favorite themes. Buddhist imagery, humanoid evolution, beings rising up from the sea, and the complexity of Man come unsurprisingly regularly here. There's also her fixation on [[AnArmAndALeg bodies breaking apart]], which has cropped up quite a bit in her previous works and happens to the gems fairly often.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: While many gems' relationships with one another are complicated in a very human-like way, thus leading some of them to come off crass, cold or severe (such as dismissive attitudes towards Phos, or Dia and Bort's HiddenDepths regard for the other), when push comes to shove they're constantly shown to go through great lengths to protect and save one another. They'll often express concern for each other, whether outright (say, Dia), or subtly (say, Cinna or Bort).
%%* Badass: Several characters, including Sensei, Bort, Aculeatus, Antarcticite and later Phos.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Phos, for the longest time, wished to be useful and strong enough to fight instead of being incompetent. They get their wish in the most tragic way possible, with their old personality chipping away before getting alloy upgrades and people dear to them getting taken away to the Moon in the process of becoming stronger.
* ABirthdayNotABreak: The day Phos turns three hundred years old is also the day the gem's legs get destroyed, and the day they learn about the three races and how they evolved from humans.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Lunarians' base is probably made from bismuth. It also melts at night, creating an ocean of structures and transforming the buddhist imagery into a more modern, western like fancy imagery.
* BlatantLies: When [[spoiler:Cinnabar begs Phos not to go to the Moon again]], the latter says they couldn't hear the former over the sound of the wind, deflecting the plea completely.
* BloodlessCarnage: On the virtue of being made from gemstones (The Lustrous) and clouds (The Lunarians) respectively, this series can get away with showing a ''lot'' of injuries that would have been incredibly graphic otherwise.
* BluntYes: Sensei gives a rather short, affirmative answer when asked if [[spoiler:he was created by Humans]], much to Phos' surprise.
* BodyHorror: When the gems break or crack, which happens quite frequently among the gems of lower hardness when the Lunarians attack. However, due to the gems being rocks, its less gory and hard to look at, as it is aesthetically pleasing. Outside of breaking due to the Lunarians, the gems are shown to crack and fall apart when feeling extreme ( most likely negative ) emotions.
* BookEnds: The anime ends in a very similar way as it started, with Phos being told by Morganite that Sensei is calling them, and then meeting with Sensei. However, it plays on the changes that have happened during the series and the Phos who meets Sensei is very different and has completely different objectives in mind than the one from the first episode.
* BrokenBird: Cinnabar. Due to being a PoisonousPerson with uncontrollable powers, the gem lives alone apart from everyone else. Understandably, they are extremely gloomy most of the time.
* ButtMonkey: Phos starts the story like this. They are weak, clumsy, and generally bad at anything, ending up as the butt of jokes of other gems. They later TookALevelInBadass as the story goes on though.
** Benito seems to fill this role once Phos starts becoming better at things.
* CallBack:
** All the way back in Chapter 2, Phos tells Cinnabar that they'll find a job for them that only Cinnabar can do, and one that's at least fun. When Phos remembers to give Cinnabar a job in Chapter 36 and tells they about it, all they reply with at first is "You forgot fun."
** Chapter 46's image of the gems running is a direct mirror of the first chapter's cover image, only with a different set of Gems and set [[spoiler:one hundred two years later]].
** The last time the viewers see [[spoiler:the original]] Morganite and Goshe in the manga is in the same poses they were in when we see them leave Phos in the first chapter.
* ChameleonCamouflage: [[spoiler: It is eventually revealed that this is how the Lunarians approach the Land, as the vessels work like ships with a layer of camouflage on them. An arrow breaking the stealth shield is what creates the Sunspots the gems see when they are attacked. The multiple Sunspots are probably the result of more than one layer of camouflage shield.]]
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Phos, as they learn about the world surrounding them and how to accept it.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: After becoming strong, Phos becomes somewhat insensitive to the feelings of others and tries to look out for themselves. Rutile warns them against this after Jade becomes traumatized from punching Phos.
* CompleteImmortality: The closest you can get to killing a gem is breaking them into pieces and not putting them back together. As long as the parts can be recovered, anyone can [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]].
* CustomUniform: Whichever gem is serving as the Winter Guard (Antarctcite, and later, Cairngorm) wears an all-white uniform and black [[CombatStilettos high-heeled]] boots.
** The diamond-class gems[[note]]Dia, Bort, Yellow, and, as seen in a flashback, Green Diamond[[/note]] all wear [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high socks]] and [[HighClassGloves opera gloves]].
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler:The Moon People grind captured gems down into a luminescent dust that gets spread across the moon's surface. They hope that the constant reminder of his pupils' fates will break Sensei's spirit and force them to send them to the afterlife.]]
* DeathSeeker:
** Padsparadscha is a non lethal version. They would prefer to be left sleeping forever as to not worry Rutile anymore.
** Cinnabar is also a non lethal version, since they want to be taken to the moon.
** [[spoiler: Then we have the Lunarians. Technically, they're ''already'' dead, but they just wish to finally pass on to the afterlife and want their souls purified.]]
* DespairEventHorizon:
** Phos crosses it hard as [[spoiler: they fail to save Antarcticite from being taken away. Their face as they are falling and realizing their failure is painful to behold]]. It all starts [[FromBadToWorse getting worse from there]].
** Phos again, upon discovering [[spoiler: that the taken gems are ground into dust by the lunarians and dispersed on the moon. They are well and truly gone, as dead as an immortal gem can get; and all this time, the pieces they were recovering from the lunarians were actually synthetic gems, designed to entice the other gems into taking unnecessary risks trying to recover them.]]
** Most of the other gems as [[spoiler: some of them, at the behest of Phos, decide to leave for the Moon. They spend the night looking underwater for them as they just can't process the fact that some of their comrades left them. Rutile upon discovering that Phos took Padparadscha with them stares in horror and just shatters where they stands.]]
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The ending theme of Episode 8 is done by Creator/TomoyoKurosawa, Phos' seiyuu.
* DownerEnding:
** Episode 8. [[spoiler:After spending the episode being encouraged by Antarcticite, Antarcticite is killed by the Lunarians, causing Phos to attempt to avenge them, but fails miserably. A special ending theme plays, heavily implied to be Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* EasterEgg: As it turns out, [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618358765649920 every]] [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618872584716289 cover]] of the manga has Cinnabar hidden somewhere in it. They're usually on the inside flap.
* EvolutionaryStasis: It takes millions of years for a Gem to form, and yet after that they and their culture remain stagnant for thousands of years.
* {{Fanservice}}: It's not very blatant, but they do have some scenes of the Gems in various sensual poses. Euclase also gets a nude scene in the story, with generous attention to their backside. In general, fanservice tends to be focused on the gems backsides, with Bort being a primary offender primarily in their summer uniform.
* TheFashionista: Red Beryl. The gem insists on sewing new uniforms for everyone every time the season changes. They also tend to go on a rant about their pursuit of passion whenever asked.
* TheFogOfAges: Some Gems have been around for so long that they can't remember exactly what their original aspirations were or what their goals were, as Yellow Diamond shows us.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Cairngorm is taken to Sensei to be given a new identity, Sensei stares strangely at them and examines them in order to give them their new name. Much attention is paid to Sensei's eye as this is happening, as it glints unlike the other Gems. [[spoiler:A robot gathering information might do that as well.]]
** The name itself is a dead giveaway. [[spoiler:Adamant is the hardest substance in the world, but it is also mythical and, in other words, does not occur in nature.]]
** When Ventricosus is leading Phos to her home, she tells them to toss the bowl they used to carry her, only for Phos to reply that they'd certainly get in trouble if they didn't bring it home. There's then a silent panel of Ventricosus smiling oddly, most likely [[spoiler: in a pitying way, knowing that her plan doesn't involve Phos going home.]]
* {{Heaven}}: [[spoiler:the Other World. Its actually more similar to depictions of Nirvana, keeping up with the Buddhist motif the series has.]]
* HeroicSacrifice:
** Antarcticite lets the Lunarians abduct them in order to save Phos. This hits Phos deeply.
** Ghost lets themselves get chipped away and taken by the Lunarians, leaving Cairngorm left to look out for Phos.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Phos is 300 years old, yet the gem's attitude is far from mature. Subverted in that the Gems are different from humans (who are explicity stated to learn and pass knowledge) and in that Phos ends up maturing a lot after some difficult experiences.
* ImportantHaircut: Phosphophyllite cuts their hair after [[spoiler: Antarcticite gets taken to the moon]]. After this, the gem began to act much more serious.
* InsistentTerminology: Sensei doesn't take naps, the gem only meditates.
* ImmortalsFearDeath: After listening about humanity and death Phos comments on this, and about how does death give life value or not.
* IronicEcho: "Don't go to the Moon". First said by Phos to Cinnabar because they're desperate to feel wanted after years of being a danger and liability to their peers, and then vice-versa because [[spoiler:Phos wants to seek the truth about the Lunarians]] and Cinnabar knows that anyone who's gone to the Moon doesn't return.
* ItsAllMyFault: Said word by word by Antarcticite after Phos' arms are lost, and before that by the Amethyst twins after they lose in battle and Phos is too scared to run away.
* KickTheDog: The first Gem shard that [[spoiler:Prince]] shows to Phos while explaining what happens to Gems taken to the Moon? [[spoiler:Antarcticite. More specifically, their eye, which Prince proceeds to grind into powder in front of Phos' own eyes. And he knows that the Gem meant dear to them.]]
* KilledOffscreen: To highlight the change more than a century can make, [[spoiler:Morganite and Goshenite]] were taken to the Moon, replaced with a newer, younger set of the same material.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Bort's first lecture to Phos: a warrior that doesn't know when to quit is not useful to anyone.
* LineInTheSand: Before [[spoiler:going to the Moon a second time]], Phos warns the other Lustrous with them that they ([[ButThouMust with the exception of Cairngorm]]) still have one last chance to object. None of them turn Phos down.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: 28 gem people. On the other hand, there's few characters outside that group.
* {{Lunarians}}: The bad guys. They're trying to take the gems to the moon and turn them into jewelry. [[spoiler: Later they are stated to be another descendants of humanity, alongside the gems and the Admirabilis. Ventricosus ponders whether they want to reunite to become humans again]]. [[spoiler: They don't. They just want to pass on to the afterlife.]]
* MesACrowd: Shiro, a male-like Lunarian its able to do this.
* MultiarmedAndDangerous: One of the Lunarians has six arms.
* NeglectfulPrecursors: [[spoiler: Prince suggests the humans who built Sensei were this, given that they put special effort into assuring that he wouldn't damage on the outside but didn't account on him breaking on the inside. Ultimately according to his story this is what started the whole problem, since none of the Lunarians know how to fix him or can even attempt to since he is utterly indestructible.]]
* NewContentCountdownClock: The anime's website had a countdown for a specific event in the series. By the time it ended, it revealed that it was for the start of the Winter arc and the first appearance of Antarcticite.
* NoMeansYes: Unlike Cinnabar, who genuinely didn't want to go to the moon, Cairngorm was the most vocal protestor and even says they don't want to go, right before the next couple of panels show them reluctantly going.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: [[spoiler: Once Prince Aechmea shatters Phos on the Moon, he invites the Gem for a tour and later a fancy dinner, as he plans to negotiate with them.]]
* NoodlePeople: The gems. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], given that [[spoiler:they evolved from the "bones" of humanity, depending on how literally you want to take that legend.]]
* OhCrap:
** Adamant-sensei gives a real shocked expression when Phos mentions [[spoiler: Humans]]. In general, anything connecting itself to that topic, such as [[spoiler:Professor]], will crack his facade. [[spoiler:Phos getting taken to the Moon]] gives off this reaction as well.
** Gems will regularly have this reaction when a particularly unusual Lunarian enemy comes to fight.
** [[spoiler:Rutile certainly is shocked when Padparascha's case is taken to the moon, enough to start cracking themselves in its mere absence.]]
** After Benito and Dia point out that Phos [[spoiler:hasn't asked the Lunarians about restoring Padparascha and left the body with them, alone]], Phos rushes as fast as they can. Luckily their fears were unfounded.
* OneSteveLimit: Broken. There's Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Green Diamond.
** Then there are Amethyst 84 and 33, the twin crystals of the group.
** During the TimeSkip, [[spoiler: Morganite and Goshenite were taken to the moon. Shortly after, a new Morganite and Goshenite were born]].
* PimpedOutDress: Red Beryl makes the gems wear these during their hibernation.
* PosthumousCharacter: Phos reminding Ghost of their taken partner,[[spoiler:Lapis Lazuli]] is a driving factor behind the gem teaming up with Phos. Later [[spoiler:Lapis's head is used to replace Phos's after their's get taken to the moon, bringing them back.]]
** The various gems, [[spoiler: Blue Zoisite, Topaz, Chrysoberyl, Green Diamond and etc. ]] had been taken to the moon prior to the start of the Manga events and can be seen as this as it is likely that they're long gone.
* PoisonousPerson: Cinnabar emits a toxic substance (probably [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar#Toxicity mercury]]) that's quite useful in fighting the moon people. Unfortunately, [[PowerIncontinence they can't control it]], so they have to stay away from the other gems to avoid harming them.
* PowerLevels: Based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness Mohs scale of mineral hardness]]. As expected, Diamond, Yellow Diamond and [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bortz Bort]] are the hardest at 10, but Adamant-sensei, whose exact hardness is unknown, is apparently even harder than that.
* PsychologicalCombat: Chapter 41 has the Lunarians' tactics evolve to include more personal attacks on the Gems. They bait in the Gems with shards of Gems they've already taken to the Moon, and once they're close enough they start chipping away at them. This is especially noticeable in that the shards they use to take advantage are of Gems with partners that were with Phos at the time.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: The gems are able to do this, even with different materials.
* RapunzelHair: Bort has long black hair that's longer than their height. Phosphophyllite asks them to cut their hair when they [[spoiler: fight together when Adamant is asleep.]] Padparadscha and Sphene also qualify.
* RealityEnsues: Regarding Ventricosus. Phos expects to talk to her when remembering their encounter. [[spoiler: The problem is, over a hundred years had passed since, so Phos quickly learns that Ventricosus died long ago.]]
* RevolvingDoorCasting: The main focus of certain arcs changes constantly in size and in characters, with Phos being at the center of it all.
* RockThemeNaming
* RuleOfSymbolism: A huge amount of it regarding Buddhist concepts and teachings.
** When cut down, Shiro divides into 108 smaller creatures. OneHundredAndEight is a very important number in Buddhism.
** Phos' upgrades so far follow the Seven Treasures of Buddhism-- [[spoiler: crystal (body), gold, platinum (arms), agate (legs), lapislazuli (head), pearl (left eye). Time will tell if they will obtain carmelian and ruby.]]
** Nirvana is mentioned and plays a role in the story. [[spoiler: Essentially, the Moon People are revealed to be human souls, seeking for release from their earthly desires via achieving Nirvana, which explains their Bodhitsava-like attires.]]
** Phos spends 49 days in the Moon. 49 is the number of days one spends in the afterlife before being reborn again. [[spoiler: given that the Lunarians are the souls of dead humans...]]
** When Phos and the other Lustrous in their party prepare to [[spoiler:go to the Moon]], they sit in [[spoiler:Cicadas lap]] in a manner reminiscent to [[https://i.imgur.com/a1kFiYq.jpg a Buddha statue]].
** The Lustrous' culture do have a lot of death symbolism in it. Their uniforms are described as being based off of funeral attire, they sometimes carry each other in body bags when they're broken, Kongou is dressed as a Buddhist monk that ritually prays for the dead to pass on [[spoiler:which is ''supposed'' to be his role for the Lunarians]], and their Winter robes are tied with the frontmost lapel pointing towards the left, which usually is done for the dead.
** Gems cannot cry, seeing as that they weren't created with tear ducts. However, cracking by themselves is usually reserved for extreme sad emotions. For example, when [[spoiler:the Gems Phos brings to the Moon see the Moon dust made of their old comrades]], a [[SingleTear single shard cracks]] into the pile Yellow Diamond picks up, reminiscent of a tear, while Alex's shards fall as if they were crying in frustration. Phos and Cinnabar are the exceptions, as they have their gold/platinum and poison respectively to act as tear fluid.
* RunOrDie: The Amethysts warn Phos about this once a particularly strong group of Moon-People come down and make quick work of them in the beginning of Volume 3.
* SanitySlippage: After the Winter, Phos starts hallucinating about Antarcticite and starts growing suspicious of Sensei, to the point of trying to leave to contact the Moon People alone.
* SecretKeeper: Padparadscha knows about Sensei's relationship with the Moon People. Unfortunately for Phos, the gem falls asleep before revealing any relevant information.
* ShortCutsMakeLongDelays: In more than one way during Chapter 44, "A Short Path". Phos trying to take a shortcut via sliding over the frozen lake ends up with both them and Cairngorm crashing on the ice and being scolded by Rutile. Cairngorm themselves acknowledges this trope. [[spoiler: Later on the chapter, Cairngorm tries to take a "shortcut" towards waiting for Phos to recover their lost head, and they use Lapis' head instead. Then in the next chapter, we see that 100 years have passed and Phos still hasn't awakened, referencing the trope again.]]
* ShoutOut: The [[AltumVidetur Latin]] lyrics to "liquescimus", ''odi et amo'', often translated as "I hate and I love.", is lifted from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_85 Catullus 85]], one of Catullus's most well-known poems to his mistress, Lesbia. In this poem, Catullus details his conflicting feelings about his deteriorating relationship with Lesbia. When applied to "liquescimus", [[spoiler:it is presumably referring to Phos' self-loathing for being unable to save someone who loved them like no one else did.]]
* ShownTheirWork: The method Antarcticite uses to break apart the floes is very similar to how people harvest ice in real life via ice cutting. (That is, using a pickaxe (the high heels) to mark how the ice will break apart, then using a saw (the serrated sword) to cleave the ice apart.) And it's kinda amazing how much research Haruko did with the gems:
** Cinnabar is an ore of mercury, the same metal that floats around the gem.
** Watermelon Tourmaline has electricity powers and their gem is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline piezoelectric]].
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarcticite Antarcticite]] is a mineral that only forms in Antarctica, when it gets cold enough. The character is only solid during winter.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysoberyl#Alexandrite Alexandrite]] changes color based the amount of sunlight it gets and in the manga the character changes color too, albeit only when their [[SplitPersonality alternate personality]] is brought out upon seeing a lunarian.
** The Amethyst Twins are called sometimes called 84 and 33. The reason for the nicknames might be confusing until you realize that Japan Law Twinning, a crystal formation law, requires the two gems to meet at an angle of 84*33'.
** Ghost Quartz forms over already created gems. Makes sense the character [[spoiler: has another gem inside of them.]]
** Obsidian is a stone used by blacksmiths in the production of weaponry.
* SingleMindedTwins: The Amethyst twins.
* SolemnEndingTheme: The ending to Episode 8 plays "liquescimus", [[DoItYourselfThemeTune sung by Phos's voice actor]]. [[spoiler:It is about Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* SpoilerOpening: [[spoiler:The very first scene of Phos waking up in fetus position while underwater hints at how gems are born.]]
* SuicideMission: Phos' idea of going to the Moon to retrieve everyone who got captured is treated as this.
* SuperSpeed: Yellow Diamond, the oldest of the gems. Later Phos manages to be as fast as them, if only for a while.
* TakeUpMySword: In the last few hundred years, the Winter duties keep getting passed around. Antarcticite had them originally, but following [[spoiler:them being taken to the Moon]] the duty gets pushed to Phos. Then, Cairngorm gets the job from Phos after [[spoiler:Phos gets their head torn off]].
* TellMeAgain: In the beginning of the story, Kongou-sensei asks Phos to recite the Lustrous' origin tale, which also tells the audience about how the land came to be and how they were formed.
* TimeSkip: One happens after [[spoiler: Phos' head is lost. A hundred and two years pass before Phos finally wakes up.]]
* ThatWasNotADream: After Ghost gets taken away, Phos wakes up, approaches a recently-freed Cairngorm in the distance, and promptly gets a [[TalkToTheFist fist in the face]] for being responsible for Ghost's demise. Phos wakes up believing its a dream, since Rutile and Jade cant find words to explain to Phos what's happening, and the scene repeats again. Then its about to repeat a [[RuleOfThree third time]], but Sensei stops Cairngorm before Phos gets punched again.
* TheseusShipParadox: Discussed by Rutile when thinking of replacing Phos' [[spoiler:head]]; Rutile wonders if by that point would it even possible to call the gem Phos, since about half of the gem's body is replaced by other materials. It's for this reason that Phos is referred to as "Used-to-be Phos" by [[spoiler:Sensei]] after they leave a second time.
* TookALevelInBadass: Phos gets a huge upgrade in fighting ability whenever they get new ArtificialLimbs.
** First Phos gets a pair of agate legs, which grant them SuperSpeed that Phos at first can't control.
** Secondly, Phos gets gold and platinum alloys for arms, which Phos can shapeshift at will.
** Thirdly, Phos gets [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli's head after the gem lost theirs, giving Phos higher observational skill]].
* TruthInTelevision: According to Sensei and Ventricosus in regards to [[spoiler:the creation of Gems, it's a rare occurrence; a corpse decomposes (underwater, no less) and its bones are crystallized over time for "ages", and the result may be a sentient being made of a gemstone]]. [[https://english.fossiel.net/information/article.php?id=340&/Minerals%20in%20fossils In real life]], there is such thing as [[spoiler:crystallized fossils]], though ''Houseki no Kuni'' seems to take some [[ArtisticLicenseBiology artistic liberty]] (or [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane or something else]]) with it since [[spoiler:Sensei is at least 10,000 years old and seems to have been made by humans, which may put into perspective how long ago the apocalypse was]] while fossils are typically ''millions'' of years old.
* TwoBeingsOneBody: Ghost Quartz has another gem living inside them. [[spoiler:Then they got taken to the moon, leaving the other gem alone]]. The other Ghost is later given the name Cairngorm.
* WhamEpisode: The Winter episodes, where [[spoiler:Phos changes and the first gem gets taken]]. Its also where the plot starts to kick in.
** And of course the Moon episodes, when [[spoiler:Phos finally goes to the Moon to face the Lunarians in their base]].
* WhamLine: When Ventricosus and Phos finally reach the home of the Admirabilis:
-->'''Ventricosus:''' Just as you care about Cinnabar... I, too, have someone I care about. [[spoiler: Forgive me.]]
** Phos [[spoiler:arriving on the moon and discovering what became of the other captured gems:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Prince:''' Decorated with you, our world is beautiful.]]
** Chapter 65 and 66. [[spoiler:Sensei comes down to the Gems' level and steps down as leader, while Achmea tells the Moon group that Gems lower than 4 Hardness can't be put back together. This means ''everyone but Phos'' can get their old partners back.]]
* WeCanRebuildHim: Happens everytime Phos loses a body part. It's noted that Phos's body is much more receptive to different materials as replacements compared to other gems. In fact, Phos actually recommends this in case they get broken into pieces after [[spoiler: planning to go to the moon]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: The rare three-Lunarian attack formation is this. Once one of them has been defeated, the other two begin to retreat and a Lustrous usually goes after them. They then take this opportunity to steal the Lustrous away. The method they capture Ghost with is similar; the remaining two vessels close up into a sticky ball with a hole above it. If a gem gets too close, they take it through the hole.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Everyone's hair corresponds with the color of their skin underneath the white makeup they wear.
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: Alexandrite goes completely nuts when looking at a Lunarian. Because of this Sensei has forbidden them to participate in battles.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/houseki_no_kuni_volume_1_cover.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Beautiful and strong... they are the Lustrous.'']]
''Houseki no Kuni'' (Literal translation: ''Country of Jewels'') is an Action/Fantasy {{Seinen}} manga series created by Haruko Ichikawa and published by Kodansha. It is currently being released under the title ''Land of the Lustrous'' in the west by Kodansha USA, with a CGI anime series by [[Creator/RoughDraftStudios Orange]] premiering in October for the Fall 2017 season.
In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called gems, every unique gem must fight for their survival against the threat of the {{Lunarians}}, who routinely show up to kidnap gems and make them into jewelry. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of them, longs to join the battle, but is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, which they consider a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos’s seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?
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!!Tropes in this series include:
* OneHundredAndEight: When Shiro is cut into several "pieces" and the gems finally wrangle them all, it's noted that there's 107 of them. [[spoiler: Phos later finds #108 with Cinnabar.]]
* AdmiringTheAbomination: Alex wants Bort and Phos to capture a new type of Moon dweller alive. Bort tells them off on this.
* AfterTheEnd: Takes place on an Earth that's been pummeled by meteors repeatedly. [[spoiler: The gem people, the sea slug people, and the moon people are all distant evolutionary descendants of the remains of humanity, greatly changed to adapt to the new environment.]]
* TheAgeless: The gems don't age and don't have a lifespan. The oldest, Yellow Diamond, is over 3000 years old, and the youngest, Phosphophyllite is around 300 years old. They look about the same age.
* AllCGICartoon: The animated series. The manga's PV was in [=2D=]. However, it's done more in a similar fashion to ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' or ''Anime/Berserk2016'' by also having 2D elements blended in.
* AmbiguousGender[=/=]NoBiologicalSex: [[http://pepperanon.blogspot.com/2014/08/nichijou-138-141-houseki-no-kuni.html The gems]]. While they refer to themselves using male pronouns (earlier translations mistakenly used female ones) and they refer to each other as "Brother", the concept of gender is never brought up once. They are all androgynous in appearance, although their personal speech pattern differs from masculine to feminine. Phos in particular is confused when seeing Ventricosus's [[{{Gainaxing}} "water bags"]].
** Kodansha's English translation of the manga addresses this by wording each gems' dialogue so that no gendered pronouns are used, opting for "[[GenderNeutralWriting this/that gem/they/them/you]]" or simply referring to the other gems by name as a replacement when needed, likely to avoid the inevitable [[AmbiguousGender gender]] [[DudeLooksLikeALady debates]] among the English speaking readers.
%%** [[WordOfGod Word of God]] has gone on record saying yes, the gems are indeed genderless, as heard in one of the ''Houseki no Kuni'' Radio ''~Kongou-Sensei ga Oyobidesu!''
* AndThenWhat: As soon as Phos tells Cinnabar their plan to investigate Adamant-Sensei, Cinnabar immediately shoots back that they need to have an idea of what to do after they find out the truth.
* AnArmAndALeg: Happens fairly often, especially to the gems with a lower hardness rating; fortunately, limbs and other broken-off bits can be reattached easily. In cases where the broken-off bits are not recoverable, they can use materials similar in composition to replace them.
* AnatomyOfTheSoul: The soul ("spirit") is treated as a separate element of particular properties. Along with the bone and the flesh (implied to be the mind), the three formed the Humans who inhabited the land before the Gems. [[spoiler: Souls left behind by humans also conglomerate and form the Moon People.]]
* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:According to Sensei and the history of the Admirabilis by Ventricosus, a very long time ago, the land "broke" five times before a meteor strike did it in for the sixth and final time. The humans and other life were forced to flee to the oceans, as only "a single beach" had remained--now known as the Beach of Beginnings--while six moons formed from the debris of the meteor crashing into the Earth. From there, the Admirabilis, the Gems, and the Lunarians were born, though so far, we only know how the Gems are formed: lifeforms that couldn't escape to the ocean in time when there was still one moon ended up dying, with their sinking corpses being decomposed to the bone and being crystallized over time before gaining sentience and rising from the Beach of Beginnings.]]
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Most of Cairngorm's scolding to Phos falls on deaf ears, but when they calls Phos out on their constant projecting of lost partners on them, that's the one thing that prompts Phos to follow them.
-->"At any rate, when you're hurting... Antarc or Ghost, [[ReplacementGoldfish call me what you want]]."
* ArtificialLimbs: Whenever a gem loses their body parts, they can use something similar to replace it. Materials similar to Phos are rare, but in exchange their body is very receptive to other materials.
** When Phos' legs are lost, they're replaced with agate, which grants them SuperSpeed.
** When Phos' arms are lost, they're replaced with gold and platinum alloy, which they can shape at will.
** Even later, Phos' [[spoiler: head]] is lost, which is then later replaced by [[spoiler: the head of Lapis Lazuli, another gem]].
** [[spoiler: Phos gets a Pearl eye as a camera after deciding to work for the Lunarians.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Implied to be Shiro and the Pieces' demise after Sensei deals with them. [[spoiler: Later pretty much confirmed, and stated that this is the goal for every Lunarian still stuck in this world.]]
* AsleepForDays: The gems work on sunlight, so, during winter where the skies get cloudy they all go into hibernation. Sensei, Antarcticite and later Phos can however avoid that.
* AsYouKnow: The entire introductory chapter is just various Lustrous and Adamant explaining to each other what their focus and purpose is. In context, they talk about how amazing their body structure is and why Phos can't land a job respectively.
* AuthorAppeal: Just looking at Ichikawa's previous works makes one realize that ''Houseki'' is a combination on many of her favorite themes. Buddhist imagery, humanoid evolution, beings rising up from the sea, and the complexity of Man come unsurprisingly regularly here. There's also her fixation on [[AnArmAndALeg bodies breaking apart]], which has cropped up quite a bit in her previous works and happens to the gems fairly often.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: While many gems' relationships with one another are complicated in a very human-like way, thus leading some of them to come off crass, cold or severe (such as dismissive attitudes towards Phos, or Dia and Bort's HiddenDepths regard for the other), when push comes to shove they're constantly shown to go through great lengths to protect and save one another. They'll often express concern for each other, whether outright (say, Dia), or subtly (say, Cinna or Bort).
%%* Badass: Several characters, including Sensei, Bort, Aculeatus, Antarcticite and later Phos.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Phos, for the longest time, wished to be useful and strong enough to fight instead of being incompetent. They get their wish in the most tragic way possible, with their old personality chipping away before getting alloy upgrades and people dear to them getting taken away to the Moon in the process of becoming stronger.
* ABirthdayNotABreak: The day Phos turns three hundred years old is also the day the gem's legs get destroyed, and the day they learn about the three races and how they evolved from humans.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Lunarians' base is probably made from bismuth. It also melts at night, creating an ocean of structures and transforming the buddhist imagery into a more modern, western like fancy imagery.
* BlatantLies: When [[spoiler:Cinnabar begs Phos not to go to the Moon again]], the latter says they couldn't hear the former over the sound of the wind, deflecting the plea completely.
* BloodlessCarnage: On the virtue of being made from gemstones (The Lustrous) and clouds (The Lunarians) respectively, this series can get away with showing a ''lot'' of injuries that would have been incredibly graphic otherwise.
* BluntYes: Sensei gives a rather short, affirmative answer when asked if [[spoiler:he was created by Humans]], much to Phos' surprise.
* BodyHorror: When the gems break or crack, which happens quite frequently among the gems of lower hardness when the Lunarians attack. However, due to the gems being rocks, its less gory and hard to look at, as it is aesthetically pleasing. Outside of breaking due to the Lunarians, the gems are shown to crack and fall apart when feeling extreme ( most likely negative ) emotions.
* BookEnds: The anime ends in a very similar way as it started, with Phos being told by Morganite that Sensei is calling them, and then meeting with Sensei. However, it plays on the changes that have happened during the series and the Phos who meets Sensei is very different and has completely different objectives in mind than the one from the first episode.
* BrokenBird: Cinnabar. Due to being a PoisonousPerson with uncontrollable powers, the gem lives alone apart from everyone else. Understandably, they are extremely gloomy most of the time.
* ButtMonkey: Phos starts the story like this. They are weak, clumsy, and generally bad at anything, ending up as the butt of jokes of other gems. They later TookALevelInBadass as the story goes on though.
** Benito seems to fill this role once Phos starts becoming better at things.
* CallBack:
** All the way back in Chapter 2, Phos tells Cinnabar that they'll find a job for them that only Cinnabar can do, and one that's at least fun. When Phos remembers to give Cinnabar a job in Chapter 36 and tells they about it, all they reply with at first is "You forgot fun."
** Chapter 46's image of the gems running is a direct mirror of the first chapter's cover image, only with a different set of Gems and set [[spoiler:one hundred two years later]].
** The last time the viewers see [[spoiler:the original]] Morganite and Goshe in the manga is in the same poses they were in when we see them leave Phos in the first chapter.
* ChameleonCamouflage: [[spoiler: It is eventually revealed that this is how the Lunarians approach the Land, as the vessels work like ships with a layer of camouflage on them. An arrow breaking the stealth shield is what creates the Sunspots the gems see when they are attacked. The multiple Sunspots are probably the result of more than one layer of camouflage shield.]]
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Phos, as they learn about the world surrounding them and how to accept it.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: After becoming strong, Phos becomes somewhat insensitive to the feelings of others and tries to look out for themselves. Rutile warns them against this after Jade becomes traumatized from punching Phos.
* CompleteImmortality: The closest you can get to killing a gem is breaking them into pieces and not putting them back together. As long as the parts can be recovered, anyone can [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]].
* CustomUniform: Whichever gem is serving as the Winter Guard (Antarctcite, and later, Cairngorm) wears an all-white uniform and black [[CombatStilettos high-heeled]] boots.
** The diamond-class gems[[note]]Dia, Bort, Yellow, and, as seen in a flashback, Green Diamond[[/note]] all wear [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high socks]] and [[HighClassGloves opera gloves]].
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler:The Moon People grind captured gems down into a luminescent dust that gets spread across the moon's surface. They hope that the constant reminder of his pupils' fates will break Sensei's spirit and force them to send them to the afterlife.]]
* DeathSeeker:
** Padsparadscha is a non lethal version. They would prefer to be left sleeping forever as to not worry Rutile anymore.
** Cinnabar is also a non lethal version, since they want to be taken to the moon.
** [[spoiler: Then we have the Lunarians. Technically, they're ''already'' dead, but they just wish to finally pass on to the afterlife and want their souls purified.]]
* DespairEventHorizon:
** Phos crosses it hard as [[spoiler: they fail to save Antarcticite from being taken away. Their face as they are falling and realizing their failure is painful to behold]]. It all starts [[FromBadToWorse getting worse from there]].
** Phos again, upon discovering [[spoiler: that the taken gems are ground into dust by the lunarians and dispersed on the moon. They are well and truly gone, as dead as an immortal gem can get; and all this time, the pieces they were recovering from the lunarians were actually synthetic gems, designed to entice the other gems into taking unnecessary risks trying to recover them.]]
** Most of the other gems as [[spoiler: some of them, at the behest of Phos, decide to leave for the Moon. They spend the night looking underwater for them as they just can't process the fact that some of their comrades left them. Rutile upon discovering that Phos took Padparadscha with them stares in horror and just shatters where they stands.]]
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The ending theme of Episode 8 is done by Creator/TomoyoKurosawa, Phos' seiyuu.
* DownerEnding:
** Episode 8. [[spoiler:After spending the episode being encouraged by Antarcticite, Antarcticite is killed by the Lunarians, causing Phos to attempt to avenge them, but fails miserably. A special ending theme plays, heavily implied to be Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* EasterEgg: As it turns out, [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618358765649920 every]] [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618872584716289 cover]] of the manga has Cinnabar hidden somewhere in it. They're usually on the inside flap.
* EvolutionaryStasis: It takes millions of years for a Gem to form, and yet after that they and their culture remain stagnant for thousands of years.
* {{Fanservice}}: It's not very blatant, but they do have some scenes of the Gems in various sensual poses. Euclase also gets a nude scene in the story, with generous attention to their backside. In general, fanservice tends to be focused on the gems backsides, with Bort being a primary offender primarily in their summer uniform.
* TheFashionista: Red Beryl. The gem insists on sewing new uniforms for everyone every time the season changes. They also tend to go on a rant about their pursuit of passion whenever asked.
* TheFogOfAges: Some Gems have been around for so long that they can't remember exactly what their original aspirations were or what their goals were, as Yellow Diamond shows us.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Cairngorm is taken to Sensei to be given a new identity, Sensei stares strangely at them and examines them in order to give them their new name. Much attention is paid to Sensei's eye as this is happening, as it glints unlike the other Gems. [[spoiler:A robot gathering information might do that as well.]]
** The name itself is a dead giveaway. [[spoiler:Adamant is the hardest substance in the world, but it is also mythical and, in other words, does not occur in nature.]]
** When Ventricosus is leading Phos to her home, she tells them to toss the bowl they used to carry her, only for Phos to reply that they'd certainly get in trouble if they didn't bring it home. There's then a silent panel of Ventricosus smiling oddly, most likely [[spoiler: in a pitying way, knowing that her plan doesn't involve Phos going home.]]
* {{Heaven}}: [[spoiler:the Other World. Its actually more similar to depictions of Nirvana, keeping up with the Buddhist motif the series has.]]
* HeroicSacrifice:
** Antarcticite lets the Lunarians abduct them in order to save Phos. This hits Phos deeply.
** Ghost lets themselves get chipped away and taken by the Lunarians, leaving Cairngorm left to look out for Phos.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Phos is 300 years old, yet the gem's attitude is far from mature. Subverted in that the Gems are different from humans (who are explicity stated to learn and pass knowledge) and in that Phos ends up maturing a lot after some difficult experiences.
* ImportantHaircut: Phosphophyllite cuts their hair after [[spoiler: Antarcticite gets taken to the moon]]. After this, the gem began to act much more serious.
* InsistentTerminology: Sensei doesn't take naps, the gem only meditates.
* ImmortalsFearDeath: After listening about humanity and death Phos comments on this, and about how does death give life value or not.
* IronicEcho: "Don't go to the Moon". First said by Phos to Cinnabar because they're desperate to feel wanted after years of being a danger and liability to their peers, and then vice-versa because [[spoiler:Phos wants to seek the truth about the Lunarians]] and Cinnabar knows that anyone who's gone to the Moon doesn't return.
* ItsAllMyFault: Said word by word by Antarcticite after Phos' arms are lost, and before that by the Amethyst twins after they lose in battle and Phos is too scared to run away.
* KickTheDog: The first Gem shard that [[spoiler:Prince]] shows to Phos while explaining what happens to Gems taken to the Moon? [[spoiler:Antarcticite. More specifically, their eye, which Prince proceeds to grind into powder in front of Phos' own eyes. And he knows that the Gem meant dear to them.]]
* KilledOffscreen: To highlight the change more than a century can make, [[spoiler:Morganite and Goshenite]] were taken to the Moon, replaced with a newer, younger set of the same material.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Bort's first lecture to Phos: a warrior that doesn't know when to quit is not useful to anyone.
* LineInTheSand: Before [[spoiler:going to the Moon a second time]], Phos warns the other Lustrous with them that they ([[ButThouMust with the exception of Cairngorm]]) still have one last chance to object. None of them turn Phos down.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: 28 gem people. On the other hand, there's few characters outside that group.
* {{Lunarians}}: The bad guys. They're trying to take the gems to the moon and turn them into jewelry. [[spoiler: Later they are stated to be another descendants of humanity, alongside the gems and the Admirabilis. Ventricosus ponders whether they want to reunite to become humans again]]. [[spoiler: They don't. They just want to pass on to the afterlife.]]
* MesACrowd: Shiro, a male-like Lunarian its able to do this.
* MultiarmedAndDangerous: One of the Lunarians has six arms.
* NeglectfulPrecursors: [[spoiler: Prince suggests the humans who built Sensei were this, given that they put special effort into assuring that he wouldn't damage on the outside but didn't account on him breaking on the inside. Ultimately according to his story this is what started the whole problem, since none of the Lunarians know how to fix him or can even attempt to since he is utterly indestructible.]]
* NewContentCountdownClock: The anime's website had a countdown for a specific event in the series. By the time it ended, it revealed that it was for the start of the Winter arc and the first appearance of Antarcticite.
* NoMeansYes: Unlike Cinnabar, who genuinely didn't want to go to the moon, Cairngorm was the most vocal protestor and even says they don't want to go, right before the next couple of panels show them reluctantly going.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: [[spoiler: Once Prince Aechmea shatters Phos on the Moon, he invites the Gem for a tour and later a fancy dinner, as he plans to negotiate with them.]]
* NoodlePeople: The gems. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], given that [[spoiler:they evolved from the "bones" of humanity, depending on how literally you want to take that legend.]]
* OhCrap:
** Adamant-sensei gives a real shocked expression when Phos mentions [[spoiler: Humans]]. In general, anything connecting itself to that topic, such as [[spoiler:Professor]], will crack his facade. [[spoiler:Phos getting taken to the Moon]] gives off this reaction as well.
** Gems will regularly have this reaction when a particularly unusual Lunarian enemy comes to fight.
** [[spoiler:Rutile certainly is shocked when Padparascha's case is taken to the moon, enough to start cracking themselves in its mere absence.]]
** After Benito and Dia point out that Phos [[spoiler:hasn't asked the Lunarians about restoring Padparascha and left the body with them, alone]], Phos rushes as fast as they can. Luckily their fears were unfounded.
* OneSteveLimit: Broken. There's Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Green Diamond.
** Then there are Amethyst 84 and 33, the twin crystals of the group.
** During the TimeSkip, [[spoiler: Morganite and Goshenite were taken to the moon. Shortly after, a new Morganite and Goshenite were born]].
* PimpedOutDress: Red Beryl makes the gems wear these during their hibernation.
* PosthumousCharacter: Phos reminding Ghost of their taken partner,[[spoiler:Lapis Lazuli]] is a driving factor behind the gem teaming up with Phos. Later [[spoiler:Lapis's head is used to replace Phos's after their's get taken to the moon, bringing them back.]]
** The various gems, [[spoiler: Blue Zoisite, Topaz, Chrysoberyl, Green Diamond and etc. ]] had been taken to the moon prior to the start of the Manga events and can be seen as this as it is likely that they're long gone.
* PoisonousPerson: Cinnabar emits a toxic substance (probably [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar#Toxicity mercury]]) that's quite useful in fighting the moon people. Unfortunately, [[PowerIncontinence they can't control it]], so they have to stay away from the other gems to avoid harming them.
* PowerLevels: Based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness Mohs scale of mineral hardness]]. As expected, Diamond, Yellow Diamond and [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bortz Bort]] are the hardest at 10, but Adamant-sensei, whose exact hardness is unknown, is apparently even harder than that.
* PsychologicalCombat: Chapter 41 has the Lunarians' tactics evolve to include more personal attacks on the Gems. They bait in the Gems with shards of Gems they've already taken to the Moon, and once they're close enough they start chipping away at them. This is especially noticeable in that the shards they use to take advantage are of Gems with partners that were with Phos at the time.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: The gems are able to do this, even with different materials.
* RapunzelHair: Bort has long black hair that's longer than their height. Phosphophyllite asks them to cut their hair when they [[spoiler: fight together when Adamant is asleep.]] Padparadscha and Sphene also qualify.
* RealityEnsues: Regarding Ventricosus. Phos expects to talk to her when remembering their encounter. [[spoiler: The problem is, over a hundred years had passed since, so Phos quickly learns that Ventricosus died long ago.]]
* RevolvingDoorCasting: The main focus of certain arcs changes constantly in size and in characters, with Phos being at the center of it all.
* RockThemeNaming
* RuleOfSymbolism: A huge amount of it regarding Buddhist concepts and teachings.
** When cut down, Shiro divides into 108 smaller creatures. OneHundredAndEight is a very important number in Buddhism.
** Phos' upgrades so far follow the Seven Treasures of Buddhism-- [[spoiler: crystal (body), gold, platinum (arms), agate (legs), lapislazuli (head), pearl (left eye). Time will tell if they will obtain carmelian and ruby.]]
** Nirvana is mentioned and plays a role in the story. [[spoiler: Essentially, the Moon People are revealed to be human souls, seeking for release from their earthly desires via achieving Nirvana, which explains their Bodhitsava-like attires.]]
** Phos spends 49 days in the Moon. 49 is the number of days one spends in the afterlife before being reborn again. [[spoiler: given that the Lunarians are the souls of dead humans...]]
** When Phos and the other Lustrous in their party prepare to [[spoiler:go to the Moon]], they sit in [[spoiler:Cicadas lap]] in a manner reminiscent to [[https://i.imgur.com/a1kFiYq.jpg a Buddha statue]].
** The Lustrous' culture do have a lot of death symbolism in it. Their uniforms are described as being based off of funeral attire, they sometimes carry each other in body bags when they're broken, Kongou is dressed as a Buddhist monk that ritually prays for the dead to pass on [[spoiler:which is ''supposed'' to be his role for the Lunarians]], and their Winter robes are tied with the frontmost lapel pointing towards the left, which usually is done for the dead.
** Gems cannot cry, seeing as that they weren't created with tear ducts. However, cracking by themselves is usually reserved for extreme sad emotions. For example, when [[spoiler:the Gems Phos brings to the Moon see the Moon dust made of their old comrades]], a [[SingleTear single shard cracks]] into the pile Yellow Diamond picks up, reminiscent of a tear, while Alex's shards fall as if they were crying in frustration. Phos and Cinnabar are the exceptions, as they have their gold/platinum and poison respectively to act as tear fluid.
* RunOrDie: The Amethysts warn Phos about this once a particularly strong group of Moon-People come down and make quick work of them in the beginning of Volume 3.
* SanitySlippage: After the Winter, Phos starts hallucinating about Antarcticite and starts growing suspicious of Sensei, to the point of trying to leave to contact the Moon People alone.
* SecretKeeper: Padparadscha knows about Sensei's relationship with the Moon People. Unfortunately for Phos, the gem falls asleep before revealing any relevant information.
* ShortCutsMakeLongDelays: In more than one way during Chapter 44, "A Short Path". Phos trying to take a shortcut via sliding over the frozen lake ends up with both them and Cairngorm crashing on the ice and being scolded by Rutile. Cairngorm themselves acknowledges this trope. [[spoiler: Later on the chapter, Cairngorm tries to take a "shortcut" towards waiting for Phos to recover their lost head, and they use Lapis' head instead. Then in the next chapter, we see that 100 years have passed and Phos still hasn't awakened, referencing the trope again.]]
* ShoutOut: The [[AltumVidetur Latin]] lyrics to "liquescimus", ''odi et amo'', often translated as "I hate and I love.", is lifted from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_85 Catullus 85]], one of Catullus's most well-known poems to his mistress, Lesbia. In this poem, Catullus details his conflicting feelings about his deteriorating relationship with Lesbia. When applied to "liquescimus", [[spoiler:it is presumably referring to Phos' self-loathing for being unable to save someone who loved them like no one else did.]]
* ShownTheirWork: The method Antarcticite uses to break apart the floes is very similar to how people harvest ice in real life via ice cutting. (That is, using a pickaxe (the high heels) to mark how the ice will break apart, then using a saw (the serrated sword) to cleave the ice apart.) And it's kinda amazing how much research Haruko did with the gems:
** Cinnabar is an ore of mercury, the same metal that floats around the gem.
** Watermelon Tourmaline has electricity powers and their gem is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline piezoelectric]].
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarcticite Antarcticite]] is a mineral that only forms in Antarctica, when it gets cold enough. The character is only solid during winter.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysoberyl#Alexandrite Alexandrite]] changes color based the amount of sunlight it gets and in the manga the character changes color too, albeit only when their [[SplitPersonality alternate personality]] is brought out upon seeing a lunarian.
** The Amethyst Twins are called sometimes called 84 and 33. The reason for the nicknames might be confusing until you realize that Japan Law Twinning, a crystal formation law, requires the two gems to meet at an angle of 84*33'.
** Ghost Quartz forms over already created gems. Makes sense the character [[spoiler: has another gem inside of them.]]
** Obsidian is a stone used by blacksmiths in the production of weaponry.
* SingleMindedTwins: The Amethyst twins.
* SolemnEndingTheme: The ending to Episode 8 plays "liquescimus", [[DoItYourselfThemeTune sung by Phos's voice actor]]. [[spoiler:It is about Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* SpoilerOpening: [[spoiler:The very first scene of Phos waking up in fetus position while underwater hints at how gems are born.]]
* SuicideMission: Phos' idea of going to the Moon to retrieve everyone who got captured is treated as this.
* SuperSpeed: Yellow Diamond, the oldest of the gems. Later Phos manages to be as fast as them, if only for a while.
* TakeUpMySword: In the last few hundred years, the Winter duties keep getting passed around. Antarcticite had them originally, but following [[spoiler:them being taken to the Moon]] the duty gets pushed to Phos. Then, Cairngorm gets the job from Phos after [[spoiler:Phos gets their head torn off]].
* TellMeAgain: In the beginning of the story, Kongou-sensei asks Phos to recite the Lustrous' origin tale, which also tells the audience about how the land came to be and how they were formed.
* TimeSkip: One happens after [[spoiler: Phos' head is lost. A hundred and two years pass before Phos finally wakes up.]]
* ThatWasNotADream: After Ghost gets taken away, Phos wakes up, approaches a recently-freed Cairngorm in the distance, and promptly gets a [[TalkToTheFist fist in the face]] for being responsible for Ghost's demise. Phos wakes up believing its a dream, since Rutile and Jade cant find words to explain to Phos what's happening, and the scene repeats again. Then its about to repeat a [[RuleOfThree third time]], but Sensei stops Cairngorm before Phos gets punched again.
* TheseusShipParadox: Discussed by Rutile when thinking of replacing Phos' [[spoiler:head]]; Rutile wonders if by that point would it even possible to call the gem Phos, since about half of the gem's body is replaced by other materials. It's for this reason that Phos is referred to as "Used-to-be Phos" by [[spoiler:Sensei]] after they leave a second time.
* TookALevelInBadass: Phos gets a huge upgrade in fighting ability whenever they get new ArtificialLimbs.
** First Phos gets a pair of agate legs, which grant them SuperSpeed that Phos at first can't control.
** Secondly, Phos gets gold and platinum alloys for arms, which Phos can shapeshift at will.
** Thirdly, Phos gets [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli's head after the gem lost theirs, giving Phos higher observational skill]].
* TruthInTelevision: According to Sensei and Ventricosus in regards to [[spoiler:the creation of Gems, it's a rare occurrence; a corpse decomposes (underwater, no less) and its bones are crystallized over time for "ages", and the result may be a sentient being made of a gemstone]]. [[https://english.fossiel.net/information/article.php?id=340&/Minerals%20in%20fossils In real life]], there is such thing as [[spoiler:crystallized fossils]], though ''Houseki no Kuni'' seems to take some [[ArtisticLicenseBiology artistic liberty]] (or [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane or something else]]) with it since [[spoiler:Sensei is at least 10,000 years old and seems to have been made by humans, which may put into perspective how long ago the apocalypse was]] while fossils are typically ''millions'' of years old.
* TwoBeingsOneBody: Ghost Quartz has another gem living inside them. [[spoiler:Then they got taken to the moon, leaving the other gem alone]]. The other Ghost is later given the name Cairngorm.
* WhamEpisode: The Winter episodes, where [[spoiler:Phos changes and the first gem gets taken]]. Its also where the plot starts to kick in.
** And of course the Moon episodes, when [[spoiler:Phos finally goes to the Moon to face the Lunarians in their base]].
* WhamLine: When Ventricosus and Phos finally reach the home of the Admirabilis:
-->'''Ventricosus:''' Just as you care about Cinnabar... I, too, have someone I care about. [[spoiler: Forgive me.]]
** Phos [[spoiler:arriving on the moon and discovering what became of the other captured gems:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Prince:''' Decorated with you, our world is beautiful.]]
** Chapter 65 and 66. [[spoiler:Sensei comes down to the Gems' level and steps down as leader, while Achmea tells the Moon group that Gems lower than 4 Hardness can't be put back together. This means ''everyone but Phos'' can get their old partners back.]]
* WeCanRebuildHim: Happens everytime Phos loses a body part. It's noted that Phos's body is much more receptive to different materials as replacements compared to other gems. In fact, Phos actually recommends this in case they get broken into pieces after [[spoiler: planning to go to the moon]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: The rare three-Lunarian attack formation is this. Once one of them has been defeated, the other two begin to retreat and a Lustrous usually goes after them. They then take this opportunity to steal the Lustrous away. The method they capture Ghost with is similar; the remaining two vessels close up into a sticky ball with a hole above it. If a gem gets too close, they take it through the hole.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Everyone's hair corresponds with the color of their skin underneath the white makeup they wear.
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: Alexandrite goes completely nuts when looking at a Lunarian. Because of this Sensei has forbidden them to participate in battles.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/houseki_no_kuni_volume_1_cover.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Beautiful and strong... they are the Lustrous.'']]
''Houseki no Kuni'' (Literal translation: ''Country of Jewels'') is an Action/Fantasy {{Seinen}} manga series created by Haruko Ichikawa and published by Kodansha. It is currently being released under the title ''Land of the Lustrous'' in the west by Kodansha USA, with a CGI anime series by [[Creator/RoughDraftStudios Orange]] premiering in October for the Fall 2017 season.
In a world inhabited by crystalline lifeforms called gems, every unique gem must fight for their survival against the threat of the {{Lunarians}}, who routinely show up to kidnap gems and make them into jewelry. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of them, longs to join the battle, but is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, which they consider a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos’s seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?
----
!!Tropes in this series include:
* OneHundredAndEight: When Shiro is cut into several "pieces" and the gems finally wrangle them all, it's noted that there's 107 of them. [[spoiler: Phos later finds #108 with Cinnabar.]]
* AdmiringTheAbomination: Alex wants Bort and Phos to capture a new type of Moon dweller alive. Bort tells them off on this.
* AfterTheEnd: Takes place on an Earth that's been pummeled by meteors repeatedly. [[spoiler: The gem people, the sea slug people, and the moon people are all distant evolutionary descendants of the remains of humanity, greatly changed to adapt to the new environment.]]
* TheAgeless: The gems don't age and don't have a lifespan. The oldest, Yellow Diamond, is over 3000 years old, and the youngest, Phosphophyllite is around 300 years old. They look about the same age.
* AllCGICartoon: The animated series. The manga's PV was in [=2D=]. However, it's done more in a similar fashion to ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' or ''Anime/Berserk2016'' by also having 2D elements blended in.
* AmbiguousGender[=/=]NoBiologicalSex: [[http://pepperanon.blogspot.com/2014/08/nichijou-138-141-houseki-no-kuni.html The gems]]. While they refer to themselves using male pronouns (earlier translations mistakenly used female ones) and they refer to each other as "Brother", the concept of gender is never brought up once. They are all androgynous in appearance, although their personal speech pattern differs from masculine to feminine. Phos in particular is confused when seeing Ventricosus's [[{{Gainaxing}} "water bags"]].
** Kodansha's English translation of the manga addresses this by wording each gems' dialogue so that no gendered pronouns are used, opting for "[[GenderNeutralWriting this/that gem/they/them/you]]" or simply referring to the other gems by name as a replacement when needed, likely to avoid the inevitable [[AmbiguousGender gender]] [[DudeLooksLikeALady debates]] among the English speaking readers.
%%** [[WordOfGod Word of God]] has gone on record saying yes, the gems are indeed genderless, as heard in one of the ''Houseki no Kuni'' Radio ''~Kongou-Sensei ga Oyobidesu!''
* AndThenWhat: As soon as Phos tells Cinnabar their plan to investigate Adamant-Sensei, Cinnabar immediately shoots back that they need to have an idea of what to do after they find out the truth.
* AnArmAndALeg: Happens fairly often, especially to the gems with a lower hardness rating; fortunately, limbs and other broken-off bits can be reattached easily. In cases where the broken-off bits are not recoverable, they can use materials similar in composition to replace them.
* AnatomyOfTheSoul: The soul ("spirit") is treated as a separate element of particular properties. Along with the bone and the flesh (implied to be the mind), the three formed the Humans who inhabited the land before the Gems. [[spoiler: Souls left behind by humans also conglomerate and form the Moon People.]]
* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:According to Sensei and the history of the Admirabilis by Ventricosus, a very long time ago, the land "broke" five times before a meteor strike did it in for the sixth and final time. The humans and other life were forced to flee to the oceans, as only "a single beach" had remained--now known as the Beach of Beginnings--while six moons formed from the debris of the meteor crashing into the Earth. From there, the Admirabilis, the Gems, and the Lunarians were born, though so far, we only know how the Gems are formed: lifeforms that couldn't escape to the ocean in time when there was still one moon ended up dying, with their sinking corpses being decomposed to the bone and being crystallized over time before gaining sentience and rising from the Beach of Beginnings.]]
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Most of Cairngorm's scolding to Phos falls on deaf ears, but when they calls Phos out on their constant projecting of lost partners on them, that's the one thing that prompts Phos to follow them.
-->"At any rate, when you're hurting... Antarc or Ghost, [[ReplacementGoldfish call me what you want]]."
* ArtificialLimbs: Whenever a gem loses their body parts, they can use something similar to replace it. Materials similar to Phos are rare, but in exchange their body is very receptive to other materials.
** When Phos' legs are lost, they're replaced with agate, which grants them SuperSpeed.
** When Phos' arms are lost, they're replaced with gold and platinum alloy, which they can shape at will.
** Even later, Phos' [[spoiler: head]] is lost, which is then later replaced by [[spoiler: the head of Lapis Lazuli, another gem]].
** [[spoiler: Phos gets a Pearl eye as a camera after deciding to work for the Lunarians.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Implied to be Shiro and the Pieces' demise after Sensei deals with them. [[spoiler: Later pretty much confirmed, and stated that this is the goal for every Lunarian still stuck in this world.]]
* AsleepForDays: The gems work on sunlight, so, during winter where the skies get cloudy they all go into hibernation. Sensei, Antarcticite and later Phos can however avoid that.
* AsYouKnow: The entire introductory chapter is just various Lustrous and Adamant explaining to each other what their focus and purpose is. In context, they talk about how amazing their body structure is and why Phos can't land a job respectively.
* AuthorAppeal: Just looking at Ichikawa's previous works makes one realize that ''Houseki'' is a combination on many of her favorite themes. Buddhist imagery, humanoid evolution, beings rising up from the sea, and the complexity of Man come unsurprisingly regularly here. There's also her fixation on [[AnArmAndALeg bodies breaking apart]], which has cropped up quite a bit in her previous works and happens to the gems fairly often.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: While many gems' relationships with one another are complicated in a very human-like way, thus leading some of them to come off crass, cold or severe (such as dismissive attitudes towards Phos, or Dia and Bort's HiddenDepths regard for the other), when push comes to shove they're constantly shown to go through great lengths to protect and save one another. They'll often express concern for each other, whether outright (say, Dia), or subtly (say, Cinna or Bort).
%%* Badass: Several characters, including Sensei, Bort, Aculeatus, Antarcticite and later Phos.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Phos, for the longest time, wished to be useful and strong enough to fight instead of being incompetent. They get their wish in the most tragic way possible, with their old personality chipping away before getting alloy upgrades and people dear to them getting taken away to the Moon in the process of becoming stronger.
* ABirthdayNotABreak: The day Phos turns three hundred years old is also the day the gem's legs get destroyed, and the day they learn about the three races and how they evolved from humans.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Lunarians' base is probably made from bismuth. It also melts at night, creating an ocean of structures and transforming the buddhist imagery into a more modern, western like fancy imagery.
* BlatantLies: When [[spoiler:Cinnabar begs Phos not to go to the Moon again]], the latter says they couldn't hear the former over the sound of the wind, deflecting the plea completely.
* BloodlessCarnage: On the virtue of being made from gemstones (The Lustrous) and clouds (The Lunarians) respectively, this series can get away with showing a ''lot'' of injuries that would have been incredibly graphic otherwise.
* BluntYes: Sensei gives a rather short, affirmative answer when asked if [[spoiler:he was created by Humans]], much to Phos' surprise.
* BodyHorror: When the gems break or crack, which happens quite frequently among the gems of lower hardness when the Lunarians attack. However, due to the gems being rocks, its less gory and hard to look at, as it is aesthetically pleasing. Outside of breaking due to the Lunarians, the gems are shown to crack and fall apart when feeling extreme ( most likely negative ) emotions.
* BookEnds: The anime ends in a very similar way as it started, with Phos being told by Morganite that Sensei is calling them, and then meeting with Sensei. However, it plays on the changes that have happened during the series and the Phos who meets Sensei is very different and has completely different objectives in mind than the one from the first episode.
* BrokenBird: Cinnabar. Due to being a PoisonousPerson with uncontrollable powers, the gem lives alone apart from everyone else. Understandably, they are extremely gloomy most of the time.
* ButtMonkey: Phos starts the story like this. They are weak, clumsy, and generally bad at anything, ending up as the butt of jokes of other gems. They later TookALevelInBadass as the story goes on though.
** Benito seems to fill this role once Phos starts becoming better at things.
* CallBack:
** All the way back in Chapter 2, Phos tells Cinnabar that they'll find a job for them that only Cinnabar can do, and one that's at least fun. When Phos remembers to give Cinnabar a job in Chapter 36 and tells they about it, all they reply with at first is "You forgot fun."
** Chapter 46's image of the gems running is a direct mirror of the first chapter's cover image, only with a different set of Gems and set [[spoiler:one hundred two years later]].
** The last time the viewers see [[spoiler:the original]] Morganite and Goshe in the manga is in the same poses they were in when we see them leave Phos in the first chapter.
* ChameleonCamouflage: [[spoiler: It is eventually revealed that this is how the Lunarians approach the Land, as the vessels work like ships with a layer of camouflage on them. An arrow breaking the stealth shield is what creates the Sunspots the gems see when they are attacked. The multiple Sunspots are probably the result of more than one layer of camouflage shield.]]
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Phos, as they learn about the world surrounding them and how to accept it.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: After becoming strong, Phos becomes somewhat insensitive to the feelings of others and tries to look out for themselves. Rutile warns them against this after Jade becomes traumatized from punching Phos.
* CompleteImmortality: The closest you can get to killing a gem is breaking them into pieces and not putting them back together. As long as the parts can be recovered, anyone can [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]].
* CustomUniform: Whichever gem is serving as the Winter Guard (Antarctcite, and later, Cairngorm) wears an all-white uniform and black [[CombatStilettos high-heeled]] boots.
** The diamond-class gems[[note]]Dia, Bort, Yellow, and, as seen in a flashback, Green Diamond[[/note]] all wear [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high socks]] and [[HighClassGloves opera gloves]].
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler:The Moon People grind captured gems down into a luminescent dust that gets spread across the moon's surface. They hope that the constant reminder of his pupils' fates will break Sensei's spirit and force them to send them to the afterlife.]]
* DeathSeeker:
** Padsparadscha is a non lethal version. They would prefer to be left sleeping forever as to not worry Rutile anymore.
** Cinnabar is also a non lethal version, since they want to be taken to the moon.
** [[spoiler: Then we have the Lunarians. Technically, they're ''already'' dead, but they just wish to finally pass on to the afterlife and want their souls purified.]]
* DespairEventHorizon:
** Phos crosses it hard as [[spoiler: they fail to save Antarcticite from being taken away. Their face as they are falling and realizing their failure is painful to behold]]. It all starts [[FromBadToWorse getting worse from there]].
** Phos again, upon discovering [[spoiler: that the taken gems are ground into dust by the lunarians and dispersed on the moon. They are well and truly gone, as dead as an immortal gem can get; and all this time, the pieces they were recovering from the lunarians were actually synthetic gems, designed to entice the other gems into taking unnecessary risks trying to recover them.]]
** Most of the other gems as [[spoiler: some of them, at the behest of Phos, decide to leave for the Moon. They spend the night looking underwater for them as they just can't process the fact that some of their comrades left them. Rutile upon discovering that Phos took Padparadscha with them stares in horror and just shatters where they stands.]]
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The ending theme of Episode 8 is done by Creator/TomoyoKurosawa, Phos' seiyuu.
* DownerEnding:
** Episode 8. [[spoiler:After spending the episode being encouraged by Antarcticite, Antarcticite is killed by the Lunarians, causing Phos to attempt to avenge them, but fails miserably. A special ending theme plays, heavily implied to be Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* EasterEgg: As it turns out, [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618358765649920 every]] [[https://twitter.com/azolitmin/status/926618872584716289 cover]] of the manga has Cinnabar hidden somewhere in it. They're usually on the inside flap.
* EvolutionaryStasis: It takes millions of years for a Gem to form, and yet after that they and their culture remain stagnant for thousands of years.
* {{Fanservice}}: It's not very blatant, but they do have some scenes of the Gems in various sensual poses. Euclase also gets a nude scene in the story, with generous attention to their backside. In general, fanservice tends to be focused on the gems backsides, with Bort being a primary offender primarily in their summer uniform.
* TheFashionista: Red Beryl. The gem insists on sewing new uniforms for everyone every time the season changes. They also tend to go on a rant about their pursuit of passion whenever asked.
* TheFogOfAges: Some Gems have been around for so long that they can't remember exactly what their original aspirations were or what their goals were, as Yellow Diamond shows us.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Cairngorm is taken to Sensei to be given a new identity, Sensei stares strangely at them and examines them in order to give them their new name. Much attention is paid to Sensei's eye as this is happening, as it glints unlike the other Gems. [[spoiler:A robot gathering information might do that as well.]]
** The name itself is a dead giveaway. [[spoiler:Adamant is the hardest substance in the world, but it is also mythical and, in other words, does not occur in nature.]]
** When Ventricosus is leading Phos to her home, she tells them to toss the bowl they used to carry her, only for Phos to reply that they'd certainly get in trouble if they didn't bring it home. There's then a silent panel of Ventricosus smiling oddly, most likely [[spoiler: in a pitying way, knowing that her plan doesn't involve Phos going home.]]
* {{Heaven}}: [[spoiler:the Other World. Its actually more similar to depictions of Nirvana, keeping up with the Buddhist motif the series has.]]
* HeroicSacrifice:
** Antarcticite lets the Lunarians abduct them in order to save Phos. This hits Phos deeply.
** Ghost lets themselves get chipped away and taken by the Lunarians, leaving Cairngorm left to look out for Phos.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Phos is 300 years old, yet the gem's attitude is far from mature. Subverted in that the Gems are different from humans (who are explicity stated to learn and pass knowledge) and in that Phos ends up maturing a lot after some difficult experiences.
* ImportantHaircut: Phosphophyllite cuts their hair after [[spoiler: Antarcticite gets taken to the moon]]. After this, the gem began to act much more serious.
* InsistentTerminology: Sensei doesn't take naps, the gem only meditates.
* ImmortalsFearDeath: After listening about humanity and death Phos comments on this, and about how does death give life value or not.
* IronicEcho: "Don't go to the Moon". First said by Phos to Cinnabar because they're desperate to feel wanted after years of being a danger and liability to their peers, and then vice-versa because [[spoiler:Phos wants to seek the truth about the Lunarians]] and Cinnabar knows that anyone who's gone to the Moon doesn't return.
* ItsAllMyFault: Said word by word by Antarcticite after Phos' arms are lost, and before that by the Amethyst twins after they lose in battle and Phos is too scared to run away.
* KickTheDog: The first Gem shard that [[spoiler:Prince]] shows to Phos while explaining what happens to Gems taken to the Moon? [[spoiler:Antarcticite. More specifically, their eye, which Prince proceeds to grind into powder in front of Phos' own eyes. And he knows that the Gem meant dear to them.]]
* KilledOffscreen: To highlight the change more than a century can make, [[spoiler:Morganite and Goshenite]] were taken to the Moon, replaced with a newer, younger set of the same material.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Bort's first lecture to Phos: a warrior that doesn't know when to quit is not useful to anyone.
* LineInTheSand: Before [[spoiler:going to the Moon a second time]], Phos warns the other Lustrous with them that they ([[ButThouMust with the exception of Cairngorm]]) still have one last chance to object. None of them turn Phos down.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: 28 gem people. On the other hand, there's few characters outside that group.
* {{Lunarians}}: The bad guys. They're trying to take the gems to the moon and turn them into jewelry. [[spoiler: Later they are stated to be another descendants of humanity, alongside the gems and the Admirabilis. Ventricosus ponders whether they want to reunite to become humans again]]. [[spoiler: They don't. They just want to pass on to the afterlife.]]
* MesACrowd: Shiro, a male-like Lunarian its able to do this.
* MultiarmedAndDangerous: One of the Lunarians has six arms.
* NeglectfulPrecursors: [[spoiler: Prince suggests the humans who built Sensei were this, given that they put special effort into assuring that he wouldn't damage on the outside but didn't account on him breaking on the inside. Ultimately according to his story this is what started the whole problem, since none of the Lunarians know how to fix him or can even attempt to since he is utterly indestructible.]]
* NewContentCountdownClock: The anime's website had a countdown for a specific event in the series. By the time it ended, it revealed that it was for the start of the Winter arc and the first appearance of Antarcticite.
* NoMeansYes: Unlike Cinnabar, who genuinely didn't want to go to the moon, Cairngorm was the most vocal protestor and even says they don't want to go, right before the next couple of panels show them reluctantly going.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: [[spoiler: Once Prince Aechmea shatters Phos on the Moon, he invites the Gem for a tour and later a fancy dinner, as he plans to negotiate with them.]]
* NoodlePeople: The gems. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], given that [[spoiler:they evolved from the "bones" of humanity, depending on how literally you want to take that legend.]]
* OhCrap:
** Adamant-sensei gives a real shocked expression when Phos mentions [[spoiler: Humans]]. In general, anything connecting itself to that topic, such as [[spoiler:Professor]], will crack his facade. [[spoiler:Phos getting taken to the Moon]] gives off this reaction as well.
** Gems will regularly have this reaction when a particularly unusual Lunarian enemy comes to fight.
** [[spoiler:Rutile certainly is shocked when Padparascha's case is taken to the moon, enough to start cracking themselves in its mere absence.]]
** After Benito and Dia point out that Phos [[spoiler:hasn't asked the Lunarians about restoring Padparascha and left the body with them, alone]], Phos rushes as fast as they can. Luckily their fears were unfounded.
* OneSteveLimit: Broken. There's Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Green Diamond.
** Then there are Amethyst 84 and 33, the twin crystals of the group.
** During the TimeSkip, [[spoiler: Morganite and Goshenite were taken to the moon. Shortly after, a new Morganite and Goshenite were born]].
* PimpedOutDress: Red Beryl makes the gems wear these during their hibernation.
* PosthumousCharacter: Phos reminding Ghost of their taken partner,[[spoiler:Lapis Lazuli]] is a driving factor behind the gem teaming up with Phos. Later [[spoiler:Lapis's head is used to replace Phos's after their's get taken to the moon, bringing them back.]]
** The various gems, [[spoiler: Blue Zoisite, Topaz, Chrysoberyl, Green Diamond and etc. ]] had been taken to the moon prior to the start of the Manga events and can be seen as this as it is likely that they're long gone.
* PoisonousPerson: Cinnabar emits a toxic substance (probably [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar#Toxicity mercury]]) that's quite useful in fighting the moon people. Unfortunately, [[PowerIncontinence they can't control it]], so they have to stay away from the other gems to avoid harming them.
* PowerLevels: Based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness Mohs scale of mineral hardness]]. As expected, Diamond, Yellow Diamond and [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bortz Bort]] are the hardest at 10, but Adamant-sensei, whose exact hardness is unknown, is apparently even harder than that.
* PsychologicalCombat: Chapter 41 has the Lunarians' tactics evolve to include more personal attacks on the Gems. They bait in the Gems with shards of Gems they've already taken to the Moon, and once they're close enough they start chipping away at them. This is especially noticeable in that the shards they use to take advantage are of Gems with partners that were with Phos at the time.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: The gems are able to do this, even with different materials.
* RapunzelHair: Bort has long black hair that's longer than their height. Phosphophyllite asks them to cut their hair when they [[spoiler: fight together when Adamant is asleep.]] Padparadscha and Sphene also qualify.
* RealityEnsues: Regarding Ventricosus. Phos expects to talk to her when remembering their encounter. [[spoiler: The problem is, over a hundred years had passed since, so Phos quickly learns that Ventricosus died long ago.]]
* RevolvingDoorCasting: The main focus of certain arcs changes constantly in size and in characters, with Phos being at the center of it all.
* RockThemeNaming
* RuleOfSymbolism: A huge amount of it regarding Buddhist concepts and teachings.
** When cut down, Shiro divides into 108 smaller creatures. OneHundredAndEight is a very important number in Buddhism.
** Phos' upgrades so far follow the Seven Treasures of Buddhism-- [[spoiler: crystal (body), gold, platinum (arms), agate (legs), lapislazuli (head), pearl (left eye). Time will tell if they will obtain carmelian and ruby.]]
** Nirvana is mentioned and plays a role in the story. [[spoiler: Essentially, the Moon People are revealed to be human souls, seeking for release from their earthly desires via achieving Nirvana, which explains their Bodhitsava-like attires.]]
** Phos spends 49 days in the Moon. 49 is the number of days one spends in the afterlife before being reborn again. [[spoiler: given that the Lunarians are the souls of dead humans...]]
** When Phos and the other Lustrous in their party prepare to [[spoiler:go to the Moon]], they sit in [[spoiler:Cicadas lap]] in a manner reminiscent to [[https://i.imgur.com/a1kFiYq.jpg a Buddha statue]].
** The Lustrous' culture do have a lot of death symbolism in it. Their uniforms are described as being based off of funeral attire, they sometimes carry each other in body bags when they're broken, Kongou is dressed as a Buddhist monk that ritually prays for the dead to pass on [[spoiler:which is ''supposed'' to be his role for the Lunarians]], and their Winter robes are tied with the frontmost lapel pointing towards the left, which usually is done for the dead.
** Gems cannot cry, seeing as that they weren't created with tear ducts. However, cracking by themselves is usually reserved for extreme sad emotions. For example, when [[spoiler:the Gems Phos brings to the Moon see the Moon dust made of their old comrades]], a [[SingleTear single shard cracks]] into the pile Yellow Diamond picks up, reminiscent of a tear, while Alex's shards fall as if they were crying in frustration. Phos and Cinnabar are the exceptions, as they have their gold/platinum and poison respectively to act as tear fluid.
* RunOrDie: The Amethysts warn Phos about this once a particularly strong group of Moon-People come down and make quick work of them in the beginning of Volume 3.
* SanitySlippage: After the Winter, Phos starts hallucinating about Antarcticite and starts growing suspicious of Sensei, to the point of trying to leave to contact the Moon People alone.
* SecretKeeper: Padparadscha knows about Sensei's relationship with the Moon People. Unfortunately for Phos, the gem falls asleep before revealing any relevant information.
* ShortCutsMakeLongDelays: In more than one way during Chapter 44, "A Short Path". Phos trying to take a shortcut via sliding over the frozen lake ends up with both them and Cairngorm crashing on the ice and being scolded by Rutile. Cairngorm themselves acknowledges this trope. [[spoiler: Later on the chapter, Cairngorm tries to take a "shortcut" towards waiting for Phos to recover their lost head, and they use Lapis' head instead. Then in the next chapter, we see that 100 years have passed and Phos still hasn't awakened, referencing the trope again.]]
* ShoutOut: The [[AltumVidetur Latin]] lyrics to "liquescimus", ''odi et amo'', often translated as "I hate and I love.", is lifted from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_85 Catullus 85]], one of Catullus's most well-known poems to his mistress, Lesbia. In this poem, Catullus details his conflicting feelings about his deteriorating relationship with Lesbia. When applied to "liquescimus", [[spoiler:it is presumably referring to Phos' self-loathing for being unable to save someone who loved them like no one else did.]]
* ShownTheirWork: The method Antarcticite uses to break apart the floes is very similar to how people harvest ice in real life via ice cutting. (That is, using a pickaxe (the high heels) to mark how the ice will break apart, then using a saw (the serrated sword) to cleave the ice apart.) And it's kinda amazing how much research Haruko did with the gems:
** Cinnabar is an ore of mercury, the same metal that floats around the gem.
** Watermelon Tourmaline has electricity powers and their gem is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline piezoelectric]].
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarcticite Antarcticite]] is a mineral that only forms in Antarctica, when it gets cold enough. The character is only solid during winter.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysoberyl#Alexandrite Alexandrite]] changes color based the amount of sunlight it gets and in the manga the character changes color too, albeit only when their [[SplitPersonality alternate personality]] is brought out upon seeing a lunarian.
** The Amethyst Twins are called sometimes called 84 and 33. The reason for the nicknames might be confusing until you realize that Japan Law Twinning, a crystal formation law, requires the two gems to meet at an angle of 84*33'.
** Ghost Quartz forms over already created gems. Makes sense the character [[spoiler: has another gem inside of them.]]
** Obsidian is a stone used by blacksmiths in the production of weaponry.
* SingleMindedTwins: The Amethyst twins.
* SolemnEndingTheme: The ending to Episode 8 plays "liquescimus", [[DoItYourselfThemeTune sung by Phos's voice actor]]. [[spoiler:It is about Phos mourning Antarc's death.]]
* SpoilerOpening: [[spoiler:The very first scene of Phos waking up in fetus position while underwater hints at how gems are born.]]
* SuicideMission: Phos' idea of going to the Moon to retrieve everyone who got captured is treated as this.
* SuperSpeed: Yellow Diamond, the oldest of the gems. Later Phos manages to be as fast as them, if only for a while.
* TakeUpMySword: In the last few hundred years, the Winter duties keep getting passed around. Antarcticite had them originally, but following [[spoiler:them being taken to the Moon]] the duty gets pushed to Phos. Then, Cairngorm gets the job from Phos after [[spoiler:Phos gets their head torn off]].
* TellMeAgain: In the beginning of the story, Kongou-sensei asks Phos to recite the Lustrous' origin tale, which also tells the audience about how the land came to be and how they were formed.
* TimeSkip: One happens after [[spoiler: Phos' head is lost. A hundred and two years pass before Phos finally wakes up.]]
* ThatWasNotADream: After Ghost gets taken away, Phos wakes up, approaches a recently-freed Cairngorm in the distance, and promptly gets a [[TalkToTheFist fist in the face]] for being responsible for Ghost's demise. Phos wakes up believing its a dream, since Rutile and Jade cant find words to explain to Phos what's happening, and the scene repeats again. Then its about to repeat a [[RuleOfThree third time]], but Sensei stops Cairngorm before Phos gets punched again.
* TheseusShipParadox: Discussed by Rutile when thinking of replacing Phos' [[spoiler:head]]; Rutile wonders if by that point would it even possible to call the gem Phos, since about half of the gem's body is replaced by other materials. It's for this reason that Phos is referred to as "Used-to-be Phos" by [[spoiler:Sensei]] after they leave a second time.
* TookALevelInBadass: Phos gets a huge upgrade in fighting ability whenever they get new ArtificialLimbs.
** First Phos gets a pair of agate legs, which grant them SuperSpeed that Phos at first can't control.
** Secondly, Phos gets gold and platinum alloys for arms, which Phos can shapeshift at will.
** Thirdly, Phos gets [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli's head after the gem lost theirs, giving Phos higher observational skill]].
* TruthInTelevision: According to Sensei and Ventricosus in regards to [[spoiler:the creation of Gems, it's a rare occurrence; a corpse decomposes (underwater, no less) and its bones are crystallized over time for "ages", and the result may be a sentient being made of a gemstone]]. [[https://english.fossiel.net/information/article.php?id=340&/Minerals%20in%20fossils In real life]], there is such thing as [[spoiler:crystallized fossils]], though ''Houseki no Kuni'' seems to take some [[ArtisticLicenseBiology artistic liberty]] (or [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane or something else]]) with it since [[spoiler:Sensei is at least 10,000 years old and seems to have been made by humans, which may put into perspective how long ago the apocalypse was]] while fossils are typically ''millions'' of years old.
* TwoBeingsOneBody: Ghost Quartz has another gem living inside them. [[spoiler:Then they got taken to the moon, leaving the other gem alone]]. The other Ghost is later given the name Cairngorm.
* WhamEpisode: The Winter episodes, where [[spoiler:Phos changes and the first gem gets taken]]. Its also where the plot starts to kick in.
** And of course the Moon episodes, when [[spoiler:Phos finally goes to the Moon to face the Lunarians in their base]].
* WhamLine: When Ventricosus and Phos finally reach the home of the Admirabilis:
-->'''Ventricosus:''' Just as you care about Cinnabar... I, too, have someone I care about. [[spoiler: Forgive me.]]
** Phos [[spoiler:arriving on the moon and discovering what became of the other captured gems:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Prince:''' Decorated with you, our world is beautiful.]]
** Chapter 65 and 66. [[spoiler:Sensei comes down to the Gems' level and steps down as leader, while Achmea tells the Moon group that Gems lower than 4 Hardness can't be put back together. This means ''everyone but Phos'' can get their old partners back.]]
* WeCanRebuildHim: Happens everytime Phos loses a body part. It's noted that Phos's body is much more receptive to different materials as replacements compared to other gems. In fact, Phos actually recommends this in case they get broken into pieces after [[spoiler: planning to go to the moon]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: The rare three-Lunarian attack formation is this. Once one of them has been defeated, the other two begin to retreat and a Lustrous usually goes after them. They then take this opportunity to steal the Lustrous away. The method they capture Ghost with is similar; the remaining two vessels close up into a sticky ball with a hole above it. If a gem gets too close, they take it through the hole.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Everyone's hair corresponds with the color of their skin underneath the white makeup they wear.
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: Alexandrite goes completely nuts when looking at a Lunarian. Because of this Sensei has forbidden them to participate in battles.
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Ignore previous edit reason: Was intended for Awesome.Land Of The Lustrous null edit to correct one that didn't post correctly.
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Moving to official English, changed the commented out note to reflect the original discussion on Manga.Houseki No Kuni
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Changed line(s) 65 (click to see context) from:
** Phos crosses it hard as [[spoiler: she fails to save Antarcticite from being taken away. Her face as she is falling and realizing her failure is painful to behold]]. It all starts [[FromBadToWorse getting worse from there]].
to:
** Phos crosses it hard as [[spoiler: she fails they fail to save Antarcticite from being taken away. Her Their face as she is they are falling and realizing her their failure is painful to behold]]. It all starts [[FromBadToWorse getting worse from there]].
Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
** Most of the other gems as [[spoiler: some of them, at the behest of Phos, decide to leave for the Moon. They spend the night looking underwater for them as they just can't process the fact that some of their comrades left them. Rutile upon discovering that Phos took Padparadscha with her stares in horror and just shatters where she stands.]]
to:
** Most of the other gems as [[spoiler: some of them, at the behest of Phos, decide to leave for the Moon. They spend the night looking underwater for them as they just can't process the fact that some of their comrades left them. Rutile upon discovering that Phos took Padparadscha with her them stares in horror and just shatters where she they stands.]]
Changed line(s) 152 (click to see context) from:
* TheseusShipParadox: Discussed by Rutile when thinking of replacing Phos' [[spoiler:head]]; Rutile wonders if by that point would it even possible to call the gem Phos, since about half of the gem's body is replaced by other materials. It's for this reason that Phos is referred to as "Used-to-be Phos" by [[spoiler:Sensei]] after he leaves a second time.
to:
* TheseusShipParadox: Discussed by Rutile when thinking of replacing Phos' [[spoiler:head]]; Rutile wonders if by that point would it even possible to call the gem Phos, since about half of the gem's body is replaced by other materials. It's for this reason that Phos is referred to as "Used-to-be Phos" by [[spoiler:Sensei]] after he leaves they leave a second time.
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Added DiffLines:
** Chapter 65 and 66. [[spoiler:Sensei comes down to the Gems' level and steps down as leader, while Achmea tells the Moon group that Gems lower than 4 Hardness can't be put back together. This means ''everyone but Phos'' can get their old partners back.]]
