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Video Game: Atelier Iris Eternal Mana

Upwards clockwise: Delsus, Marietta, Popo, Lita, Klein, Norn, Arlin.

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana is the sixth installment of the Atelier series of role-playing games which were developed by Gust, and the first game from the series to make the journey across the Pacific from Japan.

In a World where alchemy exists, alchemists travel the land in search of new alchemic artifacts and mana. The mana are a race of beings who lend alchemists their power in order to craft stronger magical items.

The story follows Klein Kiesling, a young alchemist, as he explores the world along with a group of friends he makes along the journey. Pretty standard RPG fare, narratively speaking.

Released in Japan in 2004, North America in 2005 and Europe in 2006, the game received decent reviews, but many of the innovations (which include item fusion/synthesis) earlier adopted by the Atelier series had already been adapted by other games which were released in North America before this chapter was introduced.

This game provides examples of:

Battle Couple: Klein Kiesling and Lita Blanchimont. Also Delsus and Marietta Lixiss.
Berserk Button: As you may expect from a Tsundere, don't criticize on Lita's bust size.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: "You can't do that! The ESRB would go nuts!"
Brutal Bonus Level: Mull's Dungeon. The combination of enemies fought in there are nowhere as difficult as anything you fought the entire game.
Cat Girl: Norn. You can also meet other werecats when Norn is in your active party, who will offer to heal you or share an item out of solidarity and friendship.
Chekhov's Gunman: Some seemingly minor supporting characters wind up directly aiding the party through the game. For example, Pamela the friendly ghost initially seems like a sort of comic relief character, but eventually helps you translate some writing in a ruin that she remembers from when she was alive.
Competitive Balance:
- Glass Cannon: Klein, has some of the strongest attacks of the game, but can die really fast again stronger enemies.
  - Arlin whenever he uses the Berserker ability.
- If you let Lita's wings sprout she easily becomes this, low HP, horrible MP, but great Status, take your pick.
- Fragile Speedster: Lita.
- Jack Of All Stats: Delsus, balanced and overall useful for most situations.
- Lightning Bruiser: Arlin, fast, strong with physical and magic attacks also having good balance in Speed and Defense. No wonder he is a Crutch Character.
- Squishy Wizard: Klein and Norn, both can do serious damage, but have the worst Defense value of everyone.
- Mighty Glacier: Marietta, she has excellent physical attacks, packs the highest HP of the group and she even has a healing spell her Speed is depressing, though.
Covers Always Lie: The cover bills Arlin as a main character, but he permanently leaves the party at the halfway point.
Crispin Freeman as Delsus
Crutch Character: Arlin who goes straight for a Game Breaker after he learns his Bull's Eyes. ability. With that tech, it makes the normally very long and hard final boss seems like nothing.
Detached Sleeves: Lita.
Defrosting Ice Queen/Sugar and Ice Personality: Veola, who initially seems a borderline Emotionless Girl but gradually gets to be friendly with Klein and (sort of) Lita.
Despair Event Horizon: Lita attempted to kill herself after she woke up from her stasis, but was unable to. She spends the latter part of Veola's plot arc trying to pull Veola back across the horizon when she realizes that Veola is building what is basically a glorified assisted suicide machine
Duel Boss: Arlin, twice. The first one is a Hopeless Boss Fight, the second is a fight totally based on luck.
Elemental Tiers: The first and weakest offensive Mana Item you're able to synthesize is the Bomb Ice (Ice). Then you get the Obake Bag (Dark), Flame (Fire), Thunder Rod (Lightning), and finally the strongest one is Dragon Gem, which is also fire-based.
Embarrassing Middle Name: Delsus' he really doesn't like to be called Ashley.
Exposition Fairy: Popo, who is hilariously enough an actual fairy, as well as the Mana of Wood.
Evil Counterpart: Mull to Arlin. He is also what Klein would be if he hadn't morals.
Fanservice: Lita gets naked on screen twice. Censor Steam and Modesty Towel included.
Five-Man Band
- The Hero: Klein Kiesling.
- The Lancer: Arlin.
- The Chick: Lita Blanchimont.
- The Smart Guy: Delsus.
- Tagalong Kid: Norn.
- Sixth Ranger: Marietta Lixiss.
Full-Contact Magic: With the right equipment it is entirely possible to make Klein's and Norn's attacks to hurt as much as Arlin's.
Heh Heh, You Said X:
Veola: I'll name it... the Blowmaster!
Lita: You do realize... never mind.
Heel Realization: Beggur after the final duel against him.
He Knows About Timed Hits: "Popo's Fourth-Wall Lecture"
Heroes Prefer Swords: Averted with Klein. He uses maces and staves, but in an even further aversion of the standard RPG hero archetype, he's not only a magic-user, but the party's main healer as well.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Mull, first almost by Arlin and then definitely by the Amalgam.
Idiot Hair: Klein's, oddly enough only in his art, his overworld sprite doesn't sport this.
Ineffectual Loner: Arlin, he's turned into a stone when he confronts Mull alone.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Beggur. So very, very much. The EPIC Ham voicework really helps this, to boot..
Item Amplifier: Klein has a skill called Power Item, which can be used on a specific item to enhance its effect. He also has other skills called Wide Item and Pass Item, which increase item range, horizontally and vertically respectively.
Lady of War: Marietta Lixiss.
Love at First Punch: Lita does rescue him first, and then she calls him a weakling for traveling alone.
Magikarp Power: Klein and Norn generally start out as this having little to no reliable means of dishing out good damage, however later on both have the highest damage potential given the right equipment and skills.
Nice Hat: Lita and Veola.
Non Standard Skill Learning: Several examples.
- At one point in the story, Klein will get the option to either learn the skill Living Item or the ability to create Ether Bulb. You can get the other one later, though.
- Norn's Illusion skill is gotten through solving the puzzle in Ka Luda's playground the second time, using the black pieces instead of white.
- Delsus' Spirit Shot skill, gotten from completing an optional sidequest from the old man at Lake Forwell near the end of the game.
- Lita's Pale Wing skill, gotten after a certain storyline event near the end of the game.
Overly-Long Name: Delsus' full name: Sir Ghaleon Ashley Delsus Delvarood.
Power Gives You Wings: A bit inverted here. Lita sprouts her wings when her internal mana supply is drained, leaving her weak. She still has wings that betray her artificial nature, though.
- Strangely enough, while sprouting Lita's wings drains Max HP, it does raise the attack power.
Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Alkavana Knights.
Rapunzel Hair: Lita seems to have no problem with her long hair despite being a fighter that moves around a lot.
Really 700 Years Old: Zeldalia to a T. The voicework makes this even better, since despite looking like she's twelve, she has the voice and mannerisms of a stately older woman.
Smug Snake: Good lord, Mull is terrible about this.
Shipper on Deck: Popo, he stops very shortly after however.
The Alcoholic: Delsus, not quite a heavy drinker, but he is the only go talks about getting some booze and dislikes any sweet drink.
The Leader: Beggur, of all people around. Every single person he has working for him in the Alkavana Knights follows him out of pure respect as shown in almost every conversation.
The Unfought: Mull, much to everyone's rage
Title Drop: One of the final areas of the game is called Atelier Iris.
Trailers Always Lie: That shot of Norn looking really mysterious and powerful? Nothing even remotely like that happens in the game itself.
Trailers Always Spoil: No, Virginia, those wings Lita sprouts in the opening movie are not merely symbolic.
Tsundere: Type B. Lita bounces rapidly back and forth between being sweet and perky to Klein or raging about what a jerk he is. She's very much soften up when her back story kicks in.
- Marietta is a clear Type A for Delsus.
Trick Arrow: Delsus' skills, more or less justified as Delsus seems to change the "cartridges" of his crossbow before shooting.
Verbal Tic: Norn and her meow and nya for English and Japanese voiceovers respectively.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Lita and Veola shades strongly into this, especially once Lita jumps in to berate someone else for insulting Veola.
Weapon of Choice: Of many tastes.
- Magic Staff: Klein and Norn.
- Cool Sword: Arlin.
- Whip Sword: Marietta.
We Help The Helpless: Lita and Klein as Galgazits for the town of Kavoc and the general environs - a Galgazit is basically an odd-jobber with a dash of Bounty Hunter, as they take on any tasks people can't do for themselves in exchange for whatever the townsfolk donate (including free rent on a place above the tavern). One of a Galgazit's standing duties is to eliminate monsters called Growloons wherever they appear, as while the Growloons are individually harmless they somehow spawn other monsters.