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!!''Allison and Lillia'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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* CoolGuns: The author's fascination with firearms on display in ''[[Literature/KinosJourney Kino's Journey]]'' is evident here as well. However, it takes a backseat to...
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* CoolGuns: The author's fascination with firearms on display in ''[[LightNovel/KinosJourney Kino's Journey]]'' is evident here as well. However, it takes a backseat to...
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* CoolGuns: The author's fascination with firearms on display in ''[[LightNovel/KinosJourney ''[[Literature/KinosJourney Kino's Journey]]'' is evident here as well. However, it takes a backseat to...
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''Allison and Lillia'' is a 26-episode, 2008 anime adapted from two related {{Light Novel|s}} series (''Allison'' and ''Lillia & Treize'') by the same author-illustrator team behind ''LightNovel/KinosJourney''. The series is set on an alternate world of roughly 1930s-era technology, with one big continent split down the middle by a huge river. As a result, two distinct cultures developed in the East and West, neither of which can seem to get along with the other: there have been countless wars in the past, and the west's Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa and the east's Roxcheanuk Confederation are technically only in the middle of an armistice, albeit the longest one to date. (It's not as grim as it sounds.) The origin of the war is that both sides believe their ancestors to be the true ancestors to humanity; apparently, neither one has heard of river valley civilizations. By the "World Calendar" shared by both sides, they are in their 3287th year of recorded history.
to:
''Allison and Lillia'' is a 26-episode, 2008 anime adapted from two related {{Light Novel|s}} series (''Allison'' and ''Lillia & Treize'') by the same author-illustrator team behind ''LightNovel/KinosJourney''.''Literature/KinosJourney''. The series is set on an alternate world of roughly 1930s-era technology, with one big continent split down the middle by a huge river. As a result, two distinct cultures developed in the East and West, neither of which can seem to get along with the other: there have been countless wars in the past, and the west's Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa and the east's Roxcheanuk Confederation are technically only in the middle of an armistice, albeit the longest one to date. (It's not as grim as it sounds.) The origin of the war is that both sides believe their ancestors to be the true ancestors to humanity; apparently, neither one has heard of river valley civilizations. By the "World Calendar" shared by both sides, they are in their 3287th year of recorded history.
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[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AllisonAndLilliaImageCover_240.JPG]]
''Allison and Lillia'' is a 26-episode, 2008 anime adapted from two related {{Light Novel|s}} series (''Allison'' and ''Lillia & Treize'') by the same author-illustrator team behind ''LightNovel/KinosJourney''. The series is set on an alternate world of roughly 1930s-era technology, with one big continent split down the middle by a huge river. As a result, two distinct cultures developed in the East and West, neither of which can seem to get along with the other: there have been countless wars in the past, and the west's Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa and the east's Roxcheanuk Confederation are technically only in the middle of an armistice, albeit the longest one to date. (It's not as grim as it sounds.) The origin of the war is that both sides believe their ancestors to be the true ancestors to humanity; apparently, neither one has heard of river valley civilizations. By the "World Calendar" shared by both sides, they are in their 3287th year of recorded history.
The story revolves around TeenGenius / OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Wilhelm "Wil" Schultz and GenkiGirl / AcePilot Allison Whittington, two orphaned childhood friends who unwittingly stumble onto a tale of a treasure that could end the war. Complicating matters throughout are Allison's growing feelings for Wil, which, despite his [[{{PhotographicMemory}} perfect memory]] and [[{{HyperAwareness}} keen observation skills]], he [[{{SelectiveObliviousness}} completely fails to notice]]. (It doesn't help that she just can't seem to confess due to the plot continually interrupting her.) Over the course of their travels, they first encounter Carr Benedict, an [[{{ChivalrousPervert}} overly-amorous]] officer of the Sou Beil Air Force, and Fiona, a young woman in a mountain village who harbors a [[{{KingIncognito}} great secret]].
A straight-up Adventure with Action and Mystery elements, it avoids (for the most part) the frequent {{Mind Screw}}ery of the aforementioned ''Kino's Journey''. It also features continuing plots, rather than the standalone, episodic nature of ''Kino''. This is a blessing and a curse, with the upshot that the producers of the anime were faced with the unenviable task of cramming 10 books into a single 26-episode series. The series retains a certain charm that makes it hard to resist, with an [[AnimeThemeSong opening theme]] that [[ThematicThemeTune sets the tone perfectly]]. (See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUDtM3Py0ko here]].)
----
!!''Allison and Lillia'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* AccidentalHero: Benedict agrees to take sole credit for the discovery of the "treasure" sought by Allison and Wil. He soon regrets this, however.
* AcePilot: Allison
* AnimeHair: ''Averted'', with characters sporting realistic hair colors and styles. Black hair does tend to get a purplish cast in illustrations for the sake of contrast though, which can lead to confusion.
* ArcWords: Mr. Terror, the steel magnate, is name-dropped in each of the first two ''Allison'' stories, but exactly ''who'' he is or ''what'' he has to do with these plots isn't discussed until the third arc, when he finally shows up in person.
* AuthorAppeal: Keiichi Sigsawa appears obsessed with minutiae of all sorts of technology, judging by the overly-detailed descriptions of all weapons and vehicles that appear, plot-centric or not. Even his ''pen name'' is based on a [[http://www.sigsauer.com gun brand]].
* {{Bifauxnen}}: [[spoiler:Carlo aka Carla]]
* BilingualBonus: Disappointingly averted in the anime. While the alphabet used in this world can be deciphered, all it reveals is badly romanized Japanese and poorly translated English.
* BookEnds: The second ''Allison'' novel is framed at the beginning and end by letters between Wil and Allison. Similarly, the third book begins and ends with a 15-year-old Lillia; what she reveals about her father in the prologue sets up one of the major dramatic themes for the book, while the epilogue shows what ''really'' happened to him. The anime uses these bits in episodes 13 and 14, while directly showing the audience what happened before it gets there.
* CassandraTruth: At the end of the first book, Wil tells his friend what ''really'' happened when he and Allison went missing for several days. The friend doesn't believe it, thinking Wil is just trying to avoid sharing the scandalous details of their abscondment.
* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: [[spoiler:Major Travas]].
** This probably also qualifies as a PaperThinDisguise, considering all he did was [[spoiler:dye his hair]]...
* ChekhovsGun: A variety of things introduced earlier in each arc come together to play a part in the end of the story. The anime sometimes forgets to introduce them before they become necessary, however, which turns them into [[{{AssPull}} something of a different nature]].
* ChivalrousPervert: Benedict, in his first appearance; he might even qualify as TheCasanova, were he slightly more successful with the ladies.
** At the time, he really skirts the line between being this and a HandsomeLech; by the adventure in Ikstova, however, he's matured into an OfficerAndAGentleman (though less by choice and more due to the fact that ''all'' women now fawn over him).
* ClimbingClimax: The villain of episode 8 is made quite GenreBlind in order to accommodate the changes to the climax of the Ikstova arc. On the bright side, he gets to store knives in {{Hammerspace}}...
* CoolGuns: The author's fascination with firearms on display in ''[[LightNovel/KinosJourney Kino's Journey]]'' is evident here as well. However, it takes a backseat to...
* CoolPlane: Classic propeller-driven aircraft drawn from history.
* CoolTrain: Murder plot aside, who ''wouldn't'' want to ride cross-continent on the ultimate of luxury trains?
* CrossDressingVoices: Motoko Kumai as Wil.
* CuteLittleFangs: Treize's sister Merielle.
* DisappearedDad: Allison and her father, as well as Lillia and ''her'' father, [[spoiler: Wil]] who came back.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Owen Nikhto]] in episode 8, rather unconvincingly changed from his [[{{FamilyUnfriendlyDeath}} Family Unfriendly]] ''[[{{FamilyUnfriendlyDeath}} suicide]]'' in the book.
** Indeed, the anime episode had a [[{{DeusExMachina}} Kaze ex Machina]] ending: [[spoiler: Nikhto falls off a building due to being blown by the draft from Allison's plane.]]
* FairyTale: In the first book, Allison is surprised to find out from Wil that the GainaxEnding to the fable she learned from her father as a young child is actually a standard HappyEnding in the Roxche version. This [[{{ChekhovsGun}} becomes a plot point]] in the third book.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: In the first and second books, respectively, [[spoiler:Walter [=MacMillan=]]] and [[spoiler:Owen Nikhto]] commit suicide. [[spoiler:Wil]] also shoots two people: ''three'' if you count [[spoiler:helping Allison aim]] and fails to kill one only because he's not aiming to. In the third book, [[spoiler:Colonel Aikashia]] kills a number of people, presumably while they are asleep. In all instances, these are [[{{Bowdlerize}} toned down for the anime]], though the last one also has the individual [[spoiler:taking out some soldier-types]] instead.
* GenkiGirl: Allison, as well as [[spoiler: her daughter]] Lillia.
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: Allison has a habit of this, which emphasizes her forceful personality.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Benedict and Fiona]] in the second half. Borders on SickeninglySweethearts for their daughter.
* HyperAwareness: Wil has this skill towards everything except Allison's feelings. It helps him sort out pretty much every unresolved plot strand in one fell swoop at the end of each arc.
** The anime often forgets to give opportunities for the ''audience'' to catch these clues, however, making his deductions appear to [[{{AssPull}} come from thin air]].
* ImprobableAge: When introduced, Wil and Allison are 17, Benedict is 24, and Fiona is 20. The anime never explicitly states this, however, and between the characters' appearances and certain [[{{CrossdressingVoices}} creative casting decisions]], one gets the impression that they're quite a bit younger.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Escape on a plane Allison's never flown before, all while displaying all kinds of aerial acrobatics? [[{{RuleOfCool}} Sure, why not?]]
-->'''Allison''': "All planes are the same."
* ImprobableAimingSkills: What Allison is to planes, Wil is to firearms.
* InfoDump: Justified through the conceit of students receiving supplementary instruction on history and geography in the first book / episode, and Wil getting his friend up to speed on Ikstova in ''Allison II''. Lampshaded in episode 14 of the anime, when Lillia complains to Treize about his reading the Rachika tourist guidebook aloud.
* KarmaHoudini: Colonel Aikashia makes a living of "neutralizing" threats to peace, along with any bystanders that happen to get in the way. Yet, in spite of all the duplicity and the body count he incurs in his first appearance, all is forgiven once it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's Allison's father]].
* KingIncognito: Subverted twice: [[spoiler:Fiona]] is actually [[spoiler:impersonating her twin sister to fulfill her dying request]], while among the main cast, only Lillia is unaware that [[spoiler:Treize]] is royalty.
* LarynxDissonance: Will sounds rather young for 17.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Lillia is a shining, clueless example of this trope.
* LukeIAmYourFather: For Allison: [[spoiler:Colonel Aikashia]], and for [[spoiler:Lillia]]: [[spoiler: Major Travas]].
* MeaningfulName: Lillia, Treize, and Major Travas. [[{{JustifiedTrope}} Justified]], since the characters' parents (or even they themselves) chose these names for their significance.
* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: Fiona
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: You kind of wonder how no one realized that a guy named ''Terror'' might be a potential threat. Unless they felt sorry for him.
* NoblewomansLaugh: Lillia in episode 15, when asked about her piloting skills.
* OfficerAndAGentleman: Carr Benedict.
* OldSchoolDogfight: Though since this is 1930s-level technology, it actually makes sense.
* OrphanedEtymology: The moon is much closer to the Earth and revolves around it in about 8 days. So, why are months still around 30 days long?
* OrphansPlotTrinket: [[spoiler: Fiona's]] locket, which marks its bearer as a member of the Royal Family of Ikstova.
* ParentalAbandonment: Unlike [[FreudianExcuse Allison's case]], it would appear that Wil's parents were run-of-the-mill {{Jerkass}}es.
* PhotographicMemory: Wil combines this with his HyperAwareness to help him figure things out.
* PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation: All photographs of Allison's father mysteriously disappeared after his death; this happens again after the TimeSkip, where the only photo remaining of Lillia's father is the one where he moved, blurring his face.
* PoirotSpeak: Benedict, in the second novel. He has some trouble with verb tenses and subtle nuance in Roxchean, which he corrects... and then goes back to speaking Bezelese.
** Since both languages are rendered as Japanese, however, there's no insertion of random words from his native tongue.
* {{Precursors}}: The ancient humans who gave rise to both East and West, but were themselves [[spoiler:from the very middle, near the confluence of the Lutoni River]].
* PutOnABus: Train, actually. It's also implied that he subsequently [[BusCrash died offscreen]].
* RingRingCRUNCH: Allison is ''not'' a morning person.
* RunawayTrain: Sort of: the train itself is never out of control, but for all the things that happen on it, it might as well be.
* SceneryPorn: Perhaps slightly less obvious in the anime, but the author enjoys giving the plot interesting surroundings to happen in.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Wil never forgets and never misses a detail, no matter how small. Except, of course, when it comes to Allison.
* ShootTheDog: It seems intelligence agents have no qualms about offing innocents, as long as it prevents another global war.
* SickeninglySweethearts: The daughter of [[spoiler: Benedict and Fiona]] is not amused at her parents' tendency to make out in front of her.
* SpinOff: ''Meg & Seron'', featuring two of Lillia's classmates, which {{Genre Shift}}s the series into HighSchool comedy territory. Consists of 7 books. The sequel novel ''Story of a Single Continent'' folds their antics back into the main series, with the book's sub-title being ''Allison & Wil & Lillia & Treize & Meg & Seron & etc.''
* SpinOffspring: Not so much a spin-off as a continuation, ''Lillia and Treize'' stars the children of the original's core quartet. The main cast of the ''Allison'' books are still there, too.
* StoryArc: Two, divided into three sub-arcs each.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Lillia looks, acts, and ''sounds'' the same as her mother, except for her hair and eyes. Said color she gets from her father.
* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:Allison's father]], and later, [[spoiler:Wil]].
** Although for having discarded his original identity, [[spoiler:Wil]] is remarkably involved with his past life.
* [[ThoseTwoGuys That One Guy]]: Wil's friend Epstein, who shows up in all 3 books before the timeskip. In book 3, his family even gets in on the act, with his sister developing a massive crush on Wil.
* {{Timeskip}}
* TrainStationGoodbye: A key part of the anime-only TearJerker episode.
* TraintopBattle: [[{{AvertedTrope}} Averted]] when the individual Allison tries to go after tricks her into ducking long enough to escape.
* TranslationConvention: Roxche and Sou Beil each speak a different language, ''both'' of which are rendered as Japanese for the readers' convenience.
** The anime seems to discard this entirely, perhaps because this would be unnecessarily confusing (if more realistic). If nothing else, having to interpret every other line is tedious and eats up screen time.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Personified in Allison and Wil, who are fluent in both languages and serve as the justification for them being equally understandable to the audience.
** The books also play with this trope a bit: in plot-relevant situations, the narrative sometimes gives critical information that only parties who speak the same language can understand. Wil frequently plays the role of interpreter, especially in the presence of Fiona (alone among the main cast in not understanding Bezelese.
*** In the first book, this is how the two of them [[spoiler:get the location of the treasure from Walter]] without the guard being any the wiser. In the third book [[spoiler: Major Stork]] reacts to statements before Wil has had a chance to translate them, hinting at his true nature.
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Quickly subverted by putting Wil [[{{PutOnABus}} on a bus]].
** [[spoiler:Double Subverted actually. TheBusCameBack only with a new paint job.]]
* WeirdMoon: The Moon is much closer to the Earth than in our world, orbiting every 8 days and causing spectacular solar eclipses with frightening regularity. Though for some reason, calendar months are still around 30 days long...
----
''Allison and Lillia'' is a 26-episode, 2008 anime adapted from two related {{Light Novel|s}} series (''Allison'' and ''Lillia & Treize'') by the same author-illustrator team behind ''LightNovel/KinosJourney''. The series is set on an alternate world of roughly 1930s-era technology, with one big continent split down the middle by a huge river. As a result, two distinct cultures developed in the East and West, neither of which can seem to get along with the other: there have been countless wars in the past, and the west's Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa and the east's Roxcheanuk Confederation are technically only in the middle of an armistice, albeit the longest one to date. (It's not as grim as it sounds.) The origin of the war is that both sides believe their ancestors to be the true ancestors to humanity; apparently, neither one has heard of river valley civilizations. By the "World Calendar" shared by both sides, they are in their 3287th year of recorded history.
The story revolves around TeenGenius / OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Wilhelm "Wil" Schultz and GenkiGirl / AcePilot Allison Whittington, two orphaned childhood friends who unwittingly stumble onto a tale of a treasure that could end the war. Complicating matters throughout are Allison's growing feelings for Wil, which, despite his [[{{PhotographicMemory}} perfect memory]] and [[{{HyperAwareness}} keen observation skills]], he [[{{SelectiveObliviousness}} completely fails to notice]]. (It doesn't help that she just can't seem to confess due to the plot continually interrupting her.) Over the course of their travels, they first encounter Carr Benedict, an [[{{ChivalrousPervert}} overly-amorous]] officer of the Sou Beil Air Force, and Fiona, a young woman in a mountain village who harbors a [[{{KingIncognito}} great secret]].
A straight-up Adventure with Action and Mystery elements, it avoids (for the most part) the frequent {{Mind Screw}}ery of the aforementioned ''Kino's Journey''. It also features continuing plots, rather than the standalone, episodic nature of ''Kino''. This is a blessing and a curse, with the upshot that the producers of the anime were faced with the unenviable task of cramming 10 books into a single 26-episode series. The series retains a certain charm that makes it hard to resist, with an [[AnimeThemeSong opening theme]] that [[ThematicThemeTune sets the tone perfectly]]. (See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUDtM3Py0ko here]].)
----
!!''Allison and Lillia'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* AccidentalHero: Benedict agrees to take sole credit for the discovery of the "treasure" sought by Allison and Wil. He soon regrets this, however.
* AcePilot: Allison
* AnimeHair: ''Averted'', with characters sporting realistic hair colors and styles. Black hair does tend to get a purplish cast in illustrations for the sake of contrast though, which can lead to confusion.
* ArcWords: Mr. Terror, the steel magnate, is name-dropped in each of the first two ''Allison'' stories, but exactly ''who'' he is or ''what'' he has to do with these plots isn't discussed until the third arc, when he finally shows up in person.
* AuthorAppeal: Keiichi Sigsawa appears obsessed with minutiae of all sorts of technology, judging by the overly-detailed descriptions of all weapons and vehicles that appear, plot-centric or not. Even his ''pen name'' is based on a [[http://www.sigsauer.com gun brand]].
* {{Bifauxnen}}: [[spoiler:Carlo aka Carla]]
* BilingualBonus: Disappointingly averted in the anime. While the alphabet used in this world can be deciphered, all it reveals is badly romanized Japanese and poorly translated English.
* BookEnds: The second ''Allison'' novel is framed at the beginning and end by letters between Wil and Allison. Similarly, the third book begins and ends with a 15-year-old Lillia; what she reveals about her father in the prologue sets up one of the major dramatic themes for the book, while the epilogue shows what ''really'' happened to him. The anime uses these bits in episodes 13 and 14, while directly showing the audience what happened before it gets there.
* CassandraTruth: At the end of the first book, Wil tells his friend what ''really'' happened when he and Allison went missing for several days. The friend doesn't believe it, thinking Wil is just trying to avoid sharing the scandalous details of their abscondment.
* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: [[spoiler:Major Travas]].
** This probably also qualifies as a PaperThinDisguise, considering all he did was [[spoiler:dye his hair]]...
* ChekhovsGun: A variety of things introduced earlier in each arc come together to play a part in the end of the story. The anime sometimes forgets to introduce them before they become necessary, however, which turns them into [[{{AssPull}} something of a different nature]].
* ChivalrousPervert: Benedict, in his first appearance; he might even qualify as TheCasanova, were he slightly more successful with the ladies.
** At the time, he really skirts the line between being this and a HandsomeLech; by the adventure in Ikstova, however, he's matured into an OfficerAndAGentleman (though less by choice and more due to the fact that ''all'' women now fawn over him).
* ClimbingClimax: The villain of episode 8 is made quite GenreBlind in order to accommodate the changes to the climax of the Ikstova arc. On the bright side, he gets to store knives in {{Hammerspace}}...
* CoolGuns: The author's fascination with firearms on display in ''[[LightNovel/KinosJourney Kino's Journey]]'' is evident here as well. However, it takes a backseat to...
* CoolPlane: Classic propeller-driven aircraft drawn from history.
* CoolTrain: Murder plot aside, who ''wouldn't'' want to ride cross-continent on the ultimate of luxury trains?
* CrossDressingVoices: Motoko Kumai as Wil.
* CuteLittleFangs: Treize's sister Merielle.
* DisappearedDad: Allison and her father, as well as Lillia and ''her'' father, [[spoiler: Wil]] who came back.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Owen Nikhto]] in episode 8, rather unconvincingly changed from his [[{{FamilyUnfriendlyDeath}} Family Unfriendly]] ''[[{{FamilyUnfriendlyDeath}} suicide]]'' in the book.
** Indeed, the anime episode had a [[{{DeusExMachina}} Kaze ex Machina]] ending: [[spoiler: Nikhto falls off a building due to being blown by the draft from Allison's plane.]]
* FairyTale: In the first book, Allison is surprised to find out from Wil that the GainaxEnding to the fable she learned from her father as a young child is actually a standard HappyEnding in the Roxche version. This [[{{ChekhovsGun}} becomes a plot point]] in the third book.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: In the first and second books, respectively, [[spoiler:Walter [=MacMillan=]]] and [[spoiler:Owen Nikhto]] commit suicide. [[spoiler:Wil]] also shoots two people: ''three'' if you count [[spoiler:helping Allison aim]] and fails to kill one only because he's not aiming to. In the third book, [[spoiler:Colonel Aikashia]] kills a number of people, presumably while they are asleep. In all instances, these are [[{{Bowdlerize}} toned down for the anime]], though the last one also has the individual [[spoiler:taking out some soldier-types]] instead.
* GenkiGirl: Allison, as well as [[spoiler: her daughter]] Lillia.
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: Allison has a habit of this, which emphasizes her forceful personality.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Benedict and Fiona]] in the second half. Borders on SickeninglySweethearts for their daughter.
* HyperAwareness: Wil has this skill towards everything except Allison's feelings. It helps him sort out pretty much every unresolved plot strand in one fell swoop at the end of each arc.
** The anime often forgets to give opportunities for the ''audience'' to catch these clues, however, making his deductions appear to [[{{AssPull}} come from thin air]].
* ImprobableAge: When introduced, Wil and Allison are 17, Benedict is 24, and Fiona is 20. The anime never explicitly states this, however, and between the characters' appearances and certain [[{{CrossdressingVoices}} creative casting decisions]], one gets the impression that they're quite a bit younger.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Escape on a plane Allison's never flown before, all while displaying all kinds of aerial acrobatics? [[{{RuleOfCool}} Sure, why not?]]
-->'''Allison''': "All planes are the same."
* ImprobableAimingSkills: What Allison is to planes, Wil is to firearms.
* InfoDump: Justified through the conceit of students receiving supplementary instruction on history and geography in the first book / episode, and Wil getting his friend up to speed on Ikstova in ''Allison II''. Lampshaded in episode 14 of the anime, when Lillia complains to Treize about his reading the Rachika tourist guidebook aloud.
* KarmaHoudini: Colonel Aikashia makes a living of "neutralizing" threats to peace, along with any bystanders that happen to get in the way. Yet, in spite of all the duplicity and the body count he incurs in his first appearance, all is forgiven once it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's Allison's father]].
* KingIncognito: Subverted twice: [[spoiler:Fiona]] is actually [[spoiler:impersonating her twin sister to fulfill her dying request]], while among the main cast, only Lillia is unaware that [[spoiler:Treize]] is royalty.
* LarynxDissonance: Will sounds rather young for 17.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Lillia is a shining, clueless example of this trope.
* LukeIAmYourFather: For Allison: [[spoiler:Colonel Aikashia]], and for [[spoiler:Lillia]]: [[spoiler: Major Travas]].
* MeaningfulName: Lillia, Treize, and Major Travas. [[{{JustifiedTrope}} Justified]], since the characters' parents (or even they themselves) chose these names for their significance.
* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: Fiona
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: You kind of wonder how no one realized that a guy named ''Terror'' might be a potential threat. Unless they felt sorry for him.
* NoblewomansLaugh: Lillia in episode 15, when asked about her piloting skills.
* OfficerAndAGentleman: Carr Benedict.
* OldSchoolDogfight: Though since this is 1930s-level technology, it actually makes sense.
* OrphanedEtymology: The moon is much closer to the Earth and revolves around it in about 8 days. So, why are months still around 30 days long?
* OrphansPlotTrinket: [[spoiler: Fiona's]] locket, which marks its bearer as a member of the Royal Family of Ikstova.
* ParentalAbandonment: Unlike [[FreudianExcuse Allison's case]], it would appear that Wil's parents were run-of-the-mill {{Jerkass}}es.
* PhotographicMemory: Wil combines this with his HyperAwareness to help him figure things out.
* PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation: All photographs of Allison's father mysteriously disappeared after his death; this happens again after the TimeSkip, where the only photo remaining of Lillia's father is the one where he moved, blurring his face.
* PoirotSpeak: Benedict, in the second novel. He has some trouble with verb tenses and subtle nuance in Roxchean, which he corrects... and then goes back to speaking Bezelese.
** Since both languages are rendered as Japanese, however, there's no insertion of random words from his native tongue.
* {{Precursors}}: The ancient humans who gave rise to both East and West, but were themselves [[spoiler:from the very middle, near the confluence of the Lutoni River]].
* PutOnABus: Train, actually. It's also implied that he subsequently [[BusCrash died offscreen]].
* RingRingCRUNCH: Allison is ''not'' a morning person.
* RunawayTrain: Sort of: the train itself is never out of control, but for all the things that happen on it, it might as well be.
* SceneryPorn: Perhaps slightly less obvious in the anime, but the author enjoys giving the plot interesting surroundings to happen in.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Wil never forgets and never misses a detail, no matter how small. Except, of course, when it comes to Allison.
* ShootTheDog: It seems intelligence agents have no qualms about offing innocents, as long as it prevents another global war.
* SickeninglySweethearts: The daughter of [[spoiler: Benedict and Fiona]] is not amused at her parents' tendency to make out in front of her.
* SpinOff: ''Meg & Seron'', featuring two of Lillia's classmates, which {{Genre Shift}}s the series into HighSchool comedy territory. Consists of 7 books. The sequel novel ''Story of a Single Continent'' folds their antics back into the main series, with the book's sub-title being ''Allison & Wil & Lillia & Treize & Meg & Seron & etc.''
* SpinOffspring: Not so much a spin-off as a continuation, ''Lillia and Treize'' stars the children of the original's core quartet. The main cast of the ''Allison'' books are still there, too.
* StoryArc: Two, divided into three sub-arcs each.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Lillia looks, acts, and ''sounds'' the same as her mother, except for her hair and eyes. Said color she gets from her father.
* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:Allison's father]], and later, [[spoiler:Wil]].
** Although for having discarded his original identity, [[spoiler:Wil]] is remarkably involved with his past life.
* [[ThoseTwoGuys That One Guy]]: Wil's friend Epstein, who shows up in all 3 books before the timeskip. In book 3, his family even gets in on the act, with his sister developing a massive crush on Wil.
* {{Timeskip}}
* TrainStationGoodbye: A key part of the anime-only TearJerker episode.
* TraintopBattle: [[{{AvertedTrope}} Averted]] when the individual Allison tries to go after tricks her into ducking long enough to escape.
* TranslationConvention: Roxche and Sou Beil each speak a different language, ''both'' of which are rendered as Japanese for the readers' convenience.
** The anime seems to discard this entirely, perhaps because this would be unnecessarily confusing (if more realistic). If nothing else, having to interpret every other line is tedious and eats up screen time.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Personified in Allison and Wil, who are fluent in both languages and serve as the justification for them being equally understandable to the audience.
** The books also play with this trope a bit: in plot-relevant situations, the narrative sometimes gives critical information that only parties who speak the same language can understand. Wil frequently plays the role of interpreter, especially in the presence of Fiona (alone among the main cast in not understanding Bezelese.
*** In the first book, this is how the two of them [[spoiler:get the location of the treasure from Walter]] without the guard being any the wiser. In the third book [[spoiler: Major Stork]] reacts to statements before Wil has had a chance to translate them, hinting at his true nature.
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Quickly subverted by putting Wil [[{{PutOnABus}} on a bus]].
** [[spoiler:Double Subverted actually. TheBusCameBack only with a new paint job.]]
* WeirdMoon: The Moon is much closer to the Earth than in our world, orbiting every 8 days and causing spectacular solar eclipses with frightening regularity. Though for some reason, calendar months are still around 30 days long...
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