| 1 | ---- |
| 2 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 3 | ! The Title Character |
| 4 | [[folder:Elaina]] |
| 5 | !!Elaina |
| 6 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaedeHondo (Japanese), Creator/AmberLeeConnors (English) |
| 7 | |
| 8 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8dbdab0b_84e7_4405_88ee_f72deacae509.png]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Ashen Witch]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | The titular "Wandering Witch", who was inspired by stories of the witch Niké into traveling the world. |
| 12 | ---- |
| 13 | * ACupAngst: She gets very offended and even agitated if someone insults her small chest size. |
| 14 | * AllPowerfulBystander: Despite her immense power, Elaina mostly chooses not to intervene in the affairs of the countries she visits. No matter how much suffering she witnesses, so long as the situation neither harms nor benefits her in a way, she will do nothing but observe passively. She is merely a traveler, not a hero, and as part of her promise to her mother, chooses to strictly abide by that code outside of a few special exceptions. |
| 15 | * AlternateSelf: In "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches" (Episode 12), Elaina meets up with many other alternate versions of herself and how they dealt with their own journeys. [[spoiler:In fact, the Elaina of the "Retroactive Grief" story in Volume 3 (Episode 8) is one such alternate self, though the audience doesn't learn of this until this story spells it out.]] |
| 16 | * AmbiguouslyGay: In Volume 5 Chapter 5 of novels, Elaina says that she doesn't have a boyfriend and never will when asked. She also denies having a girlfriend but doesn't say that she won't ever have one. A few times later in the volume, she is asked if she is interested in women, but the audience never finds out the answer to that question as the story repeatedly cuts away before Elaina answers the question. |
| 17 | * AnimateInanimateObject: In Volume 3, she uses a spell to give human form to her broom, which shares her voice and personality, whether in broom or human form. In the latter form, it looks exactly like her but with pink hair and has handwriting that greatly resembles that of her mistress. Her broom gives her own observations and point of view, has the ability to communicate with inanimate objects, and plays important roles in several stories in later volumes. |
| 18 | * BadassAdorable: Elaina is a cute young lady who, at the tender age of fifteen, is already accredited as one of the land's most powerful mages. |
| 19 | * BerserkButton: |
| 20 | ** Insulting her looks and intellect are two surefire ways to draw her ire. Also, do not insinuate the fact that she looks like a child, much less that she has small breasts. |
| 21 | ** Cutting her hair is a good way to bring her wrath on someone's head, and unlike the previous cases, she won't hesitate to use force. |
| 22 | * BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Violent Elaina is the result of the trauma Elaina experienced during "Retroactive Grief": a self-loathing, angry, and depressed witch who hates herself for being unable to do anything despite her talents and power.]] |
| 23 | * BrokenTears: By the end of "Retroactive Grief," the normally self-confident Elaina simply breaks down crying in despair over [[spoiler:her helplessness with the messy end to the friendship between Estelle and Selena]]. |
| 24 | * BrutalHonesty: Elaina rarely minces words and always speaks her mind, even if it involves belittling someone. The guards of "The Land of Truth Tellers" even note that entering a country where you can't lie isn't too much of an issue for her because she's already so honest. |
| 25 | -->[[spoiler:''(to Eihemia)'' "You were hired as a witch, so of course you would have little value outside of your magic."]] |
| 26 | * CantHoldHerLiquor: The first time Elaina drank something alcoholic in her entire life, she ended up becoming so tipsy that she drunkenly used her magic to turn grapes into high-speed bullets that painfully shot everyone in the country she stayed at unconscious. |
| 27 | * CelibateHero: Elaina is in love with adventure itself, and thus thinks little of romance in her travels. Her response to Saya's incessant crushing on her is constant exasperation. This trait is even {{enforced|Trope}} by the author of the series, Jougi Shiraishi, stating that he has no intention of writing a romantic subplot or introducing a LoveInterest for her, both due to the lack of desire and the possible complications in the narration on behalf of the girl falling in love during her journey. |
| 28 | * ChickMagnet: That alongside, Elaina attracts admirers in her journeys like Saya and Amnesia. |
| 29 | * ChildProdigy: She's a very gifted magic user, having passed the sorcery exam with flying colors at only the tender age of fourteen. She also became a full-fledged witch in only a year of training with Fran. |
| 30 | * CuteBookworm: Elaina really loves reading books and what encouraged her to take on a journey was reading ''The Adventures of Niké''. |
| 31 | * CuteWitch: A young girl who becomes a full-fledged witch at the age of fifteen and certainly looks very adorable, and [[ProudBeauty she knows it]]. |
| 32 | * DeadpanSnarker: One of Elaina's defining characteristics is her tendency to spout snide remarks, whether or not they are considered socially appropriate. |
| 33 | * DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler:The Elaina we're following in "Retroactive Grief" turns out to be an AlternateSelf who later reappears and fight Protagonist Elaina in "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches".]] |
| 34 | * DisproportionateRetribution: The usually composed and unwilling to kill Elaina is furious at the Slasher for the crime of [[spoiler:cutting off and stealing her hair]] in "The Serial Slasher". She even expresses that the Slasher should have received the death penalty instead of simple incarceration for it. |
| 35 | * EveryoneHasStandards: Her policy of neutrality may make her seem cold and selfish on paper, but even she draws the line on certain issues: |
| 36 | ** In "Bottled Happiness," she's clearly disgusted with the village chief and his treatment of Nino, to the point that she came ''real'' close to blasting the bastard to smithereens on the spot with her magic when his abuse quickly turned physical in front of her, only stopping herself at the last moment. |
| 37 | ** In "The Princess Without Subjects," she very nearly breaks character by attempting to help Mirarosé defeat and kill the monstrous Javalier after becoming attached to her. However, after seeing how Mirarosé brutally tortures and kills the beast and learning later on [[spoiler:that said beast was formerly her ''father'', that she was directly responsible for her country's demise by turning him into the Javalier herself, and later seeing how insane she really is,]] Elaina quickly hightails it out of there. |
| 38 | ** In "Before the Snow Melts," [[spoiler:Elaina feels pity for Elise's situation that the former accepted the magistrate's request of kicking the [[CruelToBeKind latter out of the country for her sake]]. Elaina accompanies Elise until the latter can stand on her own feet, refuses the magistrate's payment, and requests it to be delivered unto Elise.]] |
| 39 | ** In "Retroactive Grief," [[spoiler:Elaina, despite being broke and in dire need of money, doesn't take Estelle's payment for the former's services due to the fact [[ShootTheShaggyDog that both still failed in saving Selena.]] Elaina is even traumatized by the experience, leading to the existence of "[[AlternateSelf Violent Elaina]]" in "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches".]] |
| 40 | ** In "Amnesia's Forgotten Homecoming," there are multiple examples, as pointed out by Elaina herself as well as other characters in the chapter: |
| 41 | *** [[spoiler:Elaina immediately feels something is ''very'' wrong when Amnesia is arrested as soon as they reach the gates of the Holy City of Esto and she meets with some of the city's leaders, such as the Rose Witch Elimia, who describe Elaina's happy-go-lucky travel companion as a monster. They tell Elaina to go to the city's library to read up on what Amnesia had done and dispel any doubts she had about her friend. On the way there, a baker refuses payment from Elaina as thanks for bringing back the "monster" Amnesia, and she is put off by this to the point it ruins her appetite.]] |
| 42 | *** [[spoiler:When Elaina consults with her broom on whether or not she should believe Avelia's story about how Elimia had framed Amnesia and help the girl save her sister from the chopping block, her broom more or less tells her she already knows that her mistress was always inclined to help the sisters, no matter what official records said about Amnesia's culpability for the crimes for which she was sentenced to a "forgotten homecoming".]] |
| 43 | *** [[spoiler:After Elaina agrees to help Avelia, she takes it on herself to spend the night working with her to refine the plan she had come up with to save her sister, turning it into a plan where they not only save Amnesia, but conclusively establish her innocence. To this end, Elaina has Avelia teach her how to use Esto's unique magical technology to maximize their new plan's chance of success.]] |
| 44 | *** [[spoiler:The next morning, Elaina intercepts Elimia as the latter is on her way to execute Amnesia, knowing full well the grave danger she's placing herself in by doing so. Elimia even says that this development doesn't surprise her because she could always tell that Elaina's faith in Amnesia's innocence was unshakeable—much to Elaina's disappointment, as she had thought she was wearing quite the poker face the day before. Elaina also tries to conceal the fact that Avelia had told her how Elimia framed her sister, thinking that if she confirmed anything and then lost their battle, Elimia would try to kill Avelia afterward in retaliation.]] |
| 45 | ** In "Broom Racing," Elaina agrees to be the partner rider for Dorothy, a fifteen-year-old broom racing jockey, in her bid for her tenth consecutive championship. [[spoiler:Although Dorothy had promised general financial compensation, Elaina also agrees to take the time to help her because the way the older, more established jockeys were colluding to blackball Dorothy [[BirdsOfAFeather reminded Elaina of how the witches of Robetta treated her back when she became an apprentice witch]]. She also foregoes the financial reward altogether and lets Dorothy have all the prize money when she learns that the girl's mother is suffering from a terminal heart disease, telling Dorothy to use the money to buy the medicine her mother needs.]] |
| 46 | ** In "Seven Days of Ariadne," Elaina decides to spend seven days in the Commonwealth of Latorita to help [[spoiler:Elizabeth, a famed baker who had fallen into despair after her daughter, a non-mage, left home seeking to become a mage because she believed nobody could be happy without the ability to use magic. While Elaina wants to try the bread Elizabeth was so renowned for, she also becomes increasingly invested in helping everyone involved because she can't tolerate the notion that anyone could think that magical ability is a prerequisite for happiness.]] |
| 47 | ** In "Frederika," Elaina accompanies the titular girl to the hometown she had been exiled from for her reunion with her twin sister Lunarik. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that the "Frederika" Elaina is traveling with is actually Lunarik, and the "Lunarik" who remained in the city is actually Frederika, and at the twins' reunion in the city square, Frederika tries to kill Lunarik. Elaina intervenes to save Lunarik from getting murdered and turns Frederika in, but the authorities do not believe her, and Elaina and Lunarik are exiled from the city for their trouble.]] |
| 48 | * FirstPersonSmartass: Despite her seemingly polite facade, Elaina's internal thoughts are fraught with witty remarks and dry humor in the light novels. |
| 49 | * FriendlessBackground: A combination of her personality and status as a genius likely contributed to her having grown up with zero friends in her hometown of Robetta. Not that she minds much, though it does leave her somewhat clueless when it comes to some social situations at times. It's implied that it's because of this that she holds her friendship with Saya dearly despite her annoyance with her in general. |
| 50 | * TheGadfly: Has shades of this with her penchant for riling others up for her own amusement in her more mischievous moments. She probably got it from [[TricksterMentor Fran]]. |
| 51 | * GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:She's (initially) unaware of it, but like her mother, she became a full-fledged witch bearing the title of "Ashen Witch" who travels all around the world and records her adventures in a journal.]] |
| 52 | * {{Greed}}: the easiest way to get Elaina to do something she doesn't want to is to offer her a lot of money. In the twelfth volume, she even thinks she may have been possessed by a spirit of greed, while pretending to be possessed by a demon in return for a lot of money, as the yearly exorcism is a big tourist draw for the town. |
| 53 | * GrewASpine: Initially, she doesn't stand up for herself when Fran procrastinates in teaching her, having her do house chores instead. After an unexpected beatdown from her master, she finally snaps and lashes out at her, which is what Fran wanted all along. |
| 54 | * HeroicBSOD: By the end of "Retroactive Grief", the [[DownerEnding soul-crushing end]] to [[spoiler:the friendship between Estelle and Selena, not to mention the knowledge that she just became an accessory to murder by unwittingly helping Estelle put an end to her friend's misery]] shook Elaina so bad she can only break down in despair. |
| 55 | * HeroicNeutral: Due to the promise she made to her mother at the start of her journey, she refuses to get involved in dangerous situations. However, if it is possible for her to help without putting herself in danger, and if it is not too much trouble or requires her to stay in one place for more than three days, then she will typically help. |
| 56 | * HeroicSelfDeprecation: At the end of "Retroactive Grief," she berates herself as a good-for-nothing ordinary traveler following her failure to [[spoiler:help Estelle save Selena]]. |
| 57 | * ImportantHaircut: In "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches," [[spoiler:one of Elaina's personas, Violent Elaina, has her hair cut in which True Elaina speculates is due to the trauma she experienced in "Retroactive Grief" and has since refused to grow it back.]] |
| 58 | * InsufferableGenius: Downplayed compared to most examples, but being a prodigy means that she's well aware of her magical prowess and is very receptive to praise directed towards her. She's mellowed out by the time of the story after being humbled by Fran, but she still maintains a constant air of superiority. |
| 59 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While Elaina may have an egotistic streak, she isn't without compassion to those she's grown close to. For example, her treatment of Saya for the entirety of Episode 2. |
| 60 | * LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Most of Elaina's personality and habits [[spoiler:comes from her mother. Fran even teases her master about it, much to the latter's chagrin]]. |
| 61 | * ManicPixieDreamGirl: Avelia's impression of her when listening to her talking to her broom. Mind you, when Elaina casts her AnimateInanimateObject spell on her broom, the latter sounds ''exactly'' like her. |
| 62 | * MeaningfulName: Her title, the "Ashen Witch," represents her ash-grey hair. She isn't pleased with this title initially. |
| 63 | * TheMentor: [[spoiler:She was the one who first taught a 13-year-old Fran how to use magic during the latter's week in the main series' timeline in "The Night It Rained Stardust".]] |
| 64 | * MistakenForGay: Has one such moment with Amnesia to kick off "The Hero, the Dragon, and the Sacrifice" in Volume 4. A lesbian couple had detailed their night of escapades in Amnesia's ''Read This When You Wake Up in the Morning'' by accident, thinking it was the guestbook of the special suite they were sleeping in. When Amnesia wakes up and reads her diary entry for the previous day, she comes under the impression that she and Elaina had sex the previous night, making a kissy face and then asking all sorts of questions about how she was in bed before Elaina quite pointedly clears things up. Elaina then notes that Amnesia seems rather disappointed to be told that the two of them do not have ''that kind'' of relationship. |
| 65 | * MistakenForSpecialGuest: In "Welcome to the Cat Ears Café" in Volume 8, she gets roped into work at Coco's Cat Café, where Avelia had applied to work at, because the proprietor had mistaken her for Avelia. It's not hard to see how, given their very similar profiles as young traveling female mages with long white hair. Elaina and Avelia end up working there together, as is depicted in one of the frontpieces for Volume 8. |
| 66 | * MysticalWhiteHair: She's a witch and has white hair. |
| 67 | * OlderThanTheyLook: Elaina is eighteen years old for most of her journey barring flashbacks, but doesn't look like she's aged since she was fourteen when she started training under Fran, at least in the anime. This is mostly averted in her design in the light novels where her age is better reflected and even visibly ages as she grows past 18 years old (she grew 10cm taller when she turned 20 for example). The "Many Years' Journey" arc of Volume 7 is set seven years after the present timeline and show her as a young adult professional in her mid-twenties. She looks the part of one, having grown enough to be around Fran's height at that age. |
| 68 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: In "Retroactive Grief," she agrees to accompany Estelle in traveling to the past and preventing the murder of Selena's parents, if only for the generous financial compensation involved. [[spoiler:The situation with Selena isn't as it was made out to be, however, and by the time it's done, Elaina forgoes the financial reward altogether and leaves Estelle by herself, traumatized by the experience.]] |
| 69 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: You know something's wrong when she cries her eyes out over her failure to [[spoiler:help Estelle save Selena and the consequences which followed after the fact]]. |
| 70 | * PerpetualPoverty: Constantly traveling is very expensive and maintaining this lifestyle burns through Elaina's funds no matter how lucrative a job (or scam) she does. In Volume 6, she notes that her biggest expenses are food, tolls, clothes for different climates, and everyday consumable goods. |
| 71 | * PetTheDog: While usually a neutral observer, she does display this tendency toward younger and/or less experienced mages throughout her journey, such as Saya, Yuuri, Dorothy, Priscilla, and [[spoiler:young Fran]]. [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Elaina being Elaina]], she has no interest openly playing good-guy through it all. |
| 72 | * ThePromise: She made three promises to her mother at the start of her journey, which was the condition that allowed her to go in the first place: |
| 73 | ## She must run away from dangerous situations. |
| 74 | ## She must never think she is better than anyone else just because she is a witch. |
| 75 | ## She must eventually return home. |
| 76 | * ProtagonistTitle: She's the titular "Wandering Witch". |
| 77 | * ProudBeauty: Elaina's narrations would often have her constantly remind the audience that she is beautiful and she knows it. Heck, her first test to see if she can lie in "The Land of Truth Tellers" has her trying to say that she isn't beautiful, which instead results in her loudly proclaiming that she is. |
| 78 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: She defeats a golem that had ravaged the Commonwealth of Latorita in the “Many Years’ Journey” arc in Volume 7. Why did she take it upon herself to do so? [[ItsPersonal Because the golem flattened the bread she was enjoying, and for no other reason.]] |
| 79 | * SelectiveObliviousness: It's all but stated that Elaina has put two and two together and figured out that [[spoiler:Niké is her mother]] through Fran in "The Two Disciples," but upon thinking about what this knowledge means to her and her ongoing journey, decides to overlook it and not acknowledge it, as she doesn't want her own travels to come to an end just yet. |
| 80 | * SheIsAllGrownUp: The "Many Years' Journey" arc that occupies the last four chapters of Volume 7 star two students at Latorita State University, where Elaina is in a temp faculty position, now in her mid-20s and grown more beautiful. [[spoiler:She returned to Latorita seven years after her initial stay in the country to help [[TimeTravel close out a time loop that the two heroines of the chapter got involved in]], and that involves her sending back a golem seven years in time for her past self to defeat in the country.]] |
| 81 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: She's the spitting image of her mother, so much so that [[spoiler:she gets mistaken for her mother in several of the countries she visits.]] |
| 82 | * SupportingProtagonist: While Elaina's TheProtagonist of the overall series, individual tales typically focus on the characters ''du jour'' she meets along the way. |
| 83 | * TallPoppySyndrome: She had a difficult time finding a mentor who would take her in as an apprentice witch because she was just too young and too talented—whether or not the established witches in Robetta viewed themselves as unworthy of taking on a student like her, or whether they feared her as a threat and sought to blackball her. |
| 84 | * ThouShaltNotKill: She is unwilling to take lives no matter the reason. While she was angry enough to threaten death upon the Slasher [[spoiler:after the latter cut her hair off]], it was PlayedForLaughs and wasn't taken too seriously. It's for this reason that, during "Retroactive Grief," even when [[spoiler:Selena was about to kill her]], she still refuses to use lethal force. [[spoiler:Just being an accessory to Estelle brutally murdering Selena was enough to [[HeroicBSOD shake the normally unflappable Elaina up very badly.]]]] |
| 85 | * TimeStandsStill: [[spoiler:After the events of "A City on Ice," Elaina picks up the time-suspending ice magic spell she had been frozen by in that chapter. As part of her and Avelia's plan to rescue and exonerate Amnesia, Elaina employs this spell at the climax of "Amnesia's Forgotten Homecoming" to temporarily freeze [[BigBad the Rose Witch Elimia's]] security detail from the Holy Knights. Elaina then duels Elimia one-on-one, during which the latter admits her culpability for the crimes Amnesia had been convicted of and sentenced to a "Forgotten Homecoming" for. Elaina crucially does ''not'' freeze the mirror crystal at the site of their battle, allowing the people of Esto to hear her unwitting confession.]] |
| 86 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: She's always seen munching on bread during meals. In fact, whenever she travels to a new country, the first thing she would usually do is to head to the nearest available bakery so she can have a taste of the country's local bread. |
| 87 | * UnreliableNarrator: At times in the light novel, Elaina can be a lot less sharp than she gives herself credit for and has a tendency to miss out on some details in certain situations that readers can pick up on in some of her adventures. A lot of her thoughts also contradict her actions plenty of times throughout the series. |
| 88 | * VillainRespect: Shows a variant toward the people of the Frontier Town of Albed during her stay there. She visits the Magic User Temporary Internment Center—as an undercover tourist, not as a prisoner—and when a local gleefully tells her about how this building is the town's biggest cash cow by holding captured mages and charging exorbitant ransoms to their friends and family on the outside, she can't help but grudgingly admire how the people of this town have a ruthlessly clever racket going on. She, of course, doesn't have to play by their rules no matter how much she admires it, as when the local tries to pressure her into paying her for this information, she pays with a copper coin enchanted to look like gold. [[spoiler:And when she pays Amnesia's ransom to the prison guard, she pays him 20 copper coins enchanted to look like gold, and she and Amnesia leave the town ''long'' before the guards figure out what happened.]] |
| 89 | * WanderingWizard: The whole point of her journey, and the premise of the series, is the witch wandering from one country to the next for no reason other than to see what is there. |
| 90 | * WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Has a ''severe'' allergy to cats, and this plot point comes up several times in the LN and in a Drama CD episode or two. It gets cured after the events of "The Curse of Immortality" in Volume 8, after which she becomes a fanatical cat lover. |
| 91 | [[/folder]] |
| 92 | |
| 93 | ! Recurring Characters |
| 94 | These characters make regular reappearances in the light novel either as major supporting characters for Elaina or as protagonists in their own right in some chapters. While other characters not listed here may reappear after their debut volumes, the below characters are the ones who get the most focus behind Elaina herself. |
| 95 | [[folder:Fran]] |
| 96 | !!Fran |
| 97 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KanaHanazawa (Japanese), Creator/JadSaxton (English) |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fbf7cc23_1b04_407f_a115_5dc0442a231d.png]] |
| 100 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Stardust Witch]] |
| 101 | |
| 102 | A fully-fledged witch from a distant country, who came to Elaina's hometown to train Elaina at her parents' behest. |
| 103 | ---- |
| 104 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: She can be a bit of a clumsy weirdo, but her skills and talents as a witch are unquestionable. |
| 105 | * BrilliantButLazy: She has immense magical talent and power, but would prefer to laze about if given the chance; Elaina describes her as "the type of person who skips out on lessons to chase butterflies, and who, as a rule, sleeps through the afternoon". [[spoiler:As Elaina observes firsthand in "The Night It Rained Stardust", she was like this even as a child.]] |
| 106 | * ChildProdigy: [[spoiler:Despite having never so much as picked up a wand or cast a spell before the age of thirteen, she quickly discovered that she has a talent for magic during her week with Elaina in the ruins of Bielawald, to the point Elaina grudgingly admits in her diary that Fran may very well have more magical talent than she does. Additionally, given that she is 35 and Elaina is 19 at the time of their reunion in Bielawald, she can't have been much older than the newly-minted Ashen Witch Elaina was when she herself became a full-fledged witch.]] |
| 107 | * ConnectedAllAlong: [[spoiler:Elaina is not only her apprentice and the daughter of her master; she was also the witch who first taught her how to use magic when she was transported 22 years into the future as a 13-year-old. During Elaina's apprenticeship, Fran was very well aware that her apprentice would become the very witch who would go on to mentor ''her'' during her week in the future, but kept this secret up until she returns to Bielawald and finds Elaina seeing her younger self off back to the past.]] |
| 108 | * EccentricMentor: She's whimsical and seemingly carefree, exasperating Elaina numerous times during her days as an apprentice witch under her. However, despite her quirks and how Elaina thinks of her, she's still a very powerful and talented witch of her own right and is still someone Elaina looks up to for guidance whenever she's in need of it. This was {{inverted|Trope}} in her youth, where Fran was a lot more serious as a student while she studied under her own eccentric master. |
| 109 | * EyesAlwaysShut: Her eyes are always closed by default. However, she does open them during her more serious moments. This was {{subverted|Trope}} when she was younger during her apprenticeship period [[spoiler:and when she was an orphan]] where they were always open instead. |
| 110 | * FriendlessBackground: [[spoiler:She grew up this way in Bielawald, being an orphan who was disinclined to involve herself with others and preferred to immerse herself in the books in the country's library.]] |
| 111 | * TheGadfly: Comes with the package of being a TricksterMentor. She's fond of teasing students under her, especially Elaina, and some of her lessons usually come in the form of playful, but also meaningful, pranks. |
| 112 | * GoneHorriblyRight: In trying to get Elaina to stand up for herself, Fran pushes Elaina to her breaking point, but what Fran hadn't realized is it wasn't just her "training" that was weighing on Elaina, but also the psychological pressure from ''years'' of heightened expectations other have of her due to her magical prowess. |
| 113 | * IHatePastMe: Like Elaina, she was also a fan of ''The Adventures of Niké'', and during her youth even wrote a similar book about her own adventures. However, she was too embarrassed to publish it and thus kept it in her bag, only to accidentally sell the manuscript along with the bag when she sold it to a pawnshop, and now she cringes at the thought of anyone reading it. Unbeknownst to her, ''The Adventures of Fran'' was also a bestseller. |
| 114 | * LethalChef: She ''cannot'' cook to save her life, much to Elaina's chagrin during their time together. |
| 115 | * MamaBear: When one of her students tries to get info about Elaina's panties, Fran blows him away. |
| 116 | * MasterApprenticeChain: [[spoiler:Niké]] taught Fran, who was her first apprentice witch, so it's only fitting that it's Fran who gets to teach Elaina, [[spoiler:her master's only daughter]]. |
| 117 | * MeaningfulName: Although her title, the "Stardust Witch", was given to her because of the RuleOfCool, Elaina notes that it's actually significant [[spoiler:given that her native Bielawald was built on top of the fragment of its eponymous comet. Fran was literally born on stardust.]] |
| 118 | * TheMentor: For Elaina in the light novel and the first episode. [[spoiler:This was {{inverted|Trope}} in her younger years as she was mentored by Elaina's mother. Fran writes letters and even visits her master in Robetta, Elaina's home country, from time to time.]] [[spoiler:It's made even muddier given that Elaina was the one who first taught her how to use magic to begin with when she was transported to the main series' timeline timeline as a 13-year-old orphan; moreover, many of the spells Elaina teaches 13-year-old Fran during their week together are spells that Elaina had learned from a thirty-something Fran during her apprenticeship.]] |
| 119 | * MistakenForSpecialGuest: In a country Elaina visits, ''The Adventures of Fran'' is a bestseller, to the point where the country has put up a giant statue of Fran and has many street stalls selling paraphernalia bearing her likeness. Regardless of Fran's low opinion of what she had written, she had sold a bag that supposedly belonged to a legendary traveler with her manuscript in it. She thus gets mistaken as ''that'' traveler, with the cover of her book even having the king of the country endorsing her as a legendary traveler. |
| 120 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After putting Elaina through an ''intense'' training session, the latter breaks down in tears, much to the former's horror and guilt. |
| 121 | * OlderThanTheyLook: Fran is already in her mid-30s (specifically, 35 by the time she and Elaina, then 19, reunited at Bielawald), yet looks like in her late teens or early 20s. |
| 122 | * ParentalSubstitute: While Elaina's mother is still around, Fran essentially served as the girl's second mother figure after having lived together under the same roof for a year. |
| 123 | * ThePromise: [[spoiler:"The Night It Rained Stardust," the final chapter of Volume 8, shows that her true homeland is ''not'' Celesteria, but Bielawald, a now-abandoned country named for a comet that passes every 22 years and causes strange natural phenomena in its wake. Fran was an orphan who, at age thirteen, was chosen as a HumanSacrifice by the local authorities for [[CuriosityKilledTheCast questioning the country's traditions and secrets too much]]. But when the comet came, [[TimeTravel she was mysteriously transported 22 years into the future]], where she met Elaina, her future apprentice, in the abandoned ruins of her homeland. Elaina recognized her and taught her enough magic to defend herself over a week, at the end of which the comet has returned, forcing Fran to return to her era. Fran promises Elaina that she will meet her here again once she grows up, and fulfills this promise just after Elaina sees her younger self off.]] |
| 124 | * RedOniBlueOni: The calm, collected, and demure Blue to Sheila's passionate Red during their apprentice days. |
| 125 | * RuleOfCool: Her reason for why she calls herself the "Stardust Witch" and why she gave Elaina the "Ashen Witch" title? They simply sound awesome. "The Two Masters" reveals that she got her naming convention from her master, [[spoiler:Niké]]. |
| 126 | * TricksterMentor: While initially reluctant to do so, she has Elaina do nothing but simple house chores for an ''entire month'' just to see if Elaina would have the guts to call her out on it. |
| 127 | * WalkingTheEarth: This came with the territory of being [[spoiler:Niké’s]] apprentice, and after becoming a full-fledged witch, she would travel on her own for a stint before settling into a day job as a magic teacher. |
| 128 | [[/folder]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[folder:Saya]] |
| 131 | !!Saya |
| 132 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomoyoKurosawa (Japanese), Creator/DaniChambers (English) |
| 133 | |
| 134 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8f49f5a4_eb1b_4cca_b144_7aabf31922b2.png]] |
| 135 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Charcoal Witch]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | A novice witch from a faraway country who traveled to the Land of Mages to further advance her training. There she met Elaina, who helps her pass her exams. |
| 138 | ---- |
| 139 | * AllAPartOfTheJob: Her work with the United Magic Association occasionally has her performing law enforcement-esque duties. This usually isn't a problem for her, but sometimes it puts her into JustFollowingOrders situations. [[spoiler:It causes great tragedy for her when she has to apprehend Monica, her old friend from the Land of Mages, in "The Resurrection Lily That Blooms in Solitude" in her capacity as a witch dispatched by the Association.]] |
| 140 | * AmbiguouslyGay: She's blatantly and shamelessly head over heels for Elaina. She fakes being an IneptMage just to get her attention and guidance. After she finally becomes an apprentice witch, she states in a newspaper article that she plans on finding the person she loves once she becomes a full witch. In every future appearance she makes, she's even more shameless about it. The only reason it's "ambiguous" here is that it's never made clear whether or not Saya's into girls in general, or if it's only Elaina she's attracted to. |
| 141 | * BoyishShortHair: She has this. |
| 142 | * BrutalHonesty: Her reunion with Elaina in "The Land of Truth Tellers" shows that she has picked up her mentor's habit of speaking her mind, though, in Saya's case, it also serves to make her crush on Elaina all the more transparent. |
| 143 | * ClingyJealousGirl: When she meets Amnesia in "Welcome to the Den of Crime" in Volume 8 and listens to her backstory, her initial reaction is to wonder whether Elaina has been picking up multiple girlfriends without her knowledge. |
| 144 | * CuteWitch: She's a young newbie witch whose dorkiness and fangirling over Elaina are played endearingly. |
| 145 | * ExpositoryPronoun: She uses the pronoun "boku" to refer to herself, which pairs with her BoyishShortHair to give her a tomboyish look. |
| 146 | * FantasyCounterpartCulture: Her and Mina's homeland is stated to be far to the east of the Land of Mages, and she specifically calls out 土下座 (''dogeza''), her manner of bowing to Elaina, as a traditional manner of prostrating oneself in her homeland. Her ethnicity is thus something vaguely Japanese. That having been said, she seldom talks about her homeland, its culture, or about her life before coming to the Land of Mages. |
| 147 | * HatesBeingAlone: Part of the reason she's initially very clingy to Elaina is that she doesn't want to be alone after her little sister left her. She gets over it after receiving Elaina's spare hat as a gift. |
| 148 | * HeroicBSOD: Goes through one in "The Resurrection Lily That Blooms in Solitude" in Volume 9, [[spoiler:Saya had been called to the homeland of her friend Monica to apprehend a serial killer, who turns out to be Monica, who had spent months euthanizing victims of Lycoris Disease, an incurable terminal disease. [[IDidWhatIHadto Saya thus had to defeat her and turn her in]], but only learned of her motivations afterwards from the hospital coroner, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone much to her horror and regret]]. By the time Saya reaches the execution grounds outside the city walls, Monica has already been fatally stabbed by soldiers, and was also already dying of the disease.]] |
| 149 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: She has her own adventures separate from Elaina that occasionally get focused on in several chapters. |
| 150 | * HeroWorshipper: Is this in spades towards Elaina. Even her title, "Charcoal Witch," was deliberately chosen to be as closely related to Elaina's as possible. |
| 151 | * IneptMage: Played with. While she ''does'' appear to be genuinely weak at magic, she exaggerates parts of it, such as her ability to fly on a broomstick, in order to get Elaina to teach her. By the time she reunites with Elaina in the Land of Truth Tellers, she's become a full-fledged witch in her own right. |
| 152 | * NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Among other things, she enters Elaina's bathroom without the latter's permission and breaks into Elaina's room for the chance to snuggle up to her in her bed. When she returns in Episode 6, she outright tells Elaina that she's excited to do it all over again when given the chance and is excited at the possibility that they could share the same bed and bathe together. |
| 153 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness The events of "The Resurrection Lily That Blooms in Solitude," [[spoiler:which ended with the death of her friend Monica]], left her so depressed that even Sheila can pick up on it. |
| 154 | * SingleTargetSexuality: She's only interested in Elaina and no one else. |
| 155 | * TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:Receives Monica's diary from Elaina by way of Sheila in Volume 10, which helps her turn the page on her friend's death a the end of "The Resurrection Lily That Blooms in Solitude."]] |
| 156 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: PlayedForLaughs in "The Wall Etched by Travelers." Saya deciding to etch her love for Elaina on the titular wall and convincing the townsfolk to write their desires on it ultimately leads to the wall's destruction by the time Elaina arrives. This is made even funnier in the light novel version since Saya decided to etch her love for Elaina after seeing Niké's writing, whom Saya recognizes as writing of [[spoiler:Elaina's mother [[LikeMotherLikeDaughter due to the similarities.]]]] |
| 157 | [[/folder]] |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[folder:Sheila]] |
| 160 | !!Sheila |
| 161 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YokoHikasa (Japanese), Creator/LeahClark (English) |
| 162 | |
| 163 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/996aa380_d92d_4806_9410_48caf72814b0.png]] |
| 164 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Midnight Witch]] |
| 165 | |
| 166 | A peer of Fran during their apprenticeship days, currently affiliated with the United Magic Association, and Saya's mentor for her apprenticeship program. |
| 167 | ---- |
| 168 | * ActionGirl: She's more than willing and able to get up close and personal when the situation demands it, as seen in how she headbutts the [[ThievesGuild Antique Hall]] boss to provoke her and then, after freeing herself, sends the boss flying with a kick to retrieve Fran's wand for her. |
| 169 | * GoodCopBadCop: Her disposition and willingness to get up close and personal means she often takes the bad cop role in such scenarios, with others like Elaina in "The Ripper" or Saya in various Drama CD episodes and later volumes playing the good cop. |
| 170 | * JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: She roughs up and threatens the owner of the inn Elaina was staying at in order to get the information she needs to solve the Slasher case. |
| 171 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While she's gruff and a bit of a {{troll}}, she cares a lot for her student and is still good friends with Fran in her adulthood despite their initially rocky relationship. She was also a very devoted student to her master in the past along with Fran, though not without some exasperation towards her antics from time to time. |
| 172 | * LightIsGood: Unlike most witches, Sheila sports a white witch hat and a white jacket that she hangs behind her back. |
| 173 | * MeaningfulName: The name Sheila means "heavenly, heaven" in Latin. |
| 174 | * TheMentor: For Saya. |
| 175 | * NotSoAboveItAll: Even though she's mostly stoic and takes her job seriously, Sheila has displayed a mischievous side and is not above making snide remarks. |
| 176 | * OneDegreeOfSeparation: Little does Elaina know that this witch she randomly met and helped solve "The Ripper" case one day turns out to not only be Saya's mentor but that she's also acquainted with Fran through their mentor in their apprenticeship days: [[spoiler:Elaina's mother, Niké]]. |
| 177 | * RedOniBlueOni: The louder, brasher, and more headstrong red oni to Fran's blue during their apprenticeship period under their master. |
| 178 | * SmokingIsCool: She's frequently seen smoking a pipe which also doubles as her wand in the anime. She smoked cigarettes when she was younger. |
| 179 | * StreetUrchin: As a child, she was poor and had to use her magic to steal from people until Niké turned her life around. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Niké]] |
| 183 | !!Niké[[spoiler:/Victorica]] |
| 184 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShizukaIto (Japanese), Creator/MorganGarrett (English) |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[caption-width-right:225:[[labelnote:Click here for spoiler]][[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/456402.jpg]][[spoiler:"The Ashen Witch"]][[/labelnote]]]] |
| 187 | |
| 188 | A legendary witch and titular character of Elaina's favorite book, ''The Adventures of Niké'', an autobiography of her adventures which eventually served as inspiration for Elaina's (as well as Fran's) own adventures. |
| 189 | ---- |
| 190 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:How she met Fran, who was a 13-year-old orphan at the time. She saved Fran from being sacrificed in the latter's home country, and Fran accompanied her on her travels thereafter. [[HistoryRepeats This is an echo of Niké's own childhood]], as Niké was an orphan who fell into a situation where she was surrounded by hostile soldiers and unscrupulous men who had purchased her, and as luck would have it, a witch saved her and took her in.]] |
| 191 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: [[spoiler:For being the master of two of the powerful witches of the story in Fran and Sheila, Niké can be quite goofy and lands herself in trouble at times in the light novel. When Elaina got into trouble in one the countries she visited, [[LikeMotherLikeDaughter Fran immediately thinks of her master.]]]] |
| 192 | * ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:At the age of ten, she fled the orphanage she was living at, as she found it a very stifling and boring environment. She managed to escape Robetta because none of the guards at the city walls could catch her on her broom, but her life was filled with hardships and danger until she was saved by a witch who would go on to become her master. Her master forbade her from traveling on her own until she became a full witch, and upon achieving this at the age of 18, she would leave her master's home to begin her adventures in earnest.]] |
| 193 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: While her many years of travels are well-documented in ''The Adventures of Niké'', her life before becoming a traveling witch was shrouded in mystery until Volume 15. [[spoiler:She was an orphan who never knew her biological parents, her origins, or anything about her life before she happened to show up at an orphanage in Robetta. Her nanny speculated that she was [[LastOfHerKind the sole survivor of a fallen country]], but provided no evidence to back this up.]] |
| 194 | * HiddenEyes: Her first proper appearance in the anime has her eyes hidden in shadow from the audience. [[spoiler:This is likely done to hide her true identity as Elaina's mother.]] |
| 195 | * HistoryRepeats: [[spoiler:There are aspects of this with both Fran and Elaina on her part:]] |
| 196 | ** [[spoiler:She and Fran were both vulnerable orphans with a knack for magic who got saved by witches in their darkest hours, and they would both eventually become the apprentices of the witches who rescued them. And just as the White Witch was the ParentalSubstitute for Victorica throughout her teens, so too would Victorica be as such for the teenaged Fran.]] |
| 197 | ** [[spoiler:When Elaina is a small child and declares that she wants to travel like Niké did, Victorica tells her that she must first become a full-fledged witch. This was the very condition her master told her she had to fulfill before she would be allowed to RoamTheEarth. Victorica upholds her promise and lets Elaina fly the nest once her daughter becomes a witch, just as the White Witch had done for her.]] |
| 198 | * LikeMotherLikeDaughter: [[spoiler:Even aside from their StrongFamilyResemblance, Elaina inherited many of her mannerisms and interests.]] |
| 199 | * MamaBear: |
| 200 | ** [[spoiler:In one of the light novel chapters, she once commanded Fran to break Elaina's staff when the latter experimented on a potion that makes [[AnimateInanimateObject objects as people]]. Said staff nearly forced itself onto Elaina until the latter was rescued by Fran.]] |
| 201 | ** [[spoiler:Her backstory from Volume 15 sheds another light on why she's so adamant that Elaina not travel until she's a full-fledged witch; Victorica, of all people, would know full well just how dangerous it is for a small girl to RoamTheEarth by herself without any means of financially supporting herself or sufficient means of defending herself.]] |
| 202 | * TheMentor: [[spoiler:Fran and Sheila]] were both her students in the past. Also, in the light novel, [[spoiler:she's also the reason as to why Elaina was quickly able to become an apprentice witch at the age of 14. Elaina was even surprised that her mother is quite proficient at magic, indicating that Elaina doesn't know much of her mother's past.]] |
| 203 | * MotherlySidePlait: She wore her braided hair this way in flashbacks. [[spoiler:It also serves as a visual hint to her identity. While she loses the braid sometime later, she fittingly kept this hairstyle when she became an actual mother in the present day.]] |
| 204 | * MythologyGag: Per the author's notes from Volume 15, Niké is named for the Greek goddess of victory. [[spoiler:Her real name, Victorica, is derived from the Roman name for said goddess.]] |
| 205 | * PenName: "Niké, the Witch of the Travels" is a pseudonym she uses for the books she writes. [[spoiler:Her real name is later revealed to be "Victorica", and her true witch title is revealed to have been "the Ashen Witch"—the very same title that Fran would give her daughter many years later.]] |
| 206 | * RetiredBadass: She ultimately settled down after she was done adventuring in spite of her talents as a witch. |
| 207 | * RoamTheEarth: She was famous for traveling around the world and it inspired both Fran and Elaina to do the same. |
| 208 | * RuleOfCool: [[spoiler:Her rationale for giving Sheila and Fran witch titles based on each other's hair color. She received her real witch title based on her hair color as well, but her master's rationale was simply because that was the custom for the witches of her country; for reference, her master had white hair and was called "the White Witch".]] |
| 209 | * TakeAThirdOption: In "The Two Masters", she uses this method when both of her students start bickering over something. |
| 210 | * TricksterMentor: [[spoiler:Fran and Sheila]] got their more mischievous sides as mentors from her. |
| 211 | * WalkingSpoiler: Her identity alone is a spoiler in itself, so a lot of her trope entries are covered in spoiler marks. |
| 212 | * WorldsStrongestWoman: Though fights aren't the series' main forte, Jougi Shiraishi, the author of the series, has stated that Niké is the most powerful witch InUniverse. |
| 213 | [[/folder]] |
| 214 | |
| 215 | [[folder:Amnesia]] |
| 216 | !!Amnesia |
| 217 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KonomiKohara (Japanese), Creator/NatalieHoover (English) |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/do9tl8ha_400x400_5.jpg]] |
| 220 | %%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]] |
| 221 | |
| 222 | A mysterious young girl who suffers from memory loss whenever she falls asleep. She is on a journey to the Holy City of Esto. |
| 223 | ----- |
| 224 | * AmnesiacsAreInnocent: Elaina describes her as being always cheerful, always happy-go-lucky, and always wearing a childlike smile when asking questions during their travels. [[spoiler:She's not ''as'' nice after regaining her memories, with her internal thoughts being somewhat meaner, but is still overall a very nice person on aggregate.]] |
| 225 | * BreakoutCharacter: According to Shiraishi's notes from the end of Volume 5, he brought back Amnesia immediately as a recurring character because there was significant demand from fans and his editor for more content involving her and Avelia after the conclusion of their arc in Volume 4. |
| 226 | * ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:After her name is cleared when the true culprit for the crimes she was convicted of boasts about having done the deeds herself, the government of the Holy City of Esto offers her whatever she wants to atone for the myriad injustices their society had inflicted on her. Her only request is for herself, Elaina, and Avelia to be able to leave the city without losing their memories thereof, and she and Avelia RoamTheEarth afterward in search of a new hometown. Elaina speculates that Amnesia made this decision because all of her memories of Esto are bitter and sad, while her memories of traveling with Elaina are much happier.]] |
| 227 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Is happy-go-lucky to a fault and can be quite oblivious, and has an EstablishingCharacterMoment regarding this in her introduction chapter, all while she's ''caged, handcuffed, and on a leash'' to boot: |
| 228 | --->'''Patrolman:''' "We're here. This is the internment center." |
| 229 | --->'''Amnesia:''' "Amazing...! [[ComicallyMissingThePoint You're saying I can stay in a huge castle like this?]] Nice!" |
| 230 | ---> '''Patrolman''': "Why, you! Do you understand what you've done? You've entered our country without permission! How about feeling a little more remorseful of your crime?" |
| 231 | * CoolSword: Wields a saber and is very adept with it, and it serves as her main means of fighting as a non-mage. |
| 232 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: The main focal character of most of Volume 4 just after Elaina. She even gets to join Elaina in her adventures in the latter half of the aforementioned volume due to her connection and importance to Elaina's goal for the said latter half of the volume. |
| 233 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: After she and Elaina leave the Frontier Town of Albed, two of the country's soldiers muse about how strange her situation is—the fact that she has lost her memories in the outside world despite being a citizen of Esto is meant to signal to the reader that something is terribly amiss with her situation. |
| 234 | * GoneHorriblyRight: Elaina, wishing to visit the mysterious Holy City of Esto, decides to accompany Amnesia on her quest to return to her hometown. [[spoiler:As it turns out, under the terms of Amnesia's "Forgotten Homecoming" sentence, ''she is arrested as soon as they reach the city gates and scheduled to be executed the next day.'' Elaina and Avelia have to scramble to rescue her from this outcome.]] |
| 235 | * HatedHometown: Averted. [[spoiler:Although she certainly would be justified in hating Esto for everything the city subject her to, she admits she doesn't, musing that if the shoe were on the other foot and she was a mage and someone else in the city wasn't, she'd likely have treated them as others treated her, as [[HumansAreBastards that's just how people are]].]] |
| 236 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: After the end of her and Avelia's arc in Volume 4, [[spoiler:their subsequent appearances and adventures in the light novel have them star as co-protagonists during their journey to find a new hometown to settle in, and they only occasionally cross paths with Elaina in their chapters.]] |
| 237 | * LastEpisodeNewCharacter: She bumps into Elaina in TheStinger of the anime's final episode. Amnesia becomes one of the light novel series' recurring characters after her debut in Volume 4. |
| 238 | * MeaningfulName: Her name is "Amnesia" and she suffers from memory loss whenever she falls asleep. |
| 239 | * MistakenForSpecialGuest: Or enemy in her case. In TheStinger of the anime's final episode, she and Elaina unwittingly swap their red books after bumping into each other, with Amnesia taking Elaina's ''Wandering Witch'' and Elaina taking Amnesia's ''Read This When You Wake Up in the Morning''. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Given Amnesia's condition]], that causes problems for her when she wakes up the very next day. [[spoiler:The two met in the Frontier Town of Albed, which forbids entry to mages and where any mages that ''are'' caught in town are summarily imprisoned and held for ransom. The next morning, Amnesia comes to think that ''she's'' Elaina, the Ashen Witch, because she read ''Wandering Witch'' when she woke up. After telling some of the townsfolk that she's the Ashen Witch and forgot how to use magic, she gets reported and imprisoned. The real Elaina has to pass herself off as a friend to pay her ransom, get her diary back, and begin their journey for Amnesia's hometown.]] |
| 240 | * NiceGirl: Is very kind and innocent. Her sister Avelia describes her as someone who wouldn't even hurt a bug, and by the end of their journey together, Elaina comes to describe her as an incredible person. |
| 241 | * NoRespectGuy: [[spoiler:As one of the unlucky few born without the ability to use magic in the Holy City of Esto, a highly technologically advanced, isolationist, magical supremacist country, she was treated like this her entire life. To make a point of this, she was even made a ''subordinate to her younger sister'' in the Holy Knights, as Avelia is a mage. This is also why she was so easily framed and convicted of the crimes that got her exiled, as her testimony as a non-magic user meant nothing and, to make things worse for her, her accuser was the city's last remaining witch.]] |
| 242 | * NoteToSelf: Her diary, entitled ''Read This When You Wake Up in the Morning'', opens with one that informs her that her name is Amnesia; that she is seventeen years old; that her hometown is the Holy City of Esto; that she has an illness that erases her memories every night; and directs her to write everything she sees and does daily as she continues her march home. |
| 243 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Given her happy-go-lucky personality, those close to her know something has gone seriously wrong on the rare occasion where she deviates from her baseline. |
| 244 | ** [[spoiler:After Elaina awakens from having gotten cryogenically frozen in "A City on Ice", she can tell just by looking at Amnesia's somber, despondent face that the latter had to do something terrible to save her, and [[YouDoNotWantToKnow decides not to ask her about it]]. Remembering Amnesia's behavior here is a big reason why Elaina doubts that Amnesia truly committed the heinous crimes she had been convicted of and exiled for, and why she ultimately agrees to lend Avelia her aid to save her sister from the chopping block.]] |
| 245 | ** In Avelia's flashback in "Amnesia's Forgotten Homecoming", she describes her sister as someone who wears a smile at all times and rarely ever shows any pain she may truly be feeling. [[spoiler:She could thus tell that something was horribly off when at her sister's trial for the murder of four witches, Amnesia was crying her eyes out and glaring at Elimia, quickly and correctly deducing that Elimia was the true culprit and had framed Amnesia for her murders.]] |
| 246 | * TheScapegoat: [[spoiler:A result of DiggingTooDeep when investigating the magical source of water pollution affecting a neighboring city in her capacity as a Holy Knight of Esto. When going into the sewers of the Holy City to find the source of the pollution, she discovers the decaying, dissected corpses of four of the city's witches, with the culprit—the Rose Witch Elimia—capturing her and pinning the blame on her. Amnesia is thus framed for Elimia's crimes and officially convicted of inflicting toxic pollution on another country and killing four witches to try and steal their magic. She is then sentenced to a "Forgotten Homecoming", where she is exiled from Esto, cursed to lose her memories whenever she falls asleep, and to be executed upon her return to the Holy City.]] |
| 247 | * SingleTargetSexuality: Toward Elaina, much like Saya. [[spoiler:Elaina's broom speculates that this came to be because for a good portion of Amnesia's amnesiac journey, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe Elaina was the constant presence in her life who cared for her]], watched over her as she fell asleep, and told her who she was when she woke up in the morning, and thus became ''immensely'' important for her peace of mind; there were many days, as the day of "A City on Ice", where Amnesia would have never known a morning ''without'' Elaina.]] |
| 248 | * SitcomArchnemesis: To Saya, who ''really'' dislikes her as Amnesia is also in love with Elaina. Noted, this mostly applies for the Drama [=CDs=], which must concoct scenarios to get all the recurring characters in one town at once; canonically, Saya very rarely crosses paths with Amnesia or pays her much thought. |
| 249 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: With Avelia, her younger sister. Elaina even notes that the sisters really would look identical if Avelia cut her hair and swapped her hair ribbon out for a hairband. |
| 250 | * TheseHandsHaveKilled: [[spoiler:Is forced to slay the Great Witch Rudela in a frozen city in order to rescue its cryogenically frozen inhabitants, a group which includes Elaina herself not long after they arrive and learn what's going on. In the light novel rendition of this event, it's clear that this is a traumatic experience for her, as she's shown having great difficulty approaching Rudela to kill her despite her self-rationalizations about how she's perfect for this job as she'll forget having done it the next morning, or how [[DeathSeeker Rudela herself is prepared to die]], or how she has to do this if she wants Elaina back. When she stabs Rudela through the chest, she describes the agony as so great that it feels like she herself was on the receiving end. After everyone in the city awakens, Amnesia can't bear to tell Elaina that she killed someone for her sake, and Elaina can tell that whatever happened, Amnesia is feeling very guilty about it. When Amnesia [[BleedEmAndWeep breaks down sobbing and apologizing in Elaina's arms]] after they leave the city, Elaina decides she ''can't'' bring herself to ask what happened, [[GutFeeling feeling that she, too, would weep if she learned what Amnesia had to do to save everyone]].]] |
| 251 | * TheUnFavorite: [[spoiler:She was shunned by her parents for no other reason than [[MuggleBornToMages being born without the ability to use magic]], and she left home to join the Holy Knights because she was sick of their poor treatment of her. However, given [[FantasticRacism how magical supremacy is an article of faith in Esto]], this move was a sidegrade at best. In contrast, from her recollection, her parents adored Avelia, who was a talented mage, and Amnesia felt that Avelia had no need to leave home or join the Holy Knights accordingly.]] |
| 252 | * WakingUpElsewhere: A regular occurrence for her, as she is an extremely fitful sleeper who often wakes up under her bed or even in ''other'' people's beds and even punches and thrashes in her sleep. According to Avelia, she was apparently always like this. |
| 253 | * WalkingSpoiler: As one can tell from all the whited-out spoilers, it's hard to talk about why Amnesia is traveling without any memories without spoiling anything significant about the latter half of Volume 4, her backstory, or how her situation came to be. |
| 254 | * WhenSheSmiles: Elaina describes her smile as being very beautiful, akin to a blooming flower. |
| 255 | * TheWoobie: An InUniverse example. |
| 256 | ** After only a few days together, Elaina can't help but take pity on her for her condition. She finds it very sad and painful that no matter what happens on any given day or how friendly the two get, Amnesia will ask her "Who are you?" when she wakes up the next day. |
| 257 | ** These sentiments are strengthened after she learns Amnesia's story from the mouth of her younger sister Avelia, [[spoiler:finding it horrific that Amnesia was treated so poorly all her life for no other crime than the great misfortune of [[UnSorcerer being born without the ability to use magic in an all-mage, magical supremacist society]].]] |
| 258 | ** She was one for Chocolat, a character first introduced in Volume 2, to the point that the latter spent a large sum of money researching Amnesia's hometown, approximating its location on a map, and pointing her in the right direction. |
| 259 | ** [[spoiler:At long last, she becomes one for the Holy City of Esto upon her exoneration for the crimes she had been exiled for, as overnight, the citizens go from thinking of her as a heinous crime to pitying her as a victim for all she had suffered.]] |
| 260 | [[/folder]] |
| 261 | |
| 262 | [[folder:Avelia]] |
| 263 | !!Avelia |
| 264 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MihoOkasaki (Japanese) |
| 265 | |
| 266 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dd3qrkvumaaf14s.jpg]] |
| 267 | %%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | Amnesia's younger sister and a top-ranking member of the Order of Holy Knights tasked with keeping the peace in the Holy City of Esto. |
| 270 | ---- |
| 271 | * AloofAlly: Elaina notes that in public life as a top-ranking Holy Knight of Esto, [[spoiler:Avelia treats Amnesia as a criminal. In reality, Avelia dearly loves her sister and has been waiting a year for her opportunity to save her with her memories intact, but knows very well that she would arouse the suspicion of her countrymen and colleagues if she let it on at all.]] |
| 272 | * BigDamnHeroes: Gets a moment of this she had been waiting a year for at the climax of "Amnesia's Forgotten Homecoming", where [[spoiler:after being called on to behead Amnesia, she uses her box RunningGag as a RedHerring to fool her countrymen into thinking she was arriving in the crowd at the stands. As soon as the MC opens the box to discover nobody's there, Avelia swoops in from the sky to pick up Amnesia, unbound her, and fly away from the chopping block with her sister in tow.]] |
| 273 | * BreakoutCharacter: According to Shiraishi's notes from the end of Volume 5, he brought back Avelia immediately as a recurring character because there was significant demand from fans and his editor for more content involving her and Amnesia after the conclusion of their arc in Volume 4. There’s a reason she has appeared in every Drama CD release so far, despite not appearing in the anime adaptation. |
| 274 | * AChildShallLeadThem: She was below the age of seventeen when she attained her high rank in the Holy Knights. |
| 275 | * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Hiding under boxes to do undercover work? Are we talking about Avelia, or about [[Characters/MetalGear1 Solid Snake]]? |
| 276 | * FirstPersonSmartass: Even moreso than Elaina, the internal thoughts of Avelia that the reader is privy to are far snarkier than her even more polite speech patterns belie. For instance, when she looks outside to see Elaina talking with her broom: |
| 277 | --> '''Avelia (thinking)''': Who is she? A ManicPixieDreamGirl? Wait, hold on. The broom is talking back to Elaina. But it's got her voice... Is it {{ventriloquism}}? Manic pixie dream girl, confirmed. |
| 278 | * GeniusDitz: For all her talents at magic and professional success, she can be very bad at strategic planning. [[spoiler:Indeed, Elaina has to spend a night helping her refine her plan to rescue her sister to account for such things as [[EveryoneChasingYou the entire potentially-hostile population of Esto being mages]] or [[LaserGuidedAmnesia the city being surrounded by a barrier that erases the memories of foreigners who have visited]], and her first get rich quick scheme once she and her sister have left the city is an immediate bust.]] |
| 279 | * GeniusSlob: Elaina describes her house as being extremely messy, so despite the high salary she commands and luxurious housing she can afford, her residence in practice doesn't feel very spacious due to how cluttered it is. |
| 280 | * GreenEyedMonster: Not regarding her literal green eyes, so much as her protectiveness over her older sister. While not nearly to the extent of Mina regarding Saya, she does display some envy toward Elaina for being Amnesia's love interest. That having been said, [[IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy she prioritizes her sister's happiness]], and accordingly tells Elaina to go see her when they do meet again in "Welcome to the Cat Ears Café". |
| 281 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: After the end of her and Amnesia's arc in Volume 4, [[spoiler:their subsequent appearances and adventures in the light novel have them star as co-protagonists during their journey to find a new hometown to settle in, and they only occasionally cross paths with Elaina in their chapters.]] |
| 282 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: Played with, as being clumsy and ditzy means she can do this at times. She gives Elaina a very bad first impression by telling the witch she had been stalking her ever since her arrival in Esto, and Elaina is only willing to hear her out when she takes off the box and reveals her identity as Amnesia's sister. |
| 283 | * TheKlutz: Can be very, very clumsy. One of the colored art pieces for Volume 8 even features her tripping while working at Coco's Cat Café and not just dropping a customer's breakfast order, but ''throwing it across the premises''. In "Welcome to the Cat Ears Café", she's shown doing this multiple times before crawling under a crate, dejected by her failures. |
| 284 | * MyGreatestFailure: A year prior to "Amnesia's Forgotten Homecoming", she had fatefully declined to accompany her sister to the sewers for an investigation. [[spoiler:She considers this to have kicked off the chain of events that led to Amnesia [[DugTooDeep uncovering something she wasn't supposed to down there]], [[TheScapegoat getting passed off as a murderer]], and being sentenced to a Forgotten Homecoming. Avelia thus believes on some level that what happened to Amnesia is her fault, and that she needs to save her no matter what.]] |
| 285 | * MysticalWhiteHair: She's a white-haired magic user. |
| 286 | * PaperThinDisguise: She shows up to her interview at Coco's Cat Café wearing the uniform of the Holy Knights and cat ears and a tail and chances upon Elaina, [[MistakenForSpecialGuest who had been pulled into the back of house after being mistaken for her]]. Elaina is neither fooled nor amused when Avelia tries telling her that she's an IdenticalStranger cat girl and not the mage she knows from Esto—and it doesn't help that she briefly slips up and forgets to meow. |
| 287 | * RunningGag: When she first joined the Holy Knights, she got herself a box to hide under to do undercover work; however, because she is the only person in Esto to hide under a box and does so even when off the clock, everyone in the city knows it's her when they see a box shuffling around the streets. [[spoiler:She does successfully leverage this as a RedHerring in her BigDamnHeroes moment to rescue her sister, and this gag ''does'' prove effective for covert operations in countries far away from Esto where nobody knows Avelia or about her habit of hiding under boxes.]] |
| 288 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Her name according to the Yen On English-language localization is Avelia, but her name is also very commonly spelled Avilia by fans, as that was how her name was rendered in the Vietnamese-language localization. |
| 289 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: With Amnesia, to the point Elaina even notes that she really would be identical to her sister if she cut her hair and swapped her hair ribbon out for a thick hairband. |
| 290 | * TeenGenius: Is said to be a genius at magic, and this is why she rose so quickly through the ranks of the Holy Knights of Esto [[GeniusDitz despite being a ditz who often makes careless mistakes]]. That having been said, she does ''not'' hold the rank of Witch like Elaina and Estelle do. Whether this is because she isn't as powerful or talented a mage as they are or because she simply isn't interested in taking the exam and going through the witch apprenticeship process is left unclear. |
| 291 | * ThickerThanWater: Is very devoted to Amnesia, and she left their parents' home and joined the Holy Knights just to be with her. [[spoiler:She alone believed in her sister's innocence during and after Amnesia's trial that ended with her getting convicted and sentenced to a Forgotten Homecoming. She boded her time waiting for her opportunity to save Amnesia, despite the overwhelmingly negative public opinion of her sister and the ruin that a failure to do so would entail for her. She also willingly [[RichesToRags gives up her high salary and luxurious home]] to RoamTheEarth with Amnesia after the latter is freed and cleared of all charges, and their subsequent appearances in the series are during their journey for a new hometown to settle in.]] |
| 292 | * VerbalTic: Has a very formal manner of speech and tends to end her sentences with なのです (nanodesu) in the Japanese version. |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
| 294 | |
| 295 | %%[[folder:Broom]] |
| 296 | %%!!Broom |
| 297 | %% Elaina's broom, first given human form in Volume 3 and returning as a supporting character for her mistress in later volumes, be it in broom form or human form. |
| 298 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 299 | |
| 300 | ! Introduced in Volume 1 |
| 301 | [[folder:Mirarosé]] |
| 302 | !!Mirarosé |
| 303 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/{{Lynn}} (Japanese), Creator/CaitlinGlass (English) |
| 304 | |
| 305 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4f32f64c_8963_4c8d_8f9e_8cc4106c46f9.jpeg]] |
| 306 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[spoiler:The Princess Without Subjects]]]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | Mirarosé is a princess of a now destroyed kingdom, suffering from amnesia. |
| 309 | ---- |
| 310 | * AffablyEvil: She's nothing but genuinely pleasant and hospitable to Elaina throughout the latter's stay in her empty country. [[spoiler:She was also responsible for her country's demise by turning her father into the monstrous Javalier in revenge for the death of her lover and newborn child after going off her rocker without care for the collateral damage and casualties she caused after.]] |
| 311 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: Turns out to be part of one. [[spoiler:Her father's idea of a ParentalMarriageVeto? To pull a UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} on her lover and their child. Her response? To turn him into an AndIMustScream DraconicAbomination... In the end, a whole kingdom is the victim of its royal family's problems at home.]] |
| 312 | * DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:After he killed her lover and caused the death of her child, Mirarosé cursed her father and destroyed her own country.]] |
| 313 | * EvilCostumeSwitch: Mirarosé switches her initial red gown for a black one on the night she goes through with her plan of slaying the Javalier as per the letter's instructions. [[spoiler:Moments later, it's then revealed that the Javalier was ''her father'' and that she was the one who transformed him into the beast in the first place, making her responsible for her own country's downfall. She caps this off by laughing madly as she painfully slaughters what used to be her father until she messily slices his head off.]] |
| 314 | * FeminineWomenCanCook: She looks feminine and can cook foods, especially bread, that looks and tastes delicious. Elaina even comment on how tasty it was. [[spoiler:It turns out she learn it from her lover, a royal baker and cook.]] |
| 315 | * HatesTheirParent: [[spoiler:The execution of her lover and forced abortion of their child left Mirarosé a burning hatred of her father, leading to the kingdom in ruins.]] |
| 316 | * LaughingMad: [[spoiler:Does this after killing her father, whom she transformed into a monster, as the satisfaction of her grief on her lover's death.]] |
| 317 | * LoveMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler:Mirarosé loved and had a child with a cook, whom her father tortured and executed. This made her snap and cursed her father, the country, and herself into ruin.]] |
| 318 | * NoKillLikeOverkill: Her rampage on the Javalier was ''not'' pretty. |
| 319 | * {{Patricide}}: Mirarosé, [[spoiler:during her downward spiral of madness, kills her own father.]] |
| 320 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: [[spoiler:Her witch powers are enough to decimate her own kingdom.]] |
| 321 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Mirarosé wants revenge [[spoiler:on her father, who was cursed into becoming a monster, for killing her lover.]] |
| 322 | * TragicVillain: She ends up [[spoiler:destroying her own kingdom after her father killed her poor lover and then her newborn child. Seeing her beyond help after the fact, Elaina leaves Mirarosé to her own devices and sets off without a word.]] |
| 323 | * UptownGirl: [[spoiler:She's a princess who fell in love with the royal baker. This led to ''very'' tragic consequences.]] |
| 324 | [[/folder]] |
| 325 | |
| 326 | [[folder:Emil]] |
| 327 | !!Emil |
| 328 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AoiIchikawa (Japanese), Creator/AaronDismuke (English) |
| 329 | |
| 330 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emil_wandering_witch_the_journey_of_elaina_1.jpg]] |
| 331 | %%[[caption-width-right:350:]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | A boy gathering happiness inside a bottle that Elaina randomly meets in a field. He's smitten with his family's slave girl, Nino. |
| 334 | ------ |
| 335 | * DoggedNiceGuy: Towards his crush, Nino. |
| 336 | * GoodIsDumb: He isn't sharp, but his crush and kindness towards Nino is pretty much the only positive thing in her life as a slave. |
| 337 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: He meant well, but giving Nino a bottle full of the world's happiness that he gathered for her and showing her the happiness that she could never have is this. Though he meant to make her happy by doing this, it had the opposite effect on her instead. |
| 338 | * {{Keet}}: He's a cheerful, energetic boy. |
| 339 | * LikeFatherUnlikeSon: He's pretty much his father's opposite in terms of despotism and their treatment of Nino. |
| 340 | * ObliviousToHints: He's completely oblivious to Nino's misery despite the obvious hints. His father also implies that Emil might be unaware that Nino is a slave and not just a servant. |
| 341 | [[/folder]] |
| 342 | |
| 343 | [[folder:Nino]] |
| 344 | !!Nino |
| 345 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SatomiSato (Japanese), Creator/SarahWiedenheft (English) |
| 346 | |
| 347 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nino_0.jpg]] |
| 348 | %%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]] |
| 349 | |
| 350 | A young slave girl from the East working for Emil's father. |
| 351 | --------- |
| 352 | * AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: The anime implies that she's also sexually abused by the village chief, who undergoes an AdaptationalVillainy for being a DirtyOldMan. |
| 353 | * AgeLift: The manga has her looking much older than how she was described in the light novel. |
| 354 | * ApologizesALot: Mostly due to being a slave who can't mess up her job for fear of the repercussions. |
| 355 | * BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:She never brought the knife against Emil in the manga due to his kindness to her. Although that's not getting into how Emil would react upon seeing the MurderSuicide of his father and crush before his very eyes.]] |
| 356 | * BreakTheCutie: Poor girl was sold as a slave in her country and has to endure abuse from her owner on a regular basis. [[spoiler:Then the realization that she'll never be able to experience the moments shown to her by Emil's bottled happiness lead her into further despair.]] |
| 357 | * DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:She's heavily implied to have crossed it after Emil shows her his bottle of gathered happiness. Elaina notes that Nino's eyes looked dead just as she was about to leave, but doesn't know why until long after she's left.]] |
| 358 | * TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:The manga has Nino killing Emil's father for all the abuse he had put her through before taking her own life as well.]] |
| 359 | * DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:While her actual fate is unclear, it's implied that she kills herself shortly after Elaina left. The manga is more explicit than the anime or light novel, showing her committing MurderSuicide, killing her owner, the village chief, and then herself, right in front of Emil.]] |
| 360 | * DullEyesOfUnhappiness: [[spoiler:In the light novel, as a result of Emil showing her his gift for her, Elaina describes her eyes as "like deep darkness, (that they were) longing, desperate, as if she were in a state of unimaginable despair."]] |
| 361 | * IdenticalStranger: According to Elaina, she looks similar to Saya. |
| 362 | * MistakenForRelated: Elaina wonders if she and Saya are related, mainly due to their similar appearances. She isn't, she just shares Saya's ethnic background of originating from the East. |
| 363 | * NervousWreck: She's jittery when Elaina first meets her, probably as a result of the things she's been through. |
| 364 | * PerpetualFrowner: She never smiles as a result of her abuse and fate as a slave. |
| 365 | * RapeAsDrama: The anime heavily implies the village chief was sexually abusing her, by showing her clothes disheveled as she came out of the room the village chief was in. This implication doesn't exist in the light novel or manga. |
| 366 | * SexSlave: Heavily implied to be this in the anime, which only adds to her misery. |
| 367 | * YouDontLookLikeYou: She has a very different [[https://wandering-witch.fandom.com/wiki/Nino?file=NinoMangaDesign.png design in the manga adaptation of the series]]. |
| 368 | [[/folder]] |
| 369 | |
| 370 | [[folder:Artemisia]] |
| 371 | !!Artemisia |
| 372 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YuikoTatsumi (Japanese), Samantha Herek (English) |
| 373 | |
| 374 | [[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b191975_kvo4uomib0um.png]] |
| 375 | %%[[caption-width-right:230:some caption text]] |
| 376 | |
| 377 | A mysterious young woman Elaina found picking flowers in a vast field of them. She gives Elaina a bouquet of flowers and asks her to share them with whoever thinks they are beautiful. |
| 378 | ----- |
| 379 | * AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Implied in the manga adaptation. Due to her older brother having "[[BrotherSisterIncest certain]]" feelings for her, Artemisia was understandably creeped out, especially when he went as far as locking her away in their own home. This leads to her ending up in the flower fields and then her eventual fate. |
| 380 | * BodyHorror: [[spoiler:The flowers from the meadow consume her. By the time Elaina returns to her, her body had already fully turned into that of a human-like plant.]] |
| 381 | * FightingFromTheInside: The manga shows that while Artemisia was being influenced by the flowers, she was also trying to fight back for control, but to no avail. |
| 382 | * InnocentFlowerGirl: What she appears to be when Elaina first meets her, giving her a beautiful bouquet of flowers while the latter was on the way. [[spoiler:However, she was already under the flowers' spell at that point, so she has more sinister reasons to give Elaina the flowers.]] |
| 383 | * NamedByTheAdaptation: She and her brother were originally nameless in the light novel and anime. The manga adaptation gives her the name "Artemisia". |
| 384 | * NoNameGiven: In the light novel and anime. |
| 385 | [[/folder]] |
| 386 | |
| 387 | [[folder:Sorol]] |
| 388 | !!Sorol |
| 389 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DaikiYamashita (Japanese), Creator/MattShipman (English) |
| 390 | |
| 391 | [[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sorol_5fdc3da1b6e2dp.jpg]] |
| 392 | %%[[caption-width-right:314:some caption text]] |
| 393 | |
| 394 | An aggressive young guard who quickly earns Elaina's ire after he saw the bouquet Artemisia gave her along with her handkerchief. |
| 395 | ------- |
| 396 | * AdaptationalVillainy: The manga adaptation portrays Sorol with subtle, but creepy incestuous feelings for his younger sister, leading to him going as far as to lock her away in their own home out of possessiveness. |
| 397 | * BigBrotherInstinct: When he saw what he believed was his sister's handkerchief on Elaina's bouquet, he immediately demands to know where Elaina got the flowers from. He also recklessly heads out to the flower fields to search for his sister despite knowing the dangers beforehand, thanks to the lead Elaina unintentionally gave him. [[spoiler:This proves to be his undoing.]] |
| 398 | * BrotherSisterIncest: Heavily implied to be the case in the manga adaptation. On the other hand, neither the light novel nor the anime implies anything of the sort beyond familial love toward his sister. |
| 399 | * {{Jerkass}}: {{Subverted|Trope}}. He's extremely rude towards Elaina in their first meeting, swiping the bouquet she got from the mysterious girl in the flower fields when he saw his sister's handkerchief with the bouquet, and even nearly goes physical with Elaina when he demanded answers. However, it turns out that he acted that way out of desperation in his search for his sister and quickly lost his cool when he dealt with Elaina. |
| 400 | * NamedByTheAdaptation: He's named "Sorol" in the manga adaptation. He was originally nameless in the light novel and the anime. |
| 401 | * NoNameGiven: He's only referred to as the "younger guard" in the light novel and anime. |
| 402 | * TooDumbToLive: Getting into a scuffle with a fully-fledged witch who can blast him eight ways to Sunday is this, as, in the light novel, Elaina even contemplated doing just that when he pissed her off. [[spoiler:Heading straight to the flower fields the moment he got a lead on his sister despite the warnings and danger is also this too. And it costs him dearly this time.]] |
| 403 | [[/folder]] |
| 404 | |
| 405 | ! Introduced in Volume 2 |
| 406 | [[folder:Eihemia]] |
| 407 | !!Eihemia |
| 408 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RinaSato (Japanese), Creator/BrynApprill (English) |
| 409 | |
| 410 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c834dfa8_a981_4fe9_8cba_ce72559f63c0.jpeg]] |
| 411 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Quicksand Witch]] |
| 412 | |
| 413 | A witch in the service of the king of the Land of Truth Tellers, whom she's in love with. Her title is the "Quicksand Witch". |
| 414 | |
| 415 | ---- |
| 416 | * BespectacledCutie: She's a CuteWitch who wears small glasses. |
| 417 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: She uses a spell that costs her the ability to speak and use magic. Considering that she's a witch, her action is the equivalent of crippling yourself. Elaina even points out this foolishness. Although, she naively thought that the king will allow her to stay but he didn't. |
| 418 | * EasilyForgiven: She's surprisingly willing to take back her king even after he threw her out into the streets. |
| 419 | * {{Foil}}: To Mirarosé. They are both witches who fell in love with someone, only to be separated from their lovers. However, Mirarosé went insane following the death of her lover and went on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge without a hint of remorse, while Eihemia took action in service to her king and later decides to atone when she realizes the harm she caused. |
| 420 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: Her blind devotion to the king is what causes her current predicament. |
| 421 | * TheVoiceless: She's unable to talk and can only write to speak about what she's saying. Once Elaina shatters the magic sword that she had given up her magic to create, she gains her voice back. |
| 422 | [[/folder]] |
| 423 | %%[[folder:Elise]] |
| 424 | %%!!Elise |
| 425 | %% A young Beastkin girl Elaina befriends in "Before the Snow Melts". |
| 426 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 427 | %%[[folder:Chocolat]] |
| 428 | %%!!Chocolat |
| 429 | %% The princess of Windmill City on the run from a political marriage. [[spoiler:By the events of Volume 5, she's married to the knight Rosemia.]] |
| 430 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 431 | %% |
| 432 | %%[[folder:Rosemia]] |
| 433 | %%!!Rosemia |
| 434 | %% A knight from Windmill City with a fiery personality. [[spoiler:By the events of Volume 5, she's married to Princess Chocolat.]] |
| 435 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 436 | |
| 437 | |
| 438 | |
| 439 | ! Introduced in Volume 3 |
| 440 | [[folder:Doll Shopkeeper]] |
| 441 | !!Doll Shopkeeper |
| 442 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ReinaUeda (Japanese), Arryn Zech (English) |
| 443 | |
| 444 | A [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin shopkeeper who sells magical dolls]]. In reality, she's the infamous "Slasher" who has been terrorizing her town by shaving people in their sleep and using their hair to create her dolls. |
| 445 | ---- |
| 446 | * BullyingTheDragon: She proudly boasts about herself as a powerful witch in front of the one who is also a witch and is a hundred times above her level. |
| 447 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Let's just say she has a few screws loose. |
| 448 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: She's only ever referred to as either the Slasher or the Doll Shopkeeper while her real name remains unrevealed for the entirety of her debut in the story. |
| 449 | * ExhaustedEyeBags: The shopkeeper looks like she hasn't slept for a very long time. |
| 450 | * HarmlessVillain: Relatively, anyways, considering that rather than doing things like abuse children or commit murder like some of the other villains in the series, she runs around ''cutting off people's hair'' to make magic dolls. However, considering how much Elaina and the women in her village value their hair, this quickly becomes SeriousBusiness for them, ''especially'' the former. |
| 451 | * LaserGuidedKarma: Her crime against Elaina earns her Saya's wrath. [[TooKinkyToTorture Not that she minds]], at least in the anime. |
| 452 | * MonsterOfTheWeek: She's the antagonist of Episode 8. |
| 453 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Her fate at the end of her debut episode in the anime. In the light novel, she had the [[OhCrap opposite reaction to Saya's punishment for her]]. |
| 454 | * {{Ventriloquism}}: And a terrible one at that. |
| 455 | [[/folder]] |
| 456 | |
| 457 | [[folder:Estelle]] |
| 458 | !!Estelle |
| 459 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YumiUchiyama (Japanese), Creator/EmilyNeves (English) |
| 460 | |
| 461 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/estelle_46.png]] |
| 462 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Lavender Witch]] |
| 463 | |
| 464 | A young witch from the Clock Village of Rostolf, whose talents seem to rival that of Elaina's. She is hell-bent on traveling to the past and correcting her greatest regret. |
| 465 | ---- |
| 466 | * AlternateSelf: Inverted. [[spoiler:As revealed in "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches", the Estelle seen in "Retroactive Grief" is an alternative timeline counterpart from Protagonist Elaina's timeline.]] |
| 467 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Despite being injured, Estelle saves Elaina from Selena's attack.]] |
| 468 | * ChildProdigy: Just like Elaina. She officially became a witch when she was 13 due to being a genius at magic. |
| 469 | * ChildhoodFriends: She was close friends with Selena as a child. Her friendship with her and her regret at being the one who ended up executing her for her crimes is what motivates Estelle to save one version of Selena in the past from her eventual fate in "Retroactive Grief". |
| 470 | * DramaticIrony: [[spoiler:In the light novel, according to Protagonist Elaina via secondhand account through the play she watched in her version of Rostolf in "A Story About All Kinds of Ashen Witches", the Estelle in her timeline is still looking for the person who brutally murdered her childhood friend Selena in the past, unaware of Selena's true nature and that it was her alternate timeline self who ended up doing the deed after time traveling in the past.]] |
| 471 | * {{Foil}}: To Elaina as they are both highly exceptional and very young witches. Their difference is that one is neutral while the other is TheHero. |
| 472 | * TheHero: Of "Retroactive Grief", the plot is all about her trying to atone for her failure to save Selena by going back in time to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong, even if it only creates an AlternateTimeline. |
| 473 | * HeroicBSOD: In the light novel version of "Retroactive Grief", after returning to their present timeline, [[spoiler:Elaina describes her as a person who is wholly apathetic and staring blankly. Elaina speculates that because Estelle's memories of Selena formed a core part of her personality, throwing those memories away ended her up in this state.]] |
| 474 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:She sacrifices her memories of Selena to finish her off.]] |
| 475 | * MyGreatestFailure: The death of Selena is what pushes her current actions. [[spoiler:Unfortunately by the end, she won't remember any of it.]] |
| 476 | * SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: [[spoiler:Estelle thought that by traveling back in time and save Selena's parents, Selena will not become a murderer. As it turns out, Selena's parents ''are'' the problem.]] |
| 477 | * TeenGenius: Her talents are said to rival Elaina's and it shows by how she was able to develop a time-traveling spell all on her own at just the age of 19. |
| 478 | * UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:Mixed in with a RoaringRampageOfRevenge. After learning that Selena is a monster who has been deceiving her all along, Estelle attempts to kill her former best friend. Even Elaina's intervention couldn't stop Estelle's wrath.]] |
| 479 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: Estelle and Selena have been friends since they were little. [[spoiler:Their friendship goes out the window after Estelle finds out that Selena was responsible for murdering her AbusiveParents, stabbed her personally, and gloated about how she has no best friend and was in truth just stringing Estelle along all this time.]] |
| 480 | * WorthIt: Even though her plan to save Selena's parents to prevent Selena from becoming a serial killer wouldn't change anything in Timeline "A", her and Elaina's timeline, Estelle is still willing to do it if it would give peace to her mind after her failure to save her best friend. [[spoiler:Too bad that it turns out that Selena had already snapped long ago.]] |
| 481 | [[/folder]] |
| 482 | |
| 483 | [[folder:Selena]] |
| 484 | !!Selena |
| 485 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomoriKusunoki (Japanese), Creator/TiaBallard (English) |
| 486 | |
| 487 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/selena_0.jpg]] |
| 488 | [[caption-width-right:350:The 2nd District Murderer]] |
| 489 | |
| 490 | A wealthy young girl who lived in the Clock Village of Rostolf. She was a good friend of Estelle's in her childhood who became a serial killer later in life and was executed for it. |
| 491 | ---- |
| 492 | * AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Her father sexually abused her and her mother either ignored her plight or beat her out of jealousy because of it. Years of enduring all this caused her to snap and become a serial killer after personally murdering her parents herself.]] |
| 493 | * AxCrazy: [[spoiler:This is her true personality once she reveals the truth to Elaina as she sports a BloodySmile and she laughs maniacally.]] |
| 494 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Estelle believes her to be a kindhearted person and a good friend. However, her true personality is that of a sadistic psychopath.]] |
| 495 | * BloodySmile: [[spoiler:As Elaina has the utter misfortune of witnessing, she sports a blood-soaked grin on her face shortly after she brutally murders her parents and horribly maims Estelle.]] |
| 496 | * CombatSadomasochist: She derives pleasure off of indiscriminate homicide and being on the receiving end of attacks. Estelle has a hard time getting her to stay down, and her rampage doesn't stop until [[spoiler:she is beheaded by her childhood friend]]. |
| 497 | * ChildhoodFriends: With Estelle. [[spoiler:Or so Estelle thinks; when Elaina informs her that her fate is that she will be put to death by her best friend, she responds by saying she has no best friend before figuring out Elaina meant Estelle, looking at future Estelle's body on the ground and stomping on her chest.]] |
| 498 | * TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:She brutally murders her parents after years of horrible abuse on their end.]] In the timeline Elaina and Estelle are primarily from, she murdered her uncle as payback for the abuse she suffered from him. |
| 499 | * DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Her eyes noticeably lack any shine in them [[spoiler:after she snaps and her true nature is revealed.]] |
| 500 | * EvilWearsBlack: She wears a black hooded coat as a SerialKiller, and actually dons it in the anime. |
| 501 | * FreudianExcuse: While her approach to the abuse she endured from her uncle [[spoiler:and parents]] isn't justifiable, it's not hard to see why she turned to murder in retaliation. |
| 502 | * ItAmusedMe: She gets a kick out of homicide for no discernible reason other than for the thrill of it. |
| 503 | * LaughingMad: [[spoiler:She died laughing maniacally as Estelle continued to [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown violently blast her with spells]] until Estelle strangled her hard enough to cut off her head.]] |
| 504 | * LightIsNotGood: She wore a lavender dress in the past and a white color one by the time of her execution. |
| 505 | * MaddenIntoMisanthropy: The abuse she received from her uncle [[spoiler:and her parents before him]] broke her so badly that it turned her into a nihilistic and murderous psychopath who can only hate the world and everything in it, including Estelle: |
| 506 | --> ''Mourning her friend’s descent into darkness, Estelle tried many times to bring Selena back, but each attempt ended fruitlessly. She even tried an intervention, but nothing could reach her old friend. No matter what she tried, Selena still saw her as just one more part of the world she despised.'' |
| 507 | * NoKillLikeOverkill: [[spoiler:Without the CensorShadow from the original airing of Episode 9, the Blu-ray version reveals that she completely and viciously ''eviscerated'' her father from the cheek down. She also sliced off one of his legs too, and his entrails are seen strewn across the ground.]] |
| 508 | * OffWithHerHead: How she was executed for her crimes, at the hands of her own reluctant childhood friend no less. [[spoiler:It happens a second time when Estelle and Elaina travel back into the past, this time, with Estelle willingly doing it in a brutal fashion.]] |
| 509 | * {{Ojou}}: She was the young daughter of a wealthy couple in Rostolf. |
| 510 | * SanitySlippage: As Estelle recounts, murdering her abusive uncle in the past gave her a taste for killing and this turned her into an infamous serial killer growing up. [[spoiler:However, it turns out that she snapped longer before that, all thanks to her abusive parents.]] |
| 511 | * SelfMadeOrphan: According to Estelle, she stabbed her abusive uncle to death sometime after he took her in. [[spoiler:It's also later revealed that she was the one who brutally murdered her parents after suffering years of abuse from them.]] |
| 512 | * SerialKiller: She turned into one shortly after she murdered her uncle and was executed for it by Estelle herself under orders of the king. |
| 513 | * SlasherSmile: [[spoiler:Which is only more apparent that it's soaked with blood.]] |
| 514 | * StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: [[spoiler:She practically goads her former friend from Timeline A into killing her, and succeeds in making Estelle deliver it personally.]] |
| 515 | * SugarAndIcePersonality: Estelle's recollection of Selena from their childhood has her describing the latter as being outwardly cold yet inwardly kind as a child. [[spoiler:Whether the kindness she showed Estelle in the past was genuine or not is left ambiguous, however, given how she was already very broken inside at that point in time.]] |
| 516 | * TeensAreMonsters: Assuming that she and Estelle are at the same age, then Selena was 16 at the time of her execution for her crimes. [[spoiler:Once it's revealed that she snapped long before her Uncle's abuse, then it's actually a case of EnfantTerrible.]] |
| 517 | * TragicVillain: She became an infamous serial killer due to the abuse she suffered under her uncle in the past after her parents were murdered by a burglar and were executed for it three years ago as Estelle tells Elaina. Estelle comes to the conclusion that had Selena's parents not have been murdered, she would have turned out fine. [[spoiler:Though as it turns out, Selena had snapped long before that and was the one who murdered her parents in the first place. Selena still falls under this, however, as had her parents not have been abusing her in the first place, Estelle may have been right.]] |
| 518 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Estelle had nothing but rosy memories of Selena from when they were children, so she was saddened that Selena had turned into a vicious and psychotic serial killer that she was forced to execute. |
| 519 | [[/folder]] |
| 520 | |
| 521 | %%! Introduced in Volume 4 |
| 522 | %%[[folder:Atolie]] |
| 523 | %%!!Atolie |
| 524 | %% The daughter of the Sunken City's chieftain. She is a mage. |
| 525 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 526 | %% |
| 527 | %%[[folder:Viola]] |
| 528 | %%!!Viola |
| 529 | %% A self-professed "archaeologist of beautiful girls" who has found herself in the Sunken City somehow. |
| 530 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 531 | %% |
| 532 | %%[[folder:Rudela]] |
| 533 | %%!!Rudela |
| 534 | %% A witch serving a city whose residents are all mysteriously frozen in place. Her title is "The Great Witch". |
| 535 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 536 | %% |
| 537 | %%[[folder:Elimia]] |
| 538 | %%!!Elimia |
| 539 | %% The only mage currently holding the rank of Witch in the Holy City of Esto. Her title is "The Rose Witch". |
| 540 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 541 | |
| 542 | !Introduced in Volume 5 |
| 543 | [[folder:Mina]] |
| 544 | !!Mina |
| 545 | !!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MinamiTakahashi (Japanese) |
| 546 | |
| 547 | Saya's little sister. |
| 548 | ---- |
| 549 | * AdaptationalBadass: When she first appeared in Volume 5's version of "The Two Apprentices", she still only had the rank of apprentice witch. In Episode 11 of the anime adaptation, however, she's shown to have a brooch, thus marking her as a full-fledged witch. |
| 550 | * AloofDarkHairedGirl: She's seemingly cold towards others, especially towards her older sister. Then it's revealed by Sheila that it's just a front to how she really feels. |
| 551 | * BeneathTheMask: Underneath the cold and distant face she always outwardly presents herself as a girl who's just as emotional and codependent as her older sister, especially for those they loved. |
| 552 | * BigLittleBrother: Saya is the older sister but is shorter than Mina, who's younger. |
| 553 | * ChekhovsGunman: She was mentioned by Saya in Volume 1, and soon made her full appearance in Volume 5. |
| 554 | * DarkSecret: Her secret romantic feelings for her older sister Saya is ''definitely'' this. |
| 555 | * GreenEyedMonster: She ''really'' hates Elaina for being the source of Saya's affections. |
| 556 | * MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:Her witch title, the "Soot Witch", very closely resembles her sister's "Charcoal Witch" title in both meaning and in kanji used.]] |
| 557 | * MoreThanMindControl: The potion that affected Mina brings out their true feelings, and her romantic desires for her older sister are completely genuine. |
| 558 | * PerpetualFrowner: She's always shown with a frown on her face, and is rarely seen to be happy around Saya. |
| 559 | * SharedFamilyQuirks: Which is lampshaded by Elaina, but Saya laughs it off. Mina shares the same obsessive love tendencies and codependency as her older sister, along with HatesBeingAlone. |
| 560 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: She's the spitting image of Saya, but is taller and has longer hair. |
| 561 | * {{Tsundere}}: Mina acts cold and aloof towards Saya on the outside, [[IncestSubtext while she has feelings for her on the inside]]. |
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FollowingContext Characters / WanderingWitchTheJourneyOfElaina
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