Subversion of familiar Anime Cliches
One of the things this Troper saw in Record of the Grancrest War was it's ability to subvert two of the most well known cliches in Anime. over the years, these cliches have been used time and again and in the end they are gloriously subverted in wonderful fashion. here are the two Cliches that are subverted in the anime.
All Love Is Unrequited: Any anime fan will tell you how infuriating it is when two main characters are clearly in love with each other and want to admit their feelings, but instead they would rather beat around the bush and dally rather than just SPIT .IT .OUT! Record of the Grancrest War doesn't do that and many fans were ecstatic that we weren't getting another Maybe Ever After ending and instead they they solve it not even halfway through the anime. The best part about this romance is that it doesn't feel forced or contrived, it happens naturally and when Theo finally admits his feelings, Siluca reciprocates because she feels the same way. This Troper (as well as many Anime Fans) cannot begin to imagine how satisfying that feels.
Corrupt Church: This may be more of an occurrence of any Anime fan (such as this Troper) who follows a religion of sorts, specifically christianity. in a lot of anime, whenever the topic of religion comes up the message is always the same; RELIGION IS EVIIIIIL!!!! Essentially it states that if you follow a religion, you are either:
A)a crazy,murderous fanatic that likes to kill people for JEEZUS!!!!
B)a naive moron who doesn't understand reality and needs to be logical
C) a greedy man who uses religion for his/her own benefit.
in all the anime this Troper has seen, not ONE treats religious people with any kind of dignity and respect, except this Anime. Priscilla is not crazy, fanatical (at least not in the murderous way), or greedy, she is a kind gentle soul who only wants to help Theo and spread her message. whats more while it does turn out that the pope is evil along with some of the clergy, once the truth is out, the people don't immediately become cynical, they stick by their beliefs. even Priscilla's death was handled in a respectful way; much like a certain someone she knows she is going to die and makes the sacrifice to help Theo and end the chaos. that is the most respect any religion in anime has ever gotten.
