YMMV / Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor

• Accidental Innuendo: The scene of a conversation between Glenn and Sisti at the beginning of the 7th episode is intentionally portrayed as prelude in hentai.
• Alas, Poor Scrappy: Leos is an unlikable Jerkass both in and out of universe, but his death in the 12th episode was too cruel.
• Anvilicious: A woman has the right to realize her personal goals in life, and not become a weak-willed tool for the purposes of her close men. Early marriages are bad!
• Cliché Storm: To a degree that the personalities of almost every character can be determined by their designs. But not that it interfered with storytelling...
• Complete Monster: Former Imperial Court Mage Guard Jatice Lowfan was stripped of his position for using Angel's Dust—a drug which horrifically turns its user into an easily controlled, zombie-like creature—to control innocents into assassinating rivals in the Imperial Court Corps and nobles. Discovered by Glenn Radars, Jatice has his puppets murder Glenn's only friend out of spite, which he later taunts him about. Murdering a man, Jatice takes his identity and coerces Glenn's student Sistine into marrying him, while continuing to taunt Glenn.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Sara Silvers, "The Empress", is a very popular character despite being a Posthumous Character who only appeared in flashbacks and not having any major role in the main light novel volumes. She was popular enough to reach third place in the popularity poll. For comparison she beat other major characters including Glenn, Re=L, Celica, Albert and Eve.
  • Ren Gladars, Glenn's genderbent form is popular enough to reach tenth place in the popularity poll despite only appearing in volume 8 and even then the appearance was kinds short since Ren changed back to Glenn halfway through that volume.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The running gag of Re=L attacking Glenn to say hi with the latter asking the former if she's trying to kill him becomes less funny after Episode 8, where Re=L really does attack Glenn and nearly kills him as a result.
• Incest Yay Shipping: Despite the fact that Sisti and Rumia or Glenn and Celica are not real relatives, some of the audience seems to be keenly interested in such pairings thanks to such an accent. Celica especially becomes a victim of this, being a rather sexually attractive, playful and caring mature woman, which many viewers want to see as the main Love Interest of Glenn.
• Ho Yay: In Episode 1, Sisti fondles Lumia, and comments on how the latter has beautiful skin and is developing a bustier figure while sniffing her at the same time. Later, they often share quite ambiguous moments, showing a rather close relationship as adoptive sisters and best friends.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Sisti's Smug Smiler expression from the first episode.
  • LEOS OUT^explanation Twitch's reaction to Leos getting in between Glenn and Sisti.//LEOS IN^Explanation When it turned out he was Dead All Along.
• Nightmare Fuel: Angel Dust addicts become Brainwashed and Crazy zombie-like minions who eventually rot into corpses. Worse yet, the one who spread them in the first place is still at large.
• Shocking Moments: Episode 8, where past merry carelessness is suddenly replaced by the "murder" of Glenn, the blood and the revival of corpses with the help of necromancy.
• So Bad, It's Good: If Twitch's reaction was any indication; the show itself wasn't very highly critically rated, but it was still one of the most enjoyed series of Crunchyroll's anime marathon, spawning a huge amount of memes.
• Tainted by the Preview: Even before the release, the anime became a big target for ridicule because of its alleged Cliché Storm, which includes many light novel cliches about magical academies, an underrated main character and an arrogant Spoiled Brat Tsundere as a central love interest. However, afterwards many were surprised by how cute and humorously the anime played on these tropes.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Re=L's Face–Heel Turn, after it's over, is brushed off as her being Brainwashed and Crazy. However, that's not really the case. While she was being misled, no one was forcing her to kidnap Rumia and nearly kill Glenn. There are a lot of people who think she got off way too easily for what she did at the end of her arc.
• Values Dissonance: It may be difficult for a Western audience to understand why Sisti and others perceive her wedding as a rejection of her life goals and career, while in Japan it is believed that married women should not work, because, according to the traditional view, the husband must earn enough so his wife did not need to work and thus she could devote herself to the family.
• WTH, Costuming Department?: The Stripperiffic design of the girls' school uniform look completely ridiculous, especially compared to the normal clothing worn by the civilians seen in the show. The truly bizarre part is that since the boys all wear jumpers and blazers, it's totally unclear whether these are meant to be summer or winter uniforms.