Sound Horizon



Sound Horizon is a Japanese band consisting of songwriter Revo and some other people (who tend to vary from one album to the next). Their albums are nearly all Concept Albums, if not Rock Operas, usually with fantasy or science fiction themes. The creator of the band has also done an image album for Gunslinger Girl (translations of which can be found here), an Image Album for the Leviathan manga and a theme song for Atelier Iris 3. They are known for their play-like live performances, and lots of foreign languages.

They have quite a following in Asia, and numerous fan-made music videos have been made to their songs.

The song "Ark" from Elysion Rakuen e no Zensōkyoku and the entire album Roman have also had manga adaptations drawn by Yukimaru Katsura, also the artist for the manga versions of AIR and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl.

General "Mio: What I like most about [Revo] is that he falls down a lot."
 * Acting for Two: Aramary and Jimang both did this a lot in Chronicle 2nd
 * Album Title Drop
 * All There in the Manual: Some instrumental pieces (such as "Yaneura no Shoujo" and "Raijin no Sawan") have lyrics printed in the CD booklets.
 * Alternate Character Reading: Every fucking song.
 * Audience Participation Song: Many of the songs. Some of them are "Asa to Yoru no Monogatari", "Yield" "Hiiro no Fuusha" and "Sunawachi... Hikari wo mo nigasanu ankoku no Chou← Juu↓ Ryoku↑".
 * Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Revo, usually.
 * Badass Baritone: Ike Nelson exists to give songs epic English narrations.
 * Battle Cry: After General Alvarez/Ramirez/Amethystos/Cortes/Gefenbauer!!!
 * Bilingual Bonus: The lyrics given in the CD booklets are all in Japanese, but parts are usually sung in another language (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek...). These foreign language bits often have a slightly (or very) different meaning from the lyrics as written in Japanese.
 * Character as Himself: Revo is typically credited by the name of the character he plays in the album.
 * Character Overlap: As least implied character overlap. To list a few:
 * Abyss shows up briefly in Roman as the man who.
 * Moira has a minor character called Orph who suspiciously resembles Orpheus.
 * Elysion features Old Rose, the one-eyed "Crimson Witch" who was banished to the forest. Cut to Märchen, in which a red-clad witch with one eye covered by her hair called Alte Rose ("Old Rose" in German) appears...
 * "Yaneura Roman" all but confirms that has trapped Hiver in a deadly Eternal Recurrence much like the one she suffers.
 * Cool Shades: If Revo isn't dressed as one of the album characters, he's wearing these.
 * Costume Porn: Revo enjoys himself some fancy outfits.
 * Death of the Author: Invoked by Revo's infamous declaration of, "All interpretations are valid."
 * Epic Rocking: Quite a few in their story albums. Märchen, for example, has a grand total of one song ("Gyoukou no Uta") under six minutes.
 * Fake Nationality: By necessity, usually - Most of the albums are set outside of East Asia, and there's not exactly a surplus of French/ancient Greek/Middle-Eastern/German/etc. singers working in Japan that can sing fluently in Japanese.
 * Genre Roulette
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Norio Wakamoto, Inoue Azumi,...
 * Hidden Track
 * Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: Some of the albums can feel like this.
 * The Klutz: Revo - just ask the other members.

"Revo: So why is REMI singing Utsukushiki Mono? Because she said she wanted to. And Hiiro no Fuusha's violin solo was changed to Acchan's bass solo since he wanted to do it. This is something new we tried this time. We don't need consistency!"
 * Large Ham: Jimangu. If there's an over the top character in a song, you can bet he's the one playing him (or, in one case, her).
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: Well over a 100.
 * Lyrical Dissonance: A lot of the songs fall to this category, although it's not so extreme in the recent albums. Most obvious example is "Yield", "Koibito wo Uchiotoshita Hi", "Stardust", etc, etc.
 * Mind Screw: this is what the stories may seem like sometimes.
 * Mood Whiplash: Especially Märchen.
 * Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly: Don't be surprised takes a brief turn from Symphonic Metal to jazz in the middle of a song.
 * New Sound Album: Roman
 * Only One Name: Revo, Jimang, Aramary, and a large number of the vocalists (REMI, MIKKI, KAORI, etc.)
 * Rearrange the Song: Frequently in their live shows, sometimes out of necessity (as with all of the Aramary songs), but mostly just because they can.


 * Revolving Door Band
 * Rock Opera: Many of their story albums, none of which are keen on sticking to the Rock Opera Plot.
 * Self-Backing Vocalist: Most prominently during the Aramary era.
 * Short Hair with Tail: Revo, for awhile. Now it's just long.
 * Shrug of God: All interpretations are valid.
 * Song Style Shift: Particularly in post-Aramary songs.
 * Spoken Word in Music
 * Teasing Creator
 * The Band Minus the Face: Averted. Sound Horizon gained even more popularity after Aramary left. Although, there are of course still those who believe that the band died with her.
 * Viewers Are Geniuses
 * Word of Dante: Plenty, mostly because there is no Word of God

Story Albums/Singles:

Chronicle ""History repeats itself. Don’t ever forget that. History repeats itself. You can’t ever forget that…""
 * Bittersweet Ending:.
 * Blessed with Suck: The girl doll in "Shoujo Ningyou".
 * The End of the World as We Know It: What the Black Chronicle prophesizes will occur.
 * Eternal Recurrence: As detailed in "Kimi ga Umarete Kuru Sekai"

"Your eyes shall reflect… Both beautiful things and ugly things, all of them…"
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: "Run, it's coming. The bells that toll in announcement of the finale, the flood of the end."
 * God Save Us From the Queen
 * Snow Means Death: In "Juhjyou no Kun Itetsuita Majo".
 * Time Capsule: "Kimi ga Umarete Kuru Sekai" is a letter to those who will live in the new world written by those that lived in the one before it.
 * Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: The Black Chronicle.
 * Waif Prophet: The girl doll.
 * A World Half Full: In "Kimi ga Umarete Kuru Sekai."

Thanatos
 * Being Watched: "Thanatos is watching me from somewhere..."
 * Book Ends: "Soko ni Aru Fuukei" and "Thanatos no Gensou".
 * Death's Hourglass: In "Rinne no Sunadokei" (aka. "The Hourglass of Reincarnation")
 * Died in Your Arms Tonight: The dying character in "Rinne no Sunadokei", although he/she wants to die in the morning rather than at night.
 * Dying Alone: The same character specifically asks to have this averted as a last request.
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: Both in "Soko ni Aru Fuukei" and "Thanatos no Gensou".
 * Go Out with a Smile: in "Rinne no Sunadokei"
 * Hearing Voices: The main girl constantly hears Thanatos's voice in her head.
 * Madness Mantra: The constant whispering of "Thanatos".
 * Ominous Music Box Tune: Once again, "Soko ni Aru Fuukei" and "Thanatos no Gensou".
 * The Ophelia: The main girl.
 * Recurring Dreams: "A repeating dream embraced by Thanatos. The scenery seen by the girl who can’t sleep…"
 * Sanity Slippage Song: Again, both "Soko ni Aru Fuukei" and "Thanatos no Gensou".
 * Snow Means Death: "Giniro no Basha", without question.

Lost
 * Benevolent Genie: "Mahoutsukai Sarabanto".
 * Catch Phrase: "Wasuremono wa arimasen ka...?" ("Haven't you forgotten something...?"), repeated in nearly, if not in every, track of the CD.
 * Ominous Music Box Tune: "Eien no Shounen"
 * Staking the Loved One: "Koibito wo Uchiotoshita Hi"
 * Together in Death: After the protagonist of "Koibito wo Uchiotoshita Hi" slays the monster that used to be her lover, she uses the last arrow she has to kill herself.

Pico Magic

Pico Magic Reloaded ""She probably wanted to escape The narrow cage she was trapped in... To the point of monomania. ...but, regrettably her wish was not granted during her lifetime. ...and even now, one century after her death, she is still within that cage...""
 * Abusive Parents: Keeping your child chained in the attic sounds pretty abusive to me.
 * And I Must Scream: Michèle Malebranche, in Christopher Jean-Jacques Saint-Laurent's professional opinion.

"The moment that the girl’s closed eyes open, the world will bear witness to the worst kind of lunatic dream it can fantasize…a cruel reaper[god]…"
 * Apocalypse Maiden: Rein.


 * Blood Sucking: Michèle Malebranche
 * Go Mad From the Isolation: In "Yaneura no Shoujo"
 * Gratuitous English: "They there said reloaded!"
 * Madwoman in the Attic
 * Non-Indicative Name: "Pico Magic" isn't exactly the sort of name you'd expect an album about a torturous, inescapable cycle of death to have - It also has little to no connection to the first Pico Magic.
 * Recurring Riff: All tracks of the "cage trilogy" ("Yaneura no Shoujo", "Ori no naka no Yuugi", and "Ori no naka no Hana") all have a riff in common, indicating they're all part of the same story. This also connects them to Roman, as the later album has a bonus track that also shares the riff.
 * Self-Made Orphan: Implied in "Ori no naka no Hana".
 * That One Case: Or, more accurately, Those Three Cases (all relating to Michèle Malebranche) in "Ori no naka no Hana".
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky: In "Ori no naka no Hana", the shriveled body of Michèle Malebranche is found under the decomposing corpses of thirteen young boys.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: It's pretty easy to see why Michèle Malebranche is so screwed up.

Chronicle 2nd ""You idiot! That won't solve anything! You might be satisfied with just that, but there might be people who want to take revenge for you. That line of logic repeats itself, creating new tragedies...""
 * Anachronic Order: The chapters of the Black Chronicle (and thus history) isn't necessary recited in the correct order.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: We have Chronica, the incarnation of the Black Chronicle who narrates for a fair amount of the songs.
 * Anyone Can Die
 * Black Cloak: The uniform for members of the Black Order.
 * The Call Put Me on Hold: The boy in "Raijin no Keifu" lacks the emblem on his right arm that all of the other villagers bear, as well as the power that comes with it.
 * Character Development: Arbelge
 * The Chief's Daughter: in "Raijin no Keifu", though she ends up saving the hero instead of the other way around.
 * Conveniently an Orphan: Lucia was taken into the cult for this reason.
 * Cycle of Revenge: Arbelge asks the young girl he saves to kill him, as that's the only way he can atone for his sins. The girl refuses to in defiance of this trope.


 * Diabolus Ex Machina:
 * Dude in Distress: The boy from "Raijin no Keifu" wouldn't would have been damned if the daughter of the village's chief didn't offer her hand (literally) to him.
 * Dead Little Sister: Charlotte for Arbelge (as well as just about all of his friends and family).
 * Doomed Hometown: Belge.
 * Eternal Recurrence
 * Evil Laugh: Noah does this well, as does Roberia.
 * Expecting Someone Taller: Rose Guine Avalon expected that Arbelge would be a giant bear of a man.
 * Fairest of Them All: The queen
 * Final Speech: Or poem, rather - Ballad writes his final poem as he waits in his cell to be executed. Only the prison guard gets to hear the final product.
 * For Doom the Bell Tolls: "The final bell tolls. The execution is carried out swiftly"
 * God Save Us From the Queen
 * Gratuitous Italian: "Shizunda Utahime"
 * The High Queen: Rose Guine Avalon, in stark contrast to the queen who ruled before her.
 * In the Blood: Noah stated that Lucia has the same traits as her parents.
 * I Will Find You: "Tadoritsuku Uta"—The blind poet Luna is searching for her lover.
 * The Killer Becomes the Killed:
 * Literal Cliff Hanger:
 * The Mistress: Beatrice
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: Roberia didn't want to risk Giuletta showing her up and winning the Standard Hero Reward, so she
 * My God, What Have I Done?: When Arbelge witnesses one of his soldiers trying to murder an unarmed girl.
 * Parental Abandonment: Lucia only remembered that her parents were gone when since she was small.
 * Pirate Girl: Laetitia, the blue eyed pirate.
 * The Promise: Between Arbelge and Charlotte in "Yakusoku no Oka".
 * Redemption Equals Death:
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red Songstress Roberia and Blue Songstress Giuletta.
 * Rule of Symbolism: White Crow
 * Screw Destiny: Well, more like, "Screw the Chronicle", but the idea's the same when Lucia takes it up and defects from the Black Order.
 * The Great Flood: There's even a guy called Noa.
 * You Are Too Late:
 * You Can't Fight Fate: This gets brought up a lot in the album.

Elysion ~Rakuen e no Zensoukyoku

Elysion Rakuen Gensou Monogatari Kumikyoku
 * All Love Is Unrequited
 * Aloof Big Brother: Frater, at least in the manga, although he has some good reasons to want to keep his distance.
 * Barrier Maiden: Lafrenze
 * Break the Cutie
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Soror and Frater in Ark
 * Burn the Witch: The little sister in Sacrifice
 * Call-and-Response Song: "Elysion no Rakuen [Side: A]"
 * Catch Phrase "Kanojo koso watashi no Erisu nano darou ka?" ("Is that girl my Elys?") At the beginning of every one of the main girls' songs accompanied by a music box riff.
 * Creepy Child: Several, including El as depicted in the concerts with a creepy mask.
 * Cult: Soror joins one
 * Death by Materialism: The premise of "Eru no Tenbin", wherein.
 * Dissonant Serenity: Especially in the manga adaption.
 * Downer Ending: El does end up in Elysion. Hooray!
 * Elopement: In "Eru no Tenbin"
 * Everything's Louder with Bagpipes: "Yield"
 * Fun with Acronyms: What's the second name for Elysion?
 * Girl with Psycho Weapon
 * Ill Girl: El.
 * I Wished You Were Dead: The singer in Sacrifice wishes death on her beautiful, beloved younger sister, whereupon said sister comes down with a nasty case of the plague that's going around. The sister does actually recover... but then their mother dies.
 * Kill'Em All
 * Knight Templar Big Sister: It's implied that Sacrifices as retribution for her sister's death.
 * Lady in Red: Stardust
 * Love Makes You Evil: Something of a theme throughout the album, or at least the Abyss tracks. Apparently, love makes you stab people, push people down stairs, cut people's heads off, set entire villages ablaze, and... stab people some more.
 * Meaningful Name: El and Elys play on Elysion.
 * Mummies At the Dinner Table: "Eru no Rakuen [-> side:E ->]" suggests that El has convinced herself that her father is still alive and carries on conversations with his dead body. Though, like so much about Sound Horizon, it's open to interpretation.
 * No Name Given: Apart from El, Abyss, Lafrenze, and Orpheus, none of the characters have names; They are instead known by their track titles. The siblings from Ark are referred to as Soror and Frater, but that's just "sister" and "brother" in Latin.
 * Parental Abandonment
 * Promotion to Parent: Sacrifice. After the death of their mother, the older sister takes the role of a parent.
 * Psycho Lesbian: The girl in "Baroque". In the end she
 * Pun-Based Title: Elysion is pronounced very similarly to illusion,.
 * Runaway Bride: In "Eru no Tenbin"
 * Redemption Equals Death
 * Shrinking Violet: The girl in "Baroque".
 * Stalker with a Crush
 * This Isn't Heaven: When dies, she wakes up in what she believes to be paradise. But then she hears someone crying, and she knows that people don't cry in paradise...
 * To Hell and Back: Orpheus
 * Virgin Power: Lafrenze's abilities as the gatekeeper of Hell
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Lafrenze
 * Woman Scorned: Lafrenze when she finds out Orpheus was just using her ("Hell hath no fury..." is a strangely appropriate expression, there) and the woman in Stardust when she finds her lover cheating on her.
 * Yandere: So many. So, so many.

Shounen wa Tsurugi wo...
 * No Name Given: The main character of the story is known in Japan simply as Sword Boy.

Roman
 * All There in the Manual: The entire CD. It's impossible to tell, more often than not, what exactly is going on. In particular, "Norowareshi Hōseki" brings up a LOT of questions regarding practically everything, not like other songs (i.e. "11-moji no Dengon (Message)") don't, either.
 * It very quickly gets to the point where, the more you think about it and try to figure it out, the more brainpain you doom yourself to.
 * A lot of critical information (particularly relating to "Norowareshi Hōseki" and "Yaneura Roman") is in the much earlier Pico Magic Reloaded rather than in Roman itself.
 * Artifact of Death: The eponymous diamond in "Norowareshi Hōseki", which brings death to anyone who possesses it.
 * Badass Mustache: Savant.
 * Bishounen: Hiver and Laurencin.
 * Big Friendly Dog: Pleut.
 * Body Motifs: In "Miezaru Ude", the main character is missing an arm, and this is brought up a fair amount of times in the lyrics. Heck, it's referenced straight in the title (translation: "The Invisible Arm").
 * A Boy and His X: Etoile and Pleut in "Hoshikuzu no Kawahimo".
 * Creepy Twins: Violette and Hortense, though arguably, they're also quite cute.
 * Catch Phrase: "Soko ni Roman wa aru no kashira", or roughly, "I wonder if a story exists there", which is the line that either Violette or Hortense or both will say in each song. Hiver gets his own variant of this phrase ("Soko ni Roman wa aru no darou ka") in the first track.
 * Convenient Miscarriage: Well, more so "heartbreaking" than "convenient", really, especially after taking certain songs (like "Honoo") into account. It's also what sets the album in motion: Hiver is actually the soul of a stillborn, and his curiosity about life and death, as well as a desire to be born into the world, is what prompts him to send the dolls out to find stories revolving around those subjects.
 * Cypher Language: Somewhat. In the lyrics booklet, each song has a Japanese character replaced with a four digit number. This is important for "11-moji no Dengon (Message)", where a message in the lyrics is written out as a chain of these numbers. Since the vocalist only sings the line in "la" syllables, the actual message needs to be worked out using that code.
 * Death by Childbirth:
 * Drowning My Sorrows: The blond Laurant in "Miezaru Ude" after the redheaded Laurant severs his arm and leaves him in constant, crippling pain.
 * Gratuitous French: Roman translates to "story", and there are French words and phrases scattered throughout the songs. The lyrics in the included booklet don't have the French written out however, but rather Japanese equivalents (which is typical for Sound Horizon). To Revo's credit though, the translations hold unless he's going for a double meaning in the text.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Violette and Hortense.
 * Evil Redhead: The redheaded Laurant in "Miezaru Ude".
 * Fisher King: Hiver in the manga. He's obviously not in our world, but the very little we see of the... mysterious place he stays in seems pretty parallel to winter, what with its emptiness and open space of white. Probably makes some lovely echoes, too.
 * Impoverished Patrician: Loraine de Saint-Laurent, in "Yorokobi to Kanashimi no Budōshu", is from this sort of family, which is why her father insists that she marry a rich man rather than the poor vineyard-worker whom she truly loves.
 * Intellectual Animal: Pleut; in "Hoshikuzu no Kawahimo", she sings with Étoile, even though she's a dog. It's depicted in the manga as a sort of dream experience where a blind Étoile can see her and interact with her.
 * Mad God:
 * Meaningful Name: A few. To start off, Hiver is "winter" in French, the season of his death.
 * Violette and Hortense refer to "violets" and "hortensia/hydrangea". Also, with a little creativity regarding the flowers' imagery and kanji pronunciation wordplay, you get "death" and "life" respectively.
 * Étoile's name is actually explained and referenced right in the song title, through the song, and in the manga adaption many times. Heck, it's kind of the point of her song to begin with.
 * Mismatched Eyes: Hiver. Even his nails follow the idea.
 * One Steve Limit: Averted - there are quite a lot of Laurants running around. "Miezaru Ude" in particular features a man named Laurant confronting a man also named Laurant after the latter severed the former's arm. And then Laurencin shows up...
 * POV Sequel: "Yorokobi to Kanashimi no Budōshu" is implied to be the same story as "Eru no Tenbin", only from the side of the eloping lovers, which is the interpretation the manga takes
 * Pretty in Mink: Hiver once again. His coat's trimmed and apparently lined with the stuff.
 * Recurring Riff: A faintly playing musicbox shows up at the end of most songs when one of the dolls delivers the catchphrase. There are two brief tunes alternating depending on the doll speaking, but both are still recognizable from the first track's melody.
 * Also, there's no way to not recognize a slower version of the chorus' melody in "Asa to Yoru no Roman (Monogatari)" and in the final verse of "11-moji no Dengon (Message)". Plus, "Hiver's Message", a song exclusive to the Triumph III concert, uses a quick chord progression also found in the aforementioned chorus.
 * Runaway Fiance: Implied in "Yorokobi to Kanashimi no Budōshu"; definitely the case in the manga adaptation.
 * Snow Means Death: As stated earlier with Hiver.
 * Storyboard Body: Hiver, Violette, and Hortense all. In the manga, it's shown that Hiver cloned (for lack of a better word) his facial tattoos onto the cheeks of his dolls. Violette, being the doll relating to death, gets the moon, while Hortense, as the one relating to life, gets the sun.
 * Unreliable Narrator: "Yaneura Roman" suggests that one of the dolls is not quite honest about the stories she finds. ("Reality…fantasy…the world of roman…who is the liar-").
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: Life and death and the cycle they both make... The windmill references in one or two songs, the change of the seasons... Plus the characters' names, and their roles, and practically everything about this and every other Sound Horizon story album, really.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy/Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Hiver.

Seisen no Iberia
 * Album Title Drop: The last sung line in "Shinryaku suru Mono sareru Mono" is well..."Seisen no Iberia."
 * Arc Words: "The chronicles of history are as rapid as the blink of an eye."
 * Badass Long Hair: Shaytan
 * Bilingual Dialogue: Shaytan speaks Spanish, whereas Layla speaks Arabic.
 * Boy Meets Ghoul: Or rather, dead girl meets demon.
 * Deal with the Devil: With a demon, anyways. Seems to work out all right for both sides though, partly because Our Demons Are Different
 * Demonic Costume Switch: Layla.
 * Emergency Transformation: Layla
 * Eternal Love: Eternal Love is debatable, but Shaytan's willing to stick by Layla's side to make immortality more tolerable nonetheless.
 * Facial Markings: Shaytan, Master Tsadi, and the Gitana sisters
 * Forever War: The Iberian holy war
 * Genghis Gambit:
 * Gratuitous Foreign Language: English, Spanish, and Arabic.
 * Greek Chorus: the Gitana sisters
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: Shaytan
 * Horned Humanoid: Shaytan
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Shaytan and Layla, at least in the official art. This doesn't carry over into the live shows, as Revo isn't exactly a tall guy.
 * Multicolored Hair: Layla, post transformation.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Shaytan had been sealed away for so long that he'd forgotten his name. "Shaytan" is simply what Layla dubbed him.
 * Opera Gloves: Layla, post transformation
 * Our Demons Are Different
 * Playing with Fire: Shaytan
 * Recurring Riff
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Shaytan and post-transformation Layla.
 * Roma: Tsadi and the Gitana sisters.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Shaytan - though he's grateful enough to be freed that he's willing to give his devotion to the decidedly not evil Layla.
 * Take a Third Option: As thanks for releasing him, Shaytan offers to destroy all of Layla's enemies.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Layla is a Grade A after her transformation.

Moira "Orion: One-hit kill! 'The bow bends and a flame springs forth, freezing the night sky over' shot! Elef: The name’s too long, idiot! Orion: Hush you! This is the essence of Orion-styled archery!"
 * All Amazons Want Hercules: Leontius and Alexandra
 * And Then John Was a Zombie
 * Angsty Surviving Twin
 * Animal Motif: Scorpius (scorpion), Leontius (lion), and Elef/Amethystos (wolf).
 * Anticlimax:
 * Anyone Can Die
 * Babies Ever After:
 * Badass Cape: Elef, Leontius, and Scorpius
 * Because Destiny Says So
 * Big Brother Complex
 * Bishounen: Orion. And arguably, Elef. And probably Leontius, Orpheus...
 * Blade of Fearsome Size
 * Blind Seer: Misia is blinded after washing up on Lesbos's coast, after which she is rescued by Phyllis and trained as a diviner.
 * Book Ends: The album's bonus track, "Kami no Hikari - Moira", repeats the first verse of "Meiou - Thanatos" before being suddenly cut off.
 * Break the Cutie: Thanatos spends the entirety of the album tormenting Elef.
 * Cain and Abel: Leontius and his half-brother, Scorpius, are warring against each other to hold the throne of Illion.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Orion, at least as a child. Elef thinks it's stupid.

"Life is a gift, a Matryoshka doll filled with absurdity. No matter how much you open it up, you will find only pain."
 * Closer to Earth: Eirene, when compared to her erratic, over-the-top husband.
 * Cosmic Plaything: Thanatos metaphorically rakes Elef over the coals.
 * Cut Song: According to Revo, Moira was originally going to be long enough two fill up two CDs entirely, but it had to be pruned down for undisclosed reasons. Even after that, ten more minutes worth of already recorded music had to be cut
 * The Dead Can Dance: They just love to party down in Hades.
 * Dead Little Sister: is the straw that finally makes  snap.
 * Demonic Possession:
 * Distant Duet: Elef and Misia in "Shiseru Monotachi no Monogatari - Istoria"
 * Divine Parentage: Leontius is descended from the Thunder God.
 * Downer Ending
 * Duel to the Death: "Shiseru Eiyūtachi no Tatakai - Heromachia"
 * Dual-Wielding: Elef/Amethystos
 * Eccentric Billionaire: Alexei Romanovic Zvolinsky
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Thanatos.
 * The Epic
 * Evil Laugh: Scorpius does this quite well.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: Elef and Misia during the timeskip
 * Face Death with Dignity:
 * Fading Into the Next Song: Very frequently.
 * Four Is Death: 4 minutes and 44 seconds into the bonus track of Moira, the sound of someone whispering "Thanatos" can be heard.
 * Forged by the Gods: Elef's black sword was (probably) made by Thanatos, after all it is black and glows darkish violet in the stage version of "Doreitachi no Eiyū - Elefseus" performed in Triumph of the Third Territorial Expansion
 * Framing Device: The main story is nested in a frame story of Zvolinsky, a Russian billionaire, who is excavating the ruins of Arcadia in order to discover the truth behind the Elefseyan epic, a translated copy of which he reads the story from. For bonus points, the song in question is named "Jinsei wa Ireko Ningyou - Matryoshka".
 * Ghost Song: 's ghost sings a duet with Elef in "Shiseru Otome Sono Te ni wa Suigetsu - Parthenos".
 * Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!: The main theme of the album ("FREEDOM. OR. DEATH").
 * Gratuitous English
 * Gratuitous Greek
 * Greek Chorus: Quite literally with the six sister goddesses of poetry.
 * Greek Mythology
 * Half-Identical Twins: Elef and Misia.
 * Here We Go Again:
 * Hero of Another Story: The extent of Leontius and Scorpius's power struggle are only hinted at.
 * High-Class Call Girl: Cassandra and Melissa.
 * Hot Amazon: Alexandra
 * How Dare You Die on Me!:  reacts this way to  's death at the end of "Shiseru Eiyūtachi no Tatakai - Heromachia".
 * Human Sacrifice:
 * "I Am" Song: "Meiou - Thanatos" for Thanatos.
 * I See Dead People: In "Shi to Nageki no Kaze no Miyako - Ilion", Elef discovers that he can see shadows that come to take peoples' souls when they die.
 * I Will Wait for You: Misia for Elef.
 * I Will Find You:
 * Jerkass Gods
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Kill the Cutie:
 * Long-Lost Relative: Leontius had a younger brother who was taken away as a newborn in order to avert the prophesy that he would slay his mother. Leontius believes his brother to be, but in reality his brother is.
 * Lyrical Dissonance: "Jinsei wa Ireko Ningyou - Matryoshka" is a very cheerful song about how life can be a never ending parade of misery.

"Leontius: ...being a Hellenes yourself, why do you assist the Barbaroi in their invasion?
 * Made a Slave: Elef and Misia
 * Multicolored Hair: Elef, Misia, and Leontius
 * The Muse: The Six Sister Goddesses of Poetry, who serve as the Greek Chorus.
 * Musicalis Interruptus: Eirene does this in "Jinsei wa Ireko Ningyou - Matryoshka".
 * Not Quite Saved Enough:
 * Noodle People: Thanatos is over a dozen feet tall and spindly enough that Revo needs to use prop arms to play him.
 * Norio Wakamoto: Scorpius
 * Oh, and X Dies: The Greek Chorus announces 's eventual death as early as "Unmei no Futago - Didymoi".
 * Pedophile Priest: Elef is physically and sexually abused by Nesto after he's sold into slavery. When Nesto tries to rape Misia, Elef finally resists and kills him.
 * Power Dyes Your Hair:
 * Primordial Chaos: "In the beginning, Chaos fills the world. After a while, the mother of all life awakens."
 * Puppet King
 * Purple Eyes: Elef has, in Isadora's words, "Amethyst eyes that invite death."
 * Rage Against the Heavens
 * Rain of Arrows
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge:  goes and kills everyone who once tormented them. Lastly he goes against.
 * Scream Discretion Shot: Elef's abuse by Nestro is only suggested by the sound of whips, Elef's screams, and Nestro asking where he likes it and if he's enjoying it. In the live shows, Nestro pulls Elef behind a wall to commit the act.
 * Senseless Sacrifice:
 * SHe Who Must Not Be Seen: Moira
 * Shoot the Shaggy Dog:
 * Skyward Scream: Elef after.
 * Slave Liberation: Amethystos embarks on his Roaring Rampage of Revenge by traveling across the country to free, eventually amassing an army of them to invade and destroy Ilion (which is where he was Made a Slave himself).
 * Someone Has to Die: So volunteers.
 * Son of a Whore: Scorpius
 * Sorry That I'm Dying: 's last words are an apology to for not being able to live long enough to see him again.
 * Summon Backup Dancers: What else would Thanatos need an army of reapers for?
 * Take Me Instead!: offers herself to Scorpius as a sacrifice in Phyllis's place.
 * That Man Is Dead:, Elef discards his identity to become Amethystos
 * The Time of Myths: The setting is stated to be such in "Myth - Mythos"
 * Time Skip: In the middle of "Haruka Chiheisen no Kanata e - Horizontas".
 * Title Scream: MOIRA YO!!
 * Tragedy
 * Twin Telepathy: Elef and Misia tell in Historia, how they can feel each other, even though they are apart. And they even.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Thanatos loves all people, living or dead, but he hates Moira and the suffering he brings to peoples' lives enough that he's willing to destroy Elef's life as part of a plan to Rage Against the Heavens
 * What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?: Thanatos is dicking around with your life for a good cause, Elef. Really!
 * Where I Was Born and Razed:
 * What did the motherland ever do for me? All it did was take away my loved ones! Don't make me laugh!"


 * White-Haired Pretty Boy and Girl: Elef and Misia
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: "I, Leontius, do not possess a spear that pierces women."
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Elef does not take well.
 * You Are Too Late:

Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido ""I always wanted to have friends But I don't know what such things were""
 * A Plague on Both Your Houses
 * Arranged Marriage:
 * Burn the Witch:
 * The Black Death
 * Call-and-Response Song: In a "Hikari to Yami no Märchen (Dowa)", where Elise asks Märchen about the deserted village März and Therese once lived in.
 * Chained by Fashion: Märchen's outfit is made of this and belts.
 * Creepy Cool Crosses: Again, Märchen.
 * Creepy Doll: Elise.
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Double Meaning Title
 * Gratuitous German
 * Heroic Albino: März is implied to have albinism (white hair, red eyes, vision problems, etc.).
 * I Just Want to Have Friends: Elisabeth stated this clearly in "Kono Semai Torikago no Naka de".


 * Ill Girl: Elisabeth until she was cured.
 * The Ingenue: Elisabeth
 * Lonely Rich Kid: Elisabeth, enclosed in her home which apparently is a metaphor of bird cage without knowing the outer world, does not even have any friends
 * Mama Bear
 * Meaningful Name: Both Elise and Therese take their name from "Für Elise" ("Therese" coming from the hypothesis that the name of the piece was transliterated incorrectly, and that its real name is "Für Therese"), indicating their connection.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The crimes that got burned at the stake as a witch? Healing sick children, apparently.
 * The President's Daughter: Elisabeth. It is never stated explicitly so, but if we look through the history, her surname, von Wettin, signs that she comes from the House of Wettin, which is a ruling family in Thurigia, German, at that time.
 * The Promise: Elisabeth made März promise to her
 * Separated by the Wall: März and Elisabeth
 * Those Two Bad Guys: Hans and Tom, the men In the Hood who captured Therese.
 * Throwing Off the Disability: März used to be blind, but regained his sight "due to a mysterious incident".
 * Thrown Down a Well:

Märchen
 * Adaptation Expansion: "Kuroki Okami No Yado" expands greatly upon "The Man from the Gallows", which is only a few lines long.
 * Ambiguous Gender: The Black Landlady's gender is listed as "unknown".
 * Arc Words: "Ido" is a very important word.
 * Akio Ohtsuka: As Bluebeard.
 * Amnesiac Lover: Märchen recalls the faint feeling that he was once in love in "Yoiyami No Uta", but is told by the seven dead princesses that it must have been his imagination.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: Elisabeth
 * Big No: Elise's last word
 * Bokukko: The main character in "Kuroki Okami no Yado" refers to herself with masculine pronouns. This is actually not that uncommon in the dialect she speaks in.
 * The Black Death: Gets its bonus track this time around.
 * The Brothers Grimm
 * Chained by Fashion: Märchen's new outfit still had his chains. It is significant.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Elise until she was
 * Creepy Cool Crosses: Scattered everywhere.
 * Creepy Doll: Elise
 * Crosscast Role: Jimangu plays the role of the Landlady, and Yume Suzuki plays both Princes.
 * Cute and Psycho: Once she's revived, Snow White has no trouble in reveling in her stepmother's torturous death with an Evil Laugh, while the Blue Prince can only look on and wonder what the hell he's gotten himself hitched to.
 * Determinator: Elisabeth
 * Disappeared Dad: The father in "Kakei no Majo".
 * Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: Neither the Blue Prince in "Garasu No Hitsugi De Nemuru Himegimi" nor the Red Prince in "Bara No Tou De Nemuru Himegimi" seem to care that their brides to be are comatose, if not outright dead.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Märchen
 * Every Thing Is Better With Princesses: About half of the girls have no ties to royalty, but that doesn't stop Märchen from calling them the "seven dead princesses".
 * Fairy Tale: The seven revenge songs are based on one
 * "Hansel and Gretel": "Kakei no Majo"
 * "The Man from the Gallows": "Kuroki Okami No Yado"
 * "Snow White": "Garasu No Hitsugi De Nemuru Himegimi"
 * "Mother Hulda": "Sei To Shi Wo Wakatsu Kyoukai No Furuido"
 * "Sleeping Beauty": "Bara No Tou De Nemuru Himegimi"
 * "Bluebeard": "Aoki Hakushaku no Shiro"
 * "Saint Kummernis": "Takkei no Seijo"
 * Fantasy Tavern: Kurokitsunetei
 * Foreign Cuss Word: In "Kuroki Okami No Yado", the Landlady shouts "Scheiße!"
 * Friend to All Living Things: The nun in "Kakei No Majo".
 * Genki Girl: The main character in "Sei to Shi wo Wakatsu Kyōkai no Furuido".
 * Ghost Amnesia: Märchen
 * Gratuitous German: Oh yes. For starters, the title of the album is German for "fairytale".
 * Hair Decorations: Elise, Swing Girl (from "Kuroki Okami No Yado"), Snow White, Well Girl ("Sei To Shi Wo Wakatsu Kyoukai No Furuido"), Sleeping Beauty, and Elisabeth fall into this category.
 * Hand Puppet: Märchen, of all people, makes use of them in "Sei To Shi Wo Wakatsu Kyoukai No Furuido".
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Märchen and Elise
 * Humans Are Morons: Elise stated this clearly in her revenge proposal to Märchen as humans never stop hating everyone.
 * "I Am" Song: "Yoiyami No Uta" - or a "I Have No Idea Who I Am" song, rather.
 * I Gave My Word: Apparently During one of the lives, too, when there's a member introduction, März says to everyone that "März is a man of his word."
 * I Love the Dead: The Blue Prince has, in Märchen's words, "unusual preferences".
 * I'm a Humanitarian: The landlady in "Kuroki Okami No Yado" serves up human meat at her inn, although it's largely because there's not much else available.
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness:
 * The Killer Becomes the Killed: Most of the villains (except the lazy stepmother and sister, Alterose, and Elisabeth's brother/father) who made the girls die, in the end gets killed by those girls (or anyone they use to kill back) in various ways.
 * Lady in Red: Bluebeard's first wife. The dress used to be white, but...
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Märchen
 * Looks Like Cesare: Märchen
 * Love Hurts:
 * Love Redeems:
 * Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: One way of looking at the album. "This story is fiction. But that doesn't mean everything was made up."
 * Meaningful Echo: "Mother, the light is warm."
 * Musical Chores: "Sei To Shi Wo Wakatsu Kyoukai No Furuido"
 * Noblewoman's Laugh: Elise. Actually, Alterose and Snow White's step mother fit this trope better.
 * No Name Given: All of the seven dead princesses, save for Snow White and.
 * Numerological Motif: Märchen sure loves the number seven.
 * Offing the Offspring: The mother in "Kakei no Majo" does this.
 * Our Zombies Are Different: Märchen is basically a type R, brought back into the world only to indulge in his impulses for revenge.
 * Painful Transformation: If his screams are any indication, then März turning into Märchen probably isn't a very relaxing procedure. The fact that he's integrating Id into himself at the same time doesn't help in the mental aspect.
 * Palette Swap: The Red and Blue Princes are only distinguished by the color of their tunic. They're even played by the same person.
 * Poor Communication Kills: Gretel's overactive imagination leads her to believe that the old woman feeding them is actually a witch planning to eat them.
 * Prince Charming: The Red and Blue Princes.
 * Recurring Riff: All of the sequences where the princesses get their revenge share the melody of the call and response portion of "Hikari to Yami no Märchen (Dowa)".
 * Revenge: What this whole album is about.
 * Revenge SVP: Alte Rose, as per the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In a manner of speaking. Elise encourages Märchen to take revenge on humanity in general (because they're bastards), which Märchen decides to do by granting the opportunity for revenge to those who've also been wronged in life.
 * Rock Me, Amadeus: "Yoiyami No Uta" features a snippet from "Ode to Joy", followed quickly by "Fantaisie-Impromptu" and "Pictures at an Exposition".
 * Tear Jerker: "Takkei no Seijo" and "Gyoukou no Uta". The tears started during
 * Together in Death: After his untimely death, Märchen and Elisabeth finally meet after Elisabeth is crucified.
 * Tohoku Regional Accent: The main character in "Kuroki Okami No Yado" speaks like this.
 * Turn the Other Cheek:  is the only one of the seven dead princesses who decides not to take revenge.
 * Seven Deadly Sins: The seven dead princesses' are based on this, from gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, pride, lust, ending on wrath.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers
 * Stealth Pun: The notes Elise hums at the beginning of "Yoiyami No Uta" are from "Für Elise". It also plays on Elise's connection to Therese, as it's been suggested that the piece's title is actually a mistranscription of "Für Therese".
 * Vocaloid: Elise's singing voice is provided by Hatsune Miku.
 * Widow Witch: The "Witch" in "Kakei No Majo" - not that she hasn't done bad things in the past.
 * Wicked Stepmother: Schneewittchen's and the well girl's step mother fell into this category. The Landlady could fall into this category too, or maybe not
 * Woman Scorned: More like Doll Scorned for that couple of seconds in Elise's case.
 * World of Cardboard Song: In the second half of "Takkei no Seijo".
 * Yandere: Elise could be considered this for Märchen.