5 Elementos

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Matarratas, Zap, Kaji, Lluvia and Sokar
"The world. A finite home, quite big and composed by hundreds of elements. "
—Kaji

5 Elementos (5 Elements) is a Spanish "manga", written by Jesús García Ferrer, set in a fantastic world. This world is ruled by elementals, people with the power to control nature's elements (going from fire to viruses to shit. No, really).

After the world's most powerful warriors (called the Five Elements) betray the king of their nation and then disappear, the new king erases all of the nation's historic records, to "create a brand new nation". Many years later, Kaji Llamaviva (the protagonist, a 13 year old kid), along with his friend Zap and some kids that hate him (and Sokar), starts investigating the Five Elements to discover what really happened, and if the official version is actually true, or the government is keeping a masquerade.

The mood is mostly comic, but it has moments of tension, suspense and drama. It has won the award to the best manga of Spanish author twice. It began in September 24, 2008, and appears to have finished on September 29, 2017.

As for now it is only in Spanish.

Tropes used in 5 Elementos include:

Lambda: I hope you've learned something from yesterday.
Zap: Fire burns.

  • Actual Pacifist: Sauce.
  • Age-Appropriate Angst: Poor Benjamin was 8 years old when his mom died in the Zero Day.
  • All There in the Manual: A lot of information is found only in the book format, including backstory of the elemental world, or the element of certain characters.
  • All Your Powers Combined: Matarratas explains that an Alcahest elemental, Lluvia, for example, could manipulate all the elements.
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Kaji´s mother, Karol, has shades of this.
  • Apologetic Attacker: Sokar.
  • Art Evolution: Partly intentional, according to Word of God.
  • Artificial Human: Hiedra´s team, created by Dr. Bombastus. Special mencion to Kei, who was made with the power of controlling both fire and shadow.
  • Ass Pull: Lluvia and Sokar by chance happen to know the Ancient Language in which the book is written.
    • Might not be such an asspull, all things considered: Sôkar's grandfather might have been researching on the Ancients because he knew there was an Ancient temple in Beluga Town. A temple which energy Sebastián Rattengift took use of for his experiments, which then brought Ember (and so the book) to that town. That still leaves Ken Válbrandur out of the equation, but it's not so blatant.
  • At the Crossroads: In the Labyrinth, the paths taken by the five main characters meet near the end. Conversed by Kaji as he narrates.
    • The same things happen to Ember and Sebastian in the Ember´s Chronicle chapters, and as Ember narrates, he uses the same phrases that Kaji used 22 chapters before.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Pretty much everywhere.
  • Bad Liar: Zap.
  • Bad Powers, Good People: Matarratas and Rubeola.
  • Badass Teacher: All of them, of course. It´s a world where everyone has elemental powers. But Dino and Leo take the cake.
  • The Bait: Nizo uses Roco as bait to get Lambda out of the way, so they can go where the main cast is (sleeping, their minds inside of the Labyrinth) and screw with their bodies.
  • Battle Aura: Katai is basically a fire aura. It makes the user stronger, faster, and lasts longer than common Katotsu.
  • Berserk Button: Stating that Kaji and his father are similar. Beating Lluvia in a fight. Defying Matarratas´ intelligence, defending the Five Elements in front of him and saying anything remotely offensive towards his dead relatives, specially his grandfather Sebastian. Talking abour "legends" during Leo´s class.
  • Black and Grey Morality: Lluvia believes that this applies to all people.
  • Blackmail: Kaji implies that he knows about Matarratas´ secret lab in order to get his cooperation.
  • Blatant Lies: All over the place, mostly used for comedic effect.
    • Except when Karol told Kaji that maybe he was going to see Benjamin if he stayed in Leona City and tried hard to win the League.
  • Blind Seer: The Was family of shadow elementals are always blindfolded. They see with their soul.
  • Blood Knight: Lluvia is happy at the perspective of going through the League again because she will be able to kick asses.
    • Hiedra went for blood wen she attacked Zap.
  • Boss Fight: Finalmigo (Finalfoe) is the boss of the Labyrinth.
  • Boss Room: The last room of the Labyrinth, where the main cast fights Finalmigo.
  • Boss Subtitles: Done three times until now.
  • Boss Vulnerability: Matarratas thinks Finalmigo is a type two: "Surely he attacks, then gets vulnerable and we hit him three times".
  • Bottomless Pit: One of the Labyrinth´s obstacles.
  • Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Desangrador said he was going to do this to Anpepón after he attacked the main cast. It´s actually a case of Can´t Kill You Still Need You. He also ends killing Anpepón.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: From time to time.
    • Only in the first arc and maybe the start of the second. It gets slightly more serious after that.
  • Breath Weapon: Griposo breathes flu, incapacitating his opponents once he is able to grab them.
  • Bullfight Boss: Finalmigo has shades of this.
  • The Bully: Nizo, but we only see him annoying Kaji. Lluvia is this to almost everyone who has any interaction with her.
  • By the Eyes of the Blind: The Kimikoho is a special vision that allows virus elementals to see all the elements that compose nature and every being and thing, thus making them able to manipulate them with ease. Matarratas inherited it from his grandfather, Sebastián Flu Rattengift.
  • Calling Your Attacks: At least the level.
  • Can't Kill You - Still Need You: Both Anpepón and the main cast have suffered this.
  • The Captain: There are many captains in the military. However, the Four Colonels are the true military bosses.
  • Captain Ersatz: Look at the long haired guy in Hiedra´s team of the League and try not to think of Orochimaru.
  • Cerebus Rollercoaster: First chapters make you believe it is going to be just an Affectionate Parody of manga. Later chapters switch from funny to serious more often.
    • Word of God says this was completely intentional: since it's a webcomic, and Raruto (the author's previous manga, a parody of Naruto) had gotten quite some audience, Jesulink didn't want to scare them away by changing the style too suddenly.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: Or more like:
  • Chekhov's Gag: "When using the dreamworld technique, (Anpepón) is so vulnerable that a mischievous 13 year old kid with bad ideas could beat him".
  • Chekhov's Gun: Someone stole soporifics and rubidium form Mat´s bag...
  • Child Prodigy: Kaji's father, Ember, is this with his elemental powers. His brother, Benjamin, is an intelectual genius.
    • It's also said that all of the Five Elements dominated the five levels of combat before turning 18.
    • Matarratas can create and modify very complex chemical mixes, even those made by an expert proffessional. He inheritted it from his grandfather.
  • Child Soldiers: If you win the League, you can be a high ranked soldier, even if you are a teenager.
  • Class Trip: Dino forced this, so all of Kaji´s class can go with him to Leona City. That way, Kaji will have to do the Super Work, and Dino, Lluvia and Nizo will be able to annoy him anytime they want.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Classic of the author, Zap is the most extreme example (for now).
    • Melon Pijollama is an interesting example: he insists that he and Kaji are long known rivals, he usually talks about their "old times" and how he "used to beat him daily". None of this has actually happened, and Kaji met him for the first time at the exhibitions in the Elemental League.
  • Coincidental Accidental Disguise: Kaji just wraps a scarf around his face and says that he is a steam elemental called "Steamy" to enter the Labyrinth. It turns out that there is a kid called Steamy, and Kaji looks almost like him. Of course, once the real Steamy shows up, the examinator thinks he is an impostor.
  • Colonel Badass: The four Colonels, presumably.
  • Colonel Kilgore: Not actually colonels, but many soldiers with high ranks were shown enjoying the Zero Day greatly and killing people out of fun.
  • Colossus Climb: The yótum is as big as your average skyscraper. And there is no weak spot.
  • Complete Monster: The official version says that the Five Elements were this. Also Pierre Curry. And Desangrador.
  • Completely Missing the Point: Kaji: "I'd rather choke on my own vomit!!" Karol: "You know i don´t like you to drink with haste".
  • Con Lang: The Ancient Language. Ken Válbrandur´s book is written completely like this. Lluvia and Sokar also happen to know some of it, because Sokar´s anthropologist grandfather did teach them a bit. So does Benjamin. And Adler.
    • A closer study of the Ancient language shows that it's little more than Catalan (a language spoken in part of Spain) spelled backwards and with vowels thrown in randomly, in what appears to be a parody of "katakanization". When it's not just Spanish spelled in the Ancient alphabet.
    • Subverted with Lizard Speech: you just have to add the word "Lizard" after each sentence, and you will be able to speak it flawlessly.
  • Contractual Boss Immunity: Finalmigo is invulnerable to Matarratas´ virical attacks, as well as the other Labyrinth enemies.
  • Convection, Schmonvection: A fire elemental ability. Lampshaded by Zap when not only Kaji is unharmed by lava, but his clothes as well.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Bombeta shows great versatility at using his powers and good analytic abilities.
    • And Ember, Dino and Leo definitely count.
  • Crush! Kill! Destroy!: The robot teacher Lapicero (mechanical pen) becomes this when his software fails, or when he wants to scare someone. He is normally very nice to children.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: The Five Elements were famous for this. Also Lluvia to Bombeta and Fósforo in the Elemental League. And much later, Ember to Pierre Curry.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Water elementals have blue, plant elementals have green, fire elementals (mostly) have red, virus elementals seem to be violet and so on...
  • Custom Uniform: Each rank on each of the four military divisions has a specific uniform. The author has shown the uniforms for the lowest rank in each division.
  • Cute Bruiser: Or at least, as much cute you can think Lluvia is...
  • Dad the Veteran: Ember was a soldier. He currently is a SS soldier.
  • Damage Sponge Boss: Both Finalmigo and the yótum, even if both of them are later destroyed in one hit
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Matarratas may be quite jerkish, but he isn´t evil. And Sokar is probably the nicest guy around.
  • Darkest Hour
  • Deadpan Snarker: Everyone. Specially Lluvia and Matarratas. They mostly suck at it too.
  • Dean Bitterman: Dino (the school´s principal) subverts this: even if he is jerky with almost everyone, he is sadistic only to Kaji.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: The Ancient Language is the language of the Ancients, an ancient tribe, of ancient customs.
    • Kaji´s team for the League is called "Fire13". Guess wich elemental branch do all the members belong to.
  • Determinator: Lluvia keeps attacking the yótum, even if it´s totally useless.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: The government will kill you if you are found investigating the previous era, or looking for information about the Five Elements, it doesn´t matter if you are 13 years old.
  • The Ditz: Karol, Kaji´s mother, can have shades of this sometimes.
  • Does Not Understand Sarcasm: Zap.
  • Doom Magnet: Lluvia accuses Kaji of being this.
  • Draft Dodging: Kaji wants to lose the League in order to do this.
  • Eldritch Location: The Sheetworld, the place where your energy goes when it´s imprisoned in a paper sheet.
    • The uncrossable Ocean. Also the Labirynth´s mental world, arguably.
  • Elemental Embodiment: The yotums are elemental giants that live far away from elementals. An ice yotum has appeared in the story, and a rock yotum has been mentioned. There are also some other elemental animals, like these.
    • Also Adler's Level A Ornáguila. It´s a fire giant eagle wich Adler uses as transport.
    • There are also "monigotes subnormales" (this troper's translation: retarded doodles; [1]), formed in 90% by their element, which are said to have so much energy inside that they'd be hella dangerous were they not retarded.
  • Elemental Powers: Fire, Water, Earth, Virus, Psyche, Paper, Egg, Shit...
  • Elemental Punch: Katotsu is a level 1 fire technique that allows you to ignite a part of your body (mostly your fists) to make fire punches or kicks.
  • Emergency Body Change: While fighting Karbo, Zap finally revives Sokar, who binds with him so they can face Karbo.
  • Empty Promise: Well, Karol didn´t promise Kaji that Benjamin was going to appear, but she said it to stimulate him. He found out and ran away crying.
  • Energy Ball: More like Virus Ball.
  • Everyone Meets Everyone: Fire 13 first meeting is this.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: That fat guy of Leftovers 5? His name is Fatass. And the little one? He is Dwarf.
  • Exalted Torturer: Pierre Curry.
  • Extranormal Institute
  • Familiar: Hugin and Munin, the Was family giant, dark, adequately verbose, shadow elemental crows. They were not aware of Sokar´s dirty business, but they decide not to tell Sokar´s parents.
  • Fantastic Racism: Ember is this in spades, and it causes people to think Kaji is one as well. It´s also very common between fire and water elementals. Also people in general against virus elementals.
    • This led to the anihilation of air and earth elementals, all of them killed during the chaos of the Zero Day.
  • Fartillery: Fart is an element too.
  • Father, I Don't Want to Fight: Ember would love Kaji becoming a soldier, but Kaji always answers this.
  • The Ferry Man: Chisp Llamaviva will transport you across the Labyrinth´s lava pit for a golden coin.
  • Fireballs: And Magmaballs. Virusballs as well.
  • Five-Man Band: The Five Elements. Also the protagonists might be this, even if two of them hate Kaji with passion, and the roles can't be clearly defined.
  • Flanderization: Lluvia started as a very kind girl, and even after Kaji angered her, she looked at him with a "poor guy" expression after he ran away from the fire in the school. Now she is just a jerkass who treats everyone badly, specially Kaji.
    • In recent chapters, when she was kidnapped, she did seem to care a lot about Sôkar, and even if only slightly, also about Kaji, revealing that she might actually be a Tsundere.
  • Flat Earth Atheist: Leonardo Davín is quite skeptical about legends in general, even considering that he lives in a world of elemental embodiments and superpowers.
  • Floating Platform: Roco tries this to cross the lava pit in the Labyrinth. He falls.
  • Follow in My Footsteps: Ember would like Kaji to be a soldier.
  • Forbidden Zone: the Ocean. Limited to population by a giant wall, it´s impossible to corss and is deemed "the End of the World". Everyone who has tried to cross it is dead, even water elementals. Except maybe one person...
  • Freudian Trio: Lambda is the Superego, Dino and Leo are both Ego and Id.
  • "Friend or Idol?" Decision: Kei is burning the book and Bombastus kidnaps a poisoned Lluvia. Kaji must make a desicion, and while the rest of the team pursues the kidnappers, he stays and tries to save thee book and convince the others to stay. This leads to a fight with Matarratas.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Leo. He has invented a power analyzer, and Dino says he has more gadgets. He has a mechanical hand as well, wich he calls his "good hand".
  • Genki Girl: Flama can be a light one sometimes.
  • Genre Savvy: Not so savvy actually, but it´s used for comedic effect.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Actually there´s no radar, so the author can do whatever he wants. The kids, for example, swear a lot. Also the teachers seem to organize chicken fights.
    • The kids don't swear any more than a normal Spanish kid their age (it's just that the Spanish "joder" is softer than the English equivalent "fuck"). But he does seem to have a radar: for example, a couple characters are cut midword when saying "coño" (like English "fuck" or maybe stronger). Also, the sentence "Let's play doctors" shows up twice with a character about to shot an injection to someone against their will (in fact, the second is replied with "Are you going to abuse me?").
  • Gilligan Cut: Played with.

Kaji: What about the address? Why don't we go check that out first?
Matarratas: Oh, sure! Let's go to an address written down in a genocide's diary! Then we can drop by the jail to get tortured! Aw, come on! I'm not going there even mad!
(Cut to the poor zone of the city)
Matarratas: I still don't quite get how you convinced me.

  • Girl Next Door: Flama has some aspects of this towards Kaji.
  • Girl with Psycho Weapon: Lluvia can control her razor-sharp umbrella with her powers (it has water inside). It´s also a Sword Cane.
    • That douchebag girl in the League uses her plant powers to transform her arm into a branch and pierce her enemies.
  • Go Look At the Distraction: Part of Mr. Aquarrica´s plan, he needed the teachers out of town, so his assistant told them the yotum was in the mountains.
  • Goddamned Boss: Finalmigo is this for Matarratas.
  • Good-Looking Privates: The Adler brothers and Ember are good examples.
  • Granola Kid: Plant elemental Sauce, and his mother, Acacia.
  • Great Offscreen War: The Zero Day can be considered this. We got some images on the Ember Chronicles, but not much was revealed.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Desangrador is quite frustrated by the fact that the Kimikoho allows Matarratas, as it did with Sebastián to find and create the most complicated formulas with ease.
  • Groin Attack: Lluvia likes doing this, when she is not trying to kill you.
    • Also Sokar does this from time to time.
  • Guardian Entity: Ouroboros, the giant snake that "guards the Alcahest"
  • Ha Ha Ha No
  • Hammerspace: The place where stuff goes when absorbed by shadows. It´s called "shadow memory" and it´s limit to absorb matter is proportional to the user´s own power. Munin has enough shadow memory to swallow and teleport enormous boulders.
  • Handicapped Badass: Hodr Arian, the "Blue Leviathan", member of the Five Elements. Blind but deadly.
  • He Knows Too Much: Played for laughs, Ember thougt Colonel Cerilla was going to do this to him. Played completely straight against people who investigate about the past.
  • Healing Teeth: Ouroboros has a healing bite. It´s quite effective.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: Dino can imprison your soul inside a paper sheet. Don´t make him mad. He also has shown a great battle prowess while fighting Desangrador.
    • The much ridiculized Heart element is, according to an interview by the author with the fans, the ability to literally control hearts, even though it could have other properties as well.
    • Fatass is an egg elemental. He can totally drown you in a giant egg yolk.
  • Hellfire: This is what the Dusk Virus causes on fire elementals. It can burn without oxygen, and even burn fireproof materials. Crisol hypothezises that it works like a mini nuclear fusion, chewing the elemental´s energy away.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: When Zap is about to be killed by Finalmigo, Kaji intercepts it, and Finalmigo pierces his body.
    • Adler´s brother blew himself up to save Ember from Dr, Ebola.
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Kaji is a not so bad example.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: A shadow elemental specialty is to return attacks to their owner. Karbo was literally defeated by his own hand.
  • Hot Dad: Some.
  • Hot Shounen Mom: Karol, Kaji´s mother, and Rosita, Amor´s mother. Also unnamed Sokar´s mom. Kaji´s grandmother Sirone didn´t look bad either.
  • Hot Teacher: Lambda, even though she is 68.
  • How Do You Say...?: Orubak is Ancient for Jerkass.
  • I Am Not My Father: Kaji, even if many people thinks that he is like Ember.
  • Immortality: Uroboros is a type IV. Sorta.
  • Infinity+1 Element: Alcahest is theorized to be this. It´s existance is mostly hypotetycal tough, and it´s existence has not been officially recognized. At least if you don´t count the ruins under Mount Pito. And Lluvia.
  • Informed Ability: "Sokar can move in darkness just fine". He can´t.
    • In chapter 39 he does lead Zap through the dark. That was probably just the labyrinth confounding his shadow powers, Played for Laughs.
  • Insane Troll Logic: "I'm the architect because I'm a lightning elemental".
    • "It's all so ancient and it's full of texts in Ancient [language]. Coincidence? You bet."
    • (Talking about a stage play:)

Zap: I don't complain 'coz I'm the protagonist.
Matarratas: The heck, protagonist? You're a tree!
Zap: That's why. The play's called "Bifrost and the tree". And I'm the tree.

Zap: Matarratas is a bird! A bird! [...] He wasn't a person! He was a mouse in disguise!! He tried to kill his best friend with his eye!![1] [...] My glass... is a clown! I wanna have a navel!

  • Inverse Law of Complexity to Power: Elementals of "pure" elements can control both its element and any element descended from it - so a copper elemental can only control copper, while a metal elemental can control every metal, including copper. An elemental that could control the theorical fundamental element Alcahest would be able to control all substances in nature.
    • Though the fact that they can control more elements doesn't necessarily give them an advantage.
  • Jaw Drop: Dino did this when Kaji beat Lluvia.
  • Jerkass: All the main cast and many others have their oportunity. Special mention to the Hiedra who appears in the League and doesn´t even need provocation.
    • Griposo is only in the League to screw aorund as much as he can, out of spite for being fired from the army for stealing money.
  • The Juggernaut: Karbô, graphene elemental, a nigh-invulnerable gargantuan man.
  • Karma Houdini: Lluvia is a total bastard with everyone, all the time. Nothing ever happens to her.
  • Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Chemists were treated like this in the old days. Now, the main cast qualifies, and those who share their secrets.
  • Kill It with Water: Lluvia tries this against Kaji. Several times.
  • King Mook: Finalmigo is a bigger, armoured version of the common Labyrinth enemies.
  • Lady of Adventure: Flama is willing to win the League and become a soldier.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Kaji never remembers anything after the Dusk Virus powerups.
  • Last-Minute Project: Nizo did his Super Work about the return trip form Leona City.
  • Lava Pit: One of the Labyrinth´s obstacles.
  • Leave No Survivors: Many rebelled soldiers played this back in Zero Day.
  • Let Me Get This Straight...: Lampshaded in "So you're saying the watchman has a son, that he's in your class and that he won Lluvia in a fight?!" "That's a good summary of what we just said."
  • Let's Get Dangerous: "Asskicking time".
  • The Library of Babel: Leona City´s is actually just a big library, but due to the general lack of books in the whole country, specially about history, it´s treated like this.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Karbô, a rock golem-like giant man who moves almost as fast as Zap.
  • Lightning Can Do Anything: Matarratas tells Zap to electrify Finalmigo to confuse his thought patterns. It backfired.
  • Little Miss Badass: Lluvia can crush giant boulders with one punch effortlessly and drown you in seconds with a tidal wave. She was also the strongest fighter in a school for super powered kids.
  • Little Miss Snarker: Lluvia again.
  • Look Behind You!: Subverted, there is actually an ice giant behind Arturo and Nizo.
  • Lotus Eater Machine: The Labyrinth is a dreamlike mental world created by Anpepón to test the students of the Beluga School. It´s full of Death Traps and Your Mind Makes It Real, but they rescue you if something awful ever happens (at cost of failing the test, of course).
  • Mad Scientist Laboratory: Matarratas has a secret lab, with a sign that Rubeola made to annoy Mat. Kinda subverted because Matarratas is not crazy, and he believes works there with Desangrador to make an antidote so virus elementals can touch living beings without harming them. Desangrador´s fits better, because he actually is a murderous psychopath.
  • Made of Phlebotinum: Ghosts, or spectre elementals, such as Lambda, are entirely made of spectre element. They are not the souls of deceased people and are actually alive. They appear one day at random, never age, and then one day dissapear suddenly, with no previous warning.
  • Magic Antidote: the Dawn Project, initiated by Colonel Ébola, and then continued by Desangrador and Matarratas with the goal of creating an antidote that would allow virus elementals to touch living beings without harming them. Turns out it was a ploy to re create the Dusk virus, planned by both Ébola and Desangrador
  • Mana: Vital Energy, wich is measured in moles.
  • Masquerade: The premise of the comic.
  • Mass "Oh Crap": The main cast when they found the yótum.
  • Military Academy: Many, but you have to win the League if you want to get a higher rank some day.
  • Military Brat: Ember.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: Many characters have this, mostly for the art style.
  • Morph Weapon: Hugin is able to merge with Sokar´s Wascythe to increase it´s power greatly and give it a self-conciousness.
  • Mood Whiplash: One of the author´s distinctive tropes.
  • Mook Maker: Desangrador has some capsules that can turn inanimate objects into living servants. Their overall power depends in what object you use the capsule in, and the resultant mooks can develop their own personality, but they seem to obey their master doubtless.
  • Mr. Exposition: Matarratas and Kaji do this from time to time, but the main Mr. Exposition is Dino.
  • Mundane Utility: Karol works as oven in a bakery. Lightbulbs have light because light elementals give it to them.
  • My Eyes Are Up Here: Rubeola says something like this to Kaji once. It doen´t seem to bother her much, actually.
  • Mysterious Informant: It wasn´t Benjamin... it´s Adler.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: It looks like a running theme with virus elementals: Matarratas means literally Ratkiller, Desangrador means Bleeder, Varicela means Chicken Pox, and of course, Dr. Ebola.
  • The Narrator: Kaji. Ember in the Ember Chronicles.
  • Neck Lift: Lluvia does this to Nizo.
  • Never My Fault: Lluvia extends this to "it´s all Kaji´s fault, always". Dino is fond of blaming Kaji for everything as well.
  • Nice Guy: Even if he is quite serious, Sokar fits this trope very well.
  • The Nicknamer: Nizo seems to be this. He sucks at it.
  • Nightmare Face: Corrupt Captain Pierre Curry [dead link]. It´s even lampshaded when he states that he can´t drink water in a glass, because he will spill it from a side.
  • No Except Yes: Subverted: "You're grounding me?" "Grounding? I prefer to call it in another way. But that's how it's called, I'm not gonna change the name now."
  • No Indoor Voice: ROCO!!!!
  • Won't Work On Me: The enemies in the Labyrinth are inmune to Matarratas´s virus-based attacks.
  • The Nothing After Death: In a flashback, Benjamin tells Kaji that when you die, the elements that compose your body return to nature to create more life, and your "soul" just stops existing.
    • But as stated by Sôkar's father in the same chapter, that's no more than a guess. After all, since ghosts aren't really ghosts, there's no way to know for sure.
  • Obviously Evil: Desangrador. Turned out he wasn´t. Turned out he is a Complete Monster.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: How the heck did Chisp enter the Labyrinth? He doesn´t want to answer.
  • Oh Crap: Many times, the most famous may be one of Lluvia when she tried to drown Kaji, only for him to vaporize the water in an instant and then punch her in the face.
    • Also when Zap and Sôkar thought they had defeated Karbô for good, only to have him get up and strike back at them.
  • One-Hit Kill: Most of the common enemies in the Labyrinth suffered this from the main cast. Also, Lluvia killed Finalmigo in one hit once she stoppped laughing.
    • Kaji destroys the yótum with one attack when the Dusk Virus activates for the first time.
  • One-Man Army: All of the Five Elements, specially their leader, Ken Válbrandur.
  • Only in It For the Money: Mr. Aquarrica is willing to destroy Beluga Town to get Ember fired and take mount Pito from him, so he can make a water park there.
  • Parental Abandonment: Sorta, Flama´s parents don´t really care that much about her.
  • Parental Favoritism: Chisp tries to make Ember act this way towards him, to get money.
  • Parental Substitute: Rubeola is this to Matarratas. Also Desangrador, until recent chapters.
    • Benjamin, Kaji´s uncle, used to be more parental than Ember.
  • Playing a Tree: Dino's play doesn't have enough characters for all of the children to play, so many of them ended up doing the filler parts of forest animals, a shepherd and even a rock and a cloud, yeah, really. In a literal example Zap got the part of the tree, he was quite happy and excited about it because he was the titular character along with Kaji's Bifrost.
  • Please Wake Up: Zap to Sokar, after the binding shadow binding him and Lluvia is cut when she gets kidnapped by Bombastus´ henchmen. Karbo insists that Sokar is dead.
  • Plot Point: In the very first episode, Kaji told Ember he would become a soldier in order to live in Leona City with Benjamin, and thought he would soon forget it. Seven chapters later, we find out he hasn´t.
  • Power Levels: Attacks are classified in levels from 1 to 5. Subverted because the levels aren´t defined by the power of the attack, but for how the element is used. There´s also Level A, wich symbolizes the elemental´s "animal energy", and can consist on elemental summons, transformations, or even fusions with the particular animal.
  • Power Nullifier: Desangrador can do this, nobody knows how. It´s also one of the Kimikoho´s abilities, by dissassembling matter in the elements that compose it.
    • That weird technique Adler used with Kaji has this as a side-effect.
  • Promotion to Parent: Rubeola to Matarratas.
  • Psychic Powers: Psyche elementals. Up to now thay have demonstrated being capable of create illusions, mental worlds, read minds and "shutdown brains".
  • Psycho Serum: The Dusk Virus is something like this. It corrupts you little by little, consumming you and making you go mad.
  • Psychotic Smirk: It means Dino has a plan, and Kaji won´t like it.
  • Punny Name: Often referred to the element that person controls: Kaji Llamaviva (Fire Livingflame) is a fire elemental, Zap is a lightning elemental.
  • Puppy Dog Eyes: Lambda does this trying to convince Dino of not going to Leona City. She fails.
  • The Quiet One: Lolo, the guide to Leona City, seems like this, but he is actually a party beast. We don't get to see him like this until the end of the second arc, but Leo informs us about the things he does.
    • Wap is a more straight example.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Kaji thinks this about his Fire 13 teammates. Magmuto and Wap may be this, but Bombeta is actually quite good.
  • Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: "I have headache or stomachache".
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Matarratas gives one of the most spectacular speeches ever to Kaji as they fight in "Virus and Fire".
    • A minor one given by Demencio to Lluvia about her group of "friends". The worst part is that Lluvia can´t help but believing him, even if she doesn´t want to.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Kaji is easily replaced by Fire13 in the second League.
  • Revenge: Lluvia was actually scared that reborned Uroboros would attack her after what happened in the temple. Of course, being an Alcahest elemental, she has nothing to be afraid of.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: reborned Uroboros. The fact that is quite affective doesn´t help.
  • Rock Bottom: Kaji uses to say that his current situation couldn´t be worse. God, is he wrong.
  • Running Gag: Strange shaped rocks, Matarratas and Zap´s bitter relationship, Sokar kicking people in the nuts, Zap´s anecdotes from the orphanage, and also references to the author´s first work Raruto (a parody of Naruto).
    • Also taking KV, the initials of Ken Válbrandur, to mean "kulos vuenos" ("hot butts" misspelled blatantly). And Kaji's various nicknames: his surname is Llamaviva (Livingflame), and he got as nicknames Llamamuerta (Deadflame), Llamamoco (Snotflame), and even Llamabesos (Kissflame).
  • Sadist Teacher: Dino and Lambda are this, specially to Kaji. They are not actually evil, they are just jerks.
  • Sarcasm Mode: "Kaji! Does it hurt much?" "No... I'm just bleding to death...".
  • School for Scheming: Desangrador's job as a teacher is only a facade.
  • School Idol: Arturo is close to this. Again, money.
  • School Play: In the third arc.
  • Secret Keeper: Zap keeps silence about Kaji´s book. Eventually, Lluvia, Matarratas and Sokar become this as well. And then, Dino and Rubeola, as well as possibly Leo and Lambda, join the bunch.
    • And none of them nor Adler told anyone that Kaji is the one that killed the yótum.
    • The kids also keep silence about Kaji´s Dusk Virus, and Matarratas is even helping him counter it.
  • Secret Police: The SS. Ember is one of them.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Played for laughs when Lluvia and Sokar begin describing the book's symbols and its spine.
  • Shapeshifting: Comes in two variants, Animorphism to a particular animal, and turning into your element. The second variant, and maybe also the first, can be partial.
  • Sinister Scythe: Sokar´s level 3.
  • Sociopathic Soldier: Pierre Curry, and many more briefly shown during the Zero Day flashback.
  • Sophisticated As Hell: "Diagnosis: he's bleeding a lot".
  • Spider Sense: It looks like young sahdow elementals can feel the changes in their host´s energy, even if the host is far away.
  • Stepford Smiler: Anpepón Anatolia is a type 2.
  • Stern Teacher: Don´t talk without rising your hand first during Leo´s classes. Sit straight, don´t talk too loud, don´t be a class clown. And never begin talking about nonsensical myths and legends. Those are for Literature class..
  • A Storm Is Coming: Near the end of the second arc.
  • Storming the Castle: The Five Elements did it on Day Zero. Easy for them.
  • The Strategist: SS captain Faraday seems to be this.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: Steelspikes is a gunpowder elemental. This is his standard power.
  • Sucky School: Beluga Town's: their teachers are lazy jerks and the education plan doesn't seem to be pretty good. Interestingly, the "out of date textbooks" quirk is inversed, due to the new kingdom´s politics about forgetting history.
  • Summon Magic: Level A is capable of this, like Sokar´s shadow crows, Hugin and Munin.
  • Super Mode: The Dusk Virus seems to be this. With some drawbacks.
    • Both Rubeola and Dino have one.
  • Super Soldier: SS soldiers are this and, of course, the Five Elements.
  • Sword Cane: Lluvia´s level 3. It´s actually a sword umbrella
  • The Symbiote: Young shadow elementals have to be near 100 meters form their host, or they will start feeling weak, or even faint.
  • Tactical Suicide Boss: Finalmigo hits himself while trying to hit Sokar.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: Lampshaded.
  • The Tease: Rubeola sometimes does this to make Kaji feel awkward, like saying how she LOVES redheads, and later saying that "with this light, your hair is specially red".
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The main cast in their objective. Even more now that they share so many secrets and that they will compete in the League, as a team. Hilarity Ensues.
  • Teleport Spam: A shadow elemental ability.
  • Third Person Person: ROCO!!!! again.
  • Tickle Torture: Nizo and Tarantula do this to Kaji and Lluvia. While they are sleeping, inside the Labyrinth. Fighting Finalmigo. Not cool.
    • As the main cast thinks this is an ability of Finalmigo, Zap starts laughing without any provocation.
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: The book written by Ken Valbrandur (leader of the Five Elements) is treated like this. Maybe the fact that is written in an ancient language helps a bit.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Almost everyone by the second League. Special mention goes to the snot team.
  • Touch of Death: Virus elementals most distinctive characteristic, when not in full control of their powers.
  • Tournament Arc: The second arc is about the Elemental League, an anual competition wich includes fights, among other challenges. If you want a decent job, you have to win it.
  • Training from Hell: Dino puts Kaji throug this to make him learn Katai. If he couldn´t burn 100 papers at the same time without expanding the fire and without wasting energy, all the remaining papers would cut him at once.
    • At the end of the third arc, Matarratas asks Lluvia for training. He quickly repented.
  • Training the Peaceful Villagers: Beluga School has Combat class, in wich the students learn to use their powers for offense and defense. Even when Kaji points out that public school aren´t allowed to train their students in the Five Levels style of combat, Dino just doesn´t care about that (and surely many more) law(s).
  • Tropperiffic
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Lluvia threatened to kill Fósforo if Kaji refused to fight her in the Elemental League.
    • In a lower level, Chisp acts a lot like a mafia boss and threatens his teacher with burning his bycicle "by accident". He is 8 years old.
  • Turns Red: Finalmigo can level up when he is about to be defeated.
  • The Unfavourite: Ember: "Look Karol, my son Chisp befriends elementals of the fire branch. Not like your son Kaji" Karol: "Both of them are our sons" Ember: "Yeah, whatever".
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: Flama, an old friend of Kaji, from when he lived in Leona City.
  • Unusual Euphemism: "My elemental parts!!".
  • Veteran Instructors: Ember´s.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Mr. Aquarrica brings an ice giant to crush some of the town so Ember, the town guardian, will get fired. Too bad Ember is out of town.
  • The Virus: Three of them, apparently.
  • War Is Hell
  • We Were Rehearsing a Play: When people hear Matarratas shouting about his experience during Kaji´s Dusk virus´s first burst, he wants to say this, but he gets nervous, and says that it´s for a ballet.
  • Weapon of Choice: Level 3 consists in using a specific weapon to manipulate your element. Also, umbrellas are a popular one for water elementals.
  • Wham! Episode: "In the Rain".
  • Wham! Line: "Nice diary"
  • What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Amor (a heart elemental) is getting prepared to fight some birds during a the Labyrinth, while boasting about the power of love. The birds beat the crap out of her before she can end her speech.
    • Dino, as a paper elemental combat proffessor, is treated like this sometimes.
    • The lizard-rider cork elemental states that he still has to find any utility for his powers.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Even if Kaji was never your typical morally right protagonist, it goes overboard when he chooses keeping Ken Válbrandur's book from fire over saving Lluvia when she was left unconscious and being kidnapped. After that, he forbids Zap from following the bad guys while carrying Sôkar, when it'd do him harm to be far from her, and he was quite weak already. And if that wasn't enough, he goes as far as to fight Matarratas when he tries to follow them.
    • Possibly justified in that he had a big argument with Lluvia earlier, he hadn't taken the vaccine for a virus that alters his character, and he had been left without fire.
  • When I Was Your Age: Ember does this alot, and describes his younger days as total crap.
  • The Worf Effect: Once Ember is revealed to be a SS soldier, he beats captain Pierre Curry in one hit.
    • Also Finalmigo and the yótum.
  • Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Lluvia thinks this about Kaji. She was wrong.
  • Wreathed in Flames: Level 1 Katai consists in this.
  • You Didn't Ask
  • You Killed My Grandfather And Many Scientists: If Matarratas could talk to the Five Elements in person, he would tell them this.
    • Altough he doesn't know this, he was killed by Ébola, not the five elements.
    • YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!!!
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle: When Sokar prevents Finalmigo of finishing Kaji off
  1. ↑ Reference to the author's previous manga Raruto. It Makes Sense in Context.
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