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A 26-episode, 2008 anime adapted from two related [[Light Novels|Light Novel]] series by the same author-illustrator team behind ''[[Kino's Journey]]''. The series is set on an alternate world of roughly 1930s-era technology, with one big continent split down the middle by a huge river. As a result, two distinct cultures developed in the East and West, neither of which can seem to get along with the other: there have been countless wars in the past, and the west's Allied Kingdoms of Bezel-Iltoa and the east's Roxcheanuk Confederation are technically only in the middle of an armistice, albeit the longest one to date. (It's not as grim as it sounds; the two warring sides are able to hold at least one joint military exercise during the armistice.) The origination of the war is that both sides believe their ancestors to be the true ancestors to humanity; apparently, neither one has heard of river valley civilizations. By the "World Calendar" shared by both sides, they are in their 3287th year of recorded history.
The story revolves around [[Teen Genius]] / [[Ordinary High School Student]] Wilhelm "Wil" Schultz and [[Genki Girl]] / [[Ace Pilot]] Allison Whittington, two orphaned childhood friends who unwittingly stumble onto a tale of a treasure that could end the war. Complicating matters throughout are Allison's growing feelings for Wil, which, despite his [[Photographic Memory|perfect memory]] and [[Hyper Awareness|keen observation skills]], he [[Selective Obliviousness|completely fails to notice]]. (It doesn't help that she just can't seem to confess due to the plot continually interrupting her.) Over the course of their travels, they first encounter Carr Benedict, an [[Chivalrous Pervert|overly-amorous]] officer of the Sou Beil Air Force, and Fiona, a young woman in a mountain village who harbors a [[King Incognito|great secret]]. After three major adventures spanning a single year, the story [[Time Skip|flashes forward]] to [[Changing of the Guard|introduce]] Lillia,
A straight-up Adventure with Action and Mystery elements, it avoids (for the most part) the frequent [[Mind Screw
Oh -- did I mention there were planes?
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* [[Ace Pilot]]: Allison
* [[Anime Hair]]: ''Averted'', with characters sporting realistic hair colors and styles. Black hair does tend to get a purplish cast in illustrations for the sake of contrast though, which can lead to confusion.
* [[Arc Words]]: Mr.
* [[Author Appeal]]: Keiichi Sigsawa appears obsessed with minutiae of all sorts of technology, judging by the overly-detailed descriptions of all weapons and vehicles that appear, plot-centric or not. Even his ''pen name'' is based on a [http://www.sigsauer.com gun brand].
* [[Bifauxnen]]: {{spoiler|Carlo aka Carla}}
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* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: "Lillia Kick!" Oddly, although she uses it in the same scene in both light novel and anime, the people she uses it '''against''' and to '''protect''' are swapped.
* [[Cassandra Truth]]: At the end of the first book, Wil tells his friend what ''really'' happened when he and Allison went missing for several days. The friend doesn't believe it, thinking Wil is just trying to avoid sharing the scandalous details of their abscondment.
* [[Changing of the Guard]]: Halfway through the anime, there's a [[Time Skip]]: this is where Lillia is first shown (and becomes the main character) and Allison moves to the supporting cast.
* [[Charlie Brown From Outta Town]]: {{spoiler|Major Travas}}.
** This probably also qualifies as a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]], considering all he did was {{spoiler|dye his hair}}...
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* [[Cute Little Fangs]]: Treize's sister Merielle.
* [[Dead Man Writing|Dead Woman Writing]]: A short chapter in the Light Novels is a letter Allison wrote to Wil, shortly before the events of the first book, to be delivered if she were ever declared dead. It included an admission that already at that point, she was totally in love with him. She also expressed worry that if, before her death, she mustered the courage to confess and ''he'' didn't love ''her'', the confession may have ruined their friendship. At the end of the chapter, it's shown that ''Lillia'' is reading this, because the Air Force mailed the letter to Allison, having decided it'd been in storage too long and was probably outdated.
* [[Disappeared Dad]]: Allison and her father, as well as Lillia and ''her'' father,
* [[Disney Villain Death]]: {{spoiler|Owen Nikhto}} in episode 8, rather unconvincingly changed from his [[Family-Unfriendly Death|Family Unfriendly ''suicide'']] in the book.
** Indeed, the anime episode had a [[Deus Ex Machina|Kaze ex Machina]] ending: {{spoiler|Nikhto falls off a building due to being blown by the draft from Allison's plane.}}
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* [[Noblewoman's Laugh]]: Lillia in episode 15, when asked about her piloting skills.
* [[Officer and a Gentleman]]: Carr Benedict.
* [[Old School Dogfighting]]:
* [[Orphaned Etymology]]: The moon is much closer to the Earth and revolves around it in about 8 days. So, why are months still around 30 days long?
* [[Orphan's Plot Trinket]]:
* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Unlike [[Freudian Excuse|Allison's case]], it would appear that Wil's parents were run-of-the-mill [[Jerkass]]es.
* [[Photographic Memory]]: Wil combines this with his [[Hyper Awareness]] to help him figure things out.
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* [[That Man Is Dead]]: {{spoiler|Allison's father}}, and later, {{spoiler|Wil}}.
** Although for having discarded his original identity, {{spoiler|Wil}} is remarkably involved with his past life.
* [[Those Two Guys|That One Guy]]: Wil's friend Epstein, who shows up in all 3 books before the
* [[Time Skip]]: Between Allison's stories and Lillia's stories.
* [[Train Station Goodbye]]: A key part of the anime-only [[Tear Jerker]] episode.
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* [[Translator Microbes]]: Personified in Allison and Wil, who are fluent in both languages and serve as the justification for them being equally understandable to the audience.
** The books also play with this trope a bit: in plot-relevant situations, the narrative sometimes gives critical information that only parties who speak the same language can understand. Wil frequently plays the role of interpreter, especially in the presence of Fiona (alone among the main cast in not understanding Bezelese.
*** In the first book, this is how the two of them {{spoiler|get the location of the treasure from Walter}} without the guard being any the wiser. In the third book
* [[Victorious Childhood Friend]]: Quickly subverted by putting Wil [[Put on a Bus|on a bus]].
** {{spoiler|Double Subverted actually. [[The Bus Came Back]] only with a new paint job.}}
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