Deltora Quest/YMMV

• Alas, Poor Villain - The fate of Thaegan and her children in the anime; in the books, it's usually more a case of And I Must Scream when a villain becomes sympathetic.
  • Despite the fact that he was both cold and cruel, the anime ony character Sorcerer Oacus's death is surpriseingly tearjerking. Even if his last words where to curse the heroes. It seems he may have been as much a victim of the Shadow Lord's machinations as much (if not more so) as everybody else.
• Anvilicious - GAMBLING AND DISHONEST MONEYLENDING ARE VERY VERY BAD, we get it already, please put down the hammer Miz Rodda ma'am....
  • We get undertones of a Green Aesop in the third series as well, with all the talk of respecting the land. Secrets Of Deltora ups it even higher. However, in today's consumer society, it may be said that Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped.
• Big Name Fan - There are currently three main people that seem to run the forums and write the best stories in the Fan Fiction world:
  • • homesweethomicide13 is known for her Barda/Doom slash.
      • ASongInMyHead is known for writing stories that fill in the blanks.
        • PlatinumGal is known for some cute oneshots.
          • LadyLapisLazuli and PurpleLight occasionally step in, as well.
• Crack Pairing - Some of the fanfic pairings are terrifying: Lief/Barda, Lief/Dain, Sharn/Zeean, Jasmine/Filli and most surprising, yet most popular: Barda/Doom.
• Complete Monster: The Shadow Lord definitely. He carried out a dragon genocide. There's also Laughing Jack. One can only guess how many victims fell victim to his games.
• Downer Ending: Yay the series ended, the belt was completed, the prisoners got freed from the Shadowlands, they've found dragons of all 7 tribes and woken them up, the land isn't dying anymore, everyone's getting married and having babies! They have new festivals and there are fireworks and trade is happening and everything turned out great! Except hey remember that guy, the Shadow Lord? The guy who we've been told for the entire series is obsessed with taking over Deltora, and who we've repeatedly been informed has an anger and a jealousy that makes waiting 1000 years the same as acting now? The one who has endless plots and plans and whose main character trait other than being evil seems to be an absolute refusal to give up on his goals? That guy? Yeah, he's still around. Moreover he still has 2 of his Ak-Baba to breed and refine further, his grade 3 Ols are perfected, his conversion project is perfected, and he knows what went wrong last time. The series doesn't have a happy end where it tied up all of the knots and ensured a happily ever after - the only thing that all 15 books managed is to hit the reset button. Deltora was effectively restored to the way it was in Adin's time - now all the Shadow Lord has to do is sit back and wait again, until the Kings start to get careless. And once they do... well, like I said. The Shadow Lord knows what it did wrong, last time. It will make things even more impossible for round 2.
• Ear Worm - The anime song about Thaegan and her children.
• Funny Aneurysm Moment: Doom insulting Jasmine's mother during the Rithmere Games.
• Nightmare Fuel - Many of the monsters (flying leeches? Lilies that numb you with their pollen, then start eating your flesh? Seriously, Deltora's like the fictional equivalent of Australia when it comes to wildlife that seems tailored to kill humans) and enemies (particularly in Shadowlands).
  • For added fun, those flesh-eating plants? They're partners with blood-drinking ones. And they're grouped together on the same island. So if by some luck that you're shipwrecked on that island? Watch where you're going and hope you have adequate protection. Even funnier? The author is Australian.
  • The Sister of the South. ESPECIALLY the guardian. Ugh...
  • Something like 85% of Isle of the Dead seems like it should also qualify - the book, from hitting the Lighthouse right on to escaping from the Lady Luck inspires a creeping horror. The crew.... And then there's what happened to Doran.
• The Scrappy - Prin. Good god, 1000 times Prin.
• The Woobie - Oh hey, Jasmine! Let's talk about your life. You grew up in a forest. When you were seven years old, your parents were taken away, presumably to be killed, and your home got burned down. You had to fend for yourself. When you were sixteen, two strangers invade the lifestyle that you made for yourself, and your dead mother's spirit made you leave your home to go on a quest with them. You had lots of trouble because you could barely read or write, and most people thought that you were mad. Then it turned out that the guy you kind of liked was a servant of the Shadowlord, and not even human! Eventually you discovered that your father is not really dead but all that he has been through has made him a completely different person. And then it turns out that the other guy you kind of liked was the heir to the throne and became King. Later, you found out that you had a sister, Faith, in the Shadowlands. Another guy you kind of like dies on the way to the Shadowlands. Oh, and Faith? It turned out that she was not real, but a plot of the Shadowlord's to get the King into his realm. And the Shadow Lord says explicitly that you were never important in his eyes, just a pawn that could be used against Lief.