Tales of Arcadia/Trollhunters

The first instalment in the Tales of Arcadia trilogy, Trollhunters focuses on the fifteen year old James "Jim" Lake and his best friend Tobias "Toby" Domzalski and the changes to their lives after Jim finds a magic amulet that labels him as the next "Trollhunter."

Tropes used in Trollhunters include:

• Adaptation Name Change:
  • "Jim Sturges Jr." becomes "Jim Lake Jr."
  • "Tobias Dershowitz" becomes "Tobias Domzalski."
  • "Claire Fontaine" becomes "Claire Nuñez." It's a side-effect of her heritage being changed from Scottish to Hispanic.
• Adapted Out: In the book, Jim's father was distant because he was trying to get Uncle Jack back from the trolls. Here, Jim's dad was a deadbeat who simply left his family, taking away the Uncle Jack subplot.
• Adult Fear: As Jim begins shrieking away from his responsibilities and lying to her, Barbara really begins to fear that he's fallen in with a bad crowd.
• Affectionate Nickname: Given his tendency to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, Strickler calls Jim "Young Atlas."
• Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Well not technically "alien" but the Trolls do seem to enjoy human culture.
• Ambiguously Human: Morgana. At the very least, she appears to be a Humanoid Abomination.
• Amnesia Missed a Spot: Barbara's memories of the world of trolls are wiped after she's targeted by Angor Rot but she has vague dreams of Trollmarket. By "Parental Guidance", she gets them back.
• Avengers Assemble: Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!! aimed for this, but they couldn't get the entire Troll army to rally behind them.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Jim and Claire. Borders on Like an Old Married Couple at times. "Just Add Water" is the best example of this.
• Berserk Button: Never knock a gnome's hat off.
• Big Bad Duumvirate:
  • Bular and Strickler in Season 1.
  • Gunmar and Morgana in Season 3.
• Birthday Hater: Jim. His dad left on his fifth birthday.
• Black Comedy: The show has way too much fun describing in great detail the horrible ways that there are to die.
• Black and Gray Morality: Morgana and Merlin respectively.
• But Now I Must Go: At the end, Jim and Claire lead the Trolls, save AAARRRGGHH!!! and Strickler, to New Jersey where a new Hearstone may lie.
• Can't Kill You - Still Need You: Gunmar and Strickler's relationship in Season 3. Strickler knows it and milks it for all that it's worth.
• Crazy Prepared: When word leaked about a spy in Trollmarket, Vendall took every precaution.
• Defeat Means Friendship: After Jim spares his life in their duel, and in doing so, strip away his honor, Draal becomes Jim's bodyguard and sword teacher.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Working with Morgana was a bit too much, even for Angor Rot.
• Everyone Has Standards: The Kubera are Just Following Orders but learning that Ursurna willingly gave AAARRRGGHH!!! to Gunmar is too much for them to stay silent.
• Failed a Spot Check: It takes Jim far longer than it should have to realize that Claire has been possessed in "The Exorcism of Claire Nuñez."
• First-Name Basis: How Strickler manages to Spot the Imposter. Barbara always calls him "Walter." Try again Usurna.
• Five Stages of Grief: Jim goes through all five when he becomes half-Troll.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Eli's conspiracy board has "aliens" and "wizards" on it, foreshadowing what comes next.
  • A shooting star races across the sky in "Night Patroll", the arrival of the Mothership in 3Below.
• Groin Attack: Rule #3 of Trollhunting.
• Half-Identifying Hybrid: Jim becomes a Type 6 in Part Three.
• Heel Face Turn: Strickler and Angor Rot in Season 3.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Draal in Season 3.
• Humanity Ensues: Briefly happens to Blinky in Season 2.
• It's a Wonderful Plot: "Unbecoming."
• Jerkass: Merlin. To his credit, he doesn't deny it. He slowly evolves into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold by the end.
• Just Following Orders: The Kubera trolls.
• Keystone Army: When Gunmar is killed, all the Gumm-Gumms follow.
• Literal Split Personality: The Aspectus Stone grants Jim a few in "Hero with a Thousand Faces." Hilarity Ensues.
• Loophole Abuse: Bagdwella. The Trollhunter must heed any call for help; such as say, mailing a package; regardless of context. Taking Advantage of Generosity doesn't even begin to describe it.
• Love Redeems: It's Strickler's love for Barbara that leads to him Becoming the Mask of the kind, worldly man.
• Mole in Charge: Usurna is a servant of Gunmar's.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: In the Troll tongue, Gumm-Gumm translates to "Bringer of horrible, slow, painful, and thoroughly calculated death." It doesn't quite translate into English.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore:
  • To show how upped the stakes are in Part Two, Trollmarket is seized by the Gumm-Gumms.
  • In preparation for the final battle, Merlin makes Jim half-troll.
  • After three seasons of the Masquerade, the Grand Finale radically alters the status quo of Arcadia-Oaks.
• Odd Friendship: Steve, The Bully, forms a close friendship with Eli, his favorite target for bullying.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: AAARRRGGHH!!!'s full name is "Aarghaumont" but he's rarely called that.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Bular is killed by Jim in he first season, leaving Gunmar to mourn for his son.
• Poorly-Disguised Pilot: "In Good Hands" for 3Below.
• Reality Ensues: As Jim learns in the third season, you can't keep skipping class and blowing off homework to go Trollhunting if you want to keep your grades up. Señor Uhl outright says that Jim is in serious danger of failing the year.
• Reforged Blade: Gunmar destroys Eclipse only for Merlin to recreate it soon after.
• Resurrection Sickness: AAARRRGGHH!!! briefly suffers from it.
• Riddle Me This: Gatto.
• Spiritual Successor: To Transformers Prime. Both shows take place in an isolated, and fictional, town (Jasper and Arcadia) and focus on an ordinary teenager (Jack Darby and Jim Lake) whose single mother is a nurse who is chosen to carry the artifact of another race (the Key to Vector Sigma and the Amulet of Daylight) to the interest of the Big Bad (Megatron and Gunmar) who is incapacitated for the first season thanks to a scheming subordinate (Starscream pulling out the Dark Energon and Strickler delaying the reconstruction of Killahead Bridge). Throughout both shows, the sheer power of a Bigger Bad (Unicron and Morgana) looms over everything and the Bigger Bad finally returns in Season 3. Jim, Claire, and Toby also look a lot like Jack, Miko, and Raf respectively.
  • The two shows take differing paths about halfway through Season 2, however. Prime moved away from humans and leaned into Cybertronian mythology while Trollhunters brought the Muggles into the world of fantasy. Likewise, Megatron, after a failed attempt at an alliance, sought to help defeat Unicron while Gunmar eagerly serves Morgana.
• The Unmasqued World: Morgana enacts The Night That Never Ends in the Grand Finale allowing the Gumm-Gumms to invade Arcadia letting the townsfolk know of their existence.
• Weakened by the Light: Direct sunlight petrifies trolls. Ultraviolet light is also said to be very effective.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Gunmar fills the Gumm-Gumm ranks by fitting his victims with helmets that brainwash them. Following this, the heroes have no issue offing them.
• Whole-Plot Reference: "The Reckless Club" to The Breakfast Club.