One thing I keep forgetting to talk about that I appreciate a lot is Petra
She's in a foreign country, is still learning the language, culture and traditions, and appearance wise very different from the other students. I was afraid she'd be set up as the overwhelmingly cheerful foreign student but then the game surprised me
It goes out of its way to remind us as often as possible without being annoying that this 15 year old girl is extremely intelligent and everyone knows it
The people around her are incredibly interested in her culture, asking her questions and being delighted when she invites them to do things like try out the unique braiding style, and want to include her as much as possible
When she gets an expression wrong or doesn't understand something, everyone is patient with her and never mocks her, they just explain what they mean in a way that helps her understand
Her broken grammar is also never used for cheap comedy, just to drive home the point that she's learning still
Petra is also not portrayed as naive or somehow lesser than her classmates, she's refreshingly earnest and sweet as well as determined and driven, and when her home is brought up it's usually to compare and contrast the two cultures
That the Empire has basically forced Brigid into being its vassal state and taken Petra as a political hostage is never, in no route, treated as anything other than a bad thing. Edelgard wants to set her free and when Petra is recruited she frees herself by opposing the Empire
Petra's whole character is just a delightful step outside of how Japan usually portrays its foreigners of color