-Spoiler Free Review-
Rose of Versailles is a historical drama that was made in the 70's. That's right - the 70s with its distinct shoujo character designs, dated animation techniques, and some music with hints of disco. In an age flooded with 1080p productions employing the use of advanced computer animation, this anime's age might be a turn-off for those looking for the latest eye candy. However, this anime excels in the holy trinity of visual narrative; that is, characters, plot, and direction. Anybody who values these aspects should not miss this anime, as they lead the way to a powerful experience rarely
...
achieved by fiction.
The historical drama is set in pre-Revolution France and primarily delves into the events taking place in Versailles, the palace of the royal family and high nobles; and greater Paris during the 20-or-so years before the French Revolution. The setting is crucial to the plot of this anime, as many of the characters are linked to the course of the nation. The author was able to do a superb job in bringing this world to life - detailed artwork excellently depicts Versailles as a palace of decadence, dripping with opulence and filled with haughty and scheming nobles; and Paris is successfully given the feel of being a vast city of struggling commoners in which the fire of revolution is beginning to kindle. Most of the time, there did not seem to be a dearth of effort in creating detailed backdrops of palaces, slums, manors, and open plains; and the results are more than solid, especially considering the fact that this anime is over 3 decades old. The background music was also able to successfully enhance the atmosphere with fitting pieces, ranging from classical pieces to strings (harpsichord/piano) solos to faster beats, depending on the scene.
The vibrant and detailed world created in this anime sets a grand stage for the large-scale plot this anime entails. The story revolves around Oscar de Jarjayes, the youngest daughter of a French nobleman and military general. Despite being a girl, Oscar was raised as male due to her father's yearning for a son. As such, Oscar is trained in and excels at conventionally masculine activities of warfare, and eventually enters the French military military world. When Oscar is appointed as the royal guard of none other than Marie Antoinette, the future Queen of France, we are introduced to the world of drama, subterfuge, power struggles, affairs, manipulation, and opposing ideologies that exists within Versailles and a turbulent Paris. The characters hail from all walks of life and the viewer is able to see the personae and mindsets behind the movers and shakers of the nation and revolution. The first half of the show unfortunately has somewhat of a soap opera feel to it, as it often focuses on contrived power struggles and conflicts, with characters often merely reacting to the next bad guy. But make no mistake, these ruthless power games within high society of France do play a role in the greater scheme of things and give us insight into the personae of the characters, and things begin to truly unfold by the second half of the series. The exploits of the cast of characters, including monarchs, nobles, revolutionaries, and military officers, are interesting in themselves as they are tied into the nation-wide transgressions within pre-revolution France. However, it is the well developed characters and their relationships that serve as the strongest feature of this anime.
Many of the characters in this anime are fleshed out and unique, even including side characters. This leads to a robust cast of characters, each with his/her own, believable personality. The 70s artwork does a solid job of bringing the main cast to life and each character is drawn fittingly - from the elaborate and gaudy attire of the nobles, to the large and shining eyes betraying emotion, to the dashing portraits of young nobles and revolutionaries, to the haughty faces of power-hungry nobles - some might consider the art too dated or extravagant, but I thought that it added a certain theatrical charm to the anime - a charm that I found pretty tasteful. In fact, Rose of the Versailles reminded me of watching an opera, as it contained plenty of melodrama. One might claim that melodrama is cheap and a common pitfall of shoujo anime. However, Rose of Versailles is able to flawlessly implement all of this within the atmosphere of a pre-revolution France defined by extremes. Detailed, still shots and close ups are used to build up a sense of heightened emotion. Much of the melodrama seems natural and even illustrative of the high society of Versailles. The result is a powerful experience for the viewer achieved by -the- defining aspect of this show - the character development of Oscar and her relationship with her stable hand and friend since childhood, Andre.
The author masterfully tells the story of Oscar over the course of decades, during which we not only see a deep and well-rounded character, but how she develops . Oscar is a character who, underneath her calm and steely appearance, is torn by a number of conflicts from within. These conflicts are far from simple and generic as she is faced with a multitude of issues stemming from her gender, family duties, personal feelings, passions, friendships, and the mounting revolution. We see Oscar as a character who has stood out, even since birth due to her unconventional upbringing, from the rest of all sides of society. By later half of the series, the viewer is left pandering to know which path Oscar is going to choose and to which realizations Oscar will arrive at.
All in all, this anime is a drama done right, with the added benefit of a portrayal, with artistic license, of course, of the French Revolution. It feels complete from beginning to end and the pacing is top-notch. The character actions and relationships are flawlessly intertwined with the turbulent time period around which the French Revolution occurred. This anime flirted with masterpiece rating, but the inferior (but still solid) first half and some narration gripes made me dock a point - so I give it a 9/10.
To anyone hesitant about the shoujo genre - it involved plenty of action and the harsh, vicious aspects of war and power struggle to satisfy even a seinen/action fan like myself.
9/10
Jul 26, 2014
Versailles no Bara
(Anime)
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-Spoiler Free Review-
Rose of Versailles is a historical drama that was made in the 70's. That's right - the 70s with its distinct shoujo character designs, dated animation techniques, and some music with hints of disco. In an age flooded with 1080p productions employing the use of advanced computer animation, this anime's age might be a turn-off for those looking for the latest eye candy. However, this anime excels in the holy trinity of visual narrative; that is, characters, plot, and direction. Anybody who values these aspects should not miss this anime, as they lead the way to a powerful experience rarely ... Aug 6, 2010
Kemonozume
(Anime)
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I'm looking over all these reviews, the majority giving this anime 9 or 10, and am thinking to myself that it must be some kind of joke. I have watched a good amount of anime and cannot understand how such a bogus-ass anime could garner such high ratings.
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City Hunter
(Anime)
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This masterpiece is truly one of a kind. I have no clue as to why this gem of the late 80's is barely known.
Story - 8 This anime follows the adventures of Japan's premier hired gun, Ryo Saeba. I gave the story a 9 as there is really no overarching story, or various story arcs. Instead, this series is rather episodic, with many single story episodes with a few 1-3 mini arcs spread throughout. This, however, can also be seen as a forte to this series, as this series isnt hindered by fillers, drawn out fights, repetition, or slower parts like ... |