Gankutsuou-en
When I first browsed through my friends shelf of anime I
didn’t pay Gankutsuou much mind, he had told me how good it
was and that I would like it but I thought I had better things to do
than watch it. As it turns out, I was completely wrong. I eventually
picked it up and began watching it and at the end of the first episode I
was hooked on it. It was like a drug that I needed to continue pumping
into my system, and even now that it is over I crave for more. So now I
shall take an in depth
look at the anime; Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
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Art
In most reviews I’d start with perhaps the characters or the
story, but now I must truly start with the art. The art itself was
disorientating to me at first, I looked at it and found it hard to
concentrate too long on the screen, things blended together so well that
at times I found it hard to believe the entire scenery wasn’t
part of the character I was watching. But after the first few episodes
the art was something else altogether, it seemed to take a new life. I
watched it and was captivated by it, at times I even had to rewind
because I had missed several lines of text because I couldn’t
tear myself away from it all. The art simply leaps off the screen and at
first it may seem a little jarring but eventually you’ll ever
wonder why you questioned the design of it all. While the art itself is
beautiful there are some places it lacks, although the rest more than
makes up for it. Some of the characters I found to be too plain in
certain situations, however it was a miniscule thought, it did not
detract from the visual experience of the show in the least.
Story
Now for the proverbial meat of it all, story. The anime is a loose
adaptation of, what is called by some, the greatest story of revenge
ever told. Coming in to that there are many expectations that must be
lived up to in order for this story to truly hold it’s own and
it lives up to them beautifully.
As I stated the drive of the story is revenge, everything else within it
are simply unfortunate souls that get caught up in the bloody, sadistic
revenge of the man known as the Count of Monte Cristo. But although The
Count is what the story revolves around it is told from the perspective
of the naïve, and often downright foolish, Albert Morcerf. The
story begins with a meeting of destiny between our protagonist Albert
and someone I can’t quite call an antagonist, The Count. With
his charming words, devilish smile and warm eyes he quickly wins his way
into our naïve Albert’s heart and becomes an
important figure in the boys life. He continues to pursue his friendship
with The Count despite the nagging of the, obviously smarter, Franz
Epinay, Albert’s best friend. As the story continues the
happiness of our hero is bombarded by the darkness and despair brought
about by circumstances that might have been prevented.
Story is everything for an anime such as this, if you lack it
you’ll produce a piss-poor adaptation of a great piece of
literature. Being able to make your heart break one moment and your
blood boil the next, able to leave you breathless in your seat with your
heart pounding in your chest, these are proof that you’re
watching something amazing. It is clear that Gankutsuou, if not at least
meeting your expectations, it will blow them away and leave you
speechless.
Sound
This will perhaps be the shortest section of the review, simply because
the sound played no part in my heightened or lessened enjoyment of the
show. Do not mistake my words, the music within the show is very fitting
and very well done, however it does not simply jump out and grab you.
It does not make you stop and go “I have to listen to that
once more.” However that is within the show itself, the
opening and ending themes are a different matter. It was almost strange
to see them both, it honestly seemed as if someone had goofed and
mistaken the ending for the opening. However after two episodes I was
humming along with the tune to both and even downloaded them to put on
my mp3. The songs themselves are so good I’ve almost started
singing along with them out in public. There really is nothing more to
say than, the music worked well, it was subtle, let you know it there
but didn’t make any bold statements.
Characters
I’m tempted to simply write “flawless” and
call it a day here but that would be an insult to the greatness of
each. I will not list them all here, of course, but I shall list those
that I think play an important role and need to be looked at in the
spotlight. But let me state that although I do not talk about all the
characters, I believe none are truly “secondary” for
they all have their own role that drives the story, they all have their
own flaws and a depth you wouldn’t expect from characters you
rarely see. Now, onto the spotlight
The Count: Was everything that he needed to be and then some. He could
be the hero of the piece or the villain, whichever role he was playing
at the time all eyes were glued to him. Charming, subtle, seductive and
kind he played them all so well and then there were times where we all
saw the darkness he brought with him. He was a strange maze of
understanding, never knowing what he was going to do next simply because
he didn’t know what role he’d slip into. The Count
is truly one of the most dark and captivating characters I’ve
ever laid eyes on.
Albert: I have a desire to scream idiot here and be done with it, but
again that is not true. He is not an idiot, he is simply naïve
and often childish in his decisions. He refuses to see the bad in
people, which can be good but not all the time. He’s hard
headed and stubborn, but he’s a character that you feel for,
he bears the most humanity of them all and when his heart breaks, so
does yours.
Franz: The best friend that everyone wants, loyal, caring and willing to
do whatever necessary to keep his friend safe. He’s stubborn
as well but he is the voice of reason in Albert’s and his
relationship. He is the first to be skeptical of The Count and one of
the first to pursue information about the mysterious man.
While there are other characters that perhaps deserved the spotlight I
felt that, mostly, these three characters were the most important simply
because they were around for almost every single event that drove the
plot. The others characters, however, are not to be dismissed, they each
have good character designs as well as wonderful personalities and even
flaws. Some even evolve throughout the show, which can be rare for a
character deemed “secondary.” But they all fit
together and play off each other so well it would take too long to
praise them all.
Enjoyment
I truly doubt there is a single thing I did not enjoy throughout my
entire watching of this show. There are a few minor things but
they’re so miniscule when compared to the good things that
they’re just overlooked and swept under the rug, still there
but completely forgotten. I found myself completely captivated by this
show, every emotional twist made me feel what it was supposed to, every
mystery kept me guessing and theorizing and wondering. I ranted and
raved about things that had happened when I wasn’t watching, I
sometimes found myself balling my hands into white knuckled fists at
the more infuriating scenes and crying like a child at others, I truly
believe I went through almost the entire emotional spectrum while
watching this show. And that is truly a mark of my enjoyment of it.
Overall
In the end this can only be summed up as something that you need to
watch, that is said a lot in reviews but it is truly something that will
be appreciated (even if you haven’t read the novel).
It’s compelling story, beautiful artwork and in depth
characters will drag you into the world and never let you go, even after
you’ve finished the final episode The Count of Monte Cristo
will still have you under his spell.
