Gankutsu-ô

I cannot believe this enigmatic anime is so overlooked as if no one really knows about it much. The brilliant story, animation style that's captivating and cool characters make it an absolute masterpiece. Highly recommended!

Plot: 9.7/10 -- Not having read the novel prior to starting this, I had no idea what to expect. I knew about certain vague details, such as a young man becoming fascinated with Monte Cristo, but that's all.

The setting was quite a shock, with the story taking place in the year 5053, where as the novel takes place during the 1800's. It was a further surprise to discover the story started on the moon. I do kinda wish the story had been told in the 1800's instead since very few details are given about the futuristic universe and the setting becomes more of a distraction than anything.

In a nutshell, Gankutsuou is a fairly simple revenge story that's executed extremely well. The Count is kind on the surface, yet you can tell there's a hatred inside him waiting to explode. He manipulates and kills as his plan to bring those who wronged him to despair is slowly revealed. There's a twist added to his character in the form of a sort of pact with the devil - He gained the power to get revenge by giving his soul and body in exchange, meaning he loses his humanity bit by bit while getting his revenge.

In order to add mystery to the Count's character, the story is not told from his perspective (unlike in the book). Instead, the story is told from the perspective of Albert, a young noble and son of a powerful general. This brings both bad and good points - The good being the added mystery and a different angle on the story, the bad being Albert having the IQ of a dog. I wanted to kill him when he failed to work out that it was in fact the Count pulling the strings behind the awful sequence of events unfolding around him for the 10th time.

The story was a wonderful ride. A timeless classic with artistic differences, it was executed excellently, at times perfectly. You do have to wait for the 'main event' before you discover just how amazingly well told the story is, the first half in particular being nearly all build up, but I still felt compelled to keep watching even without any major twists/events occurring.

Characters: 9.3 -- This is a tough one. I liked pretty much the entire cast...apart from the main character, Albert. Although I knew he had to be retarded for the sake of the plot, his stupidity and inability to see the obvious became very annoying. You'd think he'd be able to put 2 and 2 together when the Count just randomly kept appearing and the Count himself had told Albert that there were no coincidences! As I said, I liked the other characters. The Count is easily one of my favourite characters ever, Franz made up for Albert's lack of intelligence by being very bright, Eugene made Albert's character more interesting with their love for one another... Everyone else was great.

Art: 9.7/10, Animation: 9.7/10 -- The first thing that hits you about Gankutsuou is the rather bizarre CG effect clothing and hair has. The effect is hard to put into words; it's as if the character is reflective. It certainly takes a few episodes to get used to it. If nothing else, you have to praise the studio behind Gankutsuou (Gonzo?) for the huge amount of effort they put in.

The second thing to hit you is the bright range of colours used. If, like me, you went into Gankutsuou expecting to see dark and dull colours you'd be completely wrong since it's anything but dull, vibrant being a much better description.

Gankutsuou also has a fair amount of CG outside of the clothing/hair effect, including some epic mecha fights. The CG stuff is stunning at times, almost jaw dropping for a TV series.

Overall, Gankutsuou is a joy to watch...once you get used to it. Production values were clearly not low here.

Sound: 9.5/10 -- First of all, let me say that I didn't think very much of the OP or ED. The OP, while fitting, was so dull and slow I had to skip it after watching it once.

The soundtrack is very high quality, as you'd expect. There aren't too many tracks I'd listen to outside of the series (although there is one AMAZING track), but the music fitted the show like a glove and helped keep the story epic.

I have to mention track 18, one of the best pieces of music I've ever listened to. It was almost orgasmic to listen to when it played during the best episode in the series (strangely enough, episode 18!!!), making it even more thrilling than it was already.

Total: 9.6/10 Having watched a fair amount of anime, I'm hard to please. Gankutsuou pleased me.

I'm not sure if it's the best anime I've watched, but it certainly had the best episode of anime I've ever watched (episode 18 ), one of the best fights (episode 18 ), one of the best characters (the Count) and one of the best pieces of music (track 18 ). It's, quite simply, a stunning anime that EVERYONE should watch.

This is one show that has always kept me engaged.

I suppose I must admit that the art style could be distracting to people who are not used to it. However, I found it to be gorgeous and takes the work to an entirely different level; this is art. I would hang pictures from this series on my wall; in fact, I have purchased prints from it.

The art drew me in, but the story kept me around.

In some respects, this is better than the book, in my opinion. The novel is over one thousand pages. Interesting, but long. This show cuts out much of the set-up, which keeps the pace in check and doesn't drag it down. If you are a huge fan of the book, the changes may disappoint you. But if you can watch it with an open mind, you may enjoy this translation.

I know this has nothing to do with the quality of the show, but I must talk about the DVD art. The DVDs are quite pretty, with metallic bits that make me want to frame them or at least not put them in my player.

The sound quality is top-notch as well, with great voice actors (I was surprised at the English cast, as it was excellent, although I prefer Japanese) and nice music. Some people don't like the opening theme (someone once said that it sounded like a drunk Frenchman; the singer is French, but probably not drunk), but I really enjoy it and think the non-rhythmic quality of it is interesting and fits into the show very well. I'm not a fan of the ending theme, but you can always skip it.

Overall, I absolutely love this series, and it deserves a lot of attention, not just from the anime community but the art and classic novel communities as well.

Initially, what attracted me to Gankutsuou, was the idea of an Anime version of Alexandre Dumas' "Le Comte de Monte Cristo," but upon seeing the previews, I fell in love with the whole concept. The art, to say the least, is breathtaking, if not revolutionary; to that, the animation is flawless as well - one can only guess at the expense that went into creating such a visual marvel. While Gankutsuou doesn't follow Dumas' story as religiously as some would have it, what is important is that Dumas' intent in the story was held sacred. All too often is Edmond Dantes portrayed as being right in his quest, a true hero; nothing could be farther from the truth. Dumas' Dantes was a Satanic Hero like no other, if only perhaps Heathcliff from Bronte's "Wuthering Heights." Cruel, malicious, and bloodthirsty, Dantes is one with whom the audience is meant to sympathize and pity, while at the same time despise passionately. We can understand his motives, even support them, though we know innately we shouldn't condone them; Dantes is, in his truest nature, the incarnation of both ultimate love and ultimate hate, and was Dumas' tool to show that there is little difference betwixt the two. Gankutsuou stays true to this endeavor of Dumas' in all ways. The Count is everything he was in the novel - to both men and women, he held an (for lack of a better term) erotic visage about himself, something men wanted to aspire to, and women fell to. Frigid, calculating, with a gift to bend the wills of others, Dantes proved that one who has nothing to lose, yet does not allow himself to sink into depression (but rather finding purpose for your life) and thus has no fear of death or repercussions at all, is the most alluring; people are drawn to such darkness, such demonic power. But the beauty of this story doesn't stop simply at the creation of the ultimate sinister character - to create such a character is simple; what Dumas did, and Gankutsuou respected and embellished upon, was that despite the obvious horrific nature of the character, his reasons for being so are understandable. Aristotle said that one cannot create a truly tragic character without establishing fear and sympathy within the audience first; without Catharces, tragedy has no impact. While watching the story of Gankutsuou unfold, we begin to wonder if we, too, aren't capable of such atrocities, especially if under similar conditions. In our society, we sympathize with, if not often condone secretly, crimes of passion; but to what extent can we stretch out sympathy? Perhaps revenge of this nature is too extreme, that the Count is wrong in his hellish plans; but if we were betrayed by our best friend in so horrible a manner, who can say that, given the opportunity, we would not do the same, if not worse? Sympathy we have for Edmond's position; but fear becomes the all-consuming emotion we have while watching this, as we come to realize the extent of the atrocities we ourselves are capable of, given the chance and motive for them. For any Anime fan, or for any fan of cartoons or Dumas' works, Gankutsuou is by far one of the most astounding pieces you will ever see: true to the nature of the book like no other screenplay has been, and breathtaking in its visual nature, and musical score (opening theme not withstanding), Gankutsuou is a must-see, a beautiful testament to the power of hope and love, as well as an unmatched plunge into the darkest parts of the human soul.

I heard about this anime and was immediately interested. I know anime very well and I was looking for something that looked artistic, intelligent, and suspenseful. Unfortunately I have never read the book this was based on, but I found this anime's story so beautiful that I have picked up the 1,400 page book and plan to finish it all. If you see only one anime in your life, and you appreciate art and drama, than this is the best of it's kind. The unique art takes some getting used to, and is somewhat disorienting at times. Really, the only complaint I have about the art is it's Too beautiful, that it goes to fast to fully appreciate. This show would probably be best in slow motion just for the sake of the art. I have heard some say that although they loved the book, they loved this anime version even more. Don't let it's scifi setting disturb you. It has absolutely no negative effect on the story. The scifi setting really only seems to enchance it's overall beauty. The characters are extremely well-developed and fascinating. One moment they will be strong and courageous, the next moment crying, the next laughing. Every episode ends in an extreme state of unpredictable suspense (AKA cliffhangers galore.) I believe so far the entire show has not been released in America. I actually suggest watching the show in it's entirety, and wait until all episodes are released, and that you have a lot of time on your hands to watch it. The story is somewhat complex, certainly unpredictable, and always gripping. Even the seasoned otaku would highly appreciate this anime at least for it's impressive quality. It's not the cliché cheaply-made primitive-art anime about scantily clad lolicon girls. Speaking of which, all the characters are quite beautiful for both sexes, and I seem to have a personal crush on The Count. I highly recommend this to anyone whose looking for an intelligent, dramatic and classic story.