Gankutsu-ô

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.

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!

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.

///Before you even read this review let me warn you that if you are looking for an anime with a lot of action and pointless fighting this anime is not for you. If on the other hand you are looking for an anime with a brilliant storyline and amazing animation, Gankatsuou is a must see for you.\\\

Firstly let me just mention I usually don't watch Gonzo anime as I've had bad experiences and huge disappointments with their anime in the past, but let me tell you that Gonzo has made up for all of there previous disappointments and useless anime titles with Gankutsuou because Gankutsuou is just plain brilliant. As most of you will know Gankutsuou is an adaption of the book The Count of Monte Cristo which I have now read and can personally say is brilliant.

Anyways Gankutsuou unlike the book which is set in the 1800's century is set far in the future in the 5050's, but like the book it is set in Paris where the Danglar's, who control the financial world, the Morcerf's, who control military affairs, and the Villefort's, who preside over the courts basically rule the country. The anime mainly follows Albert the son of General de Morceft, and his best friend, Franz (who isn't really rich or anything but is going to marry into the Villefort family). Gankutsuou starts of with Albert and Franz taking a trip to Luna to get away and have a vacation and that is where they meet the Count of Monte Cristo and Gankutsuou begins.

The storyline progresses and you find out more and more about the Count, his past and the pasts of the Danglar's, Morcerf's, and the Villefort's. What is so amazing about Gankutsuous storyline is that it is so much like the book but at the same time is totally different. For instance the book and the anime are set in different millenniums and the book is from the point of view of The Count of Monte Cristo and the anime is from the point of view of Albert Morceft but amazingly you learn just about everything you learn in the book from Albert's point of view in the anime. The story also goes into Albert and Franz's love lives a lot as the characters learn that loving the person you marry is more important than if there rich or not or if they come from a good house etcetera (the typical emotional thing you can expect from Gonzo). Anyways you eventually find out about the Count, the Danglar's, Morcerf's, and the Villefort's pasts and how they intertwine. That's when the storyline really gets interesting. On a bad note the main character Albert is your typical kind hearted main character who thinks everyone is good and that the world is a happy place where nothing bad happens (but thankfully he learns differently latter in the anime).

The animation was in my opinion breath taking Gonzo used color/shape patterns to shade the characters' clothing and to make the environment look fantastic. The backgrounds in this anime are fantastically detailed and this anime literally shows you an amazing side of Paris with many of Paris's historical monuments such as the Arc De Triumph (I hope I spelled that right) and the Eiffel Tower. Also this anime uses allot of CG and 3D animation to add depth to the environment and to make the few battle scenes in Gankutsuou look amazing. Some scenes in Gankutsuou are virtually all 3D generated such as a duel that happens half way through the anime.

Now when it comes to the music in Gankatsuou I have to admit that when I first started watching it I didn't like it at all and skipped through the song at the beginning of each episode and didn't bother watching the ending song but in the end of the series you understand how well the songs truly fit into this anime and really come to appreciate them, or at least I did (especially the beginning song). As for sound effects well I though they where very good as well. For instance when you watch the piano being played for each note that is hit you hear the same note that you would hear if you played on a real piano.

Anyways overall I loved Gankatsuou and think that it was brilliant in just about every aspect. Though it lacks action it makes up for it any every other aspect. I definitely recommend Gankatsuou to anyone looking for a good anime. On a side note if you watched the 2002 The Count of Mote Cristo movie with James Caviezel it will not totally ruin this anime for you as that movie left out so many details from the original storyline I don't know where to begin. So if you have seen the movie don't fret, and if you haven't it will only add to the suspense. Also just so you know this is one of those series that you watch once and will not really be able to watch it again (for awhile anyways) so I don't know if buying the DVD is the best investment (so rent or download it). Lastly I watched this anime subbed and it sounded to me that the voice acting was very good and was timed well but I haven't seen it dubbed so I can't say how it is in English though.

My total rating 9 out of 10.

~Cyn1c