Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo - The Complete Series S.A.V.E.
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DVD details
Brand: FunimationDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 600 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-04-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Funimation
Product features:
- Albert is a young man of privilege in Paris, but the trappings of his aristocratic birth leave him bored and unsatisfied. Seeking adventure, Albert s restless spirit leads him to a festival on the moon - and to the Count of Monte Cristo. An enigmatic man of charm and wealth, the Count of Monte Cristo s charisma and sophistication captivate Albert. The fascinated youth invites the nobleman to mi
DVD Reviews of Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo - The Complete Series S.A.V.E.
DVD Review: The Path to Despair
Summary: 5 Stars
Gankutsuou, my favourite anime series. I enjoyed it enough to read the 1250 page novel it's based on (The Count of Monte Cristo) after finishing the series, and I'm far from an avid reader. In the end, not only did Gankutsuou become my favourite anime, it also helped me find my favourite book.
I decided to start collecting the series after watching it. It wasn't an easy task to accomplish with me living in the UK and Geneon being dead in the water, but I'll save you the details and simply say that I'm now the happy owner of the art box and all 6 volumes of this truly fantastic series.
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 the Count of Monte Cristo, but that's all. But, as a result of having no expectations, I was blown away by the story of Edmond Dantes; The Count of Monte Cristo.
In a nutshell, Gankutsuou is a fairly simple revenge story that's executed extremely well: a young man called Edmond Dantes loses his freedom, his love and almost his life because of the greed, jealousy and pride of three men. Then, after many years, he returns, posing as the Count of Monte Cristo - a rich 'noble' who appears out of nowhere and sends shockwaves through Paris with his riches - and puts into action his plan to get the ultimate revenge on the men who destroyed his life. After spending many years suffering, he doesn't simply want to kill them: he wants to destroy them, throwing them in the pits of despair.
In order to add mystery to Edmond'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 Fernand de Morcerf; a general and one of the three Edmond wants revenge against. 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 Edmond pulling the strings behind the awful sequence of events unfolding around him for the 10th time.
The setting was quite a shock at first, 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 starts during the Rome part of the novel, the only difference being that the writers replaced Rome with a city 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.
If you ignore the fact that the story isn't told with the events occurring in chronological order (like in the novel), one of two things that might upset purists is how the story goes in a different direction than the novel at around episode 18. With Edmond's character being key to the story, Edmond only caring about revenge in the anime was the reason behind the change of direction towards the end. In the novel Edmond was persuaded by Mercédès to alter his plans, yet in the anime Edmond turned a deaf ear to her and continued... This one seemingly minor change had a huge impact on how the story progressed beyond that point. Thankfully, Gonzo handled the changes very well, making the finale interesting for people who have read the novel since, if like me, those people would find themselves fascinated by the new angle on Edmond's character.
All in all, the story was a wonderful ride. An adaptation of 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: 9.7/10
I liked pretty much the entire cast...apart from the main character, Albert. Although I knew he had to be made rather stupid for the sake of the plot, his stupidity and inability to see the obvious became very annoying after awhile. You'd think he'd be able to put two and two together when Edmond just randomly kept appearing and Edmond himself had told Albert that there were no coincidences!
After reading the book, it became even more clear how stupid Albert had been made in Gankutsuou in order for the story to be told from his perspective. Although Albert was quite impulsive in the book, stupid was not one of the words that entered into my mind whilst reading... If anything he came across as a rather intelligent and likeable character. Believe me when I say that Albert was neither a crybaby nor an idiot in the novel.
Franz, Albert's childhood friend in Gankutsuou (they aren't that close in the novel), shares a close relationship with Albert, the two being near enough inseparable. Unlike in the book, there are definite homosexual overtones, Franz obviously viewing Albert as more than a friend and Albert unable to see it. Franz, like in the book, is a calm and very intelligent character, in many ways being the exact opposite of Albert in the anime. Albert and Franz fall out many times in the anime over Edmond after Franz tries to warn stupid Albert on various occasions about Edmond not being all he seems.
Edmond, the Count of Monte Cristo himself, remains a mystery for most of the series. He acts kind, yet you can tell that underneath he's hiding something; wearing a mask to fool those around him. His character differs considerably from the character you see in the book because, where as Edmond views himself as a servant of God in the book, Edmond views himself as a demon of revenge in the anime adaptation. Gankutsuou's Edmond is certainly an interesting take on a famous character, one that I'm sure would likely have created more discussion had more people read the novel Gankutsuou is based on.
The one glaring omission from the anime cast is one of the most important characters in the book: Abbé Faria. In the novel, Faria saved Edmond from killing himself after he had spent many years alone in the prison of Château d'If, giving him renewed hope and someone to converse with. Faria soon become a sort of mentor to Edmond, giving him the vast amounts of knowledge he had inside his elderly mind, ending up changing Edmond from a silly boy to a respectable man. Faria also ended up leading Edmond to fortune by telling him about the treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo on his death bed.
In the anime, no explanation whatsoever was given for how Edmond transformed from a naive boy to the charismatic man you see as The Count of Monte Cristo. He doesn't even go to the island of Monte Cristo in the anime, his cave of wonders being moved to underneath his house in France. Although this does work and goes with the changes made to Edmond's character (demon of revenge; not the servant of God he believes himself to be in the novel), Gankutsuou would've had more depth if Faria had at least been shown.
Overall, Gankutsuou has an amazing cast of characters. I do recommend you read the novel if you wish to understand them fully, though - a 24 episode anime can only fit in so much.
Art / 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 characters clothing and hair are reflective. It 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, the sort fitting for a tale set in the 1800's, you'd be completely wrong since the colours are anything but dull, vibrant being a much better description.
As expected of a Gonzo production, Gankutsuou also has a fair amount of CG outside of the clothing/hair effect, including some epic mecha fights. The CG is stunning at times, almost jaw dropping for a TV series.
Overall, Gankutsuou is a joy to watch...once you get used to the unique animation effect. 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 opening (OP) song. The OP, while fitting, was so dull and slow I had to skip it after watching it once. The ending (ED) song, on the other hand, I did like, the lyrics fitting the show perfectly and the song being fast paced. I feel the ED song would've worked better if it had been used for the OP.
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 also loved how classical music was chosen - it made the experience feel even more special to hear both unedited and edited versions of some of the most famous classical music in existence playing alongside the animation.
I have to mention track 18, one of the best pieces of music I've ever listened to. It was cheek-tinglingly stunning to listen to when it played during the best episode in the series (strangely enough, episode 18!!!), making the sequence even more thrilling than it was already.
The selection of classical music (some remixed for the anime), excellent newly created music and one the most fitting ED songs of all time make 9.5/10 a fair score.
Total: 9.7/10
Having watched a fair amount of anime, I'm hard to please. Gankutsuou pleased me, with every area surpassing my expectations. It's a rare, rare feeling to end anything and feel near enough completely satisfied, and I can't see me enjoying another anime as much for a long time.
I recommend this series to everyone: those who have read the novel and those who haven't. My only suggestion is to watch the anime before reading the novel if possible since we all know how people can be picky when it comes to adaptations.
Description of Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo - The Complete Series S.A.V.E.
Albert is a young man of privilege in Paris, but the trappings of his aristocratic birth leave him bored and unsatisfied. Seeking adventure, Albert?s restless spirit leads him to a festival on the moon ? and to the Count of Monte Cristo.An enigmatic man of charm and wealth, the Count of Monte Cristo?s charisma and sophistication captivate Albert. The fascinated youth invites the nobleman to mingle within the upper echelons of Parisian society, and the Count is soon courting the favor of France?s most powerful families. Little does Albert know, as his new friend walks the ornate halls of the highest class, the Count of Monte Cristo wants only to bring them crashing down through vengeance.
Stills from Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo - The Complete Series (Click for larger image)
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