Gankutsuo!

[king atlantis]

[color="Red"]i watched this series awhile ago, it was AWSOME.

what made it awsome? I was reading 'The Count of Monte' Cristo' at the same time! What is so special about this? the series is based off the book- so much so, that you can pretty much follow along with it...except with a few twists:
1) the series take place about 3,000-4,000 years in the future.
2) ITS AN ANIME (DUH)
3) It looks great- the animation is awsomely done.
4) the japanese voice actors are great.

anyone else watch this? what did you think? Discuss![/color]

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I've seen a little bit of this series, and I admit that I'm intrigued by the use of such a classic story. I have to confess, though, I wasn't too pleased with the art style.

[Sheol777]

I have this, and yet I did not watch it yet.

Convince me to put it next on my list...

[jon_jinn]

from what i've heard the series is really good. the reviews have all given positive feedback on the series, and it seems pretty interesting. i saw the first episode but i haven't seen any other episodes of the series, unfortunately...

[minakichan]

I LOVED Le Comte de Monte Cristo. It's my favorite novel ever.

As for Gankutsuou, I really liked it, but I kept comparing it to Le Comte, and... well, it's different. And it's not as good. Monte Cristo's revenge is perfect and beautifully orchestrated in the original novel; all of the characters are amazing and the themes are so powerful. I think the anime just didn't have the same effect at all. That, and the novel's ending was SO MUCH BETTER.

That doesn't mean it's not one of the best anime of this century. But I would honestly give it that title because of the original source material and not Gonzo at all. I was really WTF when I saw that they set it in space too-- there was really no reason for it and it doesn't accomplish much, because half the time it doesn't even feel like it.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Well, I for one loved that anime to pieces! True, it parted from the original in some ways, but I think it's more original that way. The developers of the anime sort of made the story their own, you know? I also read the book shortly before watching the anime, and I discovered that if I hadn't read the book, I'd probably be really confused because of all the undercurrents running through the story.

I really liked how they chose to tell Albert's side of the story, rather than...I dunno, the Count and Maximilien/Valentine. True, I was a little disappointed that Maximilien and Valentine were sort of shunted aside, because I thought their romance was very sweet, but I think the friendship between Albert, Franz, and Eugenie more than made up for that.

And I actually liked the ending to the anime better than the book's ending. It was so emotional, and what happened between the Count and Albert at the very end really struck a chord in my heart. I cried buckets, let me tell you.

So yes, I love this anime. The animation style took some getting used to, but after the first five episodes or so, I barely even noticed it anymore.

[EKmisao]

I do like the series as a whole. What I didn't appreciate was the soul-taking aspect of this series (most seen when the Count gets several pairs of creepy eyes on his forehead).

EK 8 )

[king atlantis]

[color="Red"]yeah, the ending wasnt as good, imo, but i still liked it


also- the art style...put me off for about 10 min, then i fell in love with it :p[/color]

[theanimeguy]

I do like the series as a whole. What I didn't appreciate was the soul-taking aspect of this series (most seen when the Count gets several pairs of creepy eyes on his forehead).

EK 8 )

I hated the sceen at the end of episode 19, it was unneeded and too graphic.

[king atlantis]

[color="Red"]you mean all the blood? i suppose, but it was still visualy...intresting.[/color]

[Shao Feng-Li]

I think there was more "mature" content in it than our CAA review tells us about...

[Maledicte]

Gankutsuou is one of my favorite animes ever. It was more of a remix of the book than anything...it kept a lot of original bits from the novel but shuffled it all around. The novel is still better, but Gankutsuou kept me guessing from beginning to end, and I count that as a good thing.

I thought the ending was alright, but it could have been expanded a bit--the epilogue episode was unnecessary and it would have been better if the ending was a two-parter IMO.

I think there was more "mature" content in it than our CAA review tells us about...

Well, the anime removed the lesbian romance, if that's any consolation.

[theanimeguy]

Yeah, only a 4 for sexual content/nudity? There are multiple episodes that contain nudity and the rape scene in episode 19 really ruined the series for me. The series has a lot of 16 and up stuff, but some of it really gets "adult only". Those 4s should be 6-7s. I did not like episode 19 at all, just too graphic and the ending of episode 7 too.

[Yuen Fei Lung]

You know, I really thought the Count of Monte Cristo was one of the most under-rated anime titles to come along on quite a few years. The animation and art style was unique, the characters had depth, the music was outstanding and it all just came together. For me, I was very satisfied with the ending as well. No doubt though, this series was not made for kids.

[king atlantis]

[color="Red"]yeah...their was some nudeity and such, but most of it was more allong the lines of 'side shots/blurredness' than straight on...but yeah, it IS abit mature...

wah? the original had a lesbian scene O_o[/color]

[theanimeguy]

[color="Red"]yeah...their was some nudeity and such, but most of it was more allong the lines of 'side shots/blurredness' than straight on...but yeah, it IS abit mature...

wah? the original had a lesbian scene O_o[/color]

Yeah Eugenie was lesbian

[Yuen Fei Lung]

I had actually forgotten about Eugenie. That was rather disturbing (that she was a lesbian) but every anime series has its flaws, yes?

[minakichan]

BUT EUGENIE WAS AWESOME, WAS SHE NOT? *runs away*

That was rather disturbing (that she was a lesbian) but every anime series has its flaws, yes?

...but...there's no lesbianism in the anime... I don't understand this sentence.

I read Le Comte first when I was in 7th grade, and again in college. HUGE difference. I missed so much the first time; maybe the reviewer didn't catch a lot of... subtext. Well, at any rate, Le Comte's ending made me cry, Gankutsuou's did not, which is really shocking, considering that

[spoiler]Le Comte ends almost optimistically; Gankutsuou ends more in tragedy[/spoiler]

which makes me think that Dumas must be infinitely more genius than GONZO because he can make THAT more touching and heartbreaking.

[Yuen Fei Lung]

Wait a minute, aren't we talking about Peppo and wasn't she a cross dresser instead of a lesbian? Eugenie was Albert's love interest, right? Maybe now I have it all in order? Gomen nasai, my memory sucks sometimes.

The ending of Gankutsuo didn't make me cry either but there was a part of the series that did (not sure how to use the spoiler code so I won't say it). I've never read the original but I have seen the movie based on it.

Still, I thought the ending was rather suiting to the series unlike many other anime series where I'm just like "what were they thinking?!"

[EKmisao]

Yeah, only a 4 for sexual content/nudity? There are multiple episodes that contain nudity and the rape scene in episode 19 really ruined the series for me. The series has a lot of 16 and up stuff, but some of it really gets "adult only". Those 4s should be 6-7s. I did not like episode 19 at all, just too graphic and the ending of episode 7 too.

I apologize for that. I watched the series on television, and they cut that out of ep 19 (and I forgot about it). Meaning, now I do recall that it happened, that they started the scene, but they cut out the scene itself. Just inform the bosses for the necessary changes. ^^v

Peppo is a cross-dresser. And that stays in the anime, although very downplayed.

EK 8 )

[Maledicte]

Oh boy, I seem to have caused some confusion.

In the novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo,
[spoiler]Eugenie is a lesbian, runs off with a servant girl, is caught and causes a huge scandal.[/spoiler]
This plot element/character development didn't make it into the anime, but if you watch the early trailer you will see
[spoiler]an early version of Eugenie about to kiss a brunette girl.[/spoiler]

Also, I maintain that Peppo is a girl, I don't care what s/he says.

And I agree with minakichan--the ending of the novel made me cry, because it just seemed so...right. And maybe because I was so happy that Edmund & co. finally had a happy ending.

[EKmisao]

Argh...I've gotta read that book over, I've forgotten so many things...

[the_wolfs_howl]

I was under the impression that, in the book, [spoiler]Eugenie ran off with a friend, quite innocently, with no lesbian influences at all.[/spoiler] I may have missed something, though. Thanks for ruining my liking of Eugenie [/sarcasm]

[Maledicte]

:eyebrow: I was under the impression that, in the book, [spoiler]Eugenie ran off with a friend, quite innocently, with no lesbian influences at all.[/spoiler] I may have missed something, though. Thanks for ruining my liking of Eugenie [/sarcasm]

That's also possible. When I read the book as a kid, I read it that way, but when I was older I read it differently. The scandal afterward makes me think there might have been something more to it.

[king atlantis]

it was a scandle because of the circumstances...ie: her suppose to get married/in that time she was traveling alone/running away/etc.

not because of THAT.

the book was written...i think (correct if wrong) before that was even acceptable in books, lol.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Yeah, most definitely. That's mainly why I didn't read it like that.

[minakichan]

Hmmm, as for the Eugenie thing, I considered it more subtext than anything blatantly stated. However, she crossdresses and talks about wishing to be a man.

the book was written...i think (correct if wrong) before that was even acceptable in books, lol.

Hmm, I don't think so. History does not move in such a way that as time progresses, moral standards continuously loosen. Also, Le Comte WAS noteworthy for pushing boundaries, with all kinds of crazy adultery and drug use and transvestite stuff, so there's no reason to believe that Dumas would not write in homosexuality. But I will admit that I never saw any of the lesbian content when I read the book in middle school.

Also wikipedia confirms that Eugenie is (interpreted as) lesbian. And I mean, I wasn't exactly furious that they made her straight in the anime, but Albert's love?! Where did THAT come from?!

[Kawaiikneko]

Ahhh Gankutsuo... I watched it awhile back on fansubs before it came stateside, and I liked it so much that I immediately went out and bought the book. I hadn't even finished the anime series before I decided I liked the book soooo much better, but I still enjoyed the series. The ending... was not my favorite considering the book ending is so great. I also remember being annoyed with Albert for pretty much the whole series. XD

Honestly, I never even thought about Eugenie being a lesbian until I did some research on the book when I considered using it as a topic for a character analysis paper. I had always assumed the scandal was over her wanting to stay unmarried and live an independent life - like a man in the sense that she could do whatever she wanted without being tied down by domestic duties. And maybe its because I see nothing wrong with women wearing men's clothes because of the culture I've grown up in, but the fact that she was disguised in men's clothes never struck me as anything more than a disguise. I suppose people will debate about it for years to come...