The city of Marseille is still the main scene in the series, but within the realm of its sci-fi settings, intergalactic travel is now also an option. Unlike Abbe, Gankutsuou seems to be an entirely malevolent entity. It's worth mentioning this, because in the original book, his escape was aided by a priest, Abbe Faria, who teaches him everything he needs to know before dying in prison. Most of it centers around the count and the entity that helped him escape from the prison - which is a conscious entity known as Gankutsuou. There's still some artistic changes that needs to be addressed, though, even if they aren't exactly detrimental to the series in any way. Now, I know I said that the anime followed the book pretty closely, and it does. It's a minor complaint, though, so don't pay it much heed. Schtalubaugh from El Hazard or the clockmaker in Haibane Renmei. In fact, the only voice I think felt a little bit out of place was for Luigi Vampa, the leader of the bandits who kidnapped Albert at the beginning of the show (and who make minor appearances later in the show), whose voice actor - William Frederick Knight - I've earlier only heard in the role of the elderly mentor, like Dr. Especially with the most important of characters the Count, whose deep and comforting tone belies the layers upon layers of horrible vengeance just waiting to be unleashed on his betrayers. I'm also very satisfied with the English dub the show ended up getting. The whole thing just lends itself to the sci-fi aspects of the show, despite the generally aristocratic style of the characters. The CG work itself might be considered somewhat tacky-looking at times, but it's generally limited to ships and buildings, including the Count's rather spectacularly and impossibly large cellar an underground world by and in itself. The "worst" part is usually attibuted to clothing textures, where the patterns warp and twist by basically remaining motionless, even as characters move or turn around. ![]() It's quite a sight to behold, but can become rather disorientating, at least at first. Which is to say, the linework is fairly traditional 2D cel animation (computerized), but the coloring process seems to have been textured in a rather odd fashion, also the work of computers. Right off the bat, the art style basically slaps you across the face with its unique flair of mixing CG with the oddest kind of "cel animation" I have ever seen. And so, it falls to me to try to put to words just how impressive this series is. What works in Gankutsuou's favor is that, despite said facelift, the story pretty much stays faithful to the book to an admirable degree, with any changes made to fit it inside the framework of a somewhat more modernized tale kept within reasonable boundaries. Which is good, because the book is no small thing to have to live up to, being one of the best selling books of all time. But I'm convinced that it will remain one of the very best for a long time to come. Gankutsuou, the Count of Monte Cristo is not the first story to be converted into an animated format and given a sci-fi facelift, nor will it be the last. He is pulled into a world of luxury and elegance, but also lies and deceit, as he befriends the mysterious count, who seems to have several agendas of his own. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo Synopsisīased on the old story, "The Count of Monte Cristo", this is the tale of Albert, who, in his travels with his friend Franz, encounters the enigmatic count of Monte Cristo. The name of the character "Abbe Faria" should have an accent on the "e," but sadly our fields do not display this accent properly. My thanks go to Robert Stalker, who helped me bridge the gap between book and anime (so to speak) for the benefit of the review. ![]() ![]() Notes: Based on the novel, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Length: Television series, 24 episodes, 23 minutes eachĭistributor: Currently licensed by FUNimation.Ĭontent Rating: 16+ (adult situations, violence)Īlso Recommended: Elfen Lied, Victorian Romance Emma, the original Count of Monte Cristo Genre: Literary drama, upgraded with sci-fi Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro Second AttackĪKA: 巌窟王 (Gankutsuou), The King of the Cave
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