Postby ich1990 » Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:56 pm
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Christo ep. 6-24 (complete)
Man, this show was a roller coaster ride for me. The first few episodes convinced me I was absolutely going to enjoy it, then the next half dozen saw a gradual decline into annoyance. By episode 12 it picked up again and reached its peak at the end of episode 15 (very great scene). Then, a couple more good episodes until it closed awkwardly. Frankly I can't make up my mind as to whether I like it or not.
The Good
On the upside, it was a very good mystery story (if you hadn't read the book), and was packed full of mostly believable drama. I say mostly, because the show remained faithful to French excesses, and the emotion was way over top at times. Also, the Count himself was totally awesome, intelligent, and dangerous: the designer of many always-enjoyable Xanatos gambits. I loved the Japanese VA for him: Jouji Nakata is probably my favorite VA ever. He managed to pull off a Japanese person speaking French very well. The rest of the non-teen cast was generally well done as well. Not sympathetic, necessarily, but well done.
Character designs were quite admirable. There were even attractive looking females in it, which was something I didn't think possible in anime. Also on the upside was the art, which reminded me how flexible the genre really is. After watching dozens of shows that look the same (even if they do it well, like 5cm Per Second) this was a great relief. The ending song was well done. I liked how they managed to smoothly tie it in with whatever thematic content happened at the close of the episode.
The Bad
And then there are the downsides. Most obvious: the objectionably content. One of the characters put it best when he described the French nobility of the time. "Take away the pride, lust, and avarice and what is left? Nothing." That pretty much describes it. Be warned: sexual content and nudity play a significant role.
Content issues aside, there are other problems. For starters, the main character is a total imbecile for the first 3/4 of the show. When another jerk of a guy takes his girl from him, for instance, he just kind of shouts angrily for a little bit and then rolls over and leaves the planet to go on a vacation. His supposed love is left to languish behind and fend off the unwanted advances of the new guy. He does mature a little in the end, but even then he is pretty dim.
Also terrible was the opening song/title sequence, which features some of the worst singing I have heard in anime, ever. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot, seriously.
Another thing that perturbed me was the periodic use of CGI. This is especially egregious considering that the animated art is fantastic. Nowhere does this error show up more than the entirely CGI mecha fight. It is supposed to be a dramatic scene, and it still manages be so, but not by any merit of the CGI. It is way too foreign to the show's style and aesthetic, and way too poorly designed of a fight to really suit the show's purpose. It would have been way, way better if it had just been a regular swordfight. Even an animated mecha battle would have been better.
I have mentioned the art, and how good it is, but I am sad to say that normalizes later in the series. During the first episode or two, all of the patterns and brightness practically burn your eyes out. By the end, there are still patterns, but they are dim and dingy and hardly noticeable. I was sad to see them go. As for character designs, the dark side of the females looking like pretty females, is that the majority of the males look like pretty females as well.
Two spoiler related complaints:[spoiler]The Count was released from his pact with Gankutsuou because Albert hugged him? How does that work at all? I mean, I could see it (maybe) if Mercedes hugged him, and he was able to forgive her. Then all of his hatred and longing for revenge would lose some of its grounding, but it was Albert. This confuses me.
Second, what happened with Eugenie and Albert? I am no shipper. Heck, I would rather Eugenie hook up with a lot smarter than Albert, but after all of the time and episodes that were spent carefully setting up their relationship, I think there at least should have been a small piece of the epilogue set aside to tell how it all worked out. Even Valentine and Maximilian had a long reunion. Why not Eugenie and Albert.
Also, why did it take Albert five years to get back together with Eugenie (assuming he ever did)? I mean, they were pretty serious at the airport. Is Albert just that much of a jerk, that he leaves his girlfriend stranded for half decade, arbitrarily?[/spoiler]
Conclusion
I really, really wanted to like this show more than I did. When it was good, it was great. When it wasn't, it was pretty bad. It promised much.... yet it broke that promise as often than its characters broke their engagements. 3/5
Where an
Eidolon, named night, on a black throne reigns upright.
Pretty cool! Though I've yawned quite a bit at how shonen it is, for an anime with hardly any male main characters. (And I just found out that Rigardo is voiced by 
Now I 
) I'm ready for the big Priscilla showdown for the last couple of episodes, woohoo!
Aaaand, with episode 17 
