Alternative TitlesJapanese: シュヴァリエ Le Chevalier D'Eon
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 24
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 2, 2006 to Feb 23, 2007
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.491 (scored by 6315 users)
Ranked: #14302
Popularity: #939
Members: 18,608
Favorites: 138 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama historical mystery supernatural |
Synopsis18th Century, France. Lia de Beaumont, loyal servant of Versailles and its King, Louis XV, is found dead in the river Seine. Floating inside a coffin, on which the word "Psalms" was written, her body had been poisoned by mercury, thus preserving decay. According to the Church, the soul that belonged to a corpse incapable of being consumed by the soil will forever wander in the human realm, unable to go to Heaven.
This greatly affects D'Eon de Beaumont, Lia's brother and one of the king's spies. He vows to discover by whom - and why - she was murdered. But he never expected that the one who conducting the revenge would be Lia, now possessing D'Eon's body! And what will the knight do when this quest might risk France itself?
History is retold in this supernatural tale of vengeance, loyalty and betrayal. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Le Chevalier d'Eon
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Washi
81 of 106 people found this review helpful
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24 of 24 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Watching Le Chevalier De’on ended up being quite a saga for me. Back when it when it was initially airing, I was really enthusiastic about the series and was watching it as fast as possible - until AnimeYuki’s “as fast as possible” became slow enough to hamper my interest with signs of limping plot development. So I put the show on hold and recently decided to watch through it with a friend from the start again. At first, beyond the stunning first episode, I thought the show had some significant flaws. From the start it was immensely pretty, Production IG going all-out on the production, and the plot was original, well-researched and envisioned in amazing depth and complexity - however, this all seemed wasted by languid pacing and tepid characterisation. In short, despite having a great plot, for a long time the show alienated viewers with its verbosity, lack of humour and characters that were largely hard to sympathise with.
Even until the very end, the main character, De’on left little impact, and were it not for the eventual growth of his comrades the series would have been hard to finish. Durand is a warm, likable presence and easily one of my favourite characters; his plotline toward the end of the series was undoubtedly a highlight, being both gripping and intense. The youngster, Robin is ultimately transformed into a remarkable character as he battles with the emotional challenges of their journey - grief, betrayal, revenge. And last, but not least comes the conniving and bitterly honourable Teillagory, who is not as straight-forward as we are lead to believe. The majority of the cast really come out of their shells and reveal their true selves as the pressure of the plot-climax accumulates, which makes for a final run of about 7 episodes that are packed with emotion and poignancy.
Yes, the series well and truly redeems itself, trading slow-winded for brevity, and packing a really strong punch for the show’s climax. Those last 7 episodes are edge-of-your seat entertainment, and, quite frankly, exceptional in every way. I really mourn all those out there who dropped this show pre-emptively, as it truly teaches us the virtue that good things come to those who wait. Drawing from, and upturning the subtleties of the characters explored during the first half of the series, especially in terms of the ideology and approach to loyalty and patriotism, and slathering the audience with the answers to mystery after mystery, the plot explodes into a fiery culmination that extends to the very end of the last episode.
As if just to mock those who did not persevere, this final run is also blessed with the very heights of Production IG’s production efforts. The animation in this episodes is excessively good, and, in terms of the cel detail and fluidity of motion, up there with the very best of animation ever produced in an anime tv series, if not the best. But that’s not all; beyond a generous budget these episodes display a sense of artistry that most anime cannot even approach. The background art is, in typical IG fashion, excellent, and a number of background works later in the series depict some really memorable locales and scenes. Let us not forget to mention that drawing a building as a background is a lot different to trying to recreate early France - the detail in the architecture is supreme. The directing in Le Chevalier only really shines as it approaches its end and there is more striking content to present, but when it shines it really shines. Honestly, I find it difficult to praise IG’s work here enough, but I’ll say that it ranged from impressive to astounding - high quality through and through, and more attention to detail being payed than I’ve ever seen from an anime series before. Very rarely am I captivated by the aesthetic beauty of an anime tv series (as very rarely does it have it), but frequently was while watching this series - particularly in episode 18. Not to be outdone, the musical production is very much up to scratch, with a mature, classical composition that captures the spirit of the series very well, and grants it plenty of energy when it’s needed. The sound in general, was in fact very good, with good sound effects, and a nice OP and ED capping each episode - they kind of grow on you.
The plot is both a strength and a weakness of the show, its convoluted and complex nature meaning that it’s very easy to become lost or confused, and, towards the beginning, bored. However, the layered complexity of the plot is ultimately very rewarding, as the end pulls everything together and explains it all, making for very enthralling viewing (the kind that cannot be achieved with a simplistic plot). Furthermore, the way that it is interwoven into French history and the roots of the revolution is really very clever, and even more impressive that it was pulled off believably. There is a lot of dialogue, and a lot of step-based progression earlier in the series which can make it feel like it’s going nowhere. I do admit that some of the dialogue could have been trimmed here and there, but it certainly had direction, it just took time to build up a good momentum. I think the story is an ambitious one, in its scope and intricacy, the likes of which aren’t often pulled of well in anime.
IG have gone all out in bringing this ambitious tale of politics, knighthood and the supernatural to life, and came very close to making a masterpiece. The conclusion is wholly satisfying and thrilling, and the whole series is rendered with artistic flare and meticulous attention to detail. Its downfall rests with its first half, which doesn’t provide enough emotional attachment or solid plot direction to make it captivating. Nonetheless, I urge everyone to press on until the show hits its stride and recommend it to everyone who thinks they’re capable of this.
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ZJun
65 of 87 people found this review helpful
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24 of 24 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Since this is from Production I.G., a studio which I like a lot, I had no doubt in collecting this. It is definitely a good quality anime but of course, its not perfect
Art/ Animation:
Seriously, can you go wrong with a studio that produced something like Ghost In the Shell? The building designs, settings are marvelous, although I admit I'm not familiar with the French architechture, it still managed to capture the western feel. Characters were designed to look realistic and thus, would not appeal to audiences who want either 'moe' or extreme cuteness. The swordfights were perfect, they were swift and clean, wasting no time in trying to bring down the opponent, without any extreme visual moves or 'powering up' like in shounen animes. It is what you'd expect real fencing to be like, fast, graceful but brutal.
Another important thing to note, the 4 musketeers actually looked tired near the last half of the series! This showed how much care the animators put into this, just to show that, well...they are human as well and anyone would be exhausted after the amount of horrid times they had to go through
Sound:
The opening song gives the hint of bravery and patriotism. The ending was beautiful', it gave a melancholic but also with determined feel, which describes Chevalier D'Eon's character perfectly. Not to mention the visuals that came along with the theme, it was a great idea to put the characters with their names and lifespans just in case the viewers get drowned in the sea of complicated french names.
The atmosphere of the anime was further enhanced by the rich orchestral music, composed by none other than Michiru Ooshima, the man responsible for Full metal Alchemist.
Some tracks, especially the one in the opening of the 1st episode 'Owari ni Mata Kotoba Ariki' was the one that gave the most impact.
The voice acting was good, well, at least I couldn't notice any flaws, all their voices fit the characters really well
Story
This was what attracted me to watch this anime. A spy that lived his life half as a man and half as a woman? and that he was only discovered to be a man after his death?That was what happened to the real Chevalier D'Eon. Tow Ubakata took the concept but changed it into an action fantasy novel, where vampires were involved and spells which are casts by 'poets' are the main elements of the story. Also, D'Eon didn't dress up as a woman like what history implied, but he was possessed by his sister, Lia instead and sets out to seek revenge. What impressed me was that even though this turned into a supernatural flick, he still managed to retain the important facts and elements of the actual person's history, plus making it seem logical in a way.
Even then, the story is rather slowly paced, and with the heavy amount of dialogue, it is easy for most viewers to get bored.
There is a twist near the end though which unfortunately, did not surprise me due to the mistake of reading a spoiler posted by another person....
Still, it concluded pretty well
Character:
There are a lot of characters in this anime, each with rather complicated names which does cause confusion eventually. The 4 musketeers are the main characters along with er... D'Eon's sister Lia.
There isn't much to say about D'Eon himself apart from his love for the country and people around him. Other sub-characters like Durand, Robin and Robbespiere were more interesting due to their complex or mysterious characteristics they gave out. They showed more development than D'Eon himself, although this cannot be blamed due to the fact that he had to share his screentime with his sister
There were some underdeveloped characters too, like his fiance, Queen Marie, Madame Pompordour and the duke, but they did not affect too much of the story.
Since this anime focuses mainly on the plot and storyline, the character development pales in comparison, but they still have their own significant characteristics
Overall, this series is definitely a keeper.
I might even rewatch this because of some confusion during the later episodes. Since this has a western setting, japanese voices do not sound that suitable as well, although I don't think I'll watch dubs too since most of those I watched had disappointed me.
Nevertheless, its an excellent anime worth watching if you like a unique plot. But not recommended for people who just want to watch it for action.
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Recommendations
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Versailles and crossdressing, anyone?
Both BeruBara and Chevalier feature crossdressing and genderbending main characters in a revolution-era French setting that's as accurate as possible, sans the liberties that, of course, had to be taken to create the story.
So lets see. The only reason why I finde this 2 series verry similar is the main charachter and the historic theme of bouth animes.In Le Chevalier D'eon as well as in Rose of Versailles we have the main charachter who is stucked betwen 2 faces. The face of a woman or the face of a man. In Rose of versailles Oscar was raised as a man, but she is going to love as a woman. Determinated, courageous and proude as a man, but fragile like a woman. In Le Chevalier D'eon our main charachter, a male is possesed by his twin sisters soul who want's revenge. Traped between the 2 personalites he is confused and at a point doesn't even know who is the real him.In bouth series the confusion because of the 2 faces life apear at some point and finishes when the charachter is finaly accepting the person that he is. In Le chevalier D'on this crisis is a bit more stronger because he is actualy controled by his sisters spirit.If you watched one of this movie for his historical tipe you will surely like the other for the same reason. In bouth the action is situated in France.Corruption, kings failing and the thirst for power. You can finde them all in this animes.Conclusio: if you liked one of them you'll surely like the other.
Historical anime about France, Versailles, aristocracy, with plenty of sword duels.
Both series play with the gender of the main character (crossdressing in Versailles No Bara, gender bender in Le Chevalier D'Eon).
While one has more drama and romance, the other is more into the horror/supernatural side.
Both stories take places in history at the same time and both contains same historical characters, but Le Chevalier D'Eon is much darker and includes supernatural accidents.
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Both take place in Europe in much older times and the main characters are both people who serve directly under the ruler of their country. Both also contain fantasy and mystery elements
Period pieces highlighting the struggles of nobility. D'Eon is a knight for France and Ciel is a guard dog for England and they're both rather reticent and morose at times. Though Le Chevalier is set nearly a century before Kuroshitsuji, both make attempts to include current events of the time-- making for very interesting historical fiction. Although Le Chevalier is a bit more humorless, both are tragedies at the heart of them, as both character try to discover the mystery behind their love ones' deaths only to embark on a journey that could potentially destroy themselves and everything they know. This is not to say they are totally without laughs, actually crossdressing is another similar theme the two have between them.
Both seem to have this older time setting to them. Each deals with a magical sort of element to it as well. Oddly, both have cross-dressing as well.
Both are set in an "old Europe" setting and feature characters devoutly loyal to the crown of their country, though Black Butler is set in England and Le Chevalier D'Eon in France. The feeling and pace of the show as well as the ending share similarities that should make fans of one happy to watch the other.
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Opening Theme"BORN" by Miwako Okuda
Ending Theme"OVER NIGHT" by Aya
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