Le Chevalier D'Eon

In 18th century Paris, a coffin is found floating down the Seine River. It carries the corpse of noblewoman Lia de Beaumont: a spy of King Louis XV, and whose younger brother Charles d'Eon has just been knighted. When several disappearances occur throughout Paris, the young knight believes that they are somehow connected to his sister's death. Hoping to find her killers, d'Eon joins the secret police to investigate the incidents.

Following the clues, they piece together that a conspiracy between members of the French and Russian nobility, spurred on by a cult, may be behind the disappearances. D'Eon concludes that Lia may have uncovered the truth while on a mission and was killed as a result.

That night, the secret police are to arrest the Duke of Orléans on suspicion of being the mastermind. One of their own transforms into a demon called a Gargoyle and massacres the group. D'Eon attempts to rescue the sole survivor, only to find that he too has been transformed. During the ensuing battle, d'Eon is possessed by Lia's vengeful soul, who takes command of his body and slays the Gargoyle herself. In the aftermath, d'Eon must gather allies to discover the depth of this supernatural conspiracy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Inada, Tetsu
Japanese

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Nakatake, Tetsuya

Producer, Production Assistant

Chung, Jin Ho

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Morishita, Katsuji

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Iizuka, Toshio

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Opening Theme

"BORN" by Miwako Okuda

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Ending Theme

"OVER NIGHT" by Aya

Reviews

Jan 2, 2015

Recommended

All the world's a stage, all the world's a stage! Comedy and Tragedy cycle endlessly! And to be or not to be---that is the question! We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with weapons. Who's gonna do it? You weep for those that are your allies, and you curse those that are your enemies. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing the truth. Death, while tragic, probably saves lives. And the existence of love and hatred, while grotesque and incomprehensible to most, is the core of life itself. You don't want ... the truth because deep down the truth hurts. We use sugar-coated words like honor, code, and loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. But what does it all really mean? The world is merely a stage set for the actors to play upon. Le Chevalier D'Eon, an unforgettable performance that defies reality itself yet co-exists with history within reality.

The world the world the world! The world is a tale of love and friendship! The world is a tale of hatred and vengeance! The world's a comedy! The world's a tragedy! The people are the puppets, the leaders, the actors and the audience! The world shall stand up upon it's feet and give the stage a thunderous applause! Bravo! Bravoo!! Bravooo!!! Everyone shall be moved to tears! Le Chevalier D'Eon, the magical tale of a mysterious murder within hidden secrets within the French revolution within the territories of European countries (France, Russia & England) within the magical boundaries of reality within the entire world's stage. Shakespeare... Pssh... Le Chevalier D'Eon puts all his so-called "tragedies" to shame. Witness the performance for the ages!

Who do you think are the most powerful people in the world? Kings? Religious Leaders? Generals? Scientists? "The People"? Poets? A divine deity? Hmmm... What changes the world? Murder/War? Communication/Words? Oh dear Le Chevalier D'Eon. Not only does this magnificent show symbolize significant motifs - the core of human nature, Cruelty Vs Masculinity and more, but at the same time it delves into France's reality during the 18th century. Poverty of the poor, corruption of the government, the role of women (social hierarchy) and more. This is a tragic mystery that'll leave the audience confused and befuddled quite a bit, but if the audience can see through the act and see the core lying beneath the outer surface then wow, is this a performance to be seen!

The story of Le Chevalier D'Eon is so unique, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before in anime. I won't talk more about the actual synopsis because you find that everywhere. There is magic within a historic show (Remember, the characters in the show actually exist in real history, and their roles in the stories are pretty much mirrors of their characters in real history). Pretty weird, and sounds pretty pathetic (magic) and boring (history)... Well, I can assure you that it's neither. This show makes history intriguing to say the last. Go watch the show if you're up for a one way ticket to masterpiece-ville. The magic blends in perfectly with the ominous mysteries lurking within France, England and Russia during a dark era in history. The magic (power of the psalms) symbolize the power of religion and the church in Europe during the 18th century and it's influence upon all the tragedies that occur during that bloody era. The beginning of the French Revolution in France, rise of Catherine the Great in Russia, failure of imperialism in England during King George III's reign and the churches dark secrets that make everything happen.

The art and sound in this series is just the way it should be; it perfectly fits everything Le Chevalier D'Eon is meant to symbolize. The portrayal of the settings (Versailles, St. Petersburg Cathedrals,), the characters, the special affects designs, everything is so realistic! How I love this show's old/classic art. Perhaps they could have given the characters more distinct faces, because some of them do look somewhat similar... But that's okay, because the marvelous clothing covers for it. The budget for this show is close to $0, therefore the art isn't all that "beautiful" so don't expect too much of a modern clear HD vision attraction. The music, ah yes. Where to begin...? The opening is beautiful, see the lyrics to the song as well, not only are the lyrics touching, but it fits the anime perfectly. The ending is decent. But the soundtracks that play at each key moment is perfection itself. The low hymms of the church that brings mystical darkness over the audience. The climax hype theme that excites the audience for the answers up ahead. The sad flute pieces that bring the audience to tears. The music is at the heart of this masterpiece.

The only criticism I have to give this show is that although all the characters develop wonderfully in the end, no one is all that memorable and purely lovable or hate-able. I'm not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing actually. Perhaps some like it that way (ambiguous) but I'd like to have a character I can really feel attached to and feel for, but Le Chevalier D'Eon didn't have that. The character development doesn't happen until towards the end of the series either. Every characters secrets are revealed in the last approximately 6 episodes, but the first 18 episodes there wasn't anything key revealed really. A bummer for a mystery show. But as for the positives for the characters portion of the story is that everyone's quite realistic, their motives that is; they have something that they're fighting to protect and no bullcrap. No, although there is Psalms (super-naturalism), there is still realism. Secrets, companionship, betrayal, redemption and... death. Pretty much sums up the characters. But.. I did mention that this was a tragedy, so if all the characters that you cherish and pity end in a tragic way, then just remember, this is a tragic tragedy for the ages. I can assure you that you'll end up with teary eyes by the end. Especially for Anna. A tragedy for the ages indeed.

The most underrated anime series I have ever seen without question. Not only on Mal is it rated something like a 7/10, lower than most crap, but even outside of Mal, nobodies even heard of the title, "Le Chevalier D'Eon". Have you heard of it? Bet not... How depressing this world is. The world truly is a tragedy. Pointless crap like Sword Art Online becomes one of the most famous anime ever while Le Chevalier D'Eon, a true masterpiece of literature is buried in poop, pissed upon and then flushed away into the abyss. Please don't let our anime community rot any more, and do yourself a favor by watching this show. Brace yourselves for the tragedy that will have the world upon it's feet, weeping and applauding! Le Chevalier D'Eon!

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May 5, 2015

PowerUpOrDie

Mixed Feelings

Historical Fiction? Supernatural? Mystery Thriller? HECK YES! Execution of the premise... ah well... (inhales sharply). 'Rose of Versailles' has 21st century successor with a Gothic (in the old literary sense) twist that gets it started with a bang, but a muddled middle act that's only partially counterbalanced by an emotional but not entirely coherent ending. Like 'Psycho-Pass', this leaves me wondering what could have been.

-Story-

'D'Eon' begins with the best first episode I have ever seen, hands down. It's fast-paced, exciting, and establishes the setting clearly without resorting to infodumps. I was completely hooked and expecting the ride of my life. And it's a very good ... ride for the first arc, but when the second arc starts things begin to go off the rails. While 'D'Eon' establishes itself as a supernatural murder mystery set in pre-Revolutionary France, it makes a jarring transition to political conspiracy about halfway through. The cast seems to forget exactly what they came to do and get tied up in political arcs that are only tangentially related to finding Lia d'Beaumont's murderer. The ending certainly has emotional impact, but so many *WHAT A TWIST* moments are thrown on screen that it can be hard to piece everything together. The magic system behind the supernatural elements is never fully explained, there seem to be no hard and fast rules such as "Equivalent Exchange" to give it order and structure. But it does have plenty of 'cool' factor in that the spells are activated by quoting various Biblical Psalms (although the one quoted most often is not Biblical but written specifically for the anime).

The main theme of the story is loyalty: what are you loyal to? The old order is being challenged by the rise of the Enlightenment and the French monarchy is blissfully unaware of how close the country is to a full-scale eruption of chaos and ambition- exactly who and what do you swear loyalty too? Family, individuals, institutions, ideals? What price are you prepared to pay for your loyalty? How far are you willing to go? And what happens when loyalties conflict? The topic is covered in moderate depth, but never truly delivers any revelations beyond how hard it can be to pick the right side when the world is shaking around you- good but not earth-shattering. In short the story needed tightening up and better flow to take full advantage of its cool elements.

-Art-

When the art wants to be beautiful, it can be beautiful. During fight scenes animation fluidity is excellent even by 2015 standards, the lighting is dramatic, and the backdrops are gorgeous. The catch is that more low-key moments clearly have more basic art. Detail drops noticeably during long-distance shots and you can occasionally catch the character designs going off-model. If quality could have been consistently maintained this would be a 9 or 10, but alas it's hit-and-miss. The character designs are solid, none truly stand out as unique, but given that this story takes place within the context of (alternate) history there's only so far that they can go. Still, the designs made the characters immediately recognizable, which is important given the size of the cast. The CGI is fairly well integrated for its day, but the CGI's best work is in a case where it DOESN'T fit perfectly: the mercury blood of the Gargoyle monsters is done in CGI and doesn't quite match the 2D animation it's paired with- which gives it a very otherworldly feel. The art has its stunning high points, but it's clear money and effort was spent unevenly.

-Sound-

A high point of this anime. The English dub actors all manage to fit the characters well, and Funimation avoided reusing well-know voices (as they are known to do fairly often). D'Eon sounds confused but passionate about his cause. Durand gives little verbal clues that he's cynical, calculating, and not showing all his cards. Robin sound young and devoted without being annoying (not the easiest feat), and Teillagory fits the cool old man archetype to a 'T'. The side characters have no weak points worth mentioning. I do have a pet peeve in a couple scenes where a ship's horn is clearly heard, even though it's a century too early for such an invention. The opening fits but doesn't stand out, while the excellent ending song "Over Night" by Aya has a very brooding, cold, and distant tone that has me looking it up on YouTube to this day. The background music sets the tone, but does little else.

-Characters-

There is some potential to work with here (The Queen of France carries around the skull of a small girl- don't tell me there's nowhere that could go) but overall development is fairly weak. The high point is Durand, he actually surprised me by showing sides of his character that didn't mesh with his initial impression, but still made sense given the development shown. D'Eon has an intriguing premise in that he is constantly battling his sister's vengeful soul for the possession of his body (Jekyll and Hyde conflicts are fascinating for me) but his exact goals as a character are unclear. He DOES want to find his sister's murderer, but that storyline loses impact with all the aforementioned detours and delays the plot takes (though I believe he's supposed to be a conflicted character, so I'll go a bit easy on this weakness). Robin's arc was fairly obvious (nobody that idealistic gets through an anime like this unscathed), and Teillagory got rushed and not entirely convincing development at the last minute. The villains are uninspiring as well (except for a gleefully psychopathic man-child in Peter III of Russia) with no clear motivation beyond starting the French Revolution ahead of schedule.

-Enjoyment-

I was hooked from the very first episode, which played directly into a lot my biases by using a number of my favorite genres. But this anime suffers from a clear case of 'The Sagging Middle' and some episodes between the first and final arcs I simply watched in order to not risk missing anything important. A re-watch also showed some cracks in the story I overlooked back on the first run through. Still, it's a historical fiction Gothic horror mystery thriller, so I never hated it (I can't exactly find a lot of anime in THAT particular genre anyway) and it's positives do make it moderately enjoyable.

-Overall-

A series that blew its potential is worse than a series that never had any, in my book. Refocusing on a more simple "Find the guy who did it and get him" plot would probably have helped the story (the recent American film "True Grit" used this plot very well) and digging deeper into the characters never hurts anything. But for all its faults, it's still worth a watch for people who like its genre (but fans of other genres will probably be harder to win over). DANG IT I REALLY WANTED THIS TO BE EXCELLENT AND ALL I GOT WAS A BIT ABOVE AVERAGE. (I'm going to go read 'Dracula' or 'Jekyll and Hyde' now, I need some Gothic Horror...)

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Apr 12, 2010

unclesnapple

Not Recommended

I am acutely aware that reviews that do not praise an anime are often flagged as "not helpful," so We expect some backlash here but onward We press, as Louis XV might say.

Le Chevalier D'Eon is an anime that tries to draw off a lot of people who existed in European History, including the main character and several other characters with large roles in the show. The main hero is based on a cross-dressing French spy from the 18th century, given an original backstory to explain his gender confusion. Other, more recognizable characters, include Maximilien Robespierre, Catherine the Great, King Louis XV of France, and ... King George III of England, among others. Being something of a history enthusiast, this new take on real historical figures was the main thing that kept me watching for most of the series.

I was more than willing to take historical facts with a grain of salt. I don't want to be such a stick in the mud that I'll get hung up on the fact that the real D'Eon wasn't really possessed by his sister's spirit or that one or two of the rules of Europe didn't die in exactly the same fashion, as long as the respectful nod to history was there. The problem is that Le Chevalier takes a larger and larger dump on history as the show progresses, completely perverting people and events while still trying to give us the hook of "This is history!" I won't spoil anything important, but let's just say that certain kings do not abdicate the throne voluntarily, the Seven Years War did in fact happen (whereas a peaceful preemptive resolution is introduced in the show), George III's wife was not Mary, Louis XV's uncle did not fight over him for the throne because he DIED 30 years before the anime takes place, and his son... well, you get the idea. And I can't even say the biggest offenders, because they're major plot points.

Yet, after resmashing history into something unrecognizable, they have the gall to give us a scene at the end of the show, showing "Robespierre" selling his revolution propaganda on the streets, as if to say, "Aha! See, it's just like history!"

History aside, let's say you don't care at all about history. Many people don't. Does the show entertain? Does it have redeeming qualities? Perhaps it does, but they are few and far between.

Briefly, let's talk about the characters. Most of them have very little personality and either come across as unlikable or cliches or both. I don't even know where to begin describing the main characters aside from what they look like or what happens to them. D'Eon, he... wants to find out why his sister died. He likes France. That's about it. Teillagory, he's an old knight. He basically does nothing for the first 21 episodes except be the prototypical soft-spoken old warrior. Lia, she dies before the first episode, usually manifests back in reality only to kill something, and yet I'm supposed to care about her. Oh, and we can't forget Anna. Anna is the biggest waste of screen time in the show. I don't know how anyone can care about this vapid woman and the way she just sits in Versailles, waiting for D'Eon to come back home the entire series. She has lots of thoughts about how she misses D'Eon, and you're going to hear a lot of them! None of them advance the plot either!

The pacing deserves special mention for being a downfall of the show. You can divide the show into two parts. The first 19 or so episodes, everything sluggishly follows your four heroes around Europe as they track down bad revolutionary people for King Louis, interspersed with scenes of Anna writing letters or something equally boring. Then in the last 5 episodes, all Hell breaks lose, at the same time making a lot of the crap you have to sit through in the first 19 episodes pointless. There is wanton borderline-tasteless violence, far too many ridiculous plot twists to take seriously, everyone turns on everyone else, and it is far more of a mess than a satisfying climax of plotlines. And why is Cagliostro there for the whole show, including the finale, when he never does ANYTHING?

The end leaves me feeling rather unsatisfied, even though that wasn't my biggest complaint. Still, I felt terrible for D'Eon's sense of identity. I felt terrible that they tried to turn some of the bad guys into sympathetic figures and the good guys into bad guys and... no.

I'm glad that an anime decided to do something that isn't Japan-centric. They really tried to make something sophisticated, and in some ways it is. In more ways, the show is incredibly tacky. I have to give it points for being original, but all in all, I cannot recommend it. If you want to watch it anyway, just keep expectations at a safe level.

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de Beaumont, Charles d'Éon

de Beaumont, Lia

Durand

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Robespierre, Maximilien

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