I rarely see any anime adaptations of famous novels and I often wondered how it would be like. My first guess was that it may steer away from the novel's original story but after reading how it was faithful to the original novel, I decided to try it. (Plus, seeing little Cosette was really what attracted me, she's so adorable!)
Do note, I have not read the original novels so I cannot help but be biased about it. but despite that, I will try to keep it as unbiased as possible. I also tried my best not to spoil anything!
Story;
I did a bit of research and found out that the anime adapted from the second half of the first volume to the last one with hints of flashbacks for the first half of the first volume.
According to many, the anime adaptation of Les Misérables was very faithful which I had mentioned above which is a plus for me. I like well adapted animes that follow their source work as much as it could. And in my opinion, the story was amazing to me! It was gripping, emotional, and had a lot of hidden valuable messages about life.
There's no plot holes, or none that I could find that would deduct any marks. The only thing that I could think of that didn't feel right was the pacing. As much as I know that most of it was alright, some parts felt really...Slow...And repetitive even. But even though it was slow at some parts, the story was excellent nonetheless.
And thus I give the story a 9/10.
Art;
The art was simple and nice. I didn't mind it so much and plus, some of the character designs were really nice in my opinion. Especially little Cosette, she was just so adorable!
The animation was average at best though, but I guess it wasn't so bad during its time. But from the looks of it, Nippon Animation seemed to have a really limited budget when it came to making the adaptation. I might be wrong though.
The use of coloring and shading for different scenes were done nicely. When there's a happy and uplifting scene or a sad and depressing one, the coloring and shading will adjust according to it!
So with all that, I gave the Art an 8/10.
Sound/Music;
There aren't many soundtracks that stood out for me in this show but despite that, the music would fit with the events that would happen in the show.
Those that caught my ears were the ending theme and the lullaby that was sung by Cosette.
I really like the voice acting for this show(Japanese) as they acted out their characters very well. I have not tried any other dubs yet though so I can't compare to any other dubs.
With that, I gave the Sound and Music a 7/10
Character;
There's a decent amount of characters in this show and there were definitely a few that stood out the most.
First would be one of the main characters of the story, Jean Valjean. Through out the series he had shown nothing but kindness and selflessness. If I had more room in my favorites list, he would be in there! He's such a good person!
Secondly, there's the eldest daughter of the innkeeper Eponine. She was a selfish little brat at first but by some point in the show, I saw her in a new light and I could sympathize with her some times...
Cosette was adorable at first but despite more development in her character throughout the series, I still can't help but find her a bit plain. But she was a good character nonetheless!
There were also characters that I find tiring. One such character was the innkeeper himself. He was your typical bad guy really. There wasn't much development from him and throughout the series, he continues to try and ruin our main characters' lives.
But overall, all the characters were well portrayed and so I gave the Characters a 9/10.
Enjoyment;
I love this show as soon as I started it! There were plenty of sad scenes which could pull my heartstrings and even make me cry and there were plenty of times where I feel happy for the characters.
There was very little that I could say I did not enjoy and thus I give it a 10/10 for Enjoyment.
Overall, I rate this show a 9/10 and it could definitely end up in my favorites if I had room on my list! It is rated G for everyone but some parts of the show makes me doubt if it's actually suitable for all ages...
but even so, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys adaptations of famous historical novels(If there's any) and those who like western-themed animes!
