Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Ikoku Meiro no Croisée, known in English as "Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth" or in French as "La Croisée dans un Labyrinthe Étranger".
The story of Ikoku Meiro no Croisée takes place in the latter half of the 19th century. Yune is a 13-year-old Japanese girl who was taken to Paris, France by a French traveler named Oscar. There, she helps out at Oscar's family's ironwork shop, Enseignes du Roy. Claude, Oscar's grandson, is reluctant to take care of Yune at first. This anime is basically about Yune and Claude trying to understand each other's cultures.
As you may see, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée doesn't have a strong plot to it. I don't think it needs to, though. Like I've said before, it's not everyday that there's an anime that takes place in France. A plot like that, no matter whether it has a great story or not, is rather unique, if you ask me. Besides, I do like slice-of-life anime; why would a fan of slice-of-life anime find the story to be a problem at all?
The art and animation, although rather bright, is quite pretty. Satelight has done a good job at animating this. The voice acting also fits each character well. The OP is quite catchy; it really gives me the impression that I'm watching an anime that takes place in France (or anywhere in Europe, for that matter) in the 1800's, like it's supposed to. The ED, though, is just plain BEAUTIFUL; this is the most beautiful song I've ever heard Nao Touyama sing. There are also very interesting characters in this anime; I can't seem to think of one character that was completely unlikable. These characters get a decent amount of character development, too.
Overall, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée was a pleasure to watch. Anyone who would like to learn a thing or two about French culture (or at least how French culture was like several years ago) should give it a try. Who knows? Maybe you'll even be encourage to explore a lot of other cultures besides that!
