[Note: Even though I'm trying to make sure I don't spoil anything about the anime specifically, my review does assume you're familiar with the very basic premise of the novel and the implications of that premise. Just in case, I've put spoiler tags in.]
Story: So, if you don't know by now... this is a retelling of the Dumas classic, The Count of Monte Cristo. And despite the fact that I'm not so keen on the original, I actually found this series to be really compelling. I thought that showing the story through Albert's eyes made it so interesting. I thought that showing the viewpoint of an innocent bystander of an arguably justified revenge was such a revealing and insightful tactic and explored an overlooked facet to a relatively common plot device.
Art:
You have to see the style to fully understand it, but the art is jarring. And, for me, it took a lot of getting used to because it was a little overwhelming and overbearing in my opinion. There's a lushness and a richness to the scenery in the background that's incredible and nothing else I've seen even comes close to it. It's amazing. When you see the detail and the color on these lavish walls, carpets, and flowers and landscapes, cityscapes... it's breathtaking in this heavy sort of baroque way. But, at the same time, some of that same texture and color and pattern in the forefront was distracting -- I would end up staring at a character's neckcloth, jacket or hair instead of the subtitles or their expressions. It took away from the experience even as it added to the atmosphere and the intent of the show.
There's a part of me that thinks this is probably one of those instances where reading a subtitle has a greater cost to the viewer than usual -- because if I could just listen instead of reading, maybe I wouldn't have noticed my obsession with the way the clothes looked so much. If you're more adaptable than I am or less fascinated by the style of animation, I think you'd enjoy the art a bit more than I did. I personally would have loved to see the same style used with a lighter touch, maybe -- at least on the characters themselves -- even though I understand that the very ostentation of the art kind of underlines the overindulgent wealth of the aristocracy. And I never, ever, ever got used to those noses.
Sound:
Normally, I never notice sound outside of shows about music, but I couldn't help but notice the music here. I thought it was very well chosen for the atmosphere and the mood of the show. The op and ed were a little... out of sync with the rest of the show, I thought, but I actually did like the music there too, which is super-rare for me. More importantly, I thought the voice actors did a great job and whoever cast them did an excellent job. Their voices were age and life-style appropriate, I thought, and there wasn't an annoying one in the bunch.
Character: I thought the portrayal of Albert was stunning. To put the whole show through his eyes and have him go from boy to man during what can only be considered a life-changing series of events when none of it was truly in his control -- basically, following him through this vicious storm going by the name of the Count of Monte Cristo... brilliant.
With something like this, I don't know how much of the character development of the other characters should be attributed to the producers and how much belongs to Dumas himself. But I do know that as much as I didn't like Albert for his foolishness, his naivete and his stubbornness... his character and the events that shape and mold his character throughout the series was one of the most compelling, original and powerful portrayals of the loss of innocence that I've seen.
And I shouldn't even get started on the Count himself -- this would end up 40,000 words and you'd lose all will to finish reading, if you haven't already. ;D But there's so much going on with him and the cost of revenge and the loss of humanity... oh, man.
Enjoyment:
If you can't tell, I ended up liking this show more than I thought I would. And this is despite having a few issues with the ending. And to be honest, I don't know if I'll ever want to rewatch it, but I was impressed and enthralled while watching it this time. This is partially because I kind of have a lower tolerance for rewatching things that assume I don't know what's going to happen next (it's a different experience when you know exactly what's going to happen next and how, right?).
But I'm really, really glad that I got to experience this first watching of the series because I think it was not only a very good show but also a nice reminder of how much "new" and "innovative" and "daring" is still out there. It's kind of a duller version of that feeling I had when I first saw Cowboy Bebop (and all I had seen of anime before that were the various DragonBalls, Pokemon, Yugioh, Sailor Moon type shows) and first realized, "Look at what they're doing with animation and music in storytelling... holy cow. Amazing." Now, look at what they're doing with art and character and perspective in storytelling... holy cow.
Overall:
I can't believe I was just sitting on watching this for so long. In a way, I'm just really sorry that I let the style of animation drive me away from the show for as long as it did. I grew to appreciate and enjoy the art and I thought the story and the character development were way beyond my original expectations. And the nice thing is... if you don't want to think about any of the stuff I've been talking about, the plot can stand on it's own two feet. I think, even ignoring the art, the allegory, and complexity and nuance of emotion, there's a solid drama/suspense story that will hook a lot of people.
Also, I think there's so much to the story that even if you are familiar with the original version or the movie or whatever, there's still so much going on and there's so much that's different from original that Gankutsuou is still interesting and entertaining to watch. I mean, it's been a while since I've read the book, but I remembered the skeleton of the story... and I was still at the edge of my seat. Maybe you will be too? =D
