Le Chevalier D'Eon

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.

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!

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.

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.

Title: Le Chevalier d'Eon

Novel, Manga, Anime: Le Chevalier d'Eon was conceived as a project that would launch in multiple formats around the same time.

The first incarnation, and the core of the work, was a novel written by Tow Ubukata (who did work on all three versions of the project, and also did scriptwork on the second half of Fafner, and did series composition for Heroic Age), which took the route of a detective story.

The second incarnation was a manga series with artwork done by Kiriko Yumeji, takes the route of a flamboyantly gothic monster-slaying manga and began being run in Kodansha's Magazine Z ... on October 21st, 2005. It has been licensed Stateside by Del Ray, and is up to three volumes Stateside, and six volumes in Japan.

The anime itself was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (known for his work as director on Ruroni Kenshin and its OVAs, and Getbackers), and produced by Production IG (best-known for their work on the Ghost in the Shell series and xxxHOLIC). It is twenty-four episodes long, and ran on Japanese TV from August 19th, 2006, to February 24th, 2007, focusing more on the reality of 18th century life. It has been licensed Stateside by ADV Films, and the sixth and final volume was released on December 18th, 2007.

Story: The first episode kicks off with a floating coffin with the word "Psalms" written on it washes up on the banks of the Seine in Paris, with the corpse of a woman inside. The woman is Lia de Beaumont, and her brother, d'Eon de Beaumont, a member of the secret police, begins investigating into her death. Little does he know that Lia's is able to posess him, and that there is an international conspiracy against the monarchs of several European countries involving Poets who can recite deadly Scripture that he is about to get dragged into...

The first thing that you need to know is that, yes, there is historical accuracy in here, and at the same time, there isn't. For example, the details of living in the 18th century are fairly accurate, as are the basic characters of figures who actually existed (d'Eon, Queen Marie, and Louis XV, among several others). However, as you go on in the show, the bastardization of history, especially in regard to some of the major characters, is going to become fairly clear. So, if you like historical accuracy along the lines of Victorian Romance Emma, I'd stay away from this.

The story itself is built on several layers of mysteries that will unravel as the story goes along. And, admittedly, for just a bit over the first half of the series, the pacing is fairly slow. However, at around episode fifteen, things start to kick into high gear, as the mysetries unveil themselves, and all kinds of plot twists and double-crossings rear their heads, making for an excellent second half.

There was an amazing amount of detail put into the story, especially in how excerpts from the Psalms in the Bible are used, and relating historical figures back to their roots. And all of it is explained by series' end, even bits you forgot about way back in the first half of the series. It's not quite as epic as Baccano! was in its execution, but it's still fairly awesome.

Know going into this that a lot of characters will be dead by the end, and that there is blood involved. It's nothing to warrant a bolded warning, but it's still nice to know going in.

Art: Production IG did an amazing job with this, as always. Beautiful 2D and stunning 3D animation. I'm especially happy that they recreated the palaces as closely to the real things as possible, and were fairly accurate to the period in the outfits that the characters wore.

Music: The OP and ED are fairly standard J-Pop numbers, albeit fairly nice. The background music is fairly dramatically orchestrated with a standard Western orchestra. There are some recurring themes throughout that are nice, but as a whole, the music doesn't stand out much.

Seiyuu: There are no names I recognize for this production, but there's no one who I think did a miserable job, either.

Voice Actors: The first encounter I had with Le Chevalier d'Eon was a dubbed episode on a Newtype sampler. The VA work for this wasn't half bad, I have to admit. The lines did seem a bit cramped at times, but it could be far worse.

Length: Twenty-four episodes is just the right length for this. Any shorter, and it wouldn't have had the space it did to explore things (though, admittedly, it dragged a bit just over a third of the way through), and any longer, and it would've gotten tedious.

Overall: A beautifully animated, excellent story of international intrigue, supernatural Scripture, and the life of 18th century Versailles that takes a while to get going, but kicks ass when it does.

Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Voice Actors: 8/10
Length: 9/10

Overall: 51/60; 85% (B )

The reason that I enjoyed this anime more than others might have is the stellar exploration and explanation for (mostly) genuine political occurrences, including what others did talk about, which was the real Le Chevalier d'Eon. What is brilliant about the Le Chevalier d'Eon character is that it takes the real life singular, makes it two characters here, and then brings them back together again. It explains the real life fall and ascension of monarchs, but with these made up characters and 'Psalms' playing a huge influence that was not there in real life.

Now, the reason I only gave the story an 8 despite this ... is that they never explore the concept of the Psalms fully enough. All we find it is about how the situation developed, but it does not focus on the actual nature of the Psalms as pertains to each person or their general nature nearly as much as I would have liked.

An aspect I disliked about the story as pertains to characters is that, I assume in an attempt to remain more mysterious, it just hinted at the tension resulting because of its various characters manipulations and motivations, but it never discusses these enough or displays the animosity enough for my tastes. It could have made matters much more grandiose, and it always had this running undercurrent of compromising grandiosity for a false attempt at creating mystery. The only way it is mysterious is in not telling us the motivations clearly enough. I do enjoy the way they tried to weave the tensions unfolding in a kind of 'domino effect' manner, where we see only a few motivations at first, but then more and more.

As for the characters themselves, the worst problem is that D'Eon is a simpering and insufferable wimp for most of the series. Most of the characters are highly enjoyable, however, so do not let this alone put you off. Even Anna, who is highly typical for an anime woman companion, but basically unimportant, character, is not repugnant.

Most of the characters have pretty good voice acting, and definitely contribute more than denigrate to this series. Some characters, however, had fairly boring and unexciting voices, so I rated this as I saw it, which was 'usually exciting, but not enough to be a 9 or a 10'. The music is pretty much never intrusive, and, indeed, this is one of the few anime that is not obsessed with constantly bombarding you with it every single moment. It uses classical music well. The introduction music for each episode is fairly nice, but the ending music is pretty terrible (OST and whatever the ending is? I do not mean a segue into the credits or anything, which happens in some anime).

I enjoyed this series more than I did due to its parts because it was one of the few which seemed perfectly paced and executed for most of the way. Some episodes are not so, but most left me thinking 'wow, that was really 20 minutes?' because it felt like it had been ten or so.

Oh, the reason that I only gave the art an 6 was because of its poor attempt at simulating movement at times during scenes in an attempt to give rapidity or drama (like every time they leave Versailles, it is animated terribly, although I respect the attempt of what impact they wanted, it is just a terrible idea). The overall glossy feel is also distracting and lends itself to typically oversaturated coloring. The mouths do not seem to match up well with the voices at all, but that might be a flaw of the audio being off in my version, so I am not rating it down for that.

I know, you must think I'm crazy for giving this a 10, but seriously this show is almost near perfect if you generally watch with an open mind. First of all, the reason this show deserves this score will be broken down

Story:

The Story is the biggest draw to this series, it features many people who actually did live, despite the fact that history is somewhat embellished in this show, it is done so perfectly it almost feels as if it is real, the writers on this show took the time to ensure everything makes sense (I.E. Real-Life D'Eon dressed up as a woman and even ... claimed he was a woman and actually got recognized by the French Government as a woman, that is spun off into this fictional story that D'Eon's female side is manifested itself in a form of a fictional sister. If you read the personal backgrounds of most of the characters you will see that this story doesn't exactly lie about history, albeit most of these events likely did not happen they are re-told in a fictional perspective, Seriously, it would be better if you watched the show and just did some research on the characters, I can't spend all day on that.

Artwork:

I fell in love with the beauty of this series, The animation is gorgeous, the jaw-dropping 3D looks really amazing when they show the Palace of Versailles halls.

Sound:

Definitely a 10, the fact that this show has lots of fighting in it, means that it has to have good foley, from the sound of rapiers clanking to the sound of chanting monks. The sound is a definite plus.

Character

I would say the character development is very well done in this series, the writer's took the time to truly develop each and every character and you will see throughout this story that almost all the characters in this show evolve.

Enjoyment

I love this series, I just can't put it down.

Well here we have an one of a kind anime. First of all i'd like to say that it's not an ordinary anime in terms of storyline and art style which gives it a some good headstart points in my opinion. So let's see my rates per section,

Story: 7

As i said Chevalier D'eon storyline can't be easily compered to any other anime's storyline. As a historical anime it takes place in France in the time of Loui's XV reign some time before the French Revolution. It includes a variety of historical figures such as the King Loui XV, Madame de Pompadour, Marie ... Antoinette and even Chevalier D'eon himself (even if he's not faithfully portraited). It also takes a wonderful advantage of historical events as well, something which can be as good as it is bad since many people are unfamiliar with France's history. However with basic knowledge of French revolution i didn't meet any difficulties to follow the flow, but since anime has a huge part of its fanbase in Japan and America it might be a little difficult for some people to relate the events. Now speaking of the story's flow. Chevalier D'eon's first few episodes could be characterised as "slow" and "unintriguing" in some terms but i well petience shall always be rewarded and in this case it was rewarded indeed. At episode 10 or so personally it got my attention fully caughted. Many things remain a mystery until the later episodes where we have a rather too quick turn of events. Plus i'd like to say that is not one of those "lived happily forever after animes". Quite a few characters deaths are included so if you ask for the happy ending anime this might not be for you. The negative thing with the storyline though is that the whole "poets" and "psalms" thing is kinda difficult to fully underestand with the first watch of the anime.

Art: 9

Well this was the most pleasant part of the anime for me! It is one of the few animes that prefered the semi realistic anime art style instead of more stylish anime styles. Where shall i begin; Let's start from the characters. Considering the faces i would describe them as pleasently melancholic specially the down pointed eyes. The rest characteristics such as face shape are more subtle yet characteristic for each character. The hair were quite pleasant too with natural tones and realistic hairstyles. The outfits however were simply eye gasmic in my opinion specially the ladie's ones (exept Lia's which was out of era since they gave it a lolita style as a tribute to the manga i guess). Lastly considering static scenes well ofcourse there was some static dialogue here and there but i don't think it was too much of a problem. The one thing that bothered me in art style though were the psalm's letters. They looked kinda like out of place watermarks in many points but well i guess they were added as a layer upon the frames since it would be quite troublesome to be drawn directly upon the scenes because of movement etc.

Sound: 7

Well this rate field is always the most short one for me. The anime had nice opening and ending songs however i don't seem to remember any characteristic music through the show. I think it might have lacked in this part but it doesn't concerns me though

Character: 7

Well character development in this anime could be this anime's weakest point. First of all we have the protagonish D'eon. Again even if he's a main character he doesn't seem to have much depth. He is the usual idealist kind of guy who tries to ensure everyones safety with his qualities such as his siste's soul peace and to serve the king and his country. However one could say his other hald Lia spices up the interesting upon him a bit because of her abnormal story and presence. Durand from the other hand is the "sacrise for what is really worthy" character and even if he's a little bit cliche there is a interesting contrast between the first impression you get about him as he seems the egoistical type of person, the one who serves a secret and probably evil purpose and the later impression which is this of the one who puts his duty and personal favot away from his friends. For the most of the other character i simply say " don't rely on the first impression because nothing is what it seems to be". The most interesting character for me though was Robin. Yes the little red haired boy. He seems indifferent at first but after all the attrocities he has witness, the traitory and the cruelty of the world he get's a 180 degrees turn as he will question what is the right and what's wrong and in the end well i promise he puts all of his experiences from this story in a good place.

Enjoyment: 7

It was a pleasant anime indeed a bit confusing maybe but pleasant for someone who seeks a rare anime delicatessen. The characterisation historical might put off a lot of people but i promise it's full of intrigue, traitory, unexpected turns and it even contains romance. Just be patient through the first few episodes and i promise it'll pay off later as we speak of an one of the kind anime.

Overall: 7 (with a mathimatically average mean) but for me it's an 8

Well, this isn't the worst anime I've seen...but it certainly wasn't one of the best ones either. I dunno, I just didn't like this show, and as much as I am trying to search for something positive to say...I can't. I just didn't like it. It was too weird, the story was sloppy and convoluted. I'm left wondering “What did I just watch?” No really, someone needs to tell me what was it I just watched!!


ART/ANIMATION
The animation style was not bad, however, personally it wasn't my cup of tea. Not a lot of seamless movement tho I guess the sword fights were impressive ... enough, it just wasn't constant throughout the show. Overall artwise everything just seemed so somber looking.

MUSIC/SOUND
Mediocre music both OP and ED were not unpleasant but not memorable, just dreary sounding. There was also no BGM=background music as far as I can remember and if there was, that should serve as proof positive how forgettable it all was.

PLOT/STORY
To twisted for words. The protagonist D'Eon's sister is murdered, so he goes undercover as her...only...to become her? There is also some legendary book of Kings [of unexplained origin] that names who the next king of France should be? But is it only the French that have such a book? Is there another book for England or Spain? Where did this book even come from? I mean if it's only France that has such a book then why is England and Queen Mary involved?? It failed to carry a steady pace or flow and just too illogical in some parts....however it does get better after episode 18.

CHARACTERS
There was an obvious departure from the standard anime character design, they weren't super thin with huge eyes, a pointy chin and spiky hair. The art seemed more realistic but also more western. I also thought a lot of the characters were too pale. I suppose that's how the Japanese view the Europeans. Also, eventho I understand they were trying to capture the androgynous nature D'Eon, he just looked freakish. Either way I disliked it the design, I meant, it just didn't appeal to me. Personalitywise, the heroes I thought were OK, however a lot of the supposed villains in this series I felt were bit too hokey and caricature-ish.

ENJOYMENT
Don't waste your time, there are plenty of good animes out there. This ain't one of them. This is only worth watching if you are stuck at your in-laws for the Holidays and it's the only thing you have on your laptop to watch. And if you got this as a gift, make sure you have a receipt or at least trade it in for store credit.

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...)

Story - Dreadful. Most pathetic story I have come across for a while. The ending wasn't so much depressing as it was just extremely disappointing. It just got worse as it went on. From the beginning, I noticed something was off because the narrator sounded very old and very depressed. Having someone narrate the story to you in the past tense from the get go takes you out of the real-time immersion of watching an anime, besides the fact that the old man's voice gives an ominous foreboding, which I hate. The most jarring thing about this anime (a hard thing to pinpoint, since there ... were so many) is probably the whole magical Psalms of the King idea. Somehow, reading the Bible gives you magical powers such as controlling other people's bodies and body parts and killing them in a painful way. It's like I'm watching a shounen series. Text just randomly appears and scrolls along the floor, walls, ceiling, and across people's bodies, including their eyeballs. Am I watching Naruto? The second most jarring thing about this anime is how seriously it seems to take history, whilst not being historically accurate AT ALL. At least Samurai Champloo stated outright that it's not historically accurate at the very start. This anime pretends to be historical when it's anything but.

Art - The art itself is fair, although the postures are bad. Characters are not drawn consistently, and tend to be QUALITY at least half the time. D'Eon is drawn exactly like a woman. If I hadn't listened to the voice, there would have been no way to tell the difference between D'Eon and his sister. Yes, this IS a bad thing. I expect a fully grown man to have a more prominent chin, heavier jaw and jaw muscle development and thicker orbital eyebrow bossing than his sister. Also, the third most jarring thing about this series was the 3D CGI. Besides the fact that I hate 3D CG with a passion, it looked absolutely horrendous in this series. The water, the building collapse, and sometimes EVEN THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. I am not kidding you, it is that bad. However, the fight scenes are animated quite well (I'm not talking about the choreography, only the portrayal of motion) so that's something to look forward towards if you're a big fan of sword fighting.

Sound - Mediocre. The ending song is okay, I suppose. The voices aren't particularly great.

Character - Poor. The dialogue is terrible, there is not a shred of originality. Everyone says they want to serve France (or Russia), except for one or two guys who just want money, or to watch the world burn. It's boring at best and downright nauseating when you're subjected to the same trivial inane pretentious ass-kissing suck-up garbage from nobles who "just want to serve their country". Is it possible to create believable, consistent characters? Not according to the writers of Le Chevalier D'Eon. The characters are there to show the struggle between "honor and loyalty". That's about it. In case you don't understand how honor and loyalty can conflict with each other, allow me to illustrate using a simple example from the anime. Teillagory is loyal to the deceased Louis XIV, but his honor compels him to overthrow Louis XV and replace him with Louis XIV's brother, because Louis XV sent knights to die on dishonorable missions. How does this make any sense? It doesn't. Characters switch allegiances every 5 seconds, it's hard to remember who's fighting for whom anymore. It's hard to build sympathy for characters who constant betray their comrades.

Enjoyment - Practically none. It was a chore to sit through the labored, expository dialogue and the totally baffling nonsense that was the entire plot. Every time someone died, I felt a sense of elation as that was how the story moved forward. The entire story made no sense at all. Robespierre dying and then coming back to life and then dying again? WTF?

Overall - About as historical as Naruto. If you enjoy watching fencing then this anime might be for you. Otherwise don't bother.

Le Chevalier d'Eon is the 24-episode latest offering from the venerable Production I.G. Studios, the creator of such anime as Ghost in the Shell and Blood+. As such, it perfectly continues this legendary studio's penchant for superb anime. Let's take a look in this review, at this series.

Adapted from a manga, this series tells the story of a young nobleman, Deon de Beaumont, who in the stormy age of Pre-Revolutionary France, battles a sinister evil which threatens his country and kills his sister, Lia. At first, he is appointed by the king, that great iconoclast of history, Louis XV, to bring back the fabled Royal ... Psalms (a book believed to possess great alchemic power), a journey which takes the young knight and his companions as far away as Russia and England. Faced with death and destruction everywhere, Deon, who is still grieving for his sister, realizes an awful truth: that her soul, wanting revenge, is within him still, and comes out when he faces an enemy. Armed with the terrible Psalm of Vengeance, she wields her sword with absolute ruthlessness, slaying all that stand before her. It is their story that the anime proceeds to tell.

That's for the story. The anime itself has been superbly executed. It will enthrall every viewer with its splendid character design (so unlike other anime: no huge eyes, no pink hair), awesome storyline and backdrops. Every episode gives edge-of-the-seat excitement; there's a new story waiting everywhere. History buffs will like the historical backdrop placed around what is obviously a fictional story. Characters like Louis XV, Marie-Louise Pompadour, and George III of England seem to resemble their historical counterparts to the last T. Places like Versailles and the castles of England are authentically rendered, making this anime a treat for history buffs.

For other types of fans, too, there's much material available. The fans of magic will love the Poets' manipulation of the words in the Royal Psalms to create zombies and what not. Swordfighting fans will find that in plenty; every episode carries a swordfight or two. Those who merely content themselves with gawking at the female/male characters will also be satisfied, because this anime contains some of the most memorable characters in anime history: the handsome Durand among the males, and the ravishing Lia de Beaumont among the females. In all, this anime would make a must-watch for all anime fans.

However, no anime is perfect, not even Production I.G.'s (look at Blood+). This anime could have done better with a faster pace and a shorter length. The story I.G. chose to tell wasn't worth 24 episodes. Also, the relationship between Lia and Deon (elder sister and baby brother) could have been accentuated. Lia in her later form as Deon's possessor seems far too like a bloodthirsty Boadicea than a kind and gentle elder sister whose ostensible purpose for possessing her brother is 'to protect him'. Granted, she is actually a secret agent, but somehow that excuse does not wash when one sees her brother taking horrible amounts of damage for her.

Another complaint lies in the fact that there are no good antagonists. Madame Pompadour contents herself with just political intrigues, the Comte de Saint-Germain, a powerful Poet, does not make an appearance till the last episode. Even the face and voice of the opposition, Maximillian Robespierre, is so unlike his historical counterpart that he is almost unrecognizable. He has lost all of the reforming zeal that was so manifest in the real Robespierre, who became the hand of the Revolution of 1789. The directors attempt to resolve this by making Robin (previously an attendant of the French queen and a companion of Deon's) the new Robespierre, but the issue remains hanging still. The only 'good' antagonist is Louis himself. The ending, too, is exceedingly dry and confusing.

That said, this anime is a definite 10/10 on my list for, even with its imperfections, the anime remains a superbly-crafted masterpiece which tells a highly-charged story about a time when the instruments of revolution changed from blades to words. While watching the series, I was time and again reminded of my favorite author, Voltaire, who lived in these terrible times and was the exponent of this new form of revolution and along with it, a haunting line from the movie V for Vendetta (I quote from memory): "An idea cannot be killed, for an idea does not have a body. Men may die, but the idea lives on until, helped by the circumstances, it turns into reality."

Often considered the 'spiritual' successor to the classic shojo anime Rose of Versailles, Le Chevalier is much more fantastical, a little less historical, but still a kick ass series. When I say 'kick ass' though, that does not mean that this is an action heavy series. While there is action, the plot does not revolve around powering up and beating the badguys to a pulp. However, can you say attack of the mercury-zombie-parisian-prostitutes? Oh yeah, they went there.

Story:

The story is loosely (read VERY loosely) based on the life of the real life Charles D'Eon De Beaumont. D'Eon, ... considered the patron saint of transexuals in some circles was a courtier, spy and professional fencer. She also requested to be acknowledged as a woman during her life, so that is how I will refer to her. The real D'Eon was indeed a spy in Russia, as well as England and considered one of the top fencers in the world during her time. She did not, however, have a twin sister named Lia, which was largely a fabrication by a Russian Novelist. It is widely believed though, that D'Eon did in fact have some dirt on Louis XV

The setting takes us from the courts of Versailles across Europe to solve the mystery of Lia de Beaumont's murder. D'Eon (depicted as male in the anime) only has one clue to go on, 'Psalms' etched in blood on his sister's coffin. Almost immediatly stumbling into more than he expected, mysterious mercury infused corpses, magical psalms and political intrigue further complicate matters. D'Eon, his fencing instructor Teillagory, the pageboy Robin and the dashing Durand set off to set things straight...and are joined by Lia, who's spirit happens to posess D'Eon from time to time to kick some ass!

Art:

No moe-moe here. There are also no over the top transformation sequences, facial expressions, or 'going super saiyan' for lack of better terms. The art takes a semi-realistic style, with rich scenery and beautiful costumes. The production crew really did their research here in terms of period clothing and architecture. CGI is used occasionally, but nothing over the top, keeping effects subtle. If this sort of thing is your speed, it's almost worth looking at just for the scenery and architecture!

Sound:

Do yourselves a favor and avoid the English dub. It isn't bad, just pretty monotone. Given the choice between the two, I would pick the Japanese dub any day with this one. BORN is a memorable opening, but nothing overly catchy, or one that would stand out from other anime openings. The background music is very well done though (again, nothing catchy, but then, it's background music) with nothing particularly jarring. Most of it is heavily based on European Classical compositions. However, it can be a little monotone at times.

Character:

Hoooooo boy...

History is a hobby of mine, and there are quite a few historical characters in this. D'Eon, Louis XV, Madame Pompadorr, Maximilian Robespierre, Louis XIV, Comte de Sainte Germain, and these are only a few of them! Needless to say, historical inaccuracy abounds, as in any work of historic fiction. Again, read: mercury-infused-parisian-zombie-prostitutes. If inaccuracies for the purpose of great story don't bother you, all should be well.

Development for D'Eon himself is limited, given that he has to share a body and screen time with the much more interesting vengeful spirit of Lia. The supporting cast is likeable, with heroes you love and villains you aren't sure whether to love or hate until their true colours are shown. Durand and Teillagory get interesting developments, and Robin's subplot in the end will just plain knock your socks off. The character given the most attention by far though is Lia, driven by revenge and a need to find out who killed her, and why she had to die. It's not all that often the victim solves her own murder. This does not mean though that all the minor characters are complete write offs; they are all needed and intricate pieces of the puzzle.

Enjoyment:

I had to cage up my inner history-geek, but it was a very enjoyable series. The plot though, is a big strength as well as a huge draw back. The show is very plot heavy, which leads to a lot of expository and dialogue (think Death Note in Period costumes). If that sort of thing bores you, I can almost guarantee you won't be able to stay awake through the whole series. For fans of the murder mystery genre, supernatural, historic-fiction and of course, cross dressing pretty boys, this is one for your completed list.

Warning: Contains Character Death, intense fencing, nudity, zombies, blood, loss of limb, coarse language, alcohol/drug use, prostitution, disturbing imagery, and parisian-mercury-zombie-hookers. Not for young children. I'd say PG-15 just because of the intellectual capacity needed to folow the plot without fanservice of any kind to tide you over.

Overall: 8

Style - The animation is pretty good, although it did use 3D REALLY badly at some points and faces are often stiff and/or badly drawn. 2 out of 3.

Character - The characters seemed to serve little purpose other than to advance the plot by doing unexpected things. There are very few moments of character development (D'Eon writing a letter to his lover does not count as character development) where we learn about a character's past and his motivations. As a result, the actions of characters such as Durand and Teillagory are completely unintelligible to us, simply because nothing has been revealed about their past ... or their motivations. 0 out of 4.

Story - Anything but historical. You might do well to know that not only did D'Eon not have a sister called Lia, but that Lia did not even exist, only tales which claim that D'Eon disguised himself as Lia to meet the Empress of Russia. But this is missing the point. The entire anime is based around the Psalms Of The King which has the magical power to choose who will be the king. Oh and, you have to kill the Empress of Russia and use her blood to read the book. Oh and only Lia can read the book because she was somehow supposed to be the king of France. Also, the book only allows certain chosen people to lift it. Also, Robespierre gets resurrected. A certain phrase comes to mind ("It's magic I don't have to explain shit"). Actually, I understand where this occult interpretation of the Bible comes from. When the Japanese first encountered Christianity, they thought it was a book of spells that allowed them to kill enemies and reanimate the dead. So much for that. 0 out of 3.

Overall 2 out of 10 for inconsistent art, incomprehensible characters and nonsensical story.

I was disappointed with Chevalier. I usually enjoy shows with a historical backdrop, and this is the reason why I first approached the series. Actually, that might have been the only saving point of this show, how it utilized actual historical events and fit them into the fictional existence of the Psalms and D'Eon's sister Lia.

I rated the story as mediocre because it starts out in a promising way, the first couple episodes carefully setting up the plot points and characters that will eventually develop, these few first episodes are crafted well enough to hook your interest in the series, and they made me genuinely ... curious as to where it would all develop, yet as the story progressed, while some enigmas were answered (which honestly you eventually suspect on your own), the use of the Psalms, their meaning, significance and ultimate goal become so convoluted and contradictory it made me feel that this particular element was misused in the story or unnecessarily exploited it. The last episode compressed some of the progress I would have rather seen explored within the series itself rather than packed as an epilogue.

Why is anyone giving high ratings to the art? Besides the first DVD which is lovingly and crisply animated, the remainder of the show the quality goes down the drain. This was ultimately proven when one of the characters has a flashback of his journey with his comrades, and in every scene he was in he looks slightly different, yes you know it's him, but there was such differing drawing standards from one episode to another, sometimes the drawing just looked downright lazy. Backgrounds are always lush and beautiful though, plus the use of 3D is well done, I'll give it that.
Another pet peeve for me was the costume choices... for a historical piece I was expecting more accuracy in the depiction of the fashion of the period. Most of the female characters are dressed in styles from different fashion movements, and Lia's "lolita-esque" ensemble with ankle length skirt would simply be nonexistent and inappropriate at the time. The lack of variety of fashions (ok, fine it's anime they will wear the same outfit over and over) was also a disappointment since these characters were nobles and would not be caught in the same outfit twice.

Characters were given a 6. D'Eon was bland. Lia's potential was not explored further. The rest of the cast fit into some sort of expected role. The only two that were of interest or showed some growth were Robin and Maximilien. I simply could not get over how plain Ana was, every single time she came on screen... that short hair? No noble woman in the Palais Versailles would ever have her hair styled in that manner during that period... agh Ana...

Music was wonderful.

Overall, halfway through the series I considered dropping it since I had a feeling of where it would all go, but kept my hopes up for something better after reading other reviews. Now I regret sticking to it instead of watching something else. The ending was not completely unsatisfying and they do their best to tie up all lose ends. Yet, it did not leave me with great excitement to share this with other people.

For me, it was impossible to take this anime seriously. The overall storyline was so out there that I struggled to focus on the smaller details.

The backround art is fantastic, but the characters themselves look as though they were simply doodled out on paper. Their personalities are awkward, and everyone's strange fascination with the protagonist's dead sister is more than a little creepy.

If you're a yaoi fan, you're likely to get more enjoyment out of watching this series, but on the whole this is an anime to mock; Those searching for a genuinely entertaining anime should look elsewhere. If you simply want ... something to make fun of and laugh at with your friends, then I say give Le Chevalier D'Eon a try.

Le Chevalier D'eon will always be an anime I will always adore. It's fun, it's thought-provoking, it's educational and it makes you think a little more about life.

I was drawn into the story the minute I saw it on television and I just HAD to watch it all and again! I love how well the characters are shaped and the mystery that unravel slowly with every episode.

I also love how suspenseful and fun they've made learning history. The dialog is smart and the overall sotry, in my opinion, is beautifully done!

If you like good dose of mystery and of history--the fun way, them ... Le Chevalier is definitely something you definitely SHOULD watch!

Let me begin by being perfectly honest. I hold a deep disdain for historical fiction titles that take themselves too seriously to hold any relevance or entertainment. I am also intensely confused by the Francophile tendencies of the anime industry. Le Chevalier D'eon is based loosely on the story of Chevalier D'eon who was a French spy who once donned women's clothing to carry out the King's will in Russia. Naturally, Production I.G. could not resist adapting this EPIC story of a cross dressing, French spy from the 1800's into a TV series.

But enough of that, despite a satisfactory and complete ending, Le Chevalier D'eon ... suffers from miserable pacing issues which damage any sliver of suspense it tries to build with a convoluted plot and arrogantly-written, flowery language. While the animation staff does a satisfactory job choreographing fight scenes and adapting the anime style for this rendition of Western history, the animation is nothing to call home about. And in a sweeping attempt to create drama, the creators decide to kill 90% of the characters for no apparent reason in an act that would have reached true comedic tragedy if it weren't so humorless in its tone. Jokes and sarcasm aside, Le Chevalier D'eon does not fall as flat as most series and can still be entertaining for those of you who've seen all the good titles; just don't wooed by the pretty promotional material :3.

written for Minitokyo's Newsletter: MT-Maigetsu

Story

It is very hard to compare the anime Le Chevalier D'Eon with anything else out there. I’m not a fan of anime but the story intrigue enough to give it a try and it didn’t disappoint. Like I said before there’s nothing quite like it and if there is then tell me because I’m been looking like mad for something like this. If I could compare this series with something it would be the movies “The tree Musketeers” and “The Man in the Iron Mask”. The plot has some nice twists that aren’t that predictable (although some are) and the ending is also great one ... that doesn’t disappoint. And if you know a little bit of the history of France you will recognize some of the characters of the series including the main character d'Éon de Beaumont and Maximilien Robespierre. I think it is a great retelling of the history of France and of its characters. This is not a complete drama there’s a bunch of sword fights and a supernatural element that although fictitious doesn’t look silly. In Basilisk all the characters have super human abilities that ruined the series for me but here the “poets” which are the people that through poems cast spells are not that exaggerated and add to the series instead of taking from it. I’m a casual fan of anime who enjoyed series like “Death Note”, “Rurouni Kenshin”, “Full Metal Alchemist”, “Black Lagoon” and “Gundam Wing” and of course this one. If you’re thinking about giving this one a try do it and you’ll end up like me, looking for more.

One word to describe the series could be “unpredictable”


Art
The series looks nice especially the animation of the characters facial expressions. Normally in anime facial expressions are exaggerated but here they look very real. Hands down one of the most beautiful looking animes out there.


Sound
The soundtrack is great and so is the score it goes nicely with the story.


Character
You really care for this characters and all of them are likeable especially “Durand” and because of that it’s difficult to depart with them. This is one of those series that the main characters are not necessarily going to make it to the end and that’s what makes this series a great story its unpredictability.

Overall
Overall a great series all around you’ll wish they make a sequel with Robespierre life and the French revolution.

Le Chevalier D'Eon made for a solid historical title mixed in magical elements as it explores the hostile tensions between royal figures in the monarchies of the world's powerful countries in the 18th century mixed in with D'Eon's search for answers in discovering the cause surrounding the death of his sister Lia, whom possesses his body in vengeance of those who murdered her and conspire against those among royalty that she supports. Three big things that stick out with this series are how complex it is, its historical accuracy of the final days of monarchy rule being the norm in 18th century Europe and having ... a large number of characters that it focuses on. D'Eon's quest to recover a stolen item for King Louis XV and find answers about Lia's death lead him to also journey into Russia and England where he encounters inner conflicts within the monarchies of both countries and later in his homeland of France. Influential figures within the monarchies of these countries are unsatisfied with the present directions of their nation's policies under their present rulers and will do whatever they can to claim the throne, even having to resort to assassination and abandoning their status and loyalty to their home country.

While Le Chevalier D'Eon presents a fictional account of these events with the incorporation of the occult, it does accurately portray the norms and political tensions present within 18th century European society. Besides accuracy in designing the clothing, mannerisms and items of the era, Le Chevalier D'Eon prominently focuses on the touchy side of having a monarchy with royal officials abusing their power and trying to usurp the throne, those being the ruling power becoming malcontent with sacrificing individual desires for the needs of the country and the touchy political relations between foreign nations over territory. The series also touched upon signs of rebellion stirring up with the commoners and those who gave up positions of authority in their monarchy due to their disgust over the large divide in resources available between the common class and those of the royal and wealthy elite. I haven't seen a series touch upon such issues with European monarchy since I seen Rose of Versailles two years ago.

With the series divided up into arcs focused on the journey of D'Eon and his three companions across France, Russia and England, Le Chevalier D'Eon introduces a large cast of characters who make up the ruling body and influential positions within each country's monarchy, as well as some antagonists trying to shake up their country's political system with their corrupt and terrorist acts. Many of these characters are fleshed out enough where you get a sense of their motivations and beliefs in regards to how they view their country's present situation. Some of these characters are even revealed to have a past connection to Lia which allows the viewer to better understand the type of person she was and slowly unveil more details concerning the facts surrounding her death.

There were only a couple issues I had concerning Le Chevalier D'Eon's plot and characters. The show doesn't give every prominent character depth as shown through a few of the show's antagonists such as the crazed Pyotr III. In addition, the final three episodes of the show put out a lot of information regarding everything that took place throughout the series which went against the slow buildup that Le Chevalier D'Eon had with unveiling its information in earlier episodes and it got quite daunting for me to take in every bit of information revealed all at once.

In terms of visuals, Le Chevalier D'Eon quite often gets inconsistent with its animation style. Some shots feature slick looking CG renderings of the inside of palaces like France's Palace of Versailles while settings of village locales tend to be drawn in a watercolor style that looks rather washed up in quality. Clothing designs for characters are great to look at and are accurate for the time period in which this series is set, yet the facial designs of said characters are simple and on the plain side. In terms of animation, the series does usually resort to still shots to simulate scenes of conflict yet also shows well choreographed and fluid sword fighting scenes which occur quite frequently in this series.

Overall, Le Chevalier D'Eon was a solid and surprisingly complex series featuring an expansive cast of characters which the series gives focus on, an accurate depiction of the flaws to a traditional monarchical system and the large number of plot threads that the series tackles through D'Eon's journey. While having some issues, this is a worthwhile watch to those craving historical fictional titles with a bit of the occult added to the mix of things.