Gankutsuou (Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo)

In the year 5053, French aristocrats Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Epinay attend the festival of Carnival on the moon city of Luna. While Franz is just looking to have fun, Albert is seeking something more to fill his life—but he finds more than he bargained for in The Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious and charming self-made nobleman who meets his gaze during an opera performance.

Through a few twists and turns, Albert befriends the Count and introduces him into French society. The Count, however, has more on his mind than just friendship; he plots to finally unleash his vengeance on those who wronged him years earlier. Gankutsuou follows Albert and the Count's intertwined destinies and the ultimate price paid for enacting revenge.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Gankutsuou, Gankutsuou

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Characters & Voice Actors

The Count of Monte Cristo

Main

Nakata, Jouji
Japanese

d'Epinay, Franz

Main

Hirakawa, Daisuke
Japanese

de Morcerf, Albert

Main

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Tebelin, Haydée

Supporting

Yajima, Akiko
Japanese

Gankutsuou

Supporting

Torii, Yoshinari
Japanese

Peppo

Supporting

Nakahara, Mai
Japanese

Danglars, Eugénie

Supporting

Nakamura, Chie
Japanese

Cavalcanti, Andrea

Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu
Japanese

Bertuccio, Giovanni

Supporting

Ishii, Kouji
Japanese

Morcerf, Fernand

Supporting

Kosugi, Juurouta
Japanese

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Staff

Maeda, Mahiro

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, Original Character Design

Tsuruoka, Youta

Sound Director

Kanbe, Hiroyuki

Episode Director, Special Effects, Key Animation

Kato, Toshiyuki

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"We Were Lovers" by Jean-Jacques Burnel (eps 1-22,24)

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Ending Theme

	1: "You Won't See Me Coming" by Jean-Jacques Burnel (eps 1-23)
	2: "We Were Lovers" by Jean-Jacques Burnel (eps 24)

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Reviews

Jan 10, 2009

KC_Writes

Recommended

When I first browsed through my friends shelf of anime I didn’t pay Gankutsuou much mind, he had told me how good it was and that I would like it but I thought I had better things to do than watch it. As it turns out, I was completely wrong. I eventually picked it up and began watching it and at the end of the first episode I was hooked on it. It was like a drug that I needed to continue pumping into my system, and even now that it is over I crave for more. So now I shall take an in depth ...

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May 10, 2011

sen_mcgrath

Recommended

A nineteenth century classic French novel, in the future, in space with aliens, space ships, giant robots and evil spirits? Surprisingly, it works! I am not sure what Monsieur Dumas would think of his classic 'The Count of Monte Christo' being turned into a galactic drama, but I like many other anime fans certainly enjoyed it!

Those familiar with the novel will know the basics of who the characters are and what the general outcome of the story will be, much like how anyone who knew the basic plot of Romeo and Juliet could easily predict what fate would befall the title ... characters in the anime Romeo X Juliet. To keep things fresh and interesting, the story gets an extreme makeover by catapulting the plot three thousand years into the future and onto the moon. The story is also told through Albert Morcef's perspective, rather than the Count's, allowing for a new take on the story and minor characters in the novel, such as Franz D'Epiney become more developed and are given a larger role.

The story follows the main themes of the novel though; love, betrayl, revenge and redemption. It is an intricately woven story throughout the 24 episodes, each one ending in a cliff hanger making the viewer want to jump right into the next episode. Elements of mystery and suspense are used so effectively, I was compelled to watch the whole anime in one sitting, something I have never done with any other anime before.

The visuals are beautiful and innovative, using textures rather than solid colours. While this can be disorienting at first, especially with layers of brightly coloured textures flashing across the screen, it does make for some of the most beautiful and creative scenery I have seen in any film media. The style is something unique to this anime and the CG components are excellent. Music is a mix of orchestral piano pieces, brooding techno, waltzes and the beautiful ballad 'We Were Lovers' for the opening theme. These combine the classical roots of the story with the futuristic elements wonderfully.

Characters in Gankutsuou are given little grey area. While some characters, such as The Count, motives and morals remain in the grey, most are clearly good or bad, making it heart wrenching when the good, and often innocent characters are pulled into the anti-hero's deadly revenge plot. The audience wants to see the bad guys punished by the man they betrayed, but at the same time want the innocent bystanders who are pulled into the plot have a happily ever after ending. Albert, the main character, is an idealistic and often rash, privilleged young fifteen year old. His angsting, naivite and rashness might grate some viewers, but at the same time his actions are believable for an average fifteen year old, unlike many shonen series. It also makes him more vulnerable to the more wily characters, as a child his age might be. Many of the characters are not all powerful, having both strengths and weaknesses, making them much more human and believable.

One aspect that won me over though was the portrayl of a character who is very strongly hinted at being homosexual. The Seiyu of this particular character confirmed his belief that the character he portrayed was indeed a homosexual. Rather than being slotted into a stereotype or cliche, this character is shown to be very capable, loyal and above all arguably the most rational individual in the series. He is not shown to be flamboyant, perverted, or visually offputing like many gay characters added in for laughs. This character was fleshed out, and in my opinion a very positive representation of a gay character. In fact he takes on many of the Japanese ideals of a homosexual lover, including beauty, brains, strength, sensitivity and above all loyalty. Bravo for this!

I would reccomend this anime for fans of drama, mystery, and suspense. Fans of the original novel; beware of deviations and creative liscense. This is not a completely accurate retelling of Alexandre Dumas' work, if you couldn't tell from the giant robots and space ships. The series contains alcohol and hints of drug usage, incest, hints of sex (both consensual and nonconsensual), human trafficing, violence, nudity, frightening imagery and character death. If any of this offends or upsets you, you may not want to watch this one (though you're really missing out on an awesome series).

Overall: This is the best anime I have seen in a very long time. It is the first anime that has compelled me to watch the whole thing in one sitting. The art is innovative, the story is intricately woven, the characters are believable, and the suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. This one is a must for your 'completed' list.

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Sep 24, 2007

Venneh

Recommended

Title: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Manga/Anime/Both: Anime series, 24 episodes, ran from October 5th, 2004 to March 29th, 2005 in Japan, licenced by Geneon, with six of six volumes released. A manga is currently running in Japan in Kodansha's magazine Afternoon, and has yet to be licenced over here.

Story: And now, the hard part... There is no simple way to sum up Gankutsuou's story, although I'll try.

Gankutsuou is based off of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. I say "based off of," because in the later part of the series (Episode 18 and thereabouts), the series takes a ...

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The Count of Monte Cristo

d'Epinay, Franz

de Morcerf, Albert

Tebelin, Haydée

Gankutsuou

Peppo

Danglars, Eugénie

Cavalcanti, Andrea

Bertuccio, Giovanni

Morcerf, Fernand

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