This anime is based on a classic adventure novel by French writer, Alexandre Dumas. The story is a thriller which gets darker, more profound and mysterious episode by episode and the overall enjoyment level keeps on increasing. Based on Parisian Aristocracy, this anime focuses on various aspects of the setting, the society, the nature of people ranging from selfless love to greed and obsession.
Count - Albert interactions shape the plot and keep the viewers hooked and thrilled. They are well - assisted by the other supporting characters which have ample development. We also get to see the definitive distinction between generations of the anime setting; there’s a generation well traditioned, orthodox, hypocrites who fear change and corrupt having deep secrets and failures accompanying them while there’s another generation who desire change, idealism, freedom to love and equality in society.
The visual aspect of Gankutsuou is one of the reasons it’s so underrated and unpopular. The series dates back to 2004, and the kind of art it uses is humdrum, and at the start, it feels hard to concentrate but if you continue and you will get involved with it, and you might not even notice it. The animation is a succession of paintings in which the art of each character, their design reflects something unique and informative. For instance, there’s a character Haydee with a coat with weeping women which gives a beautiful resemblance to her character.
Mahiro Maeda, the mind behind Gankutsuou, has been involved with Evangelion franchise, Ghibli films like Castle in the Sky, Samurai Champloo and Kill la Kill. He even did concept designs for the academy award winner Mad Max: Fury Road. As for the music, both the OP and ED are in English, one is nostalgic and later an energetic upbeat.
Gankutsuou offers a beautiful story about adventure, thrill, mystery, supernatural and also some innocent romance. It explores the topics of revenge, self-discovery, love and justice and at the same time giving out a message about forgivingness and hope. The pacing is excellent, viewers get a diverse plot which can be easily tied up. The anime gives a sufficient number of cliffhanger moments to keep us curious and tied to the plot. Those who have seen it thoroughly, very well know that its unique concept of story, art, music and dialogues make it a classic.
