Versailles no Bara is my first ever "old school" anime in my eleven years with this medium. Since I'm of a younger generation, I was mostly drawn to more contemporary anime up until now, but got interested in Versailles no Bara because I heard that they had a 40th Anniversary Exhibit last year. A quick glance at its premise and art got me intrigued, and before I knew it, forty episodes were consumed in a flash.
I like to think I've watched a lot of anime across the years, and because of that, I believe this series is truly like no other. It has a boldness at its core that many other anime at present fail to even come close to, with its strong female lead and its backdrop of society before the French Revolution. The anime transports you to a different time, place, and culture that is so starkly similar to that of Les Miserables (if you love Les Mis, you will surely love this series). Everything from the costumes, to the characters' manner of speaking, to the music ties coherently altogether to provide the audience a blast from the past. The audience also gets invested in the issues of the time that are still very much relevant today: the huge gap between the rich and poor, corruption, the search for identity and love, and coping with loss. The entire series was a huge "mood," so to speak -- an unforgettable one, at that.
Of course, you can't talk about Versailles no Bara without talking about Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes herself. Although her premise raised some confusion from me at first (would a woman at the time really be allowed to join the military?), her internal struggle of being brought up as a man, while still having a female's heart and body, spoke volumes to me. I can't empathize with that level of identity crisis, but her valor in upholding her values in the midst of a failing French society and her own problems won over me completely! She is already one of my favorite female leads in anime. Her charisma, elegance, and kindheartedness are just on another level, and I'm 100% sure she would've been my idol if I had watched this show as a kid.
Actually, the other thing I love the most about this show is its soundtrack. Yes, it's rather old, but I loved it so much for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of Les Miserables, but I found the music for all the epic and heartwrenching scenes just so very fitting. I can still hear those songs in my mind (complete with French horns and violins). And how can you forget the catchy opening theme song! ("Bara wa, Bara wa!!!!") I love how even its lyrics straightforwardly talk about the overall metaphor of the series: about a blooming rose trapped by countless thorns.
My favorite episode would have to be "Andre, the Green Lemon." There were so many beautiful metaphors and themes that blended wonderfully together, making it such a memorable episode for me. I love how Andre's blindness also signified his change of perspective towards the nobility, how his love for Oscar overflowed because of his fear of never seeing her living as a woman, and how Oscar was so torn because of all of these foreign feelings. "Lemon" is an archaic term for a faulty car, alluding to Andre's handicap, and he is "green" with envy as Oscar was in love with Fersen at the time. In addition, I just loved the line, "A rose is always a rose, whether or not it is red or white; it can never become a lily," and how it related to the white rose in the conclusion of the series -- symbolizing how Andre loved Oscar for how she truly was, manly woman and all.
For all its glory, however, Versailles no Bara is not without flaws. Granted, I understand how difficult it is to create a historical fiction that balances both the facts and artistic deviation, so I am cutting it a lot of slack in terms of pacing. Still, one of my major complaints is that they could have cemented Oscar's loyalty to Antoinette in the beginning of the series using a much more compelling and believable reason. All we got for Oscar to swear her unquestionable loyalty to her was that she was awed by how Antoinette dealt with duBarry. I feel like this could've been emphasized more, or there could've been an even better reason as to why Oscar chose to be a "dog" of the Royal Family. For example, they could have chosen to highlight how Oscar and Antoinette were girls of the same age, yet subject to such different fates due to their places in society, and make this the foundation for their unbreakable friendship. This would have been a better explanation as for why Oscar didn't take action for majority of the series, despite already being exposed to the traumas and problems of the commoners. It was an annoyance of mine that she wouldn't really try to express her opinions to Antoinette, when others such as Polignac often would.
Rosalie's arc, while commendable, ended on quite a flat note to me. She was whisked away to Polignac, only to suddenly pop up randomly in Paris. She escaped way too easily in my opinion, and her being there was just way too convenient. It was more of an "okay, I accept" type of thing for the audience.
Another complaint of mine is its conclusion, particularly that of Fersen. He was such a goodhearted character that it was hard to believe he eventually became just as inhuman as the French nobility. They should have thought of a more satisfying ending for him that made more sense for his anime character, since his end wasn't historically accurate anyway.
Overall, however, the series is a solid 9/10. My complaints were simply bumps across the grand picture that is Versailles no Bara -- a beautiful, timeless, elegant painting of French 18th century, one that explains the meaning of true dignity.
