Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Encyclopedia
is an anime
series loosely based on Alexandre Dumas, père
's classic French novel, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. Spanning 24 episodes, it was produced by Gonzo, directed by Mahiro Maeda
and broadcast by Animax
across its respective networks in Japan, East Asia
, Southeast Asia
, South Asia
, Latin America
, and other regions.
Gankutsuous unusual visual style layers Photoshop textures into digital
animation
, with backgrounds often rendered in 3D. The series features several famous pieces of classical music, including Tchaikovsky's
Manfred Symphony
, the Donizetti
opera Lucia di Lammermoor
, and Rachmaninoff's
Piano Concerto No. 2
. Gankutsuou is set in the far future, during the year 5053, whereas Alexandre Dumas's original novel takes place during the 19th century. Though Gankutsuou incorporates elements of science-fiction and fantasy, it also retains many aesthetics of France in the 19th century, particularly in regard to social classes and wealth. In addition, each of the episodes (of the Japanese dub) begin with a summary spoken in French.
Geneon Entertainment acquired the North American release rights for Gankutsuou released it under the title Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. As of September 12, 2006, all six volumes have been released on DVD. A box set was also released as a compilation of the six DVDs. On December 27, 2008, Funimation
announced that they had acquired the license and planned to release the series in 2009.
While visiting Luna for the festival, Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Épinay make the acquaintance of the Count of Monte Cristo, a self-made nobleman. When they part, the Count promises to visit Albert in Paris. After he arrives, he introduces himself to the most powerful families in France (the Morcerfs, the Danglars, and the Villeforts).
The general plot of Gankutsuou, while broadly the same as the novel on which it is based, changes many aspects of the source material. In the novel, the narrative arc follows the Count chronologically; in the anime, the story begins with Albert and Franz meeting the Count on Luna (which occurs, in Rome, many hundreds of pages into the book), and the Count's back story is pieced together throughout the series. The anime's plot includes supernatural elements, talking about space travel, computer systems and robots, different fates for some characters, the disposal of several side-plots, and an altogether different ending.
: The demonic presence dubbed 'King of the Cave' that dwells within The Count of Monte Cristo, and the driving force behind his revenge plot throughout the series. The demon's origins are tied to the Chateau d'If where Edmond Dantes was imprisoned falsely, as he was calling out for death but gained Gankutsuou's power and drive and helped him to escape. Gankutsuou is suppressed by a special drug, but fully manifests near the end of the series as a triple set of dual colored eyes that run down the greater length of the Count's face.
: A naïve fifteen-year-old, Albert encounters the Count while vacationing on the moon colony, Luna. Taken in by the Count's poise, sophistication, and mystique, Albert serves as a tool for the Count to immerse himself in Parisian society. His naiveté is his defining flaw, blinding him to others' faults and intentions. Nonetheless, his purity of spirit penetrates the hearts of others.
: Albert's best friend who accompanied him in the carnival in Luna. He seems to be more mature than Albert, cautioning him against the Count. He holds deep feelings for his best friend and he risks his own life on several occasions to save Albert.
.
version of Gankutsuou was serialized in Kodansha
's Afternoon
manga magazine since May 2005. There are altogether 3 volumes which were later translated and released in the west by Del Rey; the first volume was released on November 15, 2008 the second on March 24, 2009, and the third volume on August 25, 2009.
Drawn after the anime and by the creator Mahiro Maeda himself, the manga is a slight departure, focusing on the Count instead of Albert. Instead of retelling the story, it chooses to answer a few questions the anime never did concerning Edmond Dantes' time in prison, the origin of the Count's vast fortune, and his strange physical appearance. The manga is also dramatically darker and more grotesque than the anime, suggesting a far different and much more depraved and violent ending for Villefort.
of The Stranglers
, as is much of the music from the series, augmented by music from Kasamatsu Kouji and a selection of classical excerpts. The opening theme is "We Were Lovers" and the ending is "You Won't See Me Coming", which was re-recorded by The Stranglers
as "See Me Coming" for their Suite XVI
album from 2006.
including the opening and closing themes, plus 12 pieces from Kasamatsu Kouji, as follows.
, Newsarama.com, Animeondvd.com and Anime News Network judging it to be among the best releases of the year.
Reviews have generally been extremely positive. Reviews mainly focused on the visual effects of the show, both to its benefit and its detriment. Stig Høgset of THEM Anime Reviews commented, "While beautiful most of the time, the show can be quite hard on the eye at times."
Theron Martin of Anime News Network
awarded Gankutsuou Series of the Year. It also won the Best TV Series award at the 10th Animation Kobe Fair.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series loosely based on Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's classic French novel, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. Spanning 24 episodes, it was produced by Gonzo, directed by Mahiro Maeda
Mahiro Maeda
Mahiro Maeda is one of the most prominent Japanese anime creators working today, having worked as director, character designer, and animator for many of Japan's top series....
and broadcast by Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
across its respective networks in Japan, East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and other regions.
Gankutsuous unusual visual style layers Photoshop textures into digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, with backgrounds often rendered in 3D. The series features several famous pieces of classical music, including Tchaikovsky's
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
Manfred Symphony
Manfred Symphony
The Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58, is a programmatic symphony composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between May and September 1885. It is based on the poem "Manfred" written by Lord Byron in 1817...
, the Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
opera Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, and Rachmaninoff's
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
. Gankutsuou is set in the far future, during the year 5053, whereas Alexandre Dumas's original novel takes place during the 19th century. Though Gankutsuou incorporates elements of science-fiction and fantasy, it also retains many aesthetics of France in the 19th century, particularly in regard to social classes and wealth. In addition, each of the episodes (of the Japanese dub) begin with a summary spoken in French.
Geneon Entertainment acquired the North American release rights for Gankutsuou released it under the title Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. As of September 12, 2006, all six volumes have been released on DVD. A box set was also released as a compilation of the six DVDs. On December 27, 2008, Funimation
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
announced that they had acquired the license and planned to release the series in 2009.
Plot
The story takes place in the far future of the 51st Century, during the year 5053.While visiting Luna for the festival, Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Épinay make the acquaintance of the Count of Monte Cristo, a self-made nobleman. When they part, the Count promises to visit Albert in Paris. After he arrives, he introduces himself to the most powerful families in France (the Morcerfs, the Danglars, and the Villeforts).
The general plot of Gankutsuou, while broadly the same as the novel on which it is based, changes many aspects of the source material. In the novel, the narrative arc follows the Count chronologically; in the anime, the story begins with Albert and Franz meeting the Count on Luna (which occurs, in Rome, many hundreds of pages into the book), and the Count's back story is pieced together throughout the series. The anime's plot includes supernatural elements, talking about space travel, computer systems and robots, different fates for some characters, the disposal of several side-plots, and an altogether different ending.
Characters
: A mysterious nobleman living in luxury, The Count approaches and befriends Albert in Luna as the first step in his plan of revenge against the people who once betrayed him. The Count's previous identity was Edmond Dantès, a sailor who worked for the Morrel family's shipping company. Edmond was imprisoned in the Château d'If on false charges, and it was there that he met Gankutsuou (known as The Ruler of the Cave in Animax's English adaptation). In exchange for the strength and means to gain revenge, he allowed the cold-blooded demon to possess him. Because of Gankutsuou, he is afflicted with an odd condition which causes his body to be crystalline, revealing his bones and internal organs.: The demonic presence dubbed 'King of the Cave' that dwells within The Count of Monte Cristo, and the driving force behind his revenge plot throughout the series. The demon's origins are tied to the Chateau d'If where Edmond Dantes was imprisoned falsely, as he was calling out for death but gained Gankutsuou's power and drive and helped him to escape. Gankutsuou is suppressed by a special drug, but fully manifests near the end of the series as a triple set of dual colored eyes that run down the greater length of the Count's face.
: A naïve fifteen-year-old, Albert encounters the Count while vacationing on the moon colony, Luna. Taken in by the Count's poise, sophistication, and mystique, Albert serves as a tool for the Count to immerse himself in Parisian society. His naiveté is his defining flaw, blinding him to others' faults and intentions. Nonetheless, his purity of spirit penetrates the hearts of others.
: Albert's best friend who accompanied him in the carnival in Luna. He seems to be more mature than Albert, cautioning him against the Count. He holds deep feelings for his best friend and he risks his own life on several occasions to save Albert.
Anime
The first episode aired on October 5, 2004, and the final episode aired on March 29, 2005. On April 10, 2005, Geneon Entertainment received the license for U.S. releases. The U.S. version went straight to six DVD compilations and was distributed by Madman Entertainment. FUNimation has now gained the rights and released the complete series in a 4-DVD package on April 28, 2009. On December 27, 2010, the series made its North American debut on the FUNimation ChannelFUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
.
Manga
The mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
version of Gankutsuou was serialized in Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
manga magazine since May 2005. There are altogether 3 volumes which were later translated and released in the west by Del Rey; the first volume was released on November 15, 2008 the second on March 24, 2009, and the third volume on August 25, 2009.
Drawn after the anime and by the creator Mahiro Maeda himself, the manga is a slight departure, focusing on the Count instead of Albert. Instead of retelling the story, it chooses to answer a few questions the anime never did concerning Edmond Dantes' time in prison, the origin of the Count's vast fortune, and his strange physical appearance. The manga is also dramatically darker and more grotesque than the anime, suggesting a far different and much more depraved and violent ending for Villefort.
Music
Gankutsuou's opening and closing themes are both by Jean-Jacques BurnelJean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
of The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, as is much of the music from the series, augmented by music from Kasamatsu Kouji and a selection of classical excerpts. The opening theme is "We Were Lovers" and the ending is "You Won't See Me Coming", which was re-recorded by The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
as "See Me Coming" for their Suite XVI
Suite XVI
Suite XVI is the 16th studio album by The Stranglers and sees the band return as a four piece after the departure of Paul Roberts. Lead vocals are shared between guitarist Baz Warne and bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel. The album was released on 18 September 2006 and was supported by an extensive UK...
album from 2006.
Gankutsuou OST
The original soundtrack for the series was released on February 23, 2005 in Japan; it contains 8 tracks from Jean-Jacques BurnelJean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
including the opening and closing themes, plus 12 pieces from Kasamatsu Kouji, as follows.
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Shanikusai" (7:26)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "We Were Lovers" (3:24)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Prologue" (2:05)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Yami-Iro no Yume" (2:55)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "Anger (Edmond Kara no Tegami)" (4:22)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Joukei, aru Hareta Hi ni Kare Ha" (2:06)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Tooi Kioku" (2:04)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Montecristo" (6:50)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Tentaigi" (2:12)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "Sorrow (Shukumei)" (4:08)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Auteui" (3:34)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Shounen no Hi" (2:05)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "Waltz (Waltz in Blue)" (2:23)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "Desire (Fukushu Ha Tada Waga Ni Ari)" (5:17)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "Mercedes (Nagisa Nite)" (4:52)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Chikakyuden" (2:50)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Tsukiyo" (2:35)
- Kasamatsu Kouji - "Kaishou" (6:49)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "You Won't See Me Coming (TV size)" (1:50)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel - "You Won't See Me Coming" (3:55)
Classical excerpts
The classical music used throughout the episodes includes movements from:- Manfred SymphonyManfred SymphonyThe Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58, is a programmatic symphony composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between May and September 1885. It is based on the poem "Manfred" written by Lord Byron in 1817...
by TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"... - Lucia di LammermoorLucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
by DonizettiGaetano DonizettiDomenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment... - KinderszenenKinderszenenKinderszenen , Opus 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. In this work, Schumann provides us with his adult reminiscences of childhood. Schumann had originally written 30 movements for this work, but chose 13 for the final version...
by SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era.... - Preludes deuxieme livre by DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
- Robert le diableRobert le diable (opera)Robert le diable is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first grand opera. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne and has little connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil. Originally planned as a three-act opéra comique, "Meyerbeer persuaded...
by MeyerbeerGiacomo MeyerbeerGiacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near... - Piano Concerto No. 2Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
by RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Critical reception
Gankutsuou was acclaimed when released in North America, with sources such as Anime InsiderAnime Insider
Anime Insider was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture....
, Newsarama.com, Animeondvd.com and Anime News Network judging it to be among the best releases of the year.
Reviews have generally been extremely positive. Reviews mainly focused on the visual effects of the show, both to its benefit and its detriment. Stig Høgset of THEM Anime Reviews commented, "While beautiful most of the time, the show can be quite hard on the eye at times."
Theron Martin of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
awarded Gankutsuou Series of the Year. It also won the Best TV Series award at the 10th Animation Kobe Fair.