To know the truth of history is to realize its ultimate myth and its inevitable ambiguity. ~Roy P. Basler
Genre: Historical/ Supernatural/ Action/ Mystery
Review Status: Complete (24 Episodes/ 24 Episodes)
Art/ Animation: Abso-freakin-tastic! The art is lovely, with an amazing amount of detail put into the clothes and backgrounds (having been in Paris, most of the scenes there were like reliving my memories). The clothes for the most part remain true to the Rococo era (except for one dreadful allowance to a lolita outfit). The characters… Well, the faces can look fairly similar. The animation ranges from decent to astounding, especially for the swordfighting scenes, which are top-notch!
Summary: 18th Century, France. Lia de Beaumont, loyal servant of Versailles and its King, Louis XV, is found dead in the river Seine. Floating inside a coffin, on which the word "Psalms" was written, her body had been poisoned by mercury, thus preserving decay. According to the Church, the soul that belonged to a corpse incapable of being consumed by the soil will forever wander in the human realm, unable to go to Heaven.
This greatly affects D'Eon de Beaumont, Lia's brother and one of the king's spies. He vows to discover by whom - and why - she was murdered. But he never expected that the one who conducting the revenge would be Lia, now possessing D'Eon's body! And what will the knight do when this quest might risk France itself?
History is retold in this supernatural tale of vengeance, loyalty and betrayal. (MAL.net)
Review: This is a title that is not afraid to play around with history, yet still manages to stay true to the stories, personalities, and politics of the time. Virtually every character in this story existed in some form or another, from D’Eon, who had existed, to his sister Lia, who was his alternate personality in real life. The characters are all fantastically brought to life, with each having their own motivations and stories that are brought to light over the course of the anime. All of this has to do with the Royal Psalms, and ancient book that foretells the future of the world and gives power to rule it to those that possess it. Each character’s story weaves around it, from commoner to noble, and no one is left untouched by its power.
The story itself is ingeniously done. Politics of the time hold very true to the era and what was happening then, and things that seem insignificant at one point can later have great consequences. And the line between fantasy and reality blurs with each political move made and historical figure introduced, as real events are often accurately depicted, with some bits of imagination thrown in.
The pacing is very slow and deliberate, with bits and pieces of the story behind the psalms and the politics behind them coming to light with each episode. It isn’t until the last four episodes that most of the clues and information that were givenares brought together for a heart-pounding climax. Even so, the anime can seem to move at a snails’ pace, with a decent amout of action to liven up a story that is mostly political.
However, the sheer complexity does have its downsides. I found myself needing to marathon it and write down people and connections as I did to keep track of what was happening. Some of the answers seem stretched to fit the occurrences. Some answers seem nonsensical… and sometimes the answers don’t come at all. Not all the symbolism- such as the passages used to create magic- are explained fully within the show. However, for all the things that happen, a remarkable amount of the story is explained and makes sense within the context of the story. And most of the plotlines also lead to the heart of the story- what it truly happening in France, and the future that is coming for it.
Overall, if you’re a fan of historical or political anime, you might want to look at this.
Recommended: Probably not for those under the age of thirteen. There is a decent amount of violence- people get shot and stabbed, though none of it is graphically violent. You do see dead bodies and hear about how they’ve been desecrated, and rather terribly at that. There is some language, but it’s mild and rare. This does have something that could be considered sacrilege, in that some Bible passages can be used for magic. This doesn’t hold true for every Bible, only special ones. There is a specific one, passed down from great leader to great leader, which holds the ones that can change nations.
Other titles you might enjoy:
20th Century Boys (manga)
Towards the Terra (anime and manga)
Rose of Versailles (anime)
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (anime)
Romeo x Juliet (anime)
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