#gankutsuou spoilers

[bagheerita]

Recentering the story on Albert really changes the whole thing on a fundamental level I don't think I understood the first time I watched Gankutsuou. Because it's not about Edmond and Edmond's vengeance anymore. It's about the Count doing to Albert what was done to him.

I hated the duel the first time I watched it, because it's one of my favorite scenes in the book and they change everything and make it worse. But it's because the story is about Albert, so the character that dies to change the trajectory of the story can't be Édouard anymore, it has to be someone Albert cares about. And changing the duel is one of the easiest ways to get this to happen.

It still tears down everything I loved about the original, but I get it.

[oroontheheels]

I love Baptistin so much. He’s not the most prominent character in Gankutsuou but you see him once you you know that he’s a cool dude.

And also I love those two scenes where he sees Albert and you can see it on his face that he’s thinking “I’m rooting for you silly twink!”

He’s queer. 100% queer I’m telling you. He sees bisexual boy running after hot broken vamipire daddy and he’s KNOWS that this twink’s love will cure Count.

That’s gay radar in action right there.

Also he and Bertuccio are dating. The writer of Gankutsuou called me yesterday and told me. True story.

[kotaerukoto]

Makoto the kind of guy who would light someone else's cigarette with his own lighter

[luckyblackcatxiii]

God it feels like forever since I posted any art (because it HAS been)! I've been busy but hopefully I'll be getting more me-time so I can draw more TTRPG related things :Jc

Anyway, I know I promised Rahadin as the next designed NPC--he's next I promise--but we finally arrived in Vallaki and Saverio made quick friends with a very sophisticated man he met and I just had to draw him. Our Vallaki has a Victorian vibe to it, and my DM based him off of Gary Oldman Dracula so I went along that line of thought while also adding a little bit of Gankutsuou inspiration because it felt right.

Sav thinks he's so cool~ I, on the other hand, am suspicious as Hell... (No spoilers please 💕)

[animefeminist]

Achieving Whiteness Through Social Mobility in Gankutsuou

SPOILERS: Detailed discussion of the entire Gankutsuou series.

There have been many adaptations of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.  Some have tried to simplify the story to make it easier to fit into a constrained time limit, while others were so faithful to the plot that the spirit is entirely lost. Gankutsuou, by contrast, is arguably the best adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo while also being its own original story.

It’s evident that the creative team behind this series had a lot of love for the source material that they were able to capture the nuances of what made the book a compelling drama to read.  Unlike the previous adaptations of the book, which overwhelmingly cast white actors for all the roles, the anime makes a point of depicting the main characters as people of color, specifically brown characters.

This racial aspect of the main characters is actually a more accurate portrayal of what they look like in the book—Alexandre Dumas goes into detail describing the race, ethnicities, and social status of his main characters. He also goes a step further to complicate this tale of vengeance by depicting the notion that, for these marginalized characters to be able to move up the social ladder, they effectively had to erase any historical ties they had with their respective communities in order to become part of high society.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[cyclist-of-guilt]

The Diplomatic Journal of Albert Herrera

So thanks to wonderful @gooberinomcgee I got that book! It's continuation of gankutsuou I'm not sure if it's anime or novel continuity but it's interesting anyway!

[LINK to it and automatic translation]

I started that sh*t translation where this person left off

[LINK to first chapters translation]

I can't provide good translation:( If anyone is interested in doing that let me know I'll add it to the files!

Kinda hook/spoiler here if you wonder if That Man is there:

[mako-neexu]

I do feel like Obe and Dante's way of showing affection is different from each other bc of their roles as servant. Oberon's love is quiet and you have to read through the lines to understand that (which isn't all that hard to do for Guda) because of his nature as a servant. Someone who pretends, it's not that he has to act like he doesn't like them that's just his nature but he does love Guda a shit ton he is just unable to outwardly admit that loudly.

Meanwhile avengers are loud in their love. Their love burns and is the equivalent to tough love as we've seen w oc2 and date's event and interludes. He loves guda and it's for that reason he burns them in a sense, remind them that they're alive that they can still move. Unlike him. He'll burn worlds for them if he must, he'd do anything to help them achieve their goals even if it's murdering someone or ending worlds WHICH guda has never and will never want, which is why he burns the bridge that connects the two because the only way for them is forward. He'd burn himself for them too, an avenger's love is all encompassing and it will turn everything into ash.

And idk man I'm just emo ig I really wanted to see obe Dante interactions but wtvr... Huhuhuhuuu.....

[servafes 2.0 spoilers, OC ch2 spoilers]

i think its not necessarily a matter of loud and quiet. its more of how they convey it due to their nature as servants as avengers that are extra classes nearly impossible to summon , as pretenders with a lying curse.

both convey their love neither quietly nor loudly, but they convey it in ways for guda. just for guda. using their own methods that would fit them the most.

oberon's care is showing guda an "out" like you see on valentines day, his summer lines etc. but he supports them too. he gives guda advice like in Servafes 2.0 where they barged into their room to talk to them despite the dangers of morgan oblitering his spiritual core, they also talk to each other on an equal standing like you see with oberon approaching them during at the inn and at gloucester in lb6. being someone with fairy eyes along with a lying curse, he tends to be roundabout with his words to portray what he means because no matter what he says, the world will twist it so he has skirt around it like in valentines day, you could interpret what he said with "call me wiht a sigh when you run out of dependable allies and options" as perhaps something mocking and malicious when, knowing oberon's nature now past lb6, he truly is caring almost to the point of selflessness. because we see his care for castoria as well as the insects in the autumn forest, that would apply to guda to, where he has the right words to soothe their soul, casually tear that mask guda has been holding onto for so long and become just "Fujimaru Ritsuka" and not "Humanity's Last Master".

dantes, of course, as the greatest of all avengers, his natures stems that from his revenge story by dumas, dantes who is also real in the typemoon universe has dumas write his story as revenge for his enemies on making everyone forget about him. and the story became so popular around the world that his spirit origin is twisted into that of an Avenger, that sole excerpt of The Count of Monte Cristo without that happy ending written into his saint graph. still, "edmond dantes" is still there, beneath gankutsuou. he's a man who tasted happiness and love, who was thrown into the bowels of depths and despair, gone through hell itself and crawled his way back to the surface no matter how painful it got. an Avenger that is intimate with pain, with suffering the most, know love and compassion the most.

both dantes and oberon understand guda's journey and what they've been through. its just that their approach is different. being an Avenger, a class of bloody teeth and howls, of course he would wield his flames that would aid his accomplice. he's seen their determination. he's seen them bleed, get beaten up before rising back again to finish a battle once and for all. he's seen guda love. he's seen guda love mash, da vinci, dr. roman, their friends these Servants who are people made up of fragments/fragments made up of people. they chose not retribution and continued to love despite the pain of it all.

dantes saw guda as a bright, radiant star because of that. him saying you are "fire" would just feel like completely undermining everything guda is. (and a fire for an Avenger, is a different meaning altogether). so he likens you to a star. a soul so bright that could even conquer dark flames that threaten to consume you whole but you would ultimately win out in the end... because thats who you are. a person who doesnt give up, will never give up no matter how your heart is beaten and battered. dantes supports you in a way where he has your back and will fight for you in this path downwards to hell. for oberon though, he's the abyssal insect. the one that ended fairy britain and as all things will inevitably end, like i said, he offered guda to go down the abyss with them should their heart finally give up once and for all. he'll be there by their deathbed to see it through. (i wanna add more about oberon with the shining star and titania but i can add stuff next time if i make a post like this.

that said, ive been thinking of dantes and oberon interactions too. but i do imagine either dantes would test oberon first before coming with him and abby to guda's trash heap or maybe exchange some words about guda, and probably gets convinced by oberon www

[pen-inks]

OFFICAL EDMOND DANTÉS RATES OTHER EDMOND DANTÉSES

I have some new adaptations on my belt

So here's my rating

2002 movie :1/10 loves the costumes hated the plot

2024 movie: I haven't seen it yet but I've read summaries I think it's definitely better than the 2002 one but there's some changes where I'm like💀💀💀 but at least there is andrea and the OST is so good. 5/10

Gankutsuou: 7/10 I liked it it was decently accurate and I fucking ugly cried when SPOILERS!!!! Franz died (it doesn't happen in the book) Also hate how they made andrea somehow worse like dude I want to root him on not despise him

Monte Cristo Hankushanku: pretty good the website was sketchy as fuck but the manga wasn't too bad I just wish it was slower pace but it's also prolly a BITCH drawing each frame. They clearly read it. I just feel some parts are confusing without context. Art is amazing but the entire thing is extremely rushed which is fine because tbh I wouldn't wanna draw all 29382919 pages either. 5/10

Monte Cristo Frank Wildhorn Musical: it was like they read like 500 pages and gave up. Love the music though. With all my heart. 5/10

The other musical: very poorly done musical but it's so bad it's good and it's decently accurate. 6/10

So my recommendation if you've already read TCOMC? Gankutsuou! If you want to grab your friends by the shoulders and go LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND MY HYPERFIXATIONS NOW!!!! then throw hankushanku at their skulls because it's like a quick summary

If you wanna jam out, frank wild horn and the 2024 OST OH MY GOD ITS SO LAKFIOAIRJAIDIS

and if you wanna see the 2002 movie, I uh. I don't even know. Why. Why would you want that.

Okay that's all lalala official Edmond Dantés post

[someawesomeamvs]

Warning: Spoilers, flashing lights, sexual imagery

Title: tan(x)

Editor: lolligerjoj

Song: Touch (feat. Paul Williams)

Artist: Daft Punk

Anime: 5 Centimeters per Second (film), Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below (film), Chuunibyou demo koi ga Shitai!, Colorful (2010) (film), The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (film), From Up on Poppy Hill (film), Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Garden of Words (film), Genius Party Beyond (film), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (film), Hotarubi no Mori e (film), Hyouka, Nekomonogatari Black, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nisemonogatari, The Sky Crawlers (film), Whisper of the Heart (film), Wolf Children (film)

Category: Drama

Awards: Akross 2013 - Best Psychedelic Nan Desu Kan 2014 - Winner of Category X Kita-Con 2014 - Best Drama/Romance Video Anime Weekend Atlanta 2014 - Best Artistic Endeavor Another Anime Con 2014 - Best "Other"

[bagheerita]

There's not a single version of The Count of Monte Cristo that lets Fernand go out like the sad little bitch he is in the book. Somehow every version I've seen always makes him a louder, more pathetic bitch.

[oroontheheels]

Listen, i personally have 0 emotions about Albert/Eugene. I think it forced hetero romance, it’s boring, it have no chemistry whatsoever. And I WISH writers stick to original plan of making Eugene lesbian as she was in a book.

But it’s so weird to me when people accuse anime creators or ANYTHING. So far I was unable to find any info any interview where creator would explain why they make Eugene straight. It’s an old anime so maybe those interviews did happen but got lost.

What I’m saying is when it comes to queer rep the feminine queer cis women (usually bi or lesbian) is the easiest rep to pass trough censors or homophobic CEOs.

My guess is something went wrong during production. Original teaser trailer have explicit wlw relationship. Anime have no lesbian characters or even undertones.

But then again anime have gay character and trans character. In my observation those are harder to put into big media project (unless you are making them a joke characters for dude bros viewers).

And not to mention relationships between Count and Albert. You can not convince me it’s not a romance story. I had my share of queerbait and I’m super salty about any queerbait these days. But like magical kiss of true love that cures demonic possession? That’s where i draw the line. That’s were queerbait becomes queer subtext for me.

I dunno what happened during Gankutsuou production. Knowing how industry work and that it always mostly consist cis straight conservative men I don’t expect much.

Maybe they really though “hey what’s is a protagonist without a waifu, let’s give Albert a waifu”.

But I don’t exclude possibility that they went gay all the way and before they even put anything on paper big CEO walked in the studio and said “Turn down the gay you idiots”.

Truth is queer anime don’t sell. Look at 2022 and how little budget something like Baraou no Souretsu got. Look at how Ai no Kusabi remake only got 4 out of 13 planned episodes despite being LEGENDARY yaoi title.

If you want to cash in stupid queerbait you get green light. If you want to create something queer you had to crawl trough mud and shit and in the end you probably get nowhere.

If I’m to make any guesses is that they had grandiose plans but they ended up making shit ton of compromises along the way. Lesbian Eugene was tragically one of them.

My point is unless we get more info is very rude to accuse anime creators of anything. We just don’t know what happened behind the scenes.

[insecateur]

its a song from a japanese drum rhythm game so i honestly didnt expect such niche with the french lyrics but its interesting..

HAHA yeah japanese people love their french lyrics tho‼️‼️‼️ you should listen to the cyborg 009 op "what's the justice" the full ver lasts for ages and at the end there's a guy full on slamming in french. it slaps

the other example that comes to mind is the gankutsuou soundtrack but that one tracks bc well. count of monte cristo. that anime had some of the best french i'd ever heard/seen tho. can't say more bc spoilers but some of the delivery of the spoken french is so iconic to me

[crehador]

ive looked through your 2023 watched stuff but ive been wondering if youve said anywhere what your favourite animes of all time are ? just curious cus i want more reccs

ooh good question! i am so indecisive and so full of love for so many series that it's always been a bit of a struggle to pick out just a few absolute faves, but here are the first few that come to mind

(i'll try to keep to shorter series here)

and standard disclaimer that everything here is my opinion and my opinion only

best anime of all time: shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu, and for me nothing even comes close

the story is told over the course of two seasons (the second being shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu: sukeroku futabi-hen; 25 episodes total) and it is imo just an absolute masterpiece. it's a somber tale, but executed in such a masterful way. the show is centered around rakugo and rakugo performers, and felt to me like not only an incredible story but an incredible performance of the art of storytelling

i don't rewatch this one very often because it makes me so sad, but i think it's a beautiful and worthwhile sort of sadness to experience

best sports anime of all time: kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru (23 episodes), and once again nothing even comes close. which means a lot coming from me because i love sports anime i will watch any sports anime i love good ones i love bad ones i love them unconditionally i'm like sports anime georg so 'best sports anime' is maybe even a more significant crown than 'best anime' coming from me lmao

ahem anyway in terms of objective quality there's just nothing that beats kazetsuyo, and i highly recommend it even as a character-centric piece for people who aren't generally into sports anime. it's just that good

side note 1: while i would call kazetsuyo the 'best' sports anime, my personal favorite is eternally kurobas (though it is on the longer side)

side note 2: honorary mention to megalo box, another of my all-time favorites. it's sports + sci-fi so i typically don't count it solely as a sports anime, but i love it to bits. there is a second season that i haven't even seen yet! i've always heard the second season is even better than the first, so i've been saving it for a special day (also i'm a bit scared of it because i was so happy with the ending of the first season that i'm kinda like resistant to change lol)

best anime i can't tell you anything about: so generally i'm of the belief that spoilers don't ruin much for me, if something is done well then it's done well even if i know it's coming. that said, there are a handful of series where i am so glad i went in knowing nothing, so that every twist and turn caught me completely unawares

and the top two i would recommend in this category are samurai flamenco (22 episodes) and sarazanmai (11 episodes)

definitely do look up trigger warnings if you've a need for them! but otherwise, going in knowing nothing really heightened the experience of these for me

they are... strange, and amazing

this is getting long so i'll just dump a bunch of favorites in a list below (some are Great, some are decidedly Not Great but Very Fun and beloved to me lol, and all are 25 episodes or less)

feel free to ask for details if you'd like to hear more about any of these, or if you'd like recs in any specific genres!

acca: 13-ku kansatsu-ka, appare-ranman!, baccano!, barakamon, cool doji danshi, dorohedoro, fantasy bishoujo juniku oji-san to, gankutsuou, gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun, houseki no kuni, ikebukuro west gate park, kimi to boku, kuragehime, paripi koumei, sabikui bisco, tiger & bunny (and its distant cousin double decker! doug & kirill), uchouten kazoku, wotaku ni koi wa muzukashii, yojuhan shinwa taikei, yuru camp

side note 3: just realized tiger & bunny is actually no longer under 25 episodes because we got a second season after like ten years lmao BUT i couldn't bring myself to remove it because it is phenomenal

[fenrhi]

I arrive in Paris

Targets: found

Albert’s love: acquired

Gankutsuou: out

I am forcibly removed from Paris

[franzfriday]

NSFW (not safe for franz)

[anonarat]

Why Peppo is more important than I thought she was:

I am going to preface this with the fact that I am not LGBTQA+ which means that this discussion is not wholly mine to have, but it is something that I feel like I should comment on.

When I first watched Gankutsuou, at least 10 years ago, I had very little in the way of interaction with  LGBTQA+ people (or at least, who I knew were LGBTQA+). This meant that my understanding of the difficulties they have to go through was non-existent. So Peppo never struck me as important to the story.

I have been fortunate enough to have met, spoken with and read the blogs of people who are  LGBTQA+ in the intervening years between my first watch and this rewatch. In those interactions, I have been shown some measure of how bad representation in media is of  LGBTQA+ people.

Peppo is not the best in terms of representation, she is somewhere between a secondary and tertiary character, and is a minor antagonist for the story. Even so, Peppo’s character is rounded out with both positive and negative traits, she is portrayed as human, and compared to some characters, she’s a saint. At the end of the story, she not only survives the whole mess, but she is thriving.

As is so often the case, when something is released affects how important different political points are. Gankutsuou was released in 2004, so we really should have gotten better at the whole representation thing. It’d be nice if more series had built upon this foundation.

Furthermore, unlike what I previously thought, Peppo actually has some subtly important additions to the understanding of the series.

Rewatching the series, it has become apparent that many of the characters represent something, for example: Albert and naivete, The Count and revenge. To me, at least, Peppo represents freedom. She is unconstrained by the strictures of nobility and propriety, gender, physical barriers and even her own worries. The only thing that really binds her is love for her adoptive family.

Consider: Peppo offered Albert the opportunity to look inside his mother’s jewellery drawer, and broke him in to rescue Eugenie.

Through this, Peppo becomes an excellent foil to the nobility constrained to act in a certain way. Peppo also acts as a foil to The Count, who is always controlled, always doing what is necessary for his plan.

What are your thoughts on Peppo?