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If I had to sum up the first episode I would say SPARKLES!
Well that and Oscar get punched in the face multiple times. I get it this show is about breaking gender stereotypes during a time in history when the roles of the genders were clearly defined. I think the show is going about it in an extremely obvious manner showing absolutely no subtlety. I can't say it's a bad thing just yet but with all the sparkles the first episode felt a bit cheesy. Especially with the grandmother constantly crowing about how Oscar should be a woman and her father loudly holding up his baby daughter and proclaim it's his son for the sake of his own honor. What I'm getting at is the show really went all out in setting up it's themes from the very start. I'm okay with that as long as it can actually develop them.
Oscar is born and prejudged by her father to live her childhood, adolescence and adult life as a Male in order to fulfill his dreams of an heir to continue the family responsibility towards the French court and the military. Oscar is torn apart by the dilemma of choosing between ladyship, womanhood and Love and between her enforced duties.
I pretty much wanted to watch this because it's supposed to have been a big influence on Utena. After the first episode it seems pretty clear that this does have several themes in common with Utena. I'm guessing there will be more similarities between the two as this progresses. What I can say right now is the first episode wasn't boring but I'm not sure if I like it yet or not.
And this is why shoujo was better in the 70's (or maybe it's that my sample base is too limited...). Best introductory episode I've seen in a while (miles above Ikkoku) and I really see where Utena got part of it's aesthetics from.
One thing I found interesting is that the nobles kind of played along with Jarjayes' effort in raising Oscar as a son. I don't think that they would look very kindly upon a woman trying to break out of defined gender roles by herself, but here the choice was made for her (though she apparently had the opportunity to "become a woman" again) and thus they don't really seem to care all that much.
One thing I found interesting is that the nobles kind of played along with Jarjayes' effort in raising Oscar as a son. I don't think that they would look very kindly upon a woman trying to break out of defined gender roles by herself, but here the choice was made for her (though she apparently had the opportunity to "become a woman" again) and thus they don't really seem to care all that much.
I think it's more likely that they were humoring Jarjayes. I get the feeling they really wanted to see her fail at the duel. They don't want to say anything directly because her father is a powerful man so they decided to play along figuring a woman would never really able to beat a man. I mean the guy she was supposed to be dueling didn't take her seriously at all until she made him. I think things might change now that she has put on the military uniform. Before she was stuck between being a man and a woman but now she's firmly chosen the male side which is probably going to bring prejudice. Well there's only one way to find out on to episode 2.
Man, the Empress of Austria was kind of frank about her daughter's faults, though she's obviously right. She could've added annyoing to the list, as well.
That incredibly evil-looking guy should've hired more competent cronies that could at least stand their ground against a fourteen-year old dressed as a fop. Too bad that plan was fatally flawed, Jean could never hope to sparkle as much as a member of a royal family can (I almost expected something like a duel based on The Princess and the Pea to resolve who was the real Marie). And how did the maids not notice that Jean was a man? Or is my subs just crappy?
Oh man so is it going to be Gerodere's job to spout every stereotype about women that he can. I swear his every line was some negative observation followed by "just like a woman." I'm just waiting for him to throw up his hands and say "Women! Am I right?"
Anyway lots of historical figures showing up in this episode. No surprise that in a pre-revolution France anime the Duke of Orleans is going to be the main antagonist. Poor Louis XVI always gets made to look like a complete oaf in any fictional work he shows up in.
Then there's Marie. I love that her mother just calls it like she sees it. I mean she just flat out said her daughter is stupid, flighty and capricious. Of course the girl is too dumb to know what any of those things mean. Well whatever I can see her constantly stupidity getting her in trouble with Oscar (Marie's complete opposite) constantly needing to save her. I'm guess Marie is supposed to represent the traditional portrayal of a female to act as a foil to Oscar. Marie is made up of every stereotype that Oscar breaks down. Unfortunately Marie is kind of annoying so hopefully things will be more focused on what's going on with Oscar. Although it's hard to believe Oscar is just 14 years old. Even if I believed a 14 year old could be that skilled or perceptive I still don't think anyone would stake the security of two countries on someone that young. If something happens to Marie it would mean all out war between France and Austria.
Funny that Jean's disguise was perfect other than the sparkles.
More intrigues and more melodrama. The novelty has worn off, but it's still a solid show.
Marie Antoinette, do check your privilegie. You're not haughty or evil enough to be able to be that self-centred and still be a fun character. Nor are you more interesting than Oscar. And while I'm on the topic of fun characters, Countess duBarry seems like one of the prime inspirations for my favourite when it comes to conceited and haughty assholes: Nanami Kiryuu. Granted, duBarry seems more arrogant and full of vitriol and her schemes are far more grounded in reality.
It looks like we agree DuBarry is pretty much a nastier version of Nanami without the flights of fancy. Although I do find DuBarry abusive relationship with Versailles' decorations to be a bit disturbing. It was kind of amazing how much she was able to destroy in just one episode. I don't think she's going to strike the same balance that made me enjoy Nanami so much though. Still she's more interesting than Marie by far.
Marie is just a naive idiot. I could easily see her being eaten alive by court intrigue if Oscar doesn't save her. Right now Marie has the upper hand but only by virtue of her rank. DuBarry is just starting to fight and once she does I foresee a massacre. Although it's Orleans that is really going to profit from the chaos I guess or at least that's his goal.
The show is kind of overdoing it with the exaggeration angle. They really overdid the whole court intrigue thing. Intrigue is supposed to be subtle but everything that happened this episode was about as obvious as it could get. People weren't even bothering to whisper their gossip but were just standing around having conversations out loud. Everything is so over-the-top. Like how almost everything is accompanied with sparkles. It could easily reign back on some of this stuff and people would still easily get the point. I mean when they were telling Marie about Duberry the one lady was like "She a whore, a prostitute, a woman who sells her body to men." Were all three of those really necessary?
Still it's a decent show. I'm not loving it but it's certainly better than Ikkoku.
Well, she doesn't have any yaysayers to lash out on, so the statues and mirrors will have to do. And I thought that they reiterated the fact that duBarry is an awful, fallen woman to show that Marie's a bit slow on the uptake...
I'm writing this review before reading most of what's been posted before me; please pardon any points that may have already been covered.
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Impressions from the First Episode:
This story seems to be geared toward the female audience only. The look and feel of the anime, including the most action-based scenes, still give off a softened feel to keep the viewer comfortable with what they're seeing.
The main character ("Oscar") is a bit hard to absorb. It's pretty clear that she's a hardened tom-boy type girl, though. The villain of the story ("Orleans") starts off extremely shallow, though most stories like their villainous characters to start of as a mysterious presence... this one seemed to just stand there starkly and laugh. Didn't really stir up any initial curiosity for his purpose in the story.
I was the most intrigued by the story art; how special effects were done at the time this anime was made, in comparison to the advanced, CGI/computer-based effects in amines now. Background images representing fast-moving actions, the kind of glimmering effect used for bodies of water, and yes, the undeniable, ever-present sparkling throughout the episode! The unique mix of classical music with disco is pretty interesting to listen too during the anime. And the Disco-based Enka style opening/closing theme songs are awesome!
Since this story is based on historical fiction (and History was is one of my worst subjects), it has initially been kinda difficult to watch the anime for me. But the style of the time this anime was created is enough to keep me watching.
I was fairly confused by the Austrian Princess... why would she first say she's scared to go to France, then become completely carefree once she's there? The point about not wanting to take off the ring her Mother the Queen gave her was a solid point, but the "Oh look, a young maiden's asked me to sneak off with her and exchange the clothes I just refused to take off with her--? Okay!" And run of into some random cave where some group of men wait to trap her.. o-kay.
However, Oscar's role in this ep was used well. Although a bit predictable in her actions, her char was still admirable to watch carry out her duty.
The twist at the end, for me, was the Impostor Princess actually getting killed in cold blood by the end of the ep. Wow. o.o That was not something I would've expected from an anime of that day and time. But I'm guessing that the man who did it was Orleans, doing his best to "Destroy any evidence" of his plot...?
Second ep was overall pretty cliche, but watchable for the most part, to me.
Okay, this pretty much confirms the feel of the anime being geared toward the Female Viewer overall, to me... Most everything that's done is in sympathy to the female characters; even the greatest concerns and highest tensions of the males seem to be completely geared toward the females only.
I was not as impressed with this ep as the last two... mainly because the majority of the focus was on the one High Court Mistress and her ego-battle with the Princess.
Concepts like these get frustrating pretty quickly to me -- the resolution lies in whatever King does about it, at this point... is he gonna be a shallow Jerk and blindly let the Mistress have her way for his own pride's sake, or will he be fair to the new-addition to his royal family and put the Mistress in her place? This really isn't enough story material to adequately fill up a two-parter, in my opinion, but... I guess we'll see how they'll make it work.
I was fairly confused by the Austrian Princess... why would she first say she's scared to go to France, then become completely carefree once she's there? The point about not wanting to take off the ring her Mother the Queen gave her was a solid point, but the "Oh look, a young maiden's asked me to sneak off with her and exchange the clothes I just refused to take off with her--? Okay!" And run of into some random cave where some group of men wait to trap her.. o-kay.
I think they were trying to show just how flighty and changeable Marie was by having her act that way. When her own mother talks about how dumb she is to her face you realize this girl is seriously lacking in brains and probably has the memory of a goldfish. I'm already prepared for Marie to do all kinds of retarded shit that doesn't make sense to anyone but her idiot's sense of logic. Pretty much she is always going to need the more level headed Oscar to bail her out. However Oscar is going to have to get over her distaste for this job and stop being so aloof. As it is that aloofness has already caused problems in episode 3.
Okay, this pretty much confirms the feel of the anime being geared toward the Female Viewer overall, to me... Most everything that's done is in sympathy to the female characters; even the greatest concerns and highest tensions of the males seem to be completely geared toward the females only.
I was not as impressed with this ep as the last two... mainly because the majority of the focus was on the one High Court Mistress and her ego-battle with the Princess.
Concepts like these get frustrating pretty quickly to me -- the resolution lies in whatever King does about it, at this point... is he gonna be a shallow Jerk and blindly let the Mistress have her way for his own pride's sake, or will he be fair to the new-addition to his royal family and put the Mistress in her place? This really isn't enough story material to adequately fill up a two-parter, in my opinion, but... I guess we'll see how they'll make it work.
I get the impression that the king isn't going to be doing anything. I don't think this has anything to do with his pride it's more like he sees this as a fight between women and no reason for him to get involved. The king way the king spoke to DuBody was very patronizing kind of like he was just trying to smooth over her irrational anger at what he considers to be something unimportant. Pretty much what I'm getting at is the king isn't taking her concerns seriously because she is a woman. As king this dispute doesn't mean much to him. He doesn't need to take a side because his power puts him above everyone else. However by dismissing his mistress's concerns out of hand he has caused her to take other measures which is going to turn what started out as a petty dispute into something much more serious. The Duke of Orleans obviously saw this opening and is going to try to take advantage of the situation.
Thinking further on episode 3 I have to say Oscar's attitude is very similar to the King's she has this condescending attitude toward the whole affair because she feels like DuBerry and Marie are a couple of silly women playing a silly game. The difference here is at the end of the episode Oscar learned that things had just gotten serious for her and that she was going to get dragged into this mess. The king has enough power that he doesn't have to worry about getting involved but Oscar doesn't have the kind of influence to stay about this dispute mostly because she is Marie's bodyguard.
I think what Oscar is going to learn is that being Marie's bodyguard is about more than just protecting her with the sword. It's also about protecting her during court intrigue which can start out petty but can get out of control very quickly if left to spiral out of control. Which is exactly what has happened here. Marie doesn't really understand what is going on she's just doing what those women told her too. Marie is too dumb to ever be really good with this type of courtly intrigue or at least she needs someone to protect her until she learns enough about what is going on to protect herself. The only real ally she has is Oscar and right now Oscar isn't taking her duty seriously because she never wanted this job to begin with.
As for how I see this I think DuBody's pride combined with Marie's stupidity has turned a small series of petty insults into a serious intrigue that has divided the court. Marie can't see what is really going on so she never took the chance to end it. If she had been more skilled at these kind of interactions she would have realized she had already proved her point by ignoring the countess a couple of times so to keep doing it is creating a pointless enemy. Well honestly these two were always going to be rivals for court influence but it didn't have to turn into outright conflict right away.
Well this is a shoujo anime so it is geared toward a predominately female audience but that doesn't matter much to me. As long as it's good I don't really care about who the target audience is. Revolutionary Girl Utena and Princess Tutu are both shoujo and they are both in the top 20 list of my favorite anime.
Well. This was a surprise. It was a shoujo set in France and amidst nobility. Would've been so VERY easy to make this fall into costume porn and glamour... well, there's sparkles, but I believe back in those days they were kinda a required part or something... but anyways. I genuinely enjoyed the first episode. It remembered to mention that yes, there's a peasant class out there starving while the nobles keep parties. That's already a big plus in my books. Idealized circumstances are to a certain degree expected from any form of entertainment, but in historical settings like this it would've ticked me off big time to see a "Yay! Happy Happy Sparkly Lacy Glamour Party Time!" kind of vibe.
I'm already rooting for the feminist overtones, too, due to Oscar being dignified (the whole series gives bit of that image in general, not as much as LotGH but it's still there, for example
the captain guy who was somewhat old-fashionedly chauvinistic but took his loss like a man and recognized Oscar's talent
), and basically wanting to live her own life while avoiding the irritating "I am WOMAN! Hear me roar!" shit some portrayals meant to be feminist fall into.
And being punched, already. Something I did definitely NOT expect to see was a good, proper fist fight in a series hailed as groundbreaking shoujo. Not just a slap or a random dramatic punch, either, they really beat each other up. A refreshing sight. Andre seems like a pretty fine guy, too.
And it also seems to give its characters room to be more than strictly formulaic stereotypes in the first episode, already. Oscar herself apparently has no particular attachment to being a man but still seems to consider girls shrill harpies. I can see some identity crises arising... André is on friendly terms with her despite his class but doesn't forget to follow orders, too... while still keeping his own opinions. The grandma who lectures her on the virtues of womanliness gets drunk behind the scenes. I don't think even her father, despite seeming like an abusive father going down the slopes of insanity at an increasing pace, just cares about his status. The captain guy I mentioned earlier also fits.
In a bad series he'd probably have tried to stab Oscar in the back once she turned away or something but dude instead acted like a noble with brain cells.
Also enjoyed the fact that
when Oscar decides to fuck the audience and keep the duel in secret, they consider her a traitor and are all set to punish her. No rebellious princesses who can just do whatever the hell they want here, either.
So basically, to sum it up in short, this series took the expectations I had, crumpled them up into a ball and booted them off into the horizont like some world class goalie. Good start. More stuff like this and I'll really enjoy this one.
And this is why shoujo was better in the 70's (or maybe it's that my sample base is too limited...). Best introductory episode I've seen in a while (miles above Ikkoku) and I really see where Utena got part of it's aesthetics from.
One thing I found interesting is that the nobles kind of played along with Jarjayes' effort in raising Oscar as a son. I don't think that they would look very kindly upon a woman trying to break out of defined gender roles by herself, but here the choice was made for her (though she apparently had the opportunity to "become a woman" again) and thus they don't really seem to care all that much.
I think it's more likely that they were humoring Jarjayes. I get the feeling they really wanted to see her fail at the duel. They don't want to say anything directly because her father is a powerful man so they decided to play along figuring a woman would never really able to beat a man. I mean the guy she was supposed to be dueling didn't take her seriously at all until she made him. I think things might change now that she has put on the military uniform. Before she was stuck between being a man and a woman but now she's firmly chosen the male side which is probably going to bring prejudice. Well there's only one way to find out on to episode 2.
A good point by Hasse... and a good explanation by Marius. An another possible explanation could also be that
well, they've been at war with Austria for quite a while and while the chauvinism is most definitely still there, I'd imagine they've lost enough men to be a bit more lenient than usual.
Enter Marie Antoinette. Oh, yeah, this woman's going to get annoying, but on the plus side she at least has sympathetic qualities too (I mean... getting shipped off to a hostile country at the age of 14 to get married and all... can give a bit of leeway there even if it doesn't justify things) and the series acknowledges her stupidity, too, so I should manage without getting irritated for reals. Liked the scene between her and Marie Theresa quite a bit. But the giggle... gaaaahhh, the giggle...
Duke of Orleans...
pretty daring of him to almost show his face like that. Then again, if he'd sent some crony to take his place Oscar could capture and interrogate that one, too... well, at least we're entering the realm of political backstabbing which should be interesting. Although I hope they improve the plots themselves a little bit, the point that was made about Jean was very good. I checked and they show him in both the old and the new dress. ...maybe they gave him some privacy to change, after all? Although I believe that wasn't something that happened back then...
Well, anyways, I guess the set-up's ready. Let's see if the main story gets rolling now.
That incredibly evil-looking guy should've hired more competent cronies that could at least stand their ground against a fourteen-year old dressed as a fop. Too bad that plan was fatally flawed, Jean could never hope to sparkle as much as a member of a royal family can (I almost expected something like a duel based on The Princess and the Pea to resolve who was the real Marie). And how did the maids not notice that Jean was a man? Or is my subs just crappy?
Then again, I don't think they expected much of any kind of resistance, just one air-headed girl, so I guess random bums off the street could do for the job, too. If they turn out to be members of Orleans' elite guard or something, feel free to laugh at me, but I'd guess he'd keep his distance to this plot and hire some random guys who couldn't be connected to him in any way.
Then there's Marie. I love that her mother just calls it like she sees it. I mean she just flat out said her daughter is stupid, flighty and capricious. Of course the girl is too dumb to know what any of those things mean. Well whatever I can see her constantly stupidity getting her in trouble with Oscar (Marie's complete opposite) constantly needing to save her. I'm guess Marie is supposed to represent the traditional portrayal of a female to act as a foil to Oscar. Marie is made up of every stereotype that Oscar breaks down. Unfortunately Marie is kind of annoying so hopefully things will be more focused on what's going on with Oscar. Although it's hard to believe Oscar is just 14 years old. Even if I believed a 14 year old could be that skilled or perceptive I still don't think anyone would stake the security of two countries on someone that young. If something happens to Marie it would mean all out war between France and Austria.
Quite true on the age question. Disagreement on her being a traditional female representation, though, since the other women in the series consider her stupid, too. Just look at Oscar and her mother... and I don't think the maids were exactly enamored with her due to that vanishing trick either, but they can't say much of anything.
Episode 3
Ah, an ego-battle between two women... scary things, those. I'm kinda enjoying duBarry, though. A deeply unpleasant woman, but Marie Antoinette seems like she has just as much capability for that while she's also oblivious... I guess if I'd have to put it in concrete terms, I see both childlike innocence and childlike cruelty in her. duBarry at least seems more rational and grounded in reality... when not raging, anyway. Thematically, reminded of LotGH again, here.
Not much Oscar in this one. Haven't really been able to get a grip on her so far. I dunno, it feels like something's missing. Well, we'll probably see more of her when she'll have to step up to bat and do something about the situation she just ended up in.
Marie Antoinette needs someone to look after her, anyway. Right now it seems like she'll believe anything she's told which the aunts already seemed to exploit. I get this feeling she can be used to back up about anything if it's presented the right way.
More intrigues and more melodrama. The novelty has worn off, but it's still a solid show.
Marie Antoinette, do check your privilegie. You're not haughty or evil enough to be able to be that self-centred and still be a fun character. Nor are you more interesting than Oscar. And while I'm on the topic of fun characters, Countess duBarry seems like one of the prime inspirations for my favourite when it comes to conceited and haughty assholes: Nanami Kiryuu. Granted, duBarry seems more arrogant and full of vitriol and her schemes are far more grounded in reality.
Marie Antoinette is just... too naive. Well, the French Revolution will be coming, but I wonder if something will shake her up before that. That kind of worldview... is only possible for a ruler, pretty much... although a ruler who doesn't have to do anything responsible.
The show is kind of overdoing it with the exaggeration angle. They really overdid the whole court intrigue thing. Intrigue is supposed to be subtle but everything that happened this episode was about as obvious as it could get. People weren't even bothering to whisper their gossip but were just standing around having conversations out loud. Everything is so over-the-top. Like how almost everything is accompanied with sparkles. It could easily reign back on some of this stuff and people would still easily get the point. I mean when they were telling Marie about Duberry the one lady was like "She a whore, a prostitute, a woman who sells her body to men." Were all three of those really necessary?
True. Going to chalk that one up to this being a shoujo and therefore intended for a bit younger girls. I'm guessing too much subtlety would fly over the target audience's heads and make the series less relatable.
As for the repetition, though, I'm thinking it's pretty easy to explain. The aunts are bitter and Marie, being 14 and a royal, quite likely doesn't know what whore or prostitute mean (not necessarily even due to stupidity but rather lack of exposure to lower-class life) so they have to explain in clearer terms.
A new post so that the previous one won't be so freaking long.
Episode 4
It's not as open, but Oscar is actually pretty childish too. Not to the degree Antoinette is, but it's there, anyway. André did a good job in reminding her that she's not the only one with problems and that the decision has to be made, though. Good guy, and Oscar's mature enough to get the point, too.
And I think I already like the presence of Count Mercy. I don't think Oscar's quite the right person for all this political intrigue, she still seems primarily a woman of action, so it's good to have someone who specifically has a clue about how court politics work. ...Unfortunately, despite Marie Theresa being smart enough to set her principles aside for the greater good Antoinette has no such qualms. Okay, duBarry's smug enough to annoy me, too, but still, that's just being an egoist and for a stupid reason, too. Lineage. duBarry has a horrible personality but I at least have to give the woman credit for clawing her way up here from nothing. In terms of these two women alone I have to begrudgingly take her side.
The King's... eh. Could actually find it pretty funny how bored he looked while not giving a fuck about duBarry's nagging. ...but then his person is attacked and there's a sudden change in mood. So ruler-like. And we have our first murder plot. ...but duBarry folded pretty easily, she could've just feigned ignorance. The King seems to not give a fuck if it doesn't concern him directly, anyway. ...well, not that I mind since I basically like Oscar's mother.
Oh, and I loved Mercy facepalming at Antoinette. A very fitting thing to do. Do hope there's some kind of backlash since she can't just act like a spoiled brat forever.
