Versailles no Bara

Rose of Versailles review(it's biased af) Bara wa bara wa.......Oscar! Story 10/10 The story is about the France revolution from the 18th century and the events that lead to that revolution. Rose of Versailles depicts the fateful meeting of Marie Antoinette and Oscar, which is bound to influence history and change the life of the people facing the French Revolution as the clock ticks toward the end of the French royalty. The story has a slow pace in the begining but thats just a preparation for the big play that will occur later. We are introduced to the classic atmosphere of France 18th century, the stuning peisage carefully evidentiated in this anime captivates our eye. The old chimney houses ,the beautifull gardens of roses from Versailles ,and the gourgeous arhitecture of old France palaces and castles all together forming our big stage where the actors perform the best play of their life called Rose of Versailles. The slow pace that the anime has in the begining is meant for the worbuilding of this anime which is magnificent. Another purpose is to get used with the characters their personalities ,habits and finally the way the act and interact with each other in a situation. The story most part in this anime occurs in the beautifull city of Versailles inside the royal palace where we follow Oscar and Marie Antoinete across the flowing time. But as a pleasent surprise this anime shows us not only the bright side of France but also the dark past were people lived in poverness and didn't afford a single piece of bread. As the story progreses we found out more details about our characters and how they influence each other directly or indirectly across time. One of the most beautifull unrequited love stories are told and offered by this anime to the viewer delivering a bunch of feelings and shred tears. What's marvelous again are the details that this anime carefully and steady at a slow pace builds up his world and characters leaving a strongfull impression for the viewer. Characters 10/10 These are the best actors that a play could hope for. Their character development is slowly but steady done and every detail is not missed at all building up a firm foundation for their character. Oscar one of the best female leads in the history of anime she is the best written character from this anime. She influences every character directly or indirectly because of her actions and desicions and has a great role for the progression of the story. She is brave she doesnt hesitate at all has a iron heart and a soft part too she cares for everybody and tries to help them as best as she can. Indeed a splendid character that many anime need. Andre is Oscars friend since childhood and the one that helps Oscar when in need . Another well written character from this anime. His character development is amazing and his loyalty towards Oscar is impressive never doubting or betraying her. He also keeps his promises and he is a trustworthy man. His actions influence the whole story. Marie Antoinete is the queen of France and her character starts of as a spoiled little child but after she experiences the sour part of life her character changes and becomes more mature and responsible. Other honorable mentions are Jeanne, Rosalie and Fernes who have a fantastic influence across the story and change and help Oscar during the entire anime. What is a good point in this anime is the interactions between the minor characters and main characters which is done so well that the minor characters shine too.Also the minor characters help the development of the main characters but the show doesnt cast them away after that instead they are offered a role in the "play"called the revolution of France. The interactions between all characters is well done and meaningfull for the plot and story every detail matters every action affects directly or indirectly each character and their influence across the story. Animation 9/10 Stuning visuals and character designs that are way better done than in the anime made nowdays and it's a 40 years old anime. Gorgeous. Sound 10/10 Impressive ost that brings shivers to my skin every time i hear it. Also it's well done within the most important moments from this anime at the exact time. Enjoyment 10/10 Every episode brought up new things the progression of the story was linear and the characters actions and decisions in a crisis situation impressed me and captivated me especially Oscar. Overall 9.5/10( its a 10 ffs) The ending was well done left a strong impact on the viewer and was according to the characters actions and interactions during the whole story. One of the best and firm characters that a anime could provide for the viewer with such an amazing an carefully crafted details to our characters to shine out their unique traits. Gladly recommand this anime one of the best History-Drama anime of all times.

"Rose of Versailles" is a great piece of anime history. But more than just being an interesting fossil, I think it stands on its own if you enjoy historic dramas. It's hard to think of any modern anime with such a sweeping and ambitious historic story. Sure, there are good modern dramas, but if you are starting to bristle at the repetition, I think you'll enjoy going way into the past for this one that is certainly free of modern anime tropes. The story is strong and works on many dimensions: Oscar, a noble, is raised as a boy by her father and allowed to join the army, rising quickly in rank and given the duty of protecting the infamous Mary Antoinette when she first arrives in France at age 14. The series is all about the fictional Oscar, but uses its characters from real-world history in clever (and basically accurate) ways. We also meet Ferson, a Swedish noble, and more famous figures like Robespierre and Saint-Juste. They are supporting characters in a way that moves along the plot but will also teach you a bit about French history, it's quite well done. In addition to the historical drama, we explore gender issues in a way that I have to think is pretty progressive for the 1970s. Oscar lives as a man, for the most part, to the point where she holds a high military rank, is expected to fight in duels when her honor is challenged, and is even mistaken for a biological man by strangers. She even explicitly chooses to live as a man at one point in the series. She is only romantically interested in men, however, and this forms the basis for some of the plot, with her classic Shoujo harem of real and fictional suitors. Even when she does find romantic happiness I don't think it's in a way that will offend even very politically correct modern viewers. Given anime's typical performance on this issue, I was pleasantly surprised... her crossdressing and gender bending is not once used as a source of humor or degradation. The plot is quite wide-ranging, with episodes featuring everything from swashbuckling to court intrigue (with an injection of Shoujo drama), to romance to political thriller to history lesson. I found that it all worked surprisingly well, it's true that the tone and content of early episodes is markedly different than later ones, but at the same time the early ones were definitely progression toward the eventual conclusion in a coherent way. The art is, well, it's an anime from 1979. It would be silly to judge it by modern standards. The art is not cheap and psychedelic as I'd feared it might be, given the era. You can definitely see its age in the backgrounds and action shots, but the detail to faces and clothing was quite good. It also freezes at dramatic moments at the end of segments for a detailed, painting-like still which shows both artistic and emotional detail, it might seem silly to some viewers but I have always liked this effect. The music is pretty good, with strong opening and closing themes, and some decent incidental music... although not much use is made of period music. I'm not a huge fan of seeing 1780s scenes with 1970s synth music, but it could have been a lot worse. I am not a great critic of Japanese voice acting but I did find that the tone of the voice actors meshed pretty well with the sorts of characters they are playing - you can hear the pretension and condescension in the nobles, and the grittiness and honesty in the voices of the good commoners. This anime is not perfect by any means, but I think the modern viewer can definitely enjoy it if they go in with an open mind. Comparing this to American and British television of the era, wow, Japan was definitely making some good stuff even back then.

Here it is. One of the best known shojo shows of all time by Riyoko Ikeda, she is known as one of the best known manga artists of the 1970’s. It was directed by Osamu Dezaki (Ace wo Narie, Ashita no Joe), so there are many noticeable similarities in art and story development. Now, what do you know about the French Revolution and the main players involved? What makes Rose of Versailles so good is the plot. How many anime out there is a historical rendition of anything outside of Japan? This one takes place during the years and major events leading up to the French Revolution with our main character Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes. Oscar is actually a female in which her father wanted a son, and despite having a girl, says “I will raise my son.” So already off to a wild start. But, the Lady Man Oscar is a solo fighter not caring what others think. Even though Oscar is the main character, one could see her closer as a secondary fictional character while the plot itself is more important. How did King Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette lead France and its’ people the wrong way? How did the events such as the meeting of Hans Axel von Fersen from Sweden impact the Queen? How did a simple expensive necklace create such disorder in France? So many important parts of history told in an interesting anime perspective kept such an interesting view throughout the 40 episodes. Each instance in the story is matched with great shojo animation, great fight scenes, terrific music, and finally an intro song that didn’t sound like an old 30’s vinyl soundtrack coming out of a gramophone. There are countless amounts of symbolism (roses) and foreshadowing techniques unlike anything seen so far. In short, this is a good watch. One could learn a lot about history, and this teaches so much better anything learned in school.

Rose of Versailles is set during the 18th century, with the main focus being around Oscar François de Jarjeyes. She is brought up as a man although actually being a woman, causing her to have a strong and dignified persona. The other focus of the story is the princess of Austria, Marie Antoinette. Her character is childish, carefree and naive. When put under unforeseen circumstances she reacts unpredictably with disregard to the consequences of her actions. This dramatic tale about the state of France includes the rich nobles, poverty within the country and the over ruling monarchy. Interestingly, the plot wasn't simplified or dumbed-down, handling mature topics such as suicide/murder and how the country should be ruled. Even though some plot points where over/under exaggerated and some were forgotten by the next episode, the story was developed steadily. Although, towards the end the story was rushed and some was left to be narrated. This could have been used as an effect to make more of the drama seem intense but I see it as unnecessary since it would have been more interesting otherwise. The art was glamorous during the palace scenes with sparkling lights and shimmering jewels. The importance of the extravagant clothes and accessories was displayed, as well as how people would be viewed among others. Even though some of the characters had nearly the same face and some didn't age, the characters expressions seemed realistic and weren't too over dramatic. The characters were developed naturally and were shaped by the situations they were in, the story had an ending and art was reasonable for a anime made in the 70's.

I have a very bad habit of giving every anime I like a 10 score, or rating it a masterpiece. So I think it's good to consider thinks like the art, soundtrack, characters, and overall story when it comes to reviews and ratings. But even after taking all of those elements into consideration, I can't help but give this show the highest score avalible. When it comes to history, I tend to not be that interested in revolutions, or even the time period the show takes place in. But once I started getting into the show, the history of the french revolution seemed way more interesting and exciting to me. Seeing the french revolution through the eyes of a noble was very fascinating considering that in most schools, the french revolution is talked about through the eyes of third estate. It was also interesting to see how Marie Antoinette grew up and became the person she became during the revolution. One of the best things about this show are it's characters. The main character, Oscar, is so amazing and inspiring! She reminds me of Joan of Arc, my biggest inspiration as a young child and even to this day. Oscar is strong and brave, and also very smart. There are many other well-written, interesting, and smart women in the show. Not only the women, but also the male characters are great as well. The music in the show is also very good. While watching the show, I never skipped the intro or outro because the songs where so beautiful! The soundtrack adds so much emotion to the scenes, whether they be romantic, action-packed, or sad. Of any show I've watched, Versailles no Bara probably made me cry the most. The show is so beautiful yet so tragic, but it is about the french revolution after all. Overall, for anyone who likes history, strong female characters, or just appreciates a gorgeous and emotional story, Versailles no Bara is an amazing watch. Thanks for reading and enjoy the show!

The Rose of Versailles tells the events leading up to the French Revolution with an added twist - shaping its events around the struggles of two fictional characters, Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes and André Grandier. It's interesting because even though these characters never actually existed, the author managed to interweave their stories with real historical figures like Marie Antoinette and Hans Axel von Fersen. In fact, the narratives pushed in these real historical events make it seem like Oscar and Andre were real people involved. It's really amazing how the author managed to add in fictional characters to these events without creating plot holes that lead up to the French Revolution. Please note that I'll be spoiling the entire plot as I don't believe I can write a proper review without doing so. Oscar is introduced as part of France's Royal Guard; an elite regiment of soldiers that protect the royal family. The twist here is that Oscar is actually a woman, as she was raised as a man out of frustration from her mother not being able to give birth to a son. As anyone could probably guess, being a woman in the 18th century is a boat load of troubles, because women were not recognized as equal to men back then and having a woman being part of the military would cause all kinds of confusion. André happens to be a Oscar's childhood friend and fencing partner. However, Oscar is born a noble while André isn't which sets up difficulty in their relationship later on. The anime does a very good job of picking the right events that are depicted as the key causes of the French Revolution. Simply put, France under Louis XVI was in huge financial debt and its people were starving. However, that was only a problem visible among the commoners. The events that were chosen were: Marie Antoinette's grudge against Madame du Barry, Madame de Polignac's exploits against Antoinette, the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, the Black Knight, and of course the summoning of the Estates General and its subsequent events. Antoinette's grudge really showcases how unfair societal norms were back in 18th century France. It showed how the only way a female commoner could get into noble society was through connections with a noble. In du Barry's case, she made a living as a prostitute and ended up becoming the King's mistress. The interesting thing is that the story doesn't exactly start off sympathizing with du Barry's unfortunate circumstances and instead portrays Antoinette as the protagonist refusing to recognize a prostitute in Versailles because she found it disgusting. It wasn't until the end of the arc that du Barry tells Oscar that everything she did was justified because of how unfair society was for commoners. This arc portrayed both Antoinette's naivety and lack of understanding as to why du Barry ended up being in her position in the first place. The events depicted after Louis XV's death and the coronation of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette showcase very important naive decisions made by both of them that lead to the downfall of the French monarchy. Antoinette's lack of financial understanding made her offer a promotion to Oscar doubling her salary. She doesn't realize that this money comes from the citizens of France and that reckless expenses like that will only make France's financial situation worse. She also turns down the responsibilities as Queen like showing up to events, and opts to have secret meetings with Fersen instead. With these events well depicted, it's no wonder that she ends up being de Polignac's puppet and spends so much of France's tax money on her well-being, being easily manipulated into thinking that following de Polignac's advice will improve the well-being of France. Oscar's visit to Paris was also a very drastic change in environment compared to the first arc that was only set in Versailles. Much of Paris was very poor and Oscar had to witness a noble shooting a child that stole his money because he needed it to buy bread. This sudden shift in tone settled in a very appropriate mood that would start the conflicts that lead to the French Revolution. The public's resentment of Antoinette came to a climax during the Affair of the Diamond Necklace when Jeanne framed her for being responsible for the scam. The public was easily convinced that Antoinette was the culprit because of her spending habits that further deepened France's debt. The anime's greatest strength however, are in its characters. The personality and development of these characters are what drives the story of the French Revolution to be so interesting. Marie Antoinette is an easy blame for this tragedy, but we are seeing the events in a lens that makes us realize that she never intended the destruction of the French monarchy, but was simply too naive to make the right decisions. The most notable of these characters however, is definitely Oscar. Many of these famous historical figures heavily rely on Oscar during their periods of struggle, and she successfully acts as their guiding light to help put them on the right path. These character live tragic lives because the structure of class rule impacts their romantic lives. This was already seen between du Barry and Louis XV, but the problem doesn't really take hold until Antoinette's affair with Fersen. These two are in love with each other but can't hold a relationship because Antoinette is married to Louis XVI as the Queen of France. This basic obligation due to marrying for power prevents a genuine relationship from happening. Because of this genuine love, rumors start to spread across France of Antoinette's affair with him, further ruining her reputation. Fersen realized that the only way he could fix this was to escape France and distract himself in the American Revolutionary War. Rosalie's desire for revenge was also another brilliant arc that tackled this theme. Rosalie was born from unintended pregnancy between a noble and a commoner. Because her noble mother couldn't marry her commoner father, she had to abandon her daughter. She was adopted and raised by her foster mother, a commoner. Because her foster mother was killed by de Polignac due to negligence, it was difficult for her to do anything about it. Madame de Polignac values power, so she willingly sets up her daughter Charlotte with a man she doesn't love just so she could marry for influence. These problems only exist because society is split into classes, and it shows how psychologically damaged people can become just because of their desire for power. This becomes clear when it's revealed that Rosalie is actually de Polignac's biological daughter and that she doesn't feel that she's her mother at all, but cries when her little sister Charlotte kills herself because of her arranged marriage. This theme hits its climax when Oscar and her identity as a woman gets involved with her unrequited love for Fersen. Oscar herself has to deal with the fact that she doesn't recognize herself as a woman, so she can't stand her father trying to set her up with another man. Because Fersen recognized her the one time she dressed as a woman to a ball so she could attract a possible partner, it devastated her because she knew he didn't have feelings for her. This feeling of unrequited love becomes empathetic when André confesses his love for her, making her realize that she needed to distance herself from him by joining the French Guards to help André recover from his broken heart. All of these intricacies that tie the stories together really make this anime a wonder for storytelling, however the anime suffers flaws that are evident towards the end. It was clear that the ending of the anime wanted to focus on the rekindled romance between André and Oscar, however it had to stage that romance during the climax of the French Revolution; the storming of the Bastille. In my honest opinion, I don't think the romantic premise really fits anywhere near the climax of one of the mos…

Its not every day that you see an anime about European royalty. Rose of Versailles is the story of a woman named Oscar and how she becomes the guard to Marie Antoinette set before, during and after the French Revolution. The anime and manga have had influence on the shoujo genre. The series stays about 85-90% true to the history it is based on, while leaving room for some great story telling. Anime fans of today can appreciate it for strong female leads and classic animation. It is a shame that this anime is not well known in the Americas except for French Canada. Rose of Versailles is a gem hidden among decades of other anime. If you are given the chance to watch Rose of Versailles, please watch it. It is available on crunchyroll.

First of all i have to say that this Anime is political correct and many things in the anime are simply not true. Marie Antoinette for example never said "Let Them Eat Cake" and there is no proof that she had a realationship with Hans Axel Von Fersen. Also Louis XVI is kinda portrayed as a weak and incompetent King. But however this is nothing new. If you don't take it to serious everything is alright. Now to the Anime. It is a masterpiece. Oscar is such a good hearted and pure women that i almost felt in love with her. I believe there are only a few characters in anime history who have these characteristics. The Anime itself combines many genres it would be unfair to say it is only one genre cause in fact it is many. Roses of Versailes was the anime who made me to an anime fan. I can understand why some say it is maybe the best anime ever. Like i already said in the beginning don't get bothered by historical facts. Otherwise you will not be able to enjoy this masterpiece in its full beauty.

Romance , Drama , history & Comedy ,, what more could you wish for in an Anime ?! Oscar is my first anime love I watched it when I was 11 years old , it was dubbed in my language which I have to say was beautiful, once you watch it you will become a fan of the creator Ikeda and go search all of her work .

Versailles no Bara or The Rose of Versailles is perhaps the most important shoujo in anime history, and even after 46 years this show still has relevancy and continues to be hailed as a hallmark show. Written by Ryoko Ikeda and the show directed by Osamu Dezaki is still watchable and in fact i dare say just as good as modern shows if not better then most. STORY The story of Rose of Versailles blends fiction with history, French revolution which is one of he most important events in the human history with enlightened ideas of liberty, freedom, fraternity etc. But well history is widely considered to be "boring". The show takes the "boring" history of France and with imbued melodrama, fiction and court politics we get to see both the lives of the characters of the story, there tragedy and the society of France back then and what set the stage for the revolution. It is to be noted that the historical accuracy of the show is praiseworthy, despite the fictionalization of the historic events to some degree it still is successful to evoke curiosity about French revolution and deep emotional resonance with the characters. CHARACTERS Rose of Versailles has a tendency to portray its characters in a really humane manner. No i am serious its just not my biased opinion the characters really felt humane which is a rare sight for anime in general with its tendency to "idealize" the characters or view them in a certain way. The character of Oscar especially stood out to me, her character challenges gender roles. At first i didnt really expect much but as the show progressed it became abundantly clear how well written her character was, and i dare say that its probably one of the best written female characters in anime. Besides Oscar we also follow Queen Marie Antoinette which is a stark contrast to Oscars character. While Oscar appears as a embodiment of idealism who upholds her duty, responsibilities, etc. Marie Antoinette is a person who is fickle, honest and deeply flawed , the story never once portrays her as a evil character of sorts. Her character is extremely whimsical, she does things that makes the viewer infuriated but never once does she feel like a villain. Her character is the biggest tragedy in the show, a person who just lets her emotions win over her rationality and pays the price for it. Others characters like Andre, Rosalie, Alain were nice characters to watch and i was not the biggest fan of the character of Fersen because he for me lacks the depth the characters like Oscar and Marie Antoinette had and also for me didnt really made me root for him like i felt for Andre. ANIMATION AND SOUND The animation to me felt surprisingly good, which i didnt expect. It had a nice aesthetic appeal to it which i will be honest was pretty nice i wont exactly say that its the best out there but it didnt feel outdated which i would have expected it to be. I didnt really found the BGM and the OP and ED to stand out at least for me. MY PERSONAL LIKINGS I will be honest, Rose of Versailles kind of made me watch more shoujos. Before i had a sort of aversion from that niche of anime because i had a idea that they tend to be too dramatic and slow. Which got further proven due to some bad experience with a few shoujos, but Rose of Versailles not only was a amazing experience but also became a catalyst to watch a bit more shoujos. I have always been curious when it comes to history and so it was a given i would enjoy the setting of the show, but for me what stood out the most is the grounded drama of the show. When it comes to romance i wasnt to fond of it, for me most times love triangles are a headache but i must say Andre and Oscars dynamic was one that really moved me. The pacing is a bit of a issue but that is a given for a show this old but the time given was absolutely worth it. Rose of Versailles is a must watch, not only for shoujjo lovers, but for anime fans in general. Its an anime that has rightfully earned its spot in history books and every anime fan should at least give it a try. Thank you for reading and give me a metaphorical pat on the back if you found it informative.

Most anime from the 1970s is not worth your time. Being 50 years ago, the animation is usually stiff, the voice acting poor quality, and the writing trite and pointless. The Rose of Versailles, however, is not that. (Edit 5/1/25: since someone left me a mean comment, I figured I'd address this: I am being intentionally hyperbolic for the sake of writing. The 1970s did bring us a lot of great, classic anime. This opinion of mine may not be reflected in my list because I don't have everything logged on here that I watched before 2020. Thank you) I will start by saying that The Rose of Versailles is not historically accurate. I don't know a whole lot about the French revolution, but even I can tell it's dramatized and fictionalized. That being said, I do not think any of its representations of historical figures are particularly offensive, so I'll let it slide. I would appreciate historical accuracy more, but I don't think anyone should ever go into a biopic or work of historical fiction expecting accuracy. That being said, I did appreciate its take on the French revolution for being more nuanced than some others. Marie Antoinette is a polarizing historical figure who is seen either as a symbol of the corrupt, cruel bourgeoise or an innocent victim who was only guillotined because of sexism. Neither of these are exactly true, as Marie Antoinette was a human being. The Rose of Versailles is rather sympathetic to her (a little much for my tastes, in all honesty, but not enough for me to knock it), so I was afraid it was going to go the second route, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that it did not shy away from the truth that the people starved because of Antoinette's flagrant spending habits. It does present Antoinette as good natured and well meaning, which some probably will not agree with, but just because it sees her intentions as pure, that does not mean it agrees with her actions. It may present her failings as a result of naivety, but that does not mean it shies away from those failings. It's rather realistic in that sense; many people on this Earth do not mean to do harm and want to do good things for the people they love but are unable to see how their actions affect other people. Letting your people starve is still an immoral action regardless of whether you ignored them on purpose or because you were so privileged you didn't realize you were. Was Antoinette actually like this in real life? Who knows. But it works here. Their ultimate condemnation of Antoinette's actions comes down to Lady Oscar: the real protagonist. Going into this, I was wary of Oscar, because I already knew she was hyped up as incredibly strong, capable, righteous, and talented at many things. I worried she would be an incredibly shallow character who exists just for the author to brag about. Thankfully, I was proven very wrong. I would say 'righteous' is probably Oscar's main character trait. She is defined by her want to do good. However, she is also a French noblewoman. She was born loyal to the crown, and in fact serves directly under Antoinette herself and becomes a personal friend to her. She loves the crown and she loves Antoinette. But she also lives in revolutionary France and wants to do the right thing. Those two facts cannot coexist. Her nobility (having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals) is at odds with her nobility (belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status; aristocratic). Much like Antoinette, Oscar is only well meaning and good natured, however the privilege she was born into is blinding her to the truth of the people. However, unlike Antoinette, she is proactive in going out and trying to solve problems, which opens her eyes to the truth. Oscar's main character arc is about learning how the people of France are suffering, and sometimes the issue is much more complicated than "take your kid to the doctor when he is sick" even though that SHOULD be the right thing to do. In the end, she has to choose between the people of France and her beloved queen, and although it goes against everything she has followed her whole life, she cares more about doing what is right than her personal attachments. It's particularly interesting because her close friend and love interest, Andre, is not of noble blood like she is. He is a servant to her family. He began to side with the people much sooner than her because he is one of them, and it was partially his influence that opened her eyes to the people's plight and influenced her to choose them over her queen. He raises the idea that perhaps theft isn't a bad thing when you're starving, which Oscar as the lawful good naturally disagrees with, because when you've never wanted for anything it is easy to believe all theft is inherently wrong. However, Andre's views on the subject stick with her, causing her to spare the thief and getting the ball rolling on Oscar's character arc culminating in her siding with the proletariat. Who would have thought that knowing a member of an oppressed minority will open your eyes to the plight of their people and change how you think? There's also the matter of gender, which is probably the most talked-about aspect of the series. I was actually expecting much more gender discussion within the show based on how much people talk about it, but that doesn't mean there is nothing to chew on. Oscar was born female and raised as a man, but she seems to identify and live as a woman. This is particularly interesting to me because everyone simultaneously sees her as a woman and respects her authority (until she joins the French Guard, anyways, but even then she wins them over). That hardly seems historically accurate to me, but again, I wasn't expecting historical accuracy. Anyway, the presentation of Oscar's gender is interesting because she seems to be seen as either a woman or a man by most, but what she wants is for people to simultaneously respect her masculinity and femininity. She didn't want to join the royal guard because she wanted to live as a woman, but then she desires to return to living as a man when she has her heart broken by the only man she felt (at the time) she could love the way a woman does, bringing into question what gender means for romance. This upsets Andre, who loves her the way a man does a woman. This causes a lot of distress for both of them, and causes Andre to...well, do something bad. I don't have time to get into it here, but I will say that I think it's a little more complicated than it may seem at first and perhaps possible to come back from when you factor in nuance and personal forgiveness, though I don't excuse it. Anyways, the point is that gender stuff is all rather progressive in how complex it presents its issues of gender, especially for the 1970s, and definitely adds an extra layer of complexity to the story. Although, in spite of being rather nuanced and complex in some areas, it's also rather shallow in others. Most of the characters tend to be very black-and-white with their morality, being innocent victims or devilishly evil. While I appreciate Oscar's arc of choosing the people over the queen, she generally spends most of the series exclusively doing nothing wrong. The story is VERY sympathetic to Antoinette, whereas the people in Antoinette's life who are out to get her haven't a shred of sympathy. There's this one character named Rosalie who could have been rather complex as she was very driven by revenge almost to the point of violence, but it doesn't amount to much in the end and she spends most of her screentime being a poor little victim (apparently she was written out of the manga for being unpopular. I see why). Andre is probably the most complex given the aforementioned bad thing he did, but all that did was make him a character you either love or hate. Anyhow, I wasn't expecting extraordinarily deep characters from a 70s anime and do generally like the characte…

It's kind of cheesy and very old fashioned show but the art is still nice (maybe not so much the animation though) and it can be boring at times too. I very much enjoyed the girl on girl drama parts but I found the war and soldier scenes to be boring and those characters were hard to sympathize with. I felt the series was at its best when it was about how Marie would endure the schemes of villains like Madame du Barry and Jeanne. I will also mention that it's obvious that Oscar inspired Reinahrd from LotGH so that was interesting to see as a fan of LotGH. My favorite part was the Madame du Barry arc from the beginning, and I learned a lot about the French Revolution. I would say that the climax of the story was the trial of Jeanne and the conclusion of the affair of the diamond necklace. After that, the characters become too hard for me to sympathize with, save for Andre, who very well could be considered the protagonist by then.

“Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise” Victor Hugo wrote those words with the benefit of hindsight. Not only being fully aware of the events that transpired before and during the revolution but also of the horrors of the Napoleonic conquests, the Bourbon restoration, the failed student rebellion and the rise of the 2nd Empire to that point. I would like to think that he really meant it, in fact, I must believe it. Because 2 centuries later and the world suffers from similar issues. In a world in which Ayn Rand is considered a legitimate philosopher, the world’s disdain for poor people has clearly not wavered. I needed this introduction to illustrate that the topic of the French revolution holds a permanent space in my brain as well as my heart. How did the show do with said topic? Well, let’s find out, shall we? From a writing perspective, it did such a great job of illustrating that some of these people are victims of circumstance to an extent. Like obviously it’s not completely grey because the peasantry are starving while Marie Antoinette is walking around with boat hair but when it’s the only life you know it’s kind of hard to care about things you're somewhat purposefully kept ignorant of. Monarchy is built to support and perpetuate itself. But I digress, my point is that it does its job of making me sympathise with Marie Antoinette despite my disdain for inheritance-based positions of wealth and power and not just her there is the humanization of characters like Jeanne Valois despite the fact that she’s portrayed as a villain. The show, however, can be somewhat inconsistent in this regard as it does need villains and nuance is hard. Why is this important you ask? Portrayals of certain people as carton villains just detract from the overall story. Like if you paint certain nobles as the "bad ones" Instead of actors in a system that exploits others. Some of which may or may not be abusing their power and doing extra harm it just sends the wrong message. Plus, since the anime seems to be able to balance and show that reality for long stretches of times it just feels jarring and inconsistent when it abandons that approach. Though maybe that problem is more in my head than on the screen. Completely self-serving people do exist though it certainly doesn’t make for very compelling writing. I do feel like I might be getting ahead of myself though. After all the anime starts at the birth of our main character Oscar François de Jarjayes, what despite the male name and the performative genderism Oscar does, in fact, largely identify as a woman, now the intricacies of what the flip-flops of that mean are frankly beyond the scope of review but it is something the anime harks on a lot so it deserves a mention not to mention something I found rather interesting. I’ll be honest it took me a while to warm up to the main cast, Oscar and André, the other character we’re almost immediately introduced to (servant/stable boy for the Jarjayes) both have their moments that bred nothing but contempt from me. From improperly thought out decisions to downright heinous actions (I am looking at you André), which would be fine after all these moments make the bittersweet redemption that much more tragic and satisfying. The problem comes that they seem to coincide with these weird periods of lulls in the story because those moments tend to revolve around them as characters, but they are the main characters, I hear you say, and yes that is indeed true, however, the overall story of the French revolution is so intrinsically powerful that it does overpower that character status. That said, one is bound to experience some sort of catharsis when you see the characters dawn the same foresight into the situation you already knew all along. Oscar throughout the course of the show grew from a character I mildly disliked to one of my favourite ever written. In fact, it is quite funny that what started off as annoyance became my reprieve from the misery that is 18th century France. Oscar and André play perfectly into the themes of love that is not meant to be, quite like say the Queen and Fersen another real-life figure, one the show also paints as a victim of circumstance. Speaking of the Queen, Marie Antoinette, in real life known as ‘Madame Déficit’ is another character whose portrayal I praised. I was averse to her based on real-life lore but it's hard not to have sympathy for the young Dauphine. Daughter of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, Antoinette was used as a bargaining chip to broker peace between the Kingdom of France and the HRE. Women, even those in power lacked the same amount of autonomy as men do, and while Marie was groomed and indoctrinated into the system we do see other nobles, Oscar included realise the inherent injustice of the system that keeps them at the top. While, post King Louis' ascension to the throne one can see Antoinette’s desire to maintain the status quo, arming the French army against their very own people, dismissing reform from the inside, and the dismissal of Necker both in the show and in real life was seen as the King being done negotiating. The proceeding riots and the storming of the Bastille, is one of in this humble reviewer’s opinion, crowning achievements of humanity. It was a fitting end to the story. The show currently pointed out how it stands out and there is a reason why France celebrates July 14 every year as Bastille Day. Ultimately ‘The Rose of Versailles' is about love. Unrequited love, impossible love, parental love, queer love, sibling love, love of friendship and finally the love for your nation. Nowadays nationalism is closely tied to Authoritarianism and policies of racial supremacy but it's prudent not to overlook that nationalism is essentially what gave way to national identities being French is what led to the French revolution. It was not a feeling of superiority. It was a desire for egalitarianism and equality, the nationalism that led to the revolution was not a love for the flag or the landmass. It was a love largely combining all the previous types of love, it was a love for your fellow man. It was a desire to stop the suffering, not for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone around you. Was it a flawed and perhaps even corrupted love? Sure, but as the anime shows many times that’s all types of love, yet we cannot give up love despite it all, as the anime itself will remind you at the end of every episode “If to love is to suffer, I shall suffer any amount.” But like Hugo said "to love another person is to see the face of god"

Rose of Versailles When the anime of today is peppered with thin line moe girls, CG in near every frame, and poor adaptations, it is very refreshing to watch this anime and experience a journey so different from what you will find today. Don’t get me wrong, I love modern anime and if you take one look at my list, you can see the majority is 2010 onwards, however I do appreciate how different this show is from modern days. Rose of Versailles is a story of love, hate, anger, and luxurious balls, we follow the androgynous teen to turned woman Oscar François, de Jarjeyes as she navigates life living and working as a noble during the French Revolution period. The story consists of many arcs which vary from simple drama between to nobles trying two be most popular, to all out war against the French Monarch. No arc lingers and as per my point below the show is very well paced. This show has some of the best pacing in an anime that I have ever seen, around 20 years (give or take) passed in this anime, and as the 40 episodes progress you never get hit with a jarring time skip, you don’t even notice the character designs change (in a good way) as the shift is subtle but noticeable. I actually found myself switching to old episodes while I was watching this show and being amazed how I never noticed the character designs change so much. The artwork, story, pacing, and feel of this show are all amazing and you should do yourself a service by watching it.

The Rose of Versailles has everything, action, danger, romance, evolving characters, and genuine emotion. Oscar is readily likable and interesting as a lead. A beautiful rose surrounded by the corruption of the royal court. one thing I found fascinating is knowing how this story I.e. the story of the French revolution, ends and the fate of Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste. A history lesson and a love story rolled into one. I really love the old school style animation and design, it reminded me of happy childhood memories. if there was any complaint about this series is it's length. at 40 episodes (between work and six weekly anime on this site, and TV watching) it took me eight weeks to watch it all. The pacing moves slow, but it suppose to, as true storytelling requires context and subplots. All in all I recommend this show to EVERYONE, even if it isn't your cup of tea. It certainly wasn't mine, and when I started watching it found myself enthralled through the first five episodes enough to stick with it for 40 episodes. Also it was strange & endearing to see an anime keep the same opening and closing themes and images. that doesn't happen anymore in the 21 century.

This anime made me want to learn more about the French revolution and the events leading up to it. Something I had no interest in before. I think that says a lot about its story and execution. I could not give it an 8 however because part of the show's goal seemed to be defending Marie Antoinette. In my mind it failed to do so and lost some of my goodwill in the process. The animation is outdated looking, and also made me think it had inspired Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga with all the sparkles it had. The voice acting was quite good. All in all the Rose of Versailles is worth a watch especially if you like historical dramas.

Seriously, one of the best anime. A lot of interesting plots packed into the 3-4 main characters' life. 1st ep does not show the full potential. By the ep4 you'll be hooked with the 1st female villain - madame du Barry. All female villains are very interesting. The most interesting history-based piece of media. No wonder it inspired the live-action movie filmed in the palace of Versailles. It did not age bad at all. Visuals are stunning, I took 2074 screenshots. A lot of the scenes look like paintings. I don't remember a show that particular about each single visual scene. While you can see its its late 80s/early 90s, it did excellent artistic job! Most of the scenes are storyboarded with the great symbolism. A lot of rain, roses, pidgeons flying above, shining sky and roses. The tears, water dripping from a handheld cloth and jewels are glistening. Oscar, Antoinette and Andre's hair look beautiful. There are few characters that feel they are form a different cheaper/uglier anime, like the Oscar's father (and other mature men with wigs drawn the same way) and the nanny. The first is not designed so well, he should have much smaller eyes, the unappealing big Disney eyes make those "not youthfully handsome" men in wigs cheep and dated, like from Astro Boy or Kimba the white Lion. The nanny looks like a 70s anime Disney-like cliché "good auntie character. That's my only ick. But after few episodes (as the characters got older) they are drawn more realistically and finally fit into the style. I did not like the character design and the plot of Rosalie at first, she was the weaker point of the show for me. Perhaps the anime team did not like her that much to and got a bit lazy with her scenes? She looks like a generic girl character from the 70s TV anime. Music is very good. The opening song I never skipped. One of the greatest openings. The song is beautiful and very symbolic, nostalgic. The animation only shows a meadow, a rose and Oscar standing, not much happens, compared to a typical anime opening, but it feels very deep, it's very artistic and purposeful. The beginning shot of the still & naked Oscar (her body & hair panted red) captured by the thorny bush which must have happen over a long time as it looks almost metallic, that opens the show is one of the most beautiful pieces of art. Backed up by the intense first sound of the opening music. The 40 episodes did not feel to me like a lot. Watching 74 episodes of "Monster" felt like a struggle at times, even though I was hooked, but I did feel like I'm waiting to finally reach the ending. Here on the other way, it was the opposite, I was hoping for it to take longer, and was savoring each episode.

Here she is, the Grandmother of all Classic Shoujo. The fact Rose of Versailles doesn't get added onto all time best classic anime lists is a crying shame because truly it feels like it established all the shoujo conventions that we see trickle down through the decades. While initially the story seeks to follow Marie Antoinette over time it switches over to following a new and original protagonist, Oscar Francois de Jarjayes who is a woman born to a man who wants a son so desperately that he raises his daughter as a man. She is the template every single bifauxnen follows for the next fifty years. She is a strong, determined, highly androgynous woman who undergoes massive character development across the forty something episodes. Turning from a loyal soldier of the French aristocrats to a leader of the French Revolution all while dealing with the ramifications of how she was raised and her role in this world. With its age it can be a little bit... Speed Racer in the way it is shot but frankly that just increases the charm. It's a product of its time aesthetically and for the best. The old timey anime charm enhances its appeal.

It is hard to try to put into words what this visual experience has been for me. Versailles no Bara is a magnificent series that portrays a spectacular character development and transitions that has ever existed in anime. I have never felt engaged to characters the way this anime has for me and I have never felt so shattered by the tragic development and direction of a story, albeit expected as it is inspired by the events that lead to the French revolution. My love of world history and historical fiction makes me terribly biased towards the retelling of events that have transformed our world's system. This is not an exception as this accurate depiction of the French Revolution, includes everything a lover of this genre may expect: battles, fights, loyalty, royalty, a change of an era and a convoluted male - wait, a female - protagonist that alters the fate of history. Yes, this is a gender bender series that beautifully deconstructs the concept of being a woman and the troubles of being raised against the character's will, as a male. Oscar François de Jarjayes is in my eyes one of the best written female characters that have ever existed in entertainment, and partly because of her reluctance, or rather, lack of choice in accepting her womanhood. Living in France during the Bourbon dynasty as an aristocrat woman meant almost surely to be the owner of a male. However, what makes this series extremely poignant is the inspection of the fate of noblewomen in the eyes of a character that was supposed to have followed a similar path. Oscar witnesses throughout the series the decadence of the noble class, characterised by the female aristocrat Marie Antoinette. As viewers, we see a spectacular growth and a questioning of the character’s own beliefs and loyalties. Accompanied by beautiful drawings, and animation planes with dramatic character spins, the anime builds up the tension and invites us to observe the character’s internal turmoils. Additionally, the powerful voice acting with strategic long silences and camera animation closeups formulates a vivid expression from the characters that further encapsulates us to the story. Overall the Rose of Versailles is a beautiful anime that has as its strongest feature a simple and easy to follow story transformed by an elaborated and sometimes easy to misunderstand main character. Story: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Sound: 8/10 Art: 9/10 Enjoyment: 10/10 Overall: 10/10

I don’t tend to want to review TV shows because they’re long and there may be too much to say, to keep up with as the episodes roll on. But the value of The Rose of Versailles lies in its essence, and a lengthy description of its plot doesn’t feel necessary. There are two things which, I think, might draw a variety of viewers back. One is the animation, shoujo-ish to the extreme. Admittedly, the variety of sparkles and shiny eyes and dramatic eyelashes took a couple of episodes to get used to, but I came to appreciate the dramatisation that they bring to the characters. Besides, it improves as it goes and the series itself is full of animation techniques that make its visuals far more expressive than plain moving pictures. Sharp shading, mood-colouring, image fusion... Symbolic, emotive or impressionistic: take your pick, because Versailles no Bara brings an excellent visual arsenal to further its story. The other possible draw-back is the tone of the drama itself. Initially, overreactions and despair abound (particularly from Marie Antoinette) over matters that don’t seem to be such desperate problems, yet that is solved as well. Once the characters have been introduced, the story settles and the events keep their dramatic tone, but gradually shifting to more serious and ambitious content. The change of director (from Tadao Nagahama to Osamu Dezaki) within the first half becomes noticeable from the very first episode, and the story is openly heavy-themed (occasionally even disturbing) from there. So past all this, what is it that makes it great? What did it do so differently? Because it IS different, and I don’t think any modern series could cope with this story and deliver it as this 1979 adaptation did. The lens may be rose-coloured in the sense of romanticism, but the story has little of today’s air-headedness in romantic anime. The key to that may be in the characters: Oscar François takes under the icy-shield prototype, but there’s nothing typical about her. The premise itself is a tremendous help, but the development is what solidifies it. She makes the characters around her better and vice versa, and presenting her as the protagonist is the only link that was needed to make inspired fiction from the French Revolution historical events. In terms of names and locations, the series likes to take after them closely, and observing how the story chooses to deal with that source for narrative adds one more layer of interest—one which lasts from the first episode to the last, with the eventual Revolution. An emotive soundtrack gives the finishing touch to this old jewel that has something fresh to offer in every layer. The ending song becomes iconic, sampling the voice acting in the series: one of the best I have ever heard. Here, that quality extends to every character.