Forum - View topicANN Book Club -- Gankutsuou
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rainbowcourage
 Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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So life hit me over the head with a big hammer this week and I didn't have time to do a write-up. I'll probably end up posting thoughts on 17-20 and doing a full write-up on 21-24 since I'll have catch-up time this weekend. At this point, though, anything and everything is fair game--your chance to catch up and basically talk about whatever you want...because we've reached the finale! I have to say I've enjoyed this show much more the second time around, probably because I could see all the puzzle pieces I missed.
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Imperialkat
 Posts: 227 |
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Episode 13
Boy did the Count got himself out of that one, using Elouise and Edouard to get Villefort to back off. Hate. Though I wonder how he found out about that... "Let him gleefully eat his fill. We'll make sure that he's properly fattened up for the slaughter." Cold blooded. It also shows that the Count is enjoying this a little. So Gankutsuou is a government secret? Huh? Villefort is the first (and only?) person to go after the Count because of the danger he represents. Having lost his power and his family we see his turn to desperation, going so far as to pull a gun on him (not the first time). And as we see later... Episode 14 ...Villefort's fall is complete. What he says to Albert as the officers carry him away was a little prophetic, don't you think? I missed that setup that Calderousse put on during my first watch. With the announcement of Eugenie's engagement yet another brick falls from Albert's world. And his blowup with Franz was well-timed--he runs to Franz as his world falls apart only to find out that Franz is leaving him as well. Who else is there for Albert to run to? The Count, of course! Episode 15 "The End of Happiness, The Beginning of the Truth." That title is poetic. Well, that is a theme, but this one hits a little deeper. The conversation between the Count and Albert was interesting. Albert is putting all his stock in the Count but he just tells Albert to his face that his faith in him will be challenged. I wonder how the scene with Franz and the elder Villefort played out in the book. Haydee lowers the boom on Morcerf and, by proxy, all of Paris with her speech. Afterwards, it appears that she has pangs of guilt for plotting revenge. It seems she possesses a conscience that the Count lacks. Episode 16 Albert returns to find his life and Paris in pieces. As the Count says, Albert begins to learn the truth about his father. He still can't believe it. He even asks his mother about the truth and, for a moment, he can't believe that either. The truth about Edmond Dantes comes out, and Albert finds out some more truth at the Count's house (there's some emotion in that voice acting right there, I tell you what). It turns out Peppo was instrumental in the Count's manipulation of Albert. It makes me wonder how much of this had the Count set up in advance--perhaps even the trip to Luna itself? I'm getting there... |
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darkhappy1
 Posts: 495 Location: PA |
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I'm afraid I still can't type out my thoughts on the episodes fully, although I'm almost near the end of the show. One I feel like I can type out my thoughts without distraction, I will.
To above poster, for Episode 15, regarding Franz and Nortier Villefort, I believe that they did not "speak" with each other again after taking Valentine away. Also, I still have no idea how to piece together the history of Gankutsuou. So he's a very powerful being that took over Edmond's body at the Chateau d'If, right? Was he once a prisoner too? How did he get so powerful? I got completely lost the first time I watched this when thinking about it. -_- |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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Well I finished up the show a few days back and I enjoyed it for the most part. And I'm curious enough to try and read the novel now, the sheer size of it put me off before.
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rainbowcourage
Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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Episode 21-24 (spoilers)
The Golden Boy's True Identity Summary ~While Albert searches for the Count, the very man is in space stranding Danglars with a ship full of gold after revealing his true identity. In Villefort's trial the next day, Cavalcanti is brought forward as a witness to Villefort's past, and reveals himself to be the illegitimate child between Villefort and Mme. Danglars whom they buried in a box alive at birth. Mme. Danglars is mentally incapacitated by the knowledge both that her son is alive and that she slept with him, while Cavalcanti appears to make up with Villefort before pricking him with a poison-tipped needle and revealing his ugly nature to the court. The Count visits Villefort and informs Villefort of his true identity, and then explains that the poison will slowly rot his brain away. Albert and the Count come face to face for the first time since Franz's death.~ Counterattack Summary ~The Count (Dantes) tells Albert his life story while Mondego launches a coup d'etat on Paris. He bombs the city and has Mercedes brought to him, revealing why Dantes has come back for revenge. When Mercedes attempts to leave him, he shoots her. Albert arrives, and Mondego shoots Albert as well. Baptistan and Bertuccio come to the rescue while Mondego, after attempting suicide, tries to find the Count for a final show down.~ Edmond Dantes Summary ~Haydee tries to stop the Count's revenge, so Mondego takes her hostage. Meanwhile, the Count orders Bertuccio to take a bandaged Albert, who has also been trying to stop the impending fight, hostage. Fernand comes to his senses and begs for Albert's life, telling the Count to kill Fernand instead. The Count replies that he wants Fernand to understand what it's like to have everything taken away from you, so he orders Bertuccio to kill Albert. Bertuccio cannot do it, so the Count shoots, and Baptistin takes the bullet. Albert continues to try to reach the Count and beg that he not go through with his revenge; after Albert's feelings reach the Count, he reverts back to Edmond Dantes, though he is fatally wounded in the process. As he dies he calls for his sword, and then asks Albert not to forget him. His magnificent underground world begins to collapse; Fernand decides to stay and die by Dantes' side, while Albert convinces Haydee not to commit suicide by staying in the crumbling underground. They escape safely, leaving the corpses of Fernand and Dantes~ At the Shore Summary ~Five years have passed since the Count's death. Lucien has been negotiating a peace treaty with the Empire, and Haydee has been restored as Princess of Janina, with the Count's former staff as her personal attendants. Mercedes is living in Marseilles, while Albert is a diplomat; every year Eugenie returns to France to visit Franz's grave, and hoping to see Albert. As Albert is visiting Franz's grave, he hears music coming from the nearby church. Eugenie is playing a song for Franz; Albert excitedly runs toward the church.~ Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts Overall, I enjoyed this show much better the second time around when I wasn't struggling to put all the pieces together. I know I have a lot to say, but I'm not sure I have the energy or brainpower at the moment to say it. First, a big event that I never got to comment on in the past few episodes: Franz's death. Probably my favorite death in all of anime, and certainly the most heart-wrenching. I can count the number of times a movie or show has made me cry on one hand, but cry I did. There's Franz, fighting nobly to save his friend's life, while Mercedes is screaming and pleading for the wrong person, while Albert, the only one who knows the truth, can't get there in time--and then Franz is murdered on Albert's birthday, while of course Mercedes can't help but be relieved that it wasn't Albert. Hands down, Franz is my favorite character in the series because in a series where the characterizations are realistic--these aren't your altruistic shounen heroes who put their lives on the line constantly for people they barely know--and in a world so greedy and corrupt, Franz is a shining example of good. How many people can you think of, off the top of your head, that you would readily die for? Honestly? Of course, his death leaves an interesting dilemma for Albert. I'm not sure how inclined he would have been towards revenge on his own, but he truly honors Franz by acting on his wishes not to hate anyone. The Franz-Eugenie-Albert love triangle really provides a parallel for the Mercedes-Edmond-Fernand love triangle; it acts as a foil because Franz and Eugenie had such a loving relationship that they would never have torn each other apart over Albert, ever. Franz never showed any jealousy--perhaps because he'd resigned himself to unrequited love, but then again Fernand could have done that...it just goes to show that, had Fernand had a better conscience, things might not have turned out the way they did. It's ironic that, when Gankutsuou visited the Count, the Count's salvation became revenge. And then, at the end, his salvation became love. I've heard others express mixed feelings about the transformation at the end, but really I don't see it as a personality transformation (the Count still asks for his sword close to death) but more of a return to mortality, which I suppose accompanies warmer feelings. Anyway, the whole idea of something else fusing with Dantes always made more sense to me than the book's version, whereby, over the course of ten or so years he learns everything he needs to know about the world, happens to inherit an enormous sum of money from a prison inmate, and then proceeds to Paris so changed that none of his friends recognize him, even though he hasn't been disfigured--Gankutsuou seems a much more likely circumstance by comparison. In Gankutsuou did die though, for being returned to humanity, so it's not like the transformation was "super" magical ( I did have mixed feelings about the kiss--is that what Albert did? His mancrush really was over the top). And as naive and annoying as Albert may have proved at some points of the series, it was clear at the end that he was not a bland protagonist, but rather an abnormally warm, loving person with unlimited reserves of forgiveness. I also love that he convinced Haydee to live. Good move. He has also changed significantly, especially with his line to the Count: "I want the truth. Now," and again, the catalyst for this change was Franz's death. Albert has been in denial for a significant portion of the series. Now, he sees the Count for what he truly is, and accepts him anyway. There is a part of me that wanted to see the Count complete his revenge in the most debonair and dashing of styles, but he did get through 2/3 of it swimmingly. Danglars was the least interesting character to me, while Villefort, I found, provided the most interesting moral fodder since, while what he did was invariably wrong, he worked against the prejudices his father created his whole life. It was also the most satisfying since he openly opposed the Count from the beginning. The revenge against Fernand was simply the result of a dramatic soap-opera-esque betrayal, by comparison. The last episode is how to end a series in a nut shell. It covered all its bases but it wasn't rushed--a perfect epilogue. There were also a lot of flowers thrown on graves. Bertuccio threw a white rose into the Count's abyss, symbolizing spirituality, "honor and reverence, which makes them a fitting memorial for a departed loved one." Eugenie and Albert both left red roses on Franz's grave, obviously the symbol for romantic love but in this case I simply take it to mean deep love. And if I'm not mistaken, Mercedes leave pink tulips on the graves of Fernand and Edmond (buried next to each other, ironically) which, as far as I've been able to glean, symbolize "perfect love" or "perfect lovers"...which doesn't make much sense either, but oh well (you'd think in a series with this much attention to detail it would have an appropriate meaning). The one character I have mixed feelings about is Mercedes. I can't quite pinpoint why--she did everything pretty much right. I definitely don't blame her for remarrying, knowing nothing the way she did; nor can I blame her for trying to save Fernand towards the end before she does the right thing and leaves him. I mean, she's so realistic; she's built her life with this man, and she's too tired to fight, and she does love him, if not in the same way she loved Edmond. But something has always felt off about her character, as if she didn't have enough backbone. For me, though, Eugenie balances that out. She goes from being an ice queen to a strong but loving woman, and I'm a bit sad we didn't get to see her and Albert's reunion at the end. But it's an almost-perfect ending besides. And you can't really talk about this show without the corruption and the greed and the social commentary. It's a series of deaths and rebirths, symbolized by the Count who is reborn as Gankutsuou, though strangely that "rebirth" is more like a death; then, he is once again reborn as a human only to die. He also takes advantage of the literally incestuous Parisian society to achieve his ends--a world where men sell their daughters, drive their wives to madness, and bury their bastard children alive. For that reason, Cavalcanti ends up being a sympathetic character despite all the shit he pulls--the show takes an almost Utopian viewpoint in that respect, making it clear that Cavalcanti is a product of Parisian society and therefore isn't really responsible for his madness. Cavalcanti's line was at the heart of this show: "you're all animals! you and you and you!" With the Count's death, and the death of the old regime, the corruption has suddenly been cleansed; peace will reign, and even the once-corrupt Lucien has become clear-eyed, politician that he is. Gankutsuou is a tremendously gratifying experience on so many levels, but the true strength of this show is the delicately unfolding, driving plot. In short, it's so successful because it does so many things right, and at its heart it tells a damn good story. In closing, thanks so much to everyone who participated. Keep posting--I'll be reading. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to further explore this intricate series. It may be a while before the next book club...unless perhaps dtm42 wants to try it out? (there's a certain series which has almost been picked twice now, and I think he'd be the best one to handle it  ).
Cheers, Rainbow Last edited by rainbowcourage on Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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What? I'm pretty sure we see him quite alive and well in episode 26. |
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rainbowcourage
Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
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ah...that was to see if you were paying attention. |
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