Gankutsuou

Albert de Morcerf, son of the most famous general of Paris is trying to escape the monotony and colourless adolescent life along with his friend Franz. On a trip to Luna he fatefully encounters the Count of Monte Cristo - a hugely rich and charismatic figure who's life style and strength sweeps Albert whilst saving his life. When the Count moves to Paris he instantly becomes the centre of all the social life along, with his beautiful companion Haidee brought from distant reaches of Space. However his arrival coincides with the spreading of darkness, treacherous dealings and hidden pasts which turn the life of Albert, his close friends and families on a downwards spiral of despair and fear. Who is the Count really and what is Gankutsuou?

Animated by Gonzo (Last Exile etc.) and Directed by Mashiro Maeda (Blue Submarine N.6, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Last Exile) Gankutsuou is an amazing anime based on Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo. The use of flowing textiles for clothing and even hair creates a new visual style that is incredibly effective and donates a depth and elegance to the picture in a simple but incredibly effective manner. The simplicity of the characters design, the amazing texture of clothes etc is rendered even more prominent as background people are greyed. This simplicity, however, is only related to the characters as Gonzo, in their usual fashion, have a created again amazingly intricate and yet highly elegant vehicles (from simple motorbikes to futuristic space crafts), cities and even rooms.

This mixture of using texture and elegant detail keeps the viewer constantly in awe of the graphics, while a decent sound track and effects carry the whole atmosphere throughout the story. If this is not enough, the storyline and plot keeps you enthralled and glued to the screen. Even when the viewer knows what is about to happen the representation of the incident makes you feel like it was totally unexpected!

Gankutsuou is quite simply a stunning beautiful and exciting anime. Whatever has been said about it (best anime in 2006, etc) is quite simply the truth, it is really in a master class along with very few others and I have a feeling that its is going to take a couple of years before we see something with the same powerful impact.

Just see it, however, wherever you can.

Links:

http://www.gankutsuou.com/
http://montecristodvd.com/