The need for revenge is probably one of the oldest driving forces in the world. Pain, sadness, and hatred all are the feeding grounds in which the festering life of vengeance thrive. As humans we all feel the need to right those wrongs done to each of us and some of us more than others take matters into our own hands. It has been stated that one of the most unique aspects of the human species is its odd nature of preying upon itself. Does that justify, the revenge mindset? Is the noble act to punish and hopefully prevent future wrongs? Is there any recourse?

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world would soon be blind and toothless – Mahatma Gandhi

[that quote came up recently while I was reading comments to articles about the recent execution of Saddam Hussein]

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I think that many people were turned off of this series originally because of the drastically original artwork. The skin of the characters is drawn using the standard flat block coloring that is customary of many anime, but the rest of the world is either CG or filled patters. Admittedly, the art was a bit difficult to get used to at first. Even the opening theme song was a little hard to swallow.

It is the story that draws us into Gankutsuou. The stylized elements of the show tend to blend away while one watches it. We forget that all the characters look flat but that the world is rendered in perfectly textured three dimensions. The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of Edmond Dantes a man who was falsely imprisoned by the words of none other than his friends and political figures who found him to be possess information dangerous to them. He managed to escapes his prison, and through a benefactor recreates himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. (wiki)

I had not read the Count of Monte Cristo. I could not comment on some of the more intricate plot points. Most of the material I’ve read on Gankutsuou suggest that it is loosely based on the original classic novel; although, the wiki summary suggest a stronger correlation in the beginning but a drastic divergence while moving toward the end of the story.

Gankutsuou is centered around Albert, the son of Fernand Morcerf (aka Mondego) who himself was a conspirator in the detention of Edmond Dantes because of his hidden affection for Edmonds fiancé Mercedies. The main plot is, of course, about The Count’s desire for revenge and the path he takes to getting there.

The plot is filled with love, hatred, pain, betrayal, and revelations about the nature of vengeance and forgiveness. The Count is seemingly cold and emotionless to the point of having a heart of hard stone. Conversely, the characters that surround the Count are extremely emotional and each represents a different attribute and a different prospective. We learn about devotion from the servants of the Count. Danglars shows us greed. Fernand teaches us about jealously. Villefort exemplifies ambition and the lust for power.

Each character plays a critical part is guiding the story to its eventual end. Albert would seem to be the one character who exemplifies innocents. He truly suffers through the actions of his parents and those of the Count. Yet he continues to believe that the heart of the Count of Monte Cristo is good despite all actions to the contrary. It is Albert who eventually leads the Count to redemption and forgiveness.

With that we have what the story was about all along. Vengence, redemption, and forgiveness are the human aspects of Gankutsuou. We meet Edmond Dantes immediately upon the start of the story, and even at that point he is plotting the downfall of the conspirators who put him in prison, those who took away everything he had. He was willing to destroy each one of them as well as anyone who happened to be associated with them. Any collateral damage was justified. In the end, though he had been terribly wrong, there was only one act left that would allow the audience to forgive him of being so heinously evil.

If you haven’t watched Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. You are truly doing yourself an injustice. This show exemplifies good anime. It has made a place for itself on my best of EVER list and also is one of the shows I would recommend to people who shy from anime due to some of the more popular but less “deep” shows.

Also, Peppo is a hottie.

Edits:
01/04/2007 – some spelling corrections
01/06/2007 – more corrections, removed some stuff, damn that word auto-correction
04/10/2007 – okay, more grammar updates…I totally suck at spell-checking.