The Gankutsuou Thread

As I was preordering the fourth installment of Gankutsuou last night, I thought about proposing a PCF thread about said anime. Since the series has been out for a while, I thought I might as well bring it up.

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I regret to say that I have never read Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, but then again, I really must admit that's a lie. The feelings of suspense and anticipation I get after watching every DVD of Gankutsuou is so delicious, I would rather not know where the story is really going.

And that's the sort of thing Gankutsuou does to you. Other animes may throw emotions at you, trying to get you to feel them, but this show truly swallows you whole. I am not exaggerating when I'm saying almost no anime or anime movie, for that matter, comes close in matching the direction and writing of this series, Gonzo has also outdone itself yet again with its spectacular job on rendering the visuals.

Gankutsuou is staging a brilliant yet silent revolution in the world of anime. It may be easily forgotten in the whirlwind of more wildly popular anime series, but in terms of sheer quality, there can be no comparison. Besides, no other series has the Count. So they automatically lose.

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Feel free to discuss if you've seen the show, or if you haven't, I'm here to answer any and all questions you may have about it!

Gankutsuou seems to be a good series. I've seen the first episode via a Newtype Magazine Promo DVD. Since then I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Adult Swim turned down airing it, even though Geneon really wanted them to according to reports I've heard. However, this opens up a decent opportunity for G4TV to air it on AnimeUnleashed--assuming they ever get that up and running again as promised.

I don't think it's the kind of series I'd like to own and watch over and over again, but it's definitely entertaining and would make for excellent TV anime viewing. The characters and story are interesting, and the dub is extremely strong. The animation style wasn't my cup of tea, but it works well enough for the production.

I'm not surprised that [as] turned down airing the show. It's an amazing series, but it really would fly over the heads of too many people. Even though Fullmetal Alchemist is a surprisingly sophisticated show, not to mention extremely popular, it isn't as sophisticated as Gankutsuou, and it is undeniably much more marketable, as well. We know that [as] is always very concerned about its ratings, and Gankutsuou would not be able to help it out there. (But it would certainly add a much-needed dose of class. )

As for the rewatchablity of Gankutsuou, I would have to rate it as high for a show with no stand alone episodes. Incredibly, each DVD has been sequentially more and more suspenseful than the last. The first DVD left me thinking, "This is pretty interesting." The second, "Holy crap. It's over already?" And the third, "If I don't get the next disc soon, I'm going to start slashing throats."

I honestly have no idea how they made this show into something that I need to live.

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Originally posted by Mistress-Samwise (But it would certainly add a much-needed dose of class. )

You speak of class, when they have Bender, Zapf, Carl, and Marco? The classiest quartet ever to grace anyones viewing orbs? I'm disgusted.

On another, more relavent, note, I do believe that V for Vendetta is supposed to have some symmetries with The Count of Monte Cristo, so pehaps V or Vendetta has some with Gankutsuou as well. *shrug*