Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo-Volume 1 (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Storyboard Comparisons-Act 1 Interviews-Crew-Director Featurette-Voice Actor's Comments Theatrical Trailer Credits-Textless Opening And Closing Trailer-Kaleido Star Collection, Pom Poko, Scrapped Princess Vol 5 DVD Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	93:59 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Mahiro Maeda
Studio Distributor	Gonzo Madman Entertainment	Starring	Jun Fukuyama Daisuke Hiragawa Kikuko Inoue Jûrôta Kosugi Yuri Lowenthal Naoko Matsui Mai Nakahara Chie Nakamura Jôji Nakata
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Jean-Jacques Burnell

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
Subtitles	English Titling English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Alexandre Dumas père's classic tale of revenge, Le comte de Monte Cristo, has been adapted for both the small and big screen on multiple occasions. First appearing in late 2004, Gankutsuou is perhaps the most intriguing take on the novel yet, combining a somewhat disconcerting experimental style of animation with a futuristic re-imagining of the Count's vengeance. In the year 5053, two young Parisian aristocrats, Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Epinay, take a vacation in the vast city of Luna on the moon's surface to enjoy the decadence and excesses of Carnivale. The pair make the acquaintance of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, who invites them to watch the Carnivale finale together - the execution of three men. Albert develops a fascination for the Count while Franz doubts his trustworthiness. When the Count rescues Albert from bandits, though, strong bond are formed and Albert and Franz become tied with the Count and his plans in more ways than they know.

    In many ways, Gankutsuou is very faithful to the novel's plot and intent, the major difference being the setting. The architecture and fashion of 19th century France - the frills and ruffles of Romantic dandyism at their finest - are transported to a future world of space ships, high technology, and - later in the series - good old mechs. It's a great blend that has been used many times before in anime (Vampire Hunter D uses a similar style). What sets this series apart though is its highly original style of animation. Many elements are rendered in 3D - as is typical for GONZO releases - and colours are rich and vibrant. Characters are animated in 2D. Most interestingly though, is the manner in which clothing and hair is rendered. I am not sure exactly how to describe the effect - it is as though 3D textures have been laid down first, the characters layered over the top, and the inside of clothing and hair cut out to reveal the textures behind. Make sense? Trailers are available at Madman's website if you'd like a better idea. Be warned - the effect is disconcerting and even distracting for a while. I often found myself paying more attention to the textures at the expense of the plot during the first episode or so. I've also heard some viewers claim that the animation style literally caused headaches. Best to judge for yourself, though.

    Once you are used to the style, the story itself is very good. Even though I know the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo, the series still managed a few surprising twists and turns and has been transported successfully into the future. The Count himself has a few more secrets than his classic counterpart and appears to have had a brush or two with the undead. . . The first four episodes included in Volume One are intriguing and, revealing just a few hints of what is to come, will suck you right in. Don't let the style put you off: give Gankutsuou a chance and you won't be disappointed.

Video

    Madman, of late, have been producing some fine quality transfers and Gankutsuou is no exception: the video quality is excellent. The series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    Sharpness and detail are excellent and I noticed only minor instances of low level noise and pixelization. Colours belonging to the textured patterns are very rich, while 2D elements are rendered in a more subtle palette.

    I did not notice any other MPEG artefacts, or artefacts of any kind for that matter. A very good transfer all round.

    English subtitles and titles for onscreen Japanese text are included. They are in a yellow font (some dialogue is in white when dialogue overlaps) and are an accurate translation of the Japanese dialogue. Each episode is divided into five chapters.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is quite good, but not as impressive as the video. Dolby Digital English 2.0 (default) and Dolby Digital Japanese 2.0 tracks are included, both surround encoded. The Japanese audio sounds a little better than the English and the English track has been transferred at a lower level than the Japanese.

    Dialogue is clean without any hiss. Vocals have just a little more resonance in the Japanese track to my ear: the Count's voice in particular has more depth. Audio sync is about as good as it gets for anime.

    The surrounds are fairly active in both tracks but sound just a little unrealistic: directional and ambient effects sound unnatural and obviously "recorded." Both tracks are quite immersive though. The subwoofer holds up the bottom end of the score and the rumbling of horse hooves and cars.

    The credit songs and score were composed by Jean-Jacques Burnel who also performs the opening title. Anyone familiar with 1970s and 1980s British rock may recognise him as the bassist for The Stranglers. His work here is quite good, combining classical elements with electronica. The opening title is a lovely ballad and captures the feeling of old school classics like Monte Cristo perfectly.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Introduction

Main Menu Audio & Animation

Storyboard Comparisons

     (20:15) - Act 1 is presented in storyboard form with a small window in the lower right corner playing the final product. The sketches are very crude and I personally don't get a lot from storyboards.

Interviews-Crew

    Director's Interview (5:08) - Director Mahiro Maeda is interviewed at the Uplink X convention in Shibuya. He describes the series as a "night-time soap opera" which is fairly apt. Part of his goal was put the sex back into the story. Audio is a little difficult to hear, but the feature is subtitled.

Featurette

    Voice Actor Comments (8:40) - The voice actors behind Albert, Franz, Peppo, and Mercedes summarise the first four episodes. Not a lot of value in this feature.

Theatrical Trailer

    (1:40)

Credits

    Textless Opening and Closing Credits (1:32 & 1:35)

Trailer

    Several other titles from Madman.

    Apart from NTSC formatting, the Region 1 release is identical to ours.

    The Region 2 Japan release contains only two acts per volume which are quite expensive.

    Gankutsuou is an excellent futuristic adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo presented in a somewhat disconcerting style of animation. If you can embrace the style then the series looks set to be a highly enjoyable retelling of the classic novel - faithful but with a few clever twists of its own.

    Video is excellent.

    Audio is very good but sounds a little unnatural.

    Extras are a little insubstantial, but decent.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall