The Rose of Versailles
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| The Rose of Versailles | |
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| ベルサイユのばら (Berusaiyu no bara) |
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| Genre | Shōjo, Historical, Drama, Romance |
| Manga: The Rose of Versailles | |
| Authored by | Riyoko Ikeda |
| Publisher |  Shueisha |
| Serialized in | Margaret |
| Original run | 1972 – 1973 |
| No. of volumes | 10 |
| TV anime : Lady Oscar | |
| Directed by | Tadao Nagahama (1-18), Osamu Dezaki |
| Studio | TMS |
| Network | Animax, Nippon Television |
| Original run | 10 October 1979 – 3 September 1980 |
| No. of episodes | 41 |
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The Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら Berusaiyu no bara), also known as Lady Oscar, by Riyoko Ikeda, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga, which has been adapted into an anime television series, produced by TMS and broadcast by the anime television network Animax and Nippon Television.
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[edit] Manga
The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Margaret Magazine in 1973, and became an instant success. It has been turned into a play, an anime series, a live-action movie, and a ballet. The author, Riyoko Ikeda, is working on the libretto of an opera version of her story as well.
The play adaptation of the manga is also the longest-running show by the Takarazuka Revue.
In 1983, the first two volumes of "The Rose of Versailles" were translated in English by Frederik L. Schodt for the purpose of teaching English to Japanese speakers and released in North America by the North American branch of Sanyusha. "The Rose of Versailles" was the first commercially translated manga to be available in North America.
Margaret's Shueisha BeruBara was the first edition of the manga. It was published the 21 of May, 1972, in the weekly magazine, Margaret, and the manga contains 10 volumes.
- Atarashii unmei no uzu no naka ni
- Eikou no za ni yoishirete
- yurusarezaru koi
- Kuroi kishi wo toraero
- Osukaru no kurushimi
- Moeagaru kakumei no hi
- Utsukushiki ai no chikai
- Kami ni mesarete (1972) - Mizukara no eranda michi wo (1994)
- Itamashii ouhi no saigo (1972) - Kami ni mesarete (1994)
- Gaiden: Kokui no hakushakuhujin
[edit] Gaidens
- First Gaiden
The First Gaiden was published in Margaret magazine, after the serialization of Berusaiyu no Bara.
- Kokui no hakushakufujin: It is inspired in the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory.
- Second Gaiden
The Second Gaiden was published in the monthly magazine, Jam, in June, 1984.
- Loulou to, issho ni kita ningyo
- Jarjayes shôgun no musuko arawaru
- Toruko no kaizoku to shuudôjo
- Akuma no kusuri
[edit] Anime
- See also: List of Lady Oscar episodes
The anime series has 40 episodes and 1 recapitulation (episode 41).
Also, there is a less-known "sequel". It is known as "Eikou no Napoleon" or "The Glory of Napoleon." It has a few of the original characters. It is mostly about the Empire of Napoleon I of France.
[edit] Plot
The setting is in France, before and during the French Revolution. The main character is a woman named Oscar François de Jarjayes. Her father, General Jarjayes, despaired over never getting a son (he had six daughters), and decided to raise his youngest daughter as a man. He trained her well in the arts of fencing, horsemanship, and medieval combat. Oscar often practiced her skills with her best friend, companion and (technically) servant, André Grandier, whom she almost always defeated. André was the grandson of her nanny and thus they spent most of their time together in harmonic friendship; near the end of the story, this blossomed into mutual love. There are also some shoujo-ai elements embodied in the relationship between Oscar and her protége Rosalie Lamorliêre, the secret daughter of the scheming Madame du Polignac, whose admiration for Oscar may be interpreted as either idol worship or romantic love coming from her possible bisexuality.
Oscar is the commander of the Royal Guard and responsible for the safety of the young, flighty Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, as well as the rest of the royal family. The story revolves around Oscar's growing realization of how France is governed, and the plight of the poor. Another important storyline is the love story between Marie Antoinette and the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen. The affair between the two was the subject of rumors through all of France, endangering the queen's reputation and driving Oscar to request the Count to leave the country.
After the Count decided to leave and sign up for the war of independence in America, Marie Antoinette became lovesick. She began spending money in excess -- expensive jewelry and clothes, attending balls every other night -- to distract herself from pining for the only man she loved. This, in turn, weighed even heavier on the taxpayers of France, and even greater poverty spread throughout France due to Marie Antoinette's squandering of money.
Both the Affair of the Diamond Necklace and the appearance of the infamous Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac are central plot events taken from history, as well as the French Revolution and the fall of the Bastille -- all given interesting interpretations through the fictional character Oscar and her companions.
On July 14, 1789, the Taking of the Bastille, the crowds rebelled but lacked strategy, giving the military the advantage and making themselves easy target for cannon fire. However, Oscar and the regiment B then arrived to help organize the insurgents. During the following fierce battle, Oscar is shot and killed, but the Bastille eventually falls, symbolically striking down the French monarchy.
After the Bastille is taken, the revolutionaries burst into the Palace searching for Marie Antoinette and her family. Many guards are killed and the royal family taken prisoner.
Large processes were opened for Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, but finally, both were declared guilty and guillotined.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
- Oscar was raised like a man by the desire of her father. She is educated in diverse arts such as fencing (which qualifies her to command the Royal Guard of Queen Marie Antoinette. Many people know that she is a woman, but she does not pretend it, as much in his aspect as in his treatment. Nevertheless, in spite of firmly assuming a male role, Oscar falls in love with the lover of the queen, Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count. This feeling is not reciprocated, as Fersen only has an eye for the queen and treats Oscar like a close friend, oblivious to her true gender and feeling. Later, André professes his love for her, and Oscar realizes that she returns his feelings. Unfortunately, after the mutual declaration, André dies from a stray bullet. After Oscar's own death during the Taking of the Bastille, their bodies are buried together.
- The grandson of Oscar's nanny, he was raised along with her after he was orphaned and his grandmother took him in. An extremely skilled fencer, André taught her to fence ever since they met, and Oscar became so skilled that she almost always defeated him. André follows Oscar loyally everyhwere she goes and is in love with her, but isn't able to tell her directly for years because of their social class difference.
- Princess of Austria. She married the prince Louis XVI to seal the alliance agreed between the king Louis XV and her mother, Queen Maria Theresa. She had a lover, the count Axel von Fersen, whom she met during a masquerade party.
[edit] Minor characters
- King of France and grandfather of Louis XVI. He died of smallpox in the Palace of Versailles.
- Prince of France and heir to the French throne. He married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette to confirm the pact agreed between Louis XV and Maria Theresa. He became King of France after his grandfather's death.
- Mistress to King Louis XV. She became an enemy of Marie Antoinette after being unable to manipulate the young and rebellious Queen to her will like she did to the former King. Upon the King's death, she was banished from the court to the convent of Pont-au-Dames, and was guillotined in 1793.
- A court singer, she befriended Queen Marie Antoinette to take advantage of her power. She accidentally killed Rosalie's adoptive mother, Nicole, and turns out in fact to be Rosalie's biological mother, Martine Gabrielle, who gave Rosalie up after giving birth to her as a teenager. She tries to force Rosalie to come back to her by blackmailing, but ultimately fails.
- Daughter of the Lady Polignac and a fervent admirer of Oscar in the court. She committed suicide after learning that, at the tender age of 11, she would have to marry the much older Duke of Guiche; she was so panicked over the issue that she turned mad and jumped off a balcony. Rosalie, her half-sister, at first says she has no pity for Charlotte, but later is seen grieving heavily and crying.
- She grew up together with Rosalie in poverty and was found by Marquise Boulainvilliers in a Paris street. Jeanne told her that she had the royal Valois blood, managing to be taken under her wing. She started living at a mansion, where she learned manners and piano classes. Jeanne agreed to marry her lover Nicolás de la Motte if he killed the marquise and forges her will, so they could become Count and Comtesse. They convinced Cardinal de Rohan to help them buy the diamond necklace that has been offered to the Queen Marie Antoinette by the jeweler Boehmer. Her plan fails and a case is opened in the national court. The Comtesse is found guilty and sentenced to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned for life. However, a mysterious figure helps her escape from prison and publish her scandalous memoirs. Jeanne is held in a secluded convent until she is cornered by the royal guard. After deciding that she was tired of her lifestyle, she commits suicide with Nicolas.
- Adoptive daughter of Nicole Lamorliere. Her biological mother is a noblewoman called Martine Gabrielle, a fact Nicole reveals before she passes away. Rosalie swears that she would avenge her mother, and mistakenly attempts to kill Lady Jarjayes because of this. Oscar stops her and decides to take Rosalie under her wing, teaching her manners, history, fencing, among others. During a party, Rosalie recognizes Lady Polignac as the woman in the carriage that ran over Nicole and tries to murder her, but is again stopped by Oscar.
Oscar and André come to discover that Martine Gabrielle and Lady Polignac are one and the same; Martine changed her name to Julie de Polignac. After Charlotte, true sister of Rosalie, died, Lady Polignac went to the Jarjayes's Mansion and told Rosalie that if she didn't come with her, she would tell the authorities that Oscar was the protector of Jeanne Valois', the instigator of the robbery of the diamond necklace, sister. Finally Rosalie decides to go with her natural mother in order to avoid scandalizing Oscar's name. Rosalie realized that her mother's intentions were to marry her to the Duke de Guiche, so she returns to the neighborhood in Paris where she grew up. She marries Bernard Chatelet and meets Oscar in the Storming of the Bastille. Rosalie is present for Oscar's death.
[edit] Trivia
The series is notable for its 1979 premier, the same year as the beginning of the Iranian Revolution, which is often compared to the French Revolution that ultimately took Marie Antoinette's life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ La Rose de Versailles (Movie). AnimeNewsNetwork.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-03.
[edit] External links
- Riyoko Ikeda's Official Site
- Lady Oscar Official Website
- Glory! A Berusaiyu no Bara compendium
- The Rose of Versailles
- Elbereth's Blog
| The Rose of Versailles | |
|---|---|
| Anime: | List of episodes |
| Manga: | The Rose of Versailles | BeruBara 1st Gaiden | BeruBara 2nd Gaiden |
| Movies: | Lady Oscar (film) | Inochi (seimei) arukagiri aishite |
| Characters | |
| Main: | Oscar François de Jarjayes | André Grandier | Marie Antoinette | Hans Axel von Fersen |
| Versailles: | Louis XV | Louis XVI | Madame du Barry | Lady de Polignac | Charlotte de Polignac | Rosalie Lamorlière | Jeanne Valois de la Motte |
| Other: | Maria Theresa | Count de Mercy | Maximilien Robespierre |
