Everything about Rose Of Versailles totally explained
, also known as
Lady Oscar, is one of the best-known titles in
shōjo and a
media franchise created by
Riyoko Ikeda. It has been adapted into several
Takarazuka Revue musicals, as well an
anime television series, produced by
Tokyo Movie Shinsha and broadcast by the anime television network
Animax and
Nippon Television.
The Rose of Versailles focuses on
Oscar François de Jarjayes, a girl raised as a man to become her father's successor as leader of the Palace Guards. A brilliant combatant with a strong sense of justice, Oscar is proud of the life she leads, but becomes torn between class loyalty and her desire to help the impoverished as revolution brews among the oppressed lower class. Also important to the story are her conflicting desires to live life as both a militiant and a regular woman as well as her relationships with
Marie Antoinette, Count
Axel von Fersen, and servant and best friend
André Grandier.
It features
yuri elements embodied in the relationship between Oscar and her protégée Rosalie Lamorlière, the secret daughter of the scheming
Madame de Polignac, whose admiration for Oscar may be interpreted as either idol worship or romantic love coming from her possible
bisexuality. Many of the court ladies also greatly adore Oscar, openly admiring her at parties and become very jealous when she brings female companions to them.
Story
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.
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 rumours 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 jewellery 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. Big trials were started for
Marie Antoinette and
Louis XVI, but finally, both were declared guilty and
guillotined.
Characters
Oscar François de Jarjayes is a woman raised as a man because of the desire of his father to have a son. She learned the arts of
swordmanship,
horseriding and use of
firearms, alongside his friend,
André Grandier. Oscar is a fictitious character, even though her father, General Renier de Jarjayes, was a real person.
Adaptations
Manga
The Rose of Versailles is one of the most influential manga ever written. The manga was serialized in
Shueisha's
Margaret Magazine in 1973, and became an instant success. It was published on
1982-05-24 and contains 10 volumes.
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 1981, 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.
Anime
The Rose of Versailles was released in Japan as a 40 episode (and 1
recapitulation)
animated television series, which ran from
October 1979 to
September 1980. Besides Japan, the series has also been broadcast in several other countries of
Europe and
Latin America under the title of
Lady Oscar. The anime was directed by
Tadao Nagahama (episodes 1-18) and
Osamu Dezaki (episodes 19-40), who brought a cinematic approach to the serie.
Shingo Araki was the
animation director and co-
character designer along with Akio Sugino and
Michi Himeno. Koji Makaino was in charge of the
soundtrack. commonly referred to as the .
From 1974 to 1976, all four Takarazuka troupes staged
The Rose of Versailles, drawing a total audience of 1.6 million. In 1989, it was restaged drawing an audience of 2.1 million. The most recent shows will be the upcoming
gaiden adaptations to be performed in mid-to-late 2008 by Snow troupe (led by
Natsuki Mizu), Flower Troupe (led by
Sei Matobu) and Star Troupe (led by
Kei Aran). The scenarios for these new side-story adaptations were developed by Riyoko Ikeda specifically for the Revue.
Reception
Rose of Versailles is currently 14th on the list of all-time best-selling shojo manga, having sold a grand total of 15 million volumes worldwide and 12 million in Japan only. In terms of circulation per volume, it's in fourth place with an average of 1,500,000 sales per volume. It isn't well-known in North America due to its age and lack of publicity, but remains a treasured classic in Japanese manga. So far, the manga and anime have been translated into Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Indonesian and Chinese.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rose Of Versailles'.
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