The Rose of Versailles Library

From Animage March 1980

The Rose of Versailles, The Staff Shares Their Stories + Show recap

Statement from Head Director Osamu Dezaki

I am not too thrilled with how I have seen some people are talking about me. Though I very much appreciate the support and advice. I will be taking it. Thank you. I am not some stupid idiot that doesn't know how to avoid things I don't like. But I'm not gonna let myself get fucked by assholes or lick butthole to keep the peace. A lot of people are, imo, way too comfortable platforming and rubbing noses with people who look down on them, talk shit, hold disdain for them due to fictional preferences and stoke discord in the fandom. I am not going to do that.

I do try to be an active participant in fandom, and to me that first and foremost is interacting with others. Now, I can't help what people send me in my Dms and asks. I have experienced a lot of nastiness, even before I started putting my opinions out there. The public doesn't see everything. I want to encourage discussion, but I am sooo tired of the topics. I might sound like I am being short and overly frustrated. Maybe it doesn't seem that bad on the surface but its been years of this for me now. Why have I kept doing it? Idk I have higher expectations and misplaced faith in people I guess. And I do want to talk to people. But it’s gotten monotonous, extremely irritating and I have a limit. I don’t want to gush about how RoV is “soooo gaaayyy” it’s not. Truly. I do not want to constantly talk about Rosalie, a fan service, audience proxy, side character, who is by no means what people make her out to be. She is NOT that interesting. Sorry. So I will not be doing that anymore.

It is really disheartening that after 2 years so many people are so hung up on the same stuff. I get that there are some newer people here too, but it still astounds me what people think is important about RoV and worth spending their time on. Go do something else. I implore you. Also the general inability to read, connect dots, identify themes and common motifs, or look up information like dates, is wild to me. This is a manga for 12 year olds, that has been around for over 50 years. It is basic 70s feminism, like basic basic bland bland….. we compare men and women because of the disparity. This is how we show said disparity. If people are going to asking me my opinion/what Ikeda said/official material said, that is what they are gonna get. If they don’t like it, I can’t fix that.

It also bugs me that the fandoms sentiments seem to be that there is this pitying fault that lies with the person reacting to the bad behavior but no consequences for the ones behaving badly. "she should have done this, she should have ignored it, she should have done that". I don't need this. I get it.

I also don't think people understand that if everyone just shuts up and "keeps their peace" then the only opinions out there are the ones of people lying and spreading misinformation, those lies become accepted truth; see the past few years here. This is not about people enjoying transformative works or fanon. I feel like I contribute plenty to be allowed to have an opinion out there. I can even occasionally share it with someone I don't agree with. They do it to me all the time. Of course my opinions are going to contain bias, but I really do try to be objective with them. I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings or insult their personal tastes. But I am not one for imaginative alternative readings or writing fanfiction. I really truly do not think there is enough wiggle room in what we are given for them either. Unless you do a lot of ignoring of context and applying outside context where it truly is not. While I enjoy fan work, my blog is a space of canon compliance and official media. So when I interact here that is the place I am coming from. Because I am a collector of these specific things.

I am also not a fan anachronistic literary analysis and fandom is obsessed with this. I find little value in this type of analysis and even less in the fandom space, it is a horrible place for it. People use this to refuse to interact with the work in good faith or to force things that don't make sense. And this always comes at the expense of what is actually there. It’s a huge shame and really doesn't go anywhere, as the reasonings and criticisms do not compute with the source material and quickly fall apart or result in a resounding 'you don't like this work'. To which I ask, why are you here then? While I do think a healthy amount of criticism is good and everyone, even myself have things I don't like. There is a level of criticism beyond which, I do not think you can call yourself a fan. It is irritating to have to deal with people like this, who have nothing nice to say.

JFC, since you keep asking this question and obviously didn’t get the hint and cannot figure it out on your own.

If everyone is of age, regardless of age gap, I don’t know what the issue is, but here are the details.

Its not the same age gap. Bernard is around Robespierre's age. Which puts him at most 4/5 years older than Rosalie. That is a much smaller age gap, half the age gap. If we take him being based on Camille Desmoulins, that actually puts him at only 3 years older. He met her once when she was a kid and he was a teen, then not again for 11 years, and as adults. Oscar met Rosalie at 12 and took her in, was her main provider, caretaker, teacher, basically raised her etc. She watched her grow up. That is a very different situation. People may find issue with that.

What I think the real issue is, is that people don’t know what they are shipping but act like they care about and love the ship soooo much, which they don’t and the can’t, if they don’t know and can’t tell the elements and dynamics that fundamentally make that relationship what it is. Which is a one sided, age gap relationship, that spans 11+ years of one party watching the other grow up into an adult. If that is what you like and find appealing, go for it. So most of this amounts to “characters look cool together, I don’t know how to read” and ironically the people who ship it are the ones that find age gaps bad and would otherwise not ship them and call smaller age gaps grooming. Oscar/Rosalie very much toes the line of actually being what you could call grooming.

I think the majority of people who ship Oscar and Rosalie are kinda shallow and dumb, because they don’t even know what they are shipping! And therefore cannot truly like it, and I find it embarrassing. I think Rosalie’s age, immaturity and her dynamic with Oscar is very clear. If you like it for what it actually is, cool I have no issue with this. I have an issue with the hypocrisy (these people calling smaller age gap grooming) and the stupid (not being able to read and pick up on these things). Oh and the pretending it means soooo much to them (when it doesn't, they don't even know what's going on) and that is was so 'revolutionary' and 'oh so sapphic representation' when it wasn't, it was basic, run of the mill and considered uninteresting and childish.

But if you do like the idea of shipping, older person falls for kid they kinda raised, when they grow up into an adult or large age gap, go for it. Do it. Welcome to historical fiction.

I am so sorry I deleted your ask. I am very tired.

No one thinks this, but at a point it gets really really really annoying to be in the space *fandom* where we are supposed to be able to celebrate the thing we love with others who feel the same, but are constantly bombarded with negativity and "criticism" that is merely thinly veiled hate that winds up being directed, not at the work, but other fans. The constant discourse, baiting, stirring shit up, and not being happy or contributing to fandom in a positive way about the things one loves, is not it.

People are tired of this shit. They can be annoyed. I am annoyed. And yes, people are constantly spreading misinformation on top of all of that too, and don't even know what they are a "fan" of half the time. Its stupid. This fandom has been around for over 50 years and a lot of us have been around for decades and I don't care for this modern socmed fandom bullshit ego trip " im so 'criticallll" pseudo psyche shit. I promise it does not sound smart or informed at all. Its all the same wank, different show.

Too many people use this work to platform their own ideas, instead of exploring what's actually there, this is the real problem and the people who do this do this to every interest they have RoV is not unique. I have no interest in this type of fan or fandom. Sorry.

If what you like about The Rose of Versailles are aesthetics and the vague idea of a theme that never develops the way you wanted it to or at all, are you really a fan? If you only like the idea of a potential the never happened, are you really a fan? If you think a character looks cool but you hate who they really are or their story, are you really a fan? If you spend more time in fandom talking about what you don't like instead of what you do, are you really a fan? If you are not having fun with the source material are you really a fan? If the Rov that you like only exists in your head, are you really a fan? If all you like to do is be "critical" and pick a work apart and show how your version would be sooooo much better, are you really a fan? If all you do is bitch moan and complain are you really a fan?

What is a fan? Shortened form of fanatic. Deffinition: a person exhibiting excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion toward something.

I don't know, maybe we don't know what fan means.

Kind of liking something does not make you a fan. Liking a couple ideas of something doesn't make you a "fan". Thinking a character looks cool does not make you a fan. Circle jerking the same tired shit in your twitter friend group does not make you a fan.

I am so tired of this fandom obsessing over the same 2 tired, uninteresting topics, that are not even that important or relevant, that they can't even be bothered to look at objectively or textually. The horse has been milked of blood and we have nothing new to show for it. Stop. People either like RoV or they are mad its not something else, and won't let it go. Do they instead find something that suits their tastes or create their own transformative fanfic? No, they bitch, complain, drag other fans, make rude posts towards the rest of fandom and create an unpleasant environment for everyone.

If someone acts like any of that no, they are not a fan.

Happy Birthday Lou Lou!

From The Rose of Versailles Children’s Pocket Encyclopedia

People like Loulou, who are born under the sign of Gemini, have a cheerful and straightforward personality. They get along with people right away, even if they've just met. However, they bore easily and can be fickle. Though never insisting on selfish demands or getting their way, they are always popular. They are quick witted and get good grades in school. Loulou has shown talent since childhood that even surprises Oscar.

No, I think this scene gets blown out of proportion and doesn't mean what some people think. I don't think she meant it seriously, it is not some binding contract. It is not a deep emotions line. 100% if Oscar was a born a man I do not think she would marry a random girl she found on the street. She would have more freedom to choose whoever she wants or even possibly less depending on what they family wants to arrange. As a hypothetical it is flawed. It is not meant to be literal. I don't think it was anything more than placation. Its not about being gay or not. I don't think Oscar is the nicest or most considerate person and this is a moment of her trying to be. That is what this is. She is understanding other people have feelings and being sensitive to them and trying to make Rosalie feel better.

I personally find Oscar to be pretty inconsiderate and dismissive of Rosalie in general, its kinda sad and messed up. I do think Oscar cares a lot for Rosalie, in her own way, but she is also very selfish and the story is a process of her learning this, and growing out of it. She isn't the best friend tbh. Oscar makes her cry multiple times by being short with her. She is very quick to push her out of her house onto her mother, who already pushed one daughter to suicide, knowing full well she will end up in an arranged marriage. She puts up zero fight to keep her and even YELLS at her that she should go live with her mother. Then blows years of dust into her face. Sure, she laments that she can not help Rosalie but the emphasis is on her own helplessness and still comes off as selfish. Rosalie is kidnapped and could be murdered or have all sorts of horrible things happening to her, but Oscar prioritizes Andres booboo eye, that would have been fine. She then pushes her out of her house again, granted we know Bernard is a decent guy and that he and Rosalie love each other, but this guy just kidnapped her and tried to kill them all a week before.... Not the greatest friend here.

薔薇になみだを

Bara Ni Namida O

Tears for the Rose

Lyrics by Shinji Ueda / Music by Takio Terada / Arranged by Hiroshi Takada

Sung by Anna Jun

Beaten by the rain, the roses blooms

Raindrops falling like tears

Sad and wistful

A heart that is known to no one

The tears of the rose, the eyes of the rose

Who could know?

Tossed by the wind, the roses blooms

Petals tremble like a sigh

Sad and wistful

A heart that is known to no one

The sigh of the rose, the sigh of the roses

Jun Anna - Tears for the Rose, 1976

Bara Ni Namida O/Utsukushiki Ai No Chikai

薔薇になみだを/美しき愛の誓い

Additionally, I have seen you say before in answer to something that the "born a man line" Oscar says to Rosalie is only because of Fersen, but I always thought based on the story and official material I have read that Oscar genuinely did care for Rosalie and would have married her had they not both been women. Because of this, I was wondering if that was maybe just your opinion on the line or if you had an official source for it (though it is a solid interpretation either way).

Thanks 💛

Well, they were never intended to be together at all. Or seen as a romantic situation. That is head canon. But yes there is a big age difference, 8 years, Oscar meets Rosalie when she is around 20 and Rosalie is 12. It isn't really an S story, just S like. Rosalie is a audience proxy homage to the fangirls, and she does have feelings for Oscar. But Rosalie's view of Oscar is a very idealized fantasy version that isn't authentic. Oscar does genuinely care for Rosalie, as a little sister, which she states multiple times. Oscar feels responsibility towards her. There is an official analysis book that goes over Rosalie, it states Oscar feels towards Rosalie how an older brother would. Oscar never had romantic interest in her and could not return her feelings.

In that scene she feels some sort of sad and guilty because she knows how that feels, because that is her situation with Fersen. After her failure of not being sensitive to MAs emotional needs and feelings, she is now aware of others feelings. And her own, for Fersen. Oscar says the marriage line, which in one book was likened to "the sort of thing a mother says to her daughter to make her feel better", to make Rosalie feel better about herself, because she feels bad Rosalie spent the whole night crying over her when she didn't come home. Which right after she thinks "If I was a man, my life would be easier". Oscar spent the whole night crying over Fersen, who had yet to come home. None of this has anything to do with her having romantic feelings towards Rosalie, but with her frustrations with her new awareness of her own and others feelings, neither of which are going how she would like. At this moment she thinks she would not have these problems if she was a man.

The Takarazuka Revue’s The Rose of Versailles Costume Designs

The Takarazuka Revue’s The Rose of Versailles Costume Designs

I don’t recall coming across anything that specifies a specific meaning to the bracelet. It is a bit odd, there are naked except for this bracelet, so it seems it would mean something. Rei does wear a similar one, which is rather significant (more so in the anime), but I don’t know if I’d link the two. It’s not the only repeat or similar looking jewelry in an Ikeda work. There is a brooch everyone seems to wear, and a few other pieces she draws frequently. To me the bracelet (Rei’s more then Andre’s) looks like one of these locket bracelets that have come in and out of popularity through the years, I see them pop up in antique shops a lot, maybe it was a piece Ikeda liked?

Original for The Rose of Versailles Complete Edition, Vol. 2 Page 39

Lady Oscar 1979 Postcard

Published by Nippon Beauty Color