#91daysanime

As a form of self-motivation to write more, I intend to use this Tumblr to write thought-pieces on various types of media that I encounter. Some of these beginning posts will be written in one-shot, over ideas that have been floating around in my head for some time, so bear with me! During the Coronavirus lockdown I've binge-watched several shows, so I may write about those over time.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (the English dubbed version) is an anime series that I watched a couple of weeks ago and found highly enjoyable. I would label it as one of the few Japanese-animated productions that I would feel comfortable watching in a living room with, if that makes sense. Typically an anime will have some kind of disqualifier in it to make it an awkward viewing experience with others (Hunter X Hunter, for example, has a recurring gay clown character. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has one of the characters always in a skimpy outfit--etc.), and in this regard I would say Gankutsuou is unique.

As a point of comparison, I found it very much similar to the anime "91 Days," so much so that I mistakenly thought they might have been created by the same studio.

91 Days (and Gankutsuou) is best to go into blind, but both series share similarities in their main plotlines, their central character relations, their wide cast and the audience's perspective over these events (both shows could be considered ensemble pieces to an extent), as well as in artstyle, in their opening and closing songs, and in tone.

As far as which of these series is superior, or a better viewing experience, up until about the 18th episode of Gankutsuou, 91 Days surpasses it. By design, 91 Days is more captivating; 85% of the character suspense isn't tied with how a single character chooses to act. The pacing in Gankutsuou suffers in some regard up until this point (a truth that is alluded to by the series breaking itself up into "acts" rather than episodes--Gankutsuou might also be considered a slow-burn thriller).

Around episode 18 and everything afterwords, Gankutsuou's waiting pays off enormously.

Unfortunately, I've not actually read The Count of Monte Cristo at the time of writing this. From what I've gathered from discussion boards on the subject, some notable characterizations were made stronger in the book rather than in this series. I can't speak to that, although the end result was highly enjoyable and did not feel lacking on its own.

A final point; Gankutsuou's art carries an interesting design choice.

Everywhere in this series, be it in hairstyles, attire, objects, or wallpaper, a distinct, multi-layered pattern technique is used known as unmoving plaid. More information on it could be found in this article, but this is basically accomplished by giving characters a transparent layer over the desired patterned area, and by placing a motionless layer underneath it. Gankutsuou seems to have been the first series to utilize or at least popularize this technique in anime; they use it everywhere. I personally loved it, however, it could be offputting to some.

I would highly recommend this series to anyone on-the-fence towards watching this.

Rating: 4 out of 5