I am sure that if you are an Avid reader of books, you’ve probably heard of Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo”. In fact you’ve probably seen the theatric live action release of this as well. If you’ve seen and/or read either of those, well you haven’t seen anything just yet! Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is the retelling of this prized novel through the artistic flair of Anime.

The story is about a rich boy named Albert de Morcerf who seems to be leading quite the eventful life, one day his life is broadened by a world renowned nobleman. The Count of Monte Cristo is a strange man that young Albert de Morcerf has become intrigued by. The Count becomes his savior when he is kidnapped to be ransomed off, he soon befriends young Albert and his plan of deceit starts to come to life.

Now if you’ve read the books you’ll know just what to expect in ways of revenge and the dramatics. The twist here compared to the books and the movie, is that the Count of Monte Cristo seems to be infested with some kind of demon. He even seems to try to resist the actions of the demon throughout the show, and this becomes evident in most scenes where Albert is distraught with the count. Also this show is only loosely based on the books, so a lot of the actions he takes are new and fresh.

The script has a very nice polish to it, as a matter of fact the devious revenge of “Gankutsuou”, is taken in much better than the theatric release. Everything builds on the most powerful Nobles and his actions against them. The setting is placed upon this futuristic yet war-torn setting, while everyone still maintains a richness of the commonwealth of the 1800’s. It all makes everything seem very realistic, even when there are battles in the Mecha (Yes, there are Mecha.) nothing ever over-stretches exaggerated realism and it is a treat to watch. No one is crashing through walls or taking too many bullets, anyone can be killed by a mere action and it holds true to real life.

While I am speaking on the world of the Count of Monte Cristo, I would like to say that I am purely delighted with the artwork. I think it is one of the most uniquely drawn anime I have ever seen; it has a painted type of structure to the characters with everything seeming to have its own movement. I really cannot describe how the artwork is; it is actually that unique and good. The environments are also richly detailed and seem to have an artwork all of their own. From the beautifully decorated buildings to the wildly dazzling neon lights of clubs and denizen filled streets.

You feel like the world of Gankutsuou is something that if you touched it, you’d immediately be sucked in and would never wish to go back. Now on the side of what sort of Anime it is… well it is filled with drama, romance, and violence. This isn’t one that you’ll be sitting down and watching with your kids, while not containing any nudity of any kind. This show has plenty of sexual overtones that aren’t suitable for younger viewers, that and the vindictive actions of the Count’s revenge might be too much for kids.

Now, when it comes down to the sound in Gankutsuou… well it really shines in this case. The score for this show is marvelous; it injects an epic feeling into your body that you should get from a great show.. It is properly placed when it exists in the Anime at all, and that is because it only occurs during dire scenes. This is how a good anime should be in my opinion… there is no need for randomly throwing in music where it doesn’t belong. The music is timed right and makes the scenes even more delightful to watch, it is not overdone and that makes it a very welcome thing when a scene is graced by it.

I believe that Gankutsuou is one of those “Jackpot Anime” where you’ve struck it rich; it has an incredibly interesting storyline and a rich and unique artwork. The music is wonderful and fits the time-bending period wonderfully, I recommend this anime as one of my personal favorite to everyone. If you like any Thriller titles or you just want to see a good Anime, this is the one for you to go out and grab.

Final Grade: 5 Oro’s out of 5