Based on the historical plot of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, it is based on the aspects of crossdressing, drama, and romance, and pioneered by the production studio MAPPA.
‘The Rose of Versailles’ is the upcoming anime movie starring a twisted plot that marks its connection with the events of real-life history long gone cold in relics that lay untouched. The movie will be released on the 31st of January.
The Most Popular Historical Anime of the 70s gets a revival
The Rose of Versailles (also known as Lady Oscar and La Rose de Versailles, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in the manga magazine Margaret from 1972 to 1973, while a revival of the series was published in the magazine from 2013 to 2018.
The Rose of Versailles was a significant critical and commercial success, and by 2022 had sold over 23 million copies worldwide.
The Origin of the Creation of the Series
Ikeda created The Rose of Versailles as a story about revolution and populist uprisings after becoming involved with Japan’s New Left as a member of the Communist Party of Japan in the late 1960s. This political movement, inspired in part by the ideals of the French Revolution, galvanized Japanese youth and led to the formation of student protest movements.
Upon entering university in 1966, Ikeda became a part of this movement after joining the Democratic Youth League of Japan, the youth branch of the Japanese Communist Party.
Ikeda made her debut as a manga artist in 1967, with her early works generally falling into one of two categories: romantic stories typical of shōjo manga of the era, and socially and politically motivated stories that addressed themes such as poverty, diseases caused by nuclear weapons, and discrimination against Japan’s burakumin population.
What is the story set in?
The Rose of Versailles is set in France before and during the French Revolution. The primary character that the story features is Marie Antionette, the teenage Dauphine and the later queen of France. The movie series also features Oscar François de Jarjayes, the youngest of six daughters, who was raised as a son from birth to make up for the lack of a legitimate son by her military general father to succeed him as the Royal Guard. Her friend, Andre Grandier who later becomes Oscar’s lover and is the grandson of her nanny, serves her as an attendant.
The Plot thickens
The primary action of the story revolves around Oscar’s growing realization of how France is governed, and of the plight of the country’s poor. Therefore triggered by a chain of events, starting with when Marie Antoinette starts an affair with the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen.
The relationship between the Swedish Count and Maria Antionette leads to gossip about their scandalous relationship throughout the empire of France. It sparks rage and debate over Marie Antoinette’s infidelity. Moreover, this affair leads to stains on her perfect reputation.
However, the hopes for things to get better are extinguished when Axel Von Fersen leaves to take part in the American Revolutionary War. He leaves behind a distraught Mary Antionette who turns to wistfully spending away every single penny in buying lavish jewelry and drowning herself in expensive gifts. Therefore, her inconsiderate spending slowly ebbs away at the funds collected for the empire. Dragging France down into a puddle of debt. This comes to the notice of Oscar, who sees the suffering of the poor through Marie’s reckless spending.
Hence, seeing the escapades of Marie Antoinette drowning France in further debt, Oscar decides to leave the Royal Guards to join the French Guards instead. André dies fighting alongside Oscar with the revolutionaries and the French Guards during a skirmish with the military. Soon after his passing, Oscar too, dies the following day, while leading the revolutionaries during the Storming of the Bastille.
Therefore, shortly after these two major incidents, Marie Antoinette and the other members of the royal family are taken as prisoners by the revolutionaries. After being tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal, Marie Antionette is sentenced to death by the guillotine.
