Le Chevalier D'Eon, Volume 3 - Anime Kakumei
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"the Russian arc is seen through to its conclusion in stunning fashion"
The previous volume of Le Chevalier D’Eon closed out one arc and began another with a smooth transition that left viewers wanting more. With Vol. 3: Dance Macabre, the Russian Arc is seen through to it’s conclusion in stunning fashion.
Studio: ADV Films
Genre: Action/Drama
Format: DVD
Length: 100 mins.
MSRP: $29.98
Features:
* English 5.1
* Japanese 5.1
* Historial Notes
* Commentary with Chris Hutchison and Steven Foster
* Commentary with Lesley Tesh and Amit Patel
* Commentary with Alice Fulks and Steven Foster
* Commentary with Jessica Boone and Jose Diaz
* Clean Opening/Closing
d’Eon has earned the trust of Empress Elizaveta. Her friendship with his sister and the same traits she sees in him playing a big part into that trust. He is allowed to find and arrest Vorontsov to get the information they need for their mission. However, political games are afoot as the Musketeers learn, from an insider, of an assassination attempt on the Empress that is due to go down very soon. Outwitting the masterminds of the plot, they foil the plan and set up the man thought responsible for the attempt. Sadly, the Revolutionary Brethren are much tougher foes than they once thought.
d’Eon receives a challenge from Vorontsov in what is, obviously, a trap. But it is a chance he has to take. In his confrontation with the Russian, d’Eon seeks the truth to the mystery of Lia’s death. However, their battle is simply a diversion so that the mysterious Maximilien Robespierre can carry out the once foiled plan undeterred. The Russian arc comes to a close with a flurry of action, suspense, surprises, and yet more questions.
Chevalier continues to take historical figures and molds them into it’s excellently woven plot. The vast majority of the main players in the Russian arc are all based off of their historical counterparts and are recreated with relative accuracy. Then the show takes it’s liberties, and creates such a wonderful story. This arc is just so exciting with so many subtle twists and turns between factions in Russia and in France.
There are Russians planning assassination attempts, Elizaveta planning reform, the Revolutionary Brethen seeking to use the Royal Psalms, and poor Ekaterina (later, Catherine II) dealing with her worthless husband Pyotr while trying to see that the country survives. Back in France, both Queen Marie and Madame Pompadour struggle to put forth their own plans of action while King Louis XV has his own machinations. There is a wonderful scene involving two powerful people within the palace where, at the same time, one orders the Musketeers’ death and the other orders them to be assisted. It was such a smooth, subtle, yet powerful scene. I believe all hell with break loose in France sooner or later.
Caught in the middle of all of this are the Four Musketeers, just trying to do their jobs. Just so happens that along the way, they have to accomplish many big things in order to find the truth. There’s no shortage of action for our heroes though. d’Eon dukes it out with Vorontsov twice to settle things and attempt to get some sort of information out of the Russian. Meanwhile, Durand is the one who discovers the most when he runs into Maximilien. The two seem to have some sort of past together and relationship to Lia. In fact, Maximilien admits that he has played a huge part in the tragedy that has taken place so far. If the Knights want to learn more, they must travel to England to do so.
I have to take a moment to say that I really enjoyed the character of Empress Elizaveta. She is a great, strong character that took command of every scene she was in. Everything she said had great importance and weight to it. She was genuine in her convictions and feelings. A stark contrast to King Louis XV who comes off as untrustworthy, and nowhere near as deserving of the love the characters show him. Her design is plain, but attractive. Perhaps it was her personality that brought out the character’s beauty. She was a treat to watch throughout the Russian arc. Hopefully there are others who are just as striking as the series continues.
ADV continues to show the love to this series with another information packed booklet with character designs, an interview with Yuki Taki (d’Eon), and another part from the continuing script within. On the disc are another set of historical notes which I highly suggest you take a look at. To top it all off, there are four english commentary tracks with a mix of match of people who helped produce the show. You’re guaranteed to be able to listen to one of your new favorite VAs from this newbie class.
It’s hard to believe that Chevalier could get even better, but it did with this set of episodes. There is more action, featuring excellently animated swordplay, non-stop political drama in both countries, characters that continue to grow, and more questions to be answered. It’s historical fantasy at it’s most exciting. I really hope it can continue this quality through to the end. If so, Le Chevalier D’Eon will easily become a modern anime classic.
Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 (Archive on Thursday, October 18, 2007)