User:Silentaria/Drafts

This page contains drafts of articles and/or sections of articles by SilentAria.

Le Chevalier D'Eon plot
The story begins in Paris 1742, when the body of a woman named Lia de Beaumont is found in a casket floating along the Seine. The only clue regarding her death is the word "Psalms", which is written in blood on the lid of the casket. D'Eon de Beaumont, Lia's younger brother and a knight in service of King Louis XV, takes it upon himself to investigate his sister's mysterious death, along with the strange disappearances of a number of French women. In his quest for the truth, he is joined by Durand, Teillagory, and Robin, and is inducted in to an organization working for the king called Le Secret du Roi. D'Eon and his comrades travel to Russia on orders to retrieve a stolen book called "The Royal Psalms" from a man named Vorontsov. After discovering that the Psalms were in the possession of a man named Maximilien Robespierre, they follow him to England. It is there that they discover that the Royal Psalms is a book of predictions and revelations regarding the rulers of France and the state of France during their reigns.

Critical reception
Critics praised Le Chevalier D'Eon for its art design and animation. Tasha Robinson of Sci Fi Weekly praised the details in the designs, she stated that "the characters all have a flat-faced samey look; their costumes get far more attention than their faces, and the results are pretty but bland." Theron Martin of Anime News Network said "Background art varies a little more, from slightly rough to stunningly gorgeous, with some CG-crafted shots of Versailles rivaling even the exquisite detail of Gonzo's best work. Though the series does use some still scenes, neither they nor any other short cuts can be found in the well-choreographed sword fights, where the attention to detail (especially in rare anime shots of critical footwork) and shifting perspectives more than makes up for slight failings elsewhere." Chris Beveridge of Mania.com said that the "detail and apparent accuracy in many scenes is just great to look at". Similarly, Brett D. Rogers of Frames Per Second magazine praised the design and animation, saying that they are "beautifully rendered in rococo and gothic style to create the look and feel of 18th-century France", though also stating that the "CGI is used to good result in reproducing the vast, opulent spaces of Versailles, but the transitions between these effects and the main body of animation are a bit coarse." The series' storyline earned mixed reactions from critics. Robinson complained that most of the series' storyline "falls flat", saying that it was "delivered too rapidly and with little affect". She also compared Le Chevalier D'Eon to GONZO's Gankutsuou, describing both series as "heavily talky yet fast-moving enough to be confusing." Martin praised the series' pacing, saying that it is "one of the true keys to the quality of this series".

Research
From Sci Fi Weekly: Rating: B
 * "Le Chevalier D'Eon seems like something of an answer to Studio Gonzo's Gankutsuou, another dense historical-novel-adapted- to-animation series that's heavily talky yet fast-moving enough to be confusing."
 * "Mostly, there's just a lot of dizzyingly complicated political mystery unfolding in these initial episodes, as D'Eon and his allies, the self-styled "Four Musketeers," meet and zip through clues, encounters, swordfights and arguments, at court and in the street."
 * "Production I.G. ... brings its usual accomplished mixture of 3-D CGI and 2-D animation to the table, but while the designs are sharply detailed, the characters all have a flat-faced samey look; their costumes get far more attention than their faces, and the results are pretty but bland. The action scenes fare far better; the sword fights are spectacular. Similarly, the story has a lot to recommend it—the repeated debate about whether torture of suspects is necessary or moral is particularly interesting—but much of it falls flat, as it's delivered too rapidly and with little affect.
 * "Certainly this is an excellent series for history buffs, as it draws heavily on real people and places for its complicated setting. But visually and narratively, it often seems a little too chilly and unnuanced to really hit the mark."

From Anime News Network:
 * " In the world of anime Le Chevalier D'Eon is an extreme rarity: a work of historical fiction set outside of Japan. That the creators would choose 18th century France for such a project is no surprise, as the opulent decadence and spirit of adventure of that age have been frequent subjects of Hollywood movies over the years. What makes this project special is the clever way that Production I.G. has taken stories and rumors about real-life people from that era and molded an involving supernatural action-drama around them."
 * "Fully appreciating the intricacies and politics of the story being spun, as well as how clever it is, requires a good amount of knowledge about 18th century France, extensive use of Google, or a full review of the historical background provided in the Extras."
 * "It wastes little time with its set-up, instead depending on context and visuals to supply the necessary setting details. That allows the first episode to jump straight into the heart of the intrigue, danger, and supernatural elements pervading the story, closing out with the compelling first appearance of the Lia-possessed D'Eon. The dramatics of the action, dialogue, and closing scenes are so beautifully paced and constructed that if this first episode does not hook you then the series probably never will."
 * "And that's one of the true keys to the quality of this series: its pacing. It strikes exactly the right balance of action, drama, and intrigue as it pushes events along, yet it never seems to be hurrying itself."
 * "Though it falls a little shy of being in the company of the best of the best, Le Chevalier nonetheless holds as strong a visual appeal as does its storytelling."
 * "Though the series does use some still scenes, neither they nor any other short cuts can be found in the well-choreographed sword fights, where the attention to detail (especially in rare anime shots of critical footwork) and shifting perspectives more than makes up for slight failings elsewhere. These are some of the best sword-fighting scenes you'll see in any anime series."
 * "The Japanese dub does a generally acceptable job that will doubtless satisfy purists, but Japanese voices, inflections, and accents just do not sound right backing a cast of characters populated entirely by Europeans and featuring dialogue heavily rooted in Western religious texts."

From Mania.com
 * "Seeing the production values of a near-future Europe was fascinating enough from a Japanese perspective, but seeing them taken on a rendition of 18th century France is just lavish. Historical shows have done well before with European architecture and style, but this show just seems to elevate it to a new level. The detail and apparent accuracy in many scenes is just great to look at. The palace at Versailles is luxurious and feels it while the longer views of the various cities really give them impression of how it would look at that time, particularly with how empty and quiet much of it is. The interiors are equally as impressive as they range from the palaces and other estates to the local taverns and dank dungeons that everyone ends up roaming through."

From Frames Per Second Magazine
 * "Le Chevalier's character design and animation are beautifully rendered in rococo and gothic style to create the look and feel of 18th-century France. Backgrounds of Paris and its architecture are accurate and swordplay scenes are well choreographed. CGI is used to good result in reproducing the vast, opulent spaces of Versailles, but the transitions between these effects and the main body of animation are a bit coarse."

Newtype USA April 2007 Issue (from Nihonjoe's page) Hi Nihonjoe! I hope you don't mind my bugging you for yet another magazine article; I've been working on articles related to Le Chevalier D'Eon recently, and there are barely any sources for me to cite. I found out just yesterday that the series was featured in that particular issue of Newtype USA, and I was wondering if you could let me know what information was included in that issue so that I can add it to the series' article. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the trouble! --SilentAria talk 16:14, 14 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I'll have to go hunt down that issue. I've been doing a lot of cleaning lately, and since that's a fairly recent issue, it's probably been "cleaned" and placed somewhere unusual. I'll let you know. ··· 日本穣 ? · Talk to Nihonjoe 01:09, 15 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Okay, thanks! Take your time, I know what it's like when you clean and suddenly lose track of where you put stuff, it happens to me when I clean too. :p --SilentAria talk 01:42, 15 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Okay, here's what is in there:
 * The story is a mystery with supernatural touches. A group of revolutionaries is carrying out attacks by reciting scriptures which they use to control an army of gargoyles.
 * The protagonist is D'Eon de Beaumont (based on a real person who dressed and acted like a woman while performing his duties as a spy, diplomat, and knight) who is possessed by his sister's vengeful soul (his sister was murdered). This gives him the ability to perform amazing feats of swordsmanship.
 * The series is produced by Production I.G and bankrolled by Shochiku.
 * Tow Ubukata wrote the novel and helped as story supervisor for the anime.
 * Kazuhiro Furuhashi directed the anime series. He previously worked on series such as Rurouni Kenshin and Zipang.
 * The series incorporates horror, monsters, swashbuckling adventure a la The Three Musketeers, intellectual morality play, and romance.
 * The series also includes a manga series. All three (novel, manga, anime) were timed to be released within in close chronological proximity.
 * The novel focuses more on mystery, the solving of the protagonist's sister's murder as well as other mysteries.
 * The manga, authored by Kiriko Yumeji, took the plot of the novel and created a "gothic, monster-slaying manga."
 * Ubukata states that he felt energized contributing to the anime due to the people with whom he worked, even though he is most comfortable writing novels.
 * The article is found on pp.26-33, Newtype USA April 2007 (Volume 6 Number 4). I'll add more later. You should see if a local library has a copy as it would be easier to do the character section. ··· 日本穣 ? · Talk to Nihonjoe 04:53, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Wow, there seems to be a whole lot of info there...but then again, the series' protagonist IS on the cover of that issue after all. Unfortunately, I don't know of any local libraries that carry Newtype and I only know of two stores that sell it, but I'm not so sure if they have back issues. Sorry for the trouble, and thank you for the info! --SilentAria talk 07:35, 15 November 2007 (UTC)