Customer Reviews

Le Chevalier d'Eon - Psalm of Vengeance (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1742 Paris, France, the body of a beautiful young lady is found floating down the Seine River in a coffin with the word "Psalms" written on it in blood. Her name is Lia de Beaumont and her brother, D'eon, is the only person that seems to care that she's dead. He's even joined King Louis XV's Secret Police in order to find out the truth behind her murder. At this time France was just beginning to show the undercurrents of a society in revolt against old traditionalist views that would later culminate in a bloody class revolution against the old nobility. Even within the King's own circle are forces that seek to depose him. D'eon thinks that the Duc d'Orleans, the King's uncle, is tied in some way to the death of his sister. d'Orleans also surrounds himself with some pretty creepy characters that are using occult powers to further his wishes. The plot of the show would be pretty good if it stopped at this, but Lia has risen from the dead, Grudge-like, to take her revenge on those that killed her. Though she can no longer animate her own body, she is able to possess her brother, D'Eon, at certain moments of extreme stress, such as when his life is in danger. At that time he loses control of his body and becomes a sword-swinging angel of death. He's going to need her help if he hopes to battle superhuman creatures with mercury flowing in their veins.

Le Chevalier D'Eon is a gorgeous piece of anime and unlike so many other shows, the characters and the story are just as interesting as the visuals. You can tell a lot of research went into representing the setting, clothes, and manners of this period in French history. The animation is fluid and graceful, especially in the action sequences such as swordfights. Chevalier has some of the best battles this side of Samurai Champloo. The pacing, too, is masterful, presenting you with interesting diversions but at the same time building the suspense behind the mystery of what exactly happened to Lia. Right now, she is just a cold, calculating, mindless spirit of vengence, but I feel that she will calm down eventually and clue D'Eon in as to what happened to her. Great show!

"Le Chevalier d'Eon" or "The Knight of D'Eon" is a deceptive anime. On the surface, we are given a fairly complacent view of France during the reign of King Louis XV, lavish halls of Versailles and all. What begins as a murder mystery evolves into something much more complex. As the viewer watches the intricacies of the plot develop, the more apparent the tone of "Le Chevalier" becomes. This is not a love story and this is not a comedy. This is a tale of unquestionable loyalty, filled to the brim with violence, political intrigue and disturbing imagery. The costumes, music and writing meld into a crucible of animation delight.

This anime is, without a doubt, absolutely stunning to behold. While the animation does constitute the use of CG imbedded in drawn images, the result is flourishing as opposed to offsetting. The overwhelming halls of Versailles are expertly detailed, down to the individual murals that adorn the palace's ceiling.

The music as has been previously stated is simply outstanding. The entire score is done using classical frame work and as such you wont be hearing any contemporary influences (Save for the opening and closing credits). While this particular style of music may not be "catchy" or modern, it is not meant to be so. It is meant to compliment the visual experience the viewer goes through.

I do have to comment on the voice acting as well. While many purest are steadfast in their commitment to listening to all anime in Japanese, this the soul of this anime is crushed if one intends on doing so. The Japanese do not pronounce the French that is written in the script and as such it is completely distracting and takes away from the dialogue tremendously. The Dub is wonderfully done and besides a few mispronunciations here and there, the French is enunciated as best as Americans can.

What is extremely impressive is the amount of research that went into the production of this title. The proper introductions and respects are given to members of the various classes and royalty is treated with the favored God like prestige. Paris streets are laced with poverty, a stark contrast to the Parisian Court.

In the end, "Le Chevalier d'Eon" is simply an astounding testament to the Anime Genre.

"Beware Le Secret Du Roi"

I haven't watched much anime in a while, but after seeing this, I am going crazy waiting for the volumes to be released. The art is well done, and the music is orchestrated perfectly to fit the drama of the events and the times. The clothing and attitude of the characters is accurate, as are certain, but rare, facts about the show.

I am in the middle of watching the series and looking forward to the next 2 volumes.

I will simply add my "me too" in regards the beauty of the animation and the dense and interesting plot. I am thoroughly enjoying both.

I wanted to inform readers that the added features are not particularly worth bothering with. The historical notes are good, especially if you have no background in the period. The 'commentaries' are next to worthless, consisting of rambling conversations about 'who we know' and 'how wonderful you are'. If you are a rabid anime fan you might find them an interesting insider view--but for the rest of us the rare mention of what's happening on the screen make them a waste of time.

So, yes well worth it for the program itself, forget about most of the 'extras'.

I must admit I've already watched the whole show, but now I'm collecting the DVDs. I love it a lot, and it has a high rewatch value because of its dense plot. The dub is good too. I think Robin and Durand are even better in the dub than they are subtitled, and most of the rest are top notch. The only voice I don't like as much is Robespierre (who isn't in this volume anyway), and he is getting better.

I like this show because it moves quickly, it has a lot of action, and it has an end. It doesn't plod on forever, and doesn't forget about its a plot. The sword fights are just lovely, and the way magic is animated with twisting words is interesting too (there will be some good magic fights coming up later). The historical dress and scenery are quite appealing as well. I'll admit that the first episode is a little boring and confusing, partly because the main group of characters isn't formed up yet and partly because it takes a while to figure out what's going on, but give it a chance. It gets better, and the first ep is better too the second time around.

Also, it has some themes that appeal to me, like strong female characters. But, sorry guys, there isn't much cleavage to ogle in this volume. The main group is male, and the girls in this volume are very proper in their period dresses. Alright, here's a real SPOILER: the toughest chick is a dead girl who possesses her brother when he gets in over his head. Lia comes to save the day! She the best at fencing. I like that.

It's strange that I like this one. I don't really like French period movies, about the only one I did like was Vatel. But this anime seems to work.

And why is it always some kind of evil cult? I admit, I don't know all the specifics, as I haven't seen more than just this DVD, so i don't know what to expect, really. But I rather liked it. Originally, I got it for the voice actors, a couple of which are mine and my daughter's favourites.

It has a decent script, and the actors can get the nasal French very well, the animation itself was well done, and the story itself, while seeming to be rather like the formula (big bad dude/company/demon in charge of everything) there are nuances that give it a bit of orginality.

The whole thing with being possessed by his sister is weird, but I guess I like weird after all.

A man obsessed with his sisters murder. A man possessed by his murdered sister.

Perhaps one of the most ambitious anime series yet, welcome to the anime Le Chevalier D'Eon. An anime combining individuals from French history, religion, horror and mystery.

Paris, 1742 and a coffin floats in the shimmering Seine. Written on the coffin are the words "Psalms" and inside the coffin is Lia de Beaumont.

The story focuses on her brother D'Eon as he tries to find the reason for her mysterious murderer while the shadow of evil rests on the palace of Kings and the dark alleys of Europe.

I have no doubt how difficult this anime may have been to translate and to plan out.

Having the story set in France during the 1700's and to combine real characters during that era, mixing in religion, possessed zombies, mysticism and horror makes one hell of an anime!

With six volumes planned, the first volume focuses on the first four episodes as D'Eon tries to find out why his sister was murdered but the more he looks into it, he learns about the evil that lurks around him.

To make things even more confusing to the main character, somehow D'Eon when in battle against the evil forces, gets possessed by his murdered sister.

Why this is happening and the secret life that Lia De Beaumont lived is what the first volume focuses on.

Obviously "Le Chevalier D'Eon" is an anime that is too difficult for me to even describe.

All I can say is because the anime focuses on the Rococo era, the costumes, the characters, the secret societies, the use of religion, the mysticm and the horror definitely makes this anime standout.

It's definitely unique.

The character designs for the anime is something that is fresh.

The voice acting for both Japanese and English dubs are done very well.

Special features include commentaries with the ADR Director and one of the voice actors (a commentary that has a lot of profanity), an informative commentary by the translators which really go into detail of the challenges they faced, putting together the 20-page booklet with character info & relationships. Also, including a storyboard analysis, script and creator interview.

I found it very interesting when they talked about the real D'Eon de Beaumont, although not having a sister in real life, nor possessed but in real life believed he was a woman and lived his life as one in his later life.

Special features include historical notes, Japanese promotional video and trailer, clean opening and closing animation and more.

All in all, I feel there is a lot of potential with this anime series.

Obviously, the first volume is more of a set up for more important things to come in the next volume. So, look at the first volume more as introduction to the characters and situations of the series.
I definitely look forward in seeing how this anime progresses.

If you are into dark, horror anime or the Rococco era, definitely check this anime out!

Amazingly great fight choreography, excellent characters and geopolitical intrigue in the 18th Century, forty years before the French Revolution.

Rose of Versailles + Fullmetal Alchemist + Zombies + cop show = great

We watched it on On Demand as part of our digital cable package, but you could also rent it through NetFlix or Green Cine.

We liked the first episode so much we had to buy the disk and watch more episodes of this really great show.

In 18th century France, the era of King Louis XV, d'Eon de Beaumont, a member of the secret police is investigating a series of disappearances of young women. After a short period of time while searching a coffin is spotted floating down a river. After investigating the women is identified as d'Eon's sister. The whole scene is weird to d'eon, the word "PSALMS" is written on the coffin and there are several more coffins with the same word written on them with young women in them. He sets out on a journey to find the person responsible for doing this but what d'Eon finds is way bigger than he thought. On his journey he is attacked by corpses or gargoyles with the marking " H"4 O " on there heads. He doesn't truly know who to trust and he surely doesn't know where all these clues are leading him.

Le Chevalier d'Eon is a very serious and complex anime. Though it comes off boring at first it's actually not. It has great action scenes involving mainly fencing. I do think there could be a couple more of those fencing scenes because they were exciting. There are a lot of them when fighting the gargoyles but the duels between experienced fencers were too cool but there's only a few. I think another villain is needed, like a really crazy villain that you just love to hate. What you'll come to love about this anime is the originalnality it's unlike any anime I've seen. The characters have their own feel and they intrigue you. The beginning and ending music is nice but the music during the anime is not that good. There isn't any suspenseful music to forshadow those creepy gargoyles or any cool action music when some action is going down. The voice acting is fine and fits the characters. Overall this is a good start with few flaws but still a good first volume. I think that the first will surprise people and the second will surpass this first.