The Rose of Versailles
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| Lady Oscar
<tr><td colspan="2" style="background: #fff; text-align: center;">Image:Lady Oscar b.jpg</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;">ベルサイユのばら | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Shōjo, Historical, Drama, Romance |
| Manga: Berusaiyu no Bara | |
| Authored by | Riyoko Ikeda |
| Publisher | Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svgShueisha |
| Serialized in | Margaret |
| Original run | 1972 – 1973 |
| No. of volumes | 10 |
| TV anime : Lady Oscar | |
| Directed by | Tadao Nagahama (1-18), Osamu Dezaki |
| Studio | TMS |
| Network | Animax, Nippon Television |
| Original run | 10 October 1979 – 3 September 1980 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Movies | |
| |
The Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら Berusaiyu no bara), also known as Lady Oscar, by Riyoko Ikeda, is one of the best-known titles in shōjo manga, which has been adapted into an anime television series, produced by TMS and broadcast by the anime television network Animax and Nippon Television.
Contents |
[edit] Manga
The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Margaret Magazine in 1973, and became an instant success. It has been turned into a play, an anime series, a live-action movie, and a ballet. The author, Riyoko Ikeda, is working on the libretto of an opera version of her story as well.
The play adaptation of the manga is also the longest-running show by the Takarazuka Revue.
In 1983, the first two volumes of The Rose of Versailles were translated in English by Frederik L. Schodt for the purpose of teaching English to Japanese speakers and released in North America by the North American branch of Sanyusha. The Rose of Versailles was the first commercially translated manga to be available in North America.
[edit] Margaret's Shueisha BeruBara
It was the first edition of the manga. It was published the 21 of May, 1972, in the weekly magazine, Margaret, and the manga contains 10 volumes.
- Atarashii unmei no uzu no naka ni
- Eikou no za ni yoishirete
- yurusarezaru koi
- Kuroi kishi wo toraero
- Osukaru no kurushimi
- Moeagaru kakumei no hi
- Utsukushiki ai no chikai
- Kami ni mesarete (1972) - Mizukara no eranda michi wo (1994)
- Itamashii ouhi no saigo (1972) - Kami ni mesarete (1994)
- Gaiden: Kokui no hakushakuhujin
[edit] First Gaiden
Image:LadyOscarManga b1 011.jpg The First Gaiden was published in Margaret magazine, after the serialization of Berusaiyu no Bara.
Kokui no hakushakufujin: It's inpired in the Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory.
[edit] Second Gaiden
The Second Gaiden was published in the monthly magazine, Jam, in June, 1984.
- Loulou to, issho ni kita ningyo
- Jarjayes shôgun no musuko arawaru
- Toruko no kaizoku to shuudôjo
- Akuma no kusuri
[edit] Anime
The anime series has 40 episodes and 1 recapitulation (episode 41).
- For more details on this topic, see List of Lady Oscar episodes.
[edit] Plot
The setting is in France, before and during the French revolution. The main character is a woman named Oscar François Jarjayes. Her father, General Jarjayes, despaired over never getting a son (he had six daughters), and decided to raise his youngest daughter as a man. He trained her well in the arts of fencing, horsemanship, and medieval combat. Oscar often practiced her skills with her best friend, companion and (technically) servant, André Grandier, whom she almost always defeated. André was the grandson of her nanny and thus they spent most of their time together in harmonic friendship; near the end of the story, this blossomed into mutual love. There are also some shoujo-ai elements embodied in the relationship between Oscar and her protége Rosalie, whose admiration for Oscar may be interpreted as romantic.
Oscar is head of the palace guards, and responsible for the safety of the young, flighty Queen of France, Marie Antoinette as well as the rest of the royal family. The story revolves around Oscar's growing realization of how France is governed, and the plight of the poor. Another important storyline is the love story between Marie Antoinette and the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen. The affair between the two was the subject of rumors through all of France, endangering the queen's reputation and driving Oscar to request the Count to leave the country.
After the Count decided to leave and sign up for the war of independence in America, Marie Antoinette turned lovesick. She began spending money in excesses -- expensive jewelry and clothes, attending balls every other night -- to distract herself from pining for the only man she loved. This, in turn, weighed even heavier on the taxes, and even greater poverty spread over France due to Marie Antoinette's squandering.
Both the Affair of the Diamond Necklace and the infamous Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac are central historical events in the plot, as well as the French Revolution and the fall of the Bastille -- all given interesting interpretations through the fictional character Oscar and her companions.
On July 14th, 1789, the Taking of the Bastille, the crowds acted with no strategies, giving the military an advantage and making themselves easy target for cannon fire. However, Oscar and the regiment B then arrived to help organize the insurgents. During that fierce battle, Oscar is shot and killed, but the Bastille eventually falls, symbolically striking down the French monarchy.
After the Bastille was taken, the attackers burst into the Palace searching for Marie Antoinette and her family. Many guards were killed and the royal family taken prisoners.
Large processes were opened for Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, but finally, both were declared guilty and guillotined, like their children.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Oscar Family
- Oscar François de Jarjayes: A beautiful rose, she was raised like a man by the desire of her father. She is educated in diverse arts such as fencing (which qualifies her to command the Imperial Guard of the queen Marie Antoinette. Many people know that she is a woman, but she does not pretend it, as much in his aspect as in his treatment. Nevertheless, in spite of firmly assuming a male role, Oscar falls in love with the lover of the queen, Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count. This feeling is not reciprocated, as Fersen only has an eye for the queen and treats Oscar like a close friend, oblivious to her true gender and feeling. Later, André professes his love for her, and Oscar realizes that she returns his feelings. Unfortunately, after the mutual declaration, André dies from a stray bullet. After Oscar's own death during the Taking of the Bastille, their bodies are buried together.
- André Grandier
- General Jarjayes: Oscar's Father.
- Madame Jarjayes: Oscar's mother.
- Oscar's Nanny is also André's grandmother.
[edit] Versailles (Nobility)
- Marie Antoinette: Princess of Austria. She married the prince Louis XVI to seal the alliance agreed between the king Louis XV and her mother, Queen Maria Theresa. She had a lover, the count Axel von Fersen, whom she met during a masquerade party.
- Louis XV: King of France and grandfather of Louis XVI. He died of smallpox in the Palace of Versailles.
- Louis XVI: Prince of France and heir to the French throne. He married the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette to confirm the pact agreed between Louis XV and Maria Theresa. He became King of France after his grandfather's death.
- Comtesse de Noailles
- Madame du Barry: Mistress to King Louis XV. She became an enemy of Marie Antoinette. Upon the King's death, she was banished from the court to the convent of Pont-au-Dames, and was guillotined in 1793.
- Duchess de Polignac: A court singer, she befriended Queen Marie Antoinette to take advantage of her power. She killed Rosalie's adoptive mother, Nicole, and turns out in fact to be Rosalie's biological mother, Martine Gabrielle.
- Charlotte de Polignac: Daughter of the Lady Polignac. She committed suicide after learning that she would have to marry the Duke of Guiche.
- Duke of Orléans: Cousin of Louis XVI and second in line to the throne of France; schemes to usurp the King's throne and masterminds the plot to kidnap Marie Antoinette before she could marry Prince Louis XVI. He is foiled by Oscar, and makes a second attempt: this time to kill Louis XVI by switching the rifle Prince Louis XVI used for hunting with a tampered one that would explode once triggered. Later in the story, Duke de Orleans allows anti-monarchists such as the Black Knight (a masked French Robin Hood) and his followers to secretly gather in his Palais Royale. He is thought to have helped Jeanne Valois escape from prison.
- Duke de Guéméné: Kills a boy in Paris after the boy tries to steal from him. Challenges Lady Oscar to a duel.
- Jeanne Valois de la Motte: Adoptive sister of Rosalie. She grew up together with Rosalie in poverty and was found by Marquise Boulainvilliers in a Paris street. Jeanne told her that she had the royal Valois blood. She started living at a mansion, where she learned manners and piano classes. Jeanne agreed to marry her lover Nicolás de la Motte if he killsthe marquise and forges her will, so they could become Count and Comtesse. They convinced Cardinal de Rohan to help them buy the diamond necklace that has been offered to the Queen Marie Antoinette by the jeweller Boehmer. Her plan fails and a case is opened in the national court. The Comtesse is found guilty and sentenced to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned for life. However, a mysterious figure helps her escape from prison and publish her scandalous memoirs. Jeanne is held in a secluded convent until she is cornered by the royal guard. After deciding that she was tired of her lifestyle, she commits suicide with Nicolas.
- Rosalie Lamorlière: Adoptive daughter of Nicole Lamorliere. Her biological mother is a noblewoman called Martine Gabrielle, a fact Nicole reveals before she passes away. Rosalie swears that she would avenge her mother, and mistakenly attempts to kill Lady Jarjayes because of this. Oscar stops her and decides to take Rosalie under her wing, teaching her manners, history, fencing, among others. During a party, Rosalie recognizes Lady Polignac as the woman in the carriage that ran over Nicole and tries to murder her, but is again stopped by Oscar.
Oscar and André come to discover that Martine Gabrielle and Lady Polignac are one and the same; Martine changed her name to Julie de Polignac. After Charlotte, true sister of Rosalie, died, Lady Polignac went to the Jarjayes's Mansion and told Rosalie that if she didn't come with her, she would tell the authorities that Oscar was the protector of Jeanne Valois', the instigator of the robbery of the diamond necklace, sister. Finally Rosalie decides to go with her natural mother in order to avoid scandalizing Oscar's name. Rosalie realized that her mother's intentions were to marry her to the Duke de Guiche, so she returns to the neighborhood in Paris where she grew up. She marries Bernard Chatelet and meets Oscar in the Storming of the Bastille. Rosalie is present for Oscar's death.
[edit] Marie Antoinette children
- Marie Therese: First child of Marie Antoinette.
- Louis Joseph: Second child and dauphin of France.
- Louis Charles: Dauphin of France after Louis-Joseph dies.
[edit] Imperial Guard
- Count of Gerodere: Second in command of the Guard after Lady Oscar. After Lady Oscar quits the Royal Guard, Gerodere goes to her father, General Jarjeyes, and asks for her hand.
- General Bouillé: Highest commander in the Army.
[edit] Military Guard
- Alain de Soissons: Squad leader of the Company B. Helps André get into the French Guard.
- LaSalle Dressel: A soldier arrested by the Military Police for selling his rifle to a pawn shop.
[edit] Austria
- Maria Theresa: Mother of Marie Antoinette.
- Count de Mercy: Advisor of Maria Theresa and Marie Antoinette.
- Joseph II: Brother of Marie Antoinette and son of Maria Theresa.
[edit] Sweden
[edit] Revolution
- Robespierre
- Saint Just
- Bernard Chatelet: Newspaper reporter from Paris who trails after Robespierre like a shadow. Also known as The Black Knight.
[edit] Others
- Jeweller Boehmer: Jeweller who offers the diamond necklace to Marie Antoinette, but later sells it to Jeanne Valois.
- Nicole Lamorlière: Adoptive mother of Rosalie, killed by the carriage of Lady de Polignac.
- Dianne de Soissons: Sister of Alain.
- Pierre: Boy killed by Duke of Guéméné.
- Retaux de Villette: Best handwriting-forger in Paris.
- Nicole D'Oliva: Blind girl who works in a brothel in Paris. She is paid by Jeanne Valois to impersonate Queen Marie Antoinette.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Riyoko Ikeda's Official Site
- Lady Oscar (The Rose of Versailles overseas title)
- Glory! A Berusaiyu no Bara compendium (English information website)
- Pegasus:A Rose of Versailles Fan-website (The Rose of Versailles fan-art and fan-fiction)
- The Rose of Versailles (English information website)
| The Rose of Versailles - Lady Oscar | |
|---|---|
| Berusaiyu no Bara | |
| Anime: | List of episodes |
| Manga: | Berusaiyu no Bara | BeruBara 1st Gaiden | BeruBara 2nd Gaiden |
| Movies: | Lady Oscar (movie) | Inochi (seimei) arukagiri aishite |
| Characters | |
| Main: | Oscar François de Jarjayes | André Grandier | Marie Antoinette | Hans Axel von Fersen |
| Secondary: | General Jarjayes | Lady Jarjayes | Oscar's Nanny |
| Versailles: | Louis XV | Louis XVI | Madame du Barry | Lady de Polignac | Charlotte de Polignac | Rosalie Lamorlière | Jeanne Valois de la Motte | Nicholas de la Motte | Duke of Orleans | Henri de Guéméné | Cardinal de Rohan | Duke de Guiche |
| Marie-Antoinette children: | Marie Therese | Louis Joseph | Louis Charles |
| Austria: | Maria Theresa | Count de Mercy | Joseph II |
| Imperial and Militar Guard: | Count of Gerodere | Alain de Soissons |
| French Revolution: | Maximilien Robespierre | Saint Just | Bernard Châtelet |
| Others: | Nicole Lamorlière | Dianne de Soissons |
es:La Rosa de Versalles fr:La Rose de Versailles ko:베르사유의 장미 hr:Lady Oscar id:The Rose of Versailles it:Lady Oscar ja:ベルサイユのばら pt:Versailles no bara th:กุหลาบแวร์ซาย vi:The Rose of Versailles zh:凡爾賽玫瑰
