Le Chevalier D'Eon
My casual fondness for historical anime began when one of my classmates showed me Lady Oscar in the computer lab in high school. We were supposed to be using this time to research something I no longer remember, which earned us a scolding from the teacher after she caught us.
While trying to find some other similar anime, I came across Le Chevalier D'Eon. Recently. I was surprised by the lack of reviews and how little known it seems to be (and I don't blame anyone, as it's not for everyone). Without further ado, let's start with this review.
During the reign of Louis XV in France, the lifeless body of Lia de Beaumont, sister of the knight D'Eon de Beaumont, appears one morning in the Seine, with the word PSALMS written on her coffin. He embarks on an investigation in search of the culprit of her murder. But the closer he gets to his target, the more dark secrets he uncovers, and what he doesn't know is that it is all part of a conspiracy linked to Lia in a way he can't even imagine.
Le Chevalier is a historical series with fantasy elements. The protagonist, D'Eon Beaumont, is based on an actual historical character of the same name, who was quite well known at the time, basically because, until his death, it was not known for sure whether he was a man or a woman. He managed to deceive Casanova himself, a characteristic that allowed him to work as a spy for his country.
The anime starts from this point and places us in France before the French revolution. It takes us through a story full of intrigues and betrayals, in which a young D’Èon looking to solve the mystery of the murder of his sister Lia is involved in an intricate conspiracy that will include not only several nobles but also a mysterious sect.
A sect that uses the psalms of the bible as a kind of black magic, capable, among other things, of killing, manipulating people, or even turning them into gargoyles, greyish-skinned, mercury-blooded Zombies. In his attempt to stop the plans of this group, D'Eon will not only receive the help of a unique and affable group of companions but also of his sister Lia, who, seeking revenge, will possess the body of young D'Eon when things get tough.
As you can see, the premise and story are very original and exciting, which presents some quite striking elements, such as using the psalms of the bible as black magic. The closer we get to the end, we get some unexpected and quite successful plot twists.
Unfortunately, the story also feels a bit confusing at times, with some moments where I wasn't sure where the series was going, and the ending, although correct, left me with a strange feeling of inconclusiveness regarding the characters and what it was trying to achieve.
The series has a pretty good start, with some very dynamic and catchy first episodes that are difficult not to like. The problem comes after finishing the first arc of the four that the series has. This is something from which it does not recover until the middle of the third arc. It gives a considerable drop in pace, which, although it does not lead the anime to become dull, is very noticeable and makes the series not as enjoyable as in the beginning.
About the characters, the cast is a mixture of historical personalities of the time (with which some liberties were taken) and some invented ones, in general, I can say that the cast seemed to be very correct, all of them fulfilling their roles very well and not being until near the end when they all began to show their true intentions. Moreover, D'Eon and his three companions, the young Robin, the master Teillagory and the experienced Durand, were dynamic.
With good development throughout the story, my only complaint in this section concerns the antagonistic duo of Count Cagliostro and his partner Lorenza, which although I liked them, in my opinion, they did nothing of weight in the whole anime, which makes them look a little leftover.
The other thing to mention is that I suggest you don't get too attached to anyone, as by the end of the story, about half the cast will have crossed to the other side, and Le Chevalier doesn't hold back when it comes to killing off its characters.
Some characters did not get much out of their author (Ubukata), as is the case of St. Germain (who was only created for the viewer to focus on him and lose sight of the actual perpetrator, having only relevance in his brief death) or the Marquise de Pompadour (who was a piece in discord that did not achieve much in itself and always his alleged plans did not affect too much), Not only the four central characters but also the
antagonists and those who remain on the sidelines.
It must be understood that Ubukata tried to stick faithfully to actual history, causing certain inconsistencies or situations that are understandable if we read extracts from the lives of the historical figures on which they are based. The most concrete case is Robin's death by guillotine. Despite being an invention of his own, a character assumes the identity of Maximilien Robespierre (after his death, the leading force in the conflict), causing his fate to be attributed to him in the end.
Visually speaking, the anime does not lack in this section. You can tell that it had a great budget, the animation is outstanding for a 2006 anime, the character designs have a more "realistic" style than what the Japanese have us used to, and although at the beginning they may feel a little strange, they end up being very suitable for the type of story. Finally, the backgrounds are mostly very well done and detailed.
Although Le Chevalier D'Eon didn't quite live up to my expectations, being that at times I felt lost with the story and that the series had a problematic slowdown that lasted until about a third of its total length (It's not a very dynamic series; things happen and there's action but it doesn't have an overly engaging pace, so if you're very picky in this aspect, keep that in mind).
Overall I thought it was a good anime, with an exciting story and premise, good characters, and a decent technical aspect in current standards, it's not the best I've seen, but I recommend it a lot.
