And then there's stuff like The Rose of Versailles. It's dated (made in the 70's, in fact) but there's a reason why it's spawned multiple movies, musicals and one very hilarious car commercial. And that reason is because it's good. On with the show!
The story begins in 18th century France, several decades before the French Revolution. It mostly follows the life of Oscar François de Jarjayes, a young woman who was raised as a man because her father wanted a son. In spite of her gender and young age, she commands the Royal Guard and is ordered to protect Marie Antoinette when she arrives in France. Although the two get off to a rocky start, they soon form a powerful friendship that lasts until death (and of course Marie Antoinette doesn't live very long...) One of the things that's really great about this series is that it takes place over the course of 20 years, so you gets to see all the characters grow up and change over the years.
Don't let the shojo sparkles and flowers fool you, this is a tragic story. The story takes you through the years the lead up to the Revolution as things grow worse and worse until it boils over into all out war and chaos. It's got it's lighter points and tons of romance, but overall? Not a happy story. It shows the sharp contrast of the extravagance of the nobility with the extreme poverty and suffering of the peasant class without glorifying or condemning either side (there are great people and horrible people from either walk of life.) There is also gender and social issues to be addressed and lots of love triangles and unrequited love and small pox and ***** and suicide and murder and lots of hot guillotine action and all sorts of good stuff like that.
It's interesting because if you have any basic knowledge of French history, you've got an idea of what's going to happen. Marie Antoinette's extravagance and incompetence push the people's patience to the breaking point until the war starts, and then the old power is replaced by a new power which thinks it can solve things by cutting off people's heads and for all that trouble, things haven't really gotten any better for the lower class. You know this, but this series has a kind of Romeo and Juliet effect, where you know the bad stuff is coming from the start but as the story goes on, you start to wish that something will happen that will prevent the tragedy. And then nothing does, and it's so much sadder for it.
It's also surprisingly historically accurate. One of the most inaccurate things was Hans Axel von Fersen's personality (he was a pretty awful guy in reality, but a charming gentleman in the anime. Oh well, I can let it slide.)
Rating: 9/10
I don't usually like this sort of ultra-dramatic shojo, but it really just works here. It sometimes gets close to being absurdly dramatic but the cast of very solid and generally likable characters (both fictional and non) and great storytelling always saves it. It also gets off to a bit of a slow start (although I do love the first episode, if only because Oscar and André get in a fist fight and hold hands afterward like the adorable dorky kids they are); things don't start to pick up until after Louis XV's death, and then it's not until the 19th episode or so that things start to get really good (and then the awesome factor triples when the French Guard comes in.) However, once it sinks it's teeth in, it doesn't let go in a hurry.
In conclusion, if you can get used to the old 70's style and drama, you'll be in for a real treat. It's got a wonderful (if very sad) story to tell and a fantastic cast of characters who have such great and complex relationships with each other. It continues to be the best shojo I've ever seen, hands down. Also, Oscar is awesome. She's reason enough to check this baby out.
