Le Chevalier D'eon Review

As I continue to wait and watch the episodes of shows coming out this season, I thought I'd catch up on some recommended shows I've missed from the near past. So, in marathon form, I watched that alt-history, trendy French-styled anime, Le Chevalier D'eon.

For those who don't know, Le Chevalier D'eon is the story of one man named D'eon, knight and noble under Louis XV (mid-1700's), who finds his sister Lia dead, and her vengeful soul lingering in his own body. Struck by the tragedy, D'eon realizes how little he knew about his sister and her work for the king. So D'eon and his companions set themselves out to discover both what Lia was doing and who killed her. Of course the truth is not always what it seems, and D'eon and company learn quickly that the price for knowledge can be quite steep.

First of all, I remember watching an episode of Track-Shun that featured Le Chevalier D'eon and while I can't remember whether Chris tracked it or shunned it I definitely thought that the show clearly had a uniqueness to it that, if pulled off, could really deliver. My thoughts then did not prove me wrong, and in fact I found the show even more interesting than I ever imagined, for you'll soon see that these Frenchmen don't just fight with sword and guns, although there's plenty of that too.

Aside from the story though, what really struck me was the animation. The animation is quite beautiful, and the extravagance of the costumes and particularly the cityscapes adds a whole new level of excitement to an already exciting show. Particularly well done are the sword fights, which have an almost matrix quality to them.

Looking back on the show now though I will say, spoiler free of course, that if you get into this story be prepared for some depression, because this tale is not a happy one. For those of you who have seen Blood +, it's really quite similar as both left me feeling fairly mellow. Regardless though, if you're a fan of classic sword fighting, alternate history tales, or France this is definitely for you, while I'd still recommend Le Chevalier D'eon to others, just because this truly was a novel and exciting show.