So when I came across an anime series titled Gankutsuou (The King of the Cavern), which was adapted from one of my favorite classics: The Count of Monte Cristo, I saw an opportunity to appreciate it discarding some of its superficiality. And I was almost correct.

The Alexander Dumas classic was originally written in French and published in 1844. It follows the story of a wrongfully imprisoned Edmund Dantes who loses all hope, escapes from confinement, discovers hope and wealth and ultimately takes his revenge—in an intricately diabolical scheme—against all those involved in and benefiting from his persecution. The story takes place between 1815 to 1844, and is an intricate piece of work with an ensemble of at least 20 significant characters.

But the first red flag for me

was its setting. Director Maeda Mahiro decided to modify the setting by taking a sci-fi look at the French aristocracy of mid 19th century. What does this mean? It means the story takes place in the 51st century France, with inter-space travels, aliens, futuristic weapons and so on.

Even the insertion of extra-terrestrial life-forms, seems to further cleave and segregate some characters from the rest. It may seem to be a well-placed metaphor that reflects the aura of intrigue and exoticism surrounding the characters like Haydee (who is a Phoenician and not exactly ‘French’) and the Count (who has a fetish for everything oriental).

But their representation in the anime, that defines them not just by the colour of their skin, but by signifying them as a totally different species, further enhances the exoticisation and fosters a belief that though they are accepted in the society and even celebrated for their fame and beauty, they are still different from the ‘people’ of Paris.

The other red flag was its extremely unconventional and possibly one-of-a-kind visual animation. It is, in essence, totally inexplicable. It’s like the characters are moving through a world of wallpapers—if that makes any sense. But to truly grasp it, you have to see it. This style of editing that constitutes of multiple layers can even make the flick of the wrist look awe-full and can render you dizzy and confused, especially during scene transitions.

The series also does away with Dantes’ incarceration and his subsequent escape. Neither does it delve into the exploits that end up with him becoming the Count. The only explanation for all this: an alien parasite. While many of the explicit themes like incest, murder and brutality are retained; the series lacks the romantic melodrama and the numerous aliases of the Count. Similarly, the plot lines involving some of the less important characters—who nonetheless propel the plot forward—are oversimplified, and the main theme of hope and waiting is virtually non-existent. Being someone who’s actually read the book, I realised that the director had turned the anime into a fable out of the revenge classic that it is supposed to be.  

Over with the red flags now. There is some really cool stuff worth mentioning about this anime. And first comes the plot structure. Rather than Dumas’ chronological style where secrets slowly unfold in a linear pattern, the series starts in media res in Rome. This is significant as the story in the series now follows Edmund Dantes, after he has made a comeback as the Count of Monte Cristo, and as the series progresses, we get to experience his sinister revenge plots even as his past slowly seeps out. This plot construction—that follows the traditional epic style—seems really effective as it systematically allows the viewers to experience both past and present simultaneously.

Also, despite all its shortcomings, it still looks better than the 2002 motion picture adaptation. The main ensemble of 25 characters is fully present and acknowledged. The point of view is that of Albert, who is portrayed as naive and rash and down-right annoying. And be warned, for you will have a lot of face-palms for the first seven episodes.

The Count, on the other hand, is portrayed as a blue-skinned vampire with a case of hetero-chromia to make him seem more of a devil. Nevertheless, the tension, the scandal and the suspense are all well preserved. But the ending seems farfetched as General Morcerf commits an all-out assault on Parisians after dissolving the government. It may have been done solely for the animation company’s signature big finishes.

But Gankutsuou is a series that manages to create a story of its own while remaining more or less respectful to the original source material at the same time. A very unconventional interpretation and adaptation of the novel, it offers a different perspective to those who’ve already read the novel and to those who haven’t. Strip away the anachronisms, the visual complexity and the ridiculous ending and you still have an adaptation that’s much better than the Hollywood flick. Though, in both  cases, it could’ve been better had they hired people with French accents.

Roman Karki is a IB progamme graduate from Ullens school