Erichnathanbennett Review of Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (2004–2005)

Amazing adaptation but fell into the bland protagonist trap of anime

[6/10 · 13 July 2019]

This anime is amazing; every character is perfectly fleshed out as well as the setting and environment. It is a near perfect adaptation with the anime twist; I say near because the count is not the main character. He may be playing puppeteer and conductor but is not the main character. The main character is a pretty much bland protagonist named Albert who through the entire show pretty much just spouts "you have to do the right thing." He does this so much even when his whole world is turned upside down by the count and although he is mad he quickly forgets about his despair and screams "do the right thing." It gets annoying and while you get this feeling of wanting to see more count (which is what I think they were aiming for) it's quickly replaced by wanting to see less Albert. Wanting to see less of a character is never a good thing but they are the main protagonist then a show has failed. And it's ashamed because the show is beautiful and fleshed our and the count oozes this charisma that demands your attention when he is given screen time. And it's quickly stolen by Mr. Naive bland protagonist. If you want a great revenge story don't waste 10+ hours watching this; watch the 1998 mini series adaptation.