The Versailles roses

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The Versailles roses
Original title ベ ル サ イ ユ の ば ら
transcription Berusaiyu no Bara
genre Drama, romance
Manga
country JapanJapan Japan
author Riyoko Ikeda
publishing company Shūeisha
magazine Margaret
First publication 1972-1973
expenditure 10
Anime television series
title Lady Oscar
Original title ベ ル サ イ ユ の ば ら
Country of production JapanJapan Japan
original language Japanese
Year (s) 1979-1980
Studio Tōkyō Movie Shinsha
length 25 minutes
Episodes 40
Director Tadao Nagahama (episodes 1–18)
Osamu Dezaki (from episode 19)
music Kōji Makaino
First broadcast Oct.10, 1979 - September 10, 1980 on Nippon TV
German-language
first broadcast		 March 6, 1995 on RTL II
Anime movie
title Versailles no Bara: Inochi Aru Kagiri Aishite
Original title ベ ル サ イ ユ の ば ら 生命 あ る か ぎ り 愛 し て
transcription Berusaiyu no Bara: Inochi Aru Kagiri Aishite
Country of production JapanJapan Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 1987
Studio Tōkyō Movie Shinsha
length 90 minutes
Director Kenji Kodama , Yoshio Takeuchi
script Masahiro Yamada, Yoshimi Shinozaki, Keigo Sugie
music Kōji Makaino
synchronization
Movies
► Versailles no Bara (1978)

The Roses of Versailles ( Japanese ベ ル サ イ ユ の ば ら , Berusaiyu no Bara ) is a manga by Riyoko Ikeda from the 1970s, which was adapted into musicals from the Takarazuka Revue , an anime and films. The series is set in France , just before the French Revolution. While it is a fictional story, it contains historically correct information about the time and many historical figures appear.

action

The main character is Oscar François de Jarjayes , the sixth daughter of a general. Since the general wants a son who follows in his footsteps, he names his child "Oscar" and lets the girl be raised like a boy. Oscar learned the art of fencing and riding at an early age, and at the age of 14 she was in charge of the royal castle guard. She accompanied the young Marie Antoinette to the court of Versailles, where she became a close confidante.

Oscar protects the queen against enemies and intrigue. She is loyal to her even when she sees the queen's faults. When Oscar welcomes Rosalie, an impoverished Parisian girl, her loyalty to the Queen begins to wane. But Oscar does not yet draw any conclusions. At the same time she falls in love with the queen's lover, Hans Axel von Fersen . He does not reciprocate Oscar's feelings, however, which deeply hurts her. In order to be able to forget him, she quits her service with the Royal Guard and is transferred to the mercenaries. André, her best friend from childhood, continues to stand by her, even though she gave him the opportunity of a different life.

When the Estates General were convened, she and her men were supposed to guard Parliament, but the Estates General were soon dissolved. Oscar is ordered to evacuate Parliament by force of arms if necessary. She refuses and is then removed from office. She and her soldiers who are loyal to her are arrested and tried before the military tribunal. André is able to free Oscar from captivity and together they fight to free their comrades.

At the beginning of the French Revolution, Oscar realizes that she actually loves André and belongs to him, but they only have one night. On the morning of July 13, 1789, the French Guard, led by Oscar, sided with the people. In bloody battles they try to protect the people. In the afternoon of the day, not even half of their men are still alive. While trying to get back to the people, André is fatally injured. Oscar is unable to cope with her feelings. The only one who still stands by her is Alain, a mercenary and friend of André.

On July 14, 1789, the storming of the Bastille begins . The people have no chance against the soldiers' cannons and when Oscar shows up with their soldiers, a bloodbath has already been wreaked. With the help of existing cannons, they try to take the Bastille. The general in the Bastille knows immediately that his only chance of salvation is the death of the Oscars. So he orders all the soldiers in the Bastille to shoot Oscar. Oscar dies in a side street near the Bastille while the people storm and occupy the Bastille.

Conception

Although the plot of the manga and anime is not based on actual events, they contain many correct events and details of 18th century life; In addition, several historical personalities appear, such as Marie Antoinette and Hans Axel von Fersen - albeit often in a rather free representation. Oscar's father on the show, General Reynier de Jarjayes, is also a historical figure. In addition, the relationships and feelings of the characters as well as fashion and being in love play a central role, as is the case with many manga for girls.

An epilogue shows how the revolution is developing and what is happening to the royal family, von Fersen, Robespierre and all the important people of the French Revolution. The series ends with the death of Marie Antoinette on October 16, 1793.

Publication of the manga

The manga appeared in Japan from 1972 to 1973 in the manga magazine Margaret , which is aimed at older girls. The story was also published in ten edited volumes by the Shueisha publishing house . The manga has been translated into Korean, French, Spanish and Italian, among others.

The manga was published in German by Carlsen Verlag under the title Die Rosen von Versailles , but in seven volumes, since a new edition from 1987 served as a template for the German version.

Adaptations

Takarazuka musical

A theater and musical version of the Takarazuka revue, in which both female and male roles are played exclusively by women, was first staged in 1974. Traditionally, the story is divided into two pieces, each of which exposes two of the main characters / lovers: Oscar Et André Hen and Fersen Et Marie-Antoinette Hen. The play is still performed today, most recently in 2014 with Ouki Kaname as Oscar. The theme song Ai Areba Koso is considered an evergreen .

Anime

series

In 1979, the Tōkyō Movie Shinsha studio produced a 40-part television series based on the manga. Tadao Nagahama directed up to the eighteenth episode, after which Osamu Dezaki took over . Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno were responsible for character design; Ken Kawai, Tadao Kubota, Toshibaru Minako and Toshiharu Mizutani were the artistic directors. The series first aired from October 10, 1979 to September 3, 1980 by Nippon TV in Japan.

This was followed by broadcasts in France, Spain, Latin America and Italy as well as the Arab region. The anime ran in March 1995 on the German TV station RTL II . In 2003 Tele 5 broadcast the first ten episodes of Lady Oscar , but left it at that due to licensing disputes. KSM Film has acquired the rights to these episodes. The DVDs were released in September 2006, but only with German sound.

Movie

The 90-minute film Versailles no Bara: Inochi Aru Kagiri Aishite ( ベ ル サ イ ユ の ば ら 生命 あ る か ぎ り 愛 し て ) was released on video on May 21, 1987 and was released in Japanese theaters on May 19, 1990. Directed by Kenji Kodama and Yoshio Takeuchi .

synchronization

role series Movie
Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) German speaker Japanese speaker
Oscar François de Jarjayes Reiko Tajima Diana Borgwardt Reiko Toda
André Grandier Taro Shigaki Oliver Rohrbeck Yū Mizushima
Louis XV Yoshito Yasuhara Helmut Krauss
Louis XVI Hisashi Katsuta Frank Schröder
Hans Axel von Fersen Katsunosuke Hori
Nachi Nozawa 		Gerald Schaale Kei Tomiyama
Alain Keaton Yamada Keaton Yamada
Victore de Girodelle Keiji Mishima David Nathan
Marie Antoinette Miyuki Ueda Marie Bierstedt Miyuki Ueda
Rosalie Rihoko Yoshida Daniela Reidies
Sophie Glacé Kakuko Motoyama Hannelore student
Madam du Barry Ryōko Kinomiya Karin David
General de Jarjayes Kenji Utsumi Stefan Staudinger Kenji Utsumi
Madame De Noailles Gisela Fritsch

music

The music in the series was composed by Kōji Makaino . The opening title Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru ( 薔薇 は 美 し く 散 る ) and the closing song Ai no Hikari to Kage ( 愛 の 光 と 影 ) were sung by Hiroko Suzuki.

The German lyrics are from Michael Kunze.

Real film

In 1979 the French director Jacques Demy made a Japanese production of a feature film under the title Lady Oscar with Catriona MacColl as Oscar François de Jarjayes and Barry Stokes as André Grandier. The soundtrack for this movie was written by Michel Legrand . The plot deviates significantly from the manga in many ways. At the end of the film only André dies, and the role of the Oscars in the revolution is also much less important. Oscar as a child is played by Patsy Kensit .

Analysis and reception

Lady Oscar is considered a manga classic and has revolutionized the shōjo genre (for girls) with topics such as history. The manga also brought the genre attention outside of its target group for the first time, with male readers as well as in educated circles.

Patrick Drazen sees the manga as the successor to Osamu Tezuka's Ribon no Kishi , the first work of the Shōjo genre. The roses of Versailles also shaped the genre and influenced many later works, so Utena. Revolutionary Girl and The Sword of Paros . The figure Oscar is to be classified as the archetype of the beautiful, but fate-punished fighter. She also finds herself in a conflict between her duties and needs, a common theme in Japanese literature. In particular, the combination of exotic historical surroundings, complex characters and unfulfilled passion helped the manga to be successful.

According to Paul Gravett, the series is primarily devoted to dealing with the readers' own sexual identity. Ikeda makes use of the contrast between the lives of Marie Antoinette and Oscar, who both equally “renounce their true feelings in the name of duty”. In the relationship between Oscar and André, the allusion to a homosexual relationship is often seen, as it has been discussed in the shōjo genre more often since the 1970s, in which the manga appeared.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Patrick Drazen: Anime Explosion! - The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation , p. 93. Stone Bridge Press, 2002.
  2. ↑ a b Frederik L. Schodt, Osamu Tezuka (preface): Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics , p. 100 f. Kodansha America, 1983.
  3. ↑ Frederik L. Schodt, Osamu Tezuka (preface): Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics , p. 215. Kodansha America, 1983.
  4. ^ A b Paul Gravett: Manga - Sixty Years of Japanese Comics , p. 80 f. Egmont Manga and Anime, 2004.
  5. ↑ German Film Institute - DIF / German Film Museum & Museum of Applied Arts (ed.): Ga-netchû! The Manga Anime Syndrome . Henschel Verlag, 2008.

Web links

Commons : The Roses of Versailles  - Collection of images, videos and audio files