Currently Watchin: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 4-5)

Meet King Henry XV. Now, this isn’t at all what I expected since when I think of French kings. I guess I presume that they always look fat and pompous with rosy cheeks and red lips...but I digress. He shows up with his trusty sidekick Duc d'Broglie to confront D’Eon about the papers that were delivered to him with the list of high ranking Russian officials, and reprimand him for not handing them over sooner. The King finally explains to D’Eon that his sister was a part of Le Secret du Roi, which is a secret organization that he has scattered all over the world to act as spies. Lia happened to be stationed in Russia, and I think that we can therefore assume that the letter sent to D'Eon was from his sister. The King then offers D’Eon an opportunity to follow in Lia’s path by joining Le Secret du Roi, which D'Eon accepts.

Later we somehow find out that the Duc d'Orléans was associated with Lia by acting as a conduit (meaning he passed information to and from her). In my humble opinion, before I pass top secret information along, I would try to make damn sure that my accomplice is trustworthy. But I guess if they were half as sensible as I was they wouldn't have an interesting plot line...hehehehe I joke. We also get a closer look at the Marquise de Pompadour who made a very short cameo in the first episode. She is the King’s mistress, and in this episode she is touting a radical speech in the palace courts. That slutty traitor! If you're going to sleep with the king, you probably shouldn't commit treason...or I guess it gives you the perfect opportunity. In any case, I don't really know how I feel about her. She is the enemy after all.

D’Eon and his comrades continue their search for the Russian, who is aided by the Duc d'Orléans and his trusty advisor Compte de Saint-Germain who looks like a creepy eunuch. Our foolish protagonist fiercely refuses to allow Lia to possess him because he believes that his sister would never kill so mercilessly - and because he won't let her take over, he is about to be killed by Caron who has now received even greater power by the Compte. Caron, then instead of killing D'Eon, wastes precious time to give a grand speech. Personally, if the victim's going to die anyway, I would kill first and then give the speech. But I actually liked Caron speech, and it did affect D'Eon, because he says something quite poignant and relevant to everyone in any society. He ridicules our hero, scoffing at his laughable knightly status, mocking him as he is at the mercy of his sword. He asks D’Eon how it feels to be beaten by a commoner who scrapes to get by day by day, the scum of society whom D’Eon and his noble peers turn their powdery cheeks from, living in ignorant bliss. Well, something like that but only much more poetic and eloquent. But of course, Lia steps in and kills Caron for good this time.

The King has by now realized that his uncle, Duc d'Orléans has been plotting against him. The King then comes all the way to Paris to deliver a few lines to the Duke and pretty much kick his arse. Unfortunately for the "good guys" the Duke and Count are successful in aiding Baronsoff the Russian out of France. As Baronsoff leaves France, he is accompanied by a dashing young blond Parisian, quoting a few lines Dante's Inferno.

I find our enigmatic newcomer quite intriguing. I think he's evil, but he's probably a likeable antagonist. Right?


*Duc d'Broglie will also be referred to as Duke of Broglie or Broglie
*Marquise de Pompadour will also be referred to as Pompadour
*Comte de Saint-Germain will also be referred to as Count Saint-Germain

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 2-3)

So I actually wasn’t going to write about the second episode, but I decided why not? There are a lot of important things to discuss anyways…

In the second episode we discover that 1) Lia has been possessing D’Eon to seek vengeance, as her raging lost spirit wanders the earth 2) The queen and king are definitely up to something, and play a much bigger role than I initially assumed and 3) This series has some serious supernatural happenin's. The queen, whom we discover has been (secretly?) talking to Belle, a creepy talking skull, has sent Robin to assist D'Eon on his journey. On the last episode, some things happened that had sent D'Eon back to Versailles unconscious. He asks Queen Marie about the mysterious code NQM, and there is an in depth allusion to the book of Psalms in the Christian Bible. Throughout the anime I’ve noticed the characters quoting either biblical verses or other famous religious lines, but this is a whole 'nother level. Any who, D’Eon leaves Versailles once again, and on his quest is also accompanied by Durande, his sister Lia’s lover/friend/companion, and his old fencing teacher Teillagory. It’s funny because as soon as the last member joins the group, the opposition unleashes an army of zombies on our heroes as if they were hiding in the alleyway waiting for them to have a chuckle before going out to destroy them. Caron, the series’ most powerful enemy yet, appears to finish off D’Eon while his companions are distracted trying to un-zombify the entire horde. However, Lia possesses D'Eon again and kicks Caron's ass and they manage to capture him. Durande, pretending to betray his companions, releases the enemy in order to have him run back to his masters. The dimwit of an enemy leads D’Eon to the Duc d'Orléans, who has been behind this operation this entire time, and is conspiring against the King. Dun Dun Dun...

 

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Watch With Me!)

I don’t know what really intrigued me to start this anime. I had never even heard of it before, but I’m excited. First of all, the imagery is gorgeous, and the drawing style I must say is my favourite: almost Miyazaki-esque. The first episode opens up with a casket found in the river with a dead girl. She is Lia, the sister of our main character D’Eon who embarks on a hunt for his beloved sister’s killer. 

King Louis the XV reigns over France from his palace in Versailles at the time D’Eon finds his sister dead. As I love studying, reading and learning about the royal court life, I enjoy that this anime dedicates itself to realistically capture that era. Kings, earls and marquise donning fanciful dresses practicing traditions and customs have a cameo in every episode. D'Eon indeed is a nobleman who has the right to be present at court, but he leaves his privilege behind to unravel this mystery that will soon plague the nation.

Quickly the setting changes as D’Eon leaves Versailles and Anna, the girl who so desperately dotes on him, for Paris. He arrives in Paris to become part of the secret police who works under King Louis XV. Of course, when he arrives, he realizes that his sister's murderer is no ordinary criminal or abductor. Instead, an entirely dark side of religion, government, and high society is exposed as they grow closer to the truth. In search for a Russian suspect, they go into the Duc d'Orléans’s estate to look for him, and the Duke is obviously sketchy.With the permission of the Duke, they find inside the Russian’s residence, dead girls hanging up on the walls with strange tubes attached to them. They also find letters written in blood with a list of France's high ranking government officials. D’Eon reveals to his friend Bernis, that just before his sister’s death, he had a letter sent to him with a list of high ranking Russian government officials, signed by “NQM." 

We come to discover as the episode goes on that Lia was no innocent little girl herself. She was also involved with a secret society and kept many secrets from Anna as well as her brother. With all of this talk of secret organizations and whatnot, the first episode is actually quite hard to follow, but it left me intrigued with the twisted plot nevertheless.


*Duc d'Orléans will also be referred to as Duke of Orléans