The Late 1970s anime The Rose of Versailles is one of my favorite animated shows of all time; I've watched it all the way through twice and will surely watch it again.
However, despite my deeply held affection for the show, I had yet to read the Ryoko Ikeda manga that it was based on. Of course I realize that this is a gross oversight on my part. After all, if you are a fan of an adaptation than sooner or later, you should ideally want to acquaint yourself with its source material (incidentally, that is why I can't understand those fans of Game of Thrones who refuse to read A Song of Ice and Fire, but I digress).
Now, since I can't read Japanese and the manga has yet to be officially translated into English, I thought at first that I would have to rely on fan-translations. Fortunately, it turns out that there is in official release outside of Japan in a language I can read, courtesy of the French manga publisher Kana. I immediately ordered the first volume and having read it, can now share my thoughts on it with you.
The First volume from Kana is a massive tome, clocking in at over 900 pages. It begins with a look at the early life of a young Marie Antoinette, shortly before she is betrothed to the future Louis XVI and sent to France and it ends on a cliffhanger with Louis having received an anonymous letter saying that the Royal couple's younger son is the result of an affair between the Queen and the Swedish nobleman Hans Axel von Fersen.
Coming in to the manga via the anime, I mostly found myself on familiar ground while reading the source-material. The Volume covers several story-lines that were adapted for the anime, such as The Necklace Affair and The Black Knight Arc and they play out in pretty much the same way on page as they did on screen. The Characters, whether they are based on real-life figures or are purely fictional, such as Oscar and Andre are recognizable. Well, Oscar is perhaps a bit more prone to snark than her animated counterpart.
That said, there are ways in which the manga differs significantly from the anime. For one thing, the manga is a lot more comedic. Now, don't get me wrong, this is still first and foremost a dramatic work, with the focus being on the schemes of the nobility and the hardship of the people, as well as the Revolution which is lurking silently at the background. However, at times, Ikeda sometimes has her characters sport over-the-top cartoonish expressions as a reaction something that they've heard or read and these moments are clearly played for comedic effect. At first, I found this stylistic choice to be a bit distracting, since its absent from the anime, but eventually I got used to it. And to be fair, its not as if The Rose of Versailles is the first manga I've read that does this.
The Second difference lies with a certain character; namely, the Duke of Orleans. In the anime, this guy is basically the main villain for a good part of the story, always plotting to overthrow his cousin Louis and seize power. Here though, while definitely an antagonistic character, his role is dramatically reduced and he only appears in a minor supporting role.
So, which version of The Rose of Versailles do I like more? Well, I will admit that I have a bit of a preference for the anime, thanks in no small part to Osamu Dezaki's directing once he came on board. However, this does not in any way diminish the source material. I found this volume to be a thoroughly entertaining read and definitely deserves its status as one of the foremost shoujo manga. If look forward to reading the rest of it in due time and think that anyone with an interest in Japanese comics should check it out.
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