Shoujo is a genre that loves melodrama and sometimes it's good, but sometimes it can get out of hand. Rose of Versailles is a product of Shoujo done right because whilst it is easy to make light of its visuals, it remains a timeless classic of the Shoujo genre. It is an engrossing story about characters who not only struggle with human dignity but stand on the precipice of an event which they cannot escape from.
Story:
Set during the mid to late 1700s in France, Rose of Versailles is a story that spans over two decades and centers around Oscar and Marie-Antoinette. With no male heir to continue his military legacy, General de Jarjayes decides to raise his female child Oscar as a boy. She later becomes the commander of the French Royal Guards and is tasked with the protection of the Austrian princess, Marie-Antoinette. However, what fate befalls them is an event which they cannot escape from, the French Revolution.
As Oscar becomes the confidante of Marie-Antoinette, we see first hand, the events that unfold in Versailles. There are gossips, scandals, and schemes, all of which are silly compared to the other problems that the nobles do not seem to care about. The first half of the story focuses on Marie-Antoinette as she was intended to actually be the main character of the show. This is actual history so it's not a spoiler; Marie-Antoinette gets married to Louis XVI and becomes the French Queen at the age of 19. The couple are what you could consider as misfits for the throne or a recipe for disaster. Marie-Antoinette is spoiled, ignorant, and too trusting. Louis XVI on the other hand is too easily influenced and shy. So while the nobles have their high-class catfights, and try to grasp more power and influence, the greater the problems of France become. Rose of Versailles is a story of human dignity in a time of injustice, and massive disconnect between the nobles and the poor. It portrays the horrors of the French Revolution as it unfolded, and many tragedies come and go throughout the series, especially during the second half of the story when things get bloody and violent. I appreciate the fact that they decided to make Oscar the main character later on in the series. The first half of the story showed us the viewpoint of the nobles through Marie-Antoinette and the second half of the story gave us a unique view and perspective on the French Revolution through Oscar who is a fictional character in a real-world setting. The only problem I found with this story is that it can get overly melodramatic at times. Other than that, the time skips are nothing to worry about because the pacing was done well.
Sound and Music:
Considering how historically dramatized Rose of Versailles is, it is expected to have a good musical score. With a wide variety of instruments used, Rose of Versailles manages to show the contrast between the royalty of Versailles, and the poor of Paris through the use of sound and music. The problem though is that the music felt like it was sparse. It was quite noticeable throughout the series that some musical pieces were overused which is what made it feel sparse. I also want to note that there seems to be some retro music included. Retro as in 1970s disco music. I'm surprised that they managed to fit music like that into a historical anime like Rose of Versailles. Other than that, the OP is also good, but I recommend skipping the ED because it spoils the show.
The sounds in Rose of Versailles has two issues. The first issue is that it can get overly dramatic especially when something bad happens. The second issue is the voice acting. Whilst Tajima Reiko may have done a good job at being the Seiyuu of Oscar, the problem lies in the fact that the same Seiyuus were used despite the many time skips throughout the series. I guess this is more of a budget issue though, but using different Seiyuus would have definitely added more realism as it would have been easier to distinguish the ages of the characters.
Art and Animation:
If you are familiar with Shoujo from the 1970s, then you would know what to expect of this. Dewy eyes with long lashes, slender bodies, and sparkles. A lot of sparkles. From backgrounds to
objects and characters, everything sparkles. It is like a visual cue to whether something is attractive or important. Besides sparkles, Rose of Versailles also does a good job of showing the divide between the rich and the poor through its visuals. This is highlighted in the wide variety of hairstyles and clothing used. The hairstyles and lavish clothing show the grandiose of the rich, while the simpleness of clothing and hairstyle show the struggles of the poor. Sceneries were also taken into account as they made Versailles look like a haven and Paris like a putrid place.
Rose of Versailles uses the pastel freeze frame technique in capturing its significant moments. It's a technique that relies on well-drawn stills with sound effects. It does not always come off as attractive though because the art is quite dated. The coloring or texture is also bit flat so the lavish clothes and the simple ones look as if they are made of the same fabric. The art was good for its time, but it has not aged well so it's just a matter of whether you can overlook it or not.
Characters:
The most memorable aspect of Rose of Versailles is its characters. For an anime with so many time skips, it is quite surprising how well developed the characters were and this is all thanks to the pace of the story. There is much depth and complexity to be seen in the characters because they each have their own struggles. Out of all the characters, however, Oscar is the most engaging one.
Although acting as a side character at first, she was made as the protagonist due to her popularity. Oscar’s gender is no secret in the show, but the reason she struggles is because she was raised as a
man despite being a woman. She is a character that we can get behind because she is not only strong, intelligent and kind, but she also struggles with her own moral self and identity. Oscar is also a fictional character in a real-world setting. To see her story and how she deals with her struggles is a part of that engaging aspect because we know the history, but we don't know about Oscar because she is fictional.
Rose of Versailles offers a colorful cast of characters to love or hate, and they all fit well into the story. All the characters feel so natural that it seems like they were alive during the 1700s. The narrator is one to hate though. The narrator can be seen as a weak point of the anime and should have been excluded. The narrator does remind us of important dates and events, but she also spoils a lot of things and blurts out information which we could infer from ourselves. The story also takes liberties with its characters, making some changes to what is factual. In general, though, the story remains quite historically accurate because the only major liberties taken were the addition of two major fictional characters; Oscar and André.