Let us face it, the first thing that strikes you about "Innocent" are the drawings. Exceptionally detailed, so much so that some panels could easily be framed and hung somewhere. They remain unchanged and get even better in "Innocent Rouge", just as the author's crude but effective method of portraying the psychology of his characters does not change. A Charles Henri Sanson is joined by the strong, stubborn and unconventional figure of his younger sister Marie Josèphe, who plays an almost marginal role in the first series.

I approached the two series (first "Innocent" and then "Rouge") more out of curiosity than genuine interest, and the rather obvious references to Versailles No Bara certainly carried their weight, at least as far as I was concerned.

The similarities with Oscar are numerous - Marie even has an assistant named André and a lost love, a man named Alain, who was murdered by an aristocrat - but she has no balance or sense of justice that Oscar had, and his restless torment is never conditioned by his actions, which Marie pursues to the end and to the extreme, transcending the usual concepts of good and evil and guided only by her instinct.

I was also drawn to the personal and family history of the Sansons, with its concept of guilt, sin, innocence forced to bear a heavy burden passed down from generation to generation, a terrible "fate" that no member of the Sanson family can escape, no matter how much they want to.
"Innocent Rouge", like the previous series, is not a easy read; it's imbued with so much pain, suffering and horror, it's raw and cruel; it shows the most brutal and violent aspects of human nature, the darkest and bestial side, and the autor shows it to us, through a hyperrealistic style.

There is any flaw in this manga? If I really have to find one, in some cases the author tends to fall into the common, typical Japanese mistake of stereotyping a particular culture to the extreme. For example, some prominent French personalities known for their eccentricity are doubly eccentric in this manga. Very much oriental style. Some may like this, others may not, but that doesn't change the fact that even in these cases they're extremely interesting characters.

The ending is worthy of the story and its characters and closes this series very well. Reading it undoubtedly makes the reader think about many concepts regarding human nature and its essence:__ what are good and evil, guilt, sin? What can the human spirit bear without being crushed by the weight of its existence?
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Like I said, it is not a read suitable for everyone, but with a little courage you can certainly face a very interesting plot.

My vote is 4 stars