Gankutsuou Ep 4 - Haha no Himitsu (My mother's secret)

Albert introduces the Count to his parents and his mother, Mercedes is visibly shaken upon seeing the Count. Albert's father, General Montcerf warmly welcomes the Count and invites him for dinner.

However, during the meal, Mercedes realises that the Count has not been touching the food and asks if dinner is not to his liking. The Count simply attributes this as a lack of appetite but drinks the seafood soup prepared by Mercedes instead. He remarks that this is a nostalgic flavour and asks her whether she is from Marseilles. However, General Montcerf is visibly unhappy at the mention of the place and says that Mercedes has nothing to do with such a lowly place.

After dinner, the Count and Mercedes meet at the terrace and start to chat. Mercedes remarks that in the Eastern Universe, people who share bread and salt under one roof will be friends forever and remarks that she hopes they will be like that since the Count has had a meal at her place. However, the Count rebukes that this is Paris where nobody shares bread and salt. In addition, there is no such thing as forever friends which makes Mercedes stunned. Unknown to them, Beppo and Albert are looking on from afar and Beppo says that Mercedes is visibly drawn to the Count and wonders if they are having an affair. Albert tells Beppo to stop spouting nonsense and walks away.

After sending the Count off, Albert has tea with his parents. Mercedes tells him to treat the Count with respect and not associate too closely with him. Later that night, Albert sees Mercedes holding a man's photo while in a daze and Beppo's words about the fact that Mercedes is in love with someone else other than his father makes Albert very uncomfortable.

The next morning, Albert wakes up to find Eugenie at his house and thinks that she is looking for him. However, Eugenie is waiting for Mercedes to go shopping. Albert walks past Mercedes' room and sees Beppo trying on his mother's jewellery. Beppo draws Albert's attention to the locked drawer and tells him that she can be of help if he wants since she's an expert at picking locks.

Albert prepares to go to the Count's house with Franz, Maximillian and Bauchean, dressed as a pirate because Beppo said he was too plain with his original suit. The four are surprised to see the Count living in an ordinary apartment but while they are waiting for the Count at the living room, they feel the ground sinking and reach a hall which is made of gold. They finally get to see the Count and Albert is especially stunned when he sees the scenery in his mother's painting which makes him more convinced that there is something between the Count and Mercedes. The Count gives Albert a sword as his companion for his journey from now on...

Albert is simply too easily swayed by other people especially Beppo who keeps trying to fan Albert's suspicion towards Mercedes' feelings towards the Count. He should learn to be more independent and less rash when it comes to his association with people.

From the next episode's trailer, the title is "Do you love your fiancee?" Is this directed at Albert only or does this include Franz too? It's obvious that Albert doesn't seem too attracted to Eugenie unlike what he feels towards Beppo and Franz doesn't seem to be that close to Valentine too. Well, we'll see from the next episode then.

Gankutsuou Ep 3 - 5 gatsu 22 nichi, Arashi (May 22nd, Thunderstorms)

Albert returns to Paris after his trip in Luna and joins his fiancee, Eugenie and his friends for a drive. Franz brings his fiancee, Valentine and three other friends, Renaud, Dobrel and Bauchean also join them. During the drive, Albert gets into an argument with Eugenie as usual while Franz and Valentine seem to be quite distant. When they reach the borders, they happen to meet Maximillian who seems very attracted to Valentine. After the picnic, they head towards the tower and take a look at the two worlds separated by the border. Eugenie remarks that she feels as if they have been shut in from the rest of the world which is not as prosperous as Paris.

Albert return to his house to wait for the Count who is supposed to meet him today. The ladies return home due to the downpour while the guys sit in the living room waiting for the Count. Albert's friends have doubts on the Count's real identity and character which Albert strongly objects to and tries to defend the Count.

Meanwhile, the Count has arrived in Paris and is in his carriage while on the way to Albert's house. He tells his servant that his revenge will begin from today.

The Count finally arrives at Albert's house and meets his friends who are sceptical about the Count's real identity. Bauchean tries to take photos of the Count but he declines. During dinner, Albert is shocked to find Beppo working as a maid in his house but keeps quiet instead.

After leaving Albert's house, Bauchean says that something is not quite right with the Count since he secretly taped the conversation but the Count's voice is not recorded. In addition, photos taken of the Count simply showed a fuzzy image which makes Franz rather worried.

Albert goes to look for Beppo who tells him that she left the bandits and is now working in his house as a maid. She says that it was by coincidence that she came here to work and tells Albert that she will not reveal what happened between them in Luna.

Meanwhile, the Count's attention is taken up by a potrait of Albert's mother which Albert says that his father hates this painting thus it was put in his room. He also takes the Count around to show him other paintings.

The time finally comes for Albert to introduce the Count to his parents...

It seems like the Count is definitely not human. He wasn't hurt during the scuffle with the bandits when saving Albert and now, he can't be caught on film and his voice cannot be recorded. Is he really a vampire as speculated by Albert's friends? Anyway, it seems like he does know Albert's mother so his purpose in getting to know him is to take revenge on Albert's parents? What did they do to him?

Gankutsuou Ep 2 - Tsuki ni Asahi ga noboru made (Before the sun shines upon the moon)

Just as Albert is getting intimate with Beppo, a girl who makes the first move on him while on the streets, he is surprised to see her holding a gun and a group of gangsters moving towards him.

At the same time, Franz is at the party but his thoughts are on Albert who is wandering on the streets. He hears from the people at the party that there is a gang headed by a guy called Luigi Vampa which abducts people on the streets and robs or kills them. Since the local police are unable to do anything to Luigi's gang, they do as they wish in Luna which makes Franz start to worry.

Franz returns to the hotel where he is stopped by the convict who was saved by Albert when he chose his name from the three cards. That convict tells Franz to prepare 50 million ducats before dawn or Albert would be killed. Franz tries very hard to get the money but it is in the middle of the night and he can find nobody to lend him the money. Finally, he remembers the Count and goes to him for help.

During the journey to save Albert, Franz reveals to the Count that he and Albert met during his father's funeral when Albert came to talk to him. As such, they have been good friends since then but the Count seems to have doubts on the strength of their friendship.

At the same time, it is nearing dawn and Luigi's gang prepares to kill Albert. Beppo tries to intervene and is beaten by the gang. Just then, the Count's men barge in to overcome the gang members. The Count goes to find Luigi alone and reveals that he's Gankutsuou (king of the cavern). When Luigi attacks the Count, he is unhurt which scares Luigi so much that he is easily subdued.

After the ordeal, Albert tries to make light of the matter which Franz gets angry and slaps him since he was running around for his sake.

During a meal with the Count, he reveals to Albert and Franz that he plans to move to Paris and asks for their help to introduce him to the noble society there. Albert agrees to it enthusiastically and they make a date to meet 3 months later on 22 May. With that, Albert and Franz leave Luna to return to Paris.

The Count keeps looking at a wedding picture of a couple and talks about revenge. What has it got to do with Albert since the Count seems to be very interested in him? And he's definitely not human judging from the fact that he was not hurt when Luigi flung a knife at him. And when the Count appears in Paris, this seems to spell trouble from the trailer of the next episode.

The OP and ED are all in English and differ in styles. The OP is a ballad while the ED is a fast techno-style number. I prefer the OP though.

Gankutsuou Ep 1 - Tabi no Owari ni Bokura wa Deau (We met at the end of the trip)

Started to watch this yesterday.

Well, I've been hearing a lot about this anime e.g. the fact that it's made by Gonzo, the graphics are fabulous. Personally, I find that the graphics and colours used seem to be rather imaginary, dreamy and unreal. I guess this has to do with the fact that this story is set in the future. One point I would like to make would be the colours of the clothes. Somehow, the designs do not seem to be stagnant and they kind of blended in with the surroundings as if the prints of the clothes are moving. In addition, the clothes seem to be in vibrant colours and there's no plain suit so far based on this first episode. It's the first time I've seen colours like this in an anime.

The story begins with 2 good friends, Albert Montcerf and Franz who are travelling together. They come to a town called Luna when their local carnival is being held.

At the opera, Albert and Franz see a mysterious man who calls himself the Count of Monte Cristo and has nicknames like the Gentleman and Vampire since his background is unknown to the nobles. The two receive a dinner invitation from the Count and are impressed with his mannerisms and wealth. Albert seems to be in awe of the Count which Franz does not feel the same way as he's wary about this mysterious man. However, Albert does not believe Franz and agrees to join the Count for lunch on the next day where the public execution of criminals is to take place.

The Count suggests that they play a game where Albert can save one of the criminals' lives by choosing the card which bears that person's name. Franz realises that the Count is up to no good but Albert refuses to leave the balcony. The Count makes use of Albert's mentality that he wants to search for his true self on this trip with Franz and wants Albert to make his choice to prove that he has a mind of his own. After much deliberation, Albert finally chooses a card and he ends up saving the worst criminal among the three - a serial killer.

After being much shaken after this incident, Albert quarrels with Franz and goes wandering on the streets. He meets a beautiful girl and brings her to a street corner before getting intimate with her. However, Albert is shocked when the girl suddenly uses a gun to point at him...

Based on the story so far, I think my interest can be sustained throughout the series since I like suspense stories. I'm interested to know what the Count is up to and why is he seeking revenge on Albert who seems to have nothing to do with him. This looks very promising.