Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles

About Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles

Here is what Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら) is about, retold in plain terms: an adventure, drama and romance anime by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (1979). The premise: Raised from birth as a man, the Lady Oscar commands the palace guards at Versailles in the years before the French Revolution. Her beauty and noble spirit make her a shining figure in the eyes of both men and women but she is torn between her chosen life of service and duty to class and country and her own heart and desires.

Soon after, she lives as a noble amidst the opulence of Versailles but her keen senses and compassion are not blinded to the poverty of the French people.

With adventure at the core, exploration, new locations and a steady sense of momentum drive the story. André Grandier (Tarou Shigaki) and Oscar François de Jarjayes (Reiko Tajima) are two of the characters you will meet early. This one is best suited to anyone who enjoys travel-the-world storytelling. The run is 40 episodes in total, so you know what you are signing up for.

Production & Appeal

Tokyo Movie Shinsha is the studio behind Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles, and its direction shapes everything from character design to motion. Because it leans on adventure, exploration, new locations and a steady sense of momentum drive the story. Viewers rate it 8.2/10, which signals strong word of mouth. On the casting side, Tarou Shigaki voicing André Grandier gives the lead role a recognizable voice. Released in 1979, it competed with that season's other new series for attention.