The upcoming reboot of The Rose of Versailles from studio MAPPA looks absolutely stunning – and with the January 31, 2025 release date rapidly approaching, early reviews and comments about the upcoming adaptation are finally being made public. Among them, the manga’s original creator, Riyoko Ikeda, shared praise for MAPPA’s ability to stay faithful to the original work. At an early film screening, Ikeda was presented with an early birthday gift – a cake and bouquet of flowers.
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During the event, Ikeda shared that she believed MAPPA had done a wonderful job adapting the series, making it incredibly faithful to her original manga. Some other performers and artists have worked on the franchise over the years. Among them, Kuroki Hitomi and Toyonaga Toshiyuki, two actors who portrayed younger versions of the lead protagonists when they were child actors. Kuroki discussed how much the film affected her as she grew up, stating: “I believe that I am who I am today because of The Rose of Versailles.”
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The Rose of Versailles Is the Foundation of Shojo Manga
While The Rose of Versailles is a fictional take on the life of Marie Antoinette, it’s also a powerful exploration and expression of gender and challenges the expectations placed on women and men in society. The series originally began serializing in 1972 and, interestingly, was inspired by popular uprisings when Ikeda became involved with Japan’s New Left as a member of the Communist Party of Japan during the 1960s – a movement that the French Revolution directly inspired. During this time, shojo manga was undergoing a massive shift, focusing on complex stories that heavily focused on gender, relationships, and sexuality. Ikeda’s early work echoed this sentiment, with some of her stories filled with romance while others laced with poignant and powerful political symbolism. The Rose of Versailles was a major contributing factor in the shift shojo underwent during this time, blending the tragedies of romance and war with political drama.
The story takes place in France and, as previously mentioned, focuses on Marie Antoinette’s reign before and during the French Revolution. While the manga’s spotlight is primarily placed on Marie and the tumultuous circumstances surrounding her life, the manga also follows Oscar François de Jarjayes, a young woman who had been raised as a son her whole life to succeed her father as the military general of France. A large chunk of the narrative is Oscar becoming increasingly disillusioned with how France is being governed and becoming aware of the glaring wealth disparity plaguing the country.
As Marie falls into a depressive state after being left behind by her Swedish lover, which leads her to spend too much of the country’s money, Oscar takes charge – choosing to leave her life as a member of the royal guard behind to work alongside revolutionaries. The new film from MAPPA looks absolutely stunning, and the story is just as impactful now as it was when the series was originally released.
H/T natalie.mu
