The story takes place in Paris 1742, when the body of a
woman named Lia de Beaumont is found in a casket floating along the Seine River
as day breaks and the only clue regarding her death is the word
"Psalms", which is written in blood on the lid of the casket. D'Eon
de Beaumont, Lia's younger brother and a knight in service of King Louis XV,
takes it upon himself to investigate his sister's mysterious death, along with
the strange disappearances of a number of French women all across Paris that
bare similar characteristics to his sister’s death. Driven by revenge D’Eon
begins to unravel the mystery of who is responsible for murdering his sister
but the plot begins to unfold even deeper as her death links to a plot that
threatens the very future of France. D’Eon comes face to face with a shadow
organization of people known as Poets that use the power hidden within Psalms
to wield God like power and preform hanis acts to achieve their goals. Once a
wielder of these powers, Lia returns from beyond the grave to stop the Poets by
possessing her younger brother and two begin to unravel the mystery behind her
death and the plan of the Poets. Most noticeable among these users is
Maximilien Roberspierre, a French Poet with connections to the Psalms, as well
as Lia's past as well as Count Cagliostro, who doesn't use Psalms but sees how
powerful they are and uses his teenage partner Lorenza, who does use them and
she isn't afraid to kill people with them when she needs to. Aiding him in his
efforts D’Eon is accompanied by Robin, a young boy who is very close to the
Queen of France Marie as well as Anna Rochefort who is D’Eons childhood friend
as well as his future wife and is dedicated to him heart and soul. Durand, a dashing man whose is highly adept
in the Florentine fencing style, wielding a rapier and main-gauche at the same
time is also aiding D’Eon on his journey. Durand's loyalty seems ambiguous
throughout the story, but he appears to have once had affections for Lia, he
eventually develops a fondness for Robin, taking the boy under his wing and
even bestowing upon him his treasured pocket watch. And finally there is
Teillagory who was once D'Eon and Lia's fencing instructor and is a
well-respected knight from the days of Louis XIV, he carries an antique sword
which was given to him by Louis XIV, and still holds onto the days of
knighthood and honor. Their battles stem across the world as the four travel
all across Europe as well as traveling to England and Russia in the pursuit of
answers behind the plot that threatens all they know.
“Le Chevalier D’Eon” is one of those animes that you do not
see every day in the respects that is a very serious anime, it doesn’t come
chocked full of bloodshed and gore or have some giant chested girl walking
around that have guys drooling all over. This is not at all a bad thing however
the dramatic and sometimes violent nature of the show makes the anime what it
is, D’Eon, Robin, Durand and Teillagory each have strong convictions in what
they believe in making them all compelling characters to watch. These
characters also come across compelling antagonist; Maximilien Roberspierre is
the classic character who you cannot tell if he is truly a bad guy and gives of
a cool, calm demeanor that steals the show. If there can be only one complaint
it would be that the show is wordy and full of dialogue that won’t be a hit
with those who are seeking a more heavily action based or less serious anime.
Good:
-Compelling story
-Characters with depth and intriguing history
-A perfect mix of serious and action
Bad:
-A bit wordy with many episodes of mostly dialogue
Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10
