NYCC 2012: Rose of Versailles

For the first time in English, Rose of Versailles brings the classic, over 40 year old tale to the attention of Anime and Manga lovers, not only in English speaking countries, but everywhere around the world. The Rose of Versailles was first released in 1972 and was written by Riyoko Ikeda, who reshaped shojo manga. October 13^th, 2012 marked the first time it was released outside of Japan, Europe, or Asia, and released for English-speakers in America and Canada. The interview and question and answer session was done by Christopher Macdonald, the publisher of Anime News Network, and by Dr. Susan Napier, a Professor of Japanese studies who teaches at Tufts University.

Since the 35 minute video. . .well, is 35 minutes long, I’ll let you watch it and see what was discussed. For the main part, the questions were about how the video was perceived in America and how excited anime lovers would be about this new premise that is completely different from modern day anime. Also, Dr. Susan Napier explored the various theories brought up while the first screening aired.

The screening itself (and I, not really an Anime fan) was quite interesting and was comedic- in a corny way, as well as the dialogue. The main plot is about Oscar, a princess who is raised as a girl since her father is dying to have a male heir, and Oscar must fight between being forced to be something she’s not and the person she really is.