Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
violet_sakura
I'be been calling this "violet-slop", not because it's poorly made, but because it's full to the brim of everything I love. Queer lady knights, rococo fashion, political drama and intrigue. I love my bifauxnen prince Oscar, she’s so beautiful and perfect.
From first glance of the description page it might seem outdated and a boring historical anime that just teaches you a little, much like I thought. But oh my goodness. Rose of Versailles is an incredible piece of media.
I dropped the first act a few times, I've never been one for a noble lady court drama no matter how hard I try to be that kind of girl, and also that Amazon Prime took it off their list. The second half after Oscar moves out of the Royal Army was incredible. Murdering off characters and giving them permanent damage was t…
Read at the sourceMrNice
— Is the sun setting already?
— Yes. Today's battle is over. Can't you hear — the musket fire's stopped?
— I hear the pigeons flying back to their nests…
The Rose of Versailles is an anime built on the historical canvas of 18th-century France. Most of the events and figures are real, though altered here and there for the sake of drama. So if historical inaccuracy makes you cringe every single time, then steer clear. Nor did it manage without its share of anime-ish naivety — particularly amusing is the moment right at the start where Oscar and André, to settle an argument, start throwing fists at each other. If that's not a dealbreaker for you, watch away. The fictional characters here are precisely the pair of leads: Oscar François de Jarjayes, daughter of General de Jarjayes, and her ord…
Read at the sourcehighlaander
After watching such a mind-blowing anime, I simply cannot help but write a review.
The Rose of Versailles is a truly iconic masterpiece in its genre. It excels in everything, from masterfully incorporating real historical events to delivering colorful characters, deep drama, and an incredible soundtrack. The art style is absolutely superb and highlights the unique identity of this series. The moments showing the vivid sparkle in the characters' eyes are especially memorable. Furthermore, real historical figures like Marie Antoinette give this anime a distinctive personality, while events like the Affair of the Diamond Necklace and the French Revolution make this title truly special and beloved by many.
Story: 10/10
Beautiful, just incomparable. It was a wonderful journey into a cruel and…
Read at the sourcemarkphp
The Rose of Versailles is a timeless classic that documents the events prior to the infamous "French Revolution" through the eyes of an idealist noble soldier, who, contrary to the appearances, is a woman. One of the show's strong points is depicting real events and combining them with its fictional counter-part, making the show a very interesting and engaging watch.
The themes presented, such as romance, politics, class-wars and many more are explored in such a manner that it doesn't feel like one is overwhelming the story, but rather making it unforeseeable and harder to predict, which is a big plus, considering it's more or less a historical documentary.
Another strong point is the characters, and how the story doesn't fixate on one character. We are exposed to many different personal…
Read at the sourcellee10000
Score: 7.6;
The Rose of Versailles is a show that encapsulates some thought-provoking themes with captivating for a mostly consistent throughline for much of its runtime. There are some hiccups here and there in terms of its presentation and the how it develops certain characters and plotlines. Nevertheless, The Rose of Versailles remains a fairly engaging show throughout much of its runtime.
The most evident thing about The Rose of Versailles when discussing it nowadays is its age and how the visuals supposedly not up to par with the current era of anime consumption. The Rose of Versailles undoubtedly looks quite rough when compared to much of what modern anime has to offer. Many tricks and shortcuts are implemented to avoid much of the more complex scenes. Nevertheless, this does not d…
Read at the sourceARITRA_68722
Versailles no Bara or The Rose of Versailles is perhaps the most important shoujo in anime history, and even after 46 years this show still has relevancy and continues to be hailed as a hallmark show. Written by Ryoko Ikeda and the show directed by Osamu Dezaki is still watchable and in fact i dare say just as good as modern shows if not better then most.
STORY
The story of Rose of Versailles blends fiction with history, French revolution which is one of he most important events in the human history with enlightened ideas of liberty, freedom, fraternity etc. But well history is widely considered to be "boring". The show takes the "boring" history of France and with imbued melodrama, fiction and court politics we get to see both the lives of the characters of the story, there tragedy and…
Read at the sourceCurlybrace101
Most anime from the 1970s is not worth your time. Being 50 years ago, the animation is usually stiff, the voice acting poor quality, and the writing trite and pointless. The Rose of Versailles, however, is not that.
(Edit 5/1/25: since someone left me a mean comment, I figured I'd address this: I am being intentionally hyperbolic for the sake of writing. The 1970s did bring us a lot of great, classic anime. This opinion of mine may not be reflected in my list because I don't have everything logged on here that I watched before 2020. Thank you)
I will start by saying that The Rose of Versailles is not historically accurate. I don't know a whole lot about the French revolution, but even I can tell it's dramatized and fictionalized. That being said, I do not think any of its representations…
Read at the sourceGRozek
Seriously, one of the best anime. A lot of interesting plots packed into the 3-4 main characters' life. 1st ep does not show the full potential. By the ep4 you'll be hooked with the 1st female villain - madame du Barry. All female villains are very interesting. The most interesting history-based piece of media. No wonder it inspired the live-action movie filmed in the palace of Versailles. It did not age bad at all. Visuals are stunning, I took 2074 screenshots. A lot of the scenes look like paintings. I don't remember a show that particular about each single visual scene. While you can see its its late 80s/early 90s, it did excellent artistic job! Most of the scenes are storyboarded with the great symbolism. A lot of rain, roses, pidgeons flying above, shining sky and roses. The tears, wa…
Read at the sourceMojoJ0j0_
I have a very bad habit of giving every anime I like a 10 score, or rating it a masterpiece. So I think it's good to consider thinks like the art, soundtrack, characters, and overall story when it comes to reviews and ratings. But even after taking all of those elements into consideration, I can't help but give this show the highest score avalible.
When it comes to history, I tend to not be that interested in revolutions, or even the time period the show takes place in. But once I started getting into the show, the history of the french revolution seemed way more interesting and exciting to me. Seeing the french revolution through the eyes of a noble was very fascinating considering that in most schools, the french revolution is talked about through the eyes of third estate. It was also i…
Read at the sourceLelysea
Do you want to watch an anime that brings you to the history of France and it’s fierce revolution, with sword fights and battles that will have you at the edge of your seat, deep romances that will tug at your heart strings, a large set of characters that you will watch grow over the span of 20 years, and the events leading up to the revolution? Don’t let the age of this anime sway you, because it has one of the best quality animations that I’ve seen in any anime up to this date that even newer ones cannot compare to. Beautiful scenes and backgrounds that will have you in awe and angles that make you thank the animation directors! This should anime is one for all, with many topics being explored. The story changes and shifts all throughout and you will never be left bored!
Don’t let doub…
Read at the sourceAstrazouz
One of the best anime I've ever seen, it's really one of my favorites. The fact that it is an old anime from the 70s may put some off but the story is really good. The characters are touching, the atmosphere really plunges us into the political context of the time (even if the story is clearly revisited), and the romances are not boring as in some shojo. The dialogues give the work a theatrical vibe, which makes everything dramatic. It's truly one of my favorites. I’m really glad I found out by chance.
It's highly recommended that you try Versailles no Bara, it's a true classic.
Read at the sourceLuxuriousHeart
I rarely ever rate anything a true masterpiece, but this anime has earned it. Everything was beautifully written and wrapped up, from start to finish.
Plot: the plot is simple enough. The main character, a woman named Oscar, was chosen to be Marie Antoinette's personal bodyguard. The problem is that Marie Antoinette and her husband are poorly suited for the job of ruling, and they're spending the people's tax money like crazy. So a revolution is starting to happen. This is the story of the revolution from Oscar's point of view.
The characters are very well written. Even if I didn't like certain character (Madame Polignac, Marie Antoinette, Marie's husband, Fersen), I can admit that they were well written. Madame Polignac, Madame Du Barry, and Jeanne are very well written villains. They w…
Read at the sourcexXDAGGERHEARTXx
Here she is, the Grandmother of all Classic Shoujo. The fact Rose of Versailles doesn't get added onto all time best classic anime lists is a crying shame because truly it feels like it established all the shoujo conventions that we see trickle down through the decades.
While initially the story seeks to follow Marie Antoinette over time it switches over to following a new and original protagonist, Oscar Francois de Jarjayes who is a woman born to a man who wants a son so desperately that he raises his daughter as a man. She is the template every single bifauxnen follows for the next fifty years. She is a strong, determined, highly androgynous woman who undergoes massive character development across the forty something episodes. Turning from a loyal soldier of the French aristocrats to a…
Read at the sourceNothing-Nowhere
This is a must watch for any anime fan. Few anime I have seen have truly moved me and made me reflect on and truly appreciate the craft of story telling. If your not used to watching older shows I implore you to give this one a try. If you are able to make it to the end you’ll be rewarded with having experienced one of the the truly great stories anime has to offer.
Story: 10
What can I say other than it’s amazing. It’s a bit of a slow burn at times but when you make it to the end and you look back on everything that happened and how it happened it makes you appreciate even the slowest portions of the show
Characters: 10
Oscar steals the show she is the best character in my opinion. Her arc is a joy to watch. As for the other characters they are all solid. Most of them have arcs as w…
Read at the sourceToxico95
If you like Berserk then you should definitely watch Rose of Versailles!
Oscar is born into nobility and is the 5th daughter of General de Jarjeyes who always desired a son who can take him over as Commander. So the General decides to raise Oscar as a boy and fully train her into a royal guard. Meanwhile Austrian Princess, Marie Antoinette, comes to France to marry Prince Louis. Lady Antoinette is a young princess who doesn't really know how nor does she desires to act like a Queen and ends up making lots of selfish choices which cause lots of frustration and rebellion amongst the French people.
The art is dated by todays standards, the characters have this cutesy big eyes and pointy chins and some of the characters look too similar to each other but it's far from bad. The animation is…
Read at the sourceProudElitist
Deservingly a masterpiece of animation in general with an interesting storyline, there are only two gripes I personally have with this series: the first one has to do with the second half of the anime, well directed but with some elements in the character behaviour that are not convincing enough, while the second concerns the massive amount of love and praise the character of Oscar De Jarjayes seems to enjoy by public at large. Why I have problems? because her whole arc (especially the copious amount of Yuri innuendos) seem completely tackled on with no reason to be there in the first place, while the real protagonist and the one who is presented in the most feminist way - gasp, gulp, call the trolls! - is Marie Antoinette, who the one who fights against the patriarcal rules of the Versail…
Read at the sourceWitchFromMercury
It's kind of cheesy and very old fashioned show but the art is still nice (maybe not so much the animation though) and it can be boring at times too.
I very much enjoyed the girl on girl drama parts but I found the war and soldier scenes to be boring and those characters were hard to sympathize with. I felt the series was at its best when it was about how Marie would endure the schemes of villains like Madame du Barry and Jeanne.
I will also mention that it's obvious that Oscar inspired Reinahrd from LotGH so that was interesting to see as a fan of LotGH.
My favorite part was the Madame du Barry arc from the beginning, and I learned a lot about the French Revolution. I would say that the climax of the story was the trial of Jeanne and the conclusion of the affair of the diamond necklace…
Read at the sourceGosplan14
Ah, a 1979 Shojo anime? I have to admit, I was skeptical, but I ended up enjoying this one a lot.
Story: 10/10
The story is set in the final days of the French Monarchy, and it tells of political drama, interpersonal drama and petty drama that, as every person even vaguely familiar with the fate of the historical Bourbon Kingdom of France, ends up culminating in a way rather unfavorable for the ruling class. Focusing on how contemporary society changed, and how the main characters interacted with it and each other, it's a masterpiece of storytelling.
Art: 9/10
This anime is very pretty, even despite it being made in the 1970s and an adaptation of a somewhat artistically bare-bones manga. Despite that, it was very enjoyable to watch and had an undeniable charm to it.
Sound: 9/10
It's fro…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
After putting this off for eons, I've finally decided to review Rose of Versailles. This is an anime that almost everyone has heard of, but fewer people have actually seen. In terms of popularity, Rose of Versailles isn't ranked in the top 1,800. I've yet to convince any of my offline buddies to check this one out because when you recommend this anime to people you're usually met with stuff like "It's so OLD though!" Or sometimes you might hear "Isn't that one of those elitist series? Doesn't that mean it's going to be super boring and pretentious?" These attitudes are unfortunate because I think almost everyone would get something out of this series! Rose of Versailles was made for young girls, but I'm a 32 year old man and I loved it!
Do you like historical fiction with tons of action?…
Read at the sourceNasirei
It is hard to try to put into words what this visual experience has been for me. Versailles no Bara is a magnificent series that portrays a spectacular character development and transitions that has ever existed in anime. I have never felt engaged to characters the way this anime has for me and I have never felt so shattered by the tragic development and direction of a story, albeit expected as it is inspired by the events that lead to the French revolution.
My love of world history and historical fiction makes me terribly biased towards the retelling of events that have transformed our world's system. This is not an exception as this accurate depiction of the French Revolution, includes everything a lover of this genre may expect: battles, fights, loyalty, royalty, a change of an era and…
Read at the source
