Lucille’s just as adept at leaving shattered relationships in his wake as he is at singing.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Kaori Yuki
Translation/Adaptation: Camellia Nieh
What They Say
Now that Lucille and the musicians know what they are up against (the zombie-esque Guignols!), they have to figure out how to stop them! Kaori Yuki’s new epic adventure offers up not one but two new storylines to savor with “The Queen and the Jester” and the title story, “Tragédie Lyrique.” Is the orchestra any closer to stopping the Guignol infestation?
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Life in the unofficial Royal Orchestra is never dull, as Eles finds out. She’s still getting used to her new life as the troupe’s piano player, luring out guignols. It isn’t long before the troupe is forced to return to the capital, as the queen wishes to have a word with Lucille.
Lucille’s past with the queen is complicated and far more personal than it first appeared. Not all of the past is explained in the first half of this volume, but the picture is starting to become clearer. The introduction of the true grand orchestra, it’s leader, and the queen is a surprising twist of familial relations. The queen takes an unhealthy interest in Eles, and eles learns more about Lucille’s complicated and bloody past. Eles isn’t put off by the knowledge that Lucille and his troupe are just looking out for their own interest. She simply accepts it because she’s only looking out for her own interests as well.
There are also far more antagonists than just the queen and the guignols that want a piece of Lucille and the troupe. In the second story in this volume we’re introduced to ‘Le Sénet,’ a youthful group of card players that have their own reasons to hate the queen. They send a deadly former acquaintance of Lucille’s out to take out any royal spies in their territory. To make matters more difficult, the queen will only let Lucille get away with his previous transgressions if he sneaks into a convent to retrieve a certain artifact. Lucille and Eles are forced to go undercover and do some detective work to find it, and where they go death and destruction soon follow.
There is a noticeable drop in humor this volume as the series becomes even more dramatic. The humor that is present is incorporated into the storyline in a far more even fashion than the last volume. Watching Lucille and Eles run around disguised as nuns is amusing in of itself. The mixed-era machinery is still present, adding a science-fiction edge to the fantasy. This volume ends on a cliffhanger which further casts Lucille in a less than noble light. It also leaves Eles, who had no problems with Lucille’s motivations early in the book, wondering if she can trust him.
In Summary:
It’s clear that Grand Guignol Orchestra is wasting no time telling it’s well orchestrated story. Slowly the world that Lucille and Eles exist in is expanding, and the tangled past is being revealed. The hectic antics haven’t slowed down, as absurd as they may be. The art is still a lavish mix of gothic and fantasy, with all the blood spattered lace and frills one could desire. Lucille’s former acquaintances all seem to be deadly and dangerous foes, and taking out all of them in the remaining three volumes is certainly going to be no small feat.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: B +
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B +
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Viz Media
Released Date: February 1st, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
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