The final volume wraps up some threads while starting others, not my preferred type of ending.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Tou Ubukata and Kiriko Yumeji
Translation: Yuko Kubo
Adaptation: Yuko Kubo
What They Say
The fate of France is in the hands of a little girl: Princess Sophie is under a curse that could unleash a revolution! Her only hope is the Chevalier d’Eon, a mystical hero who will stop at nothing to save the princess. Her salvation rests on the outcome of a final battle between the Chevalier and his ultimate enemy. Will the Chevalier triumph over the dark forces once and for all?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Unfortunately, this final volume suffers from trying to do too much and ending without much resolution. D’Eon’s search for the sword trapping Sophie’s soul leads to the apparent mastermind behind the Poets. For a final boss, the ‘last’ battle seems to be over too quick. Although to be fair, the battle began in volume seven and wrapped up in this volume, so that could explain it.
Sophie isn’t the only one that needs saving, her mother Lady Pompadour has been grievously injured. Battlefield injuries can be the toughest to treat; not only does the person need medical aid, but they need protection from the other combatants. This difficult task falls to Robin since D’Eon has her hands full. Robin has always seemed like a wimp to me, but will protecting Lady Pompadour give him the chance to prove he can be reliable? It’s a tough order, he has to tend her wounds and stay hidden from the final poet while D’Eon tries to defeat him.
The odd aspect of all this is the absence of both Roble and Comte De Saint-Germain. Why isn’t Roble there to protect the mastermind Poet? And why isn’t Comte De Saint-Germain there to protect his employer, Lady Pompadour?
These questions are answered eventually, but unfortunately, not satisfactorily in my book. I can’t say anymore without spoiling it, so I’ll have to leave it on that cryptic note.
In Summary:
This series has been a rollercoaster ride compared to the anime version. Where the anime seemed very even keeled and almost boring at times, the manga seemed frenetic with all the battles and the energetic art style.
The manga version takes quite a different approach for this story, with everything from the idea of poets and their levels of power in relation to Tarot, to the shuffling of characters and the monster themed poets. While all this gives the manga its own two feet to stand on, those readers that prefer their manga and anime versions mirror each other, will be disappointed with this shakeup. Personally, if I’ve already watched the anime version or read the manga version of a series, I want the other incarnation to be different enough to keep my interest. Because of this, I don’t have a problem with the vast differences between the manga and anime versions of ‘Le Chevalier D’Eon’.
As for the manga series as a whole, it isn’t one of my favorite series, but I enjoyed the ride. The amount of research into Tarot cards, Latin, French, and French history that Ubukata did for this series is nothing short of impressive. However, I think that also attributed to the series’ moments of wordplay overload that seemed to bog down the last couple volumes. Early on, all the wordplay between Latin and French was pretty interesting, but later I grew bored with it and wished the story would stay on track.
In the end, readers should give the first volume a chance, because by the end you should know if you’ll want to continue.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Del Rey Manga
Release Date: July 27th, 2010
MSRP: $11.99
