Recently made available to international audiences via Netflix, The Rose of Versailles is a feature-length animated film that faithfully revisits the key events of Riyoko Ikeda’s groundbreaking manga by the same title. A true cult classic and a transformative work within the shoujo genre, the comic series—known affectionately in Japan as Berubara—is widely regarded as one of the most culturally impactful narratives to emerge from Japan in the early ‘70s. Its enduring legacy stems largely from Ikeda’s bold decision to recount the life of Austrian-born Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, framing her biography within a delicate balance of historical reconstruction and dramatic fiction that resonated deeply with the sensibilities of young female readers of the time.
Among the fictional characters who share the spotlight with Marie Antoinette, none has left a more lasting impression than Oscar François de Jarjayes—a strikingly androgynous woman raised as a man by her father, a general in the royal military. These two lead figures anchor a web of themes, including a complex romantic triangle among young nobles, reflections on femininity. Ultimately, they become entangled in a doomed love story strained by class boundaries. These core themes are explored through intertwining storylines that also include the captivating André Grandier—Oscar’s childhood friend and loyal servant—and Hans Axel von Fersen, the Swedish count infatuated with the French queen.
