This will be the first show I’ll be blogging from the Winter-season. I’m still pending about the others. Master of Epic will also probably get blogged, perhaps even Venus Versus Virus, and Deltora Quest and Himawari!! depend on whether I can find enough inspiration to write about their second episodes, which were excellent by the way.
First, before I start, I might want to put up a small disclaimer. I’ve never seen, read or heard anything about the original work. This is the first time I’ll be experiencing the story. Therefore, you won’t hear things like “the book was better at X”, “the anime omitted Y” or “the anime omitted Z”. Feel free to comment about this, though.
Well then, about the episode. I was surprised about how Cosette evolved, only from the first episode, same with Ebonie and Azele (I think their names are spelled that way, not sure though). At the end of the previous episode, Cosette really looked like a helpless girl, now that her mother had left her and she was put in the care of that evil woman. But this episode, she really showed that she can be strong if she wants to. I like how she doesn’t care about the things that are done to her. It’s probably because she’s clinging to the hope that her mother will come back to her some day. Ebonie and Azele also were quite interesting. Where they wanted to play with Cosette in the first episode, this episode makes them resemble to the two evil stepsisters from Cinderella.
Jean Valjean continues to play with Aran in this episode, by playing in on his conscience. He asks him to deliver a bit of cash to the local hospital. I’m not sure what his motives are. He might have done it in order to prevent him from going into the wrong direction, it may have been because he needed a loyal assistant, or it may have been because he could relate to him. I think it’s for a personal reason, though, as he goes all out of the way to hint about his own past to Aran.
It seems that Jean committed a sin at a time (stealing bread, if I recall correctly), after which he fled, and kept running for nineteen(?) years. In the end, he got caught, but the one he stole from forgave him, and gave him two silver chandeliers (that part was a bit vague on me). We aren’t told what happened after that, but I can guess that these chandeliers helped Jean get the position of major he’s currently at.
I also liked how the twosome of Ebonie and Azele also get what they deserve at times. The two of them get some cakes, and pretend that Cosette stole them from them, in order to get even more cakes the next day. If it weren’t for Gavroche (okay, I know I spelled that one wrong), who overheard the two of them, and took the cakes back. ^^ Still, this also means that they are going to take revenge, and they’re going to do something even worse. Should be interesting.
I’m also not sure what to find of Gavroche yet. It may be his lack of development, but of all the main characters, I like him the least. I’d love to see how he and Cosette got acquainted in the first place. Apart from him, I really like this series so far. I’m really hoping that the huge length of this anime won’t ruin it, seeing as there’s lots of potential in this one, which doesn’t deserve to be ruined.]]>
Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette – 02
whoa! you blog really fast ;D
Cosette is too cute for this to be happening to her >_
Interesting read. I am envious of you since you don’t know the story yet 🙂 But I am convinced they will end up changing an awful lot about it ( since this anime is shoujoish and the book is very dark and bitter), I hope they will make a better job of it than the infamous Gantsukuoh that butchered the Count of Monte cristo ( in the second half, the first part was great)
2 remarks about the names:
According to the book ( And I guess the book is canon)
It’s Jean Valjean
And Gavroche
Thanks for the names, I always have a great deal of trouble distinguishing them while watching raw (for example the character code-named after the chess piece “Rook” turned into a guy named “Luke”). I’m interested in how the story will go, seeing as I both like Shoujo and Dark and Bitter Stories.
To clarify: Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving family, was arrested, and sent to prison for 19 years. He is paroled, but is shunned as an ex-con, and can’t find any lodgings. Eventually, he’s taken in by a bishop, whom he takes advantage of, stealing a pair of silver candlesticks. He gets caught by the police, but the bishop lies and says they were a gift. Afterwards, Valjean dedicates himself to building a life as an upright man.
By this point, Valjean has built himself up as the mayor of a town and the owner of a factory, where he made a promise to the dying Fantine to look after her daughter. …though as I recall, he was forced to reveal his identity and may technically be on the run from the law.
BTW, the Thénardier daughters’ names are Éponine and Azelma.
well, i guess i will go and buy the novel once again since i do not remember where in the world i left it X_X
I got pretty interested in this series and it seems plausible to be a decent hit. I think i might just start on blogging it in ep 2 or 3 if it stays on. 🙂
about the twosome: their official names are eponine thenardier and azelma thenardier
I hope this anime turns out really well… coz in fact, I haven’t read the book but I’ve watched the broadway adaptation of this… It’s one of my favorites, as a matter of fact…
Though I’m quite confused, because in the broadway, there weren’t much citations of what happened to Cosette when she was a young girl. The abuse was shown and all, but the thing with Eponine having a “step-sister” like attitude was not there. Actually, Eponine is my favorite character. Mainly because in the production I watched, she is played by Leah Salonga. A Filipino, as myself. I like the purity of Eponine’s love for her bestfriend, Marius who is obviously unaware of it coz he is blindly in-love with Cosette… The last song she sang with Marius before she died was a real heart breaker. (,~.~,)
Please try to keep that last spoiler away from here, seeing as I never experienced the story before. ^^;
In any case, I don’t exactly know how long the musical was, though I can imagine that it was nowhere near the length of a 52-episode show. Because of this, the anime can include stuff the musical was forced to omit.
Response to E”Rika. Eponine is my faforite character too! Mainly for the the same reasons. And it was a heart breaker for me too when she died.
Moreover, she’s so great in this serie. Too cute!!!
I loved the end of this episode. I like to call it “the Anvil of Foreshadowing.” 🙂
I’d like to say that you spelled Gavroche right, but the others names are Eponine, Azelma, and Alan.