Category: Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette

Short Synopsis: The moment is finally there: Cosette leaves the Thenardiers. Good: Cosette was as touching as always. Bad: How long is Jean planning to keep Fantine’s death a secret? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 That was beautiful! I don’t know what it is, but Cosette and the other characters are incredibly touching. I especially loved how Jean gave Cosette some better gifts than Eponine’s and Azele’s combined. Not only because it was probably the first time Cosette got such a treatment in years, but it also angered Eponine and Azele even more. And something tells me that they’re still going to play some kind of role in this story. Same with Thenardier. For the first time, he actually got angry. It surprised me that Jean didn’t break the news of Fantine’s death yet. But then again, I bet it’s extremely hard to tell any girl that her mother died, let alone Cosette. Still, the more he puts this off, the more it’s going to hurt when the finds out in the end. And he also has to make up some kind of excuse why they can’t immediately come go to see her. I really wonder when he’s going to tell her, as I’ve got absolutely no idea about this. And thus ends the first quarter of Les Miserables. I’m actually curious about how the rest of the series will continue. After all, the Thenardiers can’t make Cosette’s life horrible anymore. I suspect that Javert is going to play a big role in the future episodes, as he’s got to find Jean some day, hasn’t he? So far, this series has been beautiful. I’m hoping for the rest of the series to be even better. :)]]>

Short Synopsis: Finally, after the Fantine- and Jean-episodes, we’ve got ourselves another Cosette-episode. And what’s more, Jean meets Cosette for the first time. Good: Cosette was SO sad. Bad: Jean running into Cosette was a bit too coincidental. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 Boy, this episode definitely showed that Cosette is the star of this show. The past few episodes have been dedicated mostly to Jean. They were very interesting, but this episode definitely stole my heart when the anime starts focusing on Cosette again. The awesomeness begins when Gavroche is taken away. It’s probably to some labour-school-kind of thing. In any case, Cosette won’t see him again, and she sends Shushu after him, in order to look after him. This means that with the priest also gone, Cosette is all alone now. When I saw the episode-title, I never knew that it would go this far. Cosette was so sad afterwards. Only now it becomes clear how heavily she relied on Gavroche, when she has to get a bucket of water in the middle of the evening, due to the fact that the original water-supplies for the day mysteriously vanished (courtesy of Eponine). What normally was a routine-task really becomes too much for her at that point. It’s there where Jean coincidentally runs into her. I forgive the lack of reason for this, as it’s an interesting twist. After all, right now the Thenariers won’t be able to fool him anymore about Azele being Cosette. Still, next episode is promising to be a beauty, as not only is Jean going to try and retrieve Cosette from the Thenardiers, she’ll receive probably one of the worst punishments she’s ever had. Definitely looking forward to it. This episode also raised an interesting issue. Christmas in such clear weather? This means that we’re somewhere in southern France. I never really thought about things like that. Javert also was interesting this episode. This really shows that he’s convinced that Jean is evil, even though he knows about the things he did for the city.]]>

Short Synopsis: The moment is finally there: Fantine dies. Jean, meanwhile, has been arrested by Javert. Good: Gavroche; Jean. Bad: Where did Gavroche find these puppets so fast? 😛 Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Another Jean-centred episode. When I first read that Fantine would die, I assumed that her illness would gradually increase, until it took her life. What I didn’t expect was that Javert helped this illness a bit, by speaking bad things about Cosette. Cosette probably was her entire raison d’etre, in the most literal way you can imagine. At her state, hearing one bad thing about Cosette was too much for her. It’s ironic. When an ordinary guy steals twice, he gets condemned, but when an important official kills someone, it’s nothing. The next episode will probably feature Jean, trying to get Cosette away from the Thenardiers. The thirteenth episode will quite possibly close off the first arc of this story. I’m interested in how it’ll continue. The first quarter of the anime has succeeded in my opinion. All that’s left is the rest. Meanwhile, over at the Thenardier’s, Gavroche gets in trouble because of Cosette. (His puppet-play also was quite interesting ^^;) The thing also is, Cosette will leave in a few episodes. Because of this, Thenardier will lose the person whom she likes to abuse most. She will be looking for someone else for this role afterwards, which will quite probably be Gavroche. I hope that the Thenardiers will still remain important characters after Cosette leaves. I hate them, but they’re definitely interesting characters.]]>

Short Synopsis: Most of the episode centres around Jean Valean, as he’s forced to reveal his secret. Cosette, meanwhile writes a letter to her mother. Good: Jean was very interesting; How long must Thenardier keep interfering with Fantine and Cosette?! Bad: It took so long for Cosette to write a letter? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Ah, so that’s why Jean Valjean was so worried. It wasn’t just that Javel thought that he was Jean Valjean, it’s that someone else had been arrested under the name of Jean Valjean. This means that this poor person was about to be judged for the sins that the real Jean Valjean committed. Because of this, Jean’s problems may be over, but the fact remains that he dedicated himself to building an upright life. Heck, he tries to throw away the chandelier that he “got” from the priest, but even that is impossible for him. He just can’t let an innocent person be judged because of the things he did, which is why he reveals his real identity in the end. The results of this revelation will have to wait till the next episode, when Javert will probably find out. Jean managed to walk away in the end, but there’s no way he’s not going to be judged. I wonder what Aran’s role will be in this. He’s been rather absent after he warned Jean about Fantine. Speaking of Fantine, I’m really hoping for Cosette to get at least a chance of meeting Fantine before she dies. Right now, the happy times at the Thenardiers seem to be completely over, with the things Cosette did to annoy them in the past episodes. She’s especially lost the support of Gavroche, and it seems that even the priest is going to be moving away towards Paris.]]>

Short Synopsis: The mood may have turned a bit lighter than the previous episode, the Thenardiers still continue to be complete bastards and Javert puts even more pressure on Jean. Good: Many interesting events during the episode. I really want to strangle Thenardier now. Bad: Isn’t the plot moving a bit too fast for the 52 episodes? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Javert is about to condemn Fantine to 4 months of prison-service, until Jean arrives. It indeed seems that he wants as little people as possible end up the way he did, as he’s willing to help Fantine, even though he knows nothing about her. If it wasn’t for those damned Thenardiers Cosette would now already be with her mother! I do admit that Azele was cute this episode, but how longer do they have to keep tormenting Cosette and Fantine? Though Javert was probably the most interesting character this episode. And the hardest to understand. He finally shows a different side of his when Fantine slaps Jean, and he finally is something else than his usual, serious self. Later the episode, we see him realizing that the facial expression on Jean’s face was the same as Madeleine, when they were trying to lift heavy objects. At the end of the episode, we see him confront Jean with this. I don’t know how far he went, though. It may have been an ultimatum, or he may have hinted that he knows, but the fact remains that Javert looked more concerned than stern and Jean felt he was in deep trouble afterwards. This isn’t the series for which you can say that the next episode is going to be interesting, as it has a slower pacing than most other series. And even though Jean got in trouble at the end of the episode, you never know when his climax hits. That’s something the previous episodes showed. Same with Fantine. She may die in the next episode, but her death could also be five more episodes away. I’m still a bit worried about the pacing, though. I really hope that the creators have this series well planned-out, as this story is way too good to ruin.]]>

Short Synopsis: A Fantine-episode. Things are getting really bad with her. Good: Whoa, it may not have been prostitution, that definitely was disturbing! O_o Bad: … Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 That was so disturbing. Really. Like expected, the series doesn’t make Fantine go into prostitution, but the things they do to her this episode may be just as bad. Holy god, she really looked freaky near the end of the episode. And that all because that damn idiot keeps sucking money out of her! I knew that Fantine would go downhill, but this fast and this bad, I never imagined. She starts the episode going by random shops and houses, searching for work. This doesn’t work, and she doesn’t find a new job anywhere. Jean, meanwhile hears about her for the first time, when her former employer comes for a routine-report about her business. She then tells him that someone got fired, but Jean didn’t think too much behind it at that time. Thenardier, meanwhile, continues sucking money out of Fantine by claiming that Cosette may have become better, she’s cold and needs warm clothing for 10 franc. Fantine has no means of earning such a large amount of money so fast, and when she starts to get desperate, she actually is willing to sell her own hair. O_o Thenardier, meanwhile, isn’t happy when he found out that Fantine already took the initiative to by a skirt for Cosette, instead of sending the money. Still, the speed with which Fantine replied makes him think that she’s actually loaded with money, while the opposite actually is true. Because of this, he makes an even worse demand. This is where Fantine really gets down-hill. In the end, she found a number of dirty jobs, which earn her a measly amount of money. Luckily, everyone’s friendly to her, but it’s apparent that she’s suffering. To make things worse, just when she collected enough money, it gets stolen from her. That seriously was a heavy psychological shock to her, especially since the police refuses to search for the culprit. After this, she starts blaming random people for it. To make matters worse, she also starts getting sick because of a cold. So sad. But things get even worse. This is when she meets Aran, who immediately notices her bad shape. He later tells this to Jean, who suspects it’s the lady who got fired. Then evening falls and it actually starts snowing. As if it’s not bad enough for Fantine, who is outside with a cold and no warm clothing. But then things get really disturbing when we actually see Fantine in that shape. She actually had no other choice but begging to random by-passers. Even at a couple of drunk guys. These bastards actually start throwing snow at Rantine. That really was the last straw for her, and she actually started to attack them with a stray broom, ending up getting arrested by Javert. That seriously was disturbing, but it made the episode itself even more awesome.]]>

Short Synopsis: An Eponine-episode. Someone from Paris visits the inn. His stories greatly appeal to her. Fantine meanwhile gets evicted. No Jean this time. Good: Eponine = awesome. Bad: Too bad Azelma hasn’t been in the spotlights yet. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 I’m liking Eponine more and more with each episode, and this episode featured a lot of her. Toron didn’t play a role in this episode, but instead a traveller from Paris comes to visit the Inn. In there, he tells about how things are in that city. Eponine then seems to have a lot of interest in Paris, and she enthusiastically keeps asking him questions. She’s really energetic. At least, until Cosette comes in and it seems that she spent part of her childhood in Paris. Naturally, she gets incredibly jealous because of this. I also love how Thenardier is more than just “the evil stepmother”, whose only purpose in life is to be bullying Cosette. This episode clearly showed that she does have her own problems. It seems that her husband keeps unnecessarily spending the money they earned, and at the same time, Cosette also keeps annoying her, driving potential customers away. All this seemed to have caused her quite a headache. Because of this, when Eponine comes whining to her about how Cosette actually gets treated nicely, she doesn’t behave like Eponine expected her to, eventually, she just ignores her. Because of this, Eponine reaches the limit, and she actually tries to go to Paris herself. Obviously, she has no idea what travelling is like, and when it starts to become dark, she indeed really starts to regret her decision. It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll act in the future episodes. Cosette was the one who saved her in the end, and she looked really grateful to her for once. But will this gratefulness only increase her grudge against her? I’m also wondering what will happen to Fantine, now that she’s been evicted yet again. Like Cos said before, it’s a children’s show, so most of the darker themes are cut out. It would be great to see Fantine indeed end up as prostitute, but will the creators really go this far with a children’s movie?]]>

Short Synopsis: It’s Cosette’s birthday. The majority of the episode focuses on a present Fantine made for her. Good: I love this show, and this episode only strengthened this opinion; omg @ Eponine. Bad: Episode six, and still no real bad points, whoa. I am SO hoping that 52 episodes is going to be the right format for this story. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 You could call this episode a Fantine-episode, as she played a role in most parts. During the first half, we see her get her secret exposed, which makes her lose her job. On top of that, she finds out that Cosette has become sick. At least, that’s one of Thenardier’s plans to suck even more money out of her. Thankfully, she manages to find another job at the shop of an old lady. This one actually doesn’t mind that she has a daughter. Later, we see her work on a birthday present for Cosette: an odour of some blue flowers Cosette used to really like (I forgot their names, sorry). She finishes and sends it to Cosette. The second half of the episode focuses at this present, as you didn’t expect Thenardier to just give it to Cosette, did you? Instead, she finds it a nice present for Eponine. She should NOT have done that, even though the results of this turned out amazing. Eponine just couldn’t resist showing this present to Toron, who peeks inside and finds a note of “happy birthday, Cosette”, which obviously reveals that this isn’t Eponine’s, and it does suggest that she stole it from Cosette, while she didn’t know anything when she received it. With this, her hate for Cosette is only going to turn worse. That really was so sad. Jean, meanwhile, gets a bit of development, and we see a bit more of his history. It seems that when he arrived in the town, he immediately gave himself a good reputation by saving two children from a burning house. I’m assuming that after this, he continued to do these kinds of things, until people started to find him suitable for the position of Major. Aran, meanwhile, has been noticing that he’s been feeling unwell at times, and tries to do something about this. I wonder how this’ll turn out. It’s interesting. The spring-season has only just begun, and I’ve already fallen in love with two of its anime. That’s entirely different from the Fall-season, which featured a bunch of good series with a few flaws. Master of Epic and especially Les Miserables have caught my interest immediately. Especially Les Miserables has been consistently good so far, and it has chosen the perfect bland of drama and build-up.]]>

Short Synopsis: Lots of things grow this episode: Eponine’s hatred towards Cosette, Zephine’s suspicions of Cosette’s mother and Javell’s suspicions of Jean. Good: This anime really remains consistently good so far. Even though this episode mostly built up, I loved it. Bad: It’s been one month and still no subs?! What the hell? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 I’m actually suspecting that Javell has known Jean’s identity all along. He just needs to get enough evidence for him, as you don’t suddenly arrest the major of a town without any proof for it. It seems that he was the main guard for Valjean, probably also one of the main reasons that got him locked up. Right now, he keeps dropping hints towards Jean, hoping for him to turn himself in, while he collects information about the guy. Jean, meanwhile, shows this episode how his character changed incredibly from his younger version. He’s become really dedicated not to let others follow the same path he did. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the entire factory knows that Fantine (that was her name, right?) has a daughter somewhere. I reckon that she won’t be able to work in the factory anymore, but will that be everything? There’s probably something else about to happen. Oh, and Eponine was wonderful this time. With this, she really became a person, instead of a 1-dimensional stereotype. Toron(?) may not have been very interesting in the previous episode, he makes sure of some interesting events when he starts ignoring Eponine for Cosette. It’s strange, normally I don’t like love triangles due to them being overused as hell and their predictability, though I’m actually beginning to like this. This definitely is another one of those anime who doesn’t deserve to get this neglected. I’m hoping for the subs to arrive soon, so that more people can get to see this little gem.]]>

Short Synopsis: Cosette finally finds out that her mother has been sending her letters. The only problem: she can’t read. Good: For now, it seems that this anime realizes its huge length, and makes excellent use of this by developing Cosette into a great character. This episode was no exception. Bad: Let’s hope that the newly introduced boy doesn’t turn into a bad love interest. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10 It seems that this episode skipped another year, since Shushu seems to have grown up into a large dog. In the end, Cosette got to keep him. ^^ I’m really liking how much the creators are developing her in this anime. This episode, she makes her first steps into learning to read and write from the local priest. I can’t wait till she finds out exactly what her mother wrote to her, since the moment when she was able to read her own name into her mother’s letter alone already was awesome. Meanwhile, in the city nothing much happened. It feels like the entire episode has been building up for Jean, Javert, Fantine and the old man who appeared during this episode for the first time. We see the latter get into an accident at the end of the episode, with Aran in the neighbourhood. I’m suspecting that his role is to give Aran a bit of development. Javert, meanwhile, shows how devoted he is to upholding the law. I’m also wondering what’ll happen to Fantine, and when exactly it will happen. Still, despite this episode being as good as usual, I’m worrying about the newly introduced young boy (Toron?). I’m really hoping for him to be more than just a love-triangle-inducing character for Cosette. This often forms a pitfall for most anime, I hope it won’t be the same for this anime as well. Also, you have to love the attempts of the poor voice-actors trying to talk French, or Furenchi, in this case. ^^;]]>