The art is “teh pretty." Seriously. The animation is an experience in and of itself. Even if you hate the story, which I don’t see why you would, you’ll be in awe of the sheer funky, avant-garde greatness of what Studio Gonzo does in this anime. Please ignore the awkward and embarrassing CGI mecha scene in the middle. We all pretend it just didn’t happen.

The story is one of those things that will either plummet or soar depending on budget and how skilled the script writers are. It’s a merging of the classic Count of Monte Cristo story with sci-fi. Stay with me, it soars, my friends. Like an eagle. And I don’t think it’s my bias talking. Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book and has been for a long time now. So yes, Count of Monte Cristo in Space. The result is something really strange and really beautiful at the same time. I don’t think it would have worked half as well if we hadn’t had it coupled with the surreal art style. It helps you take yourself out of the “say what now?” stage and into just accepting it all. There were even parts that I thought were done better in the show than in the book. Shhh, please don’t tell Alexandre Dumas I said that.

For one, I like how the focus was on Albert from the start. He’s the main character in the tale and in the book he was sort of just there to push the story along. Plus he was a real jerk in the book and in the anime we see he’s really naïve and horribly young. Seeing the story and the count through his eyes was a great way to tell the story. Experiencing the Count as an outsider instead of being perched on his shoulder makes him even more disturbing, eerie, awesome, and a force you really don’t want to reckon with. It drives home the point that revenge has made him into something Other.

The score for the show is also exquisite. It’s what made me take up piano again in fact. You can’t listen to some of the songs and not feel the urge to try to play them on a sunny day with the windows open, facing the garden. Or in my case, facing the balcony across the way trying to drown out the old woman who viciously beats her futon half to death every morning. It’s the thought that counts, right?

In conclusion, there are new twists and old turns to this old and beloved story. It’s all enjoyable though and it will make you feel classier for having taken it in. It has to be the equivalent of at least two art museum visits! And the CGI Mecha fight. It. Didn’t. Happen.