Set in the year 5053, the series focuses on the impact of the titular Count: formerly a sailor named Edmund Dantes, he was betrayed by his friends and imprisoned on false charges.

Aided by a mysterious force dubbed "Gankutsuou", Dantes escaped and refashioned himself as the Count, determined to exact vengeance on those who wronged him.

The series is mainly told from the perspective of Viscount Albert de Morcerf, the teenage son of one of the Count's enemies.

While the series adapts much of the original storyline and carries over its theme of revenge, the plot and characters feature multiple differences.

Original music was co-composed by Jean-Jacques Burnel of British band The Stranglers, who also composed and sang the main themes.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is set in the year 5053; the two major powers are the planet Earth and the alien-dominated Eastern Empire, who have been at war for an undetermined time.

[3] During a visit to the Moon-based city of Lune with his childhood friend Baron Franz d'Epinay, Viscount Albert de Morcerf meets a mysterious self-made nobleman called the Count of Monte Cristo.

Twenty years before, he was falsely implicated in a murder by his assumed friends Danglars and Fernand—Danglars due to his hatred of Edmund's honesty, and Fernand to win Mercedes's hand.

With the aid of Gankutsuou, an alien being lurking in the d'If, Edmund escaped and refashioned himself as the Count, committing himself to revenge against those who wronged him and orchestrating Albert's kidnapping to ingratiate himself with Parisian society.

Haydée assumes her place as queen of her world; Maximilien leaves the army to live with Valentine; Mercedes is at peace, though mourning Edmund and Fernand's deaths; and Albert, having rebuilt his life, reunites with Eugénie.

The anime is a science fiction adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, a French adventure novel written by Alexandre Dumas in collaboration with his regular partner Auguste Maquet, beginning as a newspaper serial in 1844.

[1][2][6] The Count of Monte Cristo is considered a literary classic, and in the years since its publication has received numerous adaptations.

Maeda described the parallel yet contrasting perspectives of Albert and the Count as an expression of the original novel's final words "Wait and Hope"; the question put to viewers was how far the Count would go with his revenge and how Albert could reach him, also tying into words spoken by Franz earlier in the series about love and hate both stemming from a person caring for others.

Maeda's draft was expanded into a full series by screenwriters Shuichi Kouyama, Natsuko Takahashi and Tomohiro Yamashita.

[11] One of the show's producers, Taichi Hashimoto, later stated that Gonzo wanted to make an anime that "talked" to viewers, something he felt was realized with Gankutsuou.

[13] Use of the program came about due to issues created by the source material, which set its events in grand aristocratic houses and consequently made key animation challenging.

[12] During the testing stages, Maeda worked with professional stylists, stapling fabric pieces to concept drawings to achieve the desired effect.

Due to the chosen animation style, Matsubara could not put excessive rumples and creases into clothes as they would be invisible against the underlying textures.

Eugénie had the most costume changes of the entire cast, with her styling drawing from 1960s fashion to illustrate the disconnect with her family and her wish to rebel.

Haydée's design made her appear doll-like, with one of her dresses being modelled on stained glass and reflective of her melancholy background.

[18] The anime uses clothing styles drawn from early 19th century France, showing fashions associated with the time including the "dandy" look and widening hems for women's skirts being incorporated.

[19] When Maeda began the project, he initially wanted to adapt The Stars My Destination, a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester.

Initially disappointed, Maeda searched for another work he could adapt into a science fiction setting and decided upon The Count of Monte Cristo, as Dumas's novel had parallel themes to The Stars My Destination.

[21] As the project went through its draft stages, the focus shifted away from the adult Count and onto Albert, who was made much younger than in the original novel.

[21] The anime's late night broadcast also allowed exploration of mature subjects like drug use and same-sex love, elements present in the original novel.

[8][16] The term "Gankutsuou" was originally used for the novel's Japanese translations dating back to its first publication in 1901,[13] but Maeda took the title and turned it into something literal.

[12] Several pieces of original music for Gankutsuou were composed by Jean-Jacques Burnel, bass guitarist for the British rock band the Stranglers.

[12] The Count's theme mixed original music with samples from Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, Robert le diable by Giacomo Meyerbeer, and Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Anime co-creator and director Mahiro Maeda collaborated on the stage production with Taichi Hashimoto, and Chūji Mikasano is the play's dramaturge.

The play stars Shohei Hashimoto as Albert de Morcef, Masashi Taniguchi as the Count of Monte Cristo, and Junon Superboy Anothers member Yō Maejima as Franz d'Epinay.