wound to the Count, who is kept alive by Gankutsuou. Fernand rallies his forces for a coup d'état in Paris, which results in the city being damaged, Andrea escaping prison and Villefort being killed; Fernand's aim is to take over the Earth government and wage fresh war against the Eastern Empire. When Albert and Mercedes try to reason with Fernand after they learn the truth, he injures them and confronts the Count, resulting in a stand-off where Fernand holds Haydée hostage. The Count becomes completely possessed by Gankutsuou and attempts to murder Albert, but Albert manages to banish Gankutsuou, and free from its control Edmund dies. Albert, Mercedes and Haydée escape, while Fernand commits suicide in an act of redemption. Five years later, peace is being established between Earth and the Eastern Empire. 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. Voice cast Setting and themes The anime is an 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. The Count of Monte Cristo is considered a literary classic, and in the years since its publication has received numerous adaptations. While the original novel took place during the Bourbon Restoration of the early 19th century, Gankutsuou takes place in a distant science fiction-based future, although multiple events within the anime parallel the historic and political events portrayed in the novel. As with the original novel, Gankutsuou focuses on the theme of revenge; Edmund's pursuit of his enemies and how far he is prepared to go to exact slow calculated retribution is the central plot of both the novel and the anime. According to series creator Mahiro Maeda, the original story's Christian elements—which focused the novel's themes on forgiveness and divine retribution—were cut out to make the story more accessible to a modern audience, in addition to him thinking that the Count would never have enacted his revenge in the face of the novel's Christian themes. As a consequence, the anime's central theme became how the cast's actions are influenced by their emotions. While the core narrative remains intact and multiple characters are carried over directly from Dumas's original book, there are