Le Chevalier D'eon
By Bakachan

 In the days of King Louis XV, his wife Queen Marie Leszczynska talks to a girlish-voiced skull, the Duke of Orleans led a zombie- and Russian-filled conspiracy, (see wikipedia info here) one of the king's spies is a possessed, cross-dressing knight, and the dead occasionally attack people and wear monogrammed necklaces. Yeah, this ain't your grampa's French history! There are some real-life characters among the sumptuous scenery and kickass action sequences, namely, the king and queen, the Duke of Orleans, and yes, the title character of the show, D'eon de Beaumont, who in fact, was a spy. But history takes a sharp left turn and jumps off a cliff into the supernatural, and while "Evangelion" may have used the Kabbalah for basing its funky theology/philosophy, "Le Chevalier" uses the Book of Psalms to wreak havoc in this alternate France. Not being familiar with history, French, Latin, or Psalms (tho I should really read up on some of this!), the folks at Production I.G. gleefully display gorgeous people, lavish backdrops, and the horrific "gargoyles" among actual noble manipulators, desperate poverty, and clashing political viewpoints that certainly populated the real world as it was then -- although with more than enough 21st century hindsight and commentary to make it palatable;D In short, here's a checklist: Revisionist history? Check. Freaky monsters? Check. Cool sword sequences? Check. Tres eye candy (characters & backdrop)? Check! Hell, if American History came with an anime with monsters and cross-dressers, I'd be more inclined to stay awake, wouldn't you?