#window of orpheus

[antynous]

Happy pride month, here are some headcanons of (as well as canon) trans Ikeda characters

[bookshelfannex]

Manga Chat, 2013

"While I was traveling and in Regensburg, Germany, I saw a certain window and thought, 'Ah, this will be the Window of Orpheus.'"

"For me, it’s a far greater work than The Rose of Versailles. It is my life’s work."

The work being refered to by Riyoko Ikeda is The Window of Orpheus, which began serialization just two years after the end of The Rose of Versailles.

Isaac, Julius, and Klaus (real name: Alexei Mikhailov), all meet at a music school in Regensburg, Germany. The story is a historical epic following the lives of three people, who, though they love music, are thrown to the mercy of fate. The setting is Europe in the early 20th century, around the time of the Russian Revolution.

As the story unfolds, it moves from country to country: from Regensburg, Germany, to Vienna, Austria, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. It so happens that the first location, Regensburg, was a town where Ikeda happened to stay during her travels.

“After the serialization of The Rose of Versailles ended, I went on a long trip to Europe with a manga artist friend. We visited multiple countries, France and England, then we entered Germany by way of train from Vienna. By chance, the station where we got off happened to be Regensburg.”

After taking a liking to the beautiful historic town, Ikeda decided to stay in Regensburg for a while. "I thought, I’ll use this place as the model for my next work.”

"I had been taking piano lessons since I was a child and had always loved music and had wanted to create a work set at a music school. When I visited Regensburg, it finally began to take shape in my mind, I could almost picture it."

It was also here that she came up with the legend of “The Window of Orpheus,” which became the title of the work. There is an old window at the music school that the three attend. If one stands at the window and looks down, they will fall in love with the first woman they see, but that love will always end in tragedy....so the legend goes. Through the mysterious power of this window, many dramas unfold.

"It is a legend I came up with myself, inspired by the tragic love of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology, but there is a real window that served as the model. There was a window I saw when I was in Regensburg, and at that moment I thought, ‘Ah, I’ll make this the Window of Orpheus.’”

"The characters can be lucky or unlucky and clumsy, but what they all have in common is that they are people who take life seriously."

Once the setting is established, it is said the characters seem to develop naturally.

“I wanted to portray the noble spirit of someone who engages with music with sincerity, so first thought of Isaac. Like Oscar, Julius is a beautiful woman dressed as a man, but her personality is very weak and sensitive. I thought it would be good if she was completely different from Oscar, so that’s how she turned out.

For a long time I had also been thinking that I would like to try depicting the Russian Revolution. In The Rose of Versailles, the French Revolution serves as a backdrop that allows for more dramatic storytelling than a peaceful era would. So I thought if I set the story up where a revolutionary hides his identity and enrolls in a music school I could also depict the Russian Revolution, so I created the character Klaus."

"To me this work is my life's work. It is much bigger the The Rose of Versailles"

The beautiful Julius, the dynamic Klaus. When compared to these two dazzling characters, who were extremely popular with the readers at the time, Isaac's earnest way of life feels heavy and bittersweet.

"Nevertheless, to me Isaac is the protagonist. Throughout this work, his feelings toward the piano remain consistent from beginning to end."

Indeed. Now that I am an adult and have reread the story again, I have come to realize just how Isaac's painful and intense passion for music is the saving grace of this tragedy.

"I think sincerity is important. I personally dislike people who are not sincere, in terms of work or relationships, being serious is a top requirement of mine and always has been. When I say 'serious" I don't mean someone who never jokes, I mean someone who is genuine and sincere about life. The characters can be lucky or unlucky and clumsy, but what they all have in common is that they are people who take life seriously. I don't think there is anyone just going with the flow in this story."

After all, the work humans do, rather insignificant. If that is the case, I will give my all and do what I love.

Due to poverty Isaac is reduced to playing piano at a tavern. Julius is caught up in a family feud over inheritance. Klaus throws himself into the Russian Revolution. Three people whose lives were supposed to be colored by beautiful music. They endure various hardships and gradually walk away from the public stage.

The conclusion of the story is no happy ending. Within the great currents of history, everything is but a brief passing moment, this ending makes one feel that sense of impermanence.

Humans are nothing more but disposable vessels of genetics. I was able to turn a 180 by thinking that way

"While drawing, I thought about how all the things humans do are are rather insignificant. If that is the case, I will give my all and do what I love.

If you start to think to highly of yourself, you will limit yourself and what you are able to do. You may think things like 'I mustn't fail' or 'I must not lose'. In the end, humans are nothing more but disposable vessels of genetics. I was able to turn a 180 by thinking that way, I was able to let certain things go. This work became a major turning point for me.

People these days are having fewer children, they are raised with such care, that many of them end up with an inflated sense of self importance. They tend to think they are special and believe they are entitled to special treatment, or that they have to be known and make a name for themselves.

In that respect I think Isaac is the type of person whose ego would not become inflated. He never played the piano for personal gain or glory, but for the belief that music is something to be offered to God. I find that music that lacks love for humanity or reverence for God is boring to listen too.

I find that music that lacks love for humanity or reverence for God is boring to listen too.

When the serialization of ‘The Window of Orpheus’ ended, I felt, ‘my work is finally finished'. As a mangaka this was my limit, I don't think I will ever be able to create anything that surpasses this."

After finishing that, she said ‘I want to do whatever I like so that I have no regrets!' and enrolled in a music college, challenging herself in the new world of ‘singing.’ Now she spends her days completely immersed in music, she says, 'I can’t live without classical music, it’s become an indispensable part of my life'.

For you, is music something you offer to God?

"I think every kind of music is fine. There is music that is offered to God, and there is music that is performed for people to listen to. What is important though, is to not disrespect music, because music that lacks love for humanity or reverence for God is, boring to listen to. Which will come across in the music

For example, Fujiko Hemming’s performances, in purely in technical terms, are not that wonderful. Yet, the fact that it can move peoples hearts, I think that is what matters. What is is important is how you approach music and that you sincerely engage with it."

If one reads ‘The Window of Orpheus again, they will hear different kind of music.

[rovbookshelf]

Riyoko Ikeda Art Collection

池田理代子画集

Publisher: Art Vivant/Riyoko Ikeda Productions

Publish date: 1999

40.pg

30 x 21 cm

Hardcover art collection with art from The Rose of Versailles, The Window of Orpheus and Empress Ekaterina.

[respirelejasmin]

Orpheus no mado/The window of Orpheus, Riyoko Ikeda

[bomz28]

When my gf asked me if i love her forever. I says no. Before I could finish my sentence with. I LOVE YOU FIVE EVER! :D Get it. She already killed herself...

[mintjaan]

New video up, on the Window of Orpheus (1975) Part 1

Please give it a watch!

[danielderomanus]

[shimako]

I'm on a little nostalgia trip...

one of my favourite anime growing up was lady oscar ( the rose of versailles), seen with german dub 2 times (I loved the german voices, and how they acted) , and a couple of episodes with the italian dub (wasn't impressed with the italian voices so my teenage self decided to skip the third rewatch 😂)....I remember a couple of times I even faked being sick at school to get out earlier so not to lose an episode 🙃. #rebel

my love for this series not only comes from the fact that at that time I devoured mainly sword and cape type of books (I was alexandre dumas no 1 fan) but also from it's amazing soundtrack and the brilliant design that the ace duo shingo araki and michi himeno did on the TV show. also my fascination for marie-antoinette deff originated from this anime.

also the new remake will be on netflix and what I've seen from the trailers it looks pretty good.

but...I never got arround to read the manga. back then you couldn't find mangas in the libraries. I had a BF whose mother dated some italian dudes and she always asked from them mangas. 😂 and by proxi, this is how I read them too.

untill now, I've read from riyoko ikeda only "claudine" and "oniisama e..." (dear brother/ caro fratello) and I plan to finally read her magnus opus.

ikeda is included in the year 24 group by some critics, journalists, and academics, although her inclusion has been debated due to her mangas having a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology, like the other mangakas .

the year 24 group is a grouping of female manga artists who heavily influenced shōjo manga beginning in the 1970s. while shōjo manga of the 1950s and 1960s largely consisted of simple stories marketed towards elementary school-aged girls, works by members of the group significantly developed shōjo manga by expanding it to incorporate new genres, themes, and subject material. narratives and art styles in shōjo manga became more complex, and works came to examine topics such as psychology, gender, politics, and sexuality. manga produced by the year 24 group brought the shōjo category into what scholars have described as its "golden age".

ikeda has written and illustrated many shōjo mangas, many of which are based on important historical events. her use of foreign settings and androgynous themes made her mangas very successfull.

she is known for her detailed and elegant art style, often featuring beautiful characters with flowing hair, sparkly eyes and elaborate costumes, long thin bodies, with very angular and mostly androgynous faces. in recent years, that angularity of her art style has dissapeared. if I was to find a fault in her art style is that most of her main characters in her work, suffer from the same face syndrome.

three of her main characters from her most famous works are inspired by björn andrésen, famous for his role in death in venice by visconti.

his "bishonen"  looks (a japanese word for the quality of a young man of androgynous beauty) was a rampant cultural sensation, and you can see  bjorn/tadzio’s face and hair, or some slight variant of it, in manga and anime to this day.

her gorgeous panel work has all the staples of a70's shōjo manga - there is no subtlety or reading between the lines, everything is full on drama with breaking panels, swirling roses, shoujo-bubbles and glitter, melodramatic expressions and theatrical reactions that walks the line of sensationalistic storytelling. the art style is very beautiful with lots of artistic panels and minutious details.

things that can turn off a modern reader could be the over the top melodrama (nanako from dear brother likes to run dramatically while crying in many instances, the gloom and doom of some of the reactions the characters have...) that can sometime border on the ridiculous. also the goofy faces she draws on her characters sometimes can take you out of the story 😛.

like...calm down girl! 😂

but if you like over the top melodramatic stories with sapphic undertones and unhinged character moments then dear brother is the manga to check out.

😂💀