Taken out of context,
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee or Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth is a perfectly
charming historical adaption of life during the second half of the nineteenth
century. The anime explores cross-culturalism in a manner which is both
reverential but also understated. While Ikoku Meiro no Croisee never explicitly
crosses the border into racism, it does however paint a rather rose tinted view
of the time period, especially considering that racial prejudices were rife
during the era – i.e. Social Darwinism.
However the strength of
the anime is in its characters, succeeding in a cast that are dynamic and also
endearing to behold. Despite the primary emphasis on Yune, she is a relatively
unremarkable character. Her concept is one that is often overused in the depiction
of Japanese girls in which ‘cute’ and ‘doll-like’ are the only conceivable
traits. Fortunately Yune is a little more refined and well-rounded than most and
her character is surprisingly well suited. Nevertheless when compared with the
scope of the cast, Yune feels flat and one-dimensional, almost an object rather
than a person.
On the other hand, the
male protagonist Claude is an adept straight-man with a fleshed out backstory
and plenty of personal development within a relatively short amount of time. Significantly
Alice provides the right balance of annoyance and fangirlism to make for
intriguing melodrama. While Oscar and Camille are excellent secondary
characters, each adding a sense of stability and insight into the complex
constrain of society.
Still when put into
context, the plot of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee really falls apart. A young girl
travels to the other side of the world with a complete stranger so that she can
work as a maid in his grandson’s poorly performing business. The immediate
question is why? Was this a regular occurrence at the time? Amusingly Camille
points out that Claude knows very little about Yune, not her family status, not
her age, nothing. The crushingly disappointing aspect of this series is that it
never addresses who Yune is. We never learn why she wanted to come to France,
if she did at all. We never learn how she and Oscar met. We never learn how a
young Japanese girl became fluent in French. In fact the only thing we ever
learn about Yune’s backstory is that she has an older sister who went blind.
Granted this is a pretty touching and elegantly told but it makes even less
sense. Why would Yune leave her blind sister (of whom she feels responsible
for) alone while she runs off to Paris for an unspecified amount of time?
This is the only real flaw
of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. It demands the temporary suspension of reality in
that the audience only focus on the moment. If you do, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee
offers a heart-warming, slice-of-life tale with a beautiful cultural twist.
Just don’t ask it too elaborate…
Rating: 8/10
For fans of: Gosick, Rozen Maiden, Hourou Musuko
