Le Portrait de Petit Cossette
Encyclopedia
is an original video animation
produced by Aniplex
. It spanned 3 episode OVA series and ran in 2004. It was licensed for North America
n distribution by Geneon
and released as Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. Fuse TV
has broadcast the anime as part of their Anime Explosion Weekend on December 15, 2007. The Anime Network currently is streaming the series online and has added it to its video on demand
offerings as of May 5, 2010.
The series was adapted into a manga series by Asuka Katsura. It spanned two volumes and was published in 2004. The English-language release is published by Tokyopop
.
As the series progresses, Eiri is tortured mentally and physically by Cossette, who demands that he prove his professed love for her. It is revealed that Eiri is the reincarnation of Marcello, and that Cossette is becoming as infatuated with him as he is with her. Also depicted are the efforts of the women in Eiri's life—relatives, friends, mentors, and the girl who secretly loves him—to free him from what is becoming apparent to them as a self-destructive path.
, including the main theme music
. Later released as a single on August 11, 2004, "Hōseki" is sung by Marina Inoue
. During the period when Geneon Entertainment held the license, the episodes were aired on Fuse TV
The anime has since been relicensed by Sentai Filmworks, with distribution from Section23 Films
. The OVA was released on April 20, 2010 and streamed on the Anime Network
a month later.
Petit Cossette is also licensed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman Entertainment
, and in German by Tokyopop.
in Monthly Magazine Z. Kodansha
collected the chapters into two tankōbon
volume and published them from August 11, 2004, to December 21, 2004.
Tokyopop licensed Le Portrait de Petit Cossette for an English-language release in North America and published the volumes from July 2006 to November 2006. However, both volumes are now out of print
. The series is also licensed in France by Asuka Comics.
' s Theron Martin described it as "an artsy, stylish supernatural horror story about love and obsession. Its dramatic visuals, exceptional artistry, and sumptuous musical scoring make watching it quite an experience, and the story isn't half bad, either." However, he noted that the storyline of the first two episodes was "fairly predictable" and the secondary characters were "underdeveloped and underused".
Reviewers at Mania Entertainment praised it as "a love story that's almost devoid of happiness, with a style and presentation that makes it engrossing, and yet not exactly easy to watch" and "an easy recommendation for those looking for something more mature from their anime."
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
produced by Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
. It spanned 3 episode OVA series and ran in 2004. It was licensed for North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n distribution by Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
and released as Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
has broadcast the anime as part of their Anime Explosion Weekend on December 15, 2007. The Anime Network currently is streaming the series online and has added it to its video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
offerings as of May 5, 2010.
The series was adapted into a manga series by Asuka Katsura. It spanned two volumes and was published in 2004. The English-language release is published by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
.
Plot
The series focuses on Eiri Kurahashi, a college art student who works in an antique shop. One day, he sees the image of a girl in an antique glass. To his shock, she appears to be moving and living out her life before his eyes. He becomes infatuated with the girl, and one night at midnight, he somehow makes contact with her. He learns that her name is Cossette, and that she was an aristocrat's daughter during the 18th century. She reveals to him that her spirit has been entrapped within the glass because the artist Marcello Orlando murdered her. She tells Eiri that, in order to set her free, a man must be willing to take upon himself punishment for the sins Marcello committed.As the series progresses, Eiri is tortured mentally and physically by Cossette, who demands that he prove his professed love for her. It is revealed that Eiri is the reincarnation of Marcello, and that Cossette is becoming as infatuated with him as he is with her. Also depicted are the efforts of the women in Eiri's life—relatives, friends, mentors, and the girl who secretly loves him—to free him from what is becoming apparent to them as a self-destructive path.
Characters
- Cossette is a beautiful young girl whose spirit haunts a delicate Venetian glass. With delicate eyes, long blond hair and a lithe frame, her beauty is both haunting and enchanting. She was murdered by her lover Marcello Orlando because he became too obsessed with her beauty and wanted her to stay like that forever. She convinced Eiri to enter "a pact of blood" to take revenge out on Marcello. In the end she regrets dragging Eiri in to it and sends herself to slumber, waking Marcello's Cossette. Thanks to Eiri, she's reborn in Shoko.
- Eiri, a talented budding artist, works in his family's quaint antique shop. His young world is transformed after he stumbles upon a delicate Venetian glass harboring an enchanting saga. The glass is but a portal into the tragic world of a young girl named Cossette. He falls in love with this illusion that is as beautiful as she is cursed. He is told by Cossette he is Marcello reborn, however, he is proven to be nothing like him in the final episode when he paints a beautiful portrait of Cossette with his own blood, killing Marcello's version.
- Shoko is a close friend and confidant of Eiri. Although an extremely sharp young lady, her insecurity is coupled with a neurotic nature that is endearing. As shown in the OVA, she easily gets jealous about things she hears about Eiri's love life. It is shown she cares deeply about him when he changes slightly due to the pact he entered with Cossette. In the end of the third and final episode, After Eiri defeats Marchello's vessel (the painting "fake Cossette"), Cossette is reborn in to Shoko. She wakes up and says: "Eiri will come back to paint some more portraits..." proving Cossette's presence.
- A young girl with undeveloped psychic abilities who works at the local deli. Although she doesn't know exactly what is going on with Eiri, her abilities allow her some insight into the paranormal roots of Eiri's obsession.
- Michiru works as the local tarot card reader and shares with Eiri an emotional bond that weaves her into the saga of Cossette's vengeance.
- As the local priestess and psychic, Shakado's talents reveal frightening energies hovering over Eiri like the shadow of death.
- The local physician and Shoko's aunt, Hatsumi is utterly confounded by Eiri's psychosomatic afflictions.
- A talented artist that was close with Cossette's family. He murdered her and her family out of obsession with the Cossette he painted.
OVA
Sony Pictures Entertainment released the three Region 2 DVD compilations from May 26, 2004 to December 22, 2004. On December 1, 2004, the soundtrack to the OVA was released by Wint. It contained eighteen tracks by Yuki KajiuraYuki Kajiura
, born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, .hack//Roots, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi...
, including the main theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
. Later released as a single on August 11, 2004, "Hōseki" is sung by Marina Inoue
Marina Inoue
is a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
. During the period when Geneon Entertainment held the license, the episodes were aired on Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
The anime has since been relicensed by Sentai Filmworks, with distribution from Section23 Films
Section23 Films
Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...
. The OVA was released on April 20, 2010 and streamed on the Anime Network
Anime Network
The Anime Network , a former subsidiary of A.D. Vision, Inc. , is a cable and satellite digital broadcast service in North America dedicated to anime.-History:...
a month later.
| Sony Pictures Entertainment DVD releases | |
|---|---|
| Volume | Released |
| 1 | May 26, 2004 |
| 2 | July 28, 2004 |
| 3 | December 22, 2004 |
Petit Cossette is also licensed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
, and in German by Tokyopop.
Manga
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette appeared as a serialSerial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
in Monthly Magazine Z. Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
collected the chapters into two tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volume and published them from August 11, 2004, to December 21, 2004.
Tokyopop licensed Le Portrait de Petit Cossette for an English-language release in North America and published the volumes from July 2006 to November 2006. However, both volumes are now out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
. The series is also licensed in France by Asuka Comics.
Reception
Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
Reviewers at Mania Entertainment praised it as "a love story that's almost devoid of happiness, with a style and presentation that makes it engrossing, and yet not exactly easy to watch" and "an easy recommendation for those looking for something more mature from their anime."
External links
- Official site
- Le Portrait de Petit Cossette at Madman Entertainment
- Le Portrait de Petit Cossette at MVM Entertainment