Image from the wikipedia page.

On ravenna_c_tan's recommendation, I watched the 24-episode anime series Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, which is a futuristic version of the classic Dumas story. I loved it. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to make it past the animation style, which uses fixed background patterns for clothing and hair which shift as the characters move; I didn't care for that way back when I first saw it used for a plaid-clad guy in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. But I got used to it, and then it really grew on me. Makes me want to run down to the fabric store and find the loudest paisley I can so that I can do cosplay for it.

The conceit of Gankutsuou is to make the children's generation the main characters, and to focus on the friendship between Monte Cristo and Mercedes's son. It's a lovely, rewardingly angsty retelling. I've seen lots of versions of TCoMC--hell, I even remember the Mr. Magoo version--and so many of them try to change the ending, but I've never seen one that dared to create a sadder ending than the original. Wow. And I was very pleased at how the death of one particular character, partway through the series, resonated and resonated the rest of the way through, accompanied by deep visible grieving from the other characters. Not just some throw-away.

And there are lots of pretty men scattered all through it, and it's infinitely slashy. I'm tempted to nominate this fandom in Yuletide. Still not sure if I'm ready for that commitment, though. But I really would like to find fic of at least one particular pairing. *goes hunting doujinshi*