"Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight" is a media mix based on the light novel by Kasuga Mikage, who is well known for "The Ambition of Oda Nobuna". This work is based on the real Joan of Arc who lived in late medieval Europe, and here we will introduce the heroine, Joan of Arc.
What is "Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight"?
What is the concept of "Ulysses"?
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
"Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight" is a work based on late medieval Europe, and was created with the concept of what kind of story it would be if people with supernatural powers and fairies existed in this era.
Beautiful girls full of elegance who appear in "Ulysses"
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
The highlight of "Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight" is that many of the characters are from royalty or aristocratic backgrounds, so there are many beautiful girls who are noble and full of elegance.
The characters are based on real people who existed in history, and although they have been feminized as a hobby of Kasuga-sensei, the original settings have been carried over, so history buffs may find some parts enjoyable.
The charm of the world of "Ulysses"
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
The world of "Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight" features alchemy and fairies, and it's interesting that it has a somewhat strong fantastical element.
The fairies in particular are adorable, helping to lighten the somewhat heavy worldview of "Ulysses."
[Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight] The charm of the cute Jeanne d'Arc!
What kind of girl is "Jeanne d'Arc"?
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
"Jeanne d'Arc" is a girl from the real village of Domremy in France, and appears in the story as a pretty blonde girl.
Jeanne is not only cute in appearance, but her voice is also very cute, and the voice of voice actress "Oono Yuuko" matches Jeanne perfectly, making her cuteness stand out.
Is Jeanne a beautiful young girl of unknown age?
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
There seems to be a gap between Jeanne's actual age and her appearance, and at least her appearance is immature and young.
Her way of speaking and her demeanor are close to that of a little girl, so I think she's a character that viewers who are into little girls will be hooked on.
Jeanne is a generous and kind girl
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
If you had to sum up Jeanne's personality in one word, you could say she's a generous, unpretentious, kind and brave girl who is kind to everyone.
She has an open mind and can get along with anyone, and quickly became friends with the suspicious French princess Charlotte.
Jeanne is loved by the fairy tribe
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Jeanne is good friends with the fairy tribe, and playing with the cute fairy tribe makes her cuteness stand out even more.
The fairy tribe also cares for Jeanne, and when Jeanne's village was attacked by the Burgundy army, the fairy tribe stopped fleeing and fought to protect Jeanne's village despite their weak powers.
[Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight] Montmorency and Jeanne meet
Montmorency and Jeanne suddenly meet
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
The first encounter between Montmorency, the protagonist of "Ulysses," and Jeanne occurs when Jeanne happens to be present at the ruins that Montmorency visits to conduct alchemy.
Jeanne, who is full of curiosity, is fascinated by Montmorency's alchemy and unintentionally gets in the way of him, causing a major accident during the alchemy.
The meeting between Montmorency and Jeanne is depicted more dramatically in the original work.
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
In the anime, Montmorency and Jeanne seem to meet suddenly, but in the original work, Montmorency had a stepsister named Jeanne who died at a young age, and it was emphasized that she resembled the Jeanne he met at the ruins (they even had the same name), which is why he felt a closeness to her.
The original setting of Jeanne
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Although it is hardly mentioned in the anime, Jeanne has always admired princess knights since she was a child and wanted to become a knight in the future. However, since only members of royalty or nobility can become knights, Jeanne became interested in the magical field.
Therefore, in the original work, the background that Jeanne, who was interested in alchemy, became interested in Montmorency and felt an affinity with him was made clear.
[Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight] Jeanne reborn as Ulysses
Jeanne reborn as the immortal being "Ulysses"
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Jeanne was stabbed by the sword of a Burgundian soldier who attacked the village of Domremy and was seriously injured, near death.
Montmorency rushed to her side and implanted half of the Philosopher's Stone, which holds supernatural powers, into her wound to save her, turning her into an immortal being named "Ulysses."
Jeanne's unique ability, which has overwhelming power, is "acceleration"
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Jeanne's unique ability as Ulysses is "acceleration", and she has the ability to move at speeds that cannot be seen by the human eye.
Furthermore, he has the strength to easily kick a big man in thick armor and has acquired the power to instantly heal wounds.
The emotion controlled by Montmorency's Philosopher's Stone is "Pride"
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist's Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Ulysses-transformed Jeanne's unique ability is "acceleration," which increases her power and recovery by an order of magnitude, but at the same time, the emotion of "pride" controlled by Montmorency's Philosopher's Stone is also amplified, and Jeanne transformed into Ulysses becomes a much more belligerent character than you would imagine from the usual cute Jeanne.
Weaknesses of "Ulysses"
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemy Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Although Ulysses has an immortal body, he will die if his brain is destroyed, and furthermore, it is set that it is difficult to maintain Ulysses' state beyond human for a long time.
In particular, Jeanne was young, so she could only absorb half of the Philosopher's Stone into her body, and could only draw out half of the power of Ulysses's original power, so her Ulysses transformation only lasted about three minutes.
Montmorency and Jeanne kissing each time she transforms into Ulysses
Because Montmorency was an inexperienced alchemist, he was unable to give Jeanne the Philosopher's Stone in its complete form, and so whenever Jeanne used up her power as Ulysses, he had to baise (kiss) her to replenish the "elixir" that stabilizes the power of the Philosopher's Stone.
Jeanne's body became one in which she could not survive without a regular supply of elixir, but the way she asks Montmorency for baise is seductive, and this may be a highlight in many ways.
[Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight] Jeanne's voice actor is Yuuko Ohno
About Jeanne's voice actor "Yuuko Ohno"
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage / Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
The voice actress for Jeanne d'Arc is Ohno Yuuko, who also voiced Yuzu, the main character in Konohana Kitan, and Aya Asagiri, the main character in Magical Girl Site.
Ohno is a relatively new voice actress who began her voice acting career around 2016, but she is already a promising voice actress who has played a number of beautiful lolita characters.
Ono's characteristics as a voice actor
Source: Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
Ono is already top class when it comes to voicing beautiful lolita characters, and she was amazing when she voiced Goto Jun in "Angel's 3P."
This time, Jeanne d'Arc is also lovely, and her voice is cuter than previous characters, so I feel that she has evolved.
Oono as Jeanne d'Arc
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
What is unique about Ohno's portrayal of Jeanne d'Arc is that the usual cute Jeanne and the Jeanne when she transforms into Ulysses are quite different.
Ohno has been known for her image as a beautiful lolita character, but she proved that she is also a charming berserker when she transforms into Ulysses in this role as Joan of Arc, so it looks like she'll be expanding her horizons even further from now on.
【Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight】 Jeanne d'Arc Summary
Source: Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight © Kasuga Mikage/Shueisha, Ulysses Partners
There are significant differences between the original work and the anime version of "Ulysses Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight," and to put it simply, many settings are omitted in the anime version.
However, in the anime, Jeanne and the Fae are portrayed even cuter than in the original, so I think it's worth watching just to see Jeanne and the other cute characters.
