Ask John: Will Ryoko Ikeda’s Eroica Get an Anime Adaptation?

Question:
Now that “Berusaiyu no Bara” (The Rose Of Versailles) has been given an official North American release [license]. Is there any chance that its sequel series “Eikou no Napoleon – Eroica” (The Glory of Napoleon) will get an anime adaption?

Answer:
Regrettably, no. The 1979 Rose of Versailles anime television series has been acquired for American release by a small, boutique distributor that wisely intends a relatively limited domestic release for the show. The acquisition is evidently motivated by respect for the anime and a desire to make this classic series available to American consumers rather than due to any Japanese effort to revive and relaunch the franchise or any new Japanese marketing push for the works of creator Ryoko Ikeda. Despite apparently fruitless talks of a new Rose of Versailles anime feature film, no anime adaptation of any Ryoko Ikeda manga has been produced since 1991, so a sudden Japanese adaptation of Ikeda’s 1986 manga sequel to Rose of Versailles, especially in response to a limited foreign release of the Rose of Versailles TV series, seems highly improbable.