Lady Oscar, 45 years old and not hearing them. At WOW in Milan an exhibition on a comic that has become a cult

On 10 October 1979 Nippon Television broadcast the first episode of an anime destined to become a real cult in Japan but also in Italy, where the 1 March 1982 broadcast by Italia Uno with the title Lady Oscar. This is the animated version of a highly successful manga written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikedapublished starting in 1972.

Ikeda, who was struck by reading a biography of Marie Antoinette, queen of France, decided to dedicate a comic story to her in which she was the protagonist, entitled Versailles is not baraor The pink of Versailles. And yes, because the absolute protagonist, in the author’s original projects, was Queen Marie Antoinette but, above all thanks to the creation of the animated series, the scene is soon stolen by the character of Oscar François de Jarjayescommander of the royal guards, a girl raised as a man by her general father after the disappointment of not having had a son to follow a military career.

The beautiful Oscar, who everyone at court knows is a woman but who is given the respect due to a ranking officer, she immediately becomes a friend and confidant of the young queen Marie Antoinette, who arrived in France to marry the future Louis XVI. Soon their destinies intersect in a series of adventurous events that have as their backdrop the French Revolution and court life amidst gossip and dangerous intrigues. A pact of mutual loyalty is formed between Oscar and Marie Antoinette, even when the two women end up falling in love with the same man, the handsome Count of Fersen.

History will divide them: Oscar will have to come to terms with his conscience and take the side of the people by going to command the Civil Guard, while Marie Antoinette, proud sovereign of France, distances herself further and further from her subjects by retreating into a world of luxury and loneliness. Such was the success of Lady Oscar that a Franco-Japanese film was also made in 1979 directed by Jacques Demy (one of the very few films actually shot in Versailles and with a very young Patsy Kensit in the role of little Oscar).

45 years after the first release, an exhibition at WOW Comics Space – Comics Museum of Milan (Viale Campania 12), proposes a double journey through time to discover the characters, protagonists and events that form the backdrop to the plot of the animated series. Thanks to a series of panels it will be possible to retrace the history of the cartoon by comparing it in parallel with the real events of history that shook France from 1755, the year of birth of Oscar and Marie Antoinette, until 1793, the year in which the sovereign was guillotined during the last, moving, episode.

Among the wonders on display: historical volumes and catalogs of exhibitions on the real characters present in the series, the album of Panini stickers with an unobtainable cardboard display stand from newsstands of the time, the novels dedicated to Lady Oscar published by Fabbri, the Ceppi Ratti dolls released at the time of the Italian broadcast of the series, posters, advertising sheets and original gadgets from events and exhibitions organized in Japan, including those dedicated to the exhibition for the 50th anniversary of the manga, a collection of shijitaki (folders) with images of the series, illustrated Artbook volumes, Japanese posters, Italian fanzines and illustrations created by artists who pay homage to the series and its protagonists. Also on display are the amigurumi (crochet puppets) of Oscar and André and the BrickHeadz versions made with LEGO.

Also on display is an important collection of original cels (acetates on which the characters were drawn in various poses and superimposed on the backgrounds) lent by Laura Luzi which, in addition to thrilling by bringing the visitor a tangible and unique piece of the anime, helps to understand what work was hidden in the seventies behind the creation of an animated series before the advent of computer graphics. The exhibition will remain open until September 15th.