Many titles in shoujo, or girls’, manga today have one series in particular to thank. The Rose of Versailles is one of the best known and most beloved shoujo manga titles, but unlike other female focused manga at the time, did not focus entirely on a romance and instead features heavier on the politics and historical aspects.

The story takes place in France during the French Revolution. While Marie Antoinette factors heavily into the story, the primary character is Oscar François de Jarjayes, the sixth daughter of General Jarjayes; the General despaired over never getting a son, so instead Oscar was raised as a man in order to one day take over the Royal Guard. Lady Oscar (who, while raised as man, is open about being female) earns the admiration of men and women alike while in the Royal Guard. While Oscar was created as supporting character, her popularity with readers exploded and the story was changed to focus on her.

The original manga ran in Shueisha’s Margaret magazine starting in 1973 and was turned into a 40-episode anime that began in October of 1979. The series’ popularity has endured so well that two films have been made with a third currently in the early stages of production. A stage show by the Takarazuka Revue, an all female troupe, has been put on as recently as 2008.

The Rose of Versailles has been credited with not only causing a shift in how the shoujo genre is treated, but also with inspiring a number of series that came after that. The most notable of these is Revolutionary Girl Utena, which uses a rose motif throughout and stars a female protagonist who participates in sword fighting. The main character in Revolutionary Girl Utena also sports a jacket that seems to borrow design elements from Lady Oscar.