History Manga / Kuragehime

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kuragehimetvtropes_5449.jpg]]

Tsukimi, an extremely shy and self-deprecating 18 year old illustrator, has been fascinated by jellyfish ever since her now-deceased mother took her to an aquarium when she was young. To her, they're everything she isn't- beautiful and graceful. While jellyfish-watching at a pet shop, she sees a spotted jellyfish in the same tank as a moon jellyfish, a death sentence for the former. Overcoming her fear of stylish people (and men), she tries to talk the clerk into moving the spotted jellyfish to another tank. Apathetic to the plight of this nerdy girl, the clerk just ignores her and Tsukimi [[SeriousBusiness gets into a fight with him over it]]. Things are looking bleak for Clara (the spotted jellyfish) when a fashionable girl intervenes and talks the clerk into giving them the jellyfish.

The mysterious "princess" follows Tsukimi back to the "Nunnery", the boarding house she shares with a bunch of fellow nerdy {{otaku}} girls, and ends up sleeping in Tsukimi's room. This dreamy girl, however, is not all that [[WholesomeCrossdresser she appears...]]

''Kuragehime'' (''Princess Jellyfish'') is an award-winning {{josei}} {{manga}} by Akiko Higashimura, adapted to {{anime}} by Brain Base, as part of Fall 2010's {{noitaminA}} block. Funimation simulcasted the series [[http://www.funimation.com/princess-jellyfish/episodes on their video portal]] and later released it as a box set.

A [[LiveActionAdaptation Live Action Film Adaptation]] has been announced for a Winter 2014 release, starring Masaki Suda of ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' fame as Kuranosuke, and Rena Nonen as Tsukimi.

A [[{{Characters/Kuragehime}} Character Page]] is now in the works!

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!! ''Kuragehime'' provides examples of:
* AgentPeacock: Kuranosuke is this, albeit a more realistic than usual version. He is, for the most part a wholesome crossdressing draq queen who can out-female most of the cast but never pretends to be a woman.
* AlmostKiss: Episode 7.
* AngerBornOfWorry: The one time we see [[TheStoic Shuu]] get well and truly angry is when Inari [[spoiler: pretended she was going to commit suicide as a joke.]] He actually ''[[WouldHitAGirl hits]] [[ArmorPiercingSlap her]]'' for it. [[spoiler: When she sees that he was genuinely worried about her, she starts to develop real feelings for him.]]
* AstronomicZoom: When Kuranosuke says something inconceivable to our heroine: "Because I wanted to see you, Tsukimi." After a while you wonder how much farther it's gonna zoom out.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: The Nuns when confronted with objects of their nerdy desires. Especially Mayaya and Banba. Kuranosuke and Shuu's uncle, the ''Prime Minister of Japan'', would rather be a hyperactive teenage girl than the leader of the country.
* AuthorAppeal: In an omake the author says she used to be obsessed with jellyfish.
* BatmanInMyBasement: Tsukimi's initial problem after Kuranosuke stays the night is making sure no-one discovers he's in her room.
* BeautifulAllAlong: Tsukimi, though Kuranosuke believes that everyone falls under this trope.
** Mayaya is extremely self-conscious about her height, lack of curves, and evil-looking eyes. Kuranosuke points out that many fashion models are tall and boyish with fierce eyes, and Chieko adds that "if all the chubby people in the country heard you talk ''they'd beat you to death''".
* BerserkButton: Several. It's better not to add noodles to the meat in Banba's presence, and there are also more than a few things that will seriously annoy the hyperactive Mayaya. But the most prominent example would be Inari [[CrowningMomentOfFunny going apeshit]] on her [[ButtMonkey assistant]] just because the poor guy suggested [[AttractiveBentGender she-Kuranosuke]]'s a 'real knocker'...
* BettyAndVeronica: In a straightforward example, Shu is the Archie to Tsukimi's Betty and Inari's Veronica.
* BigFancyHouse: The Koibuchi residence is this.
* BigNo: When Kuranosuke realizes [[spoiler: he's getting jealous and Tsukimi might be more to him than a fashion project.]]
* BlankWhiteEyes: Probably the most common reaction in the show.
* BlatantLies: When Kuranosuke's secret is finally discovered, he spins a tale of being raised as a boy while getting them drunk. [[spoiler: They believe him.]]
* BlindingBangs: Banba, Jiji, and Mayaya. Mayaya grew hers out after her "fierce eyes" got her the nickname "Contract Killer".
* BlindIdiotTranslation: When MC Hanamori tries to say "jellyfish" in English it comes out "jelly ear mushroom"
* BlueWithShock
* ButNotTooForeign: [[spoiler:Kuranosuke]] is half Italian.
** Nisha is Indian but speaks fluent Japanese ([[TheIdiotFromOsaka with an Osaka accent]]) since her ex-husband was Japanese.
* CampStraight: Kuranosuke is this.
* CatFight: Quite a few have occurred between women fighting for Kuranosuke, according to his flashbacks.
* {{Catchphrase}}: Nisha's "Are you stupid?!" (of course, when you're trying to break into the already struggling fashion industry and ''you don't even know how to sew''...)
* ChristmasCake: Do NOT ask how old the Nuns are.
* ClarkKenting: Tsukimi towards Shuu, in combination with BeautifulAllAlong.
* ComedicSociopathy: Hanamori has absolutely no morals when you use the Benz argument for manipulation.
* CooldownHug: Shuu gives one to Tsukimi when she cries at the aquarium.
* CornerOfWoe: First episode.
** The Nuns go into this whenever someone violates some rule or asks some question on the 'Top 5 Things You Shouldn't Do in the Presence of/Ask the Nuns' (As helpfully pointed out by Clara, usually.)
* DamnedByFaintPraise: "I almost kissed a girl who is practically a [[GegegeNoKitaro Shigeru Mizuki]] character!".
* DefiledForever: Invoked for comedy by Tsukimi with the old "I can't get married anymore" line when she accidentally sees a naked guy [[spoiler: after Kuranosuke gets drunk and slips in the shower.]]
* DelayedReaction: Shuu and Tsukimi are so innocent that their AccidentalHug and AccidentalPervert moments take a while to set in.
* DemotedToExtra: Nomu and Nisha do not appear in the anime.
* DoesNotLikeMen: All the Nuns are quite fearful of men and have banned them from entering the Nunnery.
* DoubleEntendre: Kuronasuke tends to make a few of these.
--> "I never realized. Why don't we go to my place? Let's have some fun."
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Wonderfully [[AvertedTrope averted]]. The victim is incredibly scarred, loses confidence in himself, and spends several episodes in deep emotional conflict and turmoil. The perpetrator is instantly the most hated character in the show.
* DroppedGlasses: Tsukimi gets bolder without her glasses on. See RuleOfSymbolism below.
* DudeNotFunny: In-universe, it's Shuu's reaction to Inari pulling a [[spoiler:DrivenToSuicide [[IWasJustJoking joke]]]]. It gets her [[WouldHitAGirl slapped]].
* [[TwelveEpisodeAnime Eleven Episode Anime]]
* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Clara's cutesy way of talking. Okay, she only speaks in Tsukimi's {{Imagine Spot}}s.
* FairytaleMotifs: Specifically princesses, and there are various references to Literature/{{Cinderella}}.
* FairytaleWeddingDress
* FashionHurts: The high-heels-are-torture version. Kuranosuke assures the Sisterhood that the heels are weapon, so they just have to get used to the pain.
* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: The "princess" is a dude.
* FirstKiss: Who is the one to take Tsukimi's? Shuu or Kuranosuke? [[spoiler:It's President Kai]].
* FuroScene: We get to see Kuranosuke jump out of the bath and run around the house for a while [[ShirtlessScene wearing only a towel around his waist.]]
* GenderVocabularySlip: Kuranosuke slips into the [[JapanesePronouns ''ore'' pronoun]], but since he's so good at cross-dressing, he still passes as a {{bokukko}} (with a bit of help from Tsukimi, see below).
** In the English dub, he gets away with calling himself "boy" a couple times because Tsukimi [[ItMakesSenseInContext keeps shouting "OH BOY" before launching into a nonsensical song about what they are doing at that moment]].
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Kuranosuke does this to Tsukimi and her friends when they give up on trying to save Amamizukan.
* {{Hikikomori}}: The unseen BL author, who never comes out of her room, is nocturnal, and communicates with the other Nuns via handwritten notes slipped under the door. The other Nuns also display milder hiki tendencies.
* HotConsort[=/=]TheMistress: [[spoiler:Kuranosuke's mom.]]
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The manga chapters titles [[ShoutOut reference or outright pull their names from other media sources]] (mostly film or television), ranging from [[Series/SexAndTheCity Sex and the Amars]] and [[Film/SlumdogMillionaire Jellyfishdog Millionaire]] to [[Film/TheSecretInTheirEyes The Secret In Their Eyes]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthu_%281995_film%29 Jellyfish: The Dancing Maharaja]]. See also the [[ReferenceOverdosed opening to the anime]] under ShoutOuts below.
* IJustWantToBeBeautiful: According to Kuranosuke, everyone, even the otakus of the nunnery, desire beauty.
* ImagineSpot
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Tsukimi has trouble sleeping restfully after [[spoiler: a photo of Inari and Shuu in bed together broke her heart]]. She asks [[{{Hikikomori}} Mejiro]] for advice on how to shut the painful thoughts from her mind. The answer? [[BigWordShout BOOZE]]! [[DrowningMySorrows Tsukimi complies]].
* JapaneseRanguage: Tsukimi uses it to cover Kuranosuke's ''[[JapanesePronouns ore]]'' slips by pretending them to be the Spanish ''olé''.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nisha. She constantly tells Kuranosuke and Tsukimi that they're idiots and her idea of encouragement is to tell them that she basically wants to watch them fail, but she's really trying to help since neither of them knows anything about the fashion industry. The most obvious sign she's on their side is the fact that she didn't trick them into buying loads of expensive fabric.
* JiangShi: Mayaya thinks Tsukimi is cosplaying one after her clumsy attempts at removing her make-up. [[spoiler:And then the Nuns start goofing around too...]]
* KansaiRegionalAccent: [[FunnyForeigner Nisha]] has this, apparently because her ex-husband is from there.
* {{Landlady}}: Chieko, also a TeamMom and ''a bit'' more socially capable than the others.
* LimitedWardrobe: For virtually everyone except [[UnlimitedWardrobe Kuranosuke]].
* LipstickAndLoadMontage
* LonelyDollGirl: Nomu, but only to "worthless little worms" who don't love her "children" like she does.
* LoveBubbles: Played for laughs.
* LovesMyAlterEgo: Shuu thinks dolled-up Tsukimi is [[SingleTargetSexuality very attractive]]. He thinks normal Tsukimi is [[MirrorCrackingUgly not]]. [[spoiler: Once he figures out they're the same person he thinks normal Tsukimi's cute too.]]
* TheLoveSlapOfEpiphany: [[spoiler:Shuu]] slaps [[spoiler:Inari]] for pretending to [[spoiler: commit suicide]] as a joke. This is the point where she starts to develop real feelings for him.
* LuminescentBlush: Kuranosuke gets one in Episode 11 that flirts with HighPressureEmotion, but doesn't quite get there.
* MakeoverMontage: Kuranosuke started one in Episode 3 with Tsukimi. [[SheCleansUpNicely He did a good job.]]
* [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Manic Pixie Dream Guy]]: Kuranosuke is a rare male example of the manic pixie dream girl.
* MatchmakerCrush: [[spoiler: Kuranosuke does his best to get Shuu and Tsukimi together, only to realize a bit too late that ''he's'' falling for Tsukimi.]]
* MayDecemberRomance: Kuranosuke points out the rather significant age difference between Tsukimi (18) and Shuu (30)
* MeaningfulName: The kanji for Inari's name is shared with a Shinto deity who is closely associated with Kitsune. What do the Nuns call her? "The Vixen."
** More immediately, the kanji for Tsukimi (月海) reversed can be read as "kurage" (海月), or "jellyfish".
* MeetCute: How Tsukimi and Shuu met. Subverted in that the second meeting didn't go so well.
* MistakenForGay: [[WholesomeCrossdresser Kuranosuke]] and Tsukimi, by primary school children.
* {{Mukokuseki}}: Averted. The only character with non-traditional (natural) Asian features is Kuranosuke, and it turns out this is due to him having a white biological mother. His half-brother Shuu looks decidedly Japanese, as do the rest of the characters.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Kuranosuke goes all super dramatic action mode when he gives Tsukimi her first make-over, complete with superspeed blurring hands, battle-cries, and dramatic hand motions.
* NerdGlasses: Tsukimi goes on full opaque mode when talking about jellyfish.
* NerdNanny: {{Gender Flip}}ped.
* NerdsAreVirgins: The number one thing that shouldn't be mentioned in the Nunnery.
* NoRomanticResolution: The anime doesn't resolve the love triangle.
* {{Nosebleed}}: Tsukimi and Shu each have one, which occur several minutes ''after'' they experience something arousing.
* NotGoodWithPeople: All the characters have issues interacting with others, but Chieko's friend and fellow doll-enthusiast Nomu takes the cake: she considers her dolls as her daughters and people as "worthless little worms".
* OddCouple: If they hadn't met the way they did, there's no way Tsukimi and Kuranosuke would have become friends, let alone such good ones.
* {{Otaku}}: The girls of the Nunnery call themselves fujoshis, but only one of them (the mysterious {{hikikomori}} BL author) fits the YaoiFangirl stereotype; the others are into less commonly depicted interests, like [[RailEnthusiast trains]], Japanese dolls, ''RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', jellyfish, old men...
** [[NotSoDifferent Even the "normal" people have strange obsessions]]: Shuu's driver is obsessed with cars to the point where he drove off a girlfriend, Kuranosuke is obsessed with fashion (but not in any practical way -- he wants to start a fashion line without knowing how to sew or even knowing anyone who knows how to sew), Kuranosuke and Shuu's dad loves women of all ages and demeanors except disgusting cross-dressers like his idiot son, ''the freaking prime minister of Japan'' seems to wish he was [[CampStraight a teenage girl]], and Inari appears to have based her life around business women mangas from the Eighties.
** An omake reveals the author's assistants are all hardcore fans of one thing or another; the 'Ota-combat level' of one of them is, yes, {{over 9000}}.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Tsukimi says this to Kuranosuke when he's hanging around her apartment in his boxers.
* PrimalScene: Subverted with [[spoiler: poor Shuu]] and {{lampshaded}} by Kuranosuke.
-->[[spoiler:'''Kuranosuke:''' Hey, bro, are you still a virgin at 30 because you got traumatized seeing your dad and [[YourCheatingHeart my mom]] getting it on in some walk-in-closet-type deal in some backstage-type room at some theater-type place?]]
** [[spoiler: Turns out to not so subverted as Kuranosuke's lampshading is revealed to be almost prescient in what happened: Walk-in closet? Check. Backstage room? Check. Theater? Check. He was only off in that they were making out, and that by his dad's own admission, "Only made it to second base!" ]]
* PunnyName: Clara's transliterated spelling (Kurara) is one character off from Kurage (Jellyfish, but you should know that by now).
* PygmalionPlot
** Kuranosuke even lampshades it: "You look like a soap-opera heroine who just got molested."
* RecursiveCrossDressing: What the amars ''think'' "Kurako" is doing [[spoiler: although they quickly get confused when "she" is outed as a cross-dresser ("But if she's a girl forced to be a man in public why is she dressing like a girl to proclaim she's a man in front of the TV cameras...?")]].
** Amusingly enough this occurs on a meta level as well, as Creator/MitsukiSaiga (a woman) is playing a man (Kuranosuke) who's crossdressing as a woman.
* RepeatCut: Tsukimi is ''really'' shocked by [[NerdsAreVirgins a very bold question]].
* RomanceInducingSmudge: Briefly, a tea leaf.
* RuleOfSymbolism: Lots of mirror-gazing and watching behind glasses and glass windows going on.
** In episode 1, when Tsukimi is walking home with Kuranosuke, she looks at the beautiful "princess" in admiration. Then Tsukimi sees their reflections side by side in a store window, and sighs at how plain she is by comparison. Later in the same episode, Tsukimi looks in her mirror when she tries on the "princess's" wig, and proceeds to muse on the subject of beauty and princesses.
* RunningGag: Generally, [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/kuragehime/v06/c031/26.html Kuranosuke saying something shocking and Tsukimi "mishearing"]] as [[RuleOfThree three other words]].
** Also, the Nuns turning to stone as a defensive mechanism.
** Kuranosuke accidentally using 'ore' (calling himself 'boy' in the dub) in front of the other Nuns, and Tsukimi trying to distract them from it by singing.
** Chieko being the only Nun not to get any kind of makeover. Even when the 'makeover' is just throwing shawls and [[NiceHat Nice Hats]] on the others.
* SavingTheOrphanage: Okay, the Nuns aren't really orphans and the Nunnery isn't an orphanage, but it's pretty close.
* SecretKeeper: Tsukimi has [[JustifiedTrope a perfectly good reason]] for not letting the others know about Kuranosuke's secret: the punishment is death.
** [[spoiler: Kuranosuke's mom calls Shuu to ask him to get Tsukimi's original jellyfish dress after seeing her son on TV. Naturally, Shuu can't tell Kuranosuke.]]
* SecurityBlanket: Jellyfish are this to Tsukimi; when confronted by stylish people (whether they're being aggressive or not) the girls freeze and think happy otaku thoughts.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Tsukimi, after Kuranosuke's extreme makeover.
** Later the rest of the Nuns, save Chieko, too. Kuranosuke actually has a good reason for not making over Chieko. In a roundabout way, he says she's the only one who doesn't ''really'' need his help.
** I always knew Mayaya [[http://www.mangareader.net/kuragehime/33/15 just needed to ditch those bangs]].
* ShirtlessScene: Never mind the make-up...
* ShoutOut: The OP is Shout Out central, with nods to ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/SinginInTheRain'', ''Film/MaryPoppins'', ''Film/EmperorOfTheNorth'', ''Film/GodOfGamblers'', ''Film/JamesBond'', ''Film/GameOfDeath'' (or ''Film/KillBill'', your choice), ''Film/TheGraduate'' ([[TheGraduateHomageShot Elaine!!!!!]]), and ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind''.
** Tsukimi sees herself as Anime/{{Heidi|GirlOfTheAlps}} helping [[IllGirl Clara]] in one ImagineSpot.
** {{Franchise/Barbie}}, used straight as a symbol of unattainable beauty.
** Vic's Vapor Rub, a popular product in Japan.
** Back to movie references: Kon Ichikawa's ''Film/TheBurmeseHarp'' in the last episode.
** In episode 8, Kuranosuke's erratic heartbeat, eating the yokan, and falling out of a chair sideways is a direct send up to [[spoiler: L's death scene]] in ''Manga/DeathNote''.
** In episode 9, Inari [[Manga/SaintSeiya goes Pegasus]] when told Shu is [[spoiler: a virgin]].
** Kuranosuke [[spoiler: manages to trick Chieko and Jiji into thinking he's a girl raised as a boy (even he can't believe it worked) when he]] refers to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' and starts dressing as Oscar.
** Kuranosuke wearing [[Music/LadyGaga a long blonde wing with hair in the shape of a bow]].
** A plane shown at an airport at some point or another had what appeared to be [[Manga/AsuNoYoichi Yoichi]] on it.
** The second EyeCatch involves the word "Tequila", a reference to the song by The Champs of the same name.
* ShowerOfAngst: When [[spoiler: Shuu]] returns home after [[spoiler: getting date-raped by Inari (or so he thinks)]], the first thing he does is take a shower.
* ShrinkingViolet: Tsukimi.
* [[spoiler:SiblingTriangle]]
* SiblingYinYang: Kuranosuke and Shu, obviously.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: [[spoiler: Inari ends up falling for pure-pure Shuu.]]
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: Everyone gets hit by it, though Mayaya and Bamba most of all.
* SpitTake
* SuperWindowJump: Parodied. Tsukimi tries this once in the anime, and twice in the manga; Kuranosuke pulls her back inside the first time, the second time she succeeds but it's a very short drop.
** Mayaya eventually tries this in the manga, too, but is also pulled back.
** [[spoiler: Mr. Koibuchi]], of all people, jumps ''through'' a window to get into Kuranosuke's room!
* TakenForGranite: As an extreme form of BlueWithShock. Also a self-defense mechanism for the Nunnery's inhabitants in case of contact with stylish people.
* TakeThat: Mayaya is appalled by the {{Moe}} version of a ''RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' character she finds at the local convenience store. [[KoihimeMusou I wonder which loose anime adaptation of that story this could be referring to...]]
* TalkingToTheDead: Tsukimi addresses her [[SurrogateSoliloquy inner monologues]] to her mother.
* TastesLikeFriendship: Kuranosuke really wins the girls over with that expensive meat.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "Them boobs is fake, bitches!"
* TooMuchInformation: When Hanamori is surrounded by the "24 Ophelias" he blurts out that he's so obsessed with cars that his girlfriend left him because he loves cars more than her. Later, he lets it slip that if he's bribed with cars he'll reveal anything to anyone and [[spoiler: at the fashion show goes into great detail that Kuranosuke is just a cross-dresser, not transsexual.]]
* TopTenList: Hosted by Clara.
* TryingNotToCry
* TwoPersonLoveTriangle: Between Shuu and Tsukimi, [[spoiler: though it's quickly becoming a humorous SiblingTriangle LoveDodecahedron]].
* VerbalTic: A few of the characters have odd exclamations, IE Mayaya's "Nuwo!" or Inari's use of outdated sayings.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Jellyfish are squishy, brainless creatures and some species can be outright dangerous. But they're so pretty...
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Kuranosuke, though he denies it and says he's just "interested in female fashion".
** That's one of his reasons for cross dressing, the other being [[spoiler: ruining his image to avoid being railroaded into a political career by his family.]]
** And the third, revealed late in the series, being [[spoiler: a desire to connect with his absent mother, who often gave him pretty things and showed off her dresses to him; not to mention a half-subconscious belief that, if he had been born a girl instead of a potential heir, his mother might not have left/been separated from him (the series leaves the exact nature of her departure unexplained)]].
* WingdingEyes
* [[ManChild Woman Child]]: Tsukimi and [[TeamMom Chieko]] are the only Nuns who seem capable of acting their age most of the time.
* WouldHitAGirl: [[spoiler: Shuu proved that if you push him too far, he will retaliate. Though, admittedly, the [[ManipulativeBastard victim]] completely deserved it. He later apologizes, which throws Inari and ruins her blackmail scheme speech.]]
* YourMakeupIsRunning: Happens to Tsukimi several times after Kuranosuke dolls her up, though the second time [[GenreSavvy he says it'll be fine since he used waterproof mascara]].
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** In a less straightforward example, Tsukimi is the Archie for Kuranosuke and Shu, though it is less immediately clear who the Betty and who the Veronica is.

* ShoutOut: The OP is Shout Out central, with nods to ''SexAndTheCity'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/SinginInTheRain'', ''Film/MaryPoppins'', ''Film/EmperorOfTheNorth'', ''Film/GodOfGamblers'', ''Film/JamesBond'', ''Film/GameOfDeath'' (or ''Film/KillBill'', your choice), ''Film/TheGraduate'' ([[TheGraduateHomageShot Elaine!!!!!]]), and ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind''.

** In episode 9, Inari [[SaintSeiya goes Pegasus]] when told Shu is [[spoiler: a virgin]].

** A plane shown at an airport at some point or another had what appeared to be [[{{AsuNoYoichi}} Yoichi]] on it.

** Kuranosuke [[spoiler: manages to trick Chieko and Jiji into thinking he's a girl raised as a boy (even he can't believe it worked) when he]] refers to ''RoseOfVersailles'' and starts dressing as Oscar.