Romeo X Juliet Review
Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. It is Gonzo
Productions adaptation of the well-known tale and tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It’s
24 episodes, or “Acts”, but it’s not just your typical version of the two star
crossed lovers… THANK GOD!
I love Shakespeare (although I am aware Romeo and Juliet
wasn’t originally created by him). I enjoy the raw romance of the play, as well
as Hollywood’s version of the story, BUT looking at the story from a logical point
of view, I can see the scenarios are rather flawed. Some see it as horny teenagers
who let their hormones get the better of them. Honestly, one could say it
promotes 14 year old girls running off with boys they just met at some party
and then killing herself after not being able to see the guy again for 3 days.
After all, the story time frame is only a few days.
ANYWAYS, enough of my ranting and bashing, this review is about
the anime! :D
(May contain what some to be considered Spoilers)
The story begins with the epic flashback of Lord Montague
performing a mass slaughter of the house of Capulet, which already gives a
different flavor to the old tale. THE ANIME ACTUALLY GIVES THE TWO FAMILIES A
REASON TO HATE EACH OTHER! Yay backstories! Any-who, Juliet happens to be the
only survivor, so her and the loyalist to the house of Capulet keep her in
hiding (at the Globe Theater no less) until the age of sixteen (a much more
appropriate age to fall madly in love in the modern age). Although Juliet has to be kept in hiding most
of her life, she is far from a damsel in distress!
Without trying to give any of the plot twists away, there
are many new and refreshing scenes in this anime that give real meat to the
original play. The play is like an outline, and they fill in the cracks. A fun
fact is that the same composer who featured in Final Fantasy 12 also did the
music for this anime. So, if the background music makes the anime for you as it
does me, you’ll really get into the moment!
In order to avoid giving too much away, I’ll give you five
reasons why you should give this anime a chance:
1.
1. The love story, although seemingly unoriginal,
has actual depth and growth. Ya know… instead of a reenactment of “Call Me
Maybe”. The anime gives justice to getting to know someone before you give up
all the goods.
2.
2. ADVENTURE!! Swordfights, Exploring outside of
the small city of “Neo-Verona”, Riots, Assassins etc. I wouldn’t call this an
action anime, but rather an anime WITH ACTION! :D
3.
3. Plot twists: Where characters in the original
play may be friends, here they are foe. Some things are not as they appear to be
and you can look forward to the occasional “whoa! Didn’t see that coming” here
and there. I personally hate watching an anime where I can predict everything
that’s going to happen. Surprisingly, this is not one of those anime’s even
though I know the original story by heart.
4.
4. Emotional Development: Each character has their
own backstory and are not created solely for filling up time in the anime.
Everyone is important to the story and it makes it very easy to find a
character to relate to.
5.
5. DRAGONSTEADS?! MAGIC TREES!?! SORCERY?!!!! *mind
explodes* yes! This may be considered a spoiler, but gosh darn it it’s in the
opening credits! XD This anime, along with its compelling characters and sword
duels, has a magical twist to it that makes this my personal favorite version
of Romeo and Juliet.
So there you have it! The only downside I can
really see is if you simply cannot stand periodic animes, since this is set
back in the good ol’ Shakespearean days. Maybe you are also put off by the
romance side to it, but the anime doesn’t focus on just that. Mostly, it’s
Juliet’s journey trying to live out her duty to liberate the people of
Neo-Verona while also dealing with the everyday girl stuff. Romeo is trying to
understand the history of his family and what sort of ruler he wants to become.
Anyways, like I said its 24 Acts which makes it just the right size to give it
a go!
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