Saturday 17 March 2012

Romeo x Juliet (anime + manga)

This one is very special for me. I wrote a mini review on this a few years ago under my livejournal... but I thought I would share my thoughts in it all the same. 
First off, let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the anime. I sat and watched all the episodes over the course of three days. A lot of the people fine the whole Romeo and Juliet thing overdone, but this series really reinvented the story. 
Let me start off with the animation. Beautiful scenes, drawings, character designs- just the thing every show needs. The use of flowers and colours really stood out as I watched the episodes. 
Next we’ll move on to the story and characters itself. The anime took a very old story and turned it into one of betrayal and unthinkable death. I have to say, the little twists in the story spiced it up. Not only that, the creators did a blend, bringing in character from other Shakespeare plays, including Othello and King Lear. The twist is, none of them play the parts they did in their original stories. Even William Shakespeare himself has a character in the anime, adding a comic relief to the story. Throw in a few flying horses and you have yourself a world to get lost in. 
Mixing tradition with new elements, Neo Verona (as the the city is called) really pops out, as does the story. It’s not one you can simply stop watching in the middle. 
The manga is another story completely. It did a very good job summarizing the story. But just summarizing. There are quite a few missing points from the manga, so much that you would not get the story unless you had watched the show first. The book is very good, but it should only be read second to watching the show. 
This is a happier response than you will normally see. All do to my lack of ideas. So I will end with this. 
Anyone who does not like the original tale does not need to worry. This one has flying horses!!
I should probably start a grading system.
Romeo x Juliet Anime: A+
Romeo x Juliet Manga: B

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