"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers, take their life.” – William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act I
My decision to take on the review of the boxed sets of Romeo X Juliet was a difficult one. When I watch anime, I typically trend towards titles that are more masculine in nature, shonen or seinen type movies and series, while staying away from the more feminine shows that litter the landscape. Still, Shakespeare has always been one of my favorite playwrights, and I knew that an anime version of his oft-retold tale of Romeo and Juliet would be intriguing to say the least. After reading the short synopsis of the series provided by FUNimation, I basically knew what I was getting into: While not being a direct retelling, Romeo X Juliet strives to give us a story with similar plot conflicts tied into its structure.
To be more precise, the animated Romeo X Juliet is a far cry from the original tale, although similar themes do exist in both versions. For instance, the majority of the main characters from the play have made their way into the anime… or at least their names have. I’ll get to that in a minute. Along with the characters, Romeo and Juliet do indeed fall in love, and their courtship is complicated by their two warring households: the Montagues and the Capulets.
Except in this story of love, the House of Capulet was once the ruling family of Neo Verona (get it?) and they’ve been deposed and slaughtered by Prince Montague and his legions. So while both families in the play are alive and well, engaging more in a pissing contest than anything else, the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo X Juliet are out for blood. Lots of blood.
In fact, Juliet’s role in the anime is… odd. From the deposing of her family by Prince Montague, the remaining Capulets have kept Juliet in hiding, waiting for her sixteenth birthday to tell her the truth about her family (she was too young to remember the slaughter) and ask her to help them rise up against the Montagues to take back their lands and peoples. But even before that moment arrives, Juliet has been waging war on the Montagues in the guise of the fictional “Red Whirlwind” – her own vigilante persona that helps the poor and hungry of Neo Verona. Still, the story must go on, and despite all the factors against them, Romeo and Juliet still fall into their “love that can never be.”
Back to the beginning… you remember the comment I made about main character names at the outset of this review? One of the most surprising aspects of Romeo X Juliet was the use of the main character names in Shakespeare’s play, and perhaps the most intriguing of them all was the anime version’s use of Escalus, who happens to be the actual Prince in the pen and paper product. In Gonzo's retelling, Escalus is obviously no longer the prince – that title belongs to Romeo’s father – and instead Escalus happens to be an enormous tree that keeps Neo Verona and the entire continent floating above the world below. Its ties to House Capulet and Montague are tight, but its secrets aren’t fully revealed until the final scenes of the play.
From beginning to end, I found Romeo X Juliet to be an interesting exercise in the creative methods of anime developers, but not one that was particularly successful in its transition. Although the love story between the star-crossed pair continues to ring true throughout most of the series (it gets a little convoluted near the end), the background that the anime is set in is just too abstract. Shakespeare’s play has withstood the test of time because it is such a timeless story; even in today’s world mafia families war with each other over turf and trade every day.
So the inclusion of elements like the Red Whirlwind, the killing of the Capulets, and Escalus as a tree just seems jarring to the sensibilities of anyone who’s read the play. Why do so much to convolute the play when the original telling is so wrought with excellent drama and romance?
On the production side of things, Romeo X Juliet is top-notch, with great voice acting, a very rich score, and excellent character design that easily allows viewers to pick out characters even in the major battle sequences. The animation isn’t always as crisp as it could be in the out-of-battle scenarios, but all-in-all, a job well done.
Even with the plot complaints, anime lovers who tend to favor romantic dramas should definitely check out Romeo X Juliet. The story changes – while detracting to some degree – make the show watchable and novel. It’s entertaining to sit with any Shakespeare fan and watch them pick out the difference between the play and the show. And hardcore fans of William of the Shaking Spear will also laugh at the inclusion of lines from some of his other plays in the latter half of the series… you may not catch them on first pass, but you’ll begin to notice more and more of them after awhile.
Studio/Company: FUNimation
Available: Now
Rating: 13+