Grimm Kumikyoku

Grimm Kumikyoku is a collection of some classic famous fairy tails, being retold with some alternative understanding of the characters and world set, giving them some new grim makeup, and sometimes adding a dark twist in the end, giving us some interesting new ways to read those classic old stories.

Each episode is independent of each other, mainly focused on the structural reimagination of the stories being told, following a simple formula that kinda reminded me of the Junji Ito collections, but less grim and dark, and with much more effort put into the drawing quality. The writing was also very good, it had ... some weird moments with some stories, but overall, the way they reimagined the settings and character was fairly well done, with some ending up deeper and more complex than what i would imagine the original ones being

The only problem its being so short, only 6 episodes, tho they all last for around 40 minutes each, it left wanting more. I hope they continue with more seasons, reimagining more of those classic stories in this same way.

The Grimm Variations starts with a bang and sadly ends with a whimper. Each of the 6 episodes is an adaptation of a story. They are Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Town Musicians of Bremen, and The Pied Piper of Hamelin. The adaptations are not your Disney stories, then again, neither were the real Grimm Brother's stories as the brothers wrote for adults not children.

So let's get this out of the way.. the artwork is great. The music selections for each episode are supportive. Each episode is visually compelling. Now..

I am always happy to ... see the darker side of Fairy Tails. Episodes 1 & 2 were deliciously dark. I've seen similar twists on Red Riding Hood, but Cinderella was completely new to me. Both episodes were well written. The both pull you in before you know it.

Hansel & Gretel (episode 3) has The Promised Neverland vibes. In fact from appearance to atmosphere you will think it's a rip off for the first 30-35 minutes. Then, it throws a curve ball. Personally, I think it could have used a few more minutes for explaining.

Episodes 4-6: This is where things started to go downhill for me. I don't know if the adaptation of The Town Musicians of Bremen (episode 5) was a good one because I know nothing of the story. I will say I didn't find it very entertaining. To me it's the weakest of the bunch. In 4 the Shoemaker becomes an author and the Pied Piper is ... I do not know what the piper is! Shoemaker was good story it just wasn't very interesting. A lot more could have been done with it. It borders on boring. The Pied Piper has many holes. Many Many holes. It was more than halfway over and I started wondering when the piper was going to start playing the damn flute! It's odd. I'm all for odd when it's done well. This really wasn't. I was ill prepared for the tiny acid trip / Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat scene that just jumped out of nowhere. Of course you may love it, but for me it was convoluted and offered more questions than it did answers.

At 6 episodes lasting 48 minutes it's not a bad marathon. It's not bad, but it's not great (however it could have been). It doesn't live up to it's potential, but I'm sure all of us can say that about a few titles.

I don't know how anyone could have continued this anime past the first episode. (spoilers just for this episode)
The Grimm Brothers' fairytales, first of all, already have a dark twist to them; why rewrite them to just make a different dark twist that's less interesting and makes less sense? Listen, the idea is okay. The execution is just very poor. Down to the super upbeat jazz intro (why?? it didn't set the tone for what the anime advertised itself as at all), the choices felt all over the place and downright odd. The first episode as a whole really was the nail in the ... coffin for me that made me not want to continue, which is pretty damning considering the first episode really is supposed to set the scene for what to expect for the rest of a show.

Spoilers ahead:
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So, Cinderella. I kept asking myself when the "dark twist" was coming, but at the end of the episode really nothing was ever explained. Even when the "big reveal" came, it didn't explain any of the character's choices. Okay so she... makes people into dolls? How? Why? Who is the doll that she carries around the whole episode? Why did she poison her stepmother with the intent to make her a doll, just to toss the idea away because now she is "broken?" Girl, you're the one who broke her... it doesn't make any sense. The only real thing I can say was that the art was well done. Other than that, really disappointing and, not to sound hokey, but a grimm waste of time.