Grimm Kumikyoku

>watch "the grimm variations"
>its not the grimm variations

I was expecting anime adaptation of actual Grimm brothers fairy tale, but instead I found out that it was another interpretation (or version) of those fairy tales inspired by how the Grimm brothers twists fairy tales around. In the end, is it enjoyable? is it good? yes and yes. I love the music, the animation and the unexpected plot on each episode.

I wish there are more episodes, even though there are only 6, all of them are unexpected and interesting, my favorites are The Red Riding Hood (2nd episode) and The Pied Piper of Hamelin (6th episode), Especially ... the 6th episode, I just love how it uses a lot of Debussy's music, or at least I felt like it did, basically many lovely classical music, it feels so dreamy, mystical and magical, especially around the topic of reaching out to freedom. So, contrary to the other review by other people, I actually like the last episode the most.

I would really like it if they make more, maybe season 2, either to tell more about the Grimm brothers and Charlotte or just more anthological stories, but I guess it's harder to make since they didn't actually just adapt Grimm brothers versions but have gone out of their way to write their own versions.

At some point, this anime reminds me of Aoi Bungaku, a minute of someone talking about the story and then the story itself playing out for the rest of the episode, it's also about classical literature too. I think anyone who enjoys anthological anime with twists and turns would enjoy this anime too.

I personally liked the concept of taking beloved fairy tales and giving them a dark twist, but the execution of this series was... not the best. "Grimm Kumikyoku" has 6 episodes and each of them follows a different plotline, which is nice if you just want to watch one or two, but the stories just feel crammed since they have to be finished in a short amount of time (30-40 mins). Since there are only 6, I'll write about and break down each one separately with individual ratings in case anyone doesn't want to watch the whole thing.
My rating would be Cinderella> The Town ... Musicians of Bremen>> Little Red Riding Hood> Hansel and Gretel>> The Elves and the Shoemaker> The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
I’d recommend only watching the 1st and 5th episodes and maybe the 2nd episode.

<< Spoilers ahead >>

Episode 1: Cinderella
The best of the bunch, the story took an expected route, having Cinderella be the villain and the step sisters being the protagonists, but what set the story apart of that Kiyoko (Cinderella) used psychological methods to manipulate the characters, so from the view of one the maids or even the prince, it would appear to be the original Cinderella story. Kiyoko pulls the threads by victimising herself by making it look like her step sisters abuse her but in reality, she puts them in bad situations to make them look evil. I still don't understand why the step sisters couldn't just take their mother and leave as I'm sure their mother later realized Kiyoko had bad intentions, sure it would make their family look bad leaving a child by herself but they had anyways ruined their reputation. Or they could have played Kiyoko's game and be overly nice to her. Regardless, many parts of the story were left unexplored (the doll, Kiyoko's motivations etc). Also, Kiyoko poisoned her mother and then killed her because she was "broken"? Overall great story (Kiyoko made my blood boil) but not exactly perfect.
Rating: 8

Episode 2: Red Riding Hood
The entire virtual reality concept was all over the place and fell flat for me, I suppose once again due to lack of time there was lack of explanation. The episode for the most part felt bland and uninteresting, with splashes of gore and nudity. However, the ending was satisfactory. I like how they twisted the "How big are your hands" part from the original. Mr. Grey (the Wolf) made for an interesting villain, and Scarlet was also a likeable character.
Rating: 6

Episode 3: Hansel and Gretel
It started off strong, with similar elements to The Promised Neverland, but went downhill towards the ends. I thought they would follow the same plot as TPN and have the old lady help them escape. But they were in a spaceship? And the parents were robots? The concept was weird but the main problem I have with the story was the ridiculous number of contradictions. Why would the old lady help Hansel if they were anyways going to send him later? Why couldn't they tell the kids? (it's not like they were going to eat them). Also, Gretel doesn't exist for some reason and Hansel was just hallucinating, which feels like something a kid would write. The story deviates so much from the original it doesn't even feel like Hansel and Gretel anymore. Felt like someone ripped the pages of three different novels and combined them together.
Rating: 4.5

Episode 4: The Elves and the Shoemaker
A Novelist fails to publish a good book for a long period of time, but discovers that he writes quality stories when he's drunk, albeit he can't remember writing them. I can't tell what message is to be taken from the story. Perhaps that authors feel guilty for plagiarising their work even though it sells, or maybe that authors drink and use drugs to make their work better, leading to their demise? Can't tell. Left me with an unsettling feeling and many questions.
Rating: 4

Episode 5: The Town Musicians of Bremen
A simple story, with fun characters. I've seen many people say that the story was boring, but I enjoyed the simplicity of it, rather than cramming unnecessary elements into the story, which was a major problem for other episodes. I really loved the character designs, being fun and vibrant while still fitting the desert landscape. Their personalities also fit the animal they were representing, which was a nice touch. The fight scenes, music and animation was also decent. Enjoyable, but nothing really hit me as something unique or interesting, just something you would watch to pass the times.
Rating: 7.5

Episode 6: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The embodiment of confusion. The beginning was boring but understandable, then in the middle it becomes confusing and towards the end it felt like a fever dream. Maria climbs the mountain, then merges with piper and is teleported somewhere else? I don't know if I'm just stupid but I have no clue what the actual heck was going on. The only thing I could take from this episode was that all the characters were mental and need therapy. At least the animation at the end was pretty and reminded me of Ghibli movies. They definitely saved the worst for last.
Rating: 3.5

I was really excited for this series when the trailer first came out, but was left disappointed. The music and animation were its only redeemable qualities.

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.