But its a loose adaptation. Very loose. Don't expect Romeo X Juliet to be like the original Shakespeare play. This review, is written by a person who never read the play but has researched enough about it. Arguably, all the characters in this anime are made differently, unintentionally or not, from their counterparts. And from these traits we get an awfully plentiful disagreeing opinions.
Now for a detailed review...
Story: 6
The discussion of this part is going to be longer than the others because its the core of the anime, being an "adaptation." Let us begin with the basics; the original Romeo and Juliet is a very romantic tragedy with intense passion and drama of two very young lovers from enemy clans. And undeniably, it could be the most famous love story written, romanticizing love at a very high level. Also, the play has many social and societal issues that are heavy for younger people.
But, Romeo X Juliet defied the themes of the original by setting a different, lighter mood through a fantasy world. It was not made to adapt the original at all. The given conflict of the Capulet and the Montagues' dispute is briefly introduced to give way to additional plot lines such as oppression of the masses, heroism and coming of age. In context, this anime does not fall short of creativity in interpretation and twists in respect to the Shakespeare's play.
And of course, the heart of the story is the love between Romeo and Juliet- romance. And I can say that made a good job in creating interesting sweet and innocent love story between the two characters through memorable cinematic scenes. It was further made good by many emotional lines and dialogues, both original and quoted from the play itself, that are appropriately romantic.Those wonderful aesthetic qualities combined with the challenges the two must face warms up the interesting and the well-paced story.
However, though it has many notable rare qualities, its full of inconsistencies and wasted potential. I repeat, a lot of wasted potential; foreshadowing and the plot itself. Somehow, this anime introduces a lot of unconventional and promising conflicts, especially at the beginning, that disappointingly, unexplored further or left hanging. The Capulet and the Montagues' dispute was rather shallow and offers cliched character involvement which will be elaborated later in the review. Other notable examples could be the new characters, duty and a possible forbidden love.
The anime has a bad habit of introducing something big and exciting, and suddenly replacing it with in-character yet obvious internal conflicts, and gets resolved in a manner that's nothing brilliant. In par with this, many sub-plots have thin links with the main focus of the show. And most probably, the greatest weakness of the anime was the short climax build-up that lacks intensity. And the "climax" itself, a poor attempt to adapt the ending of the original, is totally unrelated to the path leading to it. Lastly, there are some important plot devices that makes very little sense at all.
But one thing makes all of these work: Romeo and Juliet. Their fairy-tale like romance is just so addictive because of its innocent nature. Ideally, they're in love, but in a mature perspective, its an obvious infatuation and a very compatible friendship. Its not intense, passionate and dark but rather the opposite. And of course, if they're together, they make it look that everything will work out. Well, the series did work out because of them, the anticipation of a different ending is a driving force to finish the series.
Pure romance is excellent, everything else that complements it are mediocre.
Art: 8
Artistically, this anime has done very well in dramatizing the themes with an excellent opening. Not only that, as I mentioned, cinematography and the bright mood of lovely scenes made its romance element noteworthy. However, the setting, the clothes, the building designs, appropriate they be, are nothing exceptional or new for they are based of from real life designs, except the pegasus perhaps. Romeo and Juliet's color schemes work well andare memorable.
Animation is another downer. It was inconsistent at most.
Sound: 9
The opening song itself "Inori (You raise me up)" by Lena Park raised the score of this anime. It was beautiful, intense and well performed and placed in appropriate scenes in different themes. Disappointingly, the endings songs are pale in comparison with it.
Background music is as inconsistent with the story. It is very touching, light, mellow with Romeo and Juliet scenes and anything concerning romance. It adds up to the feeling of love in many scenes and makes them more memorable. So; the light romantic element itself is again portrayed exceptionally, everything else seems so bland and lacking.
Character: 7
A Code Geass Review has this line but I guess it will be very appropriate to put it here too:
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." - Shakespeare
William itself is in the anime, a nice caricature. Though he has minimal involvement he his comments are a nice homage and perspective to what what happening.
The characters in the anime are different and can be considered "twisted" versions of the original. Let us begin with the main protagonists; Romeo and Juliet:
Juliet is probably the true heroine of the story and she is very tradition defying one. She's considerably lacks maturity, evident from her views, actions and emotional responses. Yet, her strength and capabilities in leadership and combat pushes a fairly well development on her side. And being torn between her duty and her feelings for Romeo, the way she overcomes the hurdles of of these internal struggles is something that only few female characters achieved. The used metaphor for actions, also for her love and determination she shared with Romeo, the "wind" suits her role in stirring a revolution and going against the odds. She's apparently more level-headed than the original Juliet.
Romeo too, is a very unique prince, because his role of a child of an influencial/evil person, a kindhearted noble who advocates reform, well mannered, naive and innocent nature are the usual stereotypes for lead heroines: That's right, mainly princesses. But he fitted his role well and it's in tandem with his idealism and pure, young love for Juliet. And amazingly,none of these traits badly affect his male protagonist image, but rather it makes him more lovable and adorable. On the other hand, the real Romeo is impulsive, violent and too passionate according to some sources.
Romance worked out very well between the two, but again, mostly everything else is utterly mediocre. One big flaw is the lack of intense reaction from the other characters regarding RXJ love. It should be outrageous, scandalous, disappointing, shocking- all kinds of emotions to further juxtapose love. But all the characters are lacking in that area so the challenges RxJ face aren't romantic in nature themselves but rather situational or societal. Personal issues are always defeated by love. And like what I explained earlier, those conflicts have wasted big potentials.
The best example of poor character involvement is the repetitive "Montagues are evil" and "The Capulets must be destroyed." And the reason for that? Cliches...
Through all those negative attributes, the side characters are not that bad at all. There is the presence of nice best friends like Benvolio and Cordelia. Loyal protector with interesting little secrets and personalities like Curio and Francisco are very likable. The cast from the original play is certainly "animated" here, as alternate persons. Although the background people are decent enough, some of them made no contribution to the overall drama; just creating additional insignificant situations.
Enjoyment: 8
This is very opinionated and based on my preference; I had high hopes for this series but I was very disappointed. But I can say that I did enjoy it, especially the lovely scenes between RxJ. It succeeds in making the audience experience the kind of love that is shared between the two. I makes people "fall in love."
Overall: 7
