I appreciate the fact that the story is willing to take older, tried and true elements and work with them in a way that shows a uniqueness and creativity. I think people sometimes miss the actual tie-ins with the old fairy tale Snow White but I feel like recognizing that helps to appreciate the meld of Eastern and Western sensibilities. We see the fairy tale elements of a young girl facing powerful nobility and having to take refuge in the woods. We have the prince charming. We even have the poisoned apples. Some of the common shoujo tropes make appearances throughout and anyone with familiarity will spot them weaving through. Not making any changes would have resulted in something predictable and uninteresting and over-compensating and just fully reinventing the wheel here would have been too much. This anime addresses these plot points and story arcs with grace and a clear direction. The one fault that could possibly hold water is how long it really takes to really get to something meaty.
The art was done incredibly well. Attention to detail was spot-on, beautiful backgrounds with intricate work colored every scene, animations were smooth and the lighting was just absolutely stunning.
The characters are almost too good. I do actually mean that as a slight criticism. A little too perfect, even in their shortcomings, and a little too unrealistic. But, despite that, they're easy to fall in love with. Our main character takes a while to flesh out as she comes across a little too two dimensional in the beginning and it's not until we see her face difficulties within herself that she really begins to feel real. The male lead and side characters are easy to love almost from the get-go and the interactions between the group show a very healthy and wonderful dynamic that helps to keep the story propped up well.
Overall, this anime may not be for everyone. If you want a lot of action or high levels of drama you won't find it here. This isn't an anime to get your adrenaline pumping or keep you in suspense. This is, however, a very sweet story with solid characters. It's good for a bolstering of the heart.
