Reviews

Jun 9, 2011
***This is a Spoiler-Free Review***

Alright, for better or worse, shelve what you know about Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, this anime is a fantasy-action and romance story loosely *inspired* by the timeless play, not quite an adaptation. If that doesn't sound appealing or you were expecting Romeo & Juliet: the Noh Drama / [High School] Musical, you may leave. The rest of you...have a seat.

Story [6/10] - It should go without spoiling anything that the focus of the story is our hero Romeo and our heroine Juliet falling in love and the events that transpire before and as a result of this. Towards the beginning of the anime, the creative liberties taken and new characters introduced are refreshing, exciting, and it's great to see the lens focused with Juliet as the main character. The fantasy-like setting is fun. It starts out having a great mix of the romance, gripping backstory, action, and character development. Some shows use that momentum and ultimately finish out strong...but Romeo X Juliet sadly is not one of them. Had the second half been as good as the first half this score would be much higher. But if you appreciate good plot with an equally strong resolution rather than anime cliches, you like me will have an imprint of your face on your palm by the end.

Art & Animation [5/10] - Oh boy. At TIMES the art an animation quality are outstanding. R x J is sometimes here, sometimes there. Sometimes there are beautiful backgrounds with well drawn characters (the very beginning and very end are good examples), and at other times characters proportions, ESPECIALLY faces get completely screwed up the moment the character simply turns their head to face a different direction. In one episode, I thought to myself "they must have spent all the money for this episode on animating Juliet in that scene, because in this next scene Francisco's nose isn't on right..." I always try to look at animation in perspective of when it was made, and at times R x J has the animation production value of a show made in 2001. Gonzo and GK are both at fault here, because Gonzo is guilty of this in the past, and we all know they could have been better than that comparing to some of their other titles (even "moeblob" titles).

Sound (OST, OP/ED, Acting) [9/10] -

The OST is the true gem of this title. Whether or not you ever watch this show, you owe it to yourself to listen to if not OWN this soundtrack. Sakimoto-sensei is a man of exceptional talent, compared often to Uematsu Nobuo even though their styles are pretty different (probably by association to Final Fantasy, as his other famous work is the OST to FFXII). The often fully-orchestrated tracks bring an unbelievable amount of live into the characters, at times almost TOO much. But in this case, can't have too much of a good thing.

The OP is also fabulous, naturally pretty much a cover of "You Raise Me Up", but Korean-born Lena Park sings it with vigor and when she hits the high notes, the timbre and beauty of her voice really shine. Excellent staffing choice there. The EDs are enjoyable enough to listen to, the 2nd more than the 1st, but are overall pretty forgetable.

Lastly, the voice acting. Well I'll just say... Gonzo sure as heck saved money in this department. They probably spent most of their budget on Sakimoto-sensei. The female seiyuu are composed of a lot of unknown talents, and some of the best seiyuu in the production (Iwao Junko, Saito Chiwa) play very minor roles. The male seiyuu do a little better save for one gripe. Those who pay attention to the "acting" part of voice acting may agree with me, but it takes true grit to put up with Romeo's voice for 24 episodes (let alone Mizushima-san's voice in general but that is an opinionated digression not suited for this review). That aside the award for best role in the show goes to Ishii Kouji for his roles as Montague. Truly brings out, and makes you hate, the character which brings me to my next section...

Character [6/10] - At the beginning of the show, this really is around an 8 or a 9. The anime-original characters are very welcome, and whether or not you agree with the roles chosen for some similarly named characters from the play, the backstory of characters such as Tybalt are well written. Montague especially seems to be the perfect villain in the beginning, and continues to be through the later half. However...all semblance of character development seems to crumble in the last few episodes. You feel as if you are watching one of Willy's plays, because if you, even based on the anime alone, sit and think "what would the characters I have come to learn so much about over these past 20 episodes do in this kind of situation?" you'd be surprised at how contrary their actions seem, as if they are puppets in a play...or victims of poor writing on the staff's part. Some characters are completely forgotten, whilst others are simply assigned stereotypical "roles" which completely overwrite their personalities.

Enjoyment [7/10] - On the whole a fairly enjoyable title. The ups generally outweigh the downs and if you're looking for fantasy-romance, you can do worse than R x J. Some of the well written parts make the show worth seeing on the whole, and the incorporation of the OST as well as some of the "new" or "refreshed" characters give this title life differentiated from the Shakespeare play.

Overall (not an average) [7/10] - Based on the ANN Rating System "Good, worth seeing" Naturally there are negatives, the art and animation being the primary factor, and the somewhat rushed writing towards the end of the anime. But on the positive, the refreshed setting, new characters, and most of the character development make it worth the ride and some scenes may even be worth a rewatch. Like a good coaster, you will enjoy most of the ride, you just might get gas pains afterwards from that chili you ate before.

Rewatch Value: Low
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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