Review - Romeo x Juliet: The Romeo Collection

Romeo x Juliet: The Romeo Collection
FUNimation
290 Minute

Though my anime watching has decreased a little since the library canceled its anime club, I still like to watch whats being released and occasionally buy some that seem worth while. I recently picked up Romeo x Juliet from FUNimation and was pleasantly surprised. When an anime retells a classic story from Western literature, its always interesting to see how the plot changes from the original to the retelling. So it might something like The Count of Monte Cristo as a space vampire or Moby Dick where a space captain Ahab is obsessed with his hunt of a white space ship. And with Romeo x Juliet, though not set in space, it is an alternate world called Neo Verona which looks a lot like a Renaissance Italian city with the exception of the flying horses.

The story starts off with massacre of the Capulet family by the Montague. The only surviving member of the Capulet family is the 2 year old Juliet, who is whisked away to hide among her few supporters and is made to dress like a boy for a disguise. The story flashes ahead 14 years to a day before Juliet's 16th birthday when her noble past is revealed. We find out that she is hiding with her confederates among a theater troupe run by William Shakespeare, and she often goes out to fight injustice on the streets of Neo Verona in the guise of The Red Whirlwind. While Romeo, the only son and heir of the treacherous Montague is unaware of his families murderous rise to power. And the anime is kind of like the original play. At the end of the first episode Romeo and Juliet have a chance meeting and fall in love at a grand masked ball. But instead of Romeo crashing the party with his friends, Juliet is the one attending the party uninvited. From the end of the first episode, the fates and family histories conspire against having these two united.

The story progresses as Juliet realizes the very important lot fate has given her as the sole heir and figurehead to a revolutionary movement against the oppressive Capulet. Romeo, like in the original play, isn't too smart and only follows where his heart guides him - towards Juliet - despite all the pressures and duties of being placed upon him by his father to be the next to rule Neo Verona.

Full of action and with pretty good animation, I really enjoyed the first half of the series. The character design was pleasing with the stylized clothing from the Italian Renaissance, there is always something interesting on the screen to look at. As the story progresses, the tension builds as Romeo's father becomes more brutal on the subjects of Neo Verona. And as we realize the depths of his evil it becomes more imperative that Juliet and her band of followers try and reclaim the city.
 
Usually I watch the dub soundtrack when available, and with this show was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dialog and acting. But after about 2 or 3 episodes, I realized they were talking in Shakespeare with all the Olde English language often lifting quotes from his plays. I wondered in the original Japanese had the same dialog, but when I looked at the subtitles it seems the writers took some liberties in the script, which I'm ok with. After all, one might as well use the greatest writer of English as a model for the dialog.

This DVD set is definitely something a public library should concider. Rated for ages 13+, which I think is due mostly due to violent content. I would not put add this to the children's collection. But it would certainly be appropriate for a teen or adult video collection.