Romeo × Juliet

Romeo × Juliet (ロミオ×ジュリエット) is a Japanese anime television series, loosely based on William Shakespeare's classical play, Romeo and Juliet, along with numerous references and characters from other Shakespearean plays. Though the anime borrows mostly from Shakespeare's story, the manga adaptation differs extensively from the original. Romeo × Juliet was broadcast in Japan on Chubu-Nippon from April to September 2007.

Plot

On the floating island of Neo Verona, Leontes Montague and his men lead a bloody coup d'état and murder all the members of ruling House Capulet. Only Lord Capulet's young daughter, Juliet, is able to escape. Fourteen years later, Leontes rules the land with an iron fist and crushes anyone who opposes him. Juliet, now sixteen, fights against House Montague's oppression as the masked vigilante "The Red Whirlwind". While attending the Rose Ball hosted by the Montagues with a friend, Juliet meets Romeo, Prince Montague's son, and both of them fall deeply in love at first sight.

Romeo is a kind, caring, selfless and humble man who is opposed to his father's cruelty and tyranny, and shares many ideals with Juliet. However, Capulet loyalists are planning a rebellion to overthrow House Montague, while Leontes is obsessed with destroying the threat of the House of Capulet permanently. As these starcrossed lovers face many challenges and adventures together, which will strengthen and deepen their true unwavering romantic love even further, an ancient secret hidden deep within Neo Verona is slowly revealed.

Media

Anime

Reception

Theron Martin, of Anime News Network reviewed the first DVD set, and enjoyed the musical score, but felt the story made use of too many 'saved-at-the-last-moment' scenes.[6] He noted a drop-off in animation quality in the second half of the series, and was disappointed at the change in the tone of the ending.[7] He later chose it as one of the best anime series of 2009, citing Gonzo's preservation of the overall tone, and the addition of "great action" scenes.[8] Bamboo Dong described it as "absolutely wonderful, both aesthetically and also narratively", and praised the reinvention of the tale.[9]

Todd Douglass Jr. described it as "the characters, animation, and story all come together for one heck of an experience", and felt that the love story did not become "too cheesy".[10] He cautioned that the series' divergence from its source and the fantasy elements involved may make the series not ideal for everyone, but that overall it was a "great series".[11] Chris Beveridge of Mania noted the addition of characters from Shakespeare's other plays "may either please or annoy the hardcore fans", but enjoyed the adaptation, although he noted it was not particularly "revolutionary or challenging".[12] He later noted that in the first volume, the use of the fantasy setting was understated but was used more in the second part of the series and enjoyed the "focused" narrative, which he attributes to the "energy and enthusiasm" of the young production team.[13] Daryl Loomis of DVD Verdict enjoyed the balance between the romance narrative and the action narratives in the first part, describing it as "breezy fare".[14]

He later sums it up by saying, "in spite of its many little faults, it is good, angst-y teenage fun", and that it "doesn't set the world on fire, but there's quite a bit to like about this series". He felt the "wild, logic-defying climax" added to the series, making it feel "less contrived".[15] Holly Ellingwood of ActiveAnime felt the choice of opening and closing songs was "unusual", as one was an already-existing song, and the other was a rock song which she felt contrasted with the mood and overall score of the anime.[16] She also praised the English adaptation as it incorporated an older style of language and many more Shakespearean quotes than the Japanese language voice track.[17]

type	tv series
director	Fumitoshi Oizaki
producer	Daisuke Gomi Yoshihiro Iwasa Tsutomu Kojima
writer	Reiko Yoshida
music	Hitoshi Sakimoto
studio	Gonzo
licensee	Crunchyroll
network	CBC, TBS, KBS Kyōto, SUN-TV
first	April 4, 2007
last	September 26, 2007
episodes	24
episode list	List of Romeo × Juliet episodes

Plot

Media

Anime

Manga

Radio

Soundtrack

Reception

External links

References