[Anime][DVD][Dub][Disc 1-2] Romeo x Juliet

[Mizumimi]

I promised this ages ago but....here we go...

This is a review of the American release of the volume 01Boxset (Episodes 1 - 13) of Romeo x Juliet, distributed by Funimation.

Story

As the name implies, Romeo x Juliet is based on...well, Romeo and Juliet, the play by William Shakespeare that everyone and their mother knows all about.

However, anyone looking for a strict adaption of Shakespeare’s play is going to be sorely disappointed. Although the basics (two rival families, two star-crossed lovers, a family feud that gets in the way) are essentially the same, the anime takes many, many, many liberties with the plot.

Events are changed and characters from other Shakespeare plays are brought in, (most noticeably Cordelia of King Lear fame replaces Juliet’s old nursemaid and Hermoine from The Winter’s Tale stands in for Prince Paris, though as Romeo’s love interest, not Juliet’s.) There are even cameos where William himself appears.
This does not, however, make Romeo x Juliet any less entertaining. Forgetting the original play, the story revolves around the love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Juliet, however, is the displaced heir to the Capulet throne after her parents were murdered by Montague and has been forced into hiding ever since.

They story begins with the scene of Capulet’s death, and what follows is a long and twisted ride of meeting, falling in love, and fighting the opposing forces in their way in order to unite the kingdom of Neo (yes, Neo) Verona.

Audio

OP/ED:
The entirety of Romeo x Juliet features one OP and two EDs. The OP, ‘Inori’ sung by Lena Park, is essentially the Japanese rendition of ‘You raise me up.’ If you have heard that song, you know what to expect. It’s soft, beautiful and very sweet.

The first ED, ‘Cyclone’ by 12012, is a very energetic rock song, which I found did not suit the mood of the anime very well. It was nothing special in my opinion, but certainly not bad. The second ED, ‘Goodbye yesterday’ by Mizrock, starts in episode 15, so you won’t hear it until volume two but I found it much more fitting than the first ED.

BGM:
The BGM consists of lots of violin and piano pieces and fast paces fighting music complete with fiddles and flutes on occasion. The music is mostly classical or folk, which suits the sort of era they have established, and is very fun to listen to.

Voice acting: (English)

The Japanese dub is excellent as usual, and I’m sure no one will have many problems with it. Therefore, I’ll be focusing on the English voice acting.

For those of you who are not original dub-purists, it is definitely worth checking out the English dubbed version. The dub suffers from the same thing that I find most English dubs suffer from; that is, the inability to voice little children (girls mostly) without making them sound like they’ve inhaled helium. However, there is only about one flashback scene with little girls and that is easily forgotten. The voices of minor characters are a mixed bag, but most people will forget about them soon enough.

The voicing of the main characters, on the other hand, is actually rather well casted. Romeo in particular is very good at being both soft-spoken and well-mannered, yet firm at the same time. William also sounds sufficiently gay, which is always a plus (maybe). My only gripe would be with Emilia, whose voice can get a little too high-pitched at times.

One thing I did appreciate in the dub is that they kept the language rather formal, although some might find all the 'art thous' and ‘wherefores’ rather cheesy. Even better, the previews for the next episode are all said in verse. It’s worth listening to the dub just for that.

Art/Animation:

The art is generally very pretty. Characters are well drawn and have very pleasing character designs, although a little generic in certain respects. The designs do not take any stylistic risks with costume design or facial expression, keeping it all very familiar but also quite typical.

The landscapes, from the towns to the lily-covered outskirts and the abandoned churches, are all very picturesque. The use of soft colours for these places also helps with the mood and it’s generally easy and pretty to look at.

Animation on the whole is generally well done considering action isn’t really the most important factor of this anime. Gonzo have put a lot of effort into making capes and hair billow in the wind dramatically, and the fight scenes, while short, are choreographed well enough not to get bored of them ala DBZ.

Presentation:

The first volume comes in a pretty two-disk box-set with some decent art. The individual DVD cases have a list of the episode titles on the disk on the back and some very pretty, watercolour-esque inside and outside cover art that is very nice to look at.

Extras:
The extras included are pretty much standard fare. Extras include textless opening and ending songs, trailers for other funimation titles, and a making of Romeo x Juliet feature. None of this is particularly special so if you like to buy DVDs for their extras you may be disappointed.

Overall: B+