Toon Zone Talkback - "Romeo X Juliet" Part 2: Hardly a Tragedy of a Series

[PACCAPACCA]

This is the talkback thread for "Romeo X Juliet" Part 2: Hardly a Tragedy of a Series.


For those curious about the series, I tried to keep the review as free of significant spoilers as I could, but I couldn't gloss over the fact that R&J die. I mean, it was part of the original play so it's not exactly a shocker.

 

[Trumpet Trousers]

Good review and of course I agree with it, as I'm still hitched to my belief from the talk on part 1 that this is one of the best shows out right now and possibly the owner of one of the very best dubs ever.

I'll stress that this is an adaptation of Shakespeare, not Shakespeare itself. Don't just settle for substitutes; read the bard. Well, actually, let me take that back. Ideally you watch the bard, since plays are made to be acted and watched. But this does work in its own way and, as the review says, it's entertaining if you just relax and accept it on its own merits. Which I do; I knew and accepted that it would be different with such elements as the Red Whirlwind, and Romeo riding a Pegasus, and the establishment of Lord Montague as a villain at the beginning.

Definitely one of Gonzo's crowning achievements.

 

[guitar*rules]

So how about that ending?

Spoiler

Did you think it was contrived that we suddenly learn that Juliet was basically pre-destined to die to save the world? Or did you feel that it was better than the "oh no, Juliet is dead, I must drink the poison!/"Romeo is dead! I must stab myself!" ending of the play?

I kind of have mixed feelings on it, as I said in my review. I'm glad they kept the death aspect in there, but I couldn't help but feel such a fantasy-style ending was fairly familiar in a way.

Still, a plus is that it seems a little more open ended than the play. You get the feeling that even though Romeo & Juliet are technically dead, their souls will be reunited in the afterlife or reincarnation or whatever.

 

[kinkygirl]

Well, here's what I make of it:

Spoiler

For starters, was it really a tragic inevitable destiny? From what I understand, it's all Montague's fault for wrecking the balance that kept Neo Verona aloft, and he's the one that killed all of the Capulets except for Juliet.

Sure, the finale and the supernatural villain are not uncommon to fantasy anime. Still, it wasn't entirely out of nowhere, since the show kept showing her throughout the series and eventually started showing the decay that was clearly going on.

If this weren't Romeo and Juliet, the series could have been made to end with Montague's death and it would have been fine. However, it was, and one has to wonder what the reaction would be if it had ended there. Then the show risks a feeling of "oh, they made up a standard happy ending out of nowhere." And while that'd be satisfying in and of itself, it would have become completely separate from Shakespeare's story.

Not to mention that the deaths, while tragic, are preferable to the pointless deaths they suffered in the play. Given the way the story of the anime played out, copying the play would have felt extremely forced. For instance you get the sense that if anime Romeo had survived whereas Juliet did not, he would have grieved but he also would have gone on to be a good ruler.