February 19th, 2008
I’ve finished Romeo X Juliet.
I don’t really want to talk about the series as a whole, though. I want to talk about the Trifecture of Suckdom.
Ladies and gentleman, GONZO have managed to plumb the depths of ineptitude to bring us, in episode 14, 15 and 16 of RomeJuli, quite possibly the most hideously bad episodes of anime I have ever seen. Sure, nothing will ever annoy me as much as Hanaukyo Maid Tai La Verite did, and I’m sure that others would point to the Island Arc of Nadia, but these three episodes are all the more devastatingly awful because they are bookended by quite good bits (especially episode 17, which is really rather good indeed).
Episodes 14 and 15 are part of the dreaded Mine Sequence, where the writers simultaneously remember that Romeo hasn’t had very much to do in the series thus far and yet also forget how to write him anything compelling to do. So Montague exiles him for cavorting with the enemy to a mine staffed by convicts on the outskirts of Neo Verona, where he is put in charge. What ensues is some of the most painfully unoriginal storytelling I have ever witnessed, even given that it’s a GONZO show.
The script monkeys (in this case, Reiko Yoshida and Kurasumi Sunayama) manage to churn out a horde of convicts who are all won over by Romeo’s kindness, including the obligatory strong-but-silent type and an obnoxious brat who gets to sicken and die before seeing his sister again in an oh-so-heart tugging way. It’s trite, it’s predictable, and it does NOTHING for the show in terms of characterisation or plot development. It is filler, devoid of character interaction - there are people saying lines, and things happen because of them, but there’s no sense of Romeo or any other actual personality behind them, they’ve just been shoved into story templates that serve no purpose whatsoever. Meanwhile, Juliet has tree-induced earthquake-causing migraines, which caused me no end of agony myself.
Episode 16, on the other hand, is a different kind of awful. It’s actually not badly scripted, although again it’s a little obvious - Hermione manages to act completely out of character by turning into a bratty ojou-sama stereotype as she goes chasing after Romeo and goes a bit psycho at Juliet, but it’s quite affecting and reasonably dramatic. The problem, however, is that the script monkeys responsible for episodes 14 and 15 were obviously fired and found jobs in the animation department; the character models display a yashigani level of ineptitude, and there’s next to no actual movement to be seen (and what there is is laughably poor; see Curio and Francisco’s squabbling, for instance). It’s eye-meltingly bad, and detracts entirely from what is almost a pretty good episode.
These three episodes are enough to drag Romeo X Juliet down from being a pretty good series to a rather mediocre one in my eyes (coupled with a rather odd, anticlimactic ending). The nadir is episode 15’s little earthquake drama, which took me about 3 months to get through (and I always started where I left off!), but as a whole this unholy trinity of badness is on a scale I’ve not seen in a long, long time.
Posted in Romeo X Juliet | 10 Comments »
September 8th, 2007
I tried to write an entry in iambic pentameter, but unfortunately my Shakespearean English is a bit crap and I couldn’t really say anything worthwhile whilst trying to write in Tudor English; given that Romeo X Juliet has about as much to do with Shakespeare as my big toe I don’t think it’s a huge loss.
Romeo X Juliet is thus far a little bit of a frustration to watch. As you will see from the archives (if they’re working now? I haven’t checked myself), I absolutely adored the first episode of the series, and I don’t really think the following twelve episodes or so have really recaptured the magic of the start. I think it’s partly because the show got stuck into the woe and misery of the Montague x Capulet rivalry very quickly and gave less time for Juliet to prance around doing her Kaleido Star-style vigilante act, which was the best part of the opening episodes. To an extent, this means that we’ve actually had a pretty fast-paced show thus far, with lots happening in each episode, which isn’t normally a bad thing.
However, we have basically got through twelve episodes without anything overly important happening. Most of the “reveals” the show has done to this point are incredibly obvious things like Juliet being a Capulet etc. which we all knew before watching the show or from the first episode. The show is relying on two things to keep us watching - one, whether or not the end will be the same as the play, and two, what’s up with the magic trees. The first of these isn’t going to get resolved until the end, obviously, and the second is being hinted at so slowly that we probably won’t find that out for ages either.
The show has to rely on its characters, therefore, to propel us through to the melodramatic climax, and I think the show falls down a little bit here. For most of the show, Romeo and Juliet’s plotlines are separate - Romeo dealing with his father and various bits of Court machination, and Juliet’s place in the rebellion. These individual plotlines are rather problematic for a variety of reasons.
Romeo’s main problem is that there is nothing much happens in the palace of Neo Verona. We know Duke Montague is an evil dickhead; this is mostly evidenced over and over again without actually developing the character at all (we have no clue as to WHY he chose to assassinate the Capulets) and Mercutio, who is potentially an interesting mini-villain, is barely on screen for more than thirty seconds in any given episode. Romeo himself is an enjoyable enough character precisely because he’s so bland and nice it’s hard to find him offensive, but his every action is so predictable that his brief moments in the solo spotlight - his speaking out against his father in the Senate, for instance - are underwhelming as a result.
More importantly, Juliet’s storyline suffers from severe inconsistencies. The writers aren’t doing a very good job of making Juliet a consistent character - she swings from crippling depression to brave derring-do as the plot deems fit without any regard for making it particularly believable. Perhaps it’s because I’ve watched too many anime in the past, but I’m fed up of the crippling self-doubt that plagues virtuous protagonists in so many shows because it’s completely unrealistic; surely you don’t have time to fall completely to pieces in a battle? Any time Juliet comes close to having to do something particularly momentous she gets bailed out by one of her bishounen bodyguards anyway (speaking of whom, only the mysterious-and-obviously-related-to-Romeo-somehow Tybalt has had any character development, as the others suffer from Mercutio’s problem).
So the show’s story as a whole has its ups and downs, basically. It’s still a pretty decent show, but it hasn’t really lived up to my somewhat outlandish expectations after the beginning, I suppose. I can’t really complain about the production values or anything like that - the background art is pretty good, and the music is lovely - and hopefully once things start coming together for the finale the narrative will pick up a little. I do feel, however, that at the halfway point (especially given the ending of episode 12) the show has essentially gone virtually nowhere from the start, though. Which isn’t a good sign…
Posted in Romeo X Juliet | 3 Comments »
May 7th, 2007
Juliet, forbidden from seeing Romeo again… sees Romeo again. As Odin, however. Nevertheless, she can’t hide from Cielo, and funnily enough when they take off their clothes her identity is discovered!
I wonder why the Friar is evil? Well, he’s not that evil, as he had a lingering camera shot after colluding with Montague’s lapdogs which meant that he must feel some remorse.
I’m a little frustrated with RomeJuli. The promise of the first couple of episodes isn’t really going anywhere now; the plot progression has become somewhat glacial, and it’s a little disconcerting that every first half has slightly ropey animation and the second half of every episode is nicely done. It’s still a good show, but I just wish it would go somewhere other than dancing round the central characters continually meeting and not really doing anything.
Posted in Romeo X Juliet | 4 Comments »
May 1st, 2007
Whilst Juliet attempts to come to terms with her newfound past, Conrad receives a visit from William’s mother and Romeo pays a visit to his own mother, Portia. The Red Whirlwind is once more put in jeapordy, but Romeo’s help is not necessarily what Juliet really wants after she finds out his identity, and Montague himself grows distrustful of his own son…
So Escalus, the Prince of Verona who mediates between the two families in the play, is now a gert big glowing tree? The family crests on the chamber that Montague enters to view Escalus in this episode are those of the Montagues and Capulets as shown in the OP and in various other places; given that Escalus is supposed to be the bridge between the two families, could Romeo and Juliet’s relationship end up with some bearing on said flora?
When Romeo X Juliet is good, it’s very good. That said, it seems as though they’re already feeling the pinch of the budget; much of the first half of the episode was stills and the occasional panning shot, and to be honest it’s a little repetitive already with the Red Whirlwind’s continuing escapades. As long as the show can keep things fresh and entertaining I don’t foresee any problems, and it’s understandable that in a 20-something episode show there’ll be a bit of padding, but parts of this episode felt a little bit belaboured and/or obvious. It was, however, nice to see a few extra characters thrown into the mix, and the plot has potentially grown a little more complicated with the introduction of Escalus and the backstory on Romeo’s family.
Posted in Romeo X Juliet | 2 Comments »
April 12th, 2007
Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting ends in an embarrassed parting; as Juliet has to be bailed out by her friends, Romeo is shocked to find his father announcing his arranged engagement to Hermione. Juliet herself continues to strain against the restrictions placed on her until her sixteenth birthday the following day by going out once more as the Crimson Whirlwind, but this time is rescued by Curio, another of her protectors. However, she takes the opportunity to slip out (with Cordelia’s help) to find some irises (Romeo’s favourite flowers) and coincidentally meets him again as he attempts to do the same thing. With a promise to meet the following day the two “lovers” part once more - however, Juliet (and Antonio’s!) world is set reeling by the revelation that evening that she is, indeed, Juliet Capulet, and the rightful heir to the throne that Romeo’s father currently holds…
There’s something about Romeo X Juliet that bypasses the normal, cynical, analytical parts of my brain and floods it with endorphins so I’m just filled with glee when I watch it. The Crimson Whirlwind sequence this episode put a great big giddy smile on my face (especially Juliet’s yoga fighting!), and there are just little touches here and there that just make me enjoy the show so much - Antonio’s continued bafflement at how “Odin” isn’t really a bloke, or William’s little speech about As You Like It, or any number of small moments (a beautiful little piano piece during the scene where Juliet wakes up, for instance). It’s still too early to really get into the nitty gritty of where the show might go, but I’m mostly just grateful we didn’t have a massive second episode slump here.
Posted in Romeo X Juliet | 5 Comments »
