Romeo x Juliet comes to the end of its story, and if you hadn't worked it out by now we're not exactly staying true to Shakespeare's story here. The sad death of two star-crossed lovers? Well, yes, but under somewhat different circumstances...
What They Say
Romeo and Juliet share a romance not meant for this mortal coil. their love has the power to alter the course of time - and change the world they must if there is to be any hope for a future. Together they'll discover the brutal truths of both past and future while maintaining their devotion to a love once found only in fairy tales. All the while, villainous Conrad Montague opposes their union and crushes Neo Verona with a boot to its throat. As their cherished city tumbles down around them, Romeo and Juliet have no choice but to face an otherworldly destiny that threatens to destroy them both...
Episodes Comprise
19 - Succession ~I Am None Other~
20 - Duty ~Unwavering Step~
21 - The Covenant ~The Goddess's Embrace~
22 - Curse ~Raging Fury~
23 - Seed Brought to Life ~The Kiss of Death~
24 - Prayer ~In the Same Word As You~
The Review!
Audio:
Audio for this release comes in Japanese 2.0 stereo and English 5.1 surround versions - I listened to the Japanese track for this release. The soundtrack is clean and clear, with no obvious problems or distortions, but neither does it go out of its way to do anything particularly flash - it's simply competent and does what it needs to do, which given the profile of the series could be a little disappointing.
Video:
Video comes in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, and for the most part looks very good - there's an almost pastel touch to the colours used that give the setting a bright feeling without being too brash, animation is fluid, and there are no obvious encoding problems. Definitely nice to look at.
Packaging:
No packaging was provided with our review copy.
Menu:
Menus follow the usual MVM pattern - static main screen, this time featuring the show's logo underlaid by a faded-out image of the star-crossed lovers, with options for Play All, Episodes, Setup and Extras running along the bottom of the screen, while the opening song plays over the top. There are no transition animations between screens, making it all quick and easy to use.
Extras:
None.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review will contain spoilers)
Juliet's impressed at what Romeo has managed to achieve with his new village, and he still has plans on pushing his idea further. To her, he's not really a Montague, and he's certainly done his best to separate himself from his father's influence. Circumstances aren't yet right for them to stay together, though, and Juliet soon returns to Mantua, where Willie's latest play is about to receive its premiere. The play is clearly based on Juliet's story, and her supporters hope it will increase support for the Capulet cause. Juliet, though, has a little change of her own to make to Willie's script.
With that little detour out of the way, though, the time comes for Juliet and her supporters to make another attempt at unseating Prince Montague from Neo Verona's throne - but in the process, Juliet is about to discover that a dark secret from the Capulet family's past will ensure that she never gets to sit on the throne herself...
As I pointed out when I reviewed volume one of Romeo x Juliet, Shakespeare's original was never going to be anything more than a loose inspiration for the story that GONZO were going to give us, and that's been borne out many times since then. This volume continues the trend, serving up scene after scene that's new to the story of the star-crossed lovers. For the most part, I have no problem with that. Scenes with Romeo trying to build his community in the wilderness, Juliet grasping her destiny with both hands and doing all that she can to set Neo Verona free, and the final battle to unseat Prince Montague all combine to give the story here an epic feel - it's not just the story of a love that can never be, it's the story that tells us how that love was still able to save a world, and on that level the series works extremely well.
The opening episode is not quite filler, but in many ways feels like it is, as Willie gets to perform his new play - a thinly-disguised tale of Romeo & Juliet's difficult situation - to the people of Mantua. Juliet takes the opportunity the play provides to resurrect her Red Whirlwind persona, who she has decided will lead the charge on Neo Verona and the Prince. It's the turning point where she realises that she has a destiny to live up to - she just has no way of knowing at this stage where that destiny will lead.
Destiny, you see, decrees that she will be the key to saving the world. There's a fair amount of explanation that needs to be done to explain just why the world needs saving - Escalus, the giant tree beneath Neo Verona's castle, is the root of that (no pun intended), while the role of Juliet's family in preserving the tree also comes into play. Escalus used to have a twin, which was destroyed by mankind in its greatest act of cruelty. For that act, Escalus demands a regular act of penance and sacrifice - a role that was secretly performed by the Capulet family. It's a role that Montague could never have performed, even if he'd been aware that it was necessary, and so for as long as he remained in power, Neo Verona was on shaky ground. Juliet herself only finds out exactly what will be required of her after her return to Neo Verona, and it's a knowledge that leaves her conflicted about what to do next.
This is where the series makes its final diversion from the source of its inspiration, and perhaps its one misstep. The conclusion to Shakespeare's original was about Romeo and Juliet trying to find a way to be together despite the disapproval of their families, and the communication failures that ultimately led to their deaths made the story a true tragedy and, for those who get carried away by such things, a real tear-jerker. GONZO, though, takes a different route, one that revolves around the requirements of fate and destiny that seem to play such a key part in many anime series - and of which I'm no fan.
Without going into the details, instead of a truly emotional finale, we get Juliet being the blind instrument of fate, and Romeo's attempts to save her seeming to put the needs of one against the needs of the many around him - which, under the circumstances that the story puts forward, really isn't the smartest thing for him to be doing. As a result, the ending lacks the emotional punch that I would have expected - and wanted - from a story carrying the names of "Romeo" and "Juliet", and falls short of being the classic that it could have been.
In Summary:
Despite its failings at the end, though, this is another volume that holds the attention firmly through all six episodes as Juliet's fortunes rise and fall. Even the conclusion, while missing the mark, still manages to be an emotional rollercoaster that pulls you along for the ride. The series has done a top-class job of separating itself from its roots and creating its own world and story, and in managing to be thoroughly entertaining despite the weight of expectations that those roots placed on it. Highly recommended.
Features
Japanese Language 2.0, English Language 5.1, English Subtitles
Review Equipment
Toshiba 37X3030DB 37" widescreen HDTV; Sony PS3 Blu-ray player (via HDMI, upscaled to 1080p); Acoustic Solutions DS-222 5.1 speaker system.
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