Romeo X Juliet Volume 2

As Prince Montague’s reign of terror intensifies, Juliet and Romeo find their paths constantly crossing. With his friend Benvolio gone, Romeo is becoming increasingly isolated at his father’s court – and ends up spending the city’s Flower Festival with Juliet, instead of his fiancée Hermione. His father’s anger at this lapse in etiquette only serves to drives him further away. Meanwhile, Juliet is preparing to lead the Capulets in an uprising which will challenge Montague’s rule. But can all their allies be trusted – or is someone planning to betray them? There are also disturbing hints that a vital natural force underpinning the city’s survival is in peril. The two teenagers are forced to flee the city, hoping to find a new life in the barren countryside that lies outside Neo Verona. Do they dare to believe they can make a happier future together?

The pace in these episodes (VII – XII) doesn’t falter as the star-crossed lovers are thrown together by the turbulent events unfolding in Neo Verona. A new player, the laconic Tybalt, arrives to rescue Juliet on his black-winged steed. But can she trust him? The swordfights are excitingly animated and there’s genuine tension as the Capulets plot to overthrow Prince Montague. Juliet is still portrayed as the more dynamic of the pair (in the time-honoured anime tradition of Utena or Oscar in ‘The Rose of Versailles’) with Romeo shown as the dreamer, sheltered by his upbringing from the harsh realities of life in the city under his father’s repressive rule.

With its attractive character designs, and subdued, subtle palette of colours, ‘Romeo x Juliet’ continues to delight the eye and involve the viewer in the intricacies of its plot. But the cod-Shakespearean English script becomes more and more irritating (for this viewer, at any rate) as the series continues. No matter how much it must have amused the script writers (was there a contest to see how many quotations they could shoehorn in, maybe?) it really grates. Far better to use the subtitles and enjoy the excellent acting of the original seiyuu.

In fact, it would all be lovely if it weren’t for that mawkish, sentimental imported opening theme song: ‘Inori – You Raise Me Up’ sung here by Lena Park. It’s a matter of personal taste, I guess, and, obviously, I must be in the minority, but I really loathe it. Even the first tinkly, twinkly notes of the introduction are enough to make me reach for the handset and hastily fastforward. Except that there’s now no escaping it, as the plangent strains of the song are used to accompany scenes when Romeo and Juliet are together, resulting in something more like a bad AMV than a Gonzo anime. It’s obviously intended to intensify the emotion and bring a lump to the throat. But as the melody is based on ‘Danny Boy’ (‘The Londonderry Air’) it just evokes all the wrong associations.

In Summary
The tension increases as events conspire to keep the lovers apart. Tybalt appears.  There’s even a balcony scene! But don’t be deceived; there may be a playwright called Will in the cast, but don’t expect to find his namesake’s play here. Just sit back and enjoy ‘Romeo x Juliet’ as a romantic fantasy adventure and you won’t be disappointed.