Romeo X Juliet Volume 3
The honeymoon is over. The secret is out. Juliet’s identity has been revealed and is now held captive in Montague’s prison, sentenced to death in two days’ time. Luckily she’s not held for long as her friends plan her escape; however, Romeo’s part in her getaway does not go down well with his father and he is sentenced to work in the mines. Meanwhile, Juliet and her comrades go on the run once more and seek refuge with another nobleman’s family.
Disc 3 contains episodes 13 – 18, also known as the first episodes of ‘The Juliet Collection’. We’ve now entered the part of the story where fewer references are made to the original play and the love story is made less prominent to further develop the back-story of the rival families, side characters, and politics amongst the cast. After the fast-paced opening episode with the jail-break and Romeo’s last scene with Juliet for a while, the action slows down to give us Romeo’s time in the mines, getting his fingers dirty with the prisoners to ‘build a world where he and Juliet can live.’ The mine arc itself doesn’t have as many memorable scenes compared to the rest of the series, although it does give an opportunity for Romeo to develop as a character instead of being just a bland staple of ‘handsome prince with a good heart’. We get to see the first signs of conviction, courage, and the makings of a future prince. The last three episodes focus on the Capulets’ continuing plans for revenge with Juliet showing less of the spunk we saw in the opening episodes with her ‘Red Whirlwind’ persona, but Juliet’s side of the story gives us development of side characters who have been quiet for the past few chapters. Hermione’s decline in mental stability comes to a satisfying conclusion when she decides to take things into her own hands regarding Romeo and Juliet’s affair; she plays the fool at first but you can’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl who has done nothing wrong yet has to watch as her fiancé falls in love with another woman. Tybalt makes a return to reveal some insight into the back-story of the family history; his motives for revenge and provides interesting information that makes Prince Montague less of a one-dimensional villain. Other characters that shine are William, providing some delightful comic relief, and new people introduced during the mine story, such as Petruchio and Giovanni adding a new dynamic to the show.
Despite Gonzo’s infamous name being attached to the animation production, the visual side of the anime is still as striking as ever. We get less close-ups and scenes of elegance (such as hair waving gorgeously against the gentle winds) but all the action scenes are well catered for and the quality hasn’t dropped at all.
The score continues to be a stunning yet forgettable orchestral backdrop, setting the fantasy atmosphere very nicely. The ending theme is replaced in episode 15 by Mizrock’s ‘Goodbye Yesterday’ – a much more fitting mid-tempo acoustic guitar tune that compliments the rest of the music delightfully, compared to 12012’s hard-hitting and distracting ‘Cyclone’. The English dub still surpasses the Japanese by incorporating old English phrases and language, and even though it’s noticeably reduced in these later episodes, it’s enough to create a unique style that you won’t hear in another anime.
DVD extras contain clean opening and closing, original Japanese trailers, an art gallery and MVM trailers for Aquarion and Rozen Maiden.
Despite what the DVD cover may suggest, this disc contains the least amount of romance and therefore fans eager to get more tender moments between the star crossed lovers will find themselves dying for the final disc. But volume 3 does tie up loose ends with the minor members of cast and answers important pending questions before we come to the inevitable conclusion.
