The Great Mix

[sashaabraham]

I'm back for my final post on Romeo x Juliet! Let's now look at the differences and similarities between the play and the anime. First of all we have the major difference of an orphan Juliet dressed as a boy named Odin and the ruling house as Montague. In the play the Capulets and the Montagues are hostile families and allies to the ruler of Verona, Prince Escalus. In the anime we see that Escalus is not a prince but a magical tree that keeps the city floating. Then of course we have the ball scene where in the play it is Romeo that goes to a ball held by the Capulets but in the anime it is Juliet that goes to a ball held by the Montagues. We also have changed characters like Tybalt who in Shakespeare's play is Lady Capulet's nephew but in the anime he is Lord Montague's illegitimate son. In addition to that we have characers in the anime that did not exist in the play like Cordilia, Fransisco, Curio and Hermione. Although there are major differences of characters from the play, it helps the anime in its dramatization and add to the plot. It automatically becomes theatrical. Other major differences are Juliet's discovery of her destiny which is to devout her life to the Great Tree Escalus in order to save the city and her appearence as the' Red Whirlwind.' Another yet interesting difference is that of the flowers used as the symbol for the two houses which is not mentioned by hekespeare in the play. The Iris represents the House Capulet and also for Juliet's kind and innocent heart. The Rose stands for the House Montague and for Romeo's love and passion.
Moving onto the similarities, the most obvious one would be the concept of undefinable love between Romeo and Juliet but the rivalry of their family's stand in the way. They're love is ever eternal and the tragic death of the two. Both the play and the anime is dutifully able to portray the emotions of Romeo and Juliet. Benvolio acts as the peacemaker in both the play and the anime. We have a love struck Romeo and a rather confused Juliet as seen in both.
Apart from the differences and similarities, we can now look at the elements of magical realism. The floating city, Pegasus Steed, magic tree and the spell all so perfectly blend together in the anime. After all, what is anime without some magic and unnatural phenomena? The idea would have been bizzare if it were there in the play but makes sense in the anime but that''s what anime is all about. In the end, despite all the drastic differences and touch of magic both the play as well as the anime successfully captures the hearts of the audience. I hope that now you would be interested to go watch the anime and I recommend that you should if you are an anime lover. Trust me, you'll enjoy it. 

Peace out!
Sasha Sosha Abraham
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