Romeo x Juliet - Initial Review

Episodes watched: 3 of ?

Looks like I finally got round to doing this series.
What first caught my eye about Romeo x Juliet was the quality OP; it's the best one I've seen in quite some time. I won't talk too much about that though, you can see for yourselves.

Although not really following the plot of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this anime does borrow from the names, characters and some of the setting.
The story begins with the a flashback showing the house of Montague slaughtering their rivals, (can you guess) the Capulets. Not long after, you discover only one member of the family survived the attack (hmm wonder who) and after that individual's escape, the Montague family took over as the sole ruler of the city; Neo Verona.
Many years pass, and the sole survivor has still not been found by the military's best attempts.
A mysterious boy dressed in red has begun appearing as the hero of the city's peasants, fighting against the oppression which began with the fall of the Capulets, leaving the city in a state of gradually building unease.
With a certain someone soon approaching the age of 16, everything will soon be unravelled and the peace will be broken once again.
And so, a story of political struggle, romance and tragedy begins anew.

I was gonna do a more revealing summary, but decided against it. While none of the events at the start can avoid being predicted by even a half discerning eye, I think you'd be better off watching and finding out for yourself. If you're interested...
And you should be. This is overall a very impressive anime so far, with solid characters and very high quality animation.
Being able to pull off an anime based on the famous classic is no small feat, and to do it so well is something which definitely deserves recognition. The music is also decent, especially the OP as I mentioned earlier.
This new plot paves the way for more action scenes which would have otherwise been lacking/nonexistant if it followed the original Romeo and Juliet story, and this means even if you despise all of Will's works, you can still without a doubt enjoy this series.
There are a few jokes and quotes which may appeal to people who are fans of the original, but you won't be missing much if you aren't.
Another series I'll definitely be keeping up with.
Now we just have to hope the producers have an ace up their sleeves for the ending.
Verdict: Excellent.

Initial Rating: 9/10