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| Story by Reiko Yoshida and art by COM |
Genre: Fantasy Shojo
Length: Two Volumes - 9 Chapters
Art wise, this manga is
a little sketchy, though it is quite pleasing, it is just not
completely professional looking. The eyes fluctuate a bit too much to
be consistent for the characters; some of the people I still am not
sure exactly what their faces look like due to inconsistencies of the
art, plus there is a little bit of perspective skewing on the faces
that isn't flattering that also further complicates it. The hair is
excellent, colored and toned when needed, and the clothes, though not
always detailed, give enough of style that they add to the story and
help the 'fantasy' of the setting show through. Backgrounds are
pretty much there, though not always looking exactly finished, but
manga is always better with than without them. The action, though
isn't exactly easy to follow, its more like still panels that are
hard to discern. Overall, not bad but not fully complete some how.This is the story of Romeo and Juliet, but with many many changes and embellishments. Neo Verona has been in upheaval for fourteen years since the head of the Montague family murdered the ruling family of Capulet and took rule, though the only daughter of the Capulets survived. Romeo, next in line to rule, disagrees with the way the city is being governed but has no power to stop his father's insanity. Juliet has lived as a boy her whole life with out knowing why, but the fated day of her sixteenth birthday is drawing closer. When the two meet accidentally several times, it seems like fate is pulling them together while the rest of the world seems to want to pull them apart.
If this manga had stuck
a little closer to the plot of Shakespeare's play it probably would
have been a lot better, I'm a big fan of Shakespeare and the way this
was done alienates me as one instead of peaking my love of parody and
revival.. The author of Romeo X Juliet is the same as Tokyo Mew Mew,
actually, and it has the same choppy feel to it at times, but it also
suffers from 'gotta wrap this up quickly because we're canceled'
syndrome, though, while making the pace a little faster than is
comprehensible, is a bit of a benefit in this case. I have heard that
the anime is much better, though I have not watched it so I cannot
comment on that front. I just found the whole thing to be as average
as the art, truthfully, and very disappointing in about every aspect.
Juliet, who is set up as a strong character loses all the important
fights and gets weak and falls over more than necessary. Romeo, on
the other hand, is not any kind of developed character but is just
sort of coming and going around Juliet. Some of the other characters
are sort of like their name sakes, like Juliet's nurse, but it mostly
just feels like this story is wearing the skin of Romeo and Juliet,
instead of being an adaption of it (Though as far as adaptations go,
it is miles better than the manga version of Count of Monty Cristo).
And the ending is just complete nonsense about the tree that supports
the world dying or some something, I wasn't quite able to understand
the exact details and I wasn't really trying very hard at that point,
either. This manga just started out wobbly, dove in head first, and
came out looking nothing like the classic tale it claims to be. I
can't completely hate this, as it is about average all around, but I
don't really think anyone else should read it, either.1.5/5 The title promises more than can be delivered.
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