We’ve waited four years for it, but it was worth every second.
At one point we all wondered whether this had been cancelled, but after watching all six episodes, I think I can understand why it took so long. We also had a pandemic within that period, which most likely delayed production, so perhaps we could all had watched it maybe one or two years earlier.
Although there are only six episodes, they are longer than the average TV Anime episode length. They are about twice as long, so in production terms it’s almost like we are talking about twelve TV Anime episodes.
Because this is an anthology in the best way possible, each episode is set in a different environment. Even those that happen to take place in Japan are set in completely different time periods, which makes things really interesting.
Having such different universes adds a lot of complexity in the production process. Each episode has its own set of scenarios, color palette, atmosphere, background, just overall mood and it differs episode from episode. Usually these are created to be used for an entire series, but in The Grimm Variations, they were created to be used for a single episode!
I remember that in one of the few talks that George Wada from WIT Studio gave about The Grimm Variations, he mentioned that because the Grimm Brothers tales were known worldwide, they were trying to make this anime as “universal” as possible and I can see what he meant by that. It’s still a Japanese anime after all, but some of the episodes are set in non-Japanese settings and some of them it’s not even clear where they are set (Episode 2, Little Red Riding Hood and Episode 3, Hansel and Gretel, which takes place primarily in a different planet).
I think it was a very smart choice to have different directors for each episode, because this contributed to the anthology aspect, while still maintaining some consistency by having the same scriptwriter and character design for all episodes.
Michiko Yokote is a very talented scriptwriter with a heavy curriculum and she shone in this contemporary “update” of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. She also collaborated with CLAMP in the past, having worked on the scripts of XXXHOLiC and Kobato. TV Anime series, and I think some of the nudge nudge wink wink that we see across these six episodes must be due to that past relationship, mostly notable in Episode 3, Hansel and Gretel, where the witch looks very much like an older version of Yuuko and in this story also sends people to other worlds, like Yuuko. Even some of the lines spoken by the witch seem to be lines that could have been said by Yuuko herself.
Michiko Yokote completely reimagined these tales that have been around for centuries, but as a watcher you are still kept on the edge, even though you might have an idea of where the story is going. I don’t think she is the first person who has re-imagined the Grimm Brothers’ tales, but it’s still a remarkable feat to keep one intrigued about stories that have been known for so long.
It’s been a long time since I have watched back-to-back an anime for which CLAMP only provided the character designs for (the last one was Code Geass!), so it was really cool to not know what was going to happen and get surprised by every twist and turn.
Like most people, I also enjoyed a lot Yokote’s twisted interpretations, putting female characters at the forefront and making them the protagonists, even in cases where they were not the protagonists of the original tale, such as in Episode 5, The Town Musicians of Bremen (I really enjoyed the personifications of the donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster). In the past, I had wondered what it would be like if CLAMP made a Charlie’s Angels-like manga and I had a taste of it with Episode 4. I really wanted to see more of those four baddass women!! Every episode was great but this one in particular left me wanting more.
As for the CLAMP designs, it was a joy seeing new characters drawn by them coming one after another and their reimagination of classic fairy tale characters we have known for so long. Some characters had a more “western” appearance, which we don’t see a lot in CLAMP’s catalog, but to be honest I am not completely sure that they provided designs for every single character that appeared, those included. Maybe they only provided the designs for the main characters and the rest was provided by the anime staff. For instance, I think everybody could tell in Episode 3 how much the three boys looked like Syaoran, Nokoru and Akira, but I think they looked more like an homage to those characters from the staff rather than CLAMP providing their designs.
It was very nice that they included CLAMP’s original designs at the ending credits, but I wish we could have seen more of them, it shows that CLAMP is at the core of this project.
This was the first time CLAMP’s designs gets an animation treatment from WIT Studio and they did a very good job. The character designs that ended up in the final version are very faithful to CLAMP’s style.
The animation was really good. I mean really good, way above the average we see in TV Anime. I could not spot one single weird-looking scene or frame, which surprised me a lot! It also might justify why it took so long to produce the series. There were some really interesting camera angles and unconventional direction choices that made everything more dynamic and interesting, turning those 40 minutes into a delightful experience.
I felt like not only Michiko Yokote but also the rest of the staff felt at liberty to experiment and try new and different things that maybe they wouldn’t be able to try in other series. I think this added a lot of personality to this series.
I really enjoyed the “mature” content and direction of the series. There was almost no comedy or “super deformed” moments (I can think of one moment during Episode 3, Hansel and Gretel, and another in Episode 5, The Town Musicians of Bremen, but that’s it). I personally like works with more serious tones like this and it really worked here, in my opinion.
The music was fantastic. Akira Miyagawa is responsible for it and he did such a great job. He recorded with a live orchestra, with music matching the scenes, like they do in movies! Each episode took an entire day to record and it shows. I could be wrong but I don’t think the same music plays in more than one episode. The main theme is played in several episodes, but each episode has a different arrangement or a different instrument being used which perfectly matches the “vibe” of that episode. You can really tell that a lot of care was put into it.
The prologues with Jacob, Wilhelm and Charlotte were nice. The art direction that looks like watercolor was an interesting choice to set apart the tales from what supposedly is the “real story”. It was also fun finding Jacob and Wilhelm making cameo appearances in each tale.
I enjoyed all episodes, but strangely enough I enjoyed Episode 1, Cinderella the least. It’s not a bad episode, I just enjoyed more the other five episodes.
I really hope we will get a second season. Not only because it would be nice to see more CLAMP designs for other tales, but also because this show had as much good quality as it was entertaining.
Chibi Yuuto's CHRoNiCLEs 