Snow White with the Red Hair a new fairytale romance

Noirit Mustapha

Studio BONES, one of the most prominent and prolific names in modern action anime, tried their hand at something different this year, with Akagami no Shirayukihime. Roughly translating to “Snow White with the Red Hair”, it’s a new twist on the classic fairy tale romance, this time giving continued character development to both the prince and titular character. The story begins when local citizen Shirayuki gets invited by the narcissistic and greedy first prince of the kingdom Raji, simply because of her rare red hair. After cutting off most of it to escape him, and thwarting his plans to capture her even, she finally ends up being found and rescued by Zen Wistalia, second prince of the kingdom of Clarines. From then onwards, we follow not just Shirayuki in her efforts to be his royal court herbalist and friend, but also Zen’s attempts at being a prince and her friend too.
Some followers of the original manga might be put off at first given the change in art style, but everything looks immensely graceful and beautiful. BONES even get to show off their affinity for action in the series’ few fight scenes, but make no mistake: the series looks amazing as a whole. The supporting cast of characters all carry their own weight and actually feel like proper companions instead of just lazy archetypes existing just because. However, the true appeal here is ultimately Zen and Shirayuki’s relationship. Both are slightly enamoured with each other at first, but it all feels natural. They start out as friends, slowly get closer and know each other better and finally come to a mutual understanding how they really come to feel about each other.
The penultimate episode is the main culmination of all this and is bound to make most romance lovers gush. Unfortunately, the finale feels rather rushed and inconclusive. At the very least, Shirayukihime is definitely a great romance to start now, what with the second season coming this January to really continue things and show more of Zen and Shirayuki.

 

Snow White with the Red Hair a new fairytale romance

Noirit Mustapha Studio BONES, one of the most prominent and prolific names in modern action anime, tried their hand at something different this year, with Akagami no Shirayukihime. Roughly translating to Snow White with the Red Hair, its a new twist on the classic fairy tale romance, this time giving continued character development to both the prince and titular character. The story begins when local citizen Shirayuki gets invited by the narcissistic and greedy first prince of the kingdom Raji, simply because of her rare red hair. After cutting off most of it to escape him, and thwarting his plans to capture her even, she finally ends up being found and rescued by Zen Wistalia, second prince of the kingdom of Clarines. From then onwards, we follow not just Shirayuki in her efforts to be his royal court herbalist and friend, but also Zens attempts at being a prince and her friend too. Some followers of the original manga might be put off at first given the change in art style, but everything looks immensely graceful and beautiful. BONES even get to show off their affinity for action in the series few fight scenes, but make no mistake: the series looks amazing as a whole. The supporting cast of characters all carry their own weight and actually feel like proper companions instead of just lazy archetypes existing just because. However, the true appeal here is ultimately Zen and Shirayukis relationship. Both are slightly enamoured with each other at first, but it all feels natural. They start out as friends, slowly get closer and know each other better and finally come to a mutual understanding how they really come to feel about each other. The penultimate episode is the main culmination of all this and is bound to make most romance lovers gush. Unfortunately, the finale feels rather rushed and inconclusive. At the very least, Shirayukihime is definitely a great romance to start now, what with the second season coming this January to really continue things and show more of Zen and Shirayuki.