Summary:

Continuing where he left off, Conrad explains that after Juliet’s father died, everyone related to those who served the Capulet family was killed. The people who managed to survive vowed to protect Juliet, and they also pledged that when she took over as the head of the family at the age of 16, they would gather again and attack Montague. He then presents her the Capulet sword that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Holding the sword and seeing her reflection in the metal, Juliet suddenly gets a flashback of when she saw her parents get killed. She faints soon after, and although she ends up being fine, she can’t help but think of her Capulet identity. Juliet questions why she forgot about the night her parents were killed, and fortunately Cordelia is there to comfort her. When Juliet wakes up late the next day, Cordelia notes that her fever has gone down. Cordelia then asks if Juliet is going to see the person she mentioned when she asked about the irises. She offers to go to the person’s home and tell them that Juliet can’t come, but Juliet isn’t very forward about who the person is. When she finally admits that she met this person at the Rose Ball and that he’s the same one she and Cordelia had been saved by, Cordelia realizes that Juliet is talking about a noble. Worrying about Juliet’s safety and hidden Capulet identity, Cordelia opposes this relationship and tries to make Juliet promise not to meet him anymore.

Romeo meanwhile keeps the promise and waits for Juliet, but she never shows up. He returns home to his father and several guests, but gets slapped for being late. Just moments earlier, Montague had been comparing the common people to grapes. He believes that he is free to hunt and crush them because the Montagues control the grape fields. Afterwards, Montague tells Mercutio to inform him if there’s something worrisome about Romeo. Montague then heads to a dark candlelit passage at the end of which is a door adorned with the crests of both the Capulet and Montague families. On the other side of the door is a large, glowing tree. Facing it, Montague uses the name Escalus and says that as long as they have the blessing of this tree, there are no limits on their prosperity. The following day, Romeo flies over the iris field again and finds no one there. What he doesn’t know is that Juliet is at home at that very moment wanting to see him. Since he isn’t able to see Juliet either, Romeo instead pays a visit to his mother Portia at the convent where she lives. She’s happy to see him, but she’s concerned if he’ll be okay for having slipped out of the castle. Romeo, however, reveals that there is no one at the castle who greets him with a smile. To that, Portia apologizes for leaving the castle when he was young, and she feels that Romeo went through more pain than she did because of it. He responds by presenting his mother with a bouquet of irises, and his mother promises to pray for his happiness.

Back in town, Lancelot is handing out food to the common people courtesy of the Red Whirlwind, but he is soon attacked by the city guards. They take him away for being in cahoots with the Red Whirlwind, and when Antonio learns of what happened, he rushes home to tell Juliet. The city guards end up torturing Lancelot for information about the Red Whirlwind’s identity, and when he refuses to say anything, they get ready to kill him. Right as they are giving him one last chance to tell them where the Red Whirlwind is, the person in question comes crashing through the glass ceiling. She beats up the three guards and escapes with Lancelot, but they get cornered on the rooftop of the tower he was being held in. When Lancelot tells her to escape on her own because she is the city’s hope, Juliet refuses. The confrontation between the Red Whirlwind and the guards gets interrupted when Romeo happens to fly over the tower and sees what’s going on. Although Juliet immediately recognizes Romeo, all he knows is that the Red Whirlwind is a wanted man. However, Romeo suddenly detects the scent of irises. After a brief pause, Romeo asks for a sword and engages in battle with the Red Whirlwind. To Juliet’s surprise, while their swords are locked together, Romeo whispers to her that there is a waterway beneath the tower. He proposes that they pretend to struggle and fall off the tower, and then almost immediately goes through with the plan, so Juliet grabs Lancelot before she falls. All three soon find themselves in the water, and it allows them to get away from the guards and back to safety. When Lancelot expresses his disbelief that the son of Montague would save the Red Whirlwind, Juliet finally learns who Romeo really is. Soon after Romeo leaves them, she falls to her knees in shock.

Preview

I could just see Juliet’s heart breaking when she learned who Romeo was at the end of the episode. I had actually been expecting Romeo to really fight Juliet as an enemy since he doesn’t know who she is, but I guess that smell of irises and maybe their prior meeting was enough for Romeo to help out instead. Plus, given Romeo’s somewhat strained relationship with his father, I’d think that if and when he finds out about who Juliet is, he’s more likely to side with her than Montague. Speaking of which though, Montague is in the middle of a little mystery with that large tree behind the door that was adorned with both Montague and Capulet family crests. Some of you may remember that Prince Escalus was in the original Shakespeare play, though it’s unclear what direction GONZO is taking that aspect.
The preview for next week has me a little bothered by the fact that Juliet appears to be using her Odin/Red Whirlwind identity for Romeo (instead of her normal self), but we’ll have to see what happens.

35 Comments

  1. Oh my Gonzo did it again. First Gankutsuou and now Romeo x Juliet. Such good adaptations, this episode is a must watch. Hope raw comes out soon. thank you for blogging 🙂

    Minami
  2. somehow I have a feeling that Gonzo will messed up again.
    Gantsuoh was good, but the ending is a POS. It totally ruin a classic ending in the novel with some weird *beep ending.

    Now its Romeo and Juliet. What will Gonzo do this time!?

    quina
  3. i have yet to see him portrayed as a horny teenager. i haven’t seen him show the yearn for sex or anything like that. he just met a girl he thinks is pretty, and he likes. they both are doing a good job personality-wise in respect to the play. both of them are supposed to be immature, and young.

    Jay
  4. hahaha, well i rather have this romeo :p
    Yeah I know GONZO can screw up pretty badly, take my beloved Trinity Blood for example ;_; but Gankutsuou in my opinion was pretty good. Really original atmosphere and designs. For RxJ i’ve liked it so far, though i’m not a person for tragic endings like the original but i guess it will be in those lines

    Minami
  5. “the only problem i have with this adaptation is the fact that they made romeo into this horny teenager instead of that angsty mega playboy in the play…”

    How is he a horny teenager? He doesn’t appear to have a raging hard-on when he was introduced to Harmonia (check spelling). Plus, I remember that the original Romeo isn’t the most appealing of Shakespeare’s characters. This adaptation makes he a little more down to earth.

    xxx
  6. wow, episode 3 and it’s already showing signs of a depressing plot ^.^
    I wonder how long the seires will run. I’m guessing 13 eipsodes. If I’m lucky there will be more. It’s just going at such a fast pace.

    ebear
  7. Shakespeare’s original romeo had plenty of personality and charm, but this adaptation turned him into just another generic male anime lead.

    it’s not necessarily such a bad thing but meh, maybe i’m the only one who thinks it’s less interesting to watch a toned-down version of such a well-crafted character…
    and now there’s probably a lot less room for romeo’s character development if they follow the original ending since his character in this anime is basically the same as the one he had developed into throughout the course of the original play.

    still, the anime itself is quite enjoyable, and the changes in some concepts make this adaptation stand out from its original and other adaptations. in my opinion, however, romeo’s character is something they should have left alone. but, no offense intended to the people who prefer this change…

    lulu
  8. Gonzo will NOT mess up again!
    Why? Coz’ I SAYS SO!
    Unlike Pumpkin Scissors we all know the story of Romeo and Juliet: boy meets girl; boy falls for girl; girl falls for boy; they get killed; end of story.
    this has already a plot so I know not even GONZO can screw up bad…

    moondoggiebuiscuit
  9. Omni: I also noticed the Escalus reference. And Juliet’s father mentioned something about Eskas (not Escalus I think) in the first episode).

    This episode played out nicely.

    Avisch
  10. The father said Escalus, is just the japanese pronunciation 😉
    Most likely Escalus could be that girl -looking white being in the opening. And maybe he/she is the tree’s sould. who knows that’s my best guess. Can’t wait for the next episode, thank you so much for the summary 😀

    Minami
  11. so much complaints. good lord.

    romeo x juliet is clearly one of the keepers this season, so im not complaining whatsoever. ok, so maybe romeo is a tad little stereotypical anime male lead-ish, but at least hes more of the polite, helpful type (like shyaoran in tsubasa chro.) instead of the loud, hyperactive male leads we see in a good deal of shounen these days.

    still curious about juliet, and i wonder how long she will maintain the odin-guise. and like some people pointed out, the story is already taking a slightly pessimistic air… hmm

    mewmew
  12. Woa! Woa! Woa! Romeo has to know now that Juliet is the Red Whirlwind, but doesn’t know that Juliet is the daughter of the Capulet. As Onmi said, is more likely that Romeo will side, if he has any chance, with Juliet/Red Whirlwind if the opportunity approach

    I believe the Montague and Capulet had a very special relation in the past, but something happens. I don’t remember clearly Shakespeare’s original, but I’m looking forward for what GONZO is going to make.

    Damn it! I have a big headache right now… damn those trips on boat today.

    Syaoran Li
  13. Woa! Woa! Woa! Romeo has to know now that Juliet is the Red Whirlwind, but doesn’t know that Juliet is the daughter of the Capulet. As Onmi said, is more likely that Romeo will side, if he has any chance, with Juliet/Red Whirlwind if the opportunity approach

    I believe the Montague and Capulet had a very special relation in the past, but something happens. I don’t remember clearly Shakespeare’s original, but I’m looking forward for what GONZO is going to make.

    Damn it! I have a big headache right now… damn those trips on boat today.
    .

    Syaoran Li
  14. Did anybody else notice the drop in animation quality with the first half of this episode? e_e But I guess they were saving up for the little action scenes. Eh, but even then, bad call X;

    Jin
  15. i discovered this anime by chance on youtube, and was absolutely estatic but ive only been able to locate two episodes. could someone please tell me where i can watch the rest of them, or where i could watch the ones that are out so far? thankyou. id really appreciate it.

    – kat

    katharina

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