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「約束、輝くその時に」 (Yakusoku, Kagayaku Sonotoki ni)
“Shining Time of Promise”
Seeing the progression in Shirayuki and Zen’s relationship reminds me just how much I love shoujo series – like the back-in-the-day type of shoujo series. The ones where you have a boy and girl that like each other but never really admit it and they go through a lot of trials together that test their relationship. They can be polar opposites or just two individuals that happen to be walking the same path, but eventually, they end up together because they’re meant to be. I love stories like that because it’s not about a single guy and his harem or girls with massive things on their chest. It’s not even much of a comedy, it’s just a straightforward story about Shirayuki’s journey in Clarines and Zen’s path to being a Prince. The only problem I have with this series is when or if the romance is really that dominant of a genre in the grand scheme of things. I see Shirayuki and Zen’s connection and the small signs of interest, but will they really say “I like you”? Is it that type of series? A lot of people compare Akagami no Shirayukihime to recent series like Akatsuki no Yona or Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo but since I haven’t seen either, I can’t verify or confirm. To me, this series reminds me a lot more of Spice and Wolf or Saiunkoku Monogatari because you have strong female protagonists along with a male lead, but romance is not exactly top of mind because they’re on the path to doing other things.
Before starting Akagami no Shirayukihime, I had the impression that each episode might be a spin on Grimm tales or other folklore. However, now that we’re several episodes in, I don’t think that’s the case any longer. In fact, the only similarities to Snow White were in the first episode with Shirayuki’s hair and the poisoned apples. Besides that, I haven’t been seeing any real resemblance to fairytales that I’ve seen and that’s totally fine as well. Instead, I like how the story tackles the issues about Shirayuki’s background compared to Zen’s. As a prince, it’s looked down upon for Zen to be seen socializing with commoners all the time. Haruka Marquis (Shimura Tomoyuki) made it clearly known that he didn’t like Shirayuki hanging out the castle and even ordered Obi (Okamoto Nobuhiko) to stop her. Obi attempted to scare Shirayuki away, which in hindsight, obviously didn’t work but even knowing her character, she doesn’t seem like the type to run away from a problem. As always, I thought she did a great job handling the situation on her own, especially when Haruka confronts her later, but… Zen appears to have the final say again. Seriously, I wish he would stop doing that because I think it takes away from Shirayuki’s own accomplishments when someone else saves her. I do like the whole damsel in distress with a handsome prince to swoop in and save the day, but Shirayuki doesn’t need that kind of man in her life.
Now that we’re officially past the 3-episode test mark, I suppose some form of feedback is in order. Akagami no Shirayukihime is not the typical romance series mixed with comedy or filled with harems which is what I’ve been seeing a lot of in recent years. In fact, it rarely makes me laugh at all but it does pull me in with its strong characters and relationships between them. It’s not action-packed or filled with suspense and mystery, it’s just a calm and soothing tale; which is what I need right now after seasons of blogging shows like Shokugeki no Souma and Akame ga Kill. There isn’t this grand scheme or plot for Shirayuki which I would’ve liked to see, but at least she’s talking about becoming a pharmacist working in the castle now. I also love the character designs, which are reminiscent of older shoujos when characters were more elongated rather than round and cute. The animation is what I would expect of BONES and mixed in with a good soundtrack and scenery makes the setting is very engrossing. It makes Clarines look like such a happy kingdom to be a part of. So yes, I would definitely recommend it for this season. Along with maybe 3 or 4 other series this summer, Akagami no Shirayukihime makes it on my must-watch list.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: I liked seeing Zen acting and being treated as a Prince. Good thing he takes his job seriously. Finally seeing more of a connection between Zen and Shirayuki as a couple, especially from Zen #akagaminshirayukihime
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Cherrie, awesome post:) Indeed, this anime has a very soothing vibe to it along with awesome VA, art style and OSTs, definitely a must watch this season.
Show Spoiler ▼
I do believe this episode sold me on the show. If this were a different anime I feel as Zen and Shirayuki would have spent the entire episode (or episodes) moping around thinking the other was intentionally avoiding them because of that fake proclamation. Instead Shirayuki barges on in, forces the issue, and I love her for it.
A Girl, that want to stand on their own Two feeds, that want to reach her own goals with her own two feet, a Girl that do not want to Obey, but what to follow her Heart
I am sold for this Show
(yeah, as you guess, i like strong females that are not Damsel in distress professionals)
I like how the mangaka subverted the usual shoujo tropes by having Snow White directly confront Zen, rather than mope and worry for hours whether Zen’s abandoned her or not and overreact about it with him later.
But will the mangaka break other tropes, I wonder? Like:
1) Zen’s childhood friend (a princess) who’d loved him since long ago comes to Clarines to prove herself to him, immediately gets jealous of Snow
2) Visiting prince/nobleman who’s just as gallant and brave as Zen falls in love and proposes to Snow; Snow falls into dilemma on who to choose
Thanks for the 2 Spoilers
I don’t think these are spoilers necessarily. He/She is just listing hypothetical ways these 2 common tropes could show up.
Show Spoiler ▼
He’s not giving spoilers, he’s speculating as to whether the series will continue to defy common shoujo tropes and giving examples of a couple of the one he has in mind. e.g.: childhood friend of the male lead shows up and becomes a jealous rival of the female lead; or secondary male character shows up and becomes a rival to the male lead by directly courting the female lead (asking her out, proposing marriage, etc) winning some interest from her.
Those are fairly common shoujo cliches to my knowledge. They make for easy sources of drama and delay.
I hate that a fairly major justification for anime/manga tropes is delay. Wasting time should never be the main reason for a development. It’s one of my prime criticisms of the harem genre (aside from raging sexism). Generally only the first and MAYBE the second girls have any relevance to the plot, any after that are basically level bosses that need to be overcome so that you can get back to the ones who even remotely have a chance.
Third option is an arranged marriage for the prince for political reasons.
Show Spoiler ▼
Agreed I miss shows like this where it’s just plain and simple a story of 2 people. Harems or reverse harems can also be fun with the shipping wars and all but having a focused story really allows for all the more development and at the end of the day if done right is just that more rewarding than having your ship sail.
Definitely glad that, so far, things aren’t so over-the-top and kept more simple.
Even Haruka’s attempted interference between Shirayuki and Zen didn’t come off like some dastardly villain who wanted Zen under his thumb to control like a puppet and that Shirayuki threatened his plans, but he came off rather as a minister who was actually genuinely concerned about Zen’s position and appearance as the Prince. Of course, he jumped the gun by not even attempting to get to know Shirayuki beforehand, but still, he got proven completely wrong and seemed remorseful for his actions.
Yeah, the fact that he backed down altered his whole character for me. At first, he DID just come off as the dick grand vizier type who only cares about position, a pretty standard villain in commoner/royalty love stories, but by having him back down and admit the commoner’s worth, his whole personality is re-evaluated into an arrogant prick, but not necessarily a heartless, stubborn arrogant prick.
I don’t think Zen saved her at all this time. Haruka very specifically backed down before Zen showed up. Zen conveniently appeared, yes, but the battle was already won.
If anything, this one established that more than saving her, the slightly wonky thing is just his constant ability to be wherever the plot needs him to be.
I really like anime series where the female MC is not interested in anyone and no one is interested in her outside of intellectual companionship. I really do hope series like this one keeps romance as a backdrop as it progresses and not use it as a main conflict or plot driver.
I will definitely follow this for the following reasons:
1. The characters are NOW MORE than just talking cardboards. Shirayuki is now affirmed as a character with a strong will. Zen, while still bordering on being too dazzling, becomes more humanized.
2. Bones. The animation is fluied. The art is pretty. The soundtrack is spot on.
3. Ironically, an old-school type romance seems like a breath of fresh airs given the setup we are having right now.
… And forgive me for my spelling errors. I pressed the Enter button without proofreading my post because I am gushing on how pretty it is.
Zen is skinny af. He needs to eat more meat
@Cherrie – what are the ‘3-4 other shows’ on your must watch list this season?
Oh sorry! I missed this question =X
I really like Gangsta… like hands down, the one that I MUST watch this season. It’s exactly the type of story that I love (with mystery and action and tormented souls with childhood trauma lol).
Gakkou Gurashi, Durarara (because it’s a sequel and I must finish it) and Dragon Ball Super (uh… I’m a huge Dragon Ball fan so I’m biased =X). There are more… but these are the ones I’m following on a holy grail basis lol