2. Snow White with the Red Hair
Here we go. Yet another Disney love story from across the divide updated. But this shojo anime has a lot more to offer than the Disney original that this takes inspiration from. Snow White here is not some damsel biting into a poisoned apple and waiting for her Prince to come. In fact, in this show, it’s the Prince that gets poisoned and it’s Snow White that has to come to his aid.
The plot of Snow White is used very loosely and the show is all the better for that. Shirayuki is our Snow and she is a very smart, talented herbalist in her town. But her beautiful, flowing red locks gain her attention from the vain Prince who wishes to ensnare her as his concubine. Shirayuki has other ideas and flees only to find herself bumping into a Prince in disguise and so our Snow’s life is changed forever as she, a commoner, embarks on her new employment as a herbalist for the royal court.
Snow White with the Red Hair is beautiful. The colours in the idyllic, Germanic setting really pop and everything from the clothing to the architecture take inspiration from Snow White’s fairytale style. But this is where the similarities end. This anime is, I believe, far smarter than its predecessor with our heroine given a strong personality. And the relationship between her and Prince Zen isn’t rushed or forced or made to suffer under the same time restraints as a 90 minute Disney feature.
Fairytales have been getting revamped due to the popularity of shows like Once Upon A Time and this offering is definitely one of my new favourites.
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