Romeo X. Juliet

It's a tale now ingrained into our psyches. You don't even have to have read "Romeo and Juliet" as it must have been pounded into our DNAs by now. Of course, some folks just can't leave well enough alone, and so there are various revisions, tributes, and straight out thefts of the basic story of young star crossed lovers. This can lead to bold films like "Romeo + Juliet," or really really strange things like "Tromeo & Juliet."

Now we have the Japanese version. This isn't so weird on first blush. There is a sub genre of anime that is fascinated with the trappings of european stories and imagery. One of the father of anime's most loved tales involved a lot of sword play among european looking castles. Also, the Japanese are absolute suckers for star crossed potentially doomed romances. So really the question is, what took them so long.

Of course this isn't Williams world. No this is taking place on a FLOATING "neo verona." The nobility tends to fly around on horsie/dragon things with wings. Also, our juliet is not just sighing on the balcony. Oh no, she is the last of her line because the Montagues have slaughtered everyone else. So it's natural that she pretends to be a boy, puts a on a mask and fights for justice as the "Red Whirlwind." The only good Montague (besides a dead one) is the earnest and good Romeo.

Definitely an interesting variation that keeps the interest over multiple episodes.