Akagami no Shirayuki-hime Review

Welcome back everybody to Day 3 of Anniversary Review Week! I am actually really excited for the anime we are reviewing today because I love it so much. It is one of my favorite anime that has come out in the last year or so, and is also adapted from a manga that I also love. It tells a story that I fell in love with almost instantly, and characters that I adore.

So here is my 31st Anime Review and Day 3 of Anniversary Review Week!! Were headed to Clarines in a beautiful fairy tale world: Akagami no Shirayuki-hime.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, also called Snow White with the Red Hair, was a twelve episode anime that started airing in July 2015 as a part of the July 2015 Anime Season and ended in September 2015. It is based off of the manga “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime” by Sorata Akizuki which started running in August 2006 and is still releasing chapters currently. The anime was so popular that it received a second season which began airing in January 2016 as a part of the Winter 2016 Anime Season. It too ran for twelve episodes before it finished airing in March 2016. That brings Akagami no Shirayuki-hime to a total of 24 episodes.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime tells the the cheerful, red-haired Shirayuki who is living in the country of Tanbarun working at her own herb shop as an apothecary. Suddenly, the first prince of Tanbarun hears about Shirayuki’s beautiful hair and demands that she come to the castle to be his bride. Well Shirayuki is not willing to do that so she runs away into the forest where she is rescued by Zen Wistalia, the second prince of the neighboring country (Clarines), and his two aids Kiki and Mitsuhide. Wanting to repay them for rescuing her, Shirayuki goes with them to Clarines and begins working to become a Court Herbalist so she can carve a path for herself. The story follows Shirayuki as well as Zen as he works to become a prince that is worthy his title, and we get to see the two grow closer as well.

One of my favorite parts about Akagami no Shirayuki-hime is the setting of the story. It has just the perfect set up so that you know it is the world similar to a fairy tale without it being super obvious or over the top. There are no over the top monsters to fight or anything, but it has just enough emphasis on certain aspect so that you know it is a world different than our own. It is truly a beautiful place and if it were a real place I would definitely want to visit it.

As I said before, I absolutely love the characters of this show. Everyone from Zen and Shirayuki to those two guards that appear from time to time have earned a place in my heart. Even Prince Raji who first appears as a sort of antagonists gradually changes from a despised character to a beloved ally as the show goes on. Which is an interesting factor that this show has. A good majority of the characters evolve as the show goes on. Zen and Shirayuki gradually pave their own way and develop not only together but individually. It makes me love them as a couple because they are absolutely great together, and I prefer them that way, but even if they are separate they can function perfectly fine without the other person around. Even Obi, Zen’s newest aide, becomes more open and devoted to his job as the show goes on. All of the characters are well developed and have their own quirks and personalities. Watching them all interact with one another in both funny and serious ways created a great story and helped to move the plot further because they all want to work towards a common goal of becoming better. To say I love this cast almost seems like an understatement because if I were able to live in an anime world I would choose this one so that I could hang out with all of them. Plus Prince Izana is going to be king, and who would want to miss out out that. I mean just look at him.

He can be kind of a jerk sometimes but in this show it seems like even the huge jerk can become a fan favorite. Or just my favorite. Am I the only one who loves Izana probably more than I should? Yes? No?…..Well let us move on then. Zen and Shirayuki are truly two great main characters who help carry the story to be as amazing as it ends up being.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime was animated by Bones, a studio that did some other okay shows like both Fullmetal Alchemist series and Soul Eater. And Noragami, Ouran High School Host Club, Boku no Hero Academia….okay it is a long list of great anime shows that Bones had done. That being said the animation was absolutely beautiful to watch. It was bright and colorful and helped to set that scene that this show is set in a fantasy world. It was fluid and pretty and it was just so pretty that I have no other words to describe it.

The soundtrack was pretty solid as well! It had that fantasy feel to it as well, which is good because it did not make it feel like the music was out of place. Both of the openings (1st Season’s “Yasashii Kibou” and the 2nd Season’s “Sono Koe ga Chizu ni Naru”) were sung by Shirayuki’s voice actress, Saori Hayami, which I think is super cool. I may say this all of the time but I love it when a voice actor sings either the opening or ending. It makes me enjoy them even more. It also helps that both openings also set the feel for the show very nicely. The endings (“Kizuna ni Nosete” and “Page~Kimi to Tsuzuru Monogatari”) were done by eyelis and they were also both beautiful to watch and pleasant to listen to. The entire soundtrack was done very well.

In the end I award Akagami no Shirayuki-hime with an A. I absolutely love this show in every aspect. Everything from the characters to the soundtrack had me in love. It also probably helped that I really love the manga, but I try not to involve my feelings from a manga when I am reviewing the show. We got to see Zen and Shirayuki group as a couple and individuals, and it made me love them more and more each episode. This show is cute and fun to watch and I recommend giving it a try if you have not done so already.

That is all that I have for my 31st Anime Review as well as Day 3 of Anniversary Review Week!! I realized that the first three days have been about romance anime, and if they are not your cup of tea then I promise that the next five days do not have any romance anime. So what do you guys think? Have you watched Akagami no Shirayuki-hime? What did you think of it? Who was your favorite character? Anything you want to add? Let me know down in the comments below!!

See you tomorrow!!

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If you have an anime that you think I should try go ahead and leave that in the comments down below as well.

After note: I want to do a Q&A for the blog’s 2nd Anniversary on 7/19/16. You can ask any question, it does not necessarily have to be anime related, and I will answer them then. You can either leave it down in the comments on this post, tweet it to me, or email me. My email and twitter are in the sidebar to the right. Any question would be greatly appreciated.