AKAGAMI NO SHIRAYUKI-HIME

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME DramaAkagami no Shirayuki-hime
ANIME DramaAkagami no Shirayuki-hime 2nd Season
OVA DramaAkagami no Shirayuki-hime: Nandemonai Takaramono, Kono Page
ONE SHOT RomanceNatsuyasumi 00-nichime

REVIEWS

• 

  RoseFaerie

  100/100
  Living your life in a fairy tale romance. Slow and mundane becomes heartfelt and magical.

  Interestingly enough, I initially had a negative opinion about Snow White with the Red Hair. I watched it when I was thirteen and wanted to watch battle shounen to be cool. This was before I officially fell in love with shoujo, because, while I liked Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket at the time, I didn't really have much of a grasp on what it was. I was also for some reason expecting an action-adventure series instead of a slice-of-life, so I was caught off guard. I think when I finally finished the anime, I was maybe 16, I was a certified shoujo fan, and I had a deeper appreciation for slower, more emotional series.

  When I finished it, I had fallen in love with it, enough to try the manga. I bought the first few volumes, and I really liked them, but it never really was a priority. Then my library got the whole series, and I had no excuse to not read it, and I remembered why I loved this manga so much in the first place. It's one of those series that has had a profound impact on me, especially since Shirayuki herself is a character I have a deep admiration for.

  Shirayuki of Tanbarun is a renowned herbalist, but it isn't her medicinal skills that she's known for. It's her unusual, bright red hair that's caught the eye of Prince Raj, who wants to make her his concubine. Shirayuki isn't exactly a fan of the prince or the idea of being a concubine, so she decides to flee to the neighboring kingdom of Clarines. Along the way she meets Prince Zen Wisteria, who practically sweeps her off her feet. Once they're able to outmaneuver Raj, Shirayuki decides she wants to start a new life as a court herbalist, but her status as a commoner might get in the way if her friendship with Zen turns into something more.

  One thing I will say is that this series is very, very slow, and currently it's gotten a bit sidetracked. The story we have at the beginning is very different from the current direction it's been taking. When we start the story it's mostly about Zen and Shirayuki's relationship, as well as their focus on their respective careers as a prince and herbalist. Shirayuki is learning all she can, while Zen is working to support his brother, who will become king. This part of the series also had a lot more focus on their relationship development. There's a lot of buildup, and, after Izana's coronation and discussion of marriage, you sort of expect Zen and Shirayuki’s engagement to be imminent. However, life has other plans.

  Shirayuki and Zen enter a two-year separation arc, which I think is realistic and true to life. Shirayuki has been reassigned to learn in another part of Clarines that specializes in herbal knowledge, and she gets the chance to forge her own path, away from her mentors. This part of the series feels true to life. Shirayuki's career is very important to her, and I think it makes sense that she'd want to improve in her field. I think it was really cool that she and Zen are entering a long-distance relationship, and that's not something you often see in shoujo. They've been together for a long time, and they can maintain a healthy relationship, even if they can't be together as much as they want to. It makes sense. In real life, people get transferred or must move apart from their significant other for a variety of reasons.

  This also allowed for some in-depth focus on the side characters. When I was watching the anime, I had gripes about how Zen's aides didn't really have much done with them. The separation allowed for character depth and worldbuilding that the previous storyline hadn't allowed for. We get to see a lot of Kiki. She even gets her own arc. We get to watch the young court herbalist, Ryu, grow up. It started off strong, but there were a handful of arcs where I was like, "I don't care". The rock arc was boring, and the perfume arc was confusing (but I was also falling asleep during that one, so that didn't help). It's just not focused, which makes sense, since the original focus of the story is taking the backseat for individual character growth. I wonder how things will change when our couple is reunited.

  I had a major, "I'm not like the other girls" phase. I was homeschooled back in middle school, and the only kids I really got to hang out with were boys who I went to church with. I only wanted action girls, since I had this idea that only characters who could fight were as tough as the boys were valued, cool and strong. Now that I am older and wiser, the character of Shirayuki means so much to me. She's not a combatant. She's not a badass action girl. But she's strong. She's kind, compassionate, and intelligent, and those are her strengths. She may not fight, but she's stubborn and won't back down. Her abilities lie with how smart she is, her desire to heal people, and the way she inspires others. She's honestly the kind of person I want to be, and I admire her. She was a character who, even when I was younger, I instantly thought of when I learned that action girls aren't the only ones who are cool. Plus, she was a more attainable role model for me, since I know that I could never be super tough in the way the action girls were and that kindness and inspiring others is what I excel in, and that doesn't make me any lesser.

  Zen is a lovely person. He's the kind of prince who ventures around disguised so that he can observe the people he might someday rule. He doesn't prescribe to the idea that he must be distant from the common people and never mingle with them. His relationship with Shirayuki may cause a few scandals, but he won't back down and leave her behind. He doesn't believe that something like social class should keep him from the people he cares about. He's stubborn, perhaps the most stubborn character in the series, and he's prone to doing what he wants and what he thinks is right. While he can get easily annoyed, he cares about all those around him, and he's such a positive presence.

  Obi is a former... I don't know what, but it was something shady. Until he met Zen and Shirayuki, he never really felt tied down anywhere. With his newfound family, he now has a place he belongs, and he has an unwavering devotion towards them. He's very lighthearted and cheerful, prone to teasing the other characters. He has his own emotional struggles, dealing with his romantic feelings towards Shirayuki, but being unable to act on them out of respect and loyalty. I wish his past was discussed more since we know virtually nothing about his background, but I suppose Obi might want to keep it that way, since his present means more to him than his past ever did.

  Kiki and Mitsuhide are Zen's guards, joined at the hip. Kiki is very stoic and sarcastic, and she makes nice little jabs that I appreciate as much as Obi's teasing. She has her own goals and ambitions outside of her deep loyalty to Zen. She's the heir to her family, and she'll one day accept a marriage proposal. However, she wants to do it on her own terms once her obligations towards her friends are fulfilled. She has a strong will, and she'll be sure to try and win against every challenge she faces (though she does have a loss when it comes to her romantic life, one which shattered my ship). Mitsuhide, on the other hand, is wholeheartedly devoted to Zen, to the point where Zen gets a little angry with him at times. He's single-minded and oblivious, making him not the sharpest tool in the shed. He cares for everyone in his life, though Kiki and Zen are particularly precious to him.

  Raj is the final character I'll discuss. While he's very important initially, I haven't seen him since I cleared anime territory with the manga. He starts off as a vain, self-centered, and childish brat. He's just very annoying, expressive, and shallow, but Shirayuki turns him around. She told him exactly what he needed to hear: basically, to get his shit together. (The way I put it was much meaner, but that was the general idea.) He starts to slowly but surely atone for his actions and build a genuine friendship with Shirayuki, determined to become the king that Tanbarun needs.

  The art evolution of this manga is insane. The early art was nice and all, but it was simple and bold, with detailed fashions. However, as the story goes on, the art becomes so complex. It's like illustrations from a fairy tale. Even the color illustrations become so much more beautiful with warmer color pallets. I screenshotted so many of the later chapter illustrations because they were just that pretty. Just compare this early picture of Shirayuki and Zen to this more recent one. The evolution is undeniable, and I love seeing improvements like these in long series.

  

  This series just means so much to me, and it makes me feel like I'm in a fairy tale. That said, I am a bit worried about the direction it's taking. It's just such an important series for me, since I connect it to my growth as a person, and I appreciate it so much for that. It might not be perfect, but Snow White with the Red Hair was capable of touching my heart, and that's what matters to me.

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• 

  oyasumire

  70/100
  A decent story that makes questionable choices?

  I never write reviews but after catching up to the most recent chapter of Snow White with the Red Hair (137 by the time I'm posting this), I just had too many thoughts buzzing around in my head to not say something about this series because as someone who adored the anime back when I first watched it years ago, seeing how things play out in the manga afterward was... interesting.

  First off, as the only other reviewer stated, the series is slow, gets sidetracked, and no doubt has its flaws. I am going to be a bit more critical than the first reviewer, but I did want to make it clear that I do still find plenty about this series enjoyable regardless. The art is lovely, the characters and their relationships are sweet and meaningful, and despite the slowness, the mangaka does know how to make things really interesting and engaging at times and provided me with just enough to want to keep reading. Still, with a story nearing 140 chapters that has canonically taken place over the course of multiple years, I feel like we could have reached the end result with half the time since not a whole lot actually happens. There are some serious arcs yes, but those few moments are largely surrounded by slice of life moments, royal court duties, and herbalist research. Now, I'm not the type of person to find those things boring. I love slice of life, it's my 3rd highest genre, and it was what drew me to this series to begin with. The court duties and herbalist research could have also kept me hooked because I've enjoyed my fair share of royal/research stories. When done right, they're super fun.

  But at some point, the story just really stagnates. Particularly, (spoiler) after the main group gets split in half and separated. The story takes a noticeable shift, the writing falls flat for a spell, and it's like we can actively see the mangaka try to figure out how the story should work from here on out as it undergoes some trial and error to try and get used to the new normal. As much as I like Shirayuki, Obi, and Ryu, I found it a chore to get through their Lilias focused chapters because those took some time to actually hold my attention. And even now, when all the research stuff starts and we get the info dumps, I just have to skim through it all. However, my main criticism of the series isn't that it's long and slow and sometimes uninteresting, my biggest issue is the development, or lack thereof, of some of the characters and their relationships. Spoilering the rest.

  Thinking about this very topic is what prompted me to write this review because I had so much to say, but to be completely honest, despite me saying earlier that the relationships are sweet and meaningful, I don't... fully enjoy the way some of the relationships between our main group play out, and I desperately wish certain relationships were given the chance to play out at all. This whole problem for me starts from the moment they get separated. Now to clarify, I know the series has its whole "love triangle" thing going on, if you can even call it that, but I'm not super invested in any ship so don't take this as me just being a diehard Zenyuki shipper. But the second Obi was ordered to follow Shirayuki to Lilias to spend those 2 years with her, I knew this would be the beginning of something I would not enjoy and it's the forced dependency between him and Shirayuki. A dependency that continues to exist to this day and was further reinforced in one of the most recent chapters where someone tries to separate them and it turns into a whole big deal because gasp, Obi and Shirayuki separated? That's sacrilegious.

  The thing is, Obi's presence alongside Shirayuki as a bodyguard during those 2 years isn't even necessary because nothing even happens. They get to Lilias, the herbalists do some research, and then we get a timeskip. In fact, the next time Obi's presence becomes necessary is when Zen is in trouble and he has to run off to help him. If that was just going to be the case, why separate him from Zen to begin with? Sticking him with Shirayuki is an odd choice that ultimately doesn't pay off because the next time we see Obi acting as her bodyguard and helping out with her side of things isn't until those 2 years have already ended (and when Zen and co weren't even stationed too far from the Lilias crew so had Obi been with them, he could have easily just run over to help Shirayuki with no issue).

  And honestly, it just made me sad as hell to read through because I love Shirayuki as a character, and Obi is great as well. But they are just never allowed to be their own people anymore because they always, always have to be together for whatever reason. I'm sure the shippers love that, but I don't. And I will admit I feel more offended on Shirayuki's behalf because she's a grown woman who was just assigned a perpetual babysitter, is given no independence, and is treated like she can never take care of herself. I know people love the Shirayuki/Obi/Zen dynamic and how they both trust Obi with their lives, especially Zen who is fully aware that he has feelings for his girlfriend and has never been bothered by it. And sure, that is sweet, I've enjoyed them plenty myself. Still, it's the manufactured codependency of it all that's killing me. If Zen can't be there for Shirayuki (and he isn't there for 2 whole years), it automatically has to be Obi, no questions asked. While there are other characters Shirayuki is friends with, we're never able to see them have significant development with her because Obi is the default guy. Mitsuhide? Nope. Kiki, the only other main female character who Shirayuki had the potential to seriously bond with? Nope. The only character who comes close to Obi is Ryu, who also spends those 2 years with her, but even then, his moments with Shirayuki always have Obi off to the side as well so those are never truly unique to them.

  It's to the point where I genuinely think the series would be better if Obi and Shirayuki just got separated for a while so they could be their own people, form/deepen other connections, and grow into their own characters without being directly linked to each other. I mean, if Shirayuki can be separated from her actual boyfriend for 2 years, giving them less development at this point than she's had with Obi, then why not just let her and Obi do their own things for a bit?

  I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who cares about it this much but as I said, while this series still has plenty for me to enjoy, this one aspect of it is a major flaw that prevents me from fully loving it the way I once did.

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