

Inspired by the classic Brothers Grimm stories, this anthology features six fairy tales with a dark twist, exposing the shadowy side of human desire. (Source: Netflix)
dragynfaerie
April 17, 2024
The Grimm Variations starts with a bang and sadly ends with a whimper. Each of the 6 episodes is an adaptation of a story. They are Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Town Musicians of Bremen, and The Pied Piper of Hamelin. The adaptations are not your Disney stories, then again, neither were the real Grimm Brother's stories as the brothers wrote for adults not children. So let's get this out of the way.. the artwork is great. The music selections for each episode are supportive. Each episode is visually compelling. Now.. I am always happy tosee the darker side of Fairy Tails. Episodes 1 & 2 were deliciously dark. I've seen similar twists on Red Riding Hood, but Cinderella was completely new to me. Both episodes were well written. The both pull you in before you know it. Hansel & Gretel (episode 3) has The Promised Neverland vibes. In fact from appearance to atmosphere you will think it's a rip off for the first 30-35 minutes. Then, it throws a curve ball. Personally, I think it could have used a few more minutes for explaining. Episodes 4-6: This is where things started to go downhill for me. I don't know if the adaptation of The Town Musicians of Bremen (episode 5) was a good one because I know nothing of the story. I will say I didn't find it very entertaining. To me it's the weakest of the bunch. In 4 the Shoemaker becomes an author and the Pied Piper is ... I do not know what the piper is! Shoemaker was good story it just wasn't very interesting. A lot more could have been done with it. It borders on boring. The Pied Piper has many holes. Many Many holes. It was more than halfway over and I started wondering when the piper was going to start playing the damn flute! It's odd. I'm all for odd when it's done well. This really wasn't. I was ill prepared for the tiny acid trip / Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat scene that just jumped out of nowhere. Of course you may love it, but for me it was convoluted and offered more questions than it did answers. At 6 episodes lasting 48 minutes it's not a bad marathon. It's not bad, but it's not great (however it could have been). It doesn't live up to it's potential, but I'm sure all of us can say that about a few titles.

lukyknhas
April 17, 2024
Grimm Kumikyoku is a collection of some classic famous fairy tails, being retold with some alternative understanding of the characters and world set, giving them some new grim makeup, and sometimes adding a dark twist in the end, giving us some interesting new ways to read those classic old stories. Each episode is independent of each other, mainly focused on the structural reimagination of the stories being told, following a simple formula that kinda reminded me of the Junji Ito collections, but less grim and dark, and with much more effort put into the drawing quality. The writing was also very good, it hadsome weird moments with some stories, but overall, the way they reimagined the settings and character was fairly well done, with some ending up deeper and more complex than what i would imagine the original ones being The only problem its being so short, only 6 episodes, tho they all last for around 40 minutes each, it left wanting more. I hope they continue with more seasons, reimagining more of those classic stories in this same way.
Belsel
September 1, 2024
Seeing that this show barely has a 6.8 rating, I feel obliged to leave a review and, between a 9-10, give it a final rating of 10. The low rating is not a surprise, since it is already a common occurrence in Netflix anime (people are allergic to it or something and just rate it badly) and also in anime that are a bit more complex and different than the average, which is usually flooded with clone anime, fanservice, etc. That said, The Grimm Variations offers incredibly well-made, original and creative adaptations of classic tales. This is very difficult to do, it can even be harderthan starting a story from scratch. The differences are so great that they seem like completely new stories, and this is perfect, because only the most essential symbols in common with the original tales have been kept. I have seen people complain that the first two chapters are the best, and that from there it goes downhill. I'm sorry, but you are very unfair. The stories are different, with different approaches, and I'm glad that not all of them fall into horror, gore, etc. Each story has its strong points and invites deep reflection. I agree that the first chapters are great, and in fact you could make an entire anime just with Little Red Riding Hood, which is surely the most popular, but that's not the case. We have some stories that are more relaxed than others and it would be very boring to give them all the same approach, and this is where creativity and the nature of the stories themselves come into play, which lend themselves more to some changes than others. Even so, some elements in common in all the stories are manipulation, deception, madness and false beliefs, so to speak. The last chapter is great, and I like its subtlety... yes, I'm sure people expected all the people in the town to die or for Maria to throw herself off the cliff at the end, but it's not necessary. The chapter already has its dose of violence. I don't know what else you want. I also like the fourth chapter, although it is very relaxed... all the stories have an aura of mystery, of enigma and it leaves you with the feeling that at any second something unexpected can happen and leave you speechless. Finally, I want to highlight how in just 40 minutes the chapters allow you to connect perfectly with the protagonists and feel complete and satisfying. I find it incredible. I don't usually watch anthologies, or unconnected chapters of independent stories, and I didn't expect anything at all from this anime, but the surprise has been incredible. I couldn't stop watching them and they seemed much shorter than an anime with its standard duration of 12 chapters, to which this anime is more or less equivalent with its 6 chapters of 40-50 minutes (including opening and ending). My most sincere congratulations. Please, let them release more adaptations of classic tales. I didn't know 2 of the 6 stories, but there are many that I do know and I would love to see them adapted by the Grimm brothers.
HoneyHoundz
May 9, 2024
Let's cut to the chase, We got exactly what they were marketing this series as; Reworks of the famous Grimm Fairytales. Some of the episodes I found quite interesting but others became super confusing and hard to follow. It felt like for some it had completely lost the original concept and went beyond the story entirely. Don't get me wrong they were still very interesting and fun to watch but it took me a bit between each episode to like fully understand what I had just watched and piece the entire story together. I would say it is worth a shot if you do enjoyclassic fairytales and want to see them in a different perspective and setting.
DandaDanotaz
April 17, 2024
Although I’m not typically a huge fan of episodic anthology anime The grim variation stands out as one of the Strongest examples of the storytelling format I’ve seen to date! As you would expect from a series animated by Wit studio and character, designs by clamp, the grimm variations is a visual treat for the eyes! But what surprising about the series is how strong it is from a narrative perspective! With each of its episode telling A distinct and cohesive story that effectively reimagines the fairytale it was based off of! Overall, this series is something I highly recommend and I hope that othersfind as much enjoyment out of it as I did.
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