Grimms Manga

  The classic tales by the Brothers Grimm have been turned to manga! And not the classic version, but rather unique remakes. The remake includes Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Two Brothers, and The Twelve Huntsmen.

Now, each chapter is a separate story. Except the last two, which are two parts of the Two Brothers. I enjoyed reading the manga since I love the stories told by the Brothers Grimm. Of course, I must admit that I only knew 3 of the 5 included. I am unfamiliar with the Two Brothers and The Twelve Huntsmen.

[Note that I will review each individual story rather than characters.]



Those that find themselves familiar with Little Red Riding Hood may know that Little Red gets eaten by the wolf(as does her grandmother) and then cut out by the hunter. A bit violent for a kids story, in my opinion, and I've always heard the version where only the grandmother gets eaten.

Anyway, this story is about Wolflete, a wolf boy who needs to become a true wolf. To do so, he has to kill a virgin. He meets Little Red, but after seeing how lovely she is and hearing about her grandmother, her decides to help his grandmother around the house by doings things like chopping wood(which he does with a bucket on his head so his ears don't show). When Little Red shows up with a hunter, the hunter tries to shoot him but Little Red convinces him otherwise. It then shows the two after some years and reveals that Wolflete has no desire to become a true wolf anymore. Instead he wants to protect Little Red.

Cute or what? Really, this is a nice twist on the classic story. Something I found myself enjoying. Wolflete, in a conversation with what I assume to be talking goats, ending up wondering if he would have to eat them one day(though he talks to them often). It's really a great story since Wolflete is so cute. I mean, when he asks the wolf what a virgin is after being told he had to eat one, he was thrown out and told to just eat a young girl. Lol. :P


This remake caught me off guard. The traditional story of Rapunzel is that she's a girl who is named after the plant her father steal to please her mother while pregnant. In return for the rapunzel, a witch gets her upon birth. Over the years, Rapunzel is raised in a tower with only a window as its entrance. Then she meets a handsome man that she ends up falling in love with. When the witch learns of this, she blinds the man and leaves Rapunzel on her own(or something like that. She ends up wandering around). When Rapunzel once again finds the man she fell in love with, she cries and her tears give him his sight back.

In this remake, Rapunzel is male. His parents were poor, so they stole the rapunzel to get by. Rapunzel's hair was still grown out long, and when he meets a girl who was singing, they end up spending time together and falling in love. Well, the girl ends up feeling ill. Her father discovers Rapunzel is the cause and goes to yell at him. Then the witch shows up. The girl's father yells at the witch who yells at him. In her fury she throw Rapunzel out the window and his hair gets caught in trees. A group of people cut his hair free and end up welcoming them into their village where he starts to grow(guess what?) rapunzel. Then a girl shows up and asks about him. The girl is pregnant with twins, and when she sees Rapunzel she runs to him. It's the girl he met in the tower. (And they lived happily ever after...)

It's a remake that caught me off guard. Let's begin with that. Rapunzel as a guy. Nice way to alter the story since Rapunzel was traditionally female. There really wasn't anything that struck me other than that. Of course, it was funny that the woman yelled at the girl not to run to Rapunzel since she was pregnant(though she ignored her). Other than that...nothing.

In the traditional Hansel and Gretel story, Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their parents in the forest. They leave a trail of bread crumbs, but the birds eat them. They come upon a gingerbread house and start to eat. And elderly woman welcomes them in and starts to fatten them up in order to eat them. Instead, they push her into the oven. Not as violent as Little Red Riding Hood, but still an example of weird fairy tales...



 If anything, this remake caught me off guard right away. At first I thought: Oh, Hansel must have been working hard, like people expect of someone in a poor family. He is probably the traditional hard-working caring individual with a good personality.
Then he struck a pose and went talking about his complexion and good looks. Well, his stepmother tricks his father into abandoning him and his younger sister Gretel in the forest. He learns of the plan and leaves stones so he can find his way back. They end up lost and come upon the gingerbread house. Only, an old lady does pop out. A young woman comes and yells at them for eating her masterpiece. Turns out she owns the land and is really rich. She ends up furnishing Hansel with many things to help his appearance. Gretel thinks she's a witch and wants to eat him, though(have to connect to the story somehow, right?). So, Gretel tries to get Hansel to leave, but he refuses. So, Gretel is put to work while Hansel lives in luxury. Gretel ends up getting Hansel to go back with her, and the woman gives them money to live. They find their father, who has left their stepmother, and live happily ever after.





The Twelve Huntsmen is a story I find myself unfamiliar with, so I do not know the remake or anything like that. If anything, I can say it was a fantastic love story in this manga version and I really loved it. It's something Shojo obsessers like myself can truly love.

Really, there's nothing I can say about this. My apologies. I would be able to say more if I was familiar with the traditional story.

I believe this was for part 1.

This was for part 2

In terms of The Two Brothers, it is another story I find myself unfamiliar with. I did enjoy it, though. I must say that I found the fight scenes especially confusing, but all fight scenes in manga tend to confuse me(that's why I like watching Shounen anime rather than reading the manga). Also, I was confused at first as to who Anna ends up with(I was like: Does she end up with Walter or that dude whose name starts with V?) That is all I can say on it, though. My apologies. It's upsetting for anyone who is unable to tell which brother is which.


 -Zeki