Snow White with the Red Hair

Episodes 1-2

As far as fairy tales go, Snow White isn't one of the great stories of an empowered princess, or even a particularly bright one. Even if you only know the version Disney popularized, you probably know that it's a story about a girl with skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony, and lips as red as blood who spends the denouement of her tale mostly dead in a glass or crystal coffin until a prince decides she's pretty enough to take home with him. Luckily for us, Snow White with the Red Hair's Shirayuki (which translates as “snow white”) is no one's damsel in distress, and about all she has in common with her fairy tale progenitor is her name. An herbalist rather than a princess, Shirayuki is living a comfortable life when Prince Raj, ruler of her kingdom, decides that she's pretty enough to take home with him. He's fascinated by her red hair (the color of Snow White's ill-fated apple), and would very much like it (and her) to belong to him. Shirayuki, however, is no one's object, and she cuts off her locks and flees the country.

At first this act might look very like the trope of the woman shearing off her hair in order to become a stronger woman, unhampered by the womanly flow of her tresses, but what it really is is a metaphorical middle finger to Prince Raj. She leaves her hair tied up in a ribbon for him, a signal that if all he cares about is this piece of her physical appearance, than he can have it – and that's it. Hair is a thing, she is a person, and she's not going to be his trophy. Shirayuki is quietly strong, proving again and again throughout these first two episodes that she can save herself, and even though she meets her prince charming in episode one, the second son of the neighboring kingdom, Prince Zen, she doesn't rely on his help. While he does come to help her in both episodes, she's already done most of the rescuing by the time he arrives, and I have no doubt that she could have finished the job without him...but having help is never a bad thing, and to make her too perfect would be a problem just as much as having her be helpless would have. In Zen's favor is the fact that he never announces that he has come to her rescue – sure, he's clearly a bit put out that she doesn't need him to really save her, but he's also willing to accept that she's capable on her own; in fact, that seems to be something he likes and respects about her. When we see her living in his kingdom's capital city in episode two, she's not at the palace with him (although his standing order to the guards that she's to be let in if she shows up would indicate that he might prefer otherwise), nor is she relying on him for sustenance: she's living in an apartment looking for a job. She is interested in working as a royal herbalist, but rather than asking Zen for an appointment, she decides to take the test for the position, which looks like it might be a plot point next week. Shirayuki has her own vision for her life and her own goals, and she doesn't let kidnapping or crazy princes get in her way.

While it is apparent that Zen has warmer feelings for Shirayuki than she does for him at this point, and while episode two did introduce Mihaya, another male around her age whom I would not be surprised to see again, thus far the story does not have the feeling of a romance. It likely will have a love story subplot (where a romance would be the entire plot), but Shirayuki's ambitions and wit seem more likely to form the backbone of the story, particularly given that episode two largely features her escape from Mihaya after he kidnaps her for her unusual hair, a plot point that is sadly telegraphed by two stevedores. At this point the two have a nice friendship.

The visuals in this show are a treat, with Disney-esque backgrounds of the world's prettiest fantasy kingdom and a pleasant simplicity to the character designs that avoids the fussiness that sometimes comes with the genre. It's a little odd that this very clearly medieval world has strike-the-box matches and oil lamps, but that's not likely to bother people who aren't me. The animation is beautifully fluid, particularly during action sequences, and even small details, like Shirayuki's hair wavering in the heat of a torch, are well done. The simplification of characters seen from a distance can get to be too much, and there's one scene involving Shirayuki and Zen leaning on a bridge railing that has odd perspective, but in general, this show looks really good.

Snow White with the Red Hair is basically anime's answer to the old Disney Afternoon – a beautifully animated television adventure. This Snow White is no one's glass coffin damsel, waiting for Prince Charming to come and jar the apple from her throat (or give her True Love's Kiss, if you prefer), but more like the heroines of Asbjørnsen and Moe's Norweigian tales, solving her own problems and getting things done. These first two episodes are a lot of fun to watch, and I look forward to seeing Shirayuki think her way out of future situations.

Rating: A-

Snow White with the Red Hair is currently streaming on Funimation.