Anime is my second highest consumed media type behind music, and historical horror is my favorite subgenre so this – This is exactly where I needed to be for the two days it took me to binge The Grimm Variations mini-series.
Produced by Wit Studios, also responsible for some incredibly notable horror and sci-fi series like Attack on Titan (1-3) and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. This anthology-style series is based off of The Brothers Grimm Fairytales but somehow darker. Told from the perspective of a child with a twisted imagination.
Where to Watch
The Grimm Variations – Episode 1: Cinderella
Synopsis
After the death of Viscount Otawara’s wife, he takes a new bride along with her two children. Upon arrival, the stepdaughters are immediately smitten with their new life. They take and dine and allow themselves to fully integrate into a life of luxury. At the detriment of the servants of the house. Our Cinderella (Kyoko) takes to scheming a brilliant performance of manipulation and perfectly timed accidents. The twist of the tale is that Cinderella isn’t trapped with her evil step sisters, they’re trapped with her.
Thoughts
This was a wild ride. I loved Kyoko and her creepy disposition involving the people around her. The animation team had a big emphasis on her eyes. Many scenes showcased profoundly empathetic monologues while her eyes remained completely devoid of any sort of emotion. What I find interesting about this iteration is that there is a solid amount of nuance to the story. Kyoko doesn’t just decide to sabotage her sisters. In the beginning, she shows significant excitement for a new family, but it isn’t until the sisters say (in secret) that they intend to abuse Kyoko and the life they’ve been given, ripping the late Madames’ clothes and even abusing the staff provided for them. At least, that’s how it’s presented in the first half of the episode.
The two step-sisters aren’t introduced without their own struggles either. Despite their unmannered behavior, a lot of the habits come from a place of genuine hurt. The servants constantly gossip about them and their less-than-desirable upbringing and compare them to Kyoko at every turn. The servants go as far as to suggest they are the product of their mother being a Geisha and had no right to be involved with such a high-ranking family.
Cinderella is a high woman taking care of the lower class and playing twisted games only a child could conjure. At least that’s how the story is set up to play out… In the beginning.
As the episode goes on it’s visceral evident that something is very off about Kyoko. She has a distant view of people often comparing them to dolls and play toys. When I first started to notice this I thought it was going to be an Annabelle situation with some sort of possession subplot, but it was pivoted to a psychological misstep on Kyoko’s part and the disconnect she has with empathy.
Overall the story was crazy and I really enjoyed the artistic liberties they took on the original archetypes.
The Grimm Variations – Episode 2: Little Red Riding Hood
Synopsis
In a world dominated by a virtualistic technology that surpasses the realities of, well, reality the world bursts into technicolor for some and becomes a waking nightmare for others.
Thoughts
If you’ve ever watched black mirror this was like an oddly darker version of that. There has been considerable online discourse about the safety of AI and its potential uses. This episode was a good example of what happens when the whims of others are at their fingertips without any regulations in place.
The wolf’s club that we are introduced to early into the episode is the exact result of what having every whim catered to can look like. They are a group of serial killer men who wish for their lusts to be satiated via the virtual women they corner… At first.
If you’ve read any of my other articles you know I do not like sex and rape to be used as a pointless plot device or trick for shock value. This is a prime example of not being that. The things happening to the women involved are the entire point of the episode.
This, like the first episode, had a lot of layers to it. First and foremost is how women are often at the brute end of advancement and the statutory implications they are made to pay for it. Seconded was the class war in the deterioration of society.
It’s shown multiple times how rare real versions of mundane things are in that day and age from wine to wildlife. The scarcity of resources makes the virtual world so sought after, however, as we’ve seen within our own society. Too much exposure to stimulating content can cause the line of pleasure and overstimulation to blur. Now we need more. More shock, more hurt, more thrill.
This is what leads our main man to seek out a real-life “little red ridding hood” to hunt in a slum. His appetite is no longer satiated with killing virtual women and he craves more than his club can offer him. What’s a better way to showcase that there will always be a currency in crime including trafficking and drugs. Especially in low-income places.
At this point in the story, I find myself reflecting on the intersectionality of themes. Class wars, misogyny, and advancing technology have one terrifying thing in common. The exploitation of one group will always profit from another. Views are rightfully sickened by the actions of our main man, but the entire point is that he is doing exactly what the system was created for.
As long as he is willing to give what the society profits from, in this case, money and a shiny persona they can privatize, he has free reign to do as he wishes, even at the detriment of those who don’t have the resources available to them to protect themselves.
That’s where our leading lady comes through. It has been proven on and off screen that vigilant types are born out of necessity and this story is no different. Scarlet was picked out of a lineup of women who could have easily fallen into society’s desired role for their victimhood. She however was aware of the justice gap and found a way to fill it.
It can be argued that her line “either mine or someone else’s, it doesn’t matter to me” could prove that she was exactly like him and just wanted to kill someone. To that I say, that’s likely, however, the disconnect happens in her prey. She specifically targeted someone dangerous knowing full well it could go wrong for her. That is more of a vigilante archetype.
I won’t lie, this episode was hard to watch, but it was an amazing commentary on death and profit.
The Grimm Variations – Episode 3: Hansel and Gretel
Synopsis
In a home for orphaned children Hansel and Gretel exist within themselves finding solace in one another’s company.
Thoughts
I have to admit, this episode fell extremely flat for me. Given the layers and commentary on trauma from the other episodes, I was expecting something similar to this one. Even as the minutes ticked by I kept guessing what the twist would be.
Would it be a human cattle farm like The Promised Neverland, or would it be a commentary on the exploitation of children within the foster care system? Even as the technology was being introduced I spun wild stories in my mind of them being trained as a perfect generation like the “some” of the vaults in fallout.
The reality didn’t only disappoint, but I found myself wanting more explanation. The imaginary friend bit paired with the otherworldly themes was not explained nor expanded.
We along with Gretel were supposed to just accept it without question and believe that all was going to be well. The episode even ended before we even saw what “well” looked like to them.
This is not to say I was hoping for gore or exploitation, but the story of Hansel and Gretel is in itself a story of greed and how that can be someone’s downfall. This had some amazing opportunities to showcase that as the others had done.
If you squint really hard it could be argued that this was a subversion of that trope. However, if that was the case then why only have the plot revolve around Hansel finding out about the orphanage’s fesuade and not how or why that was necessary? Nor did it show what his purpose was in a budding world without greed.