This is not to be confused with the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colours, of which there is no relation to whatsoever. It is an easy mistake to make when you read the episode's title and are not already familiar with the original story. Having had read the original story, which is actually titled the less-easy-to-be-confused-with 'Allerleirauh', this wasn't a problem for me. The story is worth reading and distinctive Brothers Grimm, it is quite unsettling in parts but it's very charming as well.
Absolutely loved what this uneven but fascinating and mostly very well done anime series did with 'Allerleirauh' (which also is very similar to Charles Perrault's 'Donkeyskin'). There are differences, but not in a way where the story is unrecognisable. Far from it in fact. The differences were not a detriment and actually thought 'The Coat of Many Colours' benefitted from them. In quite a number of ways it is a change of pace from the fairy tales that are most known and adored and that is a good thing.
Some of the drawing is a touch scrappy at times but there is hardly anything to be critical here and that was somewhat of a nit-pick on my part than an objective flaw.
It was great though that the two elements that tend to be a mixed bag on 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater' are not problematic here. The music doesn't sounded recycled or out of date and the tone and placement are just right. The voice acting is some of the series' best, have always loved the narrator's voice especially (the voice work throughout the whole series that is consistently good). Some less than scrappy drawing aside, the animation has some beautiful and atmospheric colours with some quite nightmarish imagery at the start that one doesn't expect and the backgrounds are rich in detail.
None of the writing comes over as too simple or dumbed down for adults and not confusing for children, the darkness that some of the original story has remains without traumatising and did appreciate that there was a real (successful) effort to make it accessible, 'Allerleirauh' is not the easiest of stories to make accessible for whole families. The story starts on a very dark and scary note, not a bad thing as the original story does too (though not this much admittedly) and the series has gotten quite nightmarish numerous times before (i.e. 'Bluebeard').
The charm is still here and it was nice to actually see more of Aleia and Alexander's chemistry and see it develop more, this was an aspect that always felt rushed in the story and many other fairy tales. The story is also quite deep, with some beautiful moments like Aleia and the dresses, which are extraordinary to look at, and the mix of emotions in sadness and happiness. The ending is satisfying and a little less pat. Aleia is poignantly relatable throughout and Alexander is one of the most likeable, most sympathetic and least shallow princes in the whole series. One would be hard pressed to find a scarier king in the series than the one at the beginning.
Overall, one of the best of the series. 9/10
Absolutely loved what this uneven but fascinating and mostly very well done anime series did with 'Allerleirauh' (which also is very similar to Charles Perrault's 'Donkeyskin'). There are differences, but not in a way where the story is unrecognisable. Far from it in fact. The differences were not a detriment and actually thought 'The Coat of Many Colours' benefitted from them. In quite a number of ways it is a change of pace from the fairy tales that are most known and adored and that is a good thing.
Some of the drawing is a touch scrappy at times but there is hardly anything to be critical here and that was somewhat of a nit-pick on my part than an objective flaw.
It was great though that the two elements that tend to be a mixed bag on 'Grimm Masterpiece Theater' are not problematic here. The music doesn't sounded recycled or out of date and the tone and placement are just right. The voice acting is some of the series' best, have always loved the narrator's voice especially (the voice work throughout the whole series that is consistently good). Some less than scrappy drawing aside, the animation has some beautiful and atmospheric colours with some quite nightmarish imagery at the start that one doesn't expect and the backgrounds are rich in detail.
None of the writing comes over as too simple or dumbed down for adults and not confusing for children, the darkness that some of the original story has remains without traumatising and did appreciate that there was a real (successful) effort to make it accessible, 'Allerleirauh' is not the easiest of stories to make accessible for whole families. The story starts on a very dark and scary note, not a bad thing as the original story does too (though not this much admittedly) and the series has gotten quite nightmarish numerous times before (i.e. 'Bluebeard').
The charm is still here and it was nice to actually see more of Aleia and Alexander's chemistry and see it develop more, this was an aspect that always felt rushed in the story and many other fairy tales. The story is also quite deep, with some beautiful moments like Aleia and the dresses, which are extraordinary to look at, and the mix of emotions in sadness and happiness. The ending is satisfying and a little less pat. Aleia is poignantly relatable throughout and Alexander is one of the most likeable, most sympathetic and least shallow princes in the whole series. One would be hard pressed to find a scarier king in the series than the one at the beginning.
Overall, one of the best of the series. 9/10