The Grimm Variations Review & Episodes Ranked: A Mixed Bag of Fantasy Anime Goodness

The Shoemaker is the least interesting episode of The Grimm Variations. Here, the shoemaker is replaced with a struggling novelist living in a small apartment in modern-day Japan, which strangely feels more cliché than the original fairytale.

The story opens with us following the once-prodigal novelist, N, as he wallows in drunken self-pity.

He comes across a mysterious young girl who criticizes his writing, and then, when he wakes up the next morning, discovers a new story waiting on his desk.

This episode does offer an interesting psychological angle as N struggles to come to terms with the praise and success accumulated through stories he didn’t write.

However, in comparison to the rest of The Grimm Variations, there is little in the way of originality here.

In this episode, the classic tale of the Pied Piper is moved to a tiny and isolated medieval farming village.

Here, a male teacher’s infatuation with his soon-to-be-wed female student leads him to try enticing her with a mysterious artifact given by a passing traveler.

Pied Piper starts quite slowly. In a seemingly prude village, Maria stands out with her bright looks and curious intellect. However, she is a rare shining light in an otherwise grey and quite static opening.

As the teacher starts to get creepier, and the mysterious traveler’s artifacts begin to show their allure, the story starts to pick up some momentum.

Ultimately, though, this episode, as with The Shoemaker, struggles due to its most interesting characters not getting the screen time they probably deserved.

However, in the case of The Pied Piper, that issue is rectified with an incredible, almost out-of-nowhere ending with eye-popping animation that’s not to be missed for sakuga fans.

Arguably the most ambitious of The Grimm Variations, this episode sees the iconic folk tale receive a cyberpunk-style twist.

Set in a futuristic world where rich people use eye drops to create AR experiences, an elite group known as Wolves hunt women for sport.

One particular wolf, Grey, becomes obsessed with the act of killing and is sent to hunt a girl in a red hood named Scarlet.

As you may be able to guess, Red Riding Hood is by far the most gruesome of the episodes. It’s surprising just how much blood and gore is shown – this episode alone should probably come with a content warning.

Beyond that, there is a lot here that sci-fi anime fans will know and love: a strong class system; elites operating outside the law; questions around life and immortality; a ‘common people’ living in run-down buildings on the outskirts of the city who look down upon the snobbish elites.

The idea of eye drops being used to create an illusory world feels particularly fresh, but there are a lot of sci-fi elements here that, while interesting for a moment, also feel very undercooked in the runtime allotted.

Scarlet is an excellent character, though, and there’s enough in the story around her and Grey to get your teeth into (in more ways than one).

The opening episode of The Grimm Variations offers arguably the easiest twist on its fairytale origin.

Here, the story is transported to the elites of 20th-century Japan but largely follows the same beats as the Brothers Grimm version.

The twist here is that, instead of being forced into hardship by her two step-sisters, Kiyoko volunteers that life to herself, pledging to do everything she can to make her new family’s life pleasurable.

It’s a simple twist but what follows is a very intriguing psychodrama as the stepsisters begin to suspect something might be up with Kiyoko.

Cinderella benefits from some beautiful animation, with gorgeous characters and dresses illuminating much of the episode.

The family drama, while slightly rushed, is well executed overall and makes the episode feel like a genuinely refreshing twist on one of the world’s most famous stories.

Hansel and Gretel starts with eerie similarities to The Promised Neverland. The siblings are two unruly siblings in a dystopian boarding school on the outskirts of a forest, where mum and dad are in charge.

With detention not stopping their misdemeanors, the siblings are forced to spend a night in the forest, where they come across an old cottage with sweets and a witch.

So far, so very Hansel and Gretel. What unfolds beyond that point is an incredibly ambitious mystery far detached from the fairytale origin, as the children’s world expands far beyond their wildest imaginations.

Despite having an incredibly large scope, this episode pulls it off with remarkable care and detail, balancing more characters and plotlines than most other episodes.

The ending comes with a massive twist that, despite not fully landing, feels satisfyingly ambitious given everything that comes before.

Based on the story of domestic animals running away to become musicians, this story follows a group of four women all leaving various lives behind to form a mismatched group of travelers.

The group – initially consisting of Donkey, Cat, and led by ex-deputy Dog – comes across a town where a gang has taken up residence in the local saloon.

Bremen, more than any other of The Grimm Variations, feels like an anime that’s dying to be made.

The trio of stylish, weapon-wielding travelers are electric whenever they appear on screen, either individually or as a collective.

All have intriguing backstories portrayed quickly and simply, making them feel like people we’ve known for ages.

This episode is also where CLAMP’s character designs really come to the fore. The sci-fi-western setting doesn’t need explaining when you’re watching such beautiful illustrations shoot across the screen.

The episode has the pacing of a one-shot manga – while there are certainly bits being skimmed over, there’s a strong and engaging throughline that pulls us through, and the ending is satisfying enough.

However, there will always be a demand for more when the characters are this interesting.

Surely, if Grimm Variations gets a second season, we will see The Town Musicians of Bremen part 2? For now, all we can do is hope.