List of ''Romeo × Juliet'' characters

This is a list of characters from Gonzo's Romeo × Juliet anime series. Although the series is loosely based on Shakespeare's original play many characters that were based on Shakespeare's original characters in Romeo & Juliet have gone through drastic changes concerning personality, relationships, role in the story and final outcome.

Main characters

Juliet (ジュリエット, Jurietto)
Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa (Japanese); Brina Palencia (English)

Juliet Fiammata Arst De Capulet is the last member of the Capulet family. She disguises herself as a boy, Odin, in order to avoid being caught by the usurping House of Montague, who still actively look for the Capulets. An excellent swordsman, she also masquerades as a vigilante, the Red Whirlwind, in order to aid the people oppressed by the rival Montagues. She unwittingly falls in love with Romeo, which leads to several complications for her. The Capulet house have a dark secret. Escalus, the tree which holds Neo Verona in the air, is dying; the daughters of the Capulet family are the seeds of the tree and thus must sacrificially merge with it in order to save the world. Juliet does that when she finds out Romeo is dying after being stabbed by Ophelia, and holds him in her arms and merges with the Escalus, descending the floating island of Neo Verona on ground level as well in the process.

In the series, Juliet is presented as a strong and intelligent young woman, she is loving, with a strong sense of justice and determination to lead the Capulet faction against the oppression of the corrupt Lord Montague. She falls deeply in love with Romeo and is stricken with the decision of being with Romeo or destroying Lord Montague. In the original play Juliet is shown as a shy, meek, and emotional young woman who immediately falls in love with Romeo when she meets him and does not care that he is a Montague. Her series counterpart backs away from Romeo after learning who he is, despite being deeply in love with him, but eventually gets over it.

Romeo (ロミオ, Romio)
Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima (Japanese); Chris Burnett (English)

Romeo Candore De Montague is the son of Lord Leontes Montague and Lady Portia and heir to the throne of Neo Verona. For political reasons, he has been forced into an unwanted engagement with Hermione, a young noblewoman. As a nobleman, he rides and owns a white dragon steed named Cielo whom he later freed. In contrast to his father, he is obedient and kindhearted, often disapproving of his family's tyranny. He is ostracized by the nobility save for his friend, Benvolio. He falls in love with Juliet at first sight. In the end after the battle against Montague, Romeo along with Juliet's allies free Juliet from Escalus, but is fatally stabbed by Ophelia. When he dies, Juliet decides to merge with Escalus, whilst holding Romeo in her arms so she can save Neo Verona and uphold her vow to Romeo.

In the series, Romeo is the crown prince of Neo Verona, and a confident, polite young man. He has little respect for his Montague heritage because of his father's tyranny. Unlike his counterpart in the source material, Romeo first encounters Juliet at a party hosted by his family, whereas in the play, he had secretly gone to a Capulet party in hopes of seeing Juliet's cousin, Rosaline. He holds nothing against the Capulet family and falls in love with Juliet, wishing only for them to be happy and safe.

Montagues

Lord Montague (モンタギュー, Montagyū)
Voiced by: Kōji Ishii (Japanese); Sean Hennigan (Adult), Luci Christian (Young Leontes) (English)

Leontes Van De Montague is the ruthless, tyrannical, Machiavellian Prince of Neo Verona. He, an illegitimate Capulet offspring, and his mother (a prostitute) was born and raised into poverty. The death of his mother sparks his unrelenting and ferocious grudge against the Capulet name and his ambitions for being Duke. He acts coldly to all around him, only seeming to care about the Great Tree Escalus. His main goal in the series is to find Lord Capulet's surviving child and kill her before the people still loyal to the Capulets can rebel. He is killed late in the series by a mad Mercutio, moments before surrendering to Juliet. His given name, Leontes, is also shared by the main character of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

In the play, Lord Montague is only a minor character appearing in only a few scenes of the play. While present, he is shown as being a caring and overprotective father to his son, showing no interest in destroying the Capulets but desiring for them to leave the Montagues alone instead. In the series, he is shown as the main antagonist and acts as Duke of Neo Verona instead of just being the head of his own household.

Lady Portia (ポーシア, Pōshia)
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Dana Schultes (English)

Portia Clemenzia de Ebe is Romeo's mother, who reluctantly left him and the Montague name to live at a convent to avoid associating herself with the bloody and cruel ambitions of her husband. She's a kind, intelligent and understanding woman who prays for Romeo's happiness. Giving him Cielo as a present when she left. Her name is possibly derived from the clever and wealthy heiress of The Merchant of Venice and the wife of Brutus from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Romeo's mother is known only as Lady Montague in the original play and appears only a few scenes; she is depicted as an overprotective and loving mother who dies of heartbreak when she learns of her son's banishment before the end of the play. In the series, Lady Montague is named Portia and remains a loving mother who wishes for her son's happiness; however, she holds no loyalty to the Montagues, when she saw how power-mad he was, and harbors no hostility to the Capulet faction, and shows sympathy and kindness to Juliet.

Benvolio (ペンヴォーリオ, Benvōrio)
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tachibana (Japanese); Sean Michael Teague (English)

Benvolio de Frescobaldi is one of Romeo's close friends. He is the son of the mayor of Neo Verona and one of the few people concerned with Romeo's well-being. He often acts as Romeo's voice of reason and moderation. He and his family are later stripped of their nobility and go into hiding with the help of Juliet and her friends. Late in the series, he falls in love with, and weds Cordelia. During the epilogue to the last episode, Benvolio and Cordelia are seen with their newborn baby.

Benvolio's character has changed little in the adaptation and remains a level-headed and well-mannered friend to Romeo. However, he is not Romeo's cousin and a member of the Montague family, like in the play.

Vittorio (ヴィシトーリオ, Vishitorio)
Voiced by: Eiji Miyashita (Japanese); Joel McDonald (English)

Vittorio di Frescobaldi is Benvolio's father, leader of the House of Frescobaldi and mayor of Neo Verona, and an old friend of Conrad's, who held reservations concerning Montague's rule. He was a member of the moderate faction of the Montague dictatorship, with a large amount of administrative authority as the mayor of Neo Verona. He is later stripped of his title and nobility and even slated for assassination by Lord Montague, for allowing the Red Whirlwind to create civil discontent throughout Neo Verona. He is reestablished as the mayor at the end of the story.

Mercutio Marchege (マキューシオ, Makyūshio)
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese); Christopher Bevins (English)

An ambitious and sly noble who wishes to become Leontes's heir due to his apparent resentment of his father. He is contemptuous of the common people. Late in the series, he is adopted as Leontes's new heir but is unprepared for the bloody initiation, whose climax was Titus' death at the hands of Leontes. His inability to act in his father's defense traumatizes him and later leads to insanity. He acts as a spy for Lord Montague to unearth why Romeo is acting oddly, and is trying to ensure that Leontes will disown his son for loving Juliet so he can become Leontes's heir. Despite showing a degree of loyalty to Romeo he only shows it to weasel up to Leontes. After Leontes slays his father in a duel for blackmailing him, he accepts Mercutio as his new heir but the condition causes him to go hysterical, leading him to stabbed Leontes as Juliet and Tybalt commands their surrendered.

In the play, Mercutio is not Romeo's rival but his and Benvolio's mutual best friend, and acts as reckless free spirited jokester, who truly cares for Romeo but lets his own hot-bloodedness override his weariness of the feud ('A plague on both your houses!').

Titus (タイタス, Taitasu)
Voiced by: Jin Urayama (Japanese); Sonny Strait (English)

Mercutio's father who is an alcoholic degenerate of the court. He earned his position by secretly ordering the assassinations of nearly everyone with knowledge of Leontes's origins. But when Romeo is exiled to the countryside, Titus arrogantly blackmails Leontes to make Mercutio his new heir if he doesn't want his past to be revealed. For betraying him, Leontes kills Titus in a duel and claiming his death was accidental. Three characters in Shakespeare's plays have the name "Titus", the most well-known being the title character of the violent Titus Andronicus.

Hermione (ハーマイオニ, Hāmaioni)
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese); Carrie Savage (English)

Hermione Borromeo is a young noblewoman who is betrothed to Romeo in a political marriage at the Rose Ball. Sweet, sheltered and gentle, she appears to be genuinely in love with him though he doesn't reciprocate her feelings for him. However, she's also very passive-aggressive, having the tendency to keep her negative feelings or thoughts for herself, only to unleash them later. She holds a hatred for Juliet however upon meeting Juliet and seeing her genuine love for Romeo and compassion for herself, Hermione comes to be at peace with her. Hermione seems to be a stand-in for Count Paris from the play, though she is female and is a Montague ally. Hermione could also be lifted from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale; the Hermione of that play is entangled in a conflict over adultery.

Capulets

Lord Capulet

Voiced by: Satoshi Taki (Japanese); Scott Freeman (English)

Lord Capulet is Juliet's father. He is the former Prince of Neo Verona before his death at the hands of Leontes' 14 years prior to the start of the story. He provided caregiving to the Great Tree Escalus. His last wish was for Juliet's survival.

Cordelia

Voiced by: Miyu Matsuki (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)

Cordelia is Juliet's caretaker and acts as an older sister/motherly figure to Juliet. Later on in the series, she falls in love with Benvolio and eventually weds him, and is then known as Cordelia Frescobaldi. Cordelia is an allusion to the Nurse in the original play however unlike in the original play Cordelia acts more like an older sister to Juliet as opposed to the motherly figure in the original play.

Conrad

Voiced by: Katsuhisa Houki (Japanese); R Bruce Elliott (English)

Conrad is a wise elder, and loyalist to Capulet. He saved a child Juliet from Montague's forces when Leontes attempted to slaughter the entire Capulet household. Over the years, he had Juliet dressed up as a boy to conceal her identity until the time comes to act of restoring the Capulet's honor and overturn Leontes, and will not stop until he achieves it.

Antonio

Voiced by: Ryō Hirohashi (Japanese); Maxey Whitehead (English)

Antonio is Conrad's grandson. He helps out Juliet time to time when she dresses up as the vigilante known as the 'Red Whirlwind' to bring justice to Leontes's unfair treatment towards Neo Verona's citizens. It is also hinted that Antonio has a crush on Regan, as he often blushes around her.

Francisco

Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)

Francisco is a flirt and is especially popular among women. He constantly makes fun and teases Curio every now and then. Francisco is also in love with Juliet, but he hides his feelings in favor of Romeo and Juliet's mutual love towards each other.

Curio

Voiced by: Kousuke Toriumi (Japanese); Robert McCollum (English)

Curio is a serious warrior of the Capulets and is constantly annoyed by Francisco when he pokes fun at him. He lost one of his eyes during an accident with Juliet rebelling against Leontes' forces. Like Francisco, he is in love with Juliet, but ultimately decides to bury his feelings in favor of Romeo.

Tybalt (ティボルト, Tiboruto)

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese); Mike McFarland (English)

Tybalt Volumnia De Capulet is the child of Leontes Montague and Volumnia Capulet, Juliet's aunt, making him Juliet's older cousin and Romeo's older half-brother. Tybalt harbours a strong hatred towards Leontes due to the fact that Volumnia died after giving birth to him. He rides a black dragon steed. Unlike his original counterpart, Tybalt is shown to be much calmer and only loses his temper when Leontes is mentioned. He also acknowledges Romeo as his younger brother. After Romeo's death, Tybalt takes care of Petruchio's siblings.

In the original play Tybalt was presented as a hot-headed and arrogant young man with a fierce loyalty to the Capulets who is eventually killed in combat with Romeo after killing Mercurio. In the series he is presented as more of a anti-hero with a much calmer disposition acting as a supporter to the Capulet rebels but with his own motives.

Other characters

Emilia (エミリア, Emiria)
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Larissa Wolcott (English)

An actress infatuated with Juliet's disguise, Odin. Pretty and youthful, she invites Odin as Juliet to the Rose Ball where Juliet meets Romeo for the first time. She remains unaware of Odin's true identity until much later in the series. Her name may be a reference to several characters in Shakespeare's plays, including Othello, The Winter's Tale, and The Two Noble Kinsmen.

Ophelia (オフィーリア, Ofīria)

Voiced by: Junko Iwao (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)

A mysterious woman who tends to the Great Tree Escalus. She has a sad, doll-like face with strange marks on her forehead and cheeks, and speaks in a rather polite and mysterious manner. Her true identity is never revealed, but it is implied that she is the physical human form of Escalus, as whenever the tree further rots, so does she. She also appears to be ageless as she looks the same as she did fourteen years ago. She reveals that since Montague's reign over Neo Verona began, the Great Tree Escalus has been slowly decaying, particularly since its companion tree died when Montague took the throne. When Juliet is captured by Montague, she encounters Ophelia during her escape; Ophelia plants within Juliet the means to save Neo Verona, though at the cost of Juliet's life. She mortally wounds Romeo shortly before being vanquished by him. Her name is likely a nod to the heroine of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Hamlet.

Camilo (カミロ, Kamiro)
Voiced by: Saito Jiro (Japanese); Christopher Ayres (English)

Conrad's good friend who betrayed him by giving information regarding the Capulets' hideout to the Montagues. He is later found by Juliet, Francisco, and Curio to be in luxurious housing alongside a disgruntled Tybalt, whom he helped to raise. After being threatened by the latter, he flees from his mansion. Camilo's name is likely a nod to the character from The Winter's Tale, a character who defected from his liege King Leontes after Camilo was ordered to kill King Polixenes.

Petruchio (ペトルーキオ, Petorūkio)
Voiced by: Akio Suyama (Japanese); Dan Forsythe (English)

A weak young man who works in one of the Montagues' mines and is saved from being crushed by Romeo. He and Romeo eventually become friends. Originally sent to the mines for stealing bread for his starving family, he is desperate to return to Neo Verona because his younger brother and sister are still there. Petruchio dies from illness, albeit peacefully, after Romeo promises to give his siblings a ride on his dragon steed, which leaves Romeo visibly distraught. After Montague's death and his self banishment from Neo Verona, Romeo asks Tybalt to find and care for Petruchio's siblings. Petruchio's name is likely a nod to the character from The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare's early comedies. Petruchio also is the name of a ghost character in Romeo and Juliet, identified as a Capulet and a companion of Tybalt.

Giovanni (ジョヴァンニ, Jyovanni)
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese); Greg Dulcie (English)

A miner who looks out for Romeo during his stay at the mines. While he admires Romeo's idealistic dream of creating a world where people can live together without sacrifices, Giovanni also believes that Romeo has chosen a long and difficult path to pursue. He often acts as leader for the village in Romeo's absence. His name is possibly a reference to the poet Giovanni Battista Giraldi, who authored works that provided the plots for Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and Othello.

The Old Man (老人, Rōjin)
Voiced by: Kazuo Oka (Japanese); T. A. Taylor (English)

A mysterious yet sage man who frequently smokes from a long pipe, he is suggested, like Ophelia, to bear some connection to Escalus. He acts as Romeo's spiritual adviser, mentioning that the noble will have to someday shoulder Juliet's fate. The Old Man is possibly an allusion to Friar Lawrence, a character with somewhat similar motivations.

Balthazar

Voiced by: Ikuo Nishikawa (Japanese); Mark Stoddard (English)

Balthesar is the owner of a villa in Mantua. He welcomed Juliet and her followers into his villa for a brief period of time.

Regan

Voiced by: Chiwa Saito (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)

Regan is Balthesar's granddaughter. She is a serious girl who is a little bossy and shares many similar attributes with Hermione. She likes to be treated like a girl and has a talent for acting.

William (ウィリアム, Wiriamu)
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English)

William de Farnase, a flamboyant playwright whose works have not been well-received by audiences. He's nicknamed "Willy" by his actors and stagehands. He allows Juliet and her entourage to use his theater for shelter. He knows that Juliet is deeply and painfully in love, calling her "the maiden who gave up on love", and wants to make a play base on tragedy where both lovers die. The character itself is a caricature of William Shakespeare.

See also

• Characters in Romeo and Juliet

External links

• Romeo × Juliet characters (in Japanese)