Boarding School Juliet, Vol. 1

Boarding School Juliet #1

by Yousuke Kaneda

The Romeo and Juliet high school rom-com that inspired the upcoming anime! Rival dorms on an extravagant island campus fight a schoolyard war, but can two star-crossed lovers keep their budding relationship a secret?

Two Dorms, Both Alike in Dignity

The prestigious Dahlia Academy educates the elite of society from two countries: to the East is the Nation of Touwa; across the sea, the Principality of West. The nations, though, are fierce rivals, and their students are constantly feuding--which means Romio Inuzuka, head of Touwa's first-year students, has a problem. He's fallen for his counterpart from West, Juliet Persia, and when he can't take it anymore, he confesses his feelings. Now Romio has two problems: a girlfriend, and a secret...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Young Adult, Retellings, Graphic Novels, Slice Of Life, Humor

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2015

About the author

Also known as 金田陽介

Reviews

[Elizabeth (Elzburg) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend that you read the one-shot before starting this series, and read my review of the one-shot before reading this review because I’m going to reference back to the one-shot a lot (without overt spoilers). Links to all of my reviews for this series are also at the bottom of this review.

This manga was a great time. I quite enjoyed the one-shot and I equally enjoyed this.

It’s about a boarding school that’s on an island that sits in between two warring/in conflict countries. Because of its location it houses students from both countries, and the students attitudes towards each other reflect that of their home countries. Romeo and Juliet are the respective leaders of the two sides, but Romeo actually has a crush on Juliet. (What happens next isn’t a spoiler because it’s the basis of the conflict for the entire series and is established in the very first chapter. It’s also in the official synopsis.) They end up getting together and must now find a way to balance their relationship and make sure they don’t get found out lest they become ostracised by everyone in the academy.

This first volume of the manga cleared some things up that were left somewhat blurry in the one-shot, which I really appreciated. Like now we have a more legitimate reason for why the two groups of people are fighting. Before it was the Japanese vs the Brits which was somewhat awkward because of the blatant racism, but now it’s more like two somewhat vague countries who are in conflict, so it has more reason behind it.

We also get to see their relationship from the beginning now. In the one-shot it jumped right to a random day where they were already dating, so we didn’t see how they actually got into that mess in the first place. But now we see it. And it’s actually kind of… Hm. I have some thoughts about it, but I’m not 100% sure how to feel about it. It might be a bit spoilery, so consider wisely whether or not you want to click the spoiler tag.

So, Romeo confesses to Juliet, and even though she herself doesn’t have any romantic feelings towards him she ends up just going along with it and agreeing to date him. First of all, it seems highly unrealistic that she would go through with such a humongous risk since she didn’t even necessarily reciprocate his feelings. Secondly, even if we put the constant possibility of being found out and becoming shunned by the entire student body aside, I think what Juliet is doing is a very bad idea. And I’m saying this from personal experience.

I too have been in a situation where someone liked me and I didn’t really have any romantic feelings towards them, but I just went along the ride anyway. To relay my experience in short: It did not end well. So the whole time as I was reading, I was seeing this sort of reluctance in Juliet which stemmed from her not really having any prior reciprocal feelings towards Romeo, but she still was trying to go with the flow and make it work for his sake. It was quite unnerving for me to read, and it is one of the things that held me back from fully enjoying the volume. What they're doing will only end up in both parties getting hurt and feeling unsatisfied in the end. From my experience I say that it’s best not to get mixed up in this kind of thing, and to only date someone who you actually have feelings for.

So, basically, good luck Juliet. I feel like it will probably end up well in the end since this is a fictional story, but the situation is still highly unnerving. On the plus side, I’ve never read anything like this in fiction before, so at least it’s unique in that regard, since in my review of the one-shot I talked about how one of its downfalls was how it wasn’t really all that original.

In summary of that spoiler-tag: I have some mixed feelings about the basis of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.

The two things that made me really like the one-shot were the art and the comedy. This volume was still pretty funny, so that was good. In the beginning I tried to keep a tally of every time it made me giggle or laugh, but I ended up stopping that and just enjoying the ride.

I’m not sure if the art declined though, because during the one-shot I found myself constantly ogling the art and character designs, but here in the manga the art never really stood out as much to me. It was still good, but not as super-standout as it felt in the one-shot. Who knows, maybe I just got more used to it? On the other hand, My Hero Academia has my favourite art of all time, and I never get tired of it or stop appreciating it every time I read a volume. So yeah. I dunno.

Overall Juliet of Boarding School is a really good, funny, and enjoyable manga. I’m excited to keep reading and to see where the author takes this concept and series.


Please give this review a "Like" if you've made it this far, and follow me if you want more!

Click to read all of my Juliet of Boarding School Reviews:
One-shot
Volumes: 1*, 2, 3, 4

*Current review

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot - 5
Character - 5
Writing Style - 4
World Building - 4
Art - 5
Cover - 5

Overall - 4.7 / 5

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick, fun read! I absolutely HATE Romeo and Juliet, so I was hesitant to read a manga that is borrowing the feuding aspect of the story, but I was pleasantly surprised with this manga. It is by no means original, but the characters are funny, the comedy is spot-on, and the artwork is quite pretty. I find the budding relationship between Inuzaka and Persia very sweet and innocent and can't wait to see how it will progress. I will say that a lot was packed in only five chapters, but it was fun nonetheless. I thoroughly enjoyed this volume and look forward to volume 2!

[Aurore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un shojo ultra classique qui a aussi bien les points forts que les points faibles du shojo... Je l'ai lu sur une recommandation mais je pense que ce n'est tout simplement pas mon genre 😊

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artwork is great, premise is great, execution; not so much. It’s ok, but not one I will be continuing with. 3, middle of the road, stars.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this a lot more than I originally expected to. It’s very pure and fuzzy which is a nice change and the art style is gorgeous. I already own the rest of what’s out in physical so I’ll definitely have to binge this one. Persia and Inuzuka are so fucking adorable. Also the side characters are interesting so I can’t wait to learn more about them too.

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

Enemies to lovers but not in typical Romeo and Juliet fashion. Two countries with two dorms at each others' throats. Romio helplessly in love with Juliet so he never fights her properly. It was violent, funny and I like the art. More Romeo and Juliet meets high school gang war. Towards the end it started getting annoying with princess Char and her obedience blackmail. The miscommunication twinged a nerve. Overall it was cute and it doesn't look like anyone will end up dead in this one. Eh, maybe the couple of guys that tried the sexual assault route. Not looking forward to the friend finding out.

[Marlana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really just could not bring myself to care about the characters or the plot of this manga. Maybe it's because I really love Shakespeare or maybe it's just because there is no tension in the manga.

I'm being generous giving this one a three. It probably was more like 2.5 stars from me.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and silly.

[Fai · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright, and I honestly rate it between 2 and 3 stars. It has some fun and sweet moments, but I don't think it's compelling enough for me to continue reading the series.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga was very unexpected for me. If you love the Romeo + Juliet movie but with a boarding school setting with a slice of life aspect, I am sure you will probably enjoy this. This had so many different characters that can take the series in so many different directions, although I hope I don't get anyone confused for other people(which almost happened a couple of times so I am hoping it gets better). This has some mature moments so I recommend this for the 16+ age bracket not younger. I also wonder how the plot is going to go but its not overwhelming in the sense that I do not want to continue on (I really do). Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the Better Drawn Mangas.

Good artwork, crazy, sometimes chaotic story. I love the artwork that's Manga. While I choose this book as a quick read, it is enjoyable and worth the time spent reading. There are a few pictures I'm going to practice drawning.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Decent first book. Cute. I like the main characters. Good art. I will order in more from the library soon.

[Mira Belle · Rating 2 out of 5]

(My brain be like : 🤯)

Bon, je l'ai lu parce que mon ami me l'avait prêté et qu'il savait que j'étais une grande fan de Roméo et Juliette sous presque tous ses supports (pièce, texte, comédie musicale...)
Mais honnêtement, c'était pas folichon. (⊙ˍ⊙)

Et je vais expliquer pourquoi, par contre, ça risque de spoiler.

Le scénario, excuse-moi l'auteur, mais c'est du bullshit, rien ne va quand t'y réfléchis bien :

- Une école qui rassemble des élèves de deux pays en guerre ??? Comment tu peux espérer que ça se passe bien... ?
- Les personnages, par la suite, après s'être avoué leurs sentiments (plutôt Romio qui s'est confessé à Juliet d'ailleurs), ils décident de garder leur relation secrète par peur d'être rejetés des autres élèves mais en même temps ils osent prétendre qu'ils veulent changer la société... D'accord, une cohérence, t'as peur.
La relation secrète ne me dérange pas, ce qui me dérange c'est qu'ils disent rouge et font vert.
- Le personnage de Juliet... Sérieux... Je vois ce que l'auteur a voulu faire, mais pourquoi tu la fais péter un câble après qu'elle se soit faite agressée par des élèves des Black Doggy (d'ailleurs, le nom des dortoirs, no comment. Les Black Doggy VS les White Cats.)... Littéralement, elle nous fait une crise de larmes devant Romio, parce qu'elle ne supporte pas l'idée qu'il lui soit venu en aide par "compassion"... ? Heu... ? Quoi ? Alors soi-disant qu'elle veut être forte et blablabla, elle ne veut pas que son plus grand rival la voit comme une petite chose fragile à défendre... Oui, enfin, faut pas mélanger les pommes et les oranges, c'est juste de l'assistance à personne en danger hein, la compassion ou la pitié n'ont rien à voir là-dedans.
Et le pire, c'est que le mec s'excuse...
Ah d'accord, la prochaine fois tu la regarderas se faire violer ou pire, hein.

Bon voilà pour les lacunes du scénario. (Il y a d'autres choses qui m'ont dérangée... J'ai compté le nombre de fois où on voit des boobs, des fesses ou des culottes : 9 et plus.... 👍 J'ai toujours eu horreur de ça dans les mangas, maintenant c'est un style particulier propre à la culture du manga, ce sont des codes qui appartiennent à un genre précis, on ne peut rien y faire.)

Les dessins, en revanche, sont suffisamment jolis pour que la lecture coule toute seule, puis j'ai rigolé par moment, on va pas se le cacher. Le scénario est tellement wtf qu'il nécessite de mettre son cerveau en pause pour apprécier le voyage.
Le couple que forment Romio et Juliet, hormis cette histoire de relation secrète qui ne tient pas la route, est plutôt mignon et drôle. Romio, la grosse brute, qui est vraiment démonstratif, et Juliet, le "glaçon", nous offrent une dynamique rafraîchissante et attendrissante par moment.
C'est pourquoi j'admets avoir quand même passé un bon moment, c'était divertissant, mais ça s'arrête là.

Maintenant, j'ai les tomes 2 et 3 dans ma PAL, je me sens obligée de les lire, donc bon :p
Affaire à suivre.


(PS : Y a quand même la princesse du royaume auquel appartient Juliet qui s'appelle "Chartreux"... C'est terrible quand même. 😂)

[Cloudss · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Diana Melendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how this series starts. It also has that edge when you feel the couple is in trouble, but they end up resolving it. Persia is slowing changing a bit as each chapter goes on while Romio keeps protecting her.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled across this manga while looking at new anime slated for Fall 2018, and then I fell down the endless hole of reading all available chapters.
This was a pretty cute and casual secretly-dating manga which didn't have a huge amount of depth to it-- how Perucia and Inudzuka get together is somewhat unbelievable-- but didn't really need it as long as it stays in the realm of a light plot-- which it does.

[Mercedez · Rating 2 out of 5]

(1.5/5)

This wasn't for me: I quickly grew tired of the inter-housre fighting, and honestly found all of the characters a bit dull.

Even the enemies-to-lovers element wasn't doing it for me. Honestly, I just think that Romeo and Juliet plots -even with twists- aren't for me. And that's okay.

I think that there's definitely an audience for this series, however: after all, there's a manga for everyone

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, it was pretty disappointing. The artwork is nice, and the story premise sounded interesting, but the execution was poor. The war between the students is absurd, and the Touwa students don’t even seem to respect Inuzaka, so how is he their leader?

Adding Princess Char is just another level of absurdity.

[Kaley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Pretty funny story and good characters. :)

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love is complicated. Especially when the person you like is your enemy.

Just as a warning even though this is a rom-com type manga with many interesting characters it is suggested for 13 and older readers being not shy on fanservice (no nudity though), violence (individual and gang varieties), and some mature themes (such as peeping and possible abduction even if it gets thwarted.) If you are unsure if these kind of things will bother you or your readers Kindle Unlimited has it available so it can borrowed to check out if you are interested in trying. Strangely enough there does not appear to be a volume 2 on Kindle so if you are planning on collecting the whole series in digital format for kindle you will be disappointed.

Hmmm...this is an interesting sort of book but if you are thinking actual Romeo and Juliet is going to happen I want to get this out in the open that you will be sorely disappointed. The setting of the story is Dahlia Academy that brings the students of two different nations under one academic roof and unfortunately these nations are not particularly civil with each other reflecting in the feuds between the two dorms that hold each nation's student populace (after reading the story now I am curious who is in charge of this school if it has two opposing nations learning in it.) However one particular student with high standing within the Nation of Touwa Dorm has his eyes on an elite of the Principality of the West Dorm though their warring dorms makes attempting to tell her how he feels seem like an impossible task. However when two people who have the potential to be more then enemies are high ranking members of two groups that hate each other romance is not a walk in the park.

[Gilbertius Gmr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best manga ever. For those who say it was bad you guys probably didn’t see it from different perspective.this manga was great because it didn’t depend on kissing scene or harem stuff instead you learn how to follow your path despite there so much obstacle in front your path. You learn that loves can conquer all your problem. You learn that you can solve your problem when you have everybody in your side. You learn that you need to think other people first. So much thing you can learn in this manga😭

Maybe you guys think why the kissing or harem scene are less? Well for me those aren’t important since from persia perspective she started to learn how to love it from beginning so its kinda a late bloomer. But for me this is the most interesting part since without a lot of kissing scene they can manage to develop the manga so well that i fell in love with it.

For romeo even if the character development was late too but he manage become a successful character for me. At least the ending was happy

Now we just need a season 2 for the anime😭

[Logan C]

Did not expect much going into this series. Just wanted something kinda light to unwind with. I got something much deeper and I ended up reading the entier series in less than a week. The two leads in this series are really compelling, and I found their struggles to both hide within the rules of society while trying to slowly change it to be very engaging. Theres a lot of wholesome romance chapters that I liked. There was a lot of characters or senerios I thought I would find annoying, but evey time my expectations were subverted. The story always went with a more interesting route. And all the side characters were really good, especially the antagonists. Every single fight in this series ends because one person changed the others world view mid fight, and thats sick. There is still a handful of anime slop in this series that Im not a bug fan of, like some minor events or character designs, but overall I found this series to be genuinely good.

[Artemissia G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les dessins de Yousuke Kaneda sont agréables et la mise en pages réussie. Le ton est indéniablement du second degré avec beaucoup d’humour. Comment nos deux jeunes lycéens vont-ils faire pour être ensemble sans se faire repérer ? Rien ne sera évident et cela amènera plusieurs scènes cocasses et surréalistes. Ajouter à cela l’arrivée d’une princesse bien décidée à leur mettre des bâtons dans les roues et leur clan respectif, bref rien ne sera simple.

Voilà un premier tome qui commence fort et qui nous promet de bons moments de franche rigolade. Romio et Juliet arriveront-ils à tirer leur épingle du jeu sans se faire griller et surtout sans y laisser des plumes ? Telle est la question ! Vivement la suite pour le savoir ! Ma chronique : https://songedunenuitdete.com/2019/03...

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un bon début

Mots Clés : Shonen, romance, comédie, action

Ce manga me tentait bien car j’aime bien les histoires basées sur des contes classiques. Ici, nous sommes donc dans un scénario type Roméo et Juliette mais remanié, évidemment.

J’ai globalement bien aimé ce manga, mais j’attends de lire la suite pour voir à quel point je rentre dans l’histoire. En effet, comme tout premier tome, on a une introduction aux personnages et à l’univers et c’est rarement le meilleur tome de la série. Il y a pas mal de scènes humoristiques et j’ai bien aimé le personnage de Juliet. J’ai hâte de voir ce que donne la suite. Surtout maintenant que le dernier tome vient de sortir.

Je recommande à toute personne recherchant de la romance mêlé à de l’action et à du rire.

3/5

[Sequoia Cron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boarding School Juliet is a retelling with a few twists of Romeo and Juliet. There are two opposing countries and Dahlia Academy which educates both sides. There are the Black Doggies of the Touwa and the White Cats of the East. Romio is a part of the Black Doggies and he has fallen in love with the ultimate rival: Juliet of the White Cats. Romio can't take the fighting anymore and blurts out his confession to Juliet and they decide to date but only in secret...

The story has a lot of humor and it reminded me of another manga Kaguya: Love is War. I like the rival counterparts and how the two characters want to be together but of course, everyone and everything keeps them apart.

There isn't too much romance yet but I'm looking forward to what happens next for these two.

4 stars

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this manga version of Romeo and Juliet! There are these 2 dorms at the Dahlia Academy; The black doggies and White cats and they have this longstanding feud(Like the Capulets/Mantagues) And Persia Juliet and Inuzuka Romio have to keep there love a secret! Really awesome beautiful story and artwork! Highly recommend if you enjoy any Romeo and Juliet Renditions😁😻❤️❤️

[Sara Madureira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo adorable! I watched the anime and decided to read the manga since there’s more to the story and I absolutely love everything about it!!! The art is stunning so much action packed and nicely tied up in a retelling of Romeo and Juliet! One of my favs! This volume is 5* cause the love confession is spot on and how everything starts is adorable!

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly but cute. Has too much 'fanservice' for my tastes in the first few chapters, and too much focus on the whole "secret love" thing without building up the characters themselves so that I can get invested. I got more or less what I anticipated from this first volume, but not enough to make me want to continue it.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020 Read #656

This first volume really surprised me! I usually don’t like feuding love interests and the gags involved (as in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and others), but there was something really charming about the characters here. I hope the rest of the series is as fun!