Boarding School Juliet

“There’s no sexual harassment in a match” — Four-eyed sex offender Oh…in that case. I haven’t seen Romeo and Juliet butchered this horribly since Baz Luhrmann decided to cast Leonardo DiCaprio in a modernized version of the Bard’s classic with its original dialogue intact. At Dahlia Academy Boarding School, the “White Cats” and the “Black Dogs” operate on the assumption that the only way to resolve their differences, is through a school yard battle royal where anything goes. Faces get punched. Hair gets pulled. Even more faces get punched. Girls clothes get stripped off (you know, standard middle school happenings). Butamidst all the chaos and lifelong brain damage, our main character, Romio Inuzuka, reveals his affection towards his Juliet and thus begins an awkward series of events where the two must conceal their relationship from the prying eyes of their compatriots. Romio is your typical too-cool-for-school badass, which makes sense because he’s almost never shown in the classroom, as he’s too busy courting Juliet or pounding her head in (he should have been pounding something else). He’s not particularly smart, but his fiery passion and general oaf-ness make him somewhat entertaining. I genuinely spat my coffee out when he lunged himself into that mirror. But slapstick comedy only works for a limited time, as it becomes redundant rather quickly. Nine out of ten jokes fell flat on their face, rendering much of the show as a tedious waste of time. Juliet, Romio’s love interest, is a trite Tsundere with little-to-no value in the comedic department. Her main hook includes getting infuriated with Romio’s inane comments, followed by screaming at him and/or clobbering him (it gets old fast). While staying focused on her goals of changing the world, she also exhibits moments of foolishness when she leaves a spoon in the microwave (not funny bro, that shit kills people). In addition, due to her petite stature, Juliet looks three-to-four years younger than Romio, making their tender encounters seem a bit awkward. Boarding School Juliet, lamentably, is a show without a clear direction, nor is it consistent enough to entertain the viewer with its abundance of unavailing situational comedy. Romantic situations between Romio and Juliet are surface level fluff, routinely devolving into lewd, hackneyed circumstances with little comedic value. On the other hand, the “love square” — Romio loves Juliet; Hasuki loves Romio; Weslia loves Juliet — creates an interesting dynamic between the characters, particularly because the love that is accessible is not the one Romio or Juliet desire. Boarding School Juliet does flesh out the relationship between Weslia and Juliet as children, but it leaves much to be desired. Also, the dynamics of such a relationship are bromidic, especially when little-to-no nuance is added to differentiate itself from its — numerous — predecessor’s. The colorful artwork is so diversified that it hypnotizes the viewer into thinking they are looking into a kaleidoscope; unfortunately, this pristine look is impeccable beyond belief. There is a thing as being too “perfect.” Sometimes a sprinkling of “imperfection” can go a long way in creating an “authentic” environment. Why the producers of the show decided to emulate the story of Romeo and Juliet, when the characters and thematic elements are antithetical to the Bard’s classic is beyond any reasonable person’s rationalization. So instead of concocting a convoluted reason as to why this happened (**cough**a lure to draw in more viewers**cough**), I decided to write a humorous poem to encapsulate my thoughts on the series. “Thou must have reckoned himself quite capable of tackling the Bard’s masterwork, But it was a far cry from a tear jerk; verily, it was an incomplete patchwork; Methinks’ the comedy soured the mind, combined with the unkind bitch who Considered herself refined; Although she rode Romio similar to an equestrian, It was obvious she wanted to ride someone else, due to her being a lesbian; Love interests come and love interest go, but instead of Juliet I would have chosen The ho; If you dare question which ho I presuppose, any which one will do as long As she takes off her clothes; Watching this show became a terrible chore, and the Vibrant colors elicited a pronounced eyesore; I mustn’t allow myself to become Remarkably incredulous, lest I wish to hasten my exodus via leaping from a large Edifice; let it be known that this anime is no gem, as it was quite fortunate to Receive a three out of ten.” — Krunchyman

If you take a classic story like Romeo and Juliet and convert it into a modern romantic comedy, you’d get Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet. While neither series are alike to each other, they do borrow a few familiar themes with the most prominent being a forbidden romance. But there’s more to that, no? Romance is practical in a show like this but it made me question first what the were really aiming for. I’m not familiar Yousuke Kaneda’s works but when it comes to a rom-com, they made the point crystal clear. Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia are in love. It’s the type of love thatties these two lovebirds like fate. However, it’s a forbidden love as Romio and Persia belong in opposite sides of society. In their school (Dahlia Academy Boarding School), there are two rivaling countries. They are known as the “Black Dogs” and the “White Cats”. As the respective leaders of their dorms, you can expect a whole load of drama coming their way. At first, this show felt like an experimental story of trial and error. The first few episodes depicts Romio and Persia in a relationship although they must keep it a secret to avoid consequences. They face numerous obstacles with their secret often being risked in public. This creates consequences which misunderstandings arise. Throughout the series, people assume Romio has been harassing Persia. There’s countless times in the show where Romio has to defend his own pride while maintaining his poker face persona. On the other hand, Persia has trouble hiding her own secret but can’t help but stay in love with Romio. You get the big picture here? The show sets up this sort of dilemma that seems to signal for a tragic or doomed relationship. And that’s a good thing. It makes the show feel less predictable as viewers will anticipate how their relationship will ultimately end. Will their relationship be an everlasting love or is it fated to be a tragedy? While all this drama exists from behind the scenes, another main selling point is the rivalries in the show. The Black Dogs and White Cats are often going head to head in competition. Their personalities and attire also contrasts with each other greatly. The anime depicts the Black Dogs as rowdy individuals that almost seems to allude their behaviors as animals fighting for their territory. On the other hand, the White Cats are dressed more cleanly and maintain an aristocratical attitude to maintain their presence. Like cats, they are also cunning and are not afraid to take risks. The series takes opportunities to showcase both sides’ strengths and weaknesses. Through competition, the Black Dogs and White Cats strives to win no matter what in their adamant rivalry. While Romio and Persia is the main focus, I suppose the audience wonders why the key visual contains other female characters. Make no mistake. This isn’t a harem despite the deceptive image of several girls surrounding our main male protagonist. Characters like Char, Hasuki, and the Wang sisters adds doses of drama in their own ways. For instance, Char often teases characters in playful ways like a curoius cat. Romio becomes one of her key targets although most of this is played for laughs. Hasuki is more outgoing and friendlier with others and that’s thanks to Romio’s influence. As one of the very few characters who knows the truth of his relationship with Persia, she’s definitely a character that he can trust. Unfortunately, not every character in this show is too welcoming. The Wang sisters are an example of this as their role has little impact on the overall story. Their debut in the show is nothing more than showing their status at school as prefects and there’s minimal character development for either girl. Still, you may wonder if this show has emotional drama. In the second half of the series, Romio and Persia’s relationship is really tested as they encounter more complex problems such as Romio’s brother. Watching a romantic comedy like this probably gets predictable if you’ve seen similar shows before. The repetitive formula of misunderstandings, emotional segments, and character chemistry is usually drawn through dealing with social issues. Now I’m not going to deny this show is a cliché teenage soap drama. However, the show seems to shine best when we see the importance of Romio and Persia’s character relationship. Between the humor and drama, it maintains a balanced story without jumping over itself. However, I do wish the show extended its plot more from the manga. The series is ongoing and with just 12 episodes, there are other characters that are omitted. The plot seems to be structured in a way that gives the overall story its flow but not truly adapted to my expectations. As a show produced by Liden Films, it’s satisfying to see the faithfulness of the character designs. The contrasting attires of the Black Dogs and White Cats shows their status at school with their personalities. Romio and Persia are the two to keep an eye on the most for their character expressions. This is because they behave in both honest and deceptive ways depending on circumstances. Thanks to characters like Char, we also get tons of humorous moments thanks to her manipulative antics. The feminine voice of Persia is also expressed adequately to showcase her elegant personality. Even when she cross-dresses a boy, Persia still maintains an overall cool image in public; a contrast to her more fragile self when alone with Romio. There’s also some fan service in the show so do be prepared for some cliché pitfalls like accidental perverted moments with loose clothes. Yes, this romantic comedy has it all. Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet is far from being a classic Shakespearean tale but manages to capture the magic of a romantic comedy. I’ve seen many rom-coms in the past and most falls for the same tropes over and over. This anime is vulnerable to some of those tropes but is also able to tell an convincing story with memorable moments. Don’t expect this to be a big hitter of the year but do be prepared for a gleeful rom-com amplified by the charms of a star-crossed couple.

So i gave this an overall 10. Despite the ending well not being the end (so this isnt a spoiler but the material its based on is still ongoing as far as i know). However as a standalone 12 episode show it was amazing. i pray we get a second season with an actual ending BUT in all honesty i honestly think this show would need at least (and that's at LEAST) two more seasons to even make that possible. I suppose a lazy conclusion would be for the countries to intermarry nobility or something to improve relations but i do not really see thathappening. Now as the name of the anime suggests, its based LOOSELY on the original Romeo and Juliet. However fear not this anime has nothing to do with the original apart from the use of their names, and their relationship being forbidden as they are on opposing sides by birth. As someone who attended school in England, i was forced to study shakespeare's plays including Romeo and Juliet; had to play a part in one of them, and watched at least one film based on it and grew an irrational hatred towards it. As far as i'm concerned his works were decent stories for their time and showed humanity at its worst (well reality). For me anime is an escape from such, and i avoid watching anything that breaks that. Luckily this show has nothing to do with the original in terms of story, theme or pretty much anything. I was worried when i gave the first episode a try (after seeing clips of it on youtube) but i had nothing to be worried about. For those of you who wants a funny comedic anime about romance and school life etc, this is a great show. If you wanted an anime adaptation of the original works, this is NOT it. and personally i would never want one.

I finished this anime entire series in just 1.5 days - a record for me! Usually, I take my sweet time, but this anime had me hooked. The modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in a boarding school had me sold from the start. Inuzuka and Persia's secret relationship was adorable, funny, and heartbreaking all at once. Their societal differences made their love feel forbidden, but that only added to the excitement. That confession scene? Iconic. Inuzuka's sincerity and Persia's flustered reaction had me grinning from ear to ear. Their chemistry was undeniable, and I found myself rooting for them from the get-go. What impressed me mostwas the balance of humor and heart. The supporting cast added to the laughter, and the drama was expertly woven throughout. I loved how the anime tackled themes of loyalty, friendship, and the struggle for identity. My only gripe? It ended too soon! I need a season 2, stat! I want to see Inuzuka and Persia's love flourish, and their nations find peace. The thought of them walking hand-in-hand, free from societal pressures, gives me all the feels. If you're looking for a lighthearted, romantic comedy with substance, look no further. Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet will capture your heart. Watch this anime. Trust me, you won't regret it!