Spoiler Free Review:
I watched the Boarding School Juliet anime and immediately started reading a manga where it left off. I was surprised to see that the anime didn't cover that much, only mere 19 chapters. I was really interested in the story after watching the anime, and I completed the manga in a week as well. Without any spoilers, I would say that the story of the boarding school Juliet is really something. The characters are so well designed with every character having special traits. And the most important thing of all is that every character is very likable. If you are new to the whole series or have watched the anime before, I would very much recommend you read the manga. The pace of the manga is so precise that every chapter feels enjoyable to read. And the story doesn't feel far-fetched at all.
With that out of the way let's move to...
Spoiler Review
To be honest, since I'm a teenager and I don't really have a partner yet. I'm really into shonen romance manga and anime. I have watched a lot of romance mangas, both shonen, and shoujo alike. Although, I would admit, that I haven't read that many shoujo once since it can be a little cliche and boring sometimes. However, a point that I would like to make is that the stories that have tense situations, I find them really interesting for some reason. Shows like tsuki ga kirei. Oh, man! The ending of the show was just something that I can't forget.
Boarding School Juliet also falls in this category. The story takes place in a really unfair world where two nations can't really get along even though they have signed a peace treaty. Both nations' general public despise each other. One such case can be found in the boarding school "Dahlia academy" where the students from both nations are studying together. The manga depicts this situation so well, even with the taste of humor.
Here, our two protagonists are in love with each other, but the thing is that they are from different nations, it's the start of forbidden love. Now, it's nothing new right? we have seen it many times. At some point, many would say that it's the same as the real story of Romeo and Juliet. I mean yea I guess it is heavily influenced by that story since the name of our protagonists is just that. But what I liked about the story of the manga is how it handled the tension and the environment. Manga could be very cruel, but it was not. When their relationship first came into being, readers weren't made aware of the harsh reality of both nations. How tough it would be for them to survive in the future. Rather, little by little, the manga allowed readers to see how they handled their secret relationship with the school. The cute and brief moments that they share with each other. Full of humor and slice-of-life moments of their so-called forbidden love. At this point, we, as a reader didn't really have any worries. Just enjoying this cute couple trying to maintain their relationship a secret while also spending time with each other. Just when we thought, how lovely it would be in their shoes. We reached Persia's birthday arc. When their relationship was almost exposed to the public. Both the protagonists and we were hit with the realization of the situation they were in. This is a great example of the perfect tension built up in a story. But, they were not gonna admit defeat, they worked hard. Both became yeomen of the prefects. And aspired to become a head prefect and change the school.
Which they did later on. But before they could achieve that tho, it was time for the big reveal. All the tension builds up for this specific moment. The election speech ceremony.
Before that though, as an honorable mention, I would like to say that the character of Inuzuka's big brother, Airu Inzuka has some conflicting nature in the start but when we, and also the Inuzuka were informed of his true feelings, that moment was executed so perfect that I got goosebumps. It had a great impact on both the protagonists and us readers as well. And that duel was just so amazing to witness.
Now, the tension has built up and the consequences of their love can have disastrous outcomes, we are aware of that. And the moment strikes. The great reveal! When I read all that, I remember I was so excited to find out what will happen, how this all turns out. There's no return like last time. And with the long hard work, when all the student body was on the couple's side. That was the most satisfying moment ever.
The world can be changed. They proved it.
I wanna end it at that. I know what comes after, the clash with Persia's father. His true feeling and his realization. Also, the princess's one big stunt. All of that moment was so much fun to read. And to end things, the classic wedding ending. Man! I'm gonna remember this series for a long time. The few last chapters of the manga were so oddly satisfying. It is so rare to see that in mangas. Because many people would feel unsatisfied with the endings. But in the case of Boarding school Juliet, I don't think any such ending exists that's more satisfying than this. Props to the author, Yosuke Kaneda for making such an awesome series. I'm lucky to have witnessed such a story.
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