Manga: Boarding School Juliet 11

Boarding School Juliet Vol 11 
Rating: 3/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

On the fair island campus of Dahlia, the student body is split into two rival dorms: The Black Dog House of the eastern nation of Touwa, and the White Cats House of the West. Despite his doting childhood friend and a loyal posse, the first-year leader of the Black Dogs, Romeo Inuzuka, has one big teenage problem: He has a crush on Juliet Persia, the first-year leader of the White Cats! With her own brainiac right-hand man and a powerful crew behind her, the cutthroat Juliet thinks she has no time for misadventures with a hopeless romantic like Romeo. When Romeo meets Juliet one fateful twilight, he thinks he has a shot at love... but is this secret affair really worth dying for?! 

There was a little bit of a shake up last volume as Reon was introduced and the Prefect selection war finally started. This volume provides a look at another side of Reon, and while she's definitely going to be an interesting character considering her plan...I don't particularly trust her no matter how much of a softer side we might see. 

Teria steps up a little bit in this volume and it was nice to see her overcome her shyness a little bit to step in and help out Inuzuka, dealing with the Black Doggies problems and so on. It was also really nice to see how far Inuzuka's come since this series started! We know he's been working hard to get better and better and once again we get to see that really pay off this volume. 

Volume 11 sees our characters progress into second year and a new crop of first year students enter Dahlia Academy. Unfortunately this means Inuzuka has to deal with his own little selection of them as part of his Yeoman duties. Which might be fine if Kogi didn't make a reappearance as one of the first year's that he's in charge of. He certainly causes some trouble for him, though there's the odd heart warming moment too as Inuzuka has to figure out how to win him over in order to get the other first years to fall in line! I was also pleased to see Shuna again as she brings in another dynamic and I think she's quite funny! 

Inuzuka isn't the only one facing a problem when it comes to the new first years, Persia is pushed quite a way out of her comfort zone in order to wrangle her own first years and even Char has a little struggle of her own. 

While the new first years mix things up and provide some fun new characters, I think the biggest twist to this volume is Inuzuka's little brush with death and the aftermath of it. It certainly livens things up again, makes them interesting and provides an interesting new dynamic to freshen the series up a bit. Yes, it might be a little bit cliche, but the volume does acknowledge that with a sly little comment but I personally feel like it's a fun new element that leaves us with a great cliffhanger for next volume! 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 8

Boarding School Juliet Vol 8 

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

The annual Dahlia Academy School Festival is in full swing, and the day Inuzuka has been waiting for has finally arrived: he gets to go on a festival-patrolling date with his beloved Persia! But for these star-crossed lovers, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, and when an unexpected visitor suddenly arrives for Persia, the two are reminded of just how forbidden their secret relationship is...

Can Inuzuka's and Persia's love prevail, or is the idea of a White Cat and a Black Doggy living happily ever after nothing more than a fool's errand? 

You might recall the misunderstanding that was taking place at the end of the last volume, leaving us all on a cliffhanger? Well we open this volume with the fall out from that and we finally get some answers as to why Maru is so obsessed with Julio! I've got to say, I've liked slowly getting to see more of Maru, and slowly getting to see a slightly softer side to him than the image he portrays. 

There's plenty of hilarity to the volume as we experience the final day of the school festival and get to sample the fun that it has to offer before it starts to draw to a close. The arrival of Persia's mother makes it all the more dramatic and makes for a fun surprise, at least for us! It was interesting to me, to see what Persia's mother is like, but she has an ominous story to tell. The story of a previous Black Doggy/White Cat couple and the consequences of their relationship shakes Romio and Persia, but may also be a little bit of foreshadowing for coming volumes. 

This volume introduces us to new character Kogi, Hasuki's younger brother. I'm not going to lie, he reminded me a little bit of Edward Elric what with how salty he is about his height. He's adorably protective of his older sister, however, and gives Inuzuka a bit of a wake up call as to how his friendship with her has deteriorated a little bit and as to how she feels about things. 

We have a smidge of ridiculousness thrown in to this volume too, relatable as Persia is in the midst of it. Things take an interesting and exciting turn towards the end of the volume as winter break rolls around. Persia has decided to travel with Inuzuka to his home, and she gets to experience Touwa meaning that we get to do the same! It's quite exciting to see a setting other than the school, and to get to experience one of the countries involved in this rivalry. But Persia going with him adds a sense of jeopardy to the whole trip as we wait to see if they can pull it off or if she'll be discovered! Alongside all of that we get to meet a few more new characters as we meet and get to know Inuzuka's family! I've been curious about their families, and it's a nice touch to do both introductions in the same volume! 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 6

Boarding School Juliet Vol 6
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Summer vacation is over, and it's the start of a brand-new term at Dahlia Academy. Between flower-viewing picnics, studying for midterm exams, and sneaking in secret dates, Inuzuka's school schedule is more jam-packed than ever. But as he'll soon find out, Inuzuka has a much more important problem on his hands...

His best bud Hasuki might still be in love with him, and the feelings she's been holding in are on the verge of exploding!

Summer vacation is over, the second term has started and they're still having their dates interrupted by everyone else as we've become accustomed to. It was actually quite a nice way to kick off the volume, although due to switching to a new magazine there's a bit of a recap. But there's the general carnage and mayhem brought about by them just trying to have a date, that we know and love. 

Maru is determined to dig up some dirt on Persia and bring her down and he comes so close, yet so far. I'm wondering if the day will come when he becomes a bigger threat than he actually is right now.  Inuzuka...well, sometimes I look at him like, what goes on in your head? He wants to take a couple photo at one point in this volume, and I was reading like 'oh yeah, what could possibly go wrong?!'. But Inuzuka does take his first step on the path becoming a Prefect in this volume, studying for the midterms, and the fact he's actually doing it and studying with Perisa and Hasuki indicates how far his character has come in a short while, and how determined he truly is in his goal. 

I have to say, as much as Char constantly sabotaging their dates is funny, yet frustrating, I so love it when she and Inuzuka team up, it's hilarious, almost as much as their childish bickering. There's just something about them grudgingly getting along with a truce that has me chuckling and I fear the day the two of them team up for good and actually become friends. I think it would be terrifying. 

This volume showcased Inuzuka's continued determination and how he's growing as a character, while giving us plenty to chuckle about, sure it wasn't anything we hadn't seen before when it comes to the sabotaged, interrupted dates, the bickering with Char and everything, but it's amusing enough that it doesn't matter. 

However, despite that, towards the end of the volume we had a new situation thrown up. Hasuki's feelings just won't die apparently, I thought this had been dealt with but apparently not. There's a confrontation, and some words are said within Persia's hearing so we end the volume on a little bit of a cliffhanger. Persia actually voicing how she feels about him was a shocker, and I can't wait to see if this will push their relationship forward a little bit more. 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 5

Boarding School Juliet 5
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Inuzuka, Persia, and all the usual suspects hit the beach for a seaside camp, and we all know what that means: a swimsuit Shangri-La! Inuzuka is dying to get Persia alone for a sexy swimsuit date, but the date spot he picked is even more remote than he intended. When the full tide leaves the daring duo stranded, they're forced to spend the night together! 

First things first....wheeeeeeeyyy Inuzuka and Persia are finally getting some alone time *wink wink*. Nah, I'm kidding. Of course Scott and Hasuki pop up to ruin any chance of that whatsoever. The beach arc comes to a close with this volume, but we do move on to some light hearted hijinks as we get to spend some quality time with Char. I find it absolutely hilarious that she follows them on a date for nefarious reasons and then ends up helping them keep their secret, and keeps their date from being ruined even though she really doesn't want to! 

Moving on from that, we also get to spend some time with Somali as Inuzuka and Persia help her prepare for and enter a beauty pageant after she splits with Aby and won't leave Persia alone! Then we head off to Summer School with Inuzukua's big bro Airu as the director, and Persia and Hasuki as his deputies. 

For the most part this volume is pretty light hearted, with the usual doses of humour and ridiculousness...alongside fun. Things do get a little bit serious in the Summer school arc, Inuzuka displays some serious determination but after what we've seen of Airu so far, these last two chapters of the volume allow us to see a tiny little glimpse of a softer side to him. Maybe he's...not that bad? Maybe. I never thought I'd say this but...I'm kind of hoping to see more of him, it was nice to see another side to him...or a small glimpse of it. 

Volume 5 is another entertaining volume from start to finish, and possibly...one more person knows their secret?! We discovered there's more to Airu than initially meets the eye and Inuzuka definitely builds up some determination and motivation for his goal! 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 4

Boarding School Juliet Vol 4
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

All Romio Inuzuka wants is to wish his secret girlfriend Juliet Persia a happy birthday, but when Inuzuka's authoritarian older brother Airu suspects their relationship, the star-crossed couple's plans--and their confidence in keeping up their mad masquerade--all go down the tubes. Luckily, Persia's big day isn't over yet, and Inuzuka has one last chance to fool his big bro and meet up with her, and it just happens to involve roping the Black Doggies into "crashing" Persia's birthday bash at White Cat House! 

With this volume not only do we see the end to the "birthday arc" but I feel like a certain stage of the story also comes to an end as well before we enter the next phase. Hasuki attempts to cheer up Romio as Persia is avoiding him for his own good, meanwhile the White Cats are setting up a Birthday party for her all ready for the Black Doggies to crash. 

We meet Cait Sidhe who's the White Cat's head prefect...and a bit odd as well as seeing the other prefects and the angsty separation is resolved! Persia has a couple of realisations and there's a bit of an admission on her part! Unfortunately we have a big showdown and it came earlier than expected to be honest, but it was suitably dramatic. Romio and Persia both have a goal to aim for, and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Romio's brother but he seems satisfied. We then move on to focus on Romio a bit more, and we get to see a lot of Teria as he works with her so she can show him the ropes of being a prefect. 

It was nice to see some more of Teria on her own, without her sister, and to get to know her as she's quite shy. It was also nice to have a few chill and funny chapters after the drama of the first half of the volume. I also did enjoy seeing Persia tease Romio, I feel like we haven't seen that playful, relaxed side of her as much. 

Like I said, I feel like this volume closes phase one of the story with the initial confession and overcoming the trials of the start of their relationship. They're done getting to know each other, their feelings and relationship are fully established, and they've kind of relaxed in to it as well and their relationship has strengthened. They've overcome a lot and by the middle of this volume they've renewed their resolve and they have an action plan for what they're going to do and the second half of the volume shows the beginning of that. Their journey to becoming prefects is obviously the next step of the story. 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 3

Boarding School Juliet Vol 3

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

After Persia is saboaged by the scheming Aby, Inuzuka is desperate to help her recover her reputation--but one wrong move and he'll ruin his own. Then, once the sports festival is over, a series of mishaps brings Inuzuka to the attention of the prefects, the school's most powerful students! 

As you can imagine from the synopsis we have the conclusion of the sports festival arc in this volume and holy shhhhhhh, Inuzuka and Maru actually team up and work together?! I've been so ready for them to take Aby down, to be honest, and while Inuzuka does get his badass moment...he also loses his position as leader of the Black Doggies. Although I'm still unsure how he even got the job in the first place! 

As for Persia, we've already seen her feelings develop a lot and the fact that she wanted to be MVP to dance with Inuzuka shows that even more, not to mention the chapter following it when she looks after him. I'm liking getting to see her feelings grow and develop more, and it's been very clear throughout the volumes and well done. 

Interestingly, we get to take a look at the hierarchy of the Black Doggies as we meet a couple of the Prefects, Teria and Kocho. They also make an interesting point that could be a hint for the direction the story is going to go in. I have to say, it's a nice chance for us to see another side to Romio, along with Persia too! Although they did irritate me by digging through his stuff but plot progression so I'll let it slide. 

I also need to mention the fact that after getting to spend some more time with Char in this volume...I'm actually coming to really like her! As well as watching her and Romio come to an understanding. I am pleased they're not taking it in a romantic direction with the two of them though, because at one point I did have that fear. 

While there's plenty of fun in this volume, it also gave me a huge sense of foreboding because ever since meeting the Prefects...I had the horrible feeling Persia and Romio where going to get found out and then it turns out that Romio's older brother is the Head Prefect of the Black Doggies. it was quite the shock reveal...along with serving to deepen my sense of foreboding because it was pretty obvious they aren't close. 

Honestly, Romio's brother is a bit of an a-hole. When we got to see the relationship between them and the flashbacks I was like woah. Like....he's evil. Romio's brother appears to be the next big obstacle he and Persia will have to overcome in the next volume and it's possible he might get some evidence and reveal Romio and Persia...he does already have his suspicions. At this point I am kind of hoping the manga will go in the direction the Prefects hinted at...especially as I feel like Romio is going to have to do some growing up to get there. 

Volume 3 has a light and humorous start to the volume that then progresses and gets more serious as it does so, as Romio and Persia are facing their biggest obstacle yet. 

Manga: Boarding School Juliet 2

Boarding School Juliet Vol 2 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The star-crossed lovers Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia have so far managed to keep their relationship a secret. But when Inuzuka's devoted childhood friend accidentally reveals a secret of her own, Inuzuka wonders if he should do the same. Meanwhile, the rivalry between White Cats and Black Doggies continues as the annual sports festival gets underway. The feisty adversaries battle for the title of MVP and a chance to dance with anyone of their choosing--and a few wild cats are pouncing for the lovely Persia!

This volume continues the hilarity, as well as introduces us to some new characters and lets us see more of some of the ones that we've already met! We get to see another side of Hasuki, as well as seeing how she and Inuzuka became such good friends....except of course Inuzuka is feeling bad for keeping a secret from her. I did like getting a look at their friendship and it was resolved a lot faster as well as brought in a lot faster than I thought it would be, but then this series doesn't mess around when it comes to pacing. 

We also got to see a decent amount of Maru and.....are they going to give us a love triangle with him?! Anyway, his interactions with Inuzuka are always hilarious and I kind of want them to have a bromance. 

This volume also adds a sense of foreboding as we briefly glimpse the Prefects, who I'm sure are going to be popping up very soon. We also meet Aby and his minion Somali, two White Cats from a rival faction to Persia's, which adds another element to the sports festival! 

Alongside the more serious moments, we once again get plenty of humour and fun moments. Ridiculous as some of them may be, like you know....a fight over a packed lunch!? I'm loving the pacing to this series, and I can never get bored of it!

Manga: Boarding School Juliet

Boarding School Juliet

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

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... 

Well the opening is certainly attention grabbing, it's like aw swee-wait...whaaaat?! I have to say, I really liked the world, with the two warring nations who send their students to the island in between them. I'm assuming the East is Japan and the West is...the West. I'm kind of intrigued to learn more about both nations. 

Yes this is a little ridiculous at points, but honestly it just adds to the humour. Romio for instance...is hilarious. This thoughts, some of his lines...the crying. Don't get me wrong he can be a badass like you'd expect but...he has crybaby tendencies. Plus for someone who's supposed to be the leader...he gets little respect so I'm kinda of curious about why he is the leader?! 

Meanwhile Persia is an actual badass, and she's incredibly noble too and she has a plan and a dream. The relationship on her side is interesting because she's never thought of him as anything more than an enemy. I do really like the interactions between the two of them, I think they make a great pair, and I'm so ready to watch the romance grow and develop. 

I enjoyed the art, and the character designs, and I loved how some of Romio's expressions are drawn....they're just hilarious. I wasn't expecting the relationship to spring up in the first volume, the original synopsis I saw made it seem like the feelings might develop and then he'd have trouble confessing etc. But in this volume the confession happens, and boom they're in a relationship. Granted Persia is just getting to know him and will no doubt eventually come in to her feelings, although it seems like that's already happening anyway. It's quite fast paced and does really well at setting everything up. 

There's a lot of action, and never a dull moment between all the fights and the hilarity, the supporting cast are brilliant and it's so easy to binge read this volume! Plus it leaves you wanting more!