OP Sequence

OP: 「Love with You」 () by fripSide

「犬塚露壬雄とジュリエット・ペルシア」 (Inuzuka Romio to Jurietto Perushia)
“Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia”

You know I dearly love Fridays given it means the weekend and all, but goddamn is the schedule ever packed. It’s a testament to the number of shows airing (and the number I want to watch) when I’m only getting to Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet (forever now known as KGJ, because typing is hard) now, but I will say the wait was worth it. Even when you kind of know what to expect, the results can prove surprising.

Right off the bat KGJ sets itself up for fun with the premise. Two competing dorms, each solely composed of students from two rival countries, wind up in battle every day for no better reason than the other guy sucks. Or, you know, because late stage cooties is very contagious and it always helps eliminating the infection vector. The twist (and KGJ’s defining feature) of course is that the leaders of both dorms—Persia (Kayano Ai) and Romio (Ono Yuuki)—are actually smitten with each other and wind up in a secretive relationship that must be kept secret because they know full well what the consequences of discovery will be. As I previewed it’s a pretty ingenious premise for a romance (well, romcom), which with the Busou Shoujo Machiavellism feel of the show (seriously, we even have sword fights with good animation!) makes for some potentially very fun shenanigans later on, at least if this episode was anything to go by. I honestly didn’t know what to really expect going in, but this is one concept I can get behind.

The real kicker for KGJ so far though has to be the characters, especially our aforementioned main duo. Both Persia and Romio are well-defined when it comes to attitude, with Persia possessing the regal allure buoyed by a strong desire to do good and change the world while Romio goes all in on the headstrong bullish personality with a very hilarious side of mental uncertainty. The back and forth between these two is simply a blast to watch, and that’s before getting into their interactions with others, or in Romio’s case himself. While the secondary cast has yet to make their proper debut, it’s pretty obvious who the main competing love interests will be, with KGJ spicing things up here by giving both a white knight and adorable airhead to fill the role. Yes, Hasuki is adorable, fight me. Whether or not KGJ descends into melodrama and the usual clichés affecting other romances of course remains to be seen, but given the foundation the show is working with and the nature of this story I’m not going to bet on this love story going full Romeo and Juliet. There’s simply too much fun to be had with the amount of crazy flying about here, and with only 12 episodes to work with, not much time to head face first into the romantic quagmire.

After all we have a budding relationship to test next time, and you know full well it’s going to take everything little Romio has to ensure he doesn’t blow it right up. Stay tuned boys and girls, KGJ is just warming up.

 

Preview

End Card

10 Comments

  1. Kishuku’s an interesting publication history – it graduated from a one shot to a serial in the monthly Bessatsu Shounen (home to Shingeki’s manga) in 2015, before moving to a weekly schedule in the Weekly Shounen Magazine (Nanatsu no Taizai) in 2017.

    zztop
  2. An MC that confessed to the girl he loves in episode one? Naniiiiii~~!

    Kidding aside, I’ve followed the manga since it first came out as a one-shot. I definitely have high expectations for this adaptation. Can’t wait for more Cybear and Char, though.

    Beedle
    1. Let’s be honest, I was first drawn to the manga because of that. More often than not (and not just in anime and manga), romantic comedies are all about the “Will they or won’t they?” plot. Heck, I’d say the vast majority of romantic plots, subplots and plot tumors are about that.

      A romantic comedy about staying together? Yeah, I want to see that.

      And yes, I also want to see Cybear and Char. And the other characters; I think this series’ strongest point is its big and endearing supporting cast.

      Mistic
  3. It’s been a while since we’ve had a romcom anime, and this one seems to rely more on comedy, which works for me personally. Hopefully Inuzuka grows out of his stereotype gradually or even just eventually, while Persia keeps being the level headed between them while gaining her dose of emotions. But as far as their interactions go, I can’t wait for more.

  4. With Episode 02, this anime got into my “curious list” of this season

    Yeah, it’s definitely an “Romeo and Juliet” on High school base, but respect is at play. Let’s see

    Worldwidedepp
  5. Some “write my mind” from me:

    – You can see how the “Quality” of the Anime drop little be little, in Episode 11 you can see the difference compared to the first 3 ones and so on

    But they do try their best, and i still watch this anime. But well.. they surly stick to much on the “Book” of Romio and Juliet… And this “Gay” Joke lately was not even funny… But oh well

    Do not forget that you are not an Dark Drama Anime.. right? What was the start of this anime? Dark Clouds in the sky?

    Worldwidedepp

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