Episode Screenshots
We’re back, everyone! Today on Boarding School Juliet, we shall spin a heartwarming tale about Romio and Juliet’s first month anniversary as a couple, the rise of a new love rival, fierce betrayals by one’s own dorm and of renewal of old friendships and new rivalries! So, let’s get onto the recap!
Episode Recap
Our tale begins with our intrepid hero, Romio asking Juliet to keep her schedule open three days from now. Juliet asks why, so Romio explains that its their first month anniversary as a couple. Making a pass signal, Juliet asks Romio why they should keep count of how long they have been dating when it will either end up with them splitting apart or staying together, causing Romio to complain about how cold she’s being since their lives are in jeopardy every single day.
Beseeching her, Romio tries to justify his reasons to Juliet by saying that he wants to celebrate it with her, but Juliet just giggles at his embarrassment. Angrily asking why she laughed, Juliet replies that there was no reason in particular and replies that its not like she thinks that he has the heart of a maiden or anything. Still upset, Romio calls Juliet, “a bully,” but Juliet still teases him replying that she is still quite busy. Getting angry, Romio sits on the ground and declares that he’ll celebrate their anniversary by himself, which causes Juliet to decide to stop her teasing and replies that of course she will celebrate their anniversary with him. Blushing, Romio asks if that is a promise and Juliet acknowledges it with a slight nod.
Just as Juliet is about to pull Romio up, who’d should appear and call out to them, but the sub-commander duo of Hasuki and Scott running up with urgent news for the pair. So Romio and Juliet fake another fight and use it as an excuse for them being together. In the middle of their fake fight and as Scott and Hasuki are addressing them, Juliet turns to Scott and asks what the urgent matter is. Getting back to business, Scott decrees that the violent princess of the west, Chartreux Westia has returned to the academy. At the same time as all this, Chartreux Westia is arriving at the academy in her family limousine. Inside the limo, Chartreux’s butler asks if it has been a year since she was at this school, but Chartruex just politely asks Sebas (her butler) to stop the car. As the butler tries to rebut, Chartreux declares that its fine. As Sebas slowly stops the car, Chartreux gets out and tells Sebas that when he arrives, he is to inform everyone to get ready to greet her in the three minutes it will take her to walk into the academy because “That’s Char’s request.”
A couple of minutes later, the school (particularly the White Cats’ Dorm) is in a state of complete and total panic over the news of Char’s return. As everyone literally rolls out the red carpet and gets ready to greet her, all of the White Cats line up and hold a welcoming parade for Char as she arrives through the main gate and happily welcome her back. Noticing Scott, Char approaches and greets him and orders him to tell her a joke otherwise she’ll punch him, while poking his cheek. Noticing the confused look on Scott’s face, Char puts a finger to her lips and declares that its “Char’s request.” Scott suddenly panics at this and goes to tell his joke, but before he can utter the first line of it, Char strikes him across the face and knocks him flat on the ground. Asking Char why, Char explains that Scott’s whole existence is boring which is why she hit him anyway, causing Scott to remark that she’s horrible.
At the same moment, Juliet appears from behind Char and formally greets her with the nickname, “Tyrant Princess of the West” to address Char. Looking around, Char sees that its Juliet and greets her back, complimenting her on how she is doll-like as ever while tugging on her blonde hair. As Juliet replies that Char is hurting her, Char backs off and apologizes before turning to Romio and the rest of the Black Dog students and starts addressing them on why they are not rolling out the red carpet for her too. Like a tough guy, Romio replies that they don’t care about her because they are not her retainers and refuse to be ordered around by her. Sadistically chuckling, Char answers that they will eventually especially Romio. Getting off of the bench, Romio cracks his knuckles and asks how she is going to make him listen before rushing at her at full speed and getting ready to beat her across the face. But before Romio can reach her with his fist, Char reveals that she already knows that he and Juliet are dating, making him immediately stop in his tracks. Seeing this display, the other students stare in both shock and awe at them.
Embarrassed, Romio demands in a quiet voice for her to quit making up stuff. Char quietly and teasingly replies that she already knows about the stunt with the boys uniform (Episode 2). Hearing this remark, Romio immediately backs away and angrily asks how she knows about it. Romio immediately realizes his mistake in confirming it and tries to rectify the situation by pretending to know nothing about it. Unconvinced, Char pulls out a picture showing Juliet giving back the disguise at the clock tower, which causes Romio to leap back as if he was punched incredibly hard. Everyone becomes confused by this display as Char flaunts her victory and wonders what did she do to Romio. But Romio is still lying on the ground and mentally panicking over what to do now, otherwise his relationship with Juliet is over.
Calmly, Char comes over to Romio and reassures him that she won’t tell anyone about it, but only if he becomes her “faithful hound” in return. Thinking about it, Romio thinks to himself that as the leader of the Black Doggies, he’d rather die than serve her. But then Char hints that she needs a shoulder massage and Romio immediately but angrily (and reluctantly) sets about doing it. This makes Char smile as the other Black Doggies including Hasuki look on in shock as their leader is defeated and humiliated. Super angry at himself, Romio tries to give painful massages to Char who teasingly squeals for him to stop. But then Romio suddenly notices Juliet’s blank expression and becomes depressed by it. All of a sudden, a terrified Hasuki comes at Romio with a flying kick, crying out for him to wake up and slapping him silly while the other Black Doggies become disappointed in their leader (while also making some off-handed comments about the size of Char’s bust). As Char entertainingly watches Hasuki slap Romio silly, Char silently vows to Romio in her mind that this isn’t over yet, as she is going to corner him even more.
A little bit later, after the welcoming ceremony breaks up, Char leads Romio to an open outside corridor and blows on a whistle while explaining that he must always reach her before the third blow no matter where he is on campus and asks if he understands the instruction. Romio though grits his teeth in angry rebellion. Displeased, Char pretends to go expose the photo, however, a desperate Romio stops her and drops to his knees, begging her to overlook this slight against her. Confused by his “dogeza” pose due to cultural differences between the two nations, Char asks about it and Romio explains its function to her while also explaining his hopes for the two sides to get along. Placing her high-heel to Romio’s head, Char proclaims that she doesn’t care about that stuff because she only ever wanted a faithful hound. Though Char also teasingly questions Romio about if he really realizes the “impact” his and Juliet’s secret relationship might have on the others. She adds on that he and Juliet might lose their dorm mates and their popularity as a result. Hearing that, Romio quickly realizes that if that happens then Juliet’s dream won’t come true and she won’t be able to achieve her goal of changing the world. Seeing Romio’s panicked face, Char tells him that he has no choice but to obey her and that this little agreement is their secret.
A little while later, Romio is hiding out in a pagoda wondering what to do when Juliet shows up and asks him about what happened between him and Char. Juliet then renegs her last statement and says that she doesn’t really what he is doing or with whom, but she found the way that he was looking at her suspicious and wonders if he was really interested in Char’s large breasts. Shocked, Romio declares that it is all a misunderstanding, but before he can explain further, the sound of a whistle is heard. Realizing that he must go, Romio rushes off to Char despite Juliet’s confused pleas. Although he promises that he will be back and asks her to wait for him. Juliet though angrily pouts at him and complains.
Making his way to Char, Romio is ordered by her to give her a humiliating doggy ride in front of the Black Doggies to her dorm. Angry, Romio replies that a piggyback ride would be quicker, but Char insists that a dog must act like a dog (causing Romio to angrily swear at her). To add further insult to injury, Char then presents a dog bone in front of him as a lure to go faster. When Romio barks back, Char presents the photo instead which forces Romio to run faster, much to his dorm mates’ disgust. Watching the embarrassing display from a distance, Kento half-heartedly suggests that Romio has betrayed the Black Doggies and Eigo asks Chizuru what they should do. Evilly smirking, Chizuru suggests that they lynch Romio for his treasonous crimes. Meanwhile, back at the pagoda, Juliet is worriedly wondering what is going on with Romio. Suddenly, Juliet notices Romio is charging at her on all fours and naturally becomes freaked out. Realizing that he is still in dog mode, Romio breaks out of it and tries to explain himself, but then Char calls him back again and asks him to go deer hunting for her so she can eat some fresh venison beef for dinner which he does. Later that night, Juliet is still waiting for Romio out in the cold when Romio returns to her, bloodied, half-naked and impaled by three deer antlers (No, I’m not kidding). Naturally, Juliet starts freaking out. But before Romio can explain further, Romio gets summoned by Char again.
Irritated, Romio thinks to himself how Char is enjoying this and begins worrying about their anniversary. Juliet then finally notices the connection between the whistle sounds and Romio and asks him if the whistle has something to do with him. After being silent for a while, Romio replies that he can’t say it for now, but asks that she’d be patient for now for he will protect her without fail while gripping his fist. Noticing how serious Romio is about this, Juliet decides to slap Romio hard on the back and encourages him to act like himself. Suddenly, another whistle sound is heard, so Juliet urges Romio to go but on the condition that he will be there for their anniversary. Hearing Juliet’s encouragement, Romio slightly smiles and gives Juliet (who is surrounded by alive deer) a thumbs up before rushing off to see Char.
At the White Cats Dorm, Romio enters a room where Char is waiting for him surrounded by the other White Cat students. Stroking her pet cat, Char greets Romio from her “throne” and informs him that it t’was nothing and that she just felt like calling for him to look at his face. Asking Romio if he is mad, Char is disappointed when Romio happily replies that he isn’t because “her wish is his command.” From around Char, the White Cats start gossiping about how Romio is Char’s plaything now and how the Black Doggies are finished, but Scott seems unconvinced by Romio’s act. As the other White Cat students looks on, Romio silently thinks to himself that he must be submissive for now in order to find Char’s weakness and pay her back with even worse blackmail.
Later that night, Romio returns to the Black Doggies Dorm to find all of his stuff on the front entrance surrounded by the rest of the Black Doggies led by Chizuru, Eigo and Kento. Infuriated, Romio explains for the reason for this and Chizuru explains that Romio has tainted the Black Dogs Dorm name by allowing himself to become Char’s slave. Kento and Eigo continues that while he would’ve been lynched for it, Romio should be grateful to Hasuki because she kept on desperately sticking up for him by telling everyone that Romio had been blackmailed by Char. Shocked by the explanation, Romio then listens as Chizuru informs Romio that he’ll overlook it for now for Hasuki’s sake and threatens him that if he has really changed sides, then he will dish out far worse next time. Chizuru then leaves by entering the dorm with the other Black Dog students.
Once all of the Black Dog students leave, Romio silently gathers his things and signals a little thank you towards a crying Hasuki who was watching the scene from the window. The next morning, Romio is summoned by Char for another series of humiliating demands which includes putting on her shoes for her, feeding her and beating up a pair of thugs. This continues on for the next two days. On the last day before the anniversary, Romio is still unable to find any of Char’s weaknesses as she is an all-around honor student, but as Char is getting a doggy ride from him, she suddenly notices Juliet and urges Romio to leave, which leaves Romio wondering about the relationship between Juliet and Char.
Later that night, Juliet is brushing her hair while Char is staring out of the window of their shared dorm room. Noticing Char’s distant expression, Juliet gets concerned. On the last day before their anniversary, Romio secretly meets up with Juliet at the pagoda and asks her about her relationship with Char. Confused, Juliet asks why he wants to know about it so badly, but Romio just blushes and replies that its nothing, he just wants to know about it. Sighing, Juliet sits on the bench and explains to Romio that Char is her childhood friend who she used to play with a lot back when they were younger, but for some strange reason, Char has been acting cold to her ever since she got back. Suddenly, the pair hear a whistle sound and Romio immediately realizes that Char blows the whistle whenever he is with Juliet and starts running off. But before Romio can leave, Juliet stops him by pinching his hand and Romio notices that kind Juliet is jealous of him and Char. Not wanting to break up, Romio decides to settle things with Char tomorrow on their anniversary.
The next day, Romio asks one of the students to call Char to the Principal’s office while he searches Char’s room for blackmail material. As his plan gets underway, Romio sneaks into Char’s room through the window and begins looking around her room. However, before he can get much searching done, the doorknob starts shaking and Char tauntingly enters the room as Romio hides himself. Remarking that she was not fooled by the call at all, Char starts searching all of the usual hiding spots in her bedroom for Romio, however, she becomes disappointed when she can’t find him. As Char contemplates where Romio could her, she freaks out and looks at the mirror (hinting that there is a secret gap behind it).
Taking this opportunity to get the edge on Char, Romio appears from behind the mirror and sadistically explains that he found something interesting behind it and boldly exclaims that the mirror is a hidden door. Panicking, Char asks how he found and Romio explains that he found by pure coincidence when he charged at it, thinking that it was window, as he was looking for a hiding spot. Getting out of the space, Romio mockingly reveals to Char what’s behind the mirror, which is a secret shrine filled with photos and bromides devoted to Juliet. In a gleeful tone, Romio braggingly asks Char if she is in love with Juliet. Instead of replying, Char tries to deny it, but Romio catches her on her lies by threatening to take all of her photos away. Noticing Char’s panic, Romio decides to dish out a little payback on Char by teasing her about him possibly revealing her secret to Juliet and the other White Cats.
Reaching her limit, Char tries to attack Romio (who dodges them) to get him to shut up about it, however, Romio takes advantage of it to call her out on her own romantic feelings for Juliet and asks if the reason she was tormenting him was because she was jealous and wanted to break Juliet and him up. Eventually, Char reaches her breaking point and starts crying her eyes out as she pushes Romio into the wall. Getting upset, Char yells at Romio for talking like he understands her feelings when he doesn’t and explains that she has always been by Juliet’s side since they were children. Char angrily continues that Juliet is her most treasured person and the number one person in her life, which is why she can’t forgive Romio for coming in and taking Juliet away from her. Char then grabs his shoulder and sadly cries and begs Romio with sincere tears in her eyes to not take Juliet away from her. Looking down at Char, Romio realizes that Char really loves Juliet. But as Romio is about to give up on his revenge, there is a sudden knock on the door and Juliet calls out to Char. Panicking, Romio asks what Juliet is doing here and Char explains that the two of them share a room. Worrying, Char tries to decide on what to do as Juliet will discover her secret from the scattered photos on the ground at this rate. Collapsing to her knees in despair, Char cries harder and declares that she doens’t want Juliet to know about her disgraceful feelings for her. Not wanting to see Char so torn up, Romio orders Char to buy some time while he quickly tidies up the photos and hides, which they both do.
Although Char is unable to stall Juliet for long and starts panicking further as Juliet enters the room, Char is relieved to see both Romio and the photos gone. Seeing Char’s relief, Juliet asks what is wrong and Char quietly replies that it is nothing. A couple minutes later, Juliet is brushing her hair in preparation for her date with Romio while Char is sitting on their bunk bed. Taking the opportunity to talk, Char asks if Juliet’s plans are important and Juliet blushes and asks what this is about all of a sudden. Char quietly replies that it is nothing and tells Juliet that it kind of felt that Juliet was about to go some place far away from her and not come back. Hearing this confession, Juliet around to face Char. Cheerfully smiling, Juliet tells Char that she shouldn’t worry about that happening because no matter what happens, she is always going to be by her side because they are best friends.
Cheerfully smiling, Juliet tells Char that she shouldn’t worry about that happening because no matter what happens, she is always going to be by her side and continues that its because they are best friends. Juliet then notices that she called Chartreux, “Char” and apologizes for her behavior. Gently, Char tells Juliet that it is fine and gets off the bed. Going up to Juliet, Char grasps her hands and tells her that she may call her by that nickname, but only because she is special to her. Happy, Juliet says that its like they are in the good old days and Char happily smiles and agrees with her. Suddenly noticing the time, Juliet remarks that she has to go and leaves the room after saying her goodbyes.
After Char confirms that Juliet is fully gone, Char sighs and goes to open the mirror door where she sees Romio gawking and gushing at her photos of Juliet. Regaining her composure, Char asks how long Romio is planning to hide in her mirror, forcing him to get out as she shuts the door and asks if he took any of her photos. Going up to Romio, Char nervously asks why Romio helped her out after she did a lot of terrible things to him and Romio replies first with a fake reason: that he wouldn’t be able to blackmail her if she was found out by Juliet, and then as her places his hand on her shoulder, with the real reason: that he personally knows what it feels like to be unable to confess to the one he loves. Brushing Romio’s hand away, Char yells at Romio not to touch her and additionally warns him that so long as Juliet remains in constant danger because she is dating him, she will not approve of their relationship. Romio sarcastically replies that Char doesn’t has a cute side and Char agrees with him by sticking her tongue out at him and declaring that she is the “Tyrant Princess of the West” after all.
Later that night, Romio and Juliet meet up for their anniversary date with Romio apologizing for being late. Juliet shakes her head and replies that it is okay and that she is not mad at him because something good happened to her today. Understanding, Romio tries to rectify Juliet’s misunderstanding about him and Char, but Juliet replies that he doesn’t worry about it because she is over it now.
Getting slightly embarrassed, Juliet explains that she thought about it and realizes that Romio is at the age where he is interested about breasts and stuff. As Romio starts freaking out while looking at Juliet’s breasts, he suddenly notices the fixed rosary that he gave her around her neck and points it out to Juliet who explains that she fixed it with some glue and that she wouldn’t throw it away because he gave it to her. Turning back to Romio, Juliet notices that Romio has started bawling and yells at him to stop otherwise someone will hear him. From a distance away, Char is watching the scene through her binoculars and decides to leave them alone for now, while smiling maliciously.
Impressions
Okay, so this episode was overall a genuinely nice episode, filled with lots of funny scenes and heartwarming moments. While the episode is perhaps not as good as the first two episodes, it still manages to hit home with its teen audience with its smooth integration of comedic elements into its plot, its crisp animation and by the introduction and character development of the newest character to enter the fray, Chartreux Westia who is a delightfully fun and amusing character in her own right. However, before I get into Char, I just got to say that what this show’s staff has done really well so far, is of course the beautiful animation, but also by how well they have paced Romio and Juliet’s developing relationship. The pacing of their relationship is just so completely natural that it’s hard to feel like they are being forcibly shipped or rushed and its really apparent that they are enjoying their time together rather than worrying about hand-holding or kissing yet.
Now, about out new love rival, Char, one thing which I can definitely say about Princess Charl is that she is definitely not a boring character! Char is both smart, strong and talented, but what makes her truly enjoyable and intriguing is that she is also slightly sadistic and a tease. I also absolutely adore how Yuu Shimamura has done a good job balancing both Char’s domineering “Queen” demeanor and her secret tsundere side! Her ferocity and how her status and authority automatically usurps Juliet as the leader of the White Cats dorm is also mighty impressive and what surprised and definitely impressed me the most about Charl, was how she absolutely defied my first initial impressions of her when I first saw her character design in the opening credits.
Now, initially, just from her design, I had just automatically assumed that Charl was going to be one of those characters who’s been Juliet’s childhood rival for ages and ends up falling in love with Romio and becomes another love rival of Juliet’s in her pursuit of Romio. However, I was happily proven wrong when I watched this episode and discovered that she is not Juliet’s love rival, but instead Romio’s. Yes, that’s right, Charl is not only Juliet’s best friend, but she is also romantically in love with her, adding a nice one-sided shoujo-ai flare to the show. Char’s behavior throughout the entire episode and meanness to Romio was mainly a farce, so she could keep Juliet to herself simply because she was afraid of losing her friend to her new-found boyfriend and her concerns over what would happen if her secret affections were outed to Juliet. However, despite the cruelty of her actions, the level of Char’s devotion to her friendship with Juliet (and Juleit’s in return) is incredibly touching. I like how Juliet constantly shows concern for her best friend, despite Charl’s slightly over-protective and slightly stalkerish nature. Getting on to Juliet, one thing that I absolutely adore about Juliet’s character in this episode was not only her concerns over her friend’s and boyfriend’s strange behavior, but also the level of trust that she had in Romio. It definitely takes a lot to wholeheartedly believe in someone when they are keeping secrets from you, but the sheer faith Juliet had in Romio despite whatever jealousy she was feeling at the time was indeed very emotionally touching.
Now, while Charl has certainly acknowledged Romio, she is still definitely a rival who wants to knock Romio out of the competition for Juliet, so I can definitely imagine some nice Hasuki and Charl teaming up moments in near future episodes!
Preview Screenshots – Episode 04: “Romio and Hasuki”
