W Juliet is a shōjoromantic comedymanga series by Emura. It was published by Hakusensha in Hana to Yume between 1997 and 2002 and collected in 14 bound volumes. It is about the relationship between tomboyIto Miura and the feminine Makoto Amano who share the common dream of becoming actors, as they work together to hide Makoto's secret identity as a boy. It is licensed in English by Viz Media. A sequel series, W Juliet II, is ongoing in The Hana to Yume, and collected in four volumes as of February 2015. The title comes from the Japanese adoption of the letter "W" as a character meaning "double", so the title W Juliet means "Two Juliets". Two Juliets is the theme and conflict in the first chapter, during which the drama club puts on a production of Romeo and Juliet with Ito and Makoto in the title roles.
Plot
At the start of the series, Ito Miura meets the beautiful transfer student Makoto Amano, and the girls become instant friends. Their personalities are completely different—Makoto is calm, quiet, and beautifully feminine, while Ito speaks, dresses, and behaves like a boy—but they share the same dream: becoming an actor. As soon as Makoto gets on stage at the drama club, it is clear she has talent, enough so she is cast as Juliet in the upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet, opposite Ito as Romeo. However, Makoto has a rival for the role in Tsugumi Nomura, an upperclassman who is obsessed with the boyish Ito. Worse, Ito learns Makoto's secret: "she" is actually a "he". Makoto's strict father wants him to inherit the family dojo, and made a bet with his son—if Makoto shows he has the skill to pose as a female for his last two years of high school, he can become an actor as he wishes, but if anyone discovers his gender, he must stay home and accept the dojo. Ito agrees to keep Makoto's secret so that he could continue with his dream. The series follows Ito and Makoto during their last two years of high school, as they work to improve their acting and keep Makoto's secret. They start out just as friends, but continue as boyfriend and girlfriend. One of the obstacles they must face is keeping their relationship a secret from their family and friends, both because of Makoto's assumed gender and it would expose his secret. They must also worry about Makoto's jealous arranged fiancée, Takayo, and her brother, who has a strong sister complex, and Ito's various suitors. All the while, the drama club performs various plays, some of which are essential to demonstrating Makoto's acting skill to his father.
Ito and Makoto's friends in the drama club, Yoshirô, Misaki, and Nobuko, first appeared in another manga by Emura, Mokugekisha. ; Yoshirô Ozaki ; Misaki Ichikawa ; Nobuko Kataoka
According to an author's note, W Juliet was created as a one-shot manga early in her career, after she had published around eight other one-shots. Public response brought an invitation to write a second chapter, and so on, until by the fourth chapter's responses, it was decided that Emura could continue the story as a continuing series, eventually enabling her to quit her day job, and later enabling her to hire her sister as an assistant. Originally, Ito and Makoto were both going to be called Ito, but Emura's editor convinced her to change their names. According to the author, if they had shared a name, the "W" in the title would have had more significance. Emura then bestowed the second Ito name on the club's faculty advisor, Ms. Ito.
Reception
Sakura Eries felt the first volume was "pure and simple romantic comic fluff, and it's a lot of fun". She enjoyed the comedy of the second volume, and found Ito and Makoto's developing relationship "endearing". Eries enjoyed the amusement park storyline which derived its humour from Makoto's cross-dressing, but found it implausible that Ito could not rescue herself from Toki, and felt this situation was out of place with the tone of the rest of the volume. Eries enjoyed the introduction of Makoto and Ito's families, which she felt allowed the two to expand their own roles in the story aside from student, actor and boyfriend/girlfriend. By the twelfth volume, Carl Kimlinger felt that W Juliet toed the line "between comfortable and stagnant" too often, and felt that the story had no "real suspense", as each character has "a certain core decency" that can be reached. June Shimoshi, writing for Library Journal, recommended the manga for teen collections, saying " Despite the wacky gender-bending scenario, this old-fashioned shōjo romance emphasizes hard work, strong convictions, and the importance of family. It balances humor with quiet, reflective scenes."
Media
Manga
W Juliet was published by Hakusensha in Hana to Yume between 1997 and 2002 and collected in 14 bound volumes. It is licensed in North America by VIZ Media, in France by Pika Édition, in Spain by Panini Comics, in Germany by Carlsen Comics, and in Sweden by Manga Media. A sequel series, W Juliet II, is ongoing in the irregularly published The Hana to Yumemagazine, and collected in four volumes as of February 2015.
Drama CDs
W Juliet was adapted as a series of three drama CDs released in Japan. One of the discs was only made available to Hana to Yume fans.
