W Juliet

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W Juliet

W Juliet volume 1 (US)
W ジュリエット
(Daboru Jurietto)
Genre Romance
Manga
Author Emura
Publisher Flag of Japan Hakusensha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Flag of Japan Hana to Yume
Original run 1997 – 2002
Volumes 14
Manga: W Juliet II
Author Emura
Publisher Flag of Japan Hakusensha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Flag of Japan Hana to Yume
Original run 2006
Volumes 2

W Juliet (W ジュリエット Daboru Jurietto?) is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Emura. It is published in English by VIZ Media, and in French by Pika Édition. Recently, W Juliet was published in Spanish by Panini Comics.

W Juliet is about the friendship between a 16 year-old tomboy named Ito Miura, and Makoto Amano, a mysterious ladylike transfer student. The contrasts between their personalities, and their common dream ("To be an actor!") make them almost instant friends.

W Juliet is also interesting for its Free Talk from the author, detailing the development of her career. At the start Emura was a would-be mangaka, bicycling to work at a food company and drawing manga during breaks and in the evening. She had published about eight one-shot manga in magazines. The first chapter of W Juliet was created as a one-shot. 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 special issue.[1]

The title W Juliet comes from the Japanese adoption of the letter 'W' as a "kanji" with the meaning of "double", so the title W Juliet means "Two Juliets". Two Juliets is the theme and conflict in the first chapter.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The first chapter concerns the drama club's production of Romeo and Juliet. Ito Miura has been asked to be Romeo for the play, although she does not want the part (as she is sick of being chosen for male roles due to her looks). The part of Juliet is being contested for by two girls, Makoto Amano and the vain Tsugumi Nomura. Tsugumi is favored for the part, but Makoto Amano demonstrates that she can be a competent Juliet. However, if Tsugumi - or anybody else - discovers Makoto's secret, it can bring down both Ito and Makoto.

Makoto's secret is that she is really a boy - his father wanted Makoto to inherit the martial arts dojo when he came of age, however Makoto wanted to become an actor. Makoto's father made a deal with Makoto that if he could act as a girl for the last two years of high school and not get found out, then Makoto would be free to pursue his dream.

Ito finds out that Makoto is a boy and vows to help him to keep his secret - they later become boyfriend and girlfriend.

They are faced with many obstacles such as hiding their romantic relationship from their families. They must also fend off the advances of other suitors, such as Makoto's arranged fiancé and Toki, their egotistical senpai with a thing for Ito. Later on, Makoto and Ito's relationship becomes much stronger and they vow to one day become actors and get married.

The series is continued in W Juliet II.

[edit] Characters

VIZ Media, the publisher in America, tranliterates Japanese long 'o' and long 'u' as 'ô' and 'û'.

[edit] Main characters

Ito Miura (三浦 糸 Miura Ito?)
A 17-year-old tomboyish girl, Ito is the only girl in a male-dominated family, with three brothers and her father. She started wearing boys clothes, as well as adopting a boyish haircut, when she was in first grade and after her mother was killed in a car accident. It is revealed in vol. 10 that part of the reason she chose to do so was because of the teasing in elementary school of a boy named Jôtaro Kai, who always bullied her, especially whenever her older brothers tried to protect her. Since then, she consistently wears masculine clothing, even to school, to the irritation of most of her teachers. Most of the girls at school idolize her and she is known for being mobbed every Valentine's day.
When Ito finds out that Makoto is a guy, she decides to help him and eventually falls in love with him. Throughout the series, Ito starts to become more feminine, because she wants to be the perfect girl for Makoto, at first unconsciously then with more intent.
Ito has various admirers such as Toki-sempai, two years ahead of Ito, who wants Ito to be much more feminine, become his girlfriend and go to college with him. Also Tsugumi-sempai, one year ahead of Ito, has an obsession with Ito, especially as a male figure, going so far as to call her "Ito-kun," a primarily male suffix. Finally there is Sakamoto, a "masochist" that likes both Ito and Makoto, after "running into" Ito during a class trip to Hokkaido. In volume 10 Ito meets Jôtaro again and he confesses that he teased her because he liked her. Ito is surprised; she remembers that she used to like him too, but she rejects him telling him that she is already in love with someone else.
As an actor, Ito relies on her raw charisma and physical ability rather than actual technical skills. She receives average grades in school though she appears to be abysmal at math. Her cooking skills are lacking, though the author has noted that Ito is good at "cooking for a crowd." She also is rather headstrong and doesn't think through situations before barging in, leading to some precarious moments with her admirers.
The characters for Ito spell out "thread," resulting from her father's wish for a name that is "slender and pretty" and her mother's wish for a name that "can be used to make something." Though Makoto's father considers her name a bad omen, as "a breaking thread," she considers it a blessing and as symbol of her creativity, which is consistent in the series.
Makoto Amano/Makoto Narita (天野 真琴/成田 真 Amano Makoto/Narita Makoto?)
Seventeen-year-old Makoto Narita made a deal with his father: in order to pursue his own future dreams, Makoto would have to go through two years of high school as a girl, which would require his acting skills to pull it off. If he was found out, Makoto would have to inherit his father's dojo, as Makoto is his father's only son. With his acting skills and the help of his sister, Akane, Makoto transforms himself into a girl before transferring to a new school as Makoto Amano. There, he meets and quickly befriends Ito because of their opposite personalities and their love of the theater. When Ito finds out that Makoto is really a male, she decides to help him keep his secret, which comes in handy when Tsugumi-senpai and her two friends try to unveil Makoto's true gender.
At the beginning, Makoto tries to hide his feelings towards Ito but eventually he starts showing how much he loves her. Makoto is the heir to the family, and he had had an omiai years ago with a girl named Takayo Iizuka. Makoto makes it clear that, though he respects and likes Takayo, he only loves Ito and plans on abandoning his family as soon as he graduates as a girl. That way he will win the bet he made with his father.
Makoto has greater technical skill as an actor than Ito and is more than a match for her in physical strength. He is a typical Renaissance man, able to cook, clean, do makeup and choose out clothes with admirable skill, along with the ability to pick up skills quickly, such as juggling. Also, he is more subtle and observant, able to handle delicate situations with more tact and skill than the gung-ho Ito. However, he is more introverted and prone to holding grudges, especially against his father and his oldest sister.
It is noted that Makoto is the only blonde in his family, as a result of his English grandmother.

[edit] Minor characters

[edit] Friends

Yoshirô Ozaki (尾崎 与四郎 Ozaki Yoshirō?)
He is the drama club's male president with Ito being his counterpart as the female president. His parts have included both male and female roles, such as the King in Swan Lake and the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (during the Cultural Festival). Yoshirô and Ito have been friends since they met in Eighth Grade. Even though they have a boy-girl friendship, it has never gone past them being just buddies. Yoshirô is in love with someone else, as since he was in the tenth grade, he's been secretly in love with Misaki, another Drama Club member. He, Misaki, and Nobuko are originally from another manga, called Mokugekisha (Eyewitness).
Misaki Ichikawa (市川 美咲 Ichikawa Misaki?)
A member of the Drama Club, some parts she has played are Lady-In-Waiting in Swan Lake and the Prince in Romeo and Juliet (during the Cultural Festival). She is noted for being particularly feminine, Yoshirô's type. She is best friends with Nobuko and is hinted at reciprocating Yoshirô's feelings. Eventually, frustrated by his inability to proclaim his affection for her, she ignores him for sometime until he, under the encouragement of Ito, commandeers the school PA system to publicly declare his love for her. She, Yoshirô, and Nobuko are originally from another manga, called Mokugekisha (Eyewitness).
Nobuko Kataoka (片岡 伸子 Kataoka Nobuko?)
A member of the Drama Club, some parts she has played include Lady-In-Waiting in Swan Princess and the Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (during the Cultural Festival), though she typically writes most of the adaptations of the plays the Drama Club performs. She's a great writer and it is stated that she has a book published, that she wrote that includes her friend Misaki, and Yoshirô. Also, she, Yoshirô, and Misaki are originally from another manga, called Mokugekisha ("Eyewitness"). In the 12th book of the series, Nobuko claims to think of Toki-Senpai to be like a father to her. He also shows a lot of care and worry for Nobuko (in this volume and previously in volume 5, when she was taken away during the joint assembly) when a group of thieves take her hostage. In the rest of the series, it is implied that the two have probably gotten together, especially when Nobuko disarms Toki-senpai with ease during a rather hostile confrontation with Makoto.

[edit] Miura Family

Gorô (三浦 悟郎 Miura Gorō?)
Father to Ito and her three brothers, and husband to Satsuki (deceased). He is the eldest son of Mitsuko Miura, and was heir to the family until he withdrew from the family to marry Satsuki. He cares deeply for his family, and is especially fond of Ito since she is the only girl. He is an otherwise easygoing, if sometimes absent and eccentric, parent but is particularly hard on his children's choices for marriage. He wants their mates to have "good eyes" and to be able to meet his gaze, as a sign of sincerity, integrity and a strong will. In spite of friction resulting from his strong views and overprotectiveness, he has been supportive of his children's choices, allowing them to live freely as he and his wife wanted them to. Although he tends to let his stubbornness and foolishness get in the way, overall he is a wise and understanding person.
Satsuki (三浦 皐月 Miura Satsuki?)
A very strong, very attractive woman, Satsuki was a dedicated wife and mother, though with a ferocious temper. She was particularly close to Yûto while alive, teaching him how to cook, though she also had a very close relationship with her only daughter. Satsuki was killed by a car while crossing the street when Ito was six years old, about ten years before the manga's storyline. Satsuki was very supportive of Ito's tomboyish tendencies. The reason being that Satsuki herself was very much like Ito in her youth. Her maiden name was Satsuki Aiba. Her mother disappeared when she was 12, and her father died when she was 15. Satsuki was taken in by Mitsuko Miura, because the two families were close, and that was how Satsuki and Gorô met and fell in love before eloping. On the day she died, Ito cut her hair for the first time; and the last thing she told Ito was to "live freely, and become the woman she wants to be when she finds the one will move her heart."
Ryûya (三浦 竜矢 Miura Ryūya?)
Ryûya, who is 23, is Ito's eldest brother, and the twin brother to Yûto. He is also the heir of the Miura family. He seems to have inherit his father's overly dramatic personality (especially when angered), much like Ito. After their mother's death, he was the one who taught Martial Arts to Ito. Also, he seems to be the one that is the most protective of Ito. Being the eldest makes him the one in charge most, if not all the time, considering that his Dad works at the dojo often or writing his novels. When Ryûya went to college, he met a foreign exchange student from America, Christina. Eventually, after a bizarre year of being with her, he and Chris fall in love. For a while he and his father had a debate over him being with her, but they were able to make amends thanks to Chris's "victory".
Yûto (三浦 悠斗 Miura Yūto?)
Yûto is the second eldest son in the Miura family, and Ryûya's twin. He is the one that does all the cooking around the house, thanks to his mother's lessons. Because of that, it's not surprising to find out that he works as a cook at a restaurant in the Maria Prince Hotel in Y City. He's pretty much the opposite of his twin, except his dedication to his younger sister is just as strong as his twin's. Although he is a bit more level headed then his father and brother, he is also a little more introverted. Because of his mother's death, he would keep from meeting new people due to his fear of losing them in the future. Yûto ends up meeting and dating Akane, Makoto's sister. Gradually the relationship becomes deeper as the story continues, despite Yûto's somewhat withdrawn nature.
Tatsuyoshi (三浦 竜良 Miura Tatsuyoshi?)
Tatsuyoshi is Ito's 15-year-old brother, who always wears sunglasses on his head which he calls being cool. A typical teenage boy who loves to hang out with his friends and play at the arcade. Being the youngest means that he gets stuck with a lot of the work. The rule in the Miura family is "absolute obedience to anyone older." Although he may not show it as much as his older brothers, he cares a lot about Ito, and defends her when necessary. He is part of the student council, and shows a strong interest in one of the members named Rie-chan. Even though he's said he wanted a girl that was the opposite of Ito, Rie-chan's personality and demeanor are identical to his older sister's.
Mitsuko (三浦 光子 Miura Mitsuko?)
The matriarch of the Miura family, she is a small but crafty old woman who is stronger than she looks. She originally brought Satsuki to the Miura house and later helped her and Gorô elope. She has a bizarre fascination with different fashions, using her grandchildren and any other friends they bring as her "victims." Her particular fondness seems to be for historical fashion, mostly Japanese. Despite her benign nature, she also has a ruthless side, tied in to her desire for a stable heir to the Miura family. Her wish for that makes her go as far as to kidnap Ito and challenge her brothers into fighting to keep her.
Tomoe (三浦 巴 Miura Tomoe?)
The son of Gorô's sister Setsuko and the presumptive heir to the family's ancestral home and dojo. He is three years younger than Ito. He infuriates his very strict mother by crossdressing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The only woman he claims to have an interest in is Ito, leading to Mitsuko offering her a place in the Miura family house as the matriarch.

[edit] Narita Family

Masumi (成田 真澄 Narita Masumi?)
A strict disciplinarian who also runs a dojo of primarily kenpo martial arts. Makoto's father is a man of tradition, who feels that absolute respect from his family is very important. But when his oldest child, Sakura, eloped to escape the arranged marriage that he had set up to preserve the dojo, he developed a dissatisfaction for rebellion. To make sure that the other children did not repeat this, he took drastic measures to keep them from ever disobeying him, especially Makoto, his only son who would be heir to the dojo. Masumi would put Makoto through extreme training, almost never letting him out of the house. Eventually he was able to settle down, but not for long when Makoto approached him with a proposition. Rather than allowing him the freedom to live his way of life, Masumi offered him the challenge of disguising himself for his final years of high school in order to prove how serious he was. Masumi often sends spies in order to see if Makoto is keeping his word or not, eventually calling them off for a while when he sends another challenge to Makoto. Though he is more rigid with most of his kids, he has a soft side, mostly with his wife and second oldest, Tsubaki, most likely due to the fact that his wife can match him in ferocity and that Tsubaki is the most obedient of his children. He particularly enjoys eating his wife's homemade caramel flan, five times a day.
Risa (成田 理紗 Narita Risa?)
Risa is Makoto's mother. She's one-half English and one-half Japanese (Makoto got his blond hair from his English grandmother). 45 years old. Her maiden name was Amano, which is the surname Makoto uses for his alias outside of home. Unlike her husband, she wants her children to make their own choices. Though she feels this way, she rarely intercedes for her children. When she heard the challenge between Makoto and his father, she had fainted from shock at the idea of her son dressing like a girl for the rest of his high school years and it is implied she grew ill as a result. Despite her frailty and mild demeanor, she can be quite fierce when she wishes to be, able to cow her husband with a single look. This ability is quite handy when she is forced to quite violently force her husband and her eldest daughter to reconcile with one another.
Sakura Sugiyama (杉山 桜 Sugiyama Sakura?)
Sakura is Makoto's eldest sister, and she's 25 years old. She left home with her boyfriend so that they could elope, and escape from the Omiai her father had set up. Angered by her actions, he took out his frustration on his other children, mostly Makoto. She is on estranged terms with her father and with her sister Tsubaki, while Makoto has conflicted feelings towards her. Her sister Akane has limited contact with her, mostly through letters which have to be concealed from the rest of the family. Every once and a while she, Akane, and Makoto would meet in secret. However, Makoto would always stand silently behind Akane, never speaking to Sakura.
Later in the series she runs into Makoto and Ito during a class trip, and is pleased to see that Makoto has softened up from Ito's presence. She feels that because of Ito, Makoto can be more himself, especially after being stifled under his father's influence. With Ito's help, Makoto and Sakura finally are able to make amends after six years of silence, though it is clear that there are still a way to go in completely healing the rift between siblings.
Her husband is currently a fairly successful artist and they have a young son, Satoshi. The family makes another appearance in the series when Sakura's husband has an art exhibition in Tokyo. Through Ito's scheming, Sakura eventually makes amends with her father, with a little extra help on both ends by her mother, who has to rather forcibly make father and daughter behave.
She is the opposite of her younger sister Tsubaki in that she has an obsession with pretty girls, going as far as to give Ito a makeover after one encounter.
Her name means "cherry blossom," following a theme of flower names for all three of the Narita daughters.
Tsubaki (成田 椿 Narita Tsubaki?)
Tsubaki is Makoto's second eldest sister, and she's 24 years old. She's a a biology teacher that comes to work at Makoto's and Ito's school under her father's orders to spy on him. Of all her other siblings, she does all that her father asks. She was the one who was able to ease his influence on the house when Sakura had left, and thus has a bit of a grudge towards her elder sister. Tsubaki is obsessed with Makoto (she has pictures of him all over her room walls), and so she too wants to bring him back home under the impression that she knows what is best for him as his older sister. During his younger years, he was very close to her, calling her "Tsubaki-chan" and it is clear that she still clings to the memories of him as a little boy. Strangely enough, she sends Makoto frilly dresses every so often, though she clearly disapproves of his bet with their father. She's a firm and straightforward person, with a frightening ability to lead, demonstrated when she trains her class to be ultimate athletes to win the inter-class athletic tournament. She has a bit of a shota complex, and was disappointed when she found out Ito was a girl. Tsubaki accidentally finds out about Ito and Makoto's relationship and orders Makoto to come home as his deal with his father was broken, but relents at Makoto's pleading. She backs off, on the condition that Ito and Makoto's class wins an inter-class athletic competition, which they narrowly lose. However, with Akane's help, they recreate a scene from Beauty and the Beast for Tsubaki and manage to persuade her that Makoto's passion for his acting is very real and that he and Ito love each other dearly. She finally promises not to tell their father and eventually leaves the school.
She is the opposite of her older sister Sakura in that she has an obsession with pretty boys.
Tsubaki means "camellia."
Akane (成田 茜 Narita Akane?)
Akane is one of Makoto's three older sisters and a make-up artist, though still technically a student. She's 22 years old and the first one to know about Makoto's secret relationship with Ito. Akane is very nice and helps them out whenever she can. She appears to like Ito a lot, and she looks almost exactly like Makoto (though she cut her hair about halfway through the first volume). Out of his entire family, Akane seems to be the most supportive of Makoto's decision to become an actor, and she also helps him a lot when he's in trouble (i.e: brings him clothes, make-up, or costumes when he needs it and helps him pick out girl clothes). It was in fact Akane who inspired Makoto to become an actor when she snuck him out of the house after a frustrating argument with his father to see a local play. Thanks to her talents Makoto can easily pass as a girl all through high school; she even taught him how to do his makeup and everything without her. Although she is a quiet and naturally formal type of person, she is also observant and wise. Eventually she meets Ito's brother Yûto, and the two hit it off very well.
Though the name Akane has a variety of different spellings, it means "madder," a flower, which corresponds to her two sisters' names.
Takayo Iizuka (飯塚 隆世 Iizuka Takayo?)
Makoto's sickly fiancée, who was imposed on Makoto by his father, but was never acknowledged as more than a friend by Makoto, much to her dismay. She has a poor immune system, and acts very respectable and demure in front of elders, and Makoto, showing her true side to Ito on occasion. Takayo is actually something of a devil, intent on destroying Ito, but still respectable enough to never outwardly reveal Makoto's secret, which would effectively return him to the Narita house. She transfers into his school to be closer to him, and to watch and make sure that he is holding to the rules of his bargain, but due to her poor health, is absent much of the time. Her family is very rich, and she has a few bodyguards and spies at her disposal. Her elder brother has a "little sister complex" and will do anything for her. Her begging him not to is the only reason he hasn't revealed Makoto. He feels his sister is truly noble, and would do anything for her, and is often moved to tears by the smallest acts on her part. Emura notes that originally she was a much nastier character with a 'persecution complex'.[2]

[edit] Development

Originally, Ito and Makoto were both going to be called Ito, but Emura's editor convinced her to change their names. Emura said that if they had shared a name, the "W" (double) in the title would have had more significance.[3]

[edit] Other media

Three drama CDs were produced for the Japanese market. One of the discs was only made available to Hana to Yume fans.

[edit] References

  1. ^ English-language edition W Juliet volume 1, page 179
  2. ^ English-language edition W Juliet volume 1, page 179
  3. ^ English-language edition W Juliet volume 1, page 178

[edit] External links