Shoot Juliet Down Volume 1 Review
Velvet Kiss is a host club in Japan, and their top two hosts are Juri (nicknamed Juliet) and Akatsuki. Juri is prince-like and mature, whilst Akatsuki is flirty and wears his heart on his sleeve; Juri has been Number 1 host for a while, and Akatsuki is Number 2, but he wants more. He seeks out Juri’s advice in order to climb up the ladder, and the pair end up getting closer when the club closes for the night and away from prying eyes…
Komachi Katsura has been active as a mangaka since the early 2010s, starting in doujinshi before breaking out into full-length manga series, mostly in Boys’ Love. Shoot Juliet Down is an ongoing series; unlike some of her other titles, all the characters here are older, working full-time jobs in a night club life full of alcohol, drugs, and sex. This may appeal to anyone who’s tired of the ubiquitous BL high school romances.
But just because there’s no high school drama, doesn’t mean there are no mind games or broken hearts. Both men are hosts with a female clientele, often having to pretend to be really into their female companions and even flirt with them via text, outside of club hours. So not only are the boys having to hide their sexuality, but also have secret relationships on the side of their jobs, resulting in romantic stares across the club and intimacy behind closed doors. Then there’s the club’s rules of clients paying for super expensive champagne to not only maintain their favourite host’s top spot, but also flaunt their luxury and wealth. So one part of the manga has the women try to ‘out buy’ the other, gifting champagne to their men as a power play. One such woman is Mari, a porn star who’s also an influencer, model and on variety shows, who’s really into Juri but is also not above using other people to express her darkest thoughts and hurts, such as organising Juri to have sex with another man in order to ‘help’ her after a difficult shoot.
There are a few sex scenes in this book, varied in their portrayal. When it comes to Juri and Akatsuki having sex, it’s framed as intimate and romantic. But the scene where Juri has sex with another man whilst Mari watches is shown as rough, claustrophobic and traumatic. The framing works for the introduction of Mari, as well as showing what Juri has gone through in order to remain at the top; selling himself to keep the money flowing in. Some readers might find this a bit of a problem, because whilst we see in full detail the rough sex scene, the one between our actual protagonists is often off-frame or it cuts to them asleep, and there’s a poorly framed page in the second half when Akatsuki is wondering if Juri is ‘giving it’ or ‘receiving it’ with the framing implying that one is worse over the other. It’s probably not intentional but I couldn’t help but pick up on it.
As for the romance between the two, I personally wasn’t feeling it within this book; we barely get to know either character before the pair are alone in Juri’s apartment and start to make out. I get the dynamic between them in theory, with one being more ‘put together’ falling for the ‘wilder’ partner, but there’s nothing to suggest why, how long they’ve known each other and so on. There are other hosts in the club too, often spilling exposition to keep the plot moving, but again there’s no depth to them at all. So it makes it hard to care about the cast, and the troubles they’re going through, or to root for the romance to work out.
The art however is striking; the cover image of a larger-than-life Juri, being admired by Akatsuki, and the slight glow of lens flare to sell the glamour makes an immediate impression, and this continues into the book itself. The club is shown as glamorous, dark and flowing with money, from the clients to the staff, and the lavish apartment Juri has also displays the lifestyle these characters are living. It’s a visually striking book and the matte colour pages are great as well.
Sawa Savage does the translation for Vertical Comics, and whilst there are no translation notes at the back, the book kindly has a few asterisk notes on the pages between the panels, where some cultural stuff is made clearer for the reader, such as the conversion of yen to dollars and so on when champagne bottles are being bought at the club. Volume 2 of this ongoing series is due out in April 2026.
Whilst it delivers on the glitz and glamour, Shoot Juliet Down fails to conjure human connection in the setting to make the main romance work, at least in the opening volume. If you’re looking for a BL romance not set in high school, give this book a try. But if you find yourself craving a sweeter, more loving story, you might not find what you’re looking for in this club.
Read a free preview at the publisher’s website here.
Our review copy from Vertical was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).
