I've never actually read the original book of Beauty and the Beast but I love manga and thought I'd request a review copy from the publisher. I'm assuming it's been kept pretty close to the original story, but like I said, I don't really know.

Most people are pretty familiar with the general plot of this tale, where Belle meets the Beast and is kept prisoner in exchange for her father's freedom. She discovers the truth about what happened to her mother all those years ago, and begins to fall in love with the once-terrifying Beast. But when the village learns of his existence, they are not welcoming or friendly toward him. And his time is running out...

I've always found it to be a bit of a weird story, but I suppose it is kind of cute? But this review isn't on the plot, as this is just an adaptation of the original. The art that's used is quite nice, not particularly outstanding in my opinion but still good. I always find these manga adaptations to be a lot easier to understand, but the watermark on this review copy did get in the way a bit! Obviously, you won't have that issue if you buy the novel, though.

If you're a fan of the classic tale then you'd probably really like this. And it'd make a great gift, I think. 3.5 stars.

I loved it! The Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite stories since I was a child, so this manga about the new movie from the point of view of Belle is a great discovery!! We allways watch the movie thinking about Belle, but it's difficult to know what it's exactly what she think, so it was interesting to read it!!! And I also love the illustrations! So simple, fresh and nice!!!

Everyone knows this "tale as old as time," and if you have not seen the Disney live version of their animated version, get to the theatre! However, what Tokyo Pop does with this manga is different in that we finally get to see the separate points of view of the two characters. By moving beyond the known tale through the use of manga, the Mallory Reaves offers up a new tale for a new time and a new generation.

For the most part, the movie focuses on Belle's point of view so the manga version does not share any kind of new insight, but volume 2 from the Beast uses the genre of manga to fully exemplify Beast's fear, depression, anger and self-doubt through its darker drawing style and uneven shaped panels.

Another plus for the manga version is that I was not disappointed by the transformation of the Beast back to human form. He is a typical manga stylized hero. This type of hero does not usually translate well on screen, either animated or live.

Finally, the "artist" notes at the end of the books are always a nice breaking of the third wall that appeals to me as a teacher who is interested in process as well as reflection on process.

An advanced copy provided by Net Galley.com and the publishers for an honest review.

3.75/5.00 stars.
I am going to start by saying that the graphics of this manga were exquisite. (Oh! Look at me using big words.) The overall story was not very far from the original Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the cartoon. I know. I haven't seen my most anticipated 2017 movie, yet. Notice the "yet."
Since it is based on the movie, there may be lots of spoilers.
We learn more about the characters' backgrounds. Belle's part was confusing-ish and felt cut short, in a way, while The Beast's was intriguing. Probably because we knew so little about the beast in the previous Disney's adaptation. Or the manga story makes more sense the second time and it happens to be The Beast's point of view. The overall dialogue combined with the images made the tale to flow rather nicely. Since the manga focused on Belle and The Beast, we do not see too much of Gaston and LeFou. Some plot holes are here and there because of the shift from third person - seen in the movies - to first person in the manga (e.g. the crowd from the castle).
This was a great quick read. And if you are a Beauty and the Beast, you might want to ask Mrs. Potts for some tea because this might be your cup of tea. ;)

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, but it felt...off somehow. I love anime/manga and I love everything Beauty and the Beast, but this felt to be forced,(or maybe just super rushed?) and didn't have the natural flow I'm used to in both of them. Still overall I enjoyed it, and thought the art was well done (in places), I especially like how Gaston turned out! (Odd I know!) I agree with the others, from what I have read of Manga, this one was lacking. Since I enjoyed the over all story in this one, I'm giving it 3 stars, but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

Beautiful graphic novel the the story of Beauty and The Beast. I loved the illustrations, very delicate and descriptive. The story was loyal to the movie, the vol1 has Belle's POV while vol2 has the beast POV and I loved them both, even though it could have been made in one only book.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Let me start this review by saying that I do really like fairy tales and I also really love manga.

When I picked up this manga, I was hoping it would be more than the new live-action movie-- some insights and extra scenes... no, there are less scenes because we don't get the scenes without Belle. Because of this, the story goes very fast and seems choppy. This scene-- then to this one-- And then here!
The other thing I disliked was how the speech bubbles were. I have never read a comic like that. Usually they low, left to right top to bottom, or right to life top of bottom of the page. This one is right to left panels and within the panels top to bottom bubbles. That is the ONLY WAY the story makes sense and it is so annoying. And the page in the back explaining how to read it, is not accurate for what is in the book.

I will say I enjoyed the artwork and thought they did a good job capturing the background.

Therefore, I'd recommend this story to younger children and hope they understand how the bubbles worked.

This is not a particularly unique presentation, not much in the way of new material. Yes, we get some new elements, information about the prince's childhood and Belle's mother. Usually presenting two perspectives draws in all kinds of new information. But really we get a lot of both stories in the Disney movie. Most enjoyed by fans of the movie, I'd suspect.

This is a two volume set. Volume 1 tells the story from Belle’s point of view, and volume two we see the Beast’s side. Tokyopop has taken the new movie and try to put it in manga form. You know what, stop this. In trying to reinvent Tokyopop and bring it back to the powerhouse it once was, stop ruining beloved Disney stories. They do a fine job of this telling, but it's not great. All the story work was done by the movie people and these books just regurgitate it into a new format. Having the two sides separated is an interesting feature, but only interesting. It does not advance the story any way. Overall, i rate this set predictable and unnecessary.

Added Litsy
Added goodreads

I loved this so much! I have been a huge B& B fan since childhood and the concept of the story being adapted to manga was so exciting. Split into two volumes, the first tells the story solely from Belle's perspective- readers get to see the village, the isolation that Belle feels, and her time at the castle. A must read for Beauty and the Beast fans of all ages!

I love these Manga books! Even after enjoying and reviewing a good many of them, I still get a kick out of reading the book backwards. I'm sure children will appreciate that aspect too; it adds to the magical quality.

The artwork and characters add so much to this story with fewer words than book would. Since you can see the expressions on the characters faces, you don't need to have extra words to describe how they are feeling. This book, in Belle's words is true to the original and delightfully done.

From my experience young children love these books, and as an adult I enjoy them too. I am thrilled that so many classic tales have been rewritten in this style.

Personally, I sped through this Manga as almost all the dialogue is word perfect to the film. Scenes are shortened and it suffers a little as the iconic songs are not included in full but this is an adequate movie companion.

An interesting look into how Beauty sees and experiences the Beast. It is true to the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. However, I got to see how she thought about the Beast in ways I had not thought of.

Once I started reading this volume, it moved quickly. I do wished that the graphic novel had been colored instead of black and white . It would add even more to the story. This is a worthwhile read!

My thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors Tokyopop for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Ok, I am a Beauty and the Beast snob. Nothing will be better than the Disney animated version. I saw the live action movie and the characterization was really REALLY not canon. Belle was a bit of the "b" word, her father was a bit of a jerk and in the beginning at least, Gaston was sympathetic and kind of pathetic.

This first volume follows the movie, except you ONLY see things from Belle's POV, so no character development of Gaston or her father really, which would have been nice.

Also, the way they decided to draw Gaston was TERRIBLE. Seriously, draw him to be super-short/weird looking. Don't get me wrong, short people are good looking too, but he was not drawn proportionally and he just looked silly, not hot.

Like I said, B&TB snob here, so it had a high bar to pass and it did not do so to my satisfaction.

2.5 stars, rounded up because it tried really hard. I wouldn't recommend this. You actually get more from the movie. (I can't believe I just said that, but it's true.)

The illustrations in this manga were really beautiful and perfectly managed to captivate the heart of both the older animation and the new live-action movie.

The story was the same as the newest movie was, and it therefore didn't provide me with any new content or any new interesting plot-points but it was nevertheless a sweet, cozy and cute read that I would definitely reread again in the future. Definitely recommended to anyone who loved Beauty and the Beast and wants to see it again in a different format or anyone who loves Disney princesses as much as I do!

The art is simply charming, I like Belle's feminist side and that we get insights from her, but the work seems unfinished (add some graphics details and colors maybe?) and the dialogues could use a little brush-up.

I decided to review Belle's Tale and The Beast's Tale together as it is basically the same story, just with different points of view in the separate volumes. The story line is based on Disney's new live-action movie that was recently released in theaters. You really can't go wrong with TokyoPop. Their art is beautiful! Mallory Reeves does a great job in adapting this story in manga form. If you enjoyed the movie, or if you just love Beauty and the Beast tales, you will not be disappointed with this version. If you saw the movie than there won't be anything new here. But, if you haven't then you will see some differences in the original Disney cartoon and this new 2016 version. There is more backstory revealed for both Belle and The Beast. So, that was enlightening. Reeves also gives us some insight as to what the characters are thinking during important parts of the story. Overall, a great adaptation for Beauty and the Beast fans.

I absolutely adored this adaptation. The way that the illustrator drew the photos was perfect and I love that it was kept in the traditional manga style. I will definitely be recommending this.

This is a simply wonderful manga retelling of this classic story.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have obviously seen the movies, more than a few times, so it’s a story I know. With that said, there are things I like and things I don’t about this book.
I love the drawings. Even though the ARC watermark can make it difficult to appreciate the book visually, I think manga Belle is the most precious thing. The author did a great job on that.
I like that the author tried to convey Belle’s thoughts. She isn’t successful at this all the time, but it made for a great addition to the story we already know.
I didn’t like the pace of the book.To me it felt a little rushed. Maybe it’s because it tells only Belle’s side of the story.
Also, since it’s one side of the story, some parts make no sense because there’s information missing. For someone who knows the movies this is not exactly a problem, but it goes to show that even if you want to tell only one side of the story, sometimes you’ll need to explain a few things outside of that.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was my first manga and I can see myself reading a lot more in this style!