Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

Was this review helpful?

Grimms Manga by Kei Ishiyama offers a captivating twist on the timeless Grimm fairy tales, blending traditional folklore with Ishiyama's unique manga style. The artwork is visually engaging, bringing a fresh and dynamic perspective to these well-known stories. Ishiyama's adaptation balances the original tales' essence with a modern touch with a twist, making it an enjoyable read for both fans of classic literature and manga enthusiasts. The manga format adds a new dimension to the narratives, breathing life into these age-old tales. Overall, Grimms Manga is a delightful fusion of the old and the new, offering a fresh take on virtual versions of our classic beloved stories. This manga will be your best pickup if you seek a light and quick reading in between. Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-book copy.

Was this review helpful?

It was interesting on how this manga series expressed the somewhat 'real' tales of the Brothers Grimm in a cartoony way. This was definitely something different compared to the usual stories I have been seeing or hearing.

Was this review helpful?

Belle tavole per la reinterpretazione di alcune fiabe, spesso in realtà a me sconosciute.
Interessante il retelling de "La Bella e la Bestia".
Il volume purtroppo non è riuscito ad appassionarmi, e l'ho abbandonato senza terminarlo.

Was this review helpful?

The story line and the artwork is wonderful. I wanted to re-read it, so I got it out of the library.

Was this review helpful?

'Grimms Manga Tales' by Kei Ishiyama is a series of famous stories, but told with a bit of a twist on the familiar.

The collection includes retellings of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Frog Prince and others. The twists presented are either gender changes to the main characters or other manga type twists. Rapunzel is a prince, and he is saved by a woman (there are also funny references to the rapunzel salad). Little Red Riding Hood features a boy who looks like a wolf. There were a couple stories I was less familiar with, but I think I can figure out what the twists were.

These were fun to read. The art was decent enough. I liked that these weren't just straightforward retellings.

I received a review copy of this manga from Tokyopop, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

Was this review helpful?

Grimm's Manga Tales by Kei Ishiyama lives up to its Manga status. While some of the titles might be familiar, the stories themselves only have a nod to the original Grimm. In Little Red Riding Hood there is a romantic interest between the handsome wolf and Little Red. Grandma was never in danger and the dear grand daughter has to intercede to save her true love's life from the woodcutter's axe. There's a happily ever after for the wolf and his savior. In Hansel and Gretel, the handsome Hansel finds true love with the witch and poor Gretel fears that the beautiful woman who is keeping her brother "captive" wants to fatten him up to eat, while the two lovebirds have something else in mind. Hansel finally realizes that he owes Gretel a better life, so he guides her home via those convenient shiny stones he dropped, their pockets filled with gems from their generous benefactor. The evil stepmother is gone and their dad, who had been searching for them in vain, tearfully welcomes them home overwhelmed by their new found wealth. Additional stories feature Rapunzel, The Two Brothers, The Twelve Hunters, Snow White, The Frog King, Puss in Boots, and the Singing, Springing Lark - all containing Manga style twists. For example, Rapunzel's companion in the tower appears to be female, although there must have been some male contact because the formerly long haired beauty ends up pregnant.

I found this ebook physically difficult to read. One reason was the online format which cut off the ends of panels leaving off important parts of the story, plus it was hard to make out the rich illustrative details. In addition, the condensed story lines were complex and even the well known fairy tales were changed just enough to be barely recognizable. Without any narratives, the dialogue and art work had to be interpreted to determine the plot. Sometimes this was so challenging it took away from the normal enjoyment found in a fantasy world where anything is possible. This volume would definitely be better purchased in paper format. Perhaps an expanded plotline for a few selected stories would have been a wiser choice instead of tackling such a broad inventory.

Three and a half stars and a thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Not much to say overall. This manga-ized version of Grimm's Fairy Tales is interesting and somewhat pretty. It's a nice adaptation.

Was this review helpful?

Fairytales with a manga twist!

Grimms Manga Tales is a traditional Japanese manga, meaning you read the book what would be back to front to a European or American reader, and from upper right to lower left down the page. There are a handful of stories, including popular ones like Puss in Boots, to more uncommon ales like The Twelve Hunters.

I adored the artwork! I tend to be a big manga/anime fan. There's just something to it that's lacking in Western animation. Probably because it's an even mix for the likelihood of being for adults Vs children. I was glad to see that there were some rarer tales here, rather than just the well-known, worn out ones, and they all had unusual quirks and new twists to them. This short read is sure to appeal to any who either love manga or love fairy tales.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book/Tokyopop for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Grimms Manga Tales (English) by Kei Ishiyama is a classic manga version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales with the authors special, creative twist. The book features the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Two Brothers, The Twelve Hunters, Snow White, The Frog King, Puss in Boots, and The Singing, Springing Lark. This fantasy manga retells these timeless tales with a twist of originality.

Grimms Manga Tales is an interesting look at fairy tales that are well known, and some much less common. I like the manga twist, but recommend reading in paper rather than digital copy- mainly because the book is in the traditional Japanese format- meaning that it is read back to front and right to left.The stories are definitely given twists that surprised me, some of which worked for me and some that just did not. The artwork was well done, and the stories were interesting. However, I had trouble getting fully engaged in the stories- including the ones that I knew less well than the others. Maybe it was because each of the retellings was so short, or maybe I missed something along the way, but I just did not love it like I do most things fairy tale related.

Grimms Manga Tales is a quick read, and offers some new twists to fairy tales. Those looking for quick reads, and those that love fairy tales and the manga style of story telling might enjoy the read, but it is not something I think everyone will love. I think this would be best for young adult and older audiences, because of some of the content.

Was this review helpful?

I'm surprised as to how much I truly enjoyed this title. While an anthology can be hit or miss, as can reimagined fairy tales, this collection is definitely more hit than miss. I've read a lot of reimagined fairy tales and so I was pleased to find some twists I was not expecting (Rapunzel as a man?!). The art is sufficient for the collection; it's a little hard to tell what it going on in some scenes, but I honestly think it's that the ARC was a lower quality and that the print version is likely to be more legible. I was definitely waffling on purchasing this title before reading the ARC, but will definitely be adding it to our collection at some point now.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I wasn't able to read the whole manga as it froze every time I tried to open it but I read a preview and it looked pretty good.

Was this review helpful?

DNF - the originals have some bearing on what we get here, but very little - they've had a lot of the Grimm removed, for sure. Bowdlerised versions, incredibly manga-fied, and with a horrid watermark they're very, very dfifficult to even read. Shame, as it had potential.

Was this review helpful?

I was unable to load file, it is now expired and I cannot provide a review.

Was this review helpful?

I love manga , and it is always nice to come across classic fairy tales turned into manga. It amazes me how classic short stories can be turned into something so much more visually appealing! I would definitely pick this up!

Was this review helpful?

Grimms Manga Tales is more or less, exactly what the title implies. It is a collection of Grimm fairy tales that have been converted in manga form, though there’s a decent amount of creative license being used throughout (the author made a point of making each story their own). The stories include: Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, the Two Brothers, the Twelve Hunters, Snow White, the Frog King, Puss in Boots, and the Singing, Springing Lark.
I’ll admit I had some trouble getting into this novel. I don’t think it was the subject matter – I love Grimm’s stories, even when they’re retold by another author. Perhaps it was the specific changes being made that kept me from enjoying it as much as I would have liked (it did feel like many of the endings were significantly altered from their original ending, almost to the point that Disney has done).
While I had been aware of the originals of most of these, there were a few I was not aware of (and I think I enjoyed them a bit more too, so maybe not knowing about them helped), I had never heard of the Two Brothers, Puss in Boots (unless you count the reference in Shrek, which I’m betting you don’t) and the Singing, Springing Lark (though I did love the name of that one right away).
I think out of the ones I had been aware of previously, the first one, Little Red Riding Hood was probably my favorite. I think I would have liked it more had it been stretched out more; into a novella or novel instead of simply a short story. My saying that makes me realize I had felt all the stories were too rushed, even though I never felt that way during the originals. Perhaps this is due to the writing style or the medium?
While I did enjoy some of the stories, on the whole I felt that these could have used some more work. I did greatly enjoy the artwork however, it’s beautifully rendered and perfectly reminiscent of the manga style, which is exactly what one would hope for.

Was this review helpful?

Beautifully illustrated collection of fairy tales (or fairy tale based tales?)

Was this review helpful?

These might be a little bit short for some people, but I really enjoyed them. This book retells many of Grimm's popular fairytales but puts fun [and definitely manga-ish] twists on them. I was actually not familiar with several of these stories [The Two Brothers, The Singing Springing Lark, and the Twelve Huntsman] so it was nice to see a few fairytales that don't get covered a lot as well as the standard ones like Rapunzel or Snow White. But even the ones I was familiar with were told in a different way, and I also liked how they genderswapped a few of them. It was a really cute book and if you like manga and fairytales I would definitely recommend it.

Was this review helpful?

You can tell how old the drawings are based on the style (which was popular among other manga released in the early/mid 2000's), and it's cool. I'm not too familiar with the Grimm's fairy tales beyond the Disney animations and other film or children book adaptations, but I was still able to distinguish the characters, which is good. I like Ishiyama's take on these fairy tales. It was a nice quick read.

Was this review helpful?

Grimms Manga Tales is a refreshing manga take on the classic tales and does a great job delivering its fractured fairy tale versions of the stories. Definitely a recommended read for any fan of the classic Grimm tales or educators looking for fractured fairy tale alternatives.

Was this review helpful?