Member Reviews

I'd like to express my profound gratitude towards Netgalley for providing me a copy of this amazing piece of work.

Trigger warning for suicide and death in general.

This book is a manga adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. This piece of work is widely known around the globe, which revolves around a young couple who fall in love immediately when their eyes meet, but their families hold a deeply rooting grudge against each other which threatens to tear them apart, and to sooth a loathe so profound, sometimes only a true tragedy is enough...

What I liked:
- Faithful adaptation of the original text
- Literary value, truly a story you never get bored of.
- Mindblowing drawings, great representation of emotions

What I did not like:
- Although it didn't strike me as a surprise, sometimes the language of the text was tiring to read.

I recommend it for anyone who finds the original story interesting. With this manga the whole experience this story can give becomes even more immersive.

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Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet is such a cool way to experience Shakespeare’s famous play! If you're not into the old-school language of the original play, this manga version totally makes it more accessible and fun. The story is still the same, two teenagers from feuding families fall in love, and it’s all kinds of tragic, but the manga style brings a new energy to it.

What I really liked about this version is how the artwork brings out the emotions of the characters. You can really feel their love, pain, and all the drama just through the art. The pacing is quick, so you get through the story faster than the original, but it still hits all the major points, and you won’t miss the key moments. The characters’ expressions are super dramatic (which is perfect for Romeo and Juliet), and it really adds to the intensity of the story

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I'm not a big fan of Romeo and Juilet to begin with but this manga was pretty good. Alittle difficult to read at time but it's a typical manga.

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If you like the story you will love the manga! It stays true to the original. The art work is what you would expect in a typical manga.. For me it didn't work. I was looking for something more accessible, more easily understood. Honestly it just made my head hurt. But I know it's me and not the book. So if you love classic Shakespeare defiantly give it a go.

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I recently finished Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet and loved it! One of the reasons I enjoy Manga Classics so much is because they take the stories we all know (and may have been forced to read in school) and transform them into something more engaging and enjoyable. The manga art style really brings these classic stories to life, making them feel fresh and accessible. This adaptation was just as impressive as Manga Classics: Sherlock Holmes, maintaining high-quality art and storytelling throughout. I’d highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get into manga but looking for a familiar story to ease into the genre. 5/5 stars!

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I am not a huge manga reader but I love R&J and thought I would give it a try. The artwork was pretty and it was cute.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ecopy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6939570159

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Not much to say....This is a manga adaptation of the famous Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

While reading this I wished that I could have read it when I was much younger. At that young age when I was having a hard time reading and understanding even the abridged version of this story, this manga would have been a great help.

The art is beautiful....the dilogue are not modern English but still understandable. But it was not my favourite adaptation. Still I enjoyed reading it. Waiting to read more from Manga Classics.

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Another Great Manga classic. I really enjoy these and appreciate the copy to review. It's a true to Shakespeare version of the story not a retelling and is a fun way to consume a classic.

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This is a gorgeous adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. I think this art style compliments the play itself and sets the tone for this tragedy perfectly. I think this is a great way to enjoy the language of Shakespeare but finding support in the artwork so it is easier to follow the story. So I would recommend this to anyone studying Shakespeare in school but struggling with purely textual adaptations.

I have seen quite a few adaptations of this play, in different media (plays, movies, books etc.) and I think this might be one of my favorites. It is definitely the best text based adaptation so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Publishing for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

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I enjoyed this manga. I love shojo manga and seeing a classic portrayal was refreshing. The art is beautiful and the dialogue captivating. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys classics, shojo, and / or wants to try reading manga.

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One of my favorite to read. Sorry for the late feedback. I kept rereading it. Loved it so much. 5 star book. Beautiful art

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Good adaptation of the classic tragedy, even though, as for the original story, it's not my cup of tea at all... The whole story take place in a few days and it's called the greatest love story of all time when easily it's not.

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This is my second Manga Classics and I am sad to inform you, the experience of reading the book was dreadful.

If I make a comparison maybe then it would be easier to convey what I am actually trying to communicate. The first Manga Classics I read was A Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn. If you are familiar with the original text, you must be aware with how difficult it reads to the non-native English speakers. Reading the manga version helped me learn the story without the difficulty of going through long big texts. I hoped something similar from Romeo and Juliet.

Even after watching countless retellings and adaptations, I have not read the original text by William Shakespeare. I always found his writing to be in a completely different language and I am a tiny bit ashamed of for my lack of understanding. But I hoped with this manga I can get the essence of the original story without the language barrier. But the texts here read like latin or may be Hebrew. It was tedious and not at all worth my time and energy.

I hope in the next books they make the language easier for us noobs to comprehend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Manga Classics for sending this book to me in exchange of my honest opinion.

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In high school, I never got the opportunity to read Romeo & Juliet. In a way I was glad for it because it gave me a chance to read Tess of the D’Ubervilles and that is my all time favorite classic tragedy I’ve ever read. I am happy that my first introduction into Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was this mangafied version.

This version has the original text language and because of the imagery it allowed me to understand what was going on all the better. I think this is a great version for students who need to read the original text and it gives them an opportunity to marry the imagery with the writing and have a deeper understanding of what is going on.

If you are wanting to read this casually and not from an educational standpoint there is a modern English version that would be enjoyed much more easily. However, I appreciated the challenge this manga gave me. I was able to pick apart the metaphors and have a appreciation for the way the original text was written.

I don’t love the story of Romeo and Juliet personally. I understand loving someone to the point you don’t want to live without them. However, I don’t think that it is something that should be romanticized. This is a story where everyone sucks and the ending is one that feels like it could’ve been avoided. However, that is what makes it a tragedy and I think that this work is an important one for making way for modern writing and modern tragedies of today.

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Loved this! Especially the art style! The relationship between them is so cute! Must read for romeo and julliet fans. However the English in this felt hard to understand. It's like the actual old English Shakespeare which I found hard to read. I have always read the abridged simpler version haha. Apart from that If you like the classics old English writing style you will like it.

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Verona, Italy. Two feuding families shatter the peace of the city, continually at odds with one another while leadership struggles to maintain the balance. In the midst of this strife, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, two youths from opposite sides of the conflict, begin to fall in love. But as the war between factions continues to spiral, young romance and innocent lives are caught in the crossfire. Enter the world of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest masterpieces, now in manga form for all to enjoy!
Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet adapted by Crystal S. Chan and illustrated by Julien Choy, is an excellent version of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. The works of Shakespeare are plays, and meant to be enjoyed as a form of visual art. This manga version showcases the full glory of the play incredibly well, each page filled with stunning illustrations that captivate the eye as the tragedy unfolds. The cover is simply stunning, drawing the reader in with its unspoken message of starcrossed love. There are moments of humorous manga art; for example, there are scenes where the characters are drawn in chibi form, which lightens the mood and adds well-balanced humor to the story. Each character is distinct and full of life, and the story is easy to follow and understand. The illustrations compliment Shakespeare’s words well in this original full-text version, bridging the gap between this beloved Elizabethan play and the modern audience. Finally, the story comes to its tragic and beautiful conclusion, leaving quite an impact on the reader as the final pages turn in this exceptional work of art.
A couple of the battle scenes were a touch difficult to follow, but other than that, there is nothing to complain about in this magnificent manga masterwork. Since this manga directly adapts the play, it contains some mature content, including violence, blood, suicide, a lot of innuendo, and the full implications of young love, just like Shakespeare’s original work. While the art avoids being outright explicit, it’s pretty clear what’s going on, so I would recommend this for readers 16 and up who have enough maturity to dive into this world of love and death.
A great choice for all who love the works of William Shakespeare and want a wonderful new way to experience this classic story, as well as newcomers to the world of English literature, this incredible manga adaptation earns five out of five stars for its remarkable adaptation. Accessible to modern readers without compromising the integrity of the original play, this manga version is sure to become a favorite with students, educators, and Shakespeare fans alike.

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It’s a story everyone knows. But this version is a stunning one you can’t miss. It begins with an introduction to the swords and daggers, a few of the most important characters sketches and designs, and a note from the staff, as well as locations, behind the scenes cover design and so much more.
All this might have been one of my favorite parts of this manga. You can tell the staff put in a lot of work and care into researching every aspect of the story so they could draw it in a way Shakespeare would have been proud of.
Each illustration and panel was given equal detail and care. It’s truly a work of art. If you love Romeo and Juliet, this is a version you will want to have on your shelf.

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A wonderful adaptation of the classic. A tragic livestock that will never have its happy ending and yet continue living through different kind of medias and re-tellings.

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A classic Shakespearean tragedy, Romeo & Juliet is the tale of two star-crossed young lovers who dare to defy their feuding families, put aside all obstacles, and find happiness together - but at a tremendous cost. This grimly beautiful tale, set in the Renaissance Italy, follows Romeo and Juliet from their hateful first meeting to their last.

It was nice to read the most played out story by William Shakespeare in the form of a manga. Romeo and Juliet is the forbidden love story that lots of us have loved. I have always loved the classics, this had a modern side to it. It was a good read.

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really think that these Manga's of classic stories are a really good way to bring these stories to life for a newer audience. The art and new spin on these short stories really put them in a new perspective as you can see what is going on in the story.

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