Member Reviews
Thank you Netgally for giving me this opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say the soft illustration of the cover drew me in when I saw it's a manga adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. I was curious to see how well the story was adapted considering how well known the play is and many screen adaptations have been made over the years. I'm not going to say much about the Montagues and Capulets since this is a well known Shakespearean play.
If you are not familiar with manga, do not worry for there are instructions on how to read the story and follow along. There is also a lovely map detailing the characters which is pretty neat! The art and design of the characters are done exceptionally well and I think capture the characters wonderfully. Manga art is always lovely to appreciate and Romeo and Juliet adaptation does not disappoint with the story.
I think it was fair to follow along. At the end of the manga, there is information about Shakespeare which is pretty cool if you want to know a bit more. Overall, this manga classic was beautifully done. I highly recommend this manga, if not for anything else, the enjoyment of the art.
Thank you again.
Romeo and Juliet is a classic. When I discovered the accompanying manga, I was curious to see how well it was implemented.
The cover alone already gave an insight into the drawing style and I'm totally excited about it. The colleration is also perfect for me. I really like the colors.
I don't think I have to say more about the story of the Montagues and Capulets. Everyone knows Shakespeare's most famous work.
I am enthusiastic about this classic and I am totally in love with the soft drawing style. The subject is nothing new in the manga and anime area, and yet it's great to see the work done again in such a classic way. It was implemented well and nothing was left out.
All in all a really good edition and worth 5 stars for me.
I enjoyed this one far more than the Manga Classic Macbeth. Romeo and Juliet is a bit easier to follow than Macbeth, which definitely helped.
I found this version of Romeo and Juliet to make more sense than the play - the illustrations helped illuminate some of the more obscure dialogue. Of course, that made the crude jests of the boys that much more obvious, but ah well.
The illustrations are lovely and the characters richly and distinctly drawn so I had no trouble distinguishing between them as I did in Macbeth. The heightened (and overwrought) emotions of Romeo and Juliet were beautifully illustrated, and being able to "see" the play made it obvious how young Romeo and Juliet were, and how passionate and easily led astray.
Love this format to put classics into a manga comic for everyone can read it and understood it in a very simple way.
The manga version of this play is not any easier to understand either. I read the first act before giving up.
I absolutely love this concept. As a teacher, it is often a struggle to adapt novel studies and plays to each student's individual learning style. I know many students who would benefit from reading classics in Manga form. I have always enjoyed the art in Manga, but have difficulty reading them myself (focus is difficult when I have to decipher images and text in unison), but for many, this is the ideal form of literature. While this was more difficult for me to get through, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.
Pertaining to the technical aspects: There were many points about this work that should be appreciated. First of all, I could recommend it to students even if they had never read Manga before because it provides detailed instructions on how to correctly read it. I could tell them where to start and they could take it from there. Second, there is a "map" of the characters to ensure that the reader can identify individuals. Finally, at the end of the story, there was a great deal of information about the development of this Manga, about Shakespeare, and other pertinent information. It was beautifully done and I appreciate the amount of work that must have been put into this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for providing a copy of this e-book for review.
This is the second manga classic that I read, the first one was "The stories of Edgar Allan Poe". I knew the story of Romeo and Juliet and I read the play before the manga. The manga is a great adaptation of the play, the art and the characters design is so well done. I highly recommend this adaptation if you want to start reading classics because they don't adapted the script at all. That means, you can read the original play but with the plus of seeing amazing art.
Poor Nurse!
As a child, I absolutely adored my father's stash of Classic Comics, so I was curious to see what a manga version of the classics would be. I've previously reviewed Macbeth, and I was not wild about that particular adaptation. So I thought I'd try a softer Shakespeare play (so to speak!) to see if I liked that better. I do. I especially like the early scenes between Romeo and Juliet, particularly when they first meet. I think those scenes show the wonder and the romance well. The only thing I didn't like about this book is the depiction of the nurse. She is one of my favorite characters, and they've made her look really goofy and odd in this book—barely human looking—not the way I see her at all. As this is manga, it is read from back to front and right to left. This is only my second taste of manga—only having been familiar with the generalities of the basic look of it but never having read it—and I found this book easier to read and follow along with than Macbeth by the same publishers. The version I received as a PDF ARC copy is strictly in black and white (except the cover and some front and back matter), and I sincerely hope that the published version is in color as black and white is very flat. There is no Look Inside at Amazon, so I can't tell. If you enjoy manga and Shakespeare, you may like this manga version of this classic tragic love story.
I loved this adaptation of another famous classical work, Romeo and Juliet. It is very true to the classic and the artwork is another wonderful way to experience the story. I love reading manga, so of course I had to read this one.
A classic tragedy about how teenage boys are idiots and should never have swords or poison, the manga edition of Romeo and Juliet is well worth a read and is a lot of fun. It's been years since I've read R+J, and Shakespearean English can take a while to back into so I really like how they utilized the fantasy and visual aspects of the manga format to make the metaphors and wordplay clear. And I don't think they cut any of the dialog or scenes for this; may be the next best thing to seeing a full live adaptation.
The Art style was absolutely beautiful, I couldn’t get enough of it. But while I’ve always enjoyed Romeo & Juliet I know how controversial that statement is. I’ve always had a hard time with his writing, maybe it’s the fact that my English isn’t my first language. So that took away a lot for me, but no matter this Manga was absolutely lovely.
I think that getting a little background on how this came about; a note from the illustrator was incredible. I love how unique this concept was to me and while I didn’t have the easiest of time reading this. I couldn’t deny the beauty and genius behind this.
Thank you Netgalley for this amazing opportunity to review this.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a digital review copy.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!! The illustrations were beautiful and it reminded me of the MangaShakespeare books which I used to read in my youth. I love how it stays true to the Shakespearean language and style. I would definitely get a physical copy of this if I could.
Great graphics although I find the flow of the story a bit slow, not that I 'm not aware of Romeo and Juliet because I am. Also, I am encountering problem in reloading the file in the end. To be specific, it keeps asking for my drm account despite having it input and authorised. So, I wasn't able to finish it. Thank you for the chance though.
I really liked the idea of a comic book styled after a Classic novel. I really like classics but sometimes they are so hard to get through and can take me a really long time. Not to mention I am a visual learner so when I found out there were Manga Classics I just HAD to read one. Romeo and Juliet is one of my all time favorite classics I really liked the art style. This was also my first time reading a Manga and I was a little nervous because I had never read one before it was very easy to read and adjust too. I would highly recommend this book for a bit of a change from everyday reading especially if you enjoy classics.
I picked up Manga Classics: Les Miserables earlier this year and fell so in love that I knew I needed to read more of them! Romeo and Juliet is a story we all know, and probably one of shakespeare's most popular stories. Tackled wonderfully here, this is a great homage to the story and as always is totally stunning. I honestly just can't wait to read more of these as I come across them!
Wow. I love any retellings of Romeo and Juliet’s story, I love the movie, and now I love this manga. This was a beautiful manga adaptation of the classic Romeo and Juliet. I like any kind of forbidden romance so Romeo and Juliet’s story is one of my favorites. The illustrations in this manga are so beautiful. If you’re a fan of Romeo and Juliet, give this a go!
That was... a bit much.
The art in this manga is very good and is does a good job of symbolizing the emotions of the people on the page. The 17th century dialogue however is where it lost me. I could understand most of what was happening on the pages from glimpses of modern English and the art but other than that I was lost. From what I could understand I enjoyed for the most part, the forbidden romance angst was a bit much for me, and from what I couldn't I skimmed.
Another Manga classic I can only recommend if you read and enjoyed the original novel. That obviously wasn't me so this one is just a 3 star.
Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare has always been a great classic story, and I feel like the manga really brings everything to life. If you have never read Romeo and Juliet or you are just looking for another format of the story then I highly recommend this one! I personally love manga so it was really fun seeing a story so loved by many turn into a manga without straying from the original story.
Because it is in manga form though, it did lose some of its depth which sometimes made it more two-dimensional, but that's to expected since it is a condensed artistic version of the story. None the less, I don't think it took too much from the story as it was still very enjoyable to read.
I know the book can be intimidating, so this would be a great way to introduce the story to someone or even to read it if you're a fan of Romeo and Juliet like I am!
*This book was given to me for free from NetGalley in turn of an honest review.
It took me a while to read this, not because it’s a long read or because I didn’t like it. I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from the beautiful art!! I kept going back to look at the drawings over and over. They were simply captivating. It also gave a more dramatic take on Romeo and Juliet that you just can’t have with really actors. The nurse was hilarious, even just looking at her face cracked me up. And Romeo is so over the top with feeling that I love him all the more. Juliet is my favorite because she’s perfect and lovely in every scene. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare, manga, or love stories, you have got to pick this up!! Just gorgeous!!!
The art was well done and the story was very enjoyable. I always love having a chance to read a story in a different medium, especially one as celebrated as Romeo and Juliet.