I never admitted it till now but I'm kind of not into Shakespeare. I had a horrible incident in the 7th standard where, in spite of my stage fright, I was made to read a character from Hamlet during class reading and I got so nervous during that play that I ended up hating it for being so lengthy and for, of course, having so many characters.
Since then I've had trouble even reading, let alone liking, any of his works. And as it turns out, I can't even stand the Manga of his works. So maybe I'm not into his style of writing or storytelling.

This book's art is beautiful, as expected.

Story wise, it's nice. It reminded me of Doomed Love and, like Doomed Love, this story doesn't work as a graphic novel. There are a lot of introspective scenes , so the artists chose to draw things that were too cheesy for my taste. I know they were meant to enhance the metaphors but it felt too on the nose.

Character wise, they're dramatic, as expected.

Overall, this was a nice book. It did have its faults but it didn't make me lose interest in the original work.

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing with a copy of this book to read and review.

I originally read Romeo and Juliet in high school, I had trouble understanding the language. I love the manga form much more, though I did still have a hit of trouble understanding the language. The art work was once again beautiful and each character was different which made telling them apart very simplistic.

I give this book 3/5 although I enjoyed it I did have some trouble with the language. I will still purchase and recommend though. I will have to research the old English for words I did not understand.

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I listened to the audiobook version of this play on Librivox and I just read the graphic novel version of it and I feel like this version makes the story come alive and I enjoyed it.

Honestly, this is my least fave of the Manga classics. But it's still 4/5 stars, so I think you know where I am going with this.

These manga adaptations are brilliant. My fave so far was the Count of Monte Cristo, but that's also my fave book... so, I was biased toward it. My relationship with Mr. Shakespeare is a wee bit more complicated. I appreciate his stories but reading the English of his era tests my nerves, it's just not natural to me. If I wanted to recommend Shakespeare to someone like me? I'd either go with an audiobook or this version. It's a little more compact. And the manga art form just makes anything more enjoyable.

This is a great place to start someone reading Shakespeare.

Book Review
Title: Romeo and Juliet (Manga Classics)
Author: Crystal S. Chan (Adaptation), Julien Choy (Art), William Shakespeare (From the original play by), Akanovas (Lettering), Jeannie Lee (Lettering)
Genre: Classic/Manga
Rating: *****
Review: So, everyone and their mother knows Romeo and Juliet but if anyone has tried to read and/or study Shakespeare it is a pain to read, so I was thrilled to get hold of the manga classics version of one of my favourite star-crossed lovers stories ever. In the opening to Romeo and Juliet we are introduced to the age-old feud between the Houses of Montague and Capulet. However, studying this as a child I didn’t realise how dark the opening actually is. After a small fight in the street our Romeo appears, and I just love the innocent, bishi look he has been given.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the manga, we see the peace treaty drawn up between the two houses and a banquet is to be held in Paris’ honour as he announces the woman he’d like as his bride. We learn that Romeo has recently broken up with a woman he claims to love and is going to attend the ball on the rebound while Juliet is the object of Paris’ affection. I think that makes the story all the more tragic in the end. While the old English remains, I felt that some of the comedic elements added in and the more romantic elements would have more of an impact if they were written in modern English. I would recommend that you brush up on your old English if you haven’t read or studied it in a while.
I loved the friendship between Romeo and Mercutio which is really highlighted in this format as well as a lot of other things. We see the masked ball where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time but not before we see Tybalt causing trouble because a Montague has found his way into their party, but his hand is stayed by the Lord. One disturbing thing I had to mention was Juliet isn’t even 14 at the start of this story while Romeo’s age isn’t definitely he is older than he maybe 15 or 16.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the manga, Romeo and Juliet share their first kiss and their second. The pair seem to have fallen in love at first sight despite Juliet knowing that she might be promised to another. However, it is only after the ball that both learn who the other is and realise that their love can never be as they are born of the enemy and it is something that neither of their parents will allow, but that won’t stop them. We then get to the famous balcony scene in the manga which is far longer than I ever remember it being but alas it is, and it is wonderful. We see the love blooming between the pair and I am sure it will make the ending all the more sad when we already know where the pair end up.
As we approach the halfway mark in the manga, Romeo arranges with Friar Lawrence to marry his love on the morrow to which Juliet agrees and the plan is set in motion for her to be made a wife and kept away from Paris’ attentions. Juliet gets away from her family and heads for the church where Romeo is waiting for her along with Friar Lawrence. Reading this play in manga form is strange because you notice far more of the comedic elements, but you also notice more of what is going on outside of the whirlwind romance including the rising tensions that leads to the ending of the play.
However, the peace between the families doesn’t last long when Tybalt kills Mercutio and is killed by Romeo in turn leading to Romeo being banished on pain on death. However, he can’t stand to be apart from his love, desperate and willing to end his own life rather than be separated from his wife, Friar Lawrence and Juliet’s nurse come up with a plan to bring the lovers together again. What the lovers don’t know is that Juliet’s parents are still making plans for her to marry Paris in the coming week. Knowing what sets the final arc into motion I was desperate to see how it is played out in manga form but at the same time I didn’t want to read any further because I was attached to the characters.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the manga, the Capulets swear to make Romeo pay for killing Tybalt and this is something Juliet can not allow, however, when her impending marriage to Paris is announced she knows she has to act quickly or lose her love forever. She visit Friar Lawrence who gives her guidance as he did Romeo earlier on, he also gives her a vial that will simulate death. Upon returning home she repents and tells her father that she will marry Paris fully intending to “die” before that can happen.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, there isn’t much left of the story apart from the climax. The climax itself was beautifully presented and it is heartbreaking to think of all the death in this novel, but it is Romeo and Juliet’s deaths that bring about peace between their people which they had wanted for so long and never lived to see it.
Overall, the beautiful and stunning artwork really captured the essence of the story, but the language used is a little complex to process. I would have preferred to have the story in modern English with only key scenes like the balcony scene, the wedding and the climax reverting to old English. However, I have to say my favourite quote is “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo” because it just sums up the entire story in a single sentence.
As always Udon Entertainment’s manga classics are highly recommended.

Another wonderful adaptation of a Shakespeare classic! The graphics are once again beautiful. Despite it being a tragedy, Romeo and Juliet is an amazing story, and I believe having it as a manga will help encourage adolescents to appreciate these classics.

I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare, so I thought that giving him a chance in manga form is a good idea.
And it is - the artwork is absolutely gorgeous, but it still didn't make me feel better towards the actual story. Suicidal love - just not my thing.

It was also a bit strange to see old language together with manga art - I was excepting a little bit of better readability, maybe a tad modern English adaptation, but that wasn't the case. It's not particularly a bad thing, since keeping the old classic the way it is is great, but I do feel like in this instance manga would have benefited more if it was even slightly modernized.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy provided for a review. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.

I love the art and the character design. They resemble the characters very well. The language used is also the Old English that Shakespeare used in the original play. I thought it would be in modern english but using the kind of english the author used is very helpful to students these days. I always believe these classic mangas are educational but this by far just might be the most helpful of all.

The emotion captured in the images is heartbreaking and luscious all at once! The story is presented in such a beautiful way, that I found it shedding light on parts of this story I hadn't noticed before. A definite five stars from me!

The Manga Classics series is a joy to read! Thank you so much to the creators for bringing this series to life!

Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet but I couldn't resist trying it on a manga platform! It was a refreshing beautifully drawn story that I enjoyed reading even though it doesn't end in with a happy ever after

I LOVE Shakespeare! I've never thought that Romeo and Juliet was a great romance, like so many believe, but I do love the story. This Manga version of the Bard's tale was fun to read and I enjoyed the illustrations. My one gripe with this text, is the way they drew Tybalt. He was portrayed as a classic villain with a pointy black mustache and dark hair -very unlike the Tybalt in my head. Aside from that, this adaptation of R&J is well-done and very enjoyable to read.

UDON Entertainment and NetGalley have provided me with an electronic copy of Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The most striking part of this adaptation is the cover art, as it conveys the story in a clear and concise manner. The book itself is not without challenges, as Shakespeare's words can be dense and difficult to follow. Because Manga is a highly visual art, I was hopeful that the depictions of the action in the book would be easier to understand. In their zeal to tell the whole story, many of the pages simply get bogged down in the details. I found this version of Romeo and Juliet hard to follow and did not feel that the artwork did enough to tell the story.

I have read several of Crystal Chan's adaptations of classics and Romeo and Juliet is the least successful thus far. Usually, the artwork helps the reader to visualize the original literature, but I was not impressed by the level of creativity throughout the book. The last few pages were well drawn and represented the story well, but most of the book contains Shakespeare's dialogue with little visual reference. Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet is a missed opportunity to tell the classic love affair in a way that many would understand, but it may spark some interest in Shakespeare for readers who normally would not enjoy his works.

4 stars
I’ve read several of the Manga Classics and have always found them to be well done. This one is no different. The artwork is lovely. Original text as written.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Udon Publishing, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I’ve been reading the Manga Classics since the beginning and I really like how they bring classics to life in a new way. Especially some stories have been told so many times in so many different ways that it is difficult to bring something new to the stage (see what I did there?), and now they have branched into a new field: Shakespeare. Shakespeare has been turned into manga before (at least I believe I saw some lying in The Globe shop last year, but I haven’t read those (yet)).

They start with Romeo and Juliet, probably a logical choice but also one of my least favourite Shakespeare plays. All the original text is included, and the drawings help with understanding some of the more difficult metaphors if needed. Manga really lends itself into exaggerating personalities into caricatures (especially with characters like the nurse which already have these tendencies).

Nice artwork make a nice adaptation, but I would be looking forward to other plays which are said to come soon!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

So, honestly, I didn't actually read this. I skimmed it. I have read Romeo and Juliet previously. So I knew exactly what happened.

It was well done, in my opinion. The art was done well, not really my style but done well.

The only thing I would have changed is that it was written in old English. I would have liked it to be modern and I feel more people would enjoy it better if it was written in more modern English. But overall, it was well done and it was enjoyable to see the manga version of a story I know and love.

If there's one thing this book has proven, it's that I'm not cut out for Shakespeare.

That is not the fault of this book. This book is kind of awesome. Manga artwork is always stylized and (in my opinion) really beautiful, but both Romeo and Juliet are stunning. And Tybalt, my lord. The first shot of him is kind of amazing.

But the language. Ohhhhh, that Shakespearian language. We are not friends. I had hopes that the dialogue plus art would make the story easy to follow, but if anything, it made it worse. Things got a little too Manga for me, and I just ended up confused and not a little annoyed.

If you like Shakespeare, I think you'll definitely get a kick out of this. If you're like me and thou wants to kick him a bit, you might not enjoy it.

A wonderful reimagining of a classic tale in a new format. The art is gorgeous and gives a new life to a story that everyone knows.

I thought this was a book that I should actually compare with the original one, due to it being a play. And I’m actually really happy I did!

Romeo and Juliet has been on my TBR for quite a while, but I was always afraid of not understanding the language. Well, I’m incredibly happy this manga exists because it’s almost exactly the same as the book. There are very tiny things missing so it’s like you are actually reading the original (without reading that someone enters or exits the scene because you are seeing it). It’s a mix between reading and seeing the play.

In terms of story, it’s incredibly accurate and I loved seeing it in manga format. I think it adds a lot to see the characters’ reactions and emotions, although sometimes they might not be entirely accurate, for what I can tell, sometimes they might confuse a bit… Anyway, manga has normally more extreme reactions/emotions in the characters’ faces and acts than any other, so that might just be the reason. It’s just a different style, and at any rate, a pleasant and fun one.

The manga design was really good and very detailed like always. And I believe that this one might have the most detailed characters so far. There’s a lot of characters in here and they were all pretty easy to recognize. Also, Juliet is supposed to be 13, and I believe she does look rather teenager-y. I really liked how she was designed, she looks sweet and delicate.

I can’t say this is my favorite story, but it’s for sure a good manga. It might be helpful for someone that hasn’t read the classic to get some annotations on the language tho. At least for me, it did help.

Overall I really liked reading this and it made me finally read the original classic, which is always a plus. I liked it more than I thought I would, and it had a lot less romance than I thought too. It has a lot more to it than just Romeo and Juliet, which was actually for me, not the best part of it in terms of story but the best part in terms of drawings – they were just so beautiful! But storywise, I mostly loved the hate between the Capulet family and the Montague family.

Definitely recommend it, either if you already like Romeo and Juliet or if you are new to it like I was. It’s a pleasant manga to read and the perfect way to get acquainted with a classic (especially if you are a fan of manga like I am).

*Also, that cover is so incredibly beautiful!! I love both the colors and the design!

I thoroughly enjoyed this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. The imagery in the manga was amazing in that it helped to show the meanings of the dialogue, which understandably can be hard to decipher given Shakespeare's text. I feel this makes this play more accessible to an audience which may not have had access or the desire to read it. The art style captures the different characters and their manners perfectly, which further allows the reader to understand who these people are and their roles in the story.