Thanks to NetGalley & UDON for allowing me to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I have grown up with the works of Shakespeare and am very familiar with each play. Adapting Shakespeare to a manga in the 21st century is difficult because of how different his style of English was to the English used today. The end result of that is that at times whilst reading, I felt that the meaning of some of the words or phrases used might have been lost on the author, as the scenes felt a bit divorced from the dialogue. However, the art style is still very good and each character was distinct enough that you were able to recognise everyone involved.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me a copy of Romeo and Juliet manga in return for my honest review.

3/5 stars

If you are a fan of William Shakespeare then you will absolutely love this! I wish that I had grabbed the modern interpretation of this manga but I didn’t so oh well.

Romeo and Juliet wasn’t my favorite of Shakespeares work but I still figured I would try it out in manga form to see if I found it more enjoyable. The drawings and illustrations were so well done that it definitely added a fun aspect to the play.

Did I enjoy it more then the first time I read it, yes. Will I reread it again, no I won’t. But if you want a fun way to read or reread a classic I would definitely recommend grabbing one of these to read.

If I had known that this would be the version of the original text, I would not have requested a copy of this book.. I had to stop halfway through because I couldn't take it anymore. We all know that Shakespeare's language is not the easiest, and in manga format it is even harder to bear. I only give two stars because of the illustrations. Otherwise I couldn't even finish the book.
One day I hope to buy the modern version and be able to enjoy this story as it deserves.

I’m very thankful that I got to read this ARC and I must say, it’s been a pleasure to see a Shakespearean work placed into a different kind of story telling. The stylisation of text and art, I think it’s been quite balanced and portrays this very classic piece very well. It’s a very refreshing way to indulge yourself into one of Shakespeare’s play. Usually, the drama would be put up on a stage but maybe this graphic novel is a bit of a modern twist, or maybe a nice introduction to the classics.

This book adaptation is just perfect. It is brilliant and genius. The ones who came up with this idea and then made the drawings deserve all sorts of praise. I remember how I struggled reading the original Romeo and Juliet when I was at school. Not that the story was not good enough, it was… well. It was not the easiest thing to read even for an avid reader. This one? nothing has been lost of the original story, but the way it is presented makes it easy to understand and an exciting read. Who knew Shakespeare can make an exciting read!
Even my 10yr old was excited to read it and said she enjoyed it.

I think the very idea of manga classics is brilliant and this book did not disappoint. Whether you are a fan of the classic or you want to dip your toe but are scared of classics, this is a great way to start or revisit them! I love the original story and rereading it in this format was such a great experience.

The art style in this Manga Classic is beautiful! The visual aides with the story really enhances the reading experience. With that being said, I struggled to finish this. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is well known, and the manga does keep the wording from the original source. I had mixed feelings about that, however if you enjoy Shakespeare you will most definitely enjoy this! Unfortunately, Shakespeare’s prose still is not my cup of tea.

Romeo and Juliet is a classic that most people have read or heard about. I have always had a fond love for Manga Classics and this book is book is a must. I find the fact that it helps appeal to younger aduiences but keeps the classic wording that Shakespeare used. I find graphic novels to be helpful for people who struggle to focus while reading and I find that the pictures keep you engaged and give a better understanding of what is happening. I extremely enjoyed the book having fun pages with information at the beginning and end. I hope to read more in this Manga Classics series.

It`s sad, I could not read the book because graphical designs do not work with the ebook reader. But I am sure that the book is good, I do love classics and I read manga sometimes. I'm sure that people who don't usually read novels have a good chance to appreciate classics in another way. Love to see it in the bookshelves.

This was an interesting take on a classic story. As a visual person, having the images depicting the story alongside the original writing was surprisingly helpful with understanding what was going on. I've read Romeo and Juliet in the tradition text before and struggled a lot more with the language than I did this time. To be honest, going into this I was expecting it to use more modern language than the traditional text. I was kind of bumbed at first that it didn't, but it worked. I think this is a good way for teens and young adults to introduce themselves the the classics.

An interesting adaptation of the original novel by Shakespeare. Although the graphics are well done, the story was hard to follow and many of today’s youth probably will not understand this manga book. If you are able to follow the old English style of Shakespeare’s writing you will probably enjoy this novel.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beautifully drawn. Manga is a great medium for those reading shakespeare to be able to see the emotion behind the lines. Unfortunately, Shakespeare still isnt for me.

I don't have much to say about the story itself since it's Shakespeare's classic, of course. But let me just say I absolutely adore the art style! I've always wanted to read the actual classics but delay them anyway because I don't have the time and the mental bandwith but this is an awesome way to start reading (or rereading) classics!

The storyline is typical of the Shakespearean classic, no surprises or changed endings. However it is beautifully retro-fitted with manga artwork throughout. This would be great for anyone who doesn't love Shakespeare or finds it difficult to understand because the pictures help you follow the storyline. I have a lot of students that LOVE manga and this is perfect to get them interested in an otherwise typically boring topic!

This was a good edition of the Shakespeare classic with gorgeous and vivid drawings of the characters that suited their personalities - especially Benvolio because that is exactly how I pictured him in my head. I also appreciated illustrating the metaphors used by Shakespeare in the background scenes when a character talks because it gives you a better grasp of their dialogues. Highly recommend to classic lovers that appreciates visual storytelling as well.

If you love Romeo and Juliet and Manga this is a must read! The art is so cute and pretty, and I really like how this classic was adapted into a manga! I really enjoyed reading it and looking at how the scenes were illustrated!

Like many people I had to read Romeo and Juliet in high school. Also, like many people I really disliked reading Shakespeare. This version makes the story more relatable and readable. It made it so I wanted to finish the book and not just read the sparknotes.

The artwork was beautiful and the dialogue was much easier to follow then the original. I cannot get enough of these Manga Classic editions. I want to read all of them. I think this is also easily digestible for a younger audience as well.

I read this on netgalley and it's a manga with Shakespearean English and it's brutal.
It turns out I love these two things individually but together they gave me a migraine. It was hard to focus on the words and interpret the drawing.
It doesn't stray much from the source material (what with the limited page count and all) which would be nice if it didn't feel like someone tried to take my highschool homework copy of R&J and turn it into a hip new way to read Shakespeare!
It was too much and just a weird mix of the two for me and no matter how hard I wanted to love it, I failed every time.
With that said, the art is stunning, browsing through this manga as a picture book is quite enjoyable.
Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

This is a manga adaptation of the famous work of William Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet".

Romeo and Juliet has inspired an entire genre of love stories, the "star-crossed lovers". Lovers who love each other dearly but are fated to not be together.

I really liked the concept of this book. It is interesting way to read classic pieces of literature.

However, I had difficulty reading this particular copy of mine because it seemed like it was inverted ? The file I got went from last-to-first. I don't know if there was some technical error or this was how the ARC was uploaded.

Coming back to the book, the art is really beautiful and detailed. A lot of hard work and special details went by the artists into this book, and I really appreciate it. I'm sad I couldn't properly read it because it was wrongly indexed and involved a lot of swiping pages to get to the beginning of the story, which ruined the entire experience.

I know the real book would be great.

I have consumed the story of Romeo and Juliet in pretty much every format, several times, but this was the first time I came across it as a manga. Adapted by Crystal Chan and illustrated by Julien Choy, this is a feast for the eyes! Apparently, there is a version of the same manga in modern English, which might be more approachable... but who doesn't love the words of the Bard, eh?!