I read Macbeth in high school many years ago. I don’t remember all the details of it, so I wanted to read this Manga Classic graphic novel as a refresher. It was a great adaptation.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s madness was illustrated very well in this graphic novel. Macbeth start out as a fairly good, ambitious character. As he grows in status and kills people, he developed shadows on his face and aged a lot. I liked the way his madness changed his appearance.

I also liked the way the metaphors were illustrated in the pictures. There were many animal metaphors, including snakes and bears. When they were mentioned in dialogue, they were accompanied by an image of the animal. This reinforced the written text.

I love these Manga Classics! They are great adaptations of classic plays and novels!

Thank you Udon Entertainment for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Manga Classics: Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me put it this way: I got a free digital copy for review, and it was so good that before I’d even finished it I had bought the print version to finish it on. 😍😍😍 Just brought so much depth to the story, even I caught some new details! Absolutely loved this adaptation!

Recommended: Yes!!
For teachers looking for ways to make Macbeth clearer for students while still using the original language, for those who love a badass graphic novel, for an interesting and faithful illustrated interpretation of Macbeth.

Thoughts:
As an avid reader and someone who majored in English and English Education in college, I’ve read Macbeth a good number of times. I even did a thesis on it and created a website around it at one point! I have some pretty solid theories around the 3rd murderer and Hecate’s role in everything. And yet, despite my familiarity, there were still details I had never fully understood before that the manga version of Macbeth revealed to me.

One that sticks in my head is when Duncan’s crew comments on how the air is nice where they are, then spot a a certain kind of bird and say it makes sense to see one since will only live where the air is really nice. I still have no idea what “nice air” is all about, but the at least now I know what they were saying!

Point being, this was an amazing blend of modernity, through the manga illustrations, with the classic language of Shakespeare. What a powerful combo! I loved the way foreground through background was leveraged for metaphorical imagery. That’s one aspect that I think is particularly well done and powerful in conveying meaning in some of the lesser-known phrases they use. Would be SUPER helpful for students to see! It doesn’t have the explanation of words in text (ie. ‘cuckold: a man who’s been cheated on’) but it does the same through images, making it a lot more natural and still allowing readers to remain immersed and use those context clues to find meaning. Facial expressions on the characters are great at conveying the emotion and tone that can be hard to find in the text alone, as well.

The art! It’s SO GOOD! The way they slowly change Macbeth’s appearance through the story is so cleverly done and a beautiful mirror to his growth. Also, Hecate is just a straight up badass. I adore her, so seeing her look so awesome was awesome. It’s truly gorgeous, and this has immediately become a yearly re-read for me, if not more often! Macbeth is a dark and gripping story, and the manga version makes it more accessible while keeping the cleverness of the original language.

Thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free manga.*

I am not the most eager manga reader, but I do enjoy it from time to time. Macbeth as a manga sounded fun as it is really bloody and might thus be entertainning.

Yet, I am sorry to say, I did not really enjoy this Manga Classic. Somehow I missed a sense of place and individuality in connection to the characters. Macbeth looks like a 90s Rock Star with that hair, all the others are equally blunt.

The story, as you might expect, is quite dark, but I couldn't really feel the darkness. The Witches were cool though!

2,5 stars

*~.Book Analysis.~*
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader :)

Rating: 3 stars
Reading period: Sept. 27th, 2019
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley – I have received this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: Oct. 11th, 2018

PROS
The point of adapting classic books into mangas are precisely to smooth the generational transition in many cases. I myself gave a shot to several classics through their manga adaptations, books in which I probably wouldn't read anytime soon. Considering this scenery, this manga does a good job: it presents Macbeth to a larger group of readers in a softer way.

CONS
It was a shame I found out I don't really like Macbeth.

COVER ANALYSIS
This cover isn't the best among other manga adaptations that I have read from the same publisher, but I guess I'm negatively biased as an overall. It just doesn't stand out for me.

RECOMMENDED FOR
Manga, Comics and Classic lovers!

I really participate the manga classics. The artwork and the layout of the classical story is such a treat; either as a guide before the original read, or as a nice recap afterwards. With this manga I have read the classic play of William Shakespeare and this was such a wonderful retelling. The manga brought the play to another level with the art design. This adaptation is very faithful to the original play.
The play Macbeth is about a brave Scottish general who has gotten word of a prophecy claiming he will one day become the King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and then becoming devoured by guilt from committing several crimes, Macbeth transpires into madness and paranoia.

I'm a new fan of this series. I bought The Scarlet Letter for our homeschool and soon we realized that we were going to need the entire collection! Macbeth, made reading Shakespeare doable!

Oh, wow. I really liked this one. I like all the manga classic really. They make for great quick refreshers and sometimes even let you view the story in a different way, or see facets of it that weren't as obvious in the original texts. I can even get my kids to read these without a fight, and it breaks it down in a way that's much more understandable for kids than the original versions are. I really hope they continue to make more.

I read Macbeth in high school, and have been wanting to read it again for some time.

I saw this and thought, I'll give it a go.

While the art work is really well done, the manga style took away the series edge and made what is dark and claustrophobic fill feel anything but. It gave a light almost happy feel to the look that killed right away any want to continue on past the first page.

If you think that is harsh, it isn't. The copy I received breaks down each character (with sketches) and talks about the adaptation process. You see what everyone and everything is going to look like before the story even starts. So by the time it does, you're either stoked, or like me, put out.

I couldn't take it seriously.

When I received my copy of Manga Classics: Macbeth, I didn’t know what to think. I’m a fan of manga, and I’m a fan of the classics and have read most of Shakespeare’s work. I never envisioned the two genres combined, and I definitely didn’t think they would work well together, but I was so wrong. The story of Macbeth is a classic, and a phenomenal story that has been retold and retooled countless times by Hollywood and authors alike. This version of Macbeth was my favorite experience with the original play yet. I loved the author’s illustrations and felt this medium brought Macbeth to life in a way a play on stage never could. I highly recommend you check out this book, and if not this one then one of the many other Manga classics. I intend to read many more myself.

As always, these manga adaptations do not disappoint. The story and original language stay intact, but we get a stunning image of the story. The artwork is descriptive and spectacular, and this specific one is one of my favorites so far. I would encourage everybody to read these adaptations! If you think classics are boring this is definitely the version for you!

Ah, The Scottish Play. When you read it, you realize just how good it is. rather than relying upon the opinions of others. I enjoyed the artwork quite a bit. This is well worth the reading/viewing!

This Manga Classics concept it's really something. A new and fresh take on classic stories in a really easy to read format. Perfect for manga fans who are interested in classic literature but don't feel like picking a classic in the usuall format.

Getting into manga and loving Macbeth definitely enhanced my enjoyment with this one! The art is amazing and the story is as well, I'm not exactly sure how to review a manga depiction of Macbeth, but I recommend this one!

I love these manga classics and this one was no exception. I love shakespeare also, and I thought this manga did a great job recreating the story, since Macbeth is complicated.

So confession time, I know almost nothing about Shakespeare’s writing style or Macbeth. I’ve only read about the plots of some of his plays in passing.

Comparing to Manga Classics rendition of The Count of Monte Cristo to Macbeth, I think I prefer the former for its more easily comprehensible dialogue and, subjectively speaking, an art style that’s more to my preferences.

The art style employed in Macbeth is no slouch though, it’s very versatile with varying approaches to to the character designs. Some characters look tough and burly, others border on pretty and several linger in-between. They have an intensity to their poses and facial expressions that would be at home in any action-oriented shounen (for male, usually a young male demographic) manga publication. Some of the final scenes of the book boast some well-directed action.

I think that this volume, for all its efforts, is easily recommendable to people who either have a familiarity and/or affection for Macbeth, an interest in Shakespeare in general, and would like to see an ambitious attempt at marrying those concepts to a manga while keeping the dialogue purely intact and not re-written, not updated or reimagined.

I usually prefer keeping things pure in that way. I can tell this is a fine effort, but I struggled more than I would have liked to in deciphering every line. This warrants a slower and more analytical approach to reading. I do intend on checking out several more works by Manga Classics after utterly loving The Count Of Monte Cristo though. I hope they continue making these adaptations, though I might be more keen on checking out ones that adapt literature from the 1800s – early 1900s. If your purpose is to get kids/pre-teens into classics, I think some of the other adaptations by Manga Classics may be more suited to that end.

Manga Classics continues to recreate the great classics in a colorful recreation. I find it easier to read some of these classics in this manga format without taking away from the actual story. Macbeth was one of the more complicated stories by Shakespeare and this manga helped me to better understand the story.

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

This graphic novel tells the classic story of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, but in a way that might spark the interest of a new generation. The illustrator, as well as the writer who adapted the story, told the tale using an entirely different format than the original book, but still managed to capture the essence of Macbeth. Facial expressions help to convey the story, as well as depictions of certain key scenes in the play. This interpretation of the action is helped along by pieces of the original text, giving readers a clear picture as to the plot.

Manga is not for everyone, but I found it to be an interesting medium for interpreting a classic story. Having read other Manga classics before, I had a certain level of expectation and I was not disappointed. I would recommend Manga Classics: Macbeth as a companion to the original play, allowing readers to see the interpretation of the story while reading the words as they were intended.

This is another great edition of a classic play. The medium of a graphic novel truly enhances the experience of reading the play. I highly recommend this edition to anyone that has struggled with understanding Shakespeare's plays and for teachers that are struggling with teaching drama.

Shakespeare is going to find a whole new audience. The Manga Classics version of Macbeth will bring this story to people who may not have wanted to read the original.

The Manga version allows so much more leeway for the artists to help the reader understand the story. Shakespeare is difficult to read in the original translation, but this one was much more understandable for me as a reader. The excellent artwork accompanying the text really helped me understand what was happening in the story. The text used is the original unabridged text. However, the addition of fine art made it really come alive.

For example, as a reader, you can actually see the transformation taking place in the character of Macbeth. In the beginning pages, he is shown as a normal, seemingly happy character. But, as the negativity of his desire for more and more power takes hold of him, you see those transformations. His facial expressions dramatically change. His appearance reflects the changes too. Without the art to help envision this, it’s tough to see.

The same happens with other characters. His wife, for example. And others surrounding them. The three sisters are really creepy and you get the sense that they are up to no good right from the beginning. Their antics are emphasized by how they appear and disappear from the scenes.

Overall, I really loved this adaptation. I think it will help bring alive the tales of Shakespeare for a new generation. There’s also a Manga Classics adaptation of Romeo and Juliet available. Other books in the classics series that I have read have also been excellent. I recommend them!

This was my first experience with a manga version of a classic literary piece. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised at how close it stuck to the source material. The artwork is really nice as well. I could see this being a great way to introduce Shakespeare to the newer generations.