This was a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”. The art style of this manga was amazing, but English is not my naive language and I usually don’t read lots of classics, so reading this was kind of a struggle. I’m pretty sure people who’ve already read something Shakespeare or who are more used to reading classics might love it.

As a big fan of mangas and of Shakespeare, this was one of my favorite reads out of the Manga Classics!
With amazing art, it follows my favorite play by the book and it was a beautiful read! Totally now on my list for buying to my friends that have not yet read Macbeth!

Five out of five stars with full recommendation!

Thank you NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for this amazing chance to re-read Macbeth with a Manga so beautiful like this

A new approach to an old classic that breathes life into a good story. This Macbeth interpretation is a great place for younger readers to start to learn and understand some of Shakespeare's more difficult dialogue. Recommended for Manga fans, young readers, and fans of retellings for all ages.

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Book Review

Title: Manga Classics: Macbeth

Author: Crystal S. Chan (Adapted by), William Shakespeare & Julien Choy (Illustrations)

Genre: Manga

Rating: *****

Review: So, from all the manga classics I have read all stick very close to the original source material so I won’t be going in-depth into the story as most people have read Macbeth at some point in the educational lives or they are familiar with the source material. When I read Macbeth in Comprehensive school, I found it to be a very raw, gritty and visceral story so I was excited to see how the story would translate to a more visual format.

To summarize Macbeth: A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. I was correct about this particular play translating well into manga as it opens with a bang and Macbeth makes a great entrance into the story and from the moment, he meets the witches we can see his path laid before him.

One thing I love about Macbeth is a lot of the key scene are foreshadowed in earlier scenes, for example, when the witches first meet Macbeth, they reveal that he will someday be king, but they do not specify that he will obtain that position by murdering Duncan.

There is an astounding amount of the original information from the play in this manga, but most aren’t in dialogue although this manga does contain far more dialogue than there is in traditional manga. I found the way the manga was drawn really allowed the bloody and grim nature of the play to blossom in a way the original material doesn’t. However, I did find that much of the tension and suspense found in the original play are lost be seen a visual representation.

Overall, I really loved the version of Macbeth and seeing both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s decent in madness and eventual death and I highly recommend all the manga classics series, however, there is a fair amount of dialogue in all of them which isn’t common in manga.

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I know I’ve said this time and time again, but I sincerely adore the concept behind Manga Classics. I love that it gives me a new perspective on many of the classics I know and love. And for those I haven’t read it gives me an excuse to try them out and not be quite so intimidated (we’ve all come across that one classic that was so large it was impossible not to be intimidated by it).
I think it’s great that they’re working so hard to help expose more people to the classics by making them more approachable. Plus it’s fun seeing something so well known turned into a different medium (after all, that’s why movie and TV adaptations are so popular, right? Well, one of the reasons at least).
I can’t get enough of the Manga Classics, truth be told. It felt like I waited a year for the next one to come out, when it was really only a few months (which is a very fast turnaround time, I’d like to point out).
I’ve been hoping for a while now that they would do a manga version of Macbeth, and it looks like I finally got my wish! I’ll admit that even though I was looking forward to it, I was shocked by just how well it adapted into manga form.
It’s always interesting to see how these classic characters would translate into manga characters. I was a bit surprise by Macbeth’s, but I think that has more to do with how I picture him versus how he was described. I adored the representation of almost all of the characters, but some of the side characters in particular really stood out to me as being amazingly accurate (and no, I’m not really sure why they stood out to me in particular). I love the more stylized manner in which the witches were drawn as well. It really suited their more ethereal nature, and frankly it made them look creepier, so it was a brilliant choice all around.
The artist’s choice of including imagery in the background during specific scenes (usually the ones with more dialogue than most) was brilliant. It helped convey the deeper meaning and implications of the words, while not disrupting the immersion.
Overall I really loved this adaptation. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. And the best part? In the back of the book they listed the upcoming classics, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream is shown! All of my wishes and dreams have come true! I’m the happiest girl ever. Now I just have to be patient and wait for its release!

I read some of this but I just couldn't get into it. That's definitely more my problem than any problem with the book itself. I often have trouble getting into Shakespeare and understanding the language and I thought the manga format might help me with this particular title. Unfortunately it didn't really work for me, but it looks like a pretty good adaptation and I'm sure this will be very enjoyable for a lot of people.

Another great manga classic. Wasn't sure how the Shakespeare would translate but I think it worked really well. A great graphic novel series.

This is my first contact with Shakespeare and I had a bit of a hard time with it. This is my third manga classic and my least favorite, only because I couldn't get into the shakesperean writing style. The artwork is still gorgeous and it helps a lot to see what's going on.
Just not a big fan of Shakespeare literature.

It's been a long time since I've read a manga or a Shakespeare play so the combination of the two was amazing! Macbeth has always been a favorite out of Shakespeare's works so being able to essentially get a crash course through the story was a lot of fun. The artwork is beautiful and just really brings the story to life. Highly recommend!

As usual, Udon Entertainment brings classics to life in the beautifully drawn manga. This genre allows readers to really see what is going on. This helps a lot when many older classics are overrun with wordiness that makes it easier to get lost. Macbeth is teh same: the art beautiful portrays wahat's going whic is very helpful for a play since it is a visual medium. The only issue is that it is still in the old language which is always what confuses me. But thanks to the gorgeous illustrations I was able to follo3w along and truly understand what was going on with characters. I loved their version of Lady Macbeth in particular.

One more incredible manga rendition of a great classic, a Shakesperean tragedy of epic proportion that still addresses raw human emotions like greed, ambition, regret, loyalty. Macbeth's rise to power and following downfall are depicted in powerful strokes and the text is true to the original play. It is not one of the easiest or most entertaining works of Shakespeare, but it is a classic you should not miss even in its manga form.

It was a little bit strange to read a manga written in Shakespeare's English, but still, if you want to read a good story or if you want your kid to read Macbeth without complaining, this seems to me a good compromise..

Era un po' strano leggere un manga nell'inglese di Shakespeare, ma tutto sommato se volete rileggere una bella storia o se vostro figlio deve leggere Macbeth, ma non ne ha voglia, questo mi sembra un giusto compromesso.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

I've never read Macbeth but I really enjoyed this adaptation and the artwork was nice enough. However, I didn't like the way this ARC was made. I've read a lot of digital manga and this is the first time I've actually had to go to the end of the file to find the first page.

Yet another worthwhile rendition of a classic work from this publisher. Reluctant readers I have worked with love these books.

It's no secret that I really like the Manga Classics series. Chan and artist Julien Choy did a great job with Romeo & Juliet and The Jungle Book, and now they've done great work again in this rendition of Macbeth.

I was a little skeptical going into it because, as with most Shakespeare but maybe more so with Macbeth, the real drama to me is not so much in what the characters are saying but how they're saying it. But I wasn't disappointed at all. The art adds a dimension to the story that isn't so simple to pull off in a theater or even in a movie. And I especially like how Choy drew Macbeth and his insanity - very well done.