I was skeptical when I downloaded "Manga Classics: Macbeth" because while I enjoy manga, I'm not as keen on Shakespeare. That said, I think the combination for this manga works. The entirety of "Macbeth" is not contained in this tankubon. Rather, the creators pick scenes that fit the narrative that they want to present. I liked it because it doesn't take away from the story, but rather condenses it. The art is good, if a bit generic. Macbeth is a bit too smooth (I like Macbeth rough), but for this presentation, I'm good with it. Overall, it is a fun read.

I have read several of these manga classics now and I just absolutely love the artwork - this was a great retelling.

Illustrations were top notch, the story's a classic so I can't really trash it but I'll just say it's not for me. Maybe if I didn't have to study it, it would've been better.

A great way for kids to read a classic Shakespeare and be able to visual the words that they are reading. Old English is hard for most people to read but seeing facial expressions and scenes play out can help any student learn what is happening in this story.

Another thoughtful classic manga that makes my classic reading journey is more fun. The beautiful artwork helps alot to make the story easy to understand and standout. The narrative using the real classic draft so maybe kinda difficult to understand for some who not get use to classic style language. The kid will enjoy to learn classic more with this manga.

Thanks Netgally for providing me with this copy.

Another example of a Manga Classic that was written with education in mind. There are cast pages which really help identify who was who in the story. It uses the original Shakespearean English and combined with the art it will help the play make more sense for a lot of students.

Creative Team;
By Shakespeare
Art by Julien Choy
Adapted by Crystal S Chan
Lettering by Wing-Yin Leung and WT Francis

1.5★
DNF 50%

I tried really hard to finish this books, but i couldn'd, i feel so sad for this because i had great expectations.

I can't say a lot about this manga because i dnf'ed so I will tell what i was experienced in the first half of the manga, the writing, i couldn't really connect with the reading style, it was so difficult for me to read it, i couldn't get into the history because of this. Also I felt that some of the dialogues were weird, because it felt more like thoughts that something that the characters would say out loud.

I was annoyed with the characters for some reason, i couldn't connect with them.

But not all was bad, I liked the ilustrations and the cover is pretty too. I recomend you to read it though, because I think that the moment i read this manga, i was just not into reading and definetly not a classic.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see that this manga book uses Shakespeare's original text, rather than modernized, simplified language for a young audience! Of course it is abridged, but it does a wonderful job of introducing kids to Shakespeare's rich and memorable stories and immortal lines in a gentle and entertaining way. This book will no doubt make young readers feel intrigued by the gripping plot of Macbeth and inspire them to act out their own versions of the play.

It wasn't a nice read for me. The plot seemed to me missing and story somehow felt less interesting. I didn't understand half of it.

I love seeing classic stories told in different ways. "Manga Classics: Macbeth" is such a fun way to take in the William Shakespeare classic. I'm not used to reading manga so it took me a little while to remember to read from back to front but once I got the hang of it I really got sucked into the story. I haven't read Macbeth in almost 14 years so it was nice to be refreshed on the story. I loved seeing the characters come to life in the manga art style. It is truly beautiful. I highly recommend this adaptation, especially for those who may have trouble focusing while reading. The manga format could be the key to help you read some classics. Macbeth isn't my favorite Shakespeare work but it was still a lot of fun to read as a manga.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book for free.

Disclaimer: I was provided an ARC of this for a fair and honest review.

I'll start by saying that this Manga Classic was actually a bit harder to enjoy than the others. While the art is again gorgeous--thanks to the wonderful Julien Choy--this is not a beginners book. If you've never read Macbeth before this may seem like an easy way to jump into the classic but it's not. It's clunky. Very clunky. I would honestly consider this a great assignment assistant for classrooms currently studying it as the visuals add a little something that just reading plain Shakespeare doesn't.

The one thing that the manga version does get right since with it's artistic expression is the imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare used to signify innocence and guilt, which for readers might have been something easier to miss while just reading texts. But you have to be looking for it when reading otherwise it might not make sense. It's an otherwise beautiful book and great to have if you want to have the complete Manga Classics collection but it's by no means a replacement for the actual story.

I have the same feeling than I've had with Romeo and Juliet, and I think it's just me who can't really stand Shakespeare's writing. Maybe it's also the fact I don't feel like a play can be made into a manga without changing a bit of the talk? As a play, they talk so much and have rhymes and basically tell out loud what they're doing - so transfering everything into a manga doesn't fit well to me, I guess? It just feels like we get the action both drawn and told by the character, and it's just overwhelming.

I didn't enjoyed much of the story of Macbeth, sadly, so it didn't helped with my feeling towards this. However I did enjoyed the illustrations and it was well done, really loved everything about the sisters, hecate, the ghosts etc - also really loved how Lady Macbeth was pictured!

Before I go into more detail, I want to put a disclaimer that I have never been good at understanding Shakespeare's writing. I was forced to read the original version of Macbeth in high school without any of the "modern English translations" to help, and as a result, I never fully comprehended exactly what was going on the entire story. As such, I was kind of hoping this manga would be written more like modern day English, but that was not the case. This made it a struggle for me to enjoy the story or get through the book at all. However, I think this would be a great supplement for younger readers who are reading Macbeth for school and DO have teacher's guiding them through the original play.

The artwork seems to match the story and tone well enough. Although the art style isn't fully to my taste, there's good variation in character designs, emotions come through well in expressions, and the atmosphere is fitting for the story at hand.

Those who understand and are interested in Macbeth will likely enjoy this manga, and I would definitely recommend it for any high schoolers looking for something to help them visualize the script.

I've read several of the Manga Classics books and like all the other ones I've read, their adaptation of Macbeth is yet another visually stunning work. The art is really good; the attention to detail and the clear amount of thought that went into it will make it appealing to even readers who may not necessarily be fans of manga. The depiction of the escalation, the fantastical, and the philosophical are all really well done. The "visual" part of this book as a visual novel is definitely there.

That said, like with other Shakespearean adaptations, I'm not sure how successful Macbeth translates into manga (or any kind of graphic novel) format. This is by no fault of Manga Classics, as I do feel that they've done the absolutely best that can be done with such an undertaking. When reading this, it did often feel tedious, and it makes me wonder what sort of audience would get the most enjoyment and/or benefit from this work. It could be a cute and surprising gift to a lover of Shakespeare, although I'd imagine someone who is too strong a fan of Shakespeare may find this book offensive for the omissions that it has chosen, and quite possibly at how the characters are depicted. I think that this book might serve as a helpful companion for young students experiencing their first exposure to Shakespeare, as among that crowd it is very rare for an individual to take to Shakespeare with a passion. A fully illustrated book may very well bridge that gap of unapproachableness for a young student, facilitate comprehension, and instill interest.

All in all, kudos to the artists and arrangement team of Manga Classics. This is another solid effort.

A fine appropriation of a classic Shakespeare tale. The drawings were great and it would be a great resource for teachers who are struggling to engage students. Overall a great resource.

Sorry, but this book wasn't my cup of tea. I had loved the Manga Classic version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" and had assumed this to be written in a similar vein. But this is the original text version and not a modern English version as I had assumed. Shakespeare's original text is too convoluted for my liking and my mind keeps getting distracted. As NetGalley needs me to rate this, I am giving it three stars because I am sure it will work well for the right kind of reader. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

If you’re looking for a visual representation of Macbeth, this manga is a good source to look into! As with other stories from UDON Entertainment, the graphics are heavily visual and the extra material provides a lot of insight into how this story came to become a comic book.

Special thanks to NetGalley, UDON Entertainment, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC, and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads!

#LifeLongLearning #MacbethMangaclassics #NetGalley

How I wish I could've had access to something like this when I was studying Macbeth during my university days! This is a great adaptation, and it was no small feat! The dialogues and rhyme elevate the manga part and the black and white of the drawings is absolutely perfect for this original story's aesthetics. This is perfect for Shakespeare connoisseurs and newbies, and I can't wait to read more Manga Classics after this one.

TW// murder, implied off-page suicide

If you’re going to engage in any Macbeth adaptation, I highly recommend reading a synopsis of the story online first. It’s a unique play because of how it deals with guilt, paranoia, and someone essentially losing their mind, but it’s also very dense with dialogue and it’s extremely confusing. I’d seen one of the film versions of Macbeth last month and was thoroughly confused. I paused the film and started laughing halfway through because I had no clue what was going on. I was hopeful that this adaptation would help me understand the story better, but unfortunately it didn’t do that for me. I think I really need to spend some time researching Macbeth adaptations and find one that’s written in modern English so that I can finally understand this story more.

The illustrations in this manga version were beautiful. The character drawings and backgrounds were phenomenal. It sucks that I just couldn’t understand the majority of the text because I feel like understanding the text could’ve helped me appreciate the illustrations more.

The only major thing that I got out of this adaptation was the realization that Double Trouble from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban used lyrics from a song in Macbeth. It was really interesting to make that connection and realize that a song that I adore was partly inspired by this play.

I would only really recommend reading this manga classic if you’re good at understanding Shakespeare’s writing. If you struggle with Shakespeare’s writing, then this manga will unfortunately be a struggle to get through.

Title: Macbeth
Author: William Shakespeare

A manga retelling of the classic Macbeth.

What an interesting premise. Who had the idea of retelling classics in a format and genre that will attract younger readers? It is absolutely brilliant!

I am not a fan of classics, I find them extremely overbearing, too long and drawn out and it requires too much of my attention for me to ever finish one (I did end up finish one or two and I do have a classic or two on my shelf at home which I thoroughly enjoyed). Yet, which this new format and genre I actually ended up finishing the book and now can at least pretend to know what is going on when speaking to my more cultured friends.

Although I probably won't go out of my way to read any more Manga Classics retellings, I really did enjoy this book and I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy this story in a new form. This was also one of the few Manga -type books I have read and it is a style I really enjoy and will seek out when I have the opportunity (just not necessarily classics).

Definitely would recommend for high school aged children or people who dislike reading classics but still want to be able to keep up in 'cultured' conversation.

*Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for the making the ARC available to me.