Member Reviews

Beautifully illustrated and well written! A great intro to the world of Sherlock Holmes. A must-read for manga fans who love mysteries!

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Let me start by saying I used to grow up binge reading Manga in grade school. My best friend and I would trade off books because we blew through them too fast. Having said that, you now know I have a love for this style.

Now then:
This book is good in it's own right. The style of drawing and the scenes depicted are definitely meant for a much younger crowd (than my mid-thirties self), however, it didn't take away from the story for me. It's classic Sherlock -- with Watson and a mystery in need of solving.

Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read. There could have been more to it, yes, however with this series I feel as if we're getting just enough to keep us engaged. I'm interested to see what the next volume brings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read/review this early. Releases Jan 2025 according to Zon. :)

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I really enjoyed reading this. I knew about the story of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson through mainstream media. But I haven't read the books itself. So when I saw there's a manga on the very famous detective novel, I jumped at the chance. Luckily it was available for me to read. The art style was beautiful. I loved the way illustrator drew the characters, their expression so human like.
I can't wait to read more of Manga Classics.

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"A Study in Scarlet" is the debut novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it went with a BANG! Now it has this manga treatment in full color, this classic detective story went nuclear blast BOOM! I enjoyed the story even if the setting is detached from our day and some are outdated. I can still understand what's going on with the story without it explaining too much. I like how Holmes and Watson's character development and their instant chemistry in the story. The supporting characters are good too. The flow of the story is good and no boring exposition. I don't know about you but I think this is a bit controversial because of a church name got involved in the story and their questionable practice.

The artwork is superb although I wish another drawing style could have been rendered. It feels more of a BL with this art and I feel that vibe very time Holmes and Watson get close to each other. I'm not used to colored manga but it still works. No exaggerations just enough art for each panels. The bonus materials are a bit meh and the should have made a bit of effort on that part.

This is my first time to read a Sherlock Holmes story and it's well treated in this book that makes we want to check out stories of Arthur Conan Doyle's world famous detective.

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The opportunity to read a manga version of this detective fiction was too good to pass up. Even though I was not familiar with the story of A Study in Scarlet, it was a nice reading experience either way. This particular manga style did remind me of 80's anime somewhat, so I guess it gives some extra charm to it? I will not delve into a story as I recommend going in blind hehe. Overall - reading was easy, illustrations were ok and text was understandable. There were some art choices that I didn't understand, but maybe that's just me. I would say this manga would be better choice for younger readers than adults.

Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for this ARC!

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I am fortunate to have a color ereader that supports NetGalley Shelf. The story is great but the artwork is stunning! Especially in color. I think it will still look good in black and white but color definitely took it to the next level!

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I have a fondness for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes but will be the first to admit that A Study in Scarlet is not my favorite story in the canon. However, the opportunity to read a manga version of the classic story was too good to pass up! Thanks to Udon Entertainment and NetGalley for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I will say this: the adaptation is excellent. Maintaining the original setting yet adding almost a steampunk look to the costuming was an interesting and successful choice; there will be no deer stalker hats for Sherlock here, folks. It did take me a while to get used to the physical looks of Holmes and Watson simply because I’m used to the on-screen adaptations that always make them look older than what is true in A Study in Scarlet. They’re young and attractive and quite unlike any other adaptation I’ve seen of the two young men.

Even though this is a somewhat gritty story, I was charmed by the illustrations. They reminded me of the anime I saw in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And the adaptations to the story are to be commended to attract a new generation of fans of the great detective. I am anxiously awaiting the next Sherlock Holmes volume and will be looking for more Manga Classics to introduce my teens to stories I could never get them to pick up in traditional print form.

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4,5*
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

This was my first official manga read and it did not disappoint. I liked that the language was still very of the time and that made it feel as if I was actually reading a classic book.

The story if obviously good because it’s the original (with slight changes I’m sure).

This made me excited to try the other Manga Classics!

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This was a quick and easy read of a classic that I haven’t really remembered much of.

The story was told in a way that was easy to understand, the characters were lovable. I loved both Sherlock and Watson and I loved how their friendship developed through the book.

But what really sold me on it was the art style. Everybody but especially our main characters were drawn beautifully. I think my favorite must be Sherlock.

I recommend this one if you want to quickly catch up on a classic in a new way.

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Brilliant. Gorgeous art. Some of the panels had me salivating, they were so beautiful.

Fun story. Embraced the Sherlock x Watson ship without overtly stating it.

I’d definitely pick up more in this series.

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Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This is probably best for younger people who have no interest in reading the plain text version of the story it's adapting. As someone who can't stand the original Sherlock Holmes' stories, this probably would have been a great way for me to read it when I was younger. The earliest adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes' story I read was a mini comic version of "The Red-Headed League", which was a lot of fun, and for kids who like manga, this might be right up their alley instead. Quality-wise, it's not so different from some of the earlier manga and comics I read when I was younger.

Unfortunately it's still the same story as "A Study in Scarlet" (from what I recall of the original; I admit I am not a Sherlock Holmes fan, so I don't recall off the top of my head how many liberties it takes from when I read the original story years ago, though I've seen a number of adaptations of it at this point) and the art is variably bad to okay, which is almost the worse problem. Despite the character design sheets at the back of the book, I can't ignore the fact this just looks like a more faithful adaptation of Sherlock Holmes but using the character designs for Watson and Holmes from "Moriarty the Patriot", with Watson as a short-haired blonde and Holmes with long, dark bluish-hair that he often ties back in a short ponytail. I imagine MtP is not the first to use that character design set-up, but MtP is one of the better known Sherlock Holmes adaptations among people who like manga and anime. I can't imagine the person who made this is unaware of it. And of the more famous Sherlock Holmes adaptations, I can't recall any others using that notable character design set-up. It's almost impressive, given MtP's art is also quite bad, so seeing this be substantially worse is something of a feat. Ignoring the character designs, bad examples of art include: incredibly weird faces, including grimaces rather than smiles, bizarre anatomy (e.g., tiny limbs, super long limbs) that is less stylistic than it is amateurish, and very bad perspective. There's one panel where Holmes and Watson are heading towards an open door together, and it is the largest regular apartment doorway I have ever seen, and both men appear to have shrunk to be able to walk out of it.

The unique character designs are pretty atrocious, and the costuming looks quite bad, generally. The violin appears to have been drawn well (ignoring the many bizarre ways Holmes holds it), but I think that's because it's a 3D model that's only slightly been drawn over, sometimes. While the cover is pretty enticing and there are some panels that aren't bad (e.g., the open-shirted Sherlock ones, or when he puts on a disguise), it's overall just a kind of ugly manga.

That being said, the relationship between Watson and Holmes is very sweet, and it's nice to see how supportive they are of each other. Visually and narratively, those are the strongest moments in the volume, and they outshine the bad art and bad writing.

Minor but unfortunately notable quibble: there also appears to be a writing or printing mistake on page 2 (or 7, by the copy I have), with a repeated speech bubble from page 1 rather than what might belong there.

As a gateway into reading a well-known writer and series, I think it's fine for what it is. I really would have liked this when I was younger, considering I just got a physical copy of "Midnight Kiss", which is also quite terrible for similar reasons and for which I still have nostalgic fondness. It's unfortunate, though, because even though I think this is fine for someone who hasn't read much manga, I think younger people still deserve better art and better adaptations. It's really frustrating how often classics get fobbed off onto people who are new to art or perhaps drawing way outside their range, when I think graphic novels are a great way to get younger folks into classics, and we have so many to choose from these days. I can't believe I'd honestly recommend "Moriarty the Patriot" over anything, and I refuse to do so in this case. But it's still arguably better in many ways than this.

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Thank you to Netgalley for this review copy for a honest review.

I liked this book it was intersting and i enjoyed reading it. I found it was well written. The art and illustrasion were good and looked nice and I look forward to more in the manga classics line.
Rating 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Thank you NetGalley and Manga Classics for the ARC.

I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and manga, so when I saw the two combined I knew it was the book for me.

In my opinion the art style is one of the most important aspects of a manga, because no matter how much you like the story you won’t enjoy reading it if you don’t enjoy the art. This style is one of my favorite types and it is extremely well done.

Obviously the story is a classic for a reason, but this manga does an amazing job of translating it over to the new format where you don’t seem to lose any of the story. Even if you know nothing about Sherlock Holmes you could follow the story and become invested in the characters.

I can’t wait for there to be an entire line of Sherlock Holmes manga, they do have other classics which I am I looking forward to checking out.

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Manga adaptation of the first Holmes and Watson story!

I've read this story about three times, but I never remember anything about it.
However it was the first time I've read it in the manga version. I liked it, the drawing is very beautiful and I'm excited to read other books in this collection, called Manga Classics.

Thank you NetGalley and Manga Classics for this ARC!

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Well done adaptation! The art style was done well and the characters and storytelling felt true enough to the originals with just enough tweaking to make them more appealing to young manga readers.

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC!!
I really enjoyed reading this adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I’ve seen him and Watson in pretty much every other medium except manga so it was definitely a unique take on them. I thought the art style was great and the story was a great introduction to Holmes and Watson. I’ll definitely be picking up more volumes of this series in the future!!

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First, thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for approving the Manga Classics: Sherlock Holmes request.
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3.5 STARS
I have watched Robert Downey Jr.'s version of Sherlock Holmes; movies and the Netflix series casting Benedict Cumberbatch and I was obsessed with those. I still haven't read any of the books despite owning one but after reading this one and experiencing Sherlock in his glory again makes me ache for those mysteries. You can read this in one sitting, it was just me being busy that it took me 3 days to finish T-T
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I have been reading Manga/Webtoons since 2019 and the funny thing is those are the ones that got me into a physical reading slump. Anyway, I enjoyed reading it a lot, the style was totally giving 80s anime vibes. Huge appreciation for the artist. I don't know if more volumes are available on Netgalley or not but they'll I will definitely be requesting those.

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Okay, I didn't see myself obsessing over this when I started, but I was hooked! First off, the art was amazing and gorgeous. I think it's great that the Sherlock Holmes story gets so many different adaptions and the manga adaptation did not disappoint! This Sherlock has more of a "pretty" boy visual element, but it's the manga style so I think that was true to the genre. I can see this being popular with the younger group who enjoy reading mangas.

I think the important elements that make Sherlock were kept true and I look forward to checking out more! Thank you for the eARC!

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Wow! I am thoroughly to even find a manga x Sherlock Holmes crossover, and it did not disappoint! The story builds up well to the crime and had good pacing with the characteristics that you can see their individual personalities. Maybe the only thing that I would want to be changed is the flashback, it was nice to know the background of the victim and criminal but I felt like it was too much space in the episode away from the actual crime solving. But other than that, I really like the story and the explanation to the evidences!

Thank you NetGalley!(:

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Love getting to see these characters in manga form, the story was perfect. I always enjoy a Sherlock Holmes story. This one is when Holmes meets Dr Watson, and they become an excellent team and hit it off pretty well at the beginning.

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