I love Manga Classics because they make reading a classic novel so much easier. I’ve been waiting for them to do a Sherlock Holmes once ever since manga versions of Sherlock were published. I really love the design choices for both Sherlock and Watson. Manga/anime styles just really bring an elegance to the story. Also, Watson is so cute.

It’s great that it also includes text from the original stories. Of course, this one is an adaptation of A Study in Scarlet, probably the most famous Sherlock Holmes story, which is pretty typical for an adaptation. I hope they get the chance to do more because the art is so lovely. It's also so cool that they printed it in full color. The format works so well for the mystery.

3.5/5 rounded up.

I haven't read any of Udon's other manga classics before, so I was excited to try one out. In this case, it was a manga adaptation of the first Sherlock Holmes story in which Watson meets Holmes. Having read the original story previously, I feel that the manga does a good job of covering the source material. Sherlock's character is definitely much more likeable when drawn in this art style!

The artwork was striking, colourful, and used skillfully to tell the story. The choices of costumes for each of the characters were fun and expressed personality. Sherlock was portrayed as a bit of an anti-hero who always wears black, with Watson being the opposite. This led to a nice juxtaposition between the two.

The pacing of the story was good and didn't drag at any point. The panelling was quite comic-like, which suited the pacing and storytelling well. I'm looking forward to seeing how the manga develops in the next story!

I would recommend this to anyone who would like a fast introduction to the classic Sherlock stories, as well as those wanting to revisit.

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes Manga Classic) art by Julien Choy, 205 pages. Udon Entertainment, 2025. $20.
Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL
When Watson is looking for a new place to live, he ends up roommates with the enigmatic Sherlock Holmes—Holmes is incredibly knowledgeable in anatomy and sensational literature, completely lacks knowledge in philosophy and politics, and is a bad violin player. Inspector Lestrade calls on Holmes often, and now Watson and Holmes are suddenly involved in a murder case!
Reading Sherlock Holmes is always a treat because of his method of solving mysteries with his incredible observations and logic. Plus, Choy’s manga illustrations of the story added another element of entertainment, seeing these familiar characters depicted in beautiful manga-style London and dressed in new manga-style clothes. In short, I loved every page of this book.
The majority of characters are English. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, partial nudity, mild scary elements, illegal activity, kissing, and mentions of polygamy and sexual harassment. The violence rating is for blood and gore, weapon use, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

4★ // The world's most famous detective is introduced to the world for the first time in manga-form, with his first case to solve: A Study in Scarlet (originally published in 1887). In London, 1881, eccentric "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes, joined by his new friend and companion Dr. John Watson, set out to investigate the murder of two American men. This story is the start of one of the most iconic duos in literature.

As someone who has yet to read the original Sherlock Holmes stories penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (but is loosely familiar with this particular story from watching the "Sherlock" TV series), I quite enjoyed watching the story unfold in manga form. The artists and editor did a great job capturing Sherlock's deduction skills and personality quirks, and making the murder-mystery plot easy to follow, all while remaining faithful to its source material.

I would pick up more volumes in a heartbeat!

I’ve always loved Sherlock Holmes and the many different renditions of his character and this one is so good! The art is so well done, the story was captivating, and Watson and Holmes’ budding friendship is so adorable! I can’t wait for more from this series!!

Love this series. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was very accessible way to experience A Study in Scarlet. I think it did a good job staying with the source material and bringing it into the new media type.

Thanks to Netgalley and Udon Entertainment for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for letting me read this ARC!

This is a manga adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes book, called *A Study in Scarlet*, in which we are introduced to the two main characters, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

I really enjoyed Holmes' character in this story, however Watson felt a little flat at times. Holmes was arrogant and pretentious when it came to his detective abilities. Watson was a great motivator for Holmes and got backstory in the beginning but I feel like he didn't get much development in this volume. I particularly liked the details they included such as showing their hobbies and showing interactions between the two. Seeing Holmes solve the mystery was also very intriguing and kept me guessing because I didn't understand how his mind worked and I wasn't sure how he was solving things so quickly.

The story was a little difficult to follow at the beginning but became more cryptic as I continued reading. Details weren't as obvious and I had to go back a few times to make sure I was understanding things correctly. The artist did a great job portraying an intense atmosphere during the reveal and it was my favorite part of the story.

I found myself really caring about the characters near the end which is why I struggled with the first half of the book. The first half felt a little confusing and since Watson felt flat at the start, I did struggle caring about him and Holmes. This book did do a good job at setting up for future stories and even though this book wasn't perfect, I do look forward to reading more in the future!

This is a great book for both Sherlock Holmes fans and manga lovers!

This was my first of the manga classics titles, and I absolutely loved it. I really liked the illustrations and I thought they did a great job capturing the story.

This is my first time reading a Sherlock Holmes story. This was a great introduction to this character and the world Doyle has written. I adore the art style. I am interested in reading more manga classic stories. I enjoyed Holmes and Watson and their growing bond between one another. I also liked the "how to read manga" section at the beginning of the book.

Udon Entertaniment provided an early galley for review.

This is my first foray into Udon's line of classics (they have put out several over recent years). The cover of this one jumped out at me and caught my interest.

I very much like the art style and coloring in this manga. Choy's work is clean and sharp with a touch of animated elements to it. I could easily see this translated into an anime. The designs chosen for Holmes and Watson work very well, in my opinion, as they mix traditional Victorian garb with a more stylistic upgrade.

Great manga adaptation for a classic! Loved the styling and coloring of this, which really brought these iconic characters to life.

4 stars: Good read. Could go up and down depending on genre preference of the reader. I would add it to my class collection.

From the Publisher:
London, 1888. In the heart of the fog a terrible murder is committed, the word RACHE scrawled in blood on the wall over the body. The police, baffled, turn to the only consulting detective in town for aid--and he, in turn, leads them down that slender scarlet trail to expose a tale of love and revenge which spawns both continents and decades.

'Manga Classics: Sherlock Holmes: A Study In Scarlet' marks the debut of the eccentric detective Sherlock Holmes and his constant companion Dr. John Watson a legendary duo whose adventure have thrilled readers ever since. Manga Classics is proud to present a full-color manga version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's debut novel, in which their timeless partnership first begins!

My Thoughts:
If you like Manga Classic styling, like I do, then this manga is quite appealing and beautiful. Sherlock has the classic brooding, androgynous yet strong features. He also has the disruptive swagger of the Sherlock Holmes played by Robert Downey Junior. If you also like a little bit of dark mystery like the classic book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this will be a fun read. The length, one volume is just right for those who prefer the manga style to reading the orignial books.

What makes this a great volume 1 is that this is the first time we are seeing Holmes and Watson meet. It is nice to see why the long suffering Watson would stick with Holmes and I enjoyed seeing the relationship build.

Finally, at 210 pages, it is both just enough as well as not enough, which is what all manga series want to achieve with readers. Unfortunately, the Manga Classic volume 2: A Scandal in Bohemia and Other Stories will not come out until the summer of 2025, half a year. Still, they are buy worthy, so art takes time.

Publication Information:
Original author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Manga author: Crystal Chan

Artist: Julian Choy

Publisher: Manga Classic (January 21, 2025)

ISBN-13: 978-1947808324

Pages: 200

Grade level: 7-9

Good! Just like what you'd expect of Sherlock Holmes! I really enjoyed it. I love the mystery and intrigue.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. The classic story by Doyle is succinctly summarized, but I have concerns regarding its manga adaptation... The character designs appear incongruent, like Holmes and Watson that are depicted as excessively young and shaped.

Manga Classics: Sherlock Holmes is a beautiful rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s debut story, “Study in Scarlet” introducing his famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes (I grew up reading his stories and have seen the movies starring RDJ as well as the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch), this manga was a fresh look at a classic story and retains the elements that many fans love about the detective series. In true to original fashion, the story is told from the perspective of Dr. Watson, who meets Holmes when he needs a roommate. Upon their first meeting, Holmes deduces accurate details about Watson just on cursory observations.

All in all, the artwork is beautiful (the art of Holmes is so striking, sleek, and magnetic) and the story retold honors the original story in all its glory. This would also be a great introduction to any new fans of Holmes as manga format can make the original story easier to understand.

Thank you, NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for providing a complimentary eARC for review.

Awesome read! The imagery was great and truly built the suspense. It was a quick read, but a lot of action and drama right from the start.

I really enjoyed the Manga Classics edition of Sherlock Holmes. I've been wanting to dig into the stories of Sherlock Holmes and this edition was a fun and easy way to do so. The case kept me intrigued throughout the book. The art style was done well. Sherlock was very handsome! I loved watching Holmes and Watson's friendship grow. Can't wait to see more!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

🕵️‍♂️ Accommodations are never cheap. I felt this one right to the core. Both Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes are on the lookout for a new place to stay. But London is rather expensive. Though a string of fateful events, the two are brought together by a common acquaintance. Now they are to live together on Baker Street and share the burden of the rent.

🕵️‍♂️ Your roommate is a nutcase. I have to admit though, him beating a corpse with his cane (all for the love of science and the little gray cells), was one of my favorite scenes. It was simply hilarious.

🕵️‍♂️ Someone cried murder. And murder it was. Sherlock Holmes, a consulting detective in 1888 London, starts on the murderer’s tracks like a hound. The moment he hears about the struggles of the police force, he steps in and conducts his own investigation through deductive reasonings.

🕵️‍♂️ The artwork is pretty. The end pages even contain a few concept sketches with the main characters' designs. I was in love with the costumes and Dr. Watson's hairstyle.

🕵️‍♂️ Great minds are rarely recognized. But this doesn't seem to phase our great detective. Quite on the contrary, if we are to compare him to mighty Hercule Poirot. Also it's funny how they're both quire eccentric.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

The classic sherlock homes, but make him wildly more attractive in anime art.
The full color art in this is stunning. I honestly love Sherlock Homes, I've read all the books, seen the movies, the shows etc....
What I can say i truly enjoyed about this was the art, The story is fantastic as always, but the art is top tier.

Get ready to have the girls swooning over Dr. Watson aka our new cinnamon roll manga boy and Sherlock our new morally grey anti hero.

I did also very much appreciate the notes in the margins to help understand what they are talking about if it isn't something in the modern era. This mostly applies to when sherlock is talking, however these little notes made the story more clear.

Seeing this fully illustrated really makes you connect with both the main characters, you feel the smugness from Sherlock and the amazement from Watson.

I really do like the line "I'm one of the Hounds not the Wolf" its such a good quote. It shows that Sherlock is fierce and scarry in his own right and he's a force to be reckoned with , but he's not the bad guy. Its mentioned that the Scotland yard calls their officers hounds , as well as Watson compares him to a well trained blood hound. This line really does just hit right on so many levels.

I dont want to spoil the actual mystery for those new to Sherlock, I will say that this is a perfect intro to Sherlock Holmes.

I really do hope that Udon Entertainment comes out with the rest of the Sherlock Library.

Thank you NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for access to this ARC for my honest review.

#MangaClassics #NetGalley