While I didn't really enjoy the story when I read the tale originally in high school, nor did I enjoy the tale when I read it again in this manga format I definitely loved seeing the story through the illustrations. The Manga Classics do a wonderful job of retelling classics through their beautiful art, adding a new dimension to the story, and in doing so, creating a connection with the reader. I certainly felt more of a connection to the story when I read this manga. I would recommend this to people trying to see this tale come through life through beautiful illustrations.

Again, Manga Classics does not disappoint. A beautiful story told with gorgeous artwork.
If you love manga, you will love this book.
If you love The Scarlet Letter, you will love this book.
If you are afraid classics but you would like to give them a try, you should DEFINITELY read this book!

I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was twelve. Anyone who has it knows of the struggles and frustration that comes with it, and it effects people differently. Luckily, I’ve gotten to the point where I can read without much difficulty, but twelve year old me was a different story.

But what really got me through it were the visual heavy stories. I grew up with illustrated Shakespeare books, graphic novels of classics, and many more. They were what got me through it and helped to inspire my love for the classics. I owe a lot to those books, and whenever I have parents coming into the store, asking how they can inspire their children with dyslexia to get into reading, I often recommend graphic novels, manga, or abridged classics to start them off with, because the visual medium makes a huge difference in making reading easier.

So when I discovered the Manga Classics, I had to take a look. I’m already familiar with some classics and I’m a big manga reader, and they’ve done a great job in adapting it. It’s fairly accurate, and I love the art style. The chibi designs were cute, and manga readers will be familiar with it.

The Scarlet Letter focuses on Hester Prynne, who has given birth and is forced to wear a red A on her, as the sign of the sin she has committed. Set in Puritanical America, Hester faces the judgment of her community who will never let her forget her sin.

You don’t have to be familiar with the original book to know the story. Historical context and analysis is provided, so you’re never confused.

I’ll definitely be checking the other manga in this collection. If you want to get into classics, I definitely recommend giving this series a try.

The Scarlet Letter: Manga Classics was a solid 5 stars. Even as an older adult, I can honestly state that I’m really enjoying these Manga Classics.
I remember reading The Scarlet Letter way back in my teen years, so this was a great “refresher” of sorts. The story centers around Hester Prynne, a married woman living in a Puritan settlement. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet “A” after committing adultery, which also resulted in the birth of her daughter Pearl.
While I enjoyed the story, the artwork was very well done and certainly added to the story. I’d recommend The Scarlet Letter: Manga Classic to anyone that enjoys classics, manga and graphic novels. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for a free copy for an honest opinion.

First of all I haven't read the original classic on which this manga is based so I cant tell which is better but I honestly loved this manga!!

It was a quick read but the art and the characters very so good that it conveyed all the emotions very well.. Highly recommend everyone read this book.

Manga classics: The Scarlett letter beautifully captures the spirit of the original story. A shunned mother raises her eccentric child while those in town grow from judging her to depending on her.

The art within the manga wonderfully conveys both action and emotion without dampening the tone of the story. They way pearl I. Particular was depicted is absolutely perfect.

I do think the experience of reading this piece suffers somewhat from the digital format I read it in and will be seeking to purchase a physical copy.

*I haven't read the novel this manga is based on so I can't compare them*
Overall, I think there was a lack of depth and the end felt rushed.
However, Pearl was such an intriguing child, so... peculiar.
I also enjoyed the drawings, especially the fact that the Scarlet letter was not in black and white like the rest.

This graphic novel version of the classic Scarlet Letter is amazing! I really love the fact that you do not lose any of the intelligence of the original in this book. It is really easy to read and it helps to get through classics if you don’t like to read. Highly recommend everyone read this book

I haven't read Scarlet Letter since I was in High School, but the imagery in this book adds such another layer to the story. In the book the only color used is the A and it is red. I love that attention to detail and I think this book would be a lot of fun to look at in class. I am normally not a fan of the classics, but I really enjoyed reading this one.

Some classics are hard to get into or hard to read. The Manga Classics Series is giving readers a new way to experience those beloved stories. I always love a new approach to a classic book.

Beautifully illustrated. I loved how the art was all black and white besides the Scarlet Letter. That made for such a striking image.

Not having read the original Scarlet Letter, I can't compare the story; can't say how close this followed. Having read several classics, and even a few Hawthorne novels, I can say that this kept the town and flow I usually see in a classic. This was such a fun reading experience.

I have never read The Scarlet Letter, so I am not exactly familiar with the story. I knew a bit of the basics before going into this, but nothing more than that. While I found this manga easy to follow and the artwork was beautiful, there was something about it that just felt off. Maybe if I had read the original novel first I wouldn't have felt so confused at times, but there were moments where things were hard to follow.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Once again I am impressed by the art style and work that went into this manga. In general this entire series of Manga classics is wonderful and a good idea to make those Classics accessible to all kind of readers.

For the original tale I never read the "The Scarlet Letter" before this manga. The reason for my 3 out of 5 stars is the actual story. It is full of metaphors and a lot of questions are being left open for imagination.

Overall a good adaption of its original but sadly the classic was just not my favourite.

I really loved this adaptation although there were'nt so many different details as in the origibal book.

I am going into all of these manga adaptations with this one particular question in mind: is it going to get someone who would never read the source material, to engage with the source material in a meaningful or substantial way?

Yes. The art style is by far one of the best among all the different Manga Classics series. The scenery in the background is lovely when they are in the forest and the graphic artist does a wonderful job of showing how feral Pearl can get when her world view is threatened.

Any issues I had with this manga has more to do with the source material than anything to do with the adaptation choices. I thought the choice to only colour the "A" in a sea of monochrome to be an very relevant one. It draws the eye in every panel and really draws home the stabilization of the embroidery around the patch.

By far one of the best of the Scarlet Letter adaptations.

I really enjoyed reading this, I've never read the classic and didn't plan on it. Turning classics into manga made it so much easier to read and understand! Classics can be tough at times and this was a great way to get the story and messages across without confusing and old language. The artwork was really good and the storytelling was very good.

I enjoyed the story, its a tale of the three sides of adultery and how each of them suffer. It tells a story of guilt, shame and revenge. Its really interesting to see how this affects everyone. I do like how its the woman that turns out the best even though she is the only one persecuted for what has happened! The strength required for that is epic!

I'd definitely recommend this and I plan to find some of the other manga classics!

I really enjoyed this manga. It had a great storyline and brilliant illustrations. I loved it and truly enjoyed reading it.

I have not read the classic novel before, so I really did not know what to expect reading this book. I always like reading a good manga from time to time, and thought this book would give me a indication of the novel as well. While the illustrations are vibrant and colorful, I felt like the story was rushed in places and no proper explanation was given. Due to this, I really could not root for any of the characters either. In a way, it was good to read this book because it peaked my interest for picking up the novel. However, I feel fans of the classic will be disappointed after reading the manga adaptation.

5 stars definitely this is my favourite of the manga classics so far, the graphics the story everything. I could not find fault with this at all.Superb.

**Thank you to Netgalley and UDON Entertainment for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating**

I read The Scarlet Letter in high school and really enjoyed it. It's one of those classics that I think sometimes gets overlooked, but it was interesting to me as a teenager. It's still a great read in my mid-20s.

This book didn't need as much condensing as Les Miserables did, but it was still done very well. The book begins and ends with a narrator (who has many resemblances to Hawthorne himself) "finding" the Scarlet Letter, prompting him to look into Hester's story and eventually write it and publish it. This part is kept in the manga, which adds to the faithfulness of the adaptation but perhaps didn't need to be included in the manga. It has little to no bearing on the story other than he later feels bad about how women were treated during the time period in which The Scarlet Letter is set.

I found the art style to, again, be very aesthetically pleasing for the most part. I enjoyed the art in this volume more than I did the art in Les Miserables, but it, too, suffers from some odd choices. I'm sure they were made in an attempt to emphasize some of the supernatural elements Hawthorne's original tale was meant to provoke in the reader, but Chillingworth has panels that remind me of Dragon Ball Z. He looks like he's going Super Saiyan. Pearl, too, has some panels where she evokes magical girls, kind of like a Puella Magi Madoka Magica vibe. Especially on the back cover, where she's shown holding Hester's A badge in a very "magical girl"-esque pose. These seemed at odds with the setting, especially. Other than that, I thought the artwork was very fitting and well drawn.

Overall, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of The Scarlet Letter. It would be especially helpful to offer students who are looking to compare it to the original book or for struggling readers or ESL students who may appreciate having the graphic novel version instead of paragraphs of text. I would recommend it to anyone who loves graphic novels and classics. Well done!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Beautifully illustrated, this adaptation was able to keep most of the elements of Hawthorne’s story with fewer words. There were pages that were wordless, yet, the pictures illustrated the events in a way where the reader knew exactly what was propelling the story forward to its conclusion.

While most sinned in secret, Prynn wore hers literally on her chest. She proved that her sin didn’t define her. Hester Prynn and the scarlet letter that was meant to shame her for her indiscretion, soon became known throughout Boston as being one of the kindest and most thoughtful of its citizens.