Member Reviews

I liked this adaptation of a classic. A sa massive musical fan I have always had a bit of a soft spot for Les Mis.

I found this adaptation to be a little harder to follow than other Manga Classics but they did the story justice and is very easily read.

Thank you to UDON Entertainment and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

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„Les Misérables“ is one of my favourite books and stories and after watching half a dozen movie retellings of the story as well as seeing and listening to the famous musical it was made into, I just had to read the Manga adaptation of it as well.

Of course the characters are drawn quite cute and I feel like the protagonists are all too handsome but it is a manga afterall and it just fits the style of this medium.

I feel like this is quite a good adaptation of the story, without it being too confusing and losing itself in the many details provided by the original book (if you know, you know), so it is closer to - for example - the mini TV series.

I relly enjoyed reading the manga and can recommend it for those who want to read the story wothout having to actually read pages upon pages about the french convents or the parisian sewersystems.

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Very creative and beautifully done. It captures the spirit of Les Miserables and brings new appreciation for a classic. The only thing I wish I would have known is to scroll to the last page in the digital file and read backwards (like true manga!).

Bravo to the creative team on this retelling.

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I loved the Anime version of Les Miserables and this Manga has obviously recembles. I love the characters and the storyline. I feel for poor Cosette who suffers. Fantine is in a desperate situation trying to earn an income even when the city and the people don't wanna hire a mother...

What I feel is that the Manga is selective in the scenes. We see Fantine, the mother, who tries to earn money and Cosette that are suffering st the family Thenardiers who is cruel and the most awful people in the world for Cosette.

Either way, we learn a bit about the convicted man Jean who will save Cosette. That part, the past and how their paths are crossed is nicely portrayed but after that, like 8 years later skip. That part is the weird one... I feel that this Manga may be the short version and then that would be fine, but please be clear about that.

I received this e-arc from NetGalley in exchange to give an review. All opinions here, are my own.

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An absolutely incredible adaptation of a classic! The artwork was great and really represented the story. Honestly a must read for any Les Mis fans!

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Les Miserables explores the lives of several characters, but it primarily follows Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who escaped after being imprisoned for 19 years. After attaining his freedom, he is haunted by his past and does his best to choose to do good. This adaptation is more brief than the novel, but it doesn't fail to explore the same themes: love, redemption, and the resilience of human spirit.

I had no clue that classics were being adapted into a manga format, and I've fallen in love with them! A 1450 page long book can be daunting, and these manga editions are a good way to introduce anyone into classics. It's a fascinating tale with compelling characters, and it's a waste to think people would turn away from it because of the length. The story is just as much as a tearjerker as I remember, and this is a good adaptation of the original novel. I love the art and the artist excels at portraying emotions and the pain of each character. It was fun to see their interpretation of the characters, and I'd highly recommend this adaptation of Les Miserables!

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A beautiful manga version of Les Miserables
The ARC is alittle confusing to read as you have to scroll all the way to the end, to read from the beginning of the story.
Still a wonderful adaptation, made me want to watch the movie again

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A nice work of bringing a classical story into our days through manga. I enjoyed the art but I felt something was missing.

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I loved this book, I've watched the movie before but truthfully found it hard to follow, and being able to read it with the beautiful illustrations made it much easier for me to follow. I truly enjoy all of these classics, especially in this form, and I again as I've said in the past, strongly recommend encouraging the younger generations to read these classics in this format because it's so much easier for them to understand the language, and hopefully it will pique their interest enough to get them to want to read the originals!

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I read a part of Les Miserables when I was in school and have wanted to read more ever since. I don't like classics much so never attempted it. Thank you for this Manga version so I could finally read. The illustrations are lovely and they capture the gist of the story.

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It's a cute read, if you already know the story, the drawning style is really pretty.
Not sure this is my cup of tea, though.
It sure is a new and easy way to approach classics when you don't like reading them.

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I know that this is a classic but it is not that good. Plot holes and conveniences. Good thing I read it in manga form, otherwise, I might not finish it.

The artwork here is good. My daughter and I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

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I'm officially becoming a fan of Manga classics from now on. This is my second Manga classic after the Scarlett letter which was quite good and this was no exception.

Rating for Les miserables : 4 stars
I haven't read Les miserables yet but I want to sometime in the future. The mere size of it is enough to intimidate me. It's not like i haven't read big classics but they are time consuming. You read a classic for over a month or so and I like to read several books at a time so I prefer not to read 500+ pages books when I'm reading other books too. But soon very soon I will be reading Les miserables.

Manga rating : 5 glowing stars
Manga characters are just so cute even the evil ones. I loved it.

Manga is a really good way to introduce classics to those who want to read classics but are not sure where to start. Manga makes it quite easy to read and understand. It is like concise version of classics.

Thank you Netgalley and udon publishing for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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"Manga Classics: Les Miserables" was a bit underwhelming.
I loved the original, and I thought this manga quite banalized the story for the sake of simplicity.

The social and political parts were reduced to mere background setting; the character of Javert, who is so complex in the original, came out as flat as any one-dimensional villain in this version.

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This is a great retelling of this classic story, I love the art it is well drawn to bring this story to life. It shows the difference in social status as we follow a man who is a convict who keeps changing his identity and helping other people to redeem himself. You watch as this one man changes the views of many people that he meets along the way.

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As this was the fourth Manga Classics retelling I picked up, I had well-earned faith that this was going to be a good retelling. Not a perfect adaptation, as no true adaptation can ever truly capture all that the original Les Miserables book is.

Like, if you want the original flavor of Victor Hugo's moral treatises, not to mention all the character dynamics and backstories, you gotta consume the novel itself, no way around it. It would be an astronomical feat for any adaptation to attempt to replicate it, and that's why none really has (I say as a Les Mis musical fan who's also seen a couple of the movies and the Shoujo Cosette anime, though those were all many years ago).

Still, I was thrilled to see book tidbits that didn't make it into the musical adaptation or any of the screen adaptations I've seen. Like Jean Valjean, after meeting the Bishop who gives him hope after his release, encountering a boy whose money he inadvertently ends up taking, setting him further on the road to good when he's horrified by the petty evil he unwittingly committed. And Jean Valjean, in his mayor era, entering impoverished residences when no one was around and leaving money. Manga is a good medium for getting across just what a character Jean Valjean can be, allowed to be a more loose and even cartoonish than live action can be (at least in the western world).

Speaking of character, the character designs were on point, as well! Jean Valjean looked suitably aged and burly, Javert was stern, Thenadier appropriately spindly and weasely, and Marius, Cosette, and the ABCs were properly cute.

This story also does a good job of conveying the novel's themes of what is good vs. what is lawful, how can you strive to a good person in difficult circumstances, the importance of loving others, and what does it mean to live with grace?

If you want a quick, easy-to-digest version of the tome that is Les Miserables, I can strongly recommend this manga adaptation.

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I cried when I read this Manga Classics adaptation of this amazing classic story. I have never finished the book but of course I know the story and I love the musical. This adaptation is so beautiful and really evokes the feeling of the time and all the emotional trauma these famous characters endured. The illustrations are perfect.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me read this

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This was my first manga read, but it won’t be my last. I did struggle with the artistic style a little (I didn’t feel like it was always that modest), but other than that, this book seems to stay true to the original story. It somehow manages to preserve the complexity of the plot and characters, but do it in a concise, easy-to-understand way. I don’t know how Chan and the team did it, but I’m impressed!

I fell in love with Cossette and Marius all over again, felt my heart bleed a little for Fantine, and admired Jean Valjean’s courage, love, and tenacity all over again. This is a story of realistic people in an uncertain time, and while it shows a glimpse into the depths of depravity humans can stoop to, it also shows a ray of hope—that good can come out of the darkness.

A worthwhile read—one you’ll likely never forget. Highly recommended!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this manga in exchange for my honest opinion. Les Miserables is a classic novel I've always tried and failed to read only because of the density and complexity of Victor Hugo's writing style. This manga made it so much easier to understand everything that was going on, plus it was beautifully illustrated. I was able to feel so much more deeply for the characters and their stories. I wholeheartedly recommend this manga to anyone that is interested in reading more classic literature but struggles because of the dated language. I can't wait to pick up a physical copy of this to add to my manga classics collection.

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I'm so glad that I read this Manga Classic before trying to sink into the book. Even with this shortened version, I considered giving up from the suffering that Cosette and Fantine were going through. Which, given the name of the book, and its reputation, should have been no surprise.

But the trajectory of the story does change, though there are still struggles and trials throughout, especially with inspector Javert's constant hunting for Jean Valjean.

That being said, this is a great opening to tackling this classic book! Beautifully drawn, a succinct storyline, you can get the bones of this classic story and then decide for yourself if you'll read the original or not. For my part, it's still on my to-read list!

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