Member Reviews

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A wonderful adaptation to Charlotte Bronte's classic. I like that this may attract a younger audience.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this book! I am already a fan of the original Jane Eyre, and I thought this manga classic was wonderful. The artwork was beautiful and the adaptation was great. I also really liked the bonus sections at the end with the interview with the adapter and explanation of why some things were done the way they were. This was my first manga classic, and I want to read more. Thank you for approving me to read this. I’m a big fan now!

Was this review helpful?

This is the classic Jane Eyre story set in manga format. From what I could tell and remember, it was fairly accurate in respect to the original novel. I found this funny, along with being easier to understand. The art style was good, except they made the girls look younger than they really are, but that can be easily ignored.

Was this review helpful?

I was given a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love manga. I love classics. This was a no brainer for me although I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

It's hard to explain the true artistry that went into this retelling. It was retold with a care and affection so strong that I fell in love with the story myself. The artwork is absolutely lovely. I loved this so much. I'm now huge fan of the manga artist.

I believe this makes both manga and classics accessible to new readers. I cannot say enough good things about this treasure and anxiously await the next.

Was this review helpful?

I have a 10 year old daughter that is a total Tom boy- I can’t get her to read anything that’s even remotely girly or romantic. She does however love graphic novels. I got this for her to see if I could trick her into reading a romantic classic. IT TOTALLY WORKED!! She sat down and read the whole thing in about an hour. She came to me afterward telling me all about it and asking if I had any more like it to read! She loved the storyline and loved the artwork in the book. It was a great way to get a child to appreciate and understand some of the classics. I can’t wait to get her more to read! These do read from back to front which is normal for a Japanese Manga book.

Was this review helpful?

Absolutely loved this definitely 5 star. Front cover was great. I like reading manga but have never read a manga classic. Absolutely brilliant.

Was this review helpful?

A pretty adaptation of one of my favorite books. While true to manga style, Jane is probably a little cuter than Charlotte Bronte intended. In general however, the art seems very true to both the book depictions and the time period. The story is presented clearly and well-paced with emphasis given to the first two-thirds of the novel as is the case with most adaptations (if there's someone out there who's interested in St.. John Rivers, I haven't met them.) In the most important scenes, the actual lines from the book are used, which makes me happy as Bronte's language is so poetic and justifiably famous. If anything, I would have appreciated more of that, particularly Jane's speech "If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse," which is missing and one of my favorite passages. The afterwords give nice insight into the creation of a manga and some of the difficulties in adapting a story. In all, a good introduction to a fabulous novel--hopefully it will inspire readers to read the original!

Was this review helpful?

There are so many different classics that I want to read but probably won’t because they are just too much! It is such a great find to be able to get these stories in manga form. I love the artwork and how great these flow. These are so helpful to so many people. I love reading these! The only reason I gave this a 3 stars because I wasn’t too fond of the actual story itself. I just like stories with a little more umph in it!

Was this review helpful?

I really want to read the original book after reading this manga version. It's an amazing story and the illustrator did an awesome job. It's so beautiful. The layout and the way the story traveled are beautifully depicted. It was an enjoyable read for me.
If you want to give the original book a try, I'd suggest you to read this version first and decide after that. Not only for this classic, for all the classic books out there which has the manga version available.
Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

I have not read the original book. I'm someone who really stays away from the Classics genre as much as possible but lately I have been braving this genre. Til now, I must say I'm quite surprised and satisfied. Because I haven't read the original, I found this really great. I also checked other reviews to see if this was any different than the original. Apparently some details have been overlooked. I must read the original now. I loved the narration and growth of Jane. The author has tried their hardest to explain as much as they can in those little text bubbles. Overall, I loved it and will definitely be reading the original and the movie too! But I gotta admit it was a slow read for me. Idk why, maybe because I'm still not comfortable with the genre or maybe someone else felt the same way? I don't know but other than that, it was great.

Was this review helpful?

I just finished reading Jane Eyre (The Novel) so when I saw it available as a manga I couldn't help but snatch it up! Jane Eyre holds a special place in my heart, so rereading it in other formats is an amazing way to rediscover that magic. I felt this version touched on all the main points without diving too much into the scenes between interaction of Mr. Rochester and Jane. I do think that some of the suspense and magic of watching them fall in love got lost in translation. One of my favorite things about this edition is they translated the freaking French! I don't speak French so the first time I read it I had Google translate open the entire time! It was a much more enjoyable reading experience to not have to break the immersion just to find out what the characters are saying. I did feel that the characters were drawn too attractive. It reminded me of the 1996 Jane Eyre movie, and while the art style was beautiful I felt the characters didn't stay true to their plain, unattractive novel characters. I also feel they trimmed some of the ugly characteristics from St. John and Mr. Rochester so they would be more likable. This seems like an excellent way to pick up classics if you have a hard time getting through them, or you haven't the time. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was able to read it in under a day, whereas the novel took me many.

Was this review helpful?

It was a great adaptation and the drawings were amazing, I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to read a classic.

Was this review helpful?

Another adorable manga-style classic novel! I requested this one because I loved the manga Pride and Prejudice from the same team. There's not quite the humor of the manga P&P but still a fun adaptation and suitable for tempting young readers.

Was this review helpful?

I am always impressed with how well this graphic novel line stays true to the source material. No filler, nothing completely skipped over, dialog nearly verbatim -- it is so refreshing! It is a wonderful way to introduce new/reluctant readers to stories that last the ages.

The art in this rendition of Bronte's Jane Eyre is beautiful and well researched. All the costumes, hair, and settings are historically accurate. They make the differences in class and circumstances between all the characters easy to see and understand. The adaptation is brilliantly executed.

I highly recommend this entire manga line to anyone who wants to get to know the classics, but has troubles delving through their depths for whatever reason.

Was this review helpful?

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

This is the third of the Manga Classics series that I have read and I think the one I ended up enjoying the most. I haven't read the original Jane Eyre because I'm not super big into gothic literature. While it can be seen as campy by today's standards, I often end up being genuinely scared, so I usually avoid that genre. I've been curious about this title for a while, so I figured I'd check out the manga version to gauge my reaction and see if it was a possibility for me to read the original.

This was not nearly as "scary" as I was anticipating. There is definite suspense. "Who's making the mysterious noises Jane hears? Is there really something spooky going on or is there a more reasonable explanation?" I thought these elements were well done without venturing into the territory of terrifying. Enough so that I would venture to read the original in the not so distant future.

Jane and Mr. Rochester's love story was compelling and beautifully told through this adaptation. I liked that you could see the emotions in this version because I'm sure the language would give me some pause in trying to gauge it on my own were I reading the original text.

I also have to applaud this adaptation for "fixing" one of the things I was most worried about with the original text, which is the handling of Bertha Mason. While I understand that the book was written in the mid-1800s and the way biracial characters are portrayed now is much different, it can be hard sometimes, as a biracial reader to set that representation aside. I was concerned I would not be the ideal reader for this since, racially, I identify with Bertha more than I do Jane. In explaining Bertha's madness, they skip over that "she's Creole, maybe it's part of her blood" thing and attribute it to a family predisposition instead. Mental illness representation is also important to me and while Bertha won't be the poster child for mental illness rep any time soon, it *can* run in families and be passed from parent to child. This more scientific explanation for her behavior and clear instability made more sense that "meh, maybe it's because she's mixed." So I appreciate that the authors changed that to make it accessible to today's readers.

Of the three books in this series I've read, I think the art style fits this one the best. It's suitably beautiful when it needs to be and absolutely terrifying when it needs to be. Some of Bertha's panels are very creepy and that is exactly the way it should be! I had said before that I felt Les Miserables' were too pretty at times while The Scarlet Letter's were, at times, too surreal to fit the time period. This one felt just right. I appreciate, too, that the artist talked about how she developed the characters and was able to show the style of the time period accurately.

I think this was an excellent read. The story was great, as was the art work. It was suspenseful without going into the territory of being horror. I would highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and thinking of giving the original a try. Easily a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!

Was this review helpful?

What a lovely Manga!
The art style is beautiful and I loved seeing all of the different clothes from the past time period.
Overall I love the idea of redoing classics into another format and make it more accessible to other readers.
It was also my first time ever reading Jane Eyre and I really enjoyed it! It was not my favourite classics of all time but I do not care for romance usually so I am surprised to see how much I liked this book.

I will for sure check out the other Mangas in this series and I can't wait to read Great Expectations next!

Was this review helpful?

I feel like any way to introduce a classic to students in wonderful. Many students love to read Manga.

The character designs are great. The dialogue was very true to the original text.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you, NetGalley and UDON, for a complimentary copy of this book!

This particular classic in manga format didn't draw me in quite as much as Les Miserables in manga format, but I still enjoyed this book. Jane frustrated me many many times, but I guess her behavior was normal during that time period. Once again, the illustrations were fantastic. The additional information provided regarding the adaption helped understand the thought process. I love reading the manga novels before deciding to tackle the actual classic since classics are a hit or miss for me. Most of the time, I don't like the original classics. The mangas help me get a first impression and understand the storyline, especially of those old 19th century classics.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley and Udon Entertainment for this copy!

I really enjoyed reading the manga adaption of Jane Eyre! While I haven't read the original version before, I was able to follow along and understand the overall plot. The illustrations were amazing and the dialogue between the characters were hilarious at times. I'm definitely interested in reading the classic in the future!

Was this review helpful?

Jane Eyre surely is a very strong and independent woman portrayed in a clever way. I have to admit that I had never read this classic before and I regret it because I have been missing out on this wonderful tale. Reading it in manga format was interesting because made me get into the story even more and helped give this ageless story a modern twist.

Was this review helpful?