**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility by Stacy King through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility by Stacy King is a manga adaptation of the classic novel Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  I rated it four stars on Goodreads.  It was published on August 9, 2016.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

Impulsive Marianne Dashwood and cautious Elinor are as different as two sisters could be, yet both are shattered by their father's sudden Death. Elinor's attachment to the reserved Edward Ferrars is torn asunder by family opposition and his own dark secret, while Marianne's brilliant romance with the dashing John Willoughby comes to a tumultuous end in a devastating public betrayal. Can the two sisters overcome these trials to find true, lasting happiness?
Jane Austen's beloved first novel, filled with romance, redemption and social critique, is brought to life for a modern audience in this gorgeous manga-style adaptation!

I've read a couple of other manga adaptations of classics and that was why I ended up requesting this one.  I've never read Sense and Sensibility, but I read Pride and Prejudice and enjoyed it so I wanted to check out other books by her.  However, I've had a rough time wanting to read classics so this seemed perfect.

I had a lot of fun reading this book.  It took me a minute to adjust to the manga style, but once I got the hang of it, the novel was quite readable.  The art was lovely and it was clear which character was which.  It was also very clear what was happening at any given point.  I know that seems like a silly thing to review, but when you don't have the text in front of you saying who said something, it helps to have good character design.

Story wise, I felt that it was a very good adaptation.  It made the story easy to understand and I had a lot of emotions while reading it.  I liked the general story line of the two different sisters and their different interests and priorities.  I will fully admit to tearing up at one point, which is not something I've ever done with a classic book.

If you find yourself daunted by classics and want an easy way to get into one, this is definitely a good way to do it.  I recommend that you check it out.

I have not read the original Sense and Sensibility, but I have read some of Austen's other works and I think this adaptation does a good job of getting the Austen vibes. It's a really digestible way to read a classic and I love the extras at the end that explain some of the cultural things that aren't obvious to most people. The art is unbelievably cute too!

* Thanks to Udon Entertainment and Netgalley for an advance copy for review purposes *

I haven't yet read "Sense and Sensibility", so I can make comparisons to the original. When I spotted the Manga Classics releases, my first thought was that shoujo manga (Japanese graphic stories targeting teenage women) and Jane Austen are a pairing that needed to happen, and here it is!

The plot itself stands the test of time - The Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, are left with nothing after the death of her father, and stay with their half brother, who inherited their father's state, until fed up with the haughty attitude of his wife. Marianne is rash and passionate, while Elinor is sensible and restrained, and they face love in very different ways. The plot is definitely a step up to your average high school romance common in shoujo.

The artwork is beautiful, although the love interests are not particularly attractive and could have leaned more heavily on the shoujo male lead style - would have liked a swoon worthy lead akin to Colin Firth's Mr Darcy. (or let's say, Skip Beat's Ren Tsuruga). There are bursts of flowers everywhere, starry lovestruck eyes, and dramatic tears, as one would expect, Jane Austen's work does translate really well to the manga format. I enjoyed this a fair bit, and have now purchased Pride and Prejudice.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I've been a Jane Austen fan since I was about twelve, and "Sense and Sensibility" has always been a favorite. This manga adaptation was absolutely wonderful! The story followed the original closely, and the art style was absolutely beautiful. I can tell that the team that worked on this was truly passionate about the original story, and that really shows through in their work. If you're a Jane Austen fan and like manga, then this is definitely one book you need to check out!

Elinor and Maryanne Dashwood have never looked as lovely as they have in this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Each panel is shojo beauty. It gives you the look Sailor Moon, but you're in Regency Era England. For those unannoited with the tale, its about the Dashwood family coping with the loss of their patriarch and being ousted to a small cottage in the country. The two daughters Elinor, the practical one, and Marianne, the hopeless romantic, deal with social politics and romance in that era. What's so wonderful about this adaptation is how you get utterly lost in the beauty of the landscapes and the very gorgeous rendering of Edward Ferraris. Any romance manga fan, romance reader or period piece reader should check this out for sure.

This is my first experience read story from Jane Austen. First of all the art is pretty, remind me with Rose of Versailles type drawing. The storyline kinda confusing at beginning but flowing. Even the pictures make the character and story become extra dramatic, I still enjoy it. Easy way to dipped your toes to classic.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the different take on the classic by Jane Austen, and whilst I may not be a huge fan of the original novel, I enjoyed this version of it, especially with the lovely illustrations to bring it to life.

This was a really great interpretation of Sense and Sensibility! I enjoyed the illustrations and the storyline, it was well done. Despite being more brief than the original, it stays true to the story and is great.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this adaptation of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels: "Sense and Sensibility." Although I will always prefer the original for the witty narrative (which this version lacks, translating it into illustrations and dialogue), the book (or "script") itself was well done and left out very little of the original content in terms of plot.

Visually, this is very much in the Japanese manga style, complete (in sections) with overblown facial expressions that make moments of gravity rather more comedic than necessary. It will always be jarring to see characters that have only ever lived in your head (or, if you're lucky, in a very good film/TV adaptation) turned into artwork as it would be impossible to gratify everyone's mental image of Elinor, Marianne and crew. To that point, Colonel Brandon looked rather too much like a caricature of a silver screen villain with his impossibly-angled face, dark hair, and spindly physique, and the Miss Steeles were a bit too cartoonish for my taste. However, I was intrigued by the "androgynous" (the illustrator's own words) portrayal of the sensitive Edward Ferrars.

I would certainly recommend this book to my high school students as a primer for entering the literary canon of Jane Austen, although I would be loathe to use it as a substitute for the original in my own curriculum. It would be an excellent addition to a unit on literary adaptations and as a learning tool for hesitant readers and students who are not quite on grade level for literacy.

A great adaptation of Sense and Sensibility with lovely artwork. Manga Classics are always an interesting way to experience classic literature.

Very beautiful artwork and a nice way to make a timeless tale an easy read. This turns reading a classic from a chore to an amazing experience!

I have not read the original version of this book and probably won't because I am not a huge fan of classic novels. This is a story of two sisters and their romantic relationships. Both believe that they have found love, only for it not to be. They eventually find love with other people.

I just love the illustrations of the whole series.
Just to hope to keep the vocabularies simple for young students.

I love everything by Jane Austen, so this was a must read for me! Love seeing the beautiful art bring this story to life!

This was my first manga Jane Austen novel. For a long time, I put off with the idea of reading the original, so this manga version was very helpful.

The relationship between the sisters, Elinor and Marianne, is beautiful. They are such contrasts but are equally dedicated to their family. Unfortunately tragedy befalls them everywhere. Starting with the death of their father. However their mother manages to keep things together. Both fall into conflicted romances. Elinor's man is not bold and Marianne's man is unreliable. Ultimately everything works out in the end. Though not in the ways that the sisters thought. The cruel and thoughtless people fade out in the end. This story is real on so many levels. I love the traditional rules and practices followed in old England.

I especially loved the explanation and discussion by the authors at the end of the book. How they used visual cues, dressing styles and many more to emphasise certain emotions and personalities.

Moreover, this novel teaches you about different life experiences where one has to use sense at times and be sensible at other times; while dealing with the complexity of human relationships.

If you're a fan of Jane Austen, I think you should pick this book up. If you love Manga or have always wanted to read one, I think you should consider picking this up. I am of both the first, being a fan of Jane Austen, and the second, always wanting to try a Manga, but never knowing where to start. This book has been sitting in my books since last year, if not before that. My reason for starting it and finishing it now was the Net Galley Book Shelf app, I remembered about it, and it piqued my interest when I saw it there. Before I go any further, I feel it needs to be said that I have never read this story before. This was my introduction to the characters and the plot of Sense & Sensibility.

Plot

The plot of this story is juicy, and I feel it comes across in the Manga. From the first chapter, the plot intrigued me, and I wanted to know more. I feel like that was what this me all throughout the book, wanting to know more, and know where the plot was going to go next. Just because this was a Manga, didn't mean that this was short of plot and details about the story following the characters. In fact, I think this being a Manga version enhanced the plot, because we could see the characters' facile expressions and the reactions to what was happening in actual time.

Characters

The other thing that made me fall for this book was the characters. Each Dashwood sister is written differently, and that makes them unique. They each have their flaws, and their strengths, which make them characters you want to keep reading about. The depth in the characters doesn't stop with the sisters, The men in this story also had their fair share of strengths and flaws, and these are what make you want to keep reading the novel. I enjoyed all the characters, and because I had not read a Manga before, I didn't know how the characters would come across on the page. I can now say that these characters feel just as alive as ever.

Writing

As with every classic novel, the writing will be what makes or breaks the story. The writing in this book feels fresh and is easy to follow. With that said, the story still feels classic, and I think the feel of Jane Austen's writing is still kept intact when you read this. I was not sure what the writing was going to be like, but from the first chapter, much like the characters and the plot, I was drawn to and engaged with the writing in the story.

Art

The art in this book was excellent. I loved seeing the characters' expressions and how they were styled in this book..

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Graphic novel adaptation of a wonderful classic. Will do well for reluctant readers who still wish to read classics.

This manga adaptation of Sense and Sensibility was my first time experiencing a Jane Austen story, which is fitting since it was her first full-length novel, published in 1811. I haven't even seen the 1995 movie starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman (ohhh Snape, my love 🖤... how appropriate for him to be cast as the best male character 😍), Hugh Grant (how appropriate for him to be cast as Edward, *yawns*), etc. but it's on Netflix! YAY!, so I'm going to watch it tonight while sipping tea in bed 😊

I'm really glad that Marianne Dashwood ended up with Colonel Brandon because John Willoughby was as shallow as a puddle and not nearly as amazing as he thought he was. I'm happy for her sister, Elinor, too, even though Edward Ferrars wasn't my cup of tea. To each their own.

I now understand why Austen's novels are so popular and I look forward to reading them.

Einen Klassiker von Jane Austen kann man gar nicht oft genug lesen.
Diese tolle und liebevoll gezeichnete Version von "Sense and Sensibility" vom Mangaclassics Verlag hat mir richtig gut gefallen.
Wer Jane Austen und Mangas mag, wird große Freude an dem Buch haben.

This was a nice Edition of Sense & Sensibility!
This is one of my favourite classics so I enjoyed this version of it.