manga classics

Manga Review: Hamlet

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Manga Classics by Crystal S. Chan

Manga Classics: Hamlet (Modern English Edition)
by Crystal S. Chan (Adapter), William Shakespeare, Julien Choy (Artist), Michael Barltrop (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but still captures the original style of Shakespeare. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

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Manga Review: Sense and Sensibility

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Sense and Sensibility by Stacy King

Sense and Sensibility
by Stacy King (Goodreads Author) (Adaptor), Po Tse (Illustrator), Jane Austen (Original Author)

5 out of 5 stars

I loved this manga adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic story! The manga follows the original story pretty closely, and the artwork is beautiful.

There’s a lot of crying in this book! I mean, I suppose there’s a lot of crying in the original story too, but seeing almost all the characters constantly collapsing into violent tears, hysterics, and/or fits of depression was over-the-top dramatic. Then again, Marianne Dashwood is the epitome of drama! haha!

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Manga Classic Review: Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Manga Classics by Crystal S. Chan

Manga Classics: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Modern English Edition)
by  Crystal S. Chan, William Shakespeare, Po Tse (Illustrator), Michael Barltrop (Editor)

5 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but still captures the original style of Shakespeare. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

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Manga Classic Review: Macbeth

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Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan

Macbeth
by Crystal S. Chan (Adaptor), Julien Choy (Illustrator), William Shakespeare, Michael Barltrop (Modern English Adaptor)
4 out of 5 stars

Despite its popularity, MacBeth has never been one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. Too bloody and gory and gloomy for my taste. But if you like a dismal adventure with plenty of violence and mayhem, MacBeth has plenty of that! And this manga adaptation rings true with the moods and poetry of the original play. I like that the words of Shakespeare are modernized in a thoughtful way, and the artwork beautifully illustrates all the action and drama.

Each character has a memorable and striking appearance, and I found it especially interesting to see how MacBeth’s demeanor changed after he commits murder. His posture and facial expressions are different, and shadows gather around him in the darker shadows of the artwork. It’s a subtle but effective way of showing the development of his character, slowing falling into madness and despair.

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Book Review: Romeo and Juliet

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Manga Classics Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Manga Classics Romeo and Juliet (Modern English Edition)
by William Shakespeare, Crystal S. Chan, Julien Choy (Illustrator)
5 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but is still written in iambic pentameter, and still has the original rhymes of the play. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

I am so impressed with the way the text was modernized, and with the integrity and thoughtfulness that went into editing it. It really does feel like something that Shakespeare would have written if he had been alive today. There is no jarring modern slang to ruin the beauty of the lines. It feels like someone just translated the words from another language, and made it easy to understand for modern readers, but without losing any of the flavor and emotion of the original text.

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Manga Review: Othello

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Othello by Stacy King

Othello
by Stacy King (Goodreads Author) (Adaptor), Crystal S. Chan (Contributor), Julien Choy (Illustrator), William Shakespeare (Original Author)
5 out of 5 stars

General Othello is newly married to the beautiful Desdemona. Iago is jealous of Othello’s high position in the military, and pretends to be Othello’s friend, but swears to get his revenge by making Othello miserable any way he can. Iago spreads lies that Desdemona has been unfaithful to her new husband, and plants a seed of suspicion in Othello’s mind. Once Othello’s heart is poisoned by Iago’s lies, it means tragedy for everyone involved.

I am so impressed with this graphic novel! The artwork is beautiful and each panel shows a clear story. The classic story of Othello retains all its integrity, and the characters are powerfully depicted. This edition uses the original words of Shakespeare, and I enjoyed revisiting this beautiful play in a new format.

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Manga Classics Giveaway!

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Manga Review: Anne of Green Gables

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Manga Classics Anne of Green Gables by Crystal Chan

Manga Classics Anne of Green Gables
by Crystal Chan (Editor), Kuma Chan (Artist), L.M. Montgomery (Author)
5 out of 5 stars

In this classic story, Anne is an orphan who comes to live with Marilla and Matthew. She has an overactive imagination and a talent for getting into mischief, but she is delighted with her new home at Green Gables.

Condensing such a complex and deep story into manga form works very well here, and the plot closely follows the original story. Even the dialogue is almost always exactly the same as the book.

I loved the artwork so much! Beautiful panels in every chapter that draw you into the story. The artwork brings a lot of emotion into the story, and firmly connects the reader to the characters. Seeing the expressions on character’s faces as they experience joy, grief, fear, sadness, or relief, made me feel those things too as I was reading!

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Graphic Novel Review: The Iliad

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The Iliad by Gareth Hinds
The Iliad 
by Gareth Hinds 

2 out of 5 stars on GoodReads

This graphic novel retelling of Homer’s Iliad was not quite what I expected. It’s much too word-heavy for a graphic novel, and I found myself bogged down in the text. Most of the panels have so much text that there is barely room for the artwork. And the artwork itself is nothing special. I didn’t care for the cartoony look, and it just didn’t grab my attention. It looks somewhat amateur, or hastily drawn.

If you are a big fan of the Iliad, you might like this, but I did not enjoy reading it. Usually I love classical literature, and I have read The Iliad before, so I was happy to be revisiting the story of the Trojan War with all the drama. But this book does not deliver drama. It feels stale and static, like the characters are all made of stone.

Disappointed in this one. Continue reading →