Hey all, Sam here.
It’s Manga Monday once again! And yes, today’s review is for a very recently completed read….as in, I read this whole thing yesterday, although I imagine none of you are surprised by that because I have said many times that I read manga rather quickly.
Anyway, I really enjoy reading the Manga Classics series. I’ve completed almost every one that I’ve found on NetGalley, and there are some that I’ve definitely added to my personal library. As someone with degrees in English and in Library Science, of course I find myself drawn into reading and re-reading literary classics. (Although, I think it’s time for some changes in what is considered popular classics).
I must shout out a big thank you to UDON Entertainment and NetGalley for approving me for this book. And I will say it again, getting access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review does not affect my rating or review at all. The digital galley is in exchange of a review, but that review does not have to be glowingly positive. I shall always be honest about how I feel about things.
Okay, let’s get started.
Romeo and Juliet is a classic romantic tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is a tale of two young lovers from Verona, Italy who defy the wishes of their feuding families, get married then, and tragically end their own lives in the name of love. It is their deaths that ultimately help the rival families of the Capulets and the Montagues find reconciliation. Manga Classics brings an incredible new experience with this adaptation of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed plays: Romeo and Juliet.
My Thoughts
Rating: 4 stars
Oh man, it’s been a few years since I last read “Romeo & Juliet,” and obviously I remember the main framework of the story and the characters, but there’s small details that slide away, so reading it again just reminds and refreshes the story for me.
The older I get, the more I truly believe that this is absolutely NOT a romantic story. Even when I first read this back in my high school days, I didn’t find it to be all that romantic. It’s a three-day love story that ends with so much death, which is terrible. Juliet is a couple weeks away from her 14th birthday, and Romeo is 16 years old. And they are both so dang dramatic.
Frankly, many of the characters make dramatic leaps to the worst possible scenario any time something comes up. Oh, so Romeo is banished from Verona…of course Romeo wishes he was dead because now he’ll be separated from his new bride FOREVER!!!! Why not just have Juliet pack a bag and leave town too? Nope, let’s not even discuss things rationally. We just jump to conclusions and react wildly.
Oh, Juliet’s parents want her to marry County Paris in a couple days (when she’s already secretly married to Romeo). Do we just take them to the church and there with Friar Lawrence, tell them the truth to avoid being forced into a second marriage? NO, that would be RIDICULOUS! Instead, let’s take a vial of liquid that will simulate death, so that we can smuggle Juliet from her family’s crypt and take her to her banished husband.
This is definitely a story that is all about lack of communication and miscommunication. What I will absolutely say is that I loved the manga adaptation. Since “Romeo & Juliet” is a play, there isn’t really description of the scenery, and since the manga is all about art as well as story, we get to see what the characters are doing and where they’re having these conversations. It’s beautiful to look at.
I will say, that this adaptation gives pretty much the entirety of the original spoken text in speech bubbles, so it is one of the truest adaptations I’ve read from Manga Classics, because you know that some of them have to reduce down the loquaciousness and verbosity of the characters. The only thing this adaptation is missing is the scene directions from the play, and you get to see that through the movement in the art.
This read quite quickly. I thought the art was stunning. And I’m glad to revisit a story that I’ve read many times, and that I’ve read and seen many adaptations of over the years. It made for a good time.
All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
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