Cover Image: Manga Classics: Great Expectations

Manga Classics: Great Expectations

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Member Reviews

Another win for the Manga Classics line. The classic Dickens story works perfectly in this format. The main story stays the same, though they may have skimped on some details. Still, someone who reads this will have a working understanding of the story.

A young boy, Pip, is offered the chance to become a proper gentleman and, you know, the grass is always greener so he jumps at the offer without truly knowing who made the offer. He thinks he knows. He thinks it'll get him the girl. Convicts, a scorned woman, and his meager upbringing all combine for a sometimes dark and sometimes hopeful story. The art work is beautiful and very fitting.

Highly recommend this book (and series in general).

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The last time I read Great Expectations was in one of my high school English classes and I remember not being a fan of it. I really enjoyed this Manga and the storyline! In high school, I remember not being able to get into the story because of all of the descriptions. I am a very straightforward person and it definitely led me astray from the theme of the book. This was very enjoyable because the reader was able to find description in the art, but, in this case, actually added to the story, for me. Maybe I’ll take one more crack at the novel because I had such a positive experience with this Manga!

We start in the early nineteen century following Pip browsing through a churchyard in rural Kent, England. While perusing, an escaped prisoner looking for some food stops him and demands to see Pip’s parents, however, Pip lives with his sister and her blacksmith husband. Pip sees the man taken into custody and later is sent to live at Miss Havisham’s house.

Miss Havisham is a bipolar, old lady who still lives in her past when she was to be married. As a revenge of sorts, she has a young girl, Estrella, make Pip fall in love with her. But, the more time that Pip spends at Miss Havisham’s, the more he wants to live a life like the elite.

In his favor, Pip receives a message that he will fall into an inheritance, so he starts living like he always dreamed. He assumes Miss Havisham is behind this.

One day, an old friend visits, and he treats him like a commoner. When in reality, this friend was just delivering a message that benefited no one else but Pip. Ugh! He is so intolerable and probably the worst character ever created!

Who is Pip’s benefactor? What is the deal with Estrella? What is the relationship of everyone in the story? Will Pip ever realize his actions and change back to his old self? What price will Pip pay to reach his aspirations?

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What a beautiful story. I had never read the original and I'm so glad I read this manga version because I thoroughly enjoyed reading through illustrations. And from my previous experiences reading manga classics I have understood that they are accurate when compared to the original.

The illustrations were spot on. Every character felt like they were actually meant to look like that. Estella looked gorgeous. Biddy not as pretty as Estella but cute. I loved these detailing and accuracy. I also like how fast you can finish reading these when you can days and months reading the original.

I wish more and more classics in the manga version. I'm religiously going to read all of them. And also recommend them to others.

Thank you Udon Entertainment and NetGalley.

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3.5 stars! I am so glad I found these adaptations of classics in manga form because I have always been interested in these stories but not a fan of reading the actual classics so this series works out perfectly for me! The Great Expectations is a very interesting story I’d say, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it but the characters and plot are very well written. The ending didn’t quite satisfy me and I wish there had been more romance but it was nice to see a change in Pip’s character, considering how much of a brat he was at some parts of the story. The art is absolutely beautiful and I will be definitely be picking up more of these books in the future.

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Beautiful book and illustrations. Such a fan. This was my first graphic novel and I am so glad it was this one because I love this book so much. 5 stars

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This was my first attempt at reading a manga classic where I didn't already know the original story - I don't know if it was because of this, or simply because I just don't care all that much for Charles Dickens in general, but it had a hard time keeping my attention, meaning it ended up taking more than a month to read.

The drawings were gorgeous as always, but the story itself felt more abbreviated than the other manga classics I have read (mostly Jane Austen), and the plot was too bleak for me to ever really care for the characters. However, I'm more inclined to blame Charles Dickens than the adaption.

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This was an fun and easy to follow manga adaptation. I have yet to read the novel so I cannot accurately judge its accuracy to the original, and while the story was interesting, I did feel like some of the depth from the original had to be left out. Beside that, I really enjoyed the art style and it did make me more intrigued to one day read the novel. I would therefore definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about Great Expectations who isn't quite willing to pick up the full book.

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Another great hit by Udon! Did Dickens justice. Always love seeing how these artists will translate a classic into illustrations

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Review: I've already read Great Expectations. The 5/5 is due to my enjoyment of this story. This is nicely stitched together and fits perfectly with the original story. The emotions in this is well written, illustrated that you can feel them.

Recommend? Yes, definitely. Great fit for kids (or adults) who may struggle with the classics. They can be intimidating for readers. But this expresses and shows the story in a way that is easier for them. Love everything that makes classics attainable.

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I love this manga! Also, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys manga, or the classic Great Expectations story. You can tell Stacy and The other creators did a lot of research in creating this manga. It is so beautiful! I felt like I was there with all of the characters. Seriously, you'll love it too - check out all of her manga books if not already. I'm so glad NetGalley let me read this, thank you so much again! The only thing I'd warn you about is how long the manga is, yet that should be expected, since the original book is a hefty read. I didn't mind how long it was though. I gave Great Expectations a 5 out of 5 stars.

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My favourite Charles Dickens book. An absolute classic and even more enjoyable second time round now I am older! I love so many characters in Great Expectations I really do think this is Dickens best work.

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I felt like this story was a little bit of a let down for me. This story started off very different but turned sad really quickly. The story later took a turn for the better but then made me a little upset once the main character in the story showed his selfish colors by being ashamed of who his benefactor was. It was a big twist when he found out his love was marrying someone else as well as his back up plan. He finally decided to change his mindset and became a better person. This was an eye-opening graphic novel.

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I haven't read yet the original play of Great Expectations. I even have the book on my list of to be read and have had a lot of desire to do it. Either I decided to gave it a chance to this adaptation first.

I have been an anime and manga fan for most of the half of my life and I found this project really interesting. It's not the most innovating thing in the world, I have found other classics adapted to manga, but this is the first time that I can actually read one.
I want to give a lot of credit to the adaptation work of this book (which is not small) to a full volume of only 300 pages. I though and feared that it wouldn't be complete, but it was! and that is awesome.
Illustrations and characters design weren't the top of the top, I can even say that they were pretty basic. but in general I was able to enjoy it a lot.

The story is a classic drama that reflex the ugly truth and rudeness of the people in XIX century in England. The book is full of moral lessons, which is very characteristic of Dickens. However some of the things that did not like was that they modify the languaje from the book. I guess it was to make it simpler and that more young people feel attracted by it.

Now I fell like I want to read the book and feel closer to the characters, since that is one of the motives I ended up giving just 3 out 5 stars. I need more details or background of the characters. Here some are discused but others are cast aside (like Pip friends). I am pretty sure that once I understand better their motives I will have more reasons to love them or hate them.

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I have already read three books of this series and they are all extraordinary, as soon as I finish one I immediately want to read another one and especially to read the original. The plot is summarized in a perfect way: it is flowing, clear and compelling, the characters are well defined and characterized.
I have not yet finished reading the original novel by Dickens but for what I've read the plot is faithful to it.
For those unfamiliar with the work of Dickens is the story of Pip, a poor orphan raised by his sister and his brother-in-law, in love with Estella, a girl with a heart of stone. He will try to redeem himself and become a gentleman for her but will he succeed in conquering her?
I loved all the characters but Joe and Biddy were extraordinary: sweet, generous, loving. The drawings are well done, perfectly able to convey the emotions of the characters and very beautiful scenary.

I definitely recommend it to young people who approach for the first time to this classic or to those people who are terrified of it but it's good for everyone.

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I love these Manga retellings of famous classics.

This one is no exception! I loved the artwork, and the story is well told and easy to follow.

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I do struggle with Dickens and his more, ah, heavyhandedness when it comes to telling a story. But, I think that actually is bonus for the manga which tend to be a format you can't be so vague with.

It shows a lot of character growth, the arc is really nice to follow, but for the story just could hold my attention. The art, lovely although not what I imagined when reading the novel. Dickens own style sort of took away from the characters themselves outside of Pip. And unfortunately this manga didn't read as in the period it is set as the other ones have for me.

Overall I still think these are excellent ventures into classics.

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This classic story was brought to life beautifully by this company for Illustrated manga classics. I have read the original novel and watch different adaptations based on it and I can say that this adaptation was more or less faithful to the original. I do enjoy the fact that I could enjoy the story again without reading the tedious original novel. This book get straight to the point for the main situations of the story and portrays them in a riveting way. I definitely would recommend this manga to others who are fans of Charles Dickens.

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The Electronic copy of this wonderful graphic novel was provided by the publisher via Netgalley website.

This is a beautifully depicted version of the classic by the great Dickens. The story is as compelling as in original novel.
I greatly enjoyed reading and admiring the artwork which heightened the experience tenfold.
The story is about a boy with humble background who craves to become a gentlemen and claim his place next to his first love. We see our young Pip going through life-changing events and facing a lot of hardships. The story centers around his ambitions, and all in all great expectations toward life.

The graphic novel was beautifully made in a Japanese manga format, where you read from the back of the book, right to left. I really enjoy this formatting as I am quite familiar with the style due to reading many mangas. The scenes and the characters are done intricately which I really appreciate in a graphic novel. Often sometimes, the background of the scene. might be neglected, but this was not the case with this novel.

Overall, the experience was very enjoyable and I was left wanting more.

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I was auto-approved by the publisher Udon Entertainment through NetGalley to review this title.
I always found Charles Dickens <i>Great Expectations</i> rather spooky and dark, but it is one of my favourite classic stories.
The comic was able to keep the eerie feeling I always get when reading this story and it also portrays the harshness of young Pip’s childhood.
Overall, it’s a great addition to the Manga Classics series and I would recommend it.

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I obtained a free copy via Netgalley for a true and honest review!

I found this such fun read! I don't really read magna comics but I really enjoyed this.

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