i thought this was a beautiful take on the classic Shakespeare tragedy, the art style was amazing and i think this is a great way for someone who wouldn't usually read classics or aren't comfortable with them to get into the genre

The artwork was really intentional and the style worked well to compliment the back drop of the original text. The character design was perfect in my opinion and I would have changed nothing. I did find reading it in it's true form took away a bit from delving into the manga version which is carried so well by the artwork but that could have just been me.

Maybe I came into this book the wrong way. But usually graphic novel versions of classics are easier to understand and this one just wasn’t that. Loved the illustrations, though!

*3.5 stars*

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's' most famous plays, also known as "the Scottish Play," for those who are superstitious. It tells the story of Macbeth as he becomes king and his descent into madness. I found this Manga to be a solid adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. It has been a while since I've read or seen a production of the original, but it felt very faithful. The visual element of a manga was extra helpful in following the story, since it does use a lot of the original Shakespearean text. However, I wish the text was still written out in lines to make the rhythm more obvious. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend if you are a fan of Shakespeare or are currently studying Macbeth.

I first discovered Manga Classics when I saw their booth at Comic-Con last year, and I was instantly intrigued. So when I spotted Macbeth available on NetGalley, I was excited—especially since this would be my first time reading Shakespeare!

Growing up on anime definitely had me looking forward to this format, and it did not disappoint. Although the original Old English was a little challenging at times, reading it as a manga made it much more approachable and enjoyable for me.

The artwork was fantastic—detailed, expressive, and really brought the tension and drama of the story to life. I especially appreciated the author and artist notes at the end. It was so cool to see how they collaborated and approached adapting such a complex classic into a manga format.

I’m definitely planning to read more Manga Classics in the future. Huge thanks to NetGalley for the chance to dive into this creative retelling!

Manga of a literary classic and i wish I would have had this in high school when we were learning about Macbeth. This was so much better than the palon text and allows you to actually understand what is happening.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”

Manga Classics: Macbeth was definitely a challenge for me. I’ve never read the original play by Shakespeare, and even though I have a decent level of English, the old-fashioned language made it really hard to follow the story. Honestly, I didn’t fully understand what was going on 😅.

That said, the manga format really helped. The artwork conveys a lot and kept me from feeling completely lost. The expressions, scene transitions, and the dark atmosphere made it easier to grasp the emotion and tone, even when I didn’t catch every word.

I won’t lie—it wasn’t an easy or smooth read, but it was an interesting experience. I’m now more curious about Macbeth, and I will try to read it again in the future.

⭐ Story: 6/10 (more because of my understanding than the actual plot)
⭐ Characters: 8/10 | ⭐ Illustrations: 9/10 | ⭐ Overall: 7.67/10

📆 Reading date: 25/06/25 - 27/06/25
📖 Read on: NetGalley ARC
💖 Thanks to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the concept and the artwork was great. The Shakespearean language was quite hard to follow. I think the manga would be a lot more enjoyable if you already knew the story of Macbeth. Thank you for the copy.

It’s Macbeth with pictures. If you like Macbeth you’ll like it, if you’re hoping the pictures changes it and makes it more likable you probably won’t. Nothing wrong with it, the drawing style was cool

I found this to be really boring. It could not hold my attention long enough to get through more than. A page at t a time so I DNFd it

I teach Macbeth and this title is a great addition to the graphic novels I use to support understanding of the play. Macbeth is a universal tale of ambition, power, and corruption that translates well to Manga. Beautiful adaptation.

I really enjoy the Manga Classics series. Since they keep the text of the play intact, reading it is similar to seeing a performance of it. The art adds so much to the words and makes it easier to understand the Shakespearean phrases and old style language. You can see the expressions on the characters faces and I feel like I connect with it a lot more than I have for the Shakespeare plays that I've just read. I think this style of telling stories makes these older classics much more approachable and absorbable for a modern audience.

So it was interesting experiment as Macbeth is my favourite play. Drawings are really good, I liked how style of Macbeth changed through story to show us his descent into all of this madness. Also witches and Hecate! I love them in original so I was really excited to see them here and it didn’t disappoint.
“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.”
But if you think you will be struggling with original Shakespeare maybe try Modern English Edition as in this one dialogue can be a little hard to understand.

This book is a great introduction for those who want to get into Shakespeare but is intimidated by the original! It’s a very beautiful artstyle. It’s faithful to the original by having the same dialogue but still has its own manga charm. I recommend!

A vivid and powerful retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy! The dramatic artwork captures Macbeth’s ambition and downfall perfectly, while staying true to the spirit of the original. A great way to experience the play if you love manga or want a fresh, visual approach to a classic.

A cool and creative reimagining of Macbeth. This is a smart way to tell the story of Macbeth to new readers of the Bard, and a way to get disinterested readers interested in the classics. The art was well done, and having a cast shot in the beginning was really cool while also being an interesting way to show that the story is a play. Overall, it was a good translation of Macbeth, and it was fun to read.

I appreciate the adaptation and how faithful the dialogue is to the script. I also like the character designs and art style, and how it depicts mature characters that aren't overly cartoonified. In particular, the subtlety in the facial expressions was an interesting choice, but there is a tension between overdoing the emphases or not showing any emotions. I feel like the art did the latter, particularly with Lady MacBeth's scenes (this is just a personal preference, but the character downfalls would have been more impactful with bolder lines and expressions). I did notice, however, that on the NetGalley reader app, the manga is set backwards rather than forwards, and this may be a formatting issue (I am unsure who to contact to report this), and that made for a confusing experience at first. However, I think overall the manga is a good starting point for anyone who is trying to get into Shakespearean texts, as the art gives good context clues to help understand the dialogue, and this is still a very faithful adaptation of a classic.

Er… this is awkward since I requested this from Netgally knowing darn well I don’t enjoy Macbeth primarily because I don’t enjoy Shakespeare. Blasphemy I know, it is what it is. I keep trying I promise! Hence why I wanted to read this! It’s Manga! It’s a classic, how could I not like this!?

Well the answer to that is that it’s 100% still Shakespearean writing.

While the art is there, all dialogue is still the beloved by others writing that’s timeless. Which actually leads me to my rating rational of 3. The art and format are solid and for many it will make reading this endlessly better. I could see this being great for someone in high school who has to read Macbeth, but like me just does not jam with The Bard. No fear Shakespeare may still explain this story better, but for a quick read of the classic that offers visuals this works.

I have always loved the classics, but found myself struggling with the original text in several of Shakespeare’s plays. “Macbeth” was a particular struggle for me. I was excited to read this manga version of “Macbeth”, as I hoped that the illustrations would help me to better visualize the settings and make more sense of the language. Having the illustrations accompanying the prose definitely helped, although I still had difficulty with the language. While I understand keeping the phrasing the same for the integrity of the play, I also would have like to see a modified version with more modern English, so that this material might make the classics more accessible to younger readers. The art styles was a great success, and the illustrator did an amazing job at capturing the nuances of emotion and Macbeth’s descent into madness, as well as providing visual cues of his hunger for power.

Macbeth is a classic and I adore the story. I was really excited to see it in a graphic novel/manga format and this did not disappoint. The panels made it an entirely new story and even though I knew what was going to happen I was still hooked. This would be perfect for a younger audience to help them visualise Macbeth more. I think it would've been better had they translated it into modern English, but I can't lie I did love seeing all the classic Macbeth quotes. I really did enjoy this and I would highly recommend it!!