The Scottish play is adapted in this Manga Classic. I was more into this than Othello, but I still struggle to get emotionally attached to the characters. I have read the Scottish Play before and really enjoyed several productions of it, I found one online and read the manga while watching the play, that really helped my flow. I didn’t really like or dislike the manga.

I love the story of MacBeth, so seeing it in manga style was amazing. I enjoyed reading it, and I liked how it was faithful to the original story while also having its own spin on it.

The Manga Classics series really makes classic novels and plays accessible to modern readers. These are always enjoyable books, and Macbeth is absolutely no exception.

I've read some Manga Classics, and they've all been great reads. Manga Classics' Macbeth is another I can add to that list. With amazing designs and faithful to Shakespeare's plays, the graphic novel is a must-read for those who want to enjoy the language of Shakespeare but can't sit through over two hours on stage or those who want to ease into Shakespeare's tragedies through comics before seeing it on stage. I also recommend those who love Shakespeare to read this as it's very faithful to Shakespeare's words and shows the story in a new adaptation (and let's be honest, who doesn't love a good Shakespeare adaptation?)

Thank you, NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this manga in exchange for my honest opinion! As with all manga classics retellings, I feel like the original content is much clearer and easier to understand. That being said, I still had a hard time following all of the plot of the manga, I think in part due to the old language used. Still, I found this read quite enjoyable and adored the art. I will always pick up and manga classics retellings to see just how good they are!

I have read many different comic, graphic novel, and manga versions of Macbeth. While not the best adaptation I have read, this book is still a highly enjoyable read. I would encourage those who like Shakespeare or are trying to lure reluctant readers into enjoying his plays to try this work, and others in the series.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

I've read other Manga Classics, but this is the first one I've read based on a Shakespeare play and I found it quite well done. This Macbeth manga does a good job of illustrating Shakespeare's metaphors and meanings, providing more context clues when you're unsure what precisely a turn of phrase in old English means. It's a helpful supplement to anyone who may be struggling with just reading the original text cold. And it's a more exciting alternative to the usual "Shakespeare translates into modern English" books, as with those you're still just reading text upon the page rather than seeing it acted out as Shakespeare intended

As an experiment, I even tried to ignore the speech bubbles and just follow along with the pictures for a few pages, and it was even more striking to me how well these pictures tell the well-worn story of Macbeth.

Such as the famous "look like the innocent flower, but be the servant underneath it" metaphorical turn of phrase, or Macbeth's famous "Is this a dagger I see before me? Come, let me clutch thee" with a ghostly vision of a dagger that represents his shaky resolve to murder Duncan.

The images illustrate Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's character transformations quite well, too. Macbeth is more visibly shadowed after the murder, his face literally expressing the darkness within him. His madness in the Banquo ghost scene after his friend's murder is also so well captured, guilt and anger so clear.
banquo's ghost scene. Lady Macbeth is similarly transformed from a ruthless lady who tells us of how she would dash an infant's brains out after breastfeeding it (and said violence is not directly depicted but still quite graphically implied), to one who cries "out damn spot, out!"

I do want to warn that obviously, this isn't a manga that shies away from depicting blood and such. I don't think you can tell Macbeth without the violence, but I still people to know what to expect when they pick up this book.

Great way to read classics that I would otherwise not re-read. Pictures were great and storyline depicted well.

I am in love with this. I love Shakespeare, and I've always advocated that Shakespeare should be experienced, not just read. This Manga classics edition preserves the fantastic language while the illustrations help keep you fully engaged in the story. The Scottish play is so dramatic, and you can sell all the anguish, anger, fear, etc on the characters' faces. The point of view is also amazing, and I felt as though I was in the story.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for allowing me access to this.

It was quite a quest to find app for read this manga but it was worth it. I like Shakespeare and this adaptation is a fresh breath to immortal classics. Macbeth is true one of the best book written by Shakespeare.
Thank Netgalley for providing arc copy so I can enjoyed this remarkable story.

Everything I would imagine about a William Shakespeare play brought to life within the beautifully drawn images of Julien Choy. I honestly have never read this play before reading this book. It was enlightening for lack of better wording.

Macbeth is told that he is meant to become the king of Scotland by some witches. Them telling him that put his plan to murder the current king into action. There is so much that takes place within the pages of this book that a simple review could not possibly give it justice.

The illustrations and the text go hand and hand so nicely you’d think this was just how William Shakespeare wanted his play portrayed. The illustrations help to show the reader so many different raw emotions such as: anger, regret, guilt and more. I think the illustrations are a nice touch because they help to show more so much more to the reader. It doesn’t leave much space for one’s imagination about the scenes, but it does show the reader such raw emotion within the images that it’s alright.

Macbeth is shown at his best, at his worst and in all the depictions he is shown as truly human.

I think this book is a wonderful rendition of a Classic. I am going to need to read the actual play sometime in the near future. I think that reluctant readers will find this as a worthwhile read and who knows, they may even discover a new found love for William Shakespeare.

Unfortunately, I can't review this title as I couldn't manage to open the file due to problems with the digital adobe program. The only option was to download it on computer, I couldn't view it in the Netgalley app.

But I can say this: I really like the Manga classics series! For us that may struggle with classical texts it is a wonderful way to know what they are about. It is even more fun that the graphic novel is in manga style! These series would surelly benefit many higschool students that need to read the classics but struggle with them.

I really enjoyed adaptation of Frankenstein so I thought "maybe it'll be a smart idea to read Shakespear as well?" In school I found Shakespeare boring. I could not be bothered with it.
This adaptation somehow made it fun.

I enjoyed reading play in manga format. Not only are the visuals pleasant to look at, they also make understanding of wider context much easier.

People who adapted this play payed attention to details. I love when peole who adapt something are also fans of the source materials and add all sorts of cool details. I don't want to elaborate for fear of spoiling the fun for first time readers.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!! I was required to read this book in High School, but this Manga edition makes it so much more fun! I actually understand the story now. I totally recommend one million percent! I just reviewed Manga Classics: Macbeth by William Shakespeare. #MacbethMangaclassics #NetGalley

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the other manga classics I’ve read. I enjoyed the feel of the artwork, but I struggled to interpret the story with this one. Again, I found myself wishing for some endnotes. All in all, I didn’t hate this, but I think it was just okay.

Shakespeare's play Macbeth transformed into a manga. Crystal Chan did a fine job on adapting the play into a manga. The background art was nicely done, but the humans were jarring and distracting from the text and narrative flow. A decent read, if you want a version of Shakespeare in the manga format.

Macbeth is a decorated war hero, fighting in wars for the king of Scotland, Duncan. After one such battle, three witches appear to Macbeth and his friend Banquo, promising titles and even the crown in Macbeth’s future. Lady Macbeth doesn’t want to leave things up to chance, so she convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan in his sleep as he stays the night in their castle. The king’s sons flee, afraid for their own safety, and Macbeth is made king. He is driven mad by keeping his crown and destroying anyone who could take it away from him, plunging the kingdom into terror. A force led by Macduff, another noblemen, gather strength from other nobles and even the King of England in the hopes of unseating Macbeth.

If you're looking for a very faithful adaptation of the play, this is it. The acts and scenes are included, so it's easy to see where everything lines up with the original play. The Modern English is a fine way for students to get into the story who may be struggling with the Shakespearean text. However, there are a few times when the adaptation text is a little clunky. Michael Barltrop, the modern English adaptor, says in the End Notes that he was trying to keep the colorful language of Shakespeare, but there are some times when the figurative language doesn't sound natural in its translated form, or being true to the original language results in strange sentences.

Other than some of these moments, this volume is a great way for students to experience the play in a different medium. The beautiful illustrations make this reading closer to seeing the play performed, which is really how Shakespeare is intended to be consumed. Reading a static play and with very few stage directions is often very difficult for students, and teachers expend a lot of energy explaining, reenacting, and "translating" for students so they can enjoy the play. It's not impossible, but it definitely is a difficult task, and reading it with these visuals would definitely help.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Manga Classics:Macbeth is a faithful adaptation of the classic Shakespearean tale, with all of the Bard's words accompanied by the popular black and while manga illustrations. Being a more visual format, the drama and emotion (and yes, the ribald jokes, too) and more easily conveyed and lend greater power to the text. I didn't care for some of the visual elements, but they did suit the text well.

Being a traditional manga, the book must be read right-left (and from a Western perspective back to front) which takes a little getting used to.

It is a well crafted adaptation, and will be a fabulous introduction to Shakespeare for young readers and manga fans.

~ Many thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ~

The story of Macbeth abounds with witches, murder, political intrigue and war. This classic dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. It explores the resulting turmoil that can threaten a nation.

Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is one of the playwright's famous historical tragedies. First performed in 1606, it is still being performed over 400 years later. The script has been translated into over 100 languages and has been adapted into novels and movies as well. But Shakespeare wrote with plentiful metaphor. This presents no problem for theater audiences who can rely on the actors' movements to help emphasize the intended meaning. But the flowering and archaic language of Elizabethan English is often lost on readers relying on text alone. Because of this, there are plentiful annotated volumes published that help those studying Shakespeare.

The Manga Classics series takes a different approach. By adapting the play into graphic presentation, the acting is replaced by Julien Choy’s excellent drawings. Shakespeare's original text is also clarified by drawings which show the meaning behind the metaphors and Shakespeare becomes accessible to modern readers. The various characters are shown with realistic renderings that portray a lot of their qualities. For instance, Macbeth is quite innocent looking at the beginning, but later shows an evil grin and eventually looks quite vicious. There is little record of the buildings that would have been around in Macbeth’s time, and Choy needed to create a lot of the background to resemble the Scottish castles.

The story has been adapted many times, but this is one of the best that I have seen. I recommend this book to lovers of Shakespear, graphic novels and manga. “Macbeth” has been taught in high school English classes for decades and would make an excellent additional text to supplement a copy of the play. Manga Classics has also published a Modern English edition of this manga. Although I prefer this edition, some may prefer the other for even easier reading.

I would like to thank Manga Classics and NetGalley for a copy of this book that I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

this was such a nice way to be able to read more diverse books :) i love the little twists on such a classic! i will definitely recommend this!