Fascinating story. I only picked it up because I felt a manga interpretation might be more approachable than the original. Story was well presented and much more engaging than I expected.

Uhmmm the drawings are good, like always manga classics do not disappoint, but the story is very hard to introduce to younger children, I recommend this book for older teens up, the story gets very grim and very soon, but again is a good way to make someone interested in reading the complete book.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in September 2021.

"Manga Classics: Les Miserables" was a bit underwhelming.
I love the original, and I thought this manga quite banalized the story for the sake of simplicity. While I do realize an adaptation is bound to leave bits and pieces out, especially when drawing from such a ponderous masterpiece, I really didn't appreciate how this manga made it all about Cosette and Marius' love story: it reads almost like a soap opera, for goodness' sake!
The social and political parts were reduced to mere background setting; the character of Javert, who is so complex in the original, came out as flat as any one-dimensional villain in this version.
Kudos to the storyboarder and the artist for trying to introduce a larger part of the public to "Les Misérables", but it could have been done better.

I’m a sucker for Les Mis adaptions as I find it to be such a powerful story. I always love the manga adaptions of stories I’ve already read. Combining Japanese art with this powerful story of the French Revolution is so interesting. The characters are very realistic for manga. They do a good job of making them look serious and not too cute. The scenery is gorgeous and of course the outfits too. This is a great way to experience Les Mis and I really enjoyed it.

I usually pick up Manga because they’re fast paced and keep you engaged. Les Mis was definitely one of those Manga novels. It was engaging and fast paced and kept me interested. The reason for the 3 stars? Knowing how great and emotional of a story les Mis is this just didn’t cut it. The emotions just weren’t screaming at me from the pages like I thought they would. It was lacklustre for me and didn’t make me FEEL like I thought it should. The graphics were great I just felt it was for rushed and didn’t touch on the feels.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.

-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.-

I actually liked this alright. I don't like Les Misérables with Anne Hathaway and will never be reading the book itself. This was a lot better alternative for me that flowed and delivered a lot of drama. Considering the other Manga Classics, this was a lot better put together. Jean Valjean was an interesting character (and the rest just filled in the blanks). The plot was quick and the writing was decent.

The artwork was okay in certain places. There were checkered lines everywhere. I did get tired of trying to look past those. Some parts were too blurry to read. Also, some illustrations looked more like a sketch than the finished product.

If you like the original story & enjoy mangas then you might enjoy this!

Long and winded, but considering the story I think this did a great job. Loved the art work of course. I think this is a great one to add to your manga collection.

The art style was really well done and I found the story a more enjoyable experience to consume through this format

I am a huge fan of Les Mis, and this manga version was so gorgeously drawn and written, and I am completely in love. Absolutely recommend!

As someone who has a tracking comprehension disorder, the classics like Les Mis have always been daunting, I've found graphic adaptations to be a good way to transition to the main book itself. This Manga did a move job of simplifying a complex plot with lots of historical context and a web of characters one could get easily tangled up in. It took the core of the story and told it understandably and without judgment. It was well done for such an oft-adapted work of literature. I truly enjoyed it more than I expected to.

*In exchange for an honest review, I received an advanced readers copy courtesy of Manga Classics and Netgalley.com.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Les Miserables is my favorite play/movie. Haven’t tackled the novel yet. But I’m glad to have gotten the opportunity to read the manga. Mangas are such an interesting format and I think these manga classics are great for reluctant readers or for those recapping on classics.

This was my first manga book to read. I really appreciated how the author included the how to read manga section. This was a great way to fall in love with such a classic story.

4 stars! I love the story of Les Mis and having it be more accessible to younger readers is a great idea. The story of Les Mis is timeless! This was such a fast and enjoyable read!

5/5 star

Hmm okay so I’ve never read the book but I have seen the movie plenty of times and this was really close to the movie. I really enjoyed the artwork and the way it worked with the manga style.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainments for sending me this remarkable graphic novel to review.
To transform a magnum opus like Les Miserables into a graphic novel is no easy task. Despite the several digressions in the original, the novel is a lengthy one. One cannot forget that Hugo published this in 1862, around the time the Victorian novel was flourishing in the UK, and these novels were reputed to be long. Considering the intricacies of the plot and the numerous subplots, the profusion of characters, both major and minor, the task of converting this to a successful graphic novel seems impossible.

Full credit should be given to Crystal Silvermoon for her skillful adaptation of the original. Hugo, in his Preface, wanted to draw the attention of the readers to three ills prevalent in society: the degradation of men by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation and the dwarfing of children. All these have been adequately represented and transformed into the graphic novel.
The graphic novel also depends equally on its illustrator and once again, SunNeko Lee has done an excellent job. The success of a graphic novel is a result of the right blend of visuals and printed text and this balance is maintained. The images in black and white—a trademark of the Manga format—add to the generally grim story: the struggle of Jean Valjean to put his checkered past behind him and redeem himself, Javert’s obsession with hunting him down, the general poverty, misery and helplessness of the underdog are all skillfully achieved by a perfect blend of text and image. The visuals are striking—the expression on the face of Fantine when she is forced to sell her hair and lose two of her teeth; the sinister, corrupt and greedy expression on the face of Mr Thenardier, twirling his moustaches; the double faced Mrs Thenardier, loving to her daughters and vicious and unkind to Cosette; the expression on the face of Fantine and the subsequent change in her appearance when she is forced to resort to prostitution; the innocence on the face of Cosette—all these images speak for themselves and require no spoken words.
However, in spite of the grimness and the violence, one of the major themes of the novel is of love which triumphs over all adversity and redeems the characters. It is true that sometimes the plot is a bit fractured and is difficult to follow but then that is to be expected in a novel of this size.
I am not sure why the Manga format is required. It is true that it originated in the Japanese scrolls which existed in the twelfth century which were to be read from left to right; but this is a bit cumbersome to read, seems a bit gimmicky and does not really add to the enjoyment of the story.

I grew up with Superman and Batman comics. When I pick up a Manga Comic, I need to remind myself of two things. First, all writing is from right-to-left, This includes the paging which means reading from the “back” of the book to the “front”. It also means that each page must be read from right to left. Once the reader has made it through a couple of pages, this change is easy enough to handle. Second, Manga artwork rarely includes color - it is all black and white (and occasionally gray).

That being said, this adaption makes for a wonderful way to tell the classic Victor Hugo story of a redeemed convict (originally charged with stealing a loaf of bread) and the impact he had on the world and people around him. Even as read this graphical adaption, I was sometimes moved to tears as I saw God’s grace at work among broken people.

Whether the reader is a fan of Manga or new to the genre (as I am), this story comes with a strong recommendation. I give the book 5-stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

This story is about In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean is a thief and steals frim a priest. The priest, however, has compassion on him and allows him to escape. The policeman Javert is pursuing him relentlessly. Many a time Jean is imprisoned but always gets out. Ultimately he is a changed human being.

Meanwhile there is a story happening parallely about a poor girl who is constantly tortured her whole life. Jean steps in at the perfect time and changes her life around.

This is a story that will stay with you long after you finish it. It will tug at all your emotional heartstrings.

I enjoy classics being brought to the attention of a younger generation. I can appreciate when art, be it manga or comic is used to capture the attention of those who would, generally, not be interested in classic literature. I, myself, am a bit of a book enthusiast but sometimes find myself disinterested in reading something older than my grandparents. So thank you NetGalley, for the opportunity to try this book out!

The book stays fairly close to the original source material (obviously it won't be 100 percent authentic). But the real star of the show is the art- it's clean and holds your attention.

I would recommend this book!

This is my first time reading Les Miserables. I think the artwork is fantastic, as usual with the Manga classics series. The story, itself, is beautiful. I was able to enjoy even the sadder aspects.