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.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review!

Les Miserables is a story that has always fascinated me. I was first introduced to it via the musical and really wanted to read the book by Victor Hugo but was deterred by the size. It’s still on my list; one day I’ll tackle it but this manga adaptation held me over in the meantime and might have even given me an extra push to prioritize it this year. Since I haven’t read the source material, I can’t compare it to that but I can compare it to the musical and judge it as its own story.

Since this is a manga, I want to start with the artwork. The characters are so beautiful, particularly Cosette and Eponine and the scenery felt really fleshed out so I had a great feel for the atmosphere. There were a couple of times where the action was confusing to me, though. I wasn’t quite sure what happened in a scene with Fantine but it was explained on a later page. There was also a moment in a battle scene where I wasn’t quite sure what happened but overall, it didn’t hinder my understanding of the story.

The storytelling was also great for me. There were things I didn’t remember from the musical either because I forgot or because they are from the book only and that gave me something new to add to my understanding of Hugo’s work.She I’m also just inspired by the themes of religion, oppressive poverty, and revolution. It feels even more important that it did the first time I encountered the story given the current social and political climate.

Lastly, I want to talk about the treatment of Fantine in this story. I will go ahead and say MINOR SPOILERS ahead because that’s the only way to talk about this. I was curious how the manga would approach the fact that Fantine has to resort to prostitution for money. The art doesn’t show anything more than a man leaving Fantine under a blanket and leaving money but it is enough so that readers know what happened without it being too jarring for readers. I thought it was handled well. One thing I want to bring up, though is later when Fantine is in court for prostitution. She describes herself as a “bad girl” which is probably a sentiment expressed in the novel given the religious overtones. From a modern lens this becomes an issue regarding the stigma around sex work so that is something to think about.

My thanks to UDON Entertainment for access to a temporary digital edition, via NetGalley, of ‘Manga Classics: Les Miserables’, adapted from Victor Hugo’s classic novel by Crystal Snowmoon with art by SunNeko Lee.

Publisher: “In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever. “Les Miz” has been adapted for stage and screen and loved around the world by millions of readers.”

This was my first experience of a Manga Classics title and I was very impressed. They write: “These are adaptations that are not intended to supplant the original work but rather provide yet another way of engaging with the story. More often than not, the manga adaptation creates context for the reader which gives them a stronger comprehension and retention of the story.”

This certainly proved the case for me. This manga adaptation helped me gain a sense of the narrative, characters, and setting with the result that I feel more confident and now plan to read a recent translation of the original novel. In addition, the art was sublime, just stunning.

I also appreciate how useful a tool this series could prove for educators and librarians, who might struggle to get students and readers to engage with what they might well perceive as fusty old novels.

I adored this and accompanied my reading with the original soundtrack of the West End production of Les Miserables. It didn’t quite match up with the panels that I was reading but provided very rousing background music.

I was also grateful for the short illustrated guide ‘How to Read Manga’ as I really needed it! I certainly plan to explore more of these titles and recommend them widely.