Cover Image: Manga Classics: Great Expectations

Manga Classics: Great Expectations

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Remember using CliffNotes or SparkNotes in high school? Sometimes for books you hadn't read? (I know I wasn't the only one. Sorry, The Iliad.)

Imagining what my book report would have looked like if I had used this adaptation as my source for Great Expectations (I did read that one, though) is kinda hilarious. This manga is entertaining and a good way to review the novel in a quickly digestible format, but only if you have some idea of the plot beforehand.

It's been about twelve years since I read GE so I only have brief impressions left of it now. I know that the plot is cray... Miss Havisham wears an old wedding dress... an
d Pip is in love with Estella for God knows why. According to the manga, I remembered it correctly. But it also helped me to remember other important plot points - so, hey, success! The story is all over the place, but so is the source, so I commend Stacy King for keeping all of the storylines together.

Like with Pride and Prejudice, I enjoyed the art for the most part. It's not particularly memorable... In fact, the only parts I remember are the not-so-great panels combined with awkward writing. (See right.) Miss Havisham looked a little too similar to a Sailor Moon villain at times.

Manga Classics: Great Expectations is a good review and teaching tool, especially when trying to make the classics accessible to different audiences.

Was this review helpful?

This book is a classic novel told in the form of Japanese manga. To me, it seems like it would really appeal to the youth of today and try to get them into liking classic literature. It was a bit hard to follow as I have not read Great Expectations yet, but I did like the art style and the designs. I think this would be a great read for reading along side the original Dickens novel if you have trouble uderstanding classic literature.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed reading Pip's story in manga form and tried to remember as much of the book as well. All the characters were portrayed very nicely.

Was this review helpful?

Classics in manga form are always fantastic. I love to read any classic that's made into a manga.

Was this review helpful?

I've read a few of these Manga Classics and this was another great adaptation. It is the first one that I've read without reading the original first, but I'm familiar with the basic plot. It told the story with clear artistic differentiation between all of the characters, and I enjoyed all of the artwork. I highly recommend this and the other books in this collection for people who are interested in a succinct and beautiful graphic novelization of a classic story.

Was this review helpful?

The story opens on Pip in a cemetery looking at his parents' graves. A prisoner in shackles approaches him and asks him to bring a file for him to remove his chains. Pip returns to his home, with his sister and her husband who is a blacksmith. Pip smuggles the file to the prisoner who is then able to escape. One day, Pip is invited to go visit the widow, Miss Havisham. She is a very wealthy women who lives in her wedding dress because she was left at the altar years ago. She adopted a girl named Estella, and Pip falls in love with her. Then, after Pip has begun an apprenticeship with his brother-in-law, Joe, someone comes from the city and tells Pip that he has a benefactor who is going to pay for him to become a gentleman. He now has great expectations. Pip moves to the city, assuming that his mysterious benefactor is Miss Havisham. Pip hopes that if he can become a gentleman, he will be able to marry Estella.

This graphic novel followed Dickens' story faithfully. It gives the basic story, without all the added details in the novel. Though I love his writing style, I know some people think that Dickens is tedious to read. This graphic novel is a great alternative to get the same story.

It's been a few years since I read the novel, so I liked reading the story again in graphic novel format. This is a great addition to any library of classics.

This review will be posted on my blog on May 3, 2017.

Was this review helpful?

I could never read Great Expectations without being dreadfully bored.
However, King has managed to grab my interest in it, the manga format being well-illustrated and compelling.
Also [Joe and Biddy! The sweetest characters ended up together! I feel bad for Pip but hopefully, he feels actual love for Estella now that the old crone is gone. (hide spoiler)]
I do wish the story was more than one volume, as mangas are, because it gives more depth to the characters and more time to be attached to them.
But everything was fantastically compacted into 300 pages which is appreciated as well!
The art was awesome, the story was awesome, just wish there was more detail. Events happened too quickly, it had no real emotional impact on me. I was really glad to see Pip's growth at the end however.
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy to review.

Was this review helpful?

I love the traditional storyline and I absolutely love that it was made into a manga. It keeps with the traditional story while adding illustrations to keep even the most fearful reader engaged. It reads like the traditional manga style while keeping with the storyline of the book. It is absolutely amazing and the illustrations are perfect. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that loves the classic but wants to read them with a twist.

Was this review helpful?

I discovered these Manga Classics via NetGalley, and am so glad I did! I'm definitely intent on reading a lot of the collection.

I've only seen the film of this story, and not even read the original novel. But I am planning to do so, and I really feel like this has given me a better understanding of the plot and the characters.

The story itself, written by Charles Dickens, is pretty good - not my favourite, but not bad. It tells the story of Pip, a little boy who wants nothing more than to be a gentleman. But his humble lifestyle is not particularly accommodating of that wish, until an anonymous benefactor sends him to London...

I think the characters and emotions are portrayed really well through the artwork in this, helping to understand the developments in the plot and relationships that are taking place. The language makes it easier to follow and understand, too, which a lot of people have problems with when reading older novels. For example with Miss Havisham, who's emotions are somewhat exaggerated to show her grief and frustrations.

If you like classic novels but are maybe uncomfortable with the language or length, then I'd definitely recommend this line of graphic novels. Even as an accompaniment to the original books, just to give that extra insight and understanding.

Simply because this isn't a favourite story, I'm going to give 4 stars. But the adaptation itself is fantastic.

Was this review helpful?

Amazingly illustrated and masterfully designed. It rerains the allure of the classic novel and the life of the Manga novels . I loved it and would recommend it to every MANGA reader

Was this review helpful?

I have no idea why I never read Charles Dickens after reading this Manga format which was a quick read I would love to read more of Charles Dickens in the Manga format to enjoy his books without disturbing my busy reading schedule.... Even my students will love to read this quick format of Charles Dickens.

Was this review helpful?

*** Disclaimer: Received this from the author/publisher via Netgalley for an honest review***

Rating: 3/5

I had read Great Expectations early on in my life. It was a mass market paperback that had a page count of well over 500 pages, if I remember clearly, which made it a beast of a book. I really hated that book then and never thought I would pick up the story once more. I was glad to find the manga for review on Netgalley because it allowed me to explore the story of Pip and Estella again as an older reader but in a timely fashion.

Let me start with the fact that the art is lovely. It is very dynamic and each frame was artfully placed. The progression of the plot is where I found it to be a bit choppy. I think that a lot of the beginning was spent with Pip as a child and because of that the ending had to get crunched in the last third to try and get in his adult years. I also felt that the relationship Havisham had with both Pip and Estella could have been flushed out more. I couldn't feel their reasoning for entertaining her throughout all the years. It is a very subtle thing explored in the actual book over a lot of pages so I kind of understand why it couldn't be done in the smaller page count here however I feel because it wasn't done I wasn't sold on their inherent connection to her. Without this connection you couldn't feel empathy for Havisham even in a small capacity.

The ending was very open ended and I really appreciated that. The author's notes at the end of the manga explained why they decided to go that route and I agree with them about it because the ending of the book I read (as the original Great Expectations had two endings written by Dickens) just irritated me greatly.

In the end I think this was still a terrific way to present this story and introduce people to Dickens' usually very large and long winded classics. I am excited to read more from the Manga Classic series as it allows me to read a lot of classics in a more engaging format.

Happy Reading

Jo

Was this review helpful?

Wow! This Manga Classic is superb!
It made me want to read the original work.


Basic Plot:
Pip is an orphan and he lives with his elder sister and brother-in-law, Joe. Pip's sister always complains about Pip. She finds bringing him up as a burden. Joe is a blacksmith and a super sweet guy.

Mrs. Havisham is an old woman and is very peculiar. She was betrayed by the guy she was madly in love with and since then she lives in that moment of heartbreak. She is bitter and filled with anger and hatred. She has adopted a daughter - Estella who is breathtakingly beautiful but proud and rude.

Mrs. Havisham is using Estella as her revenge from men. She wants men to fall in love with Estella so she can break their heart just like Mrs. Havisham's heart was broken.

Poor Pip falls in love with the rich and beautiful Estella, not knowing how cruel is she. He has great expectations for his life. He wants to be rich like Estella so he can marry her.

Honestly, there is more to this story than all the things I have mentioned above. This was just the basic plot and I don't want to give away spoilers.

What I Loved in this Manga Classic:

1. Obviously, the story. Although, the original story is written by Charles Dickens and I can't wait to read it. I do give credit to the manga creator for fluent and coherent adaptation. The story just flowed smoothly making me sway with its ups and downs.

2. The characters. OMG! I love all of them.

Pip for his innocence and helpful nature. He was ambitious but was soon lost in the world of riches. I loved how he bounced back with dignity.

Joe for his cheerfulness in despite of hard times. His compassion for Pip and his sick wife

Biddy for her compassion

Poor Mrs. Havisham. She was rich but so poor by heart. I feel bad for what happened to her. Heartbreak can snatch your soul away leaving nothing but a gaping hole in your chest. You get stuck in that moment forever.

Estella. The most pitiful character of the story. She didn't know what was love for she was raised without it.

Pumblechook for I have an uncle just like him :-/


3. The gorgeous artwork!


What I Didn't Like:
Absolutely nothing!


It was awesome and too good.

An eARC of this book was provided by Udon Entertainment via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Was this review helpful?

This book was a very fast and g0od read. It stuck to the storyline well and I read it in one sitting. Only took me 2 hours. I think the illustrations were beautiful. It was weird but fun reading a story from back to front. Only criticism I have is I wish the illustrations were in colord. I love that classics became a graphic novel

Was this review helpful?

In this intriguing story about the many facets of human cruelty, I met Pip, a good boy who was raised by an evil sister and his kindly brother-in-law. Pip does not understand why his brother-in-law preferred to live without ambition and indulge in the work he was trained to do , even though he was young and could change his life,. Surrounded by self-interested people, Pip realizes the nobility of his brother-in-law's soul and has a lot of affection for him.

But at a certain point he is taken to Miss Havisham's house at her request and it is when his odyssey begins. He is fascinated by the woman's adopted daughter, Estella, and tries in all ways to be a gentleman to get the girl's attention even if the girl whenever she can, she is cold and bad with him.

Thanks to an unfamiliar benefactor, he conquers all that he dreamed and changes his life, escaping the poverty and pain of his past and abandoning everyone who liked him.

The young gentleman Phillip is quite different from the naive boy Pip and little by little he himself realizes and has to face the consequences of his choices.

Charles Dickens' book is one of the great classics of all time that both the writer who adapted the book for manga and the mangaká have managed to portray very well. I was able to live all the emotions that flowed from the graphics and see clearly the personality of each character.

A pity for me, the writer has chosen the first final written by Charles Dickens because the book I have opted for this same closure and I wanted to know the alternate end he wrote to please the public.

The cover is also fantastic, rich in elements that draw for reading.
4/5 stars
Kisses, Myl

Was this review helpful?

This is my first time hearing this story, so I'm not sure if a lot was cut out to make it the proper length, but I am thoroughly amazed by this manga. The art, storyline, and characters are all very vibrant. While the ending seemed a little bitter-sweet to me, I'm glad it was ended that way.
The art was one of the first things that drew me to the book. The cover is intriguing, and the varying expressions of the characters very well portrayed. It amazes me that the artist can draw so many emotions. The aging of the characters is also impressive, and it was interesting to watch them change as they grew older.
On the storyline, I feel like it had good pacing, showed enough of a background, and was remarkable in the progression of the protagonist. I'm rather awkward about anything that even hints at romance, so I was uncomfortable at times, but the story is not romance-centered. If parts of the story were taken out in the adaptation, it is not noticeable, and flows together smoothly.
In conclusion, I'm very glad I had the chance to read this. I would highly recommend it.

Was this review helpful?

Manga covers be ware Udon Entertainment has given you the best of two worlds, the classic literary work of Charles Dickson with the wonderful styling of manga. I love manga. I love manga so much that I literally bought my kindle just to afford all the volumes that a single manga series has to offer. This manga is extremely interesting especially detailed with the draws, yet nothing can ever compare to reading the book. That being said, I would not advice you to reading this manga thinking you can pass a literary test about it. However, I think for anyone who hasn’t read Great Expectation but would like to be introduced to the book, this is a great opportunity. The manga version covers all the essential parts such as:

Pip’s feeling towards the working class has he grows up and attempts to move up the ladder
Pip’s relationship towards this beautiful yet cold Estella
Pip’s mysterious benefactor…

Even thought the manga does cover the main parts of the novel, it’s still not a good idea to take a test on The Great Expectation after reading this classic manga.

The artwork is amazing. The manga adaptation in this series truly makes the entire experience of re-reading this novel amazing. The set of artist that took their time making sure the classic manga adaptation of the novel towards a Japanese comic book style is more than stunning. The way Miss Havisham’s dress is flat out gorgeous, her creepy dusty covered spider webs that makes the entire page look more than haunting. Then there’s the cold shoulder Estella illustrated posture makes the transition between “nice” and down right “evil” which is the exact same way I felt about her when I read Great Expectation so many years ago.
Overall, I felt that this book is amazing. The adaptation of the classic novel The Great Expectation by Charles Dickens is a great book to add to ones literary collection or for those who are extremely in love with Udon Entertainments collection of artist, adaptations, art style, and of course manga.

Was this review helpful?

A witty and honest reimagining of a Dickens classic with beautiful artwork. What I love most about these manga classics aside from their ability to be true to the themes, is the way they make literary giants accessible to people who have trouble reading the original classics. As someone who has read the books they are an extra treat for me.

Was this review helpful?

I love these Manga classics! They make reading and enjoying books that were written so long ago much easier to understand. I read Great Expectations such a long time ago and I didn't like the writing style at all but this made the story much more enjoyable

Was this review helpful?

I am a huge fan of this series and have read all available titles. This is, however, my least favorite in the series. It is not due to any fault with the adaptation or the art. In fact they are very well done, especially since it is a very hard story to adapt. I just don't like this Dickens story, and although I thought it more palatable in Manga form, I still dislike the story. If you have to read it this is a faster and less painful way to do so, but I think it is the worst Dickens novel. The characters are all just so self absorbed that you can't feel much sympathy for any of them.

Was this review helpful?