Cover Image: Manga Classics: Jane Eyre

Manga Classics: Jane Eyre

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Okay, I'll admit, I love Jane Eyre; it's possibly one of my favourite books of all time, so when I find an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic, I know I need to read it. And Manga Classics: Jane Eyre was on my list. As an adaptation, it's a decent one; featuring scenes everyone knows as well as scenes some adaptations tend to forget or brush past (the fortune-teller). This makes it feel fuller and more detailed, standing out as an adaptation that celebrates the original novel and makes it accessible to those who may find Bronte's novel hard to read. The manga flows well and does not deviate far from the original material.

Overall, Manga Classics: Jane Eyre was a brilliant read with beautiful illustrations that encapsulate the gothic feel of the original novel making it perfect for any graphic novel fan. Those who love Charlotte Bronte's original masterpiece will love how Manga Classic stays faithful to her words and will like how the novel has been brought to life.

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

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Thank you to UDON Entertainment & Morpheus Studios for approving me to read their e-ARC of this book. I enjoyed it very much.

This is my first time reading a classic tale redone as manga. I’ve read manga since I was a kid and first read Jane Eyre in college during one of my literary classes. To see these two forms mixed together was actually great!

This makes the tale of Jane Eyre easier to understand for a young audience. I enjoyed the simplicity of it and was able to just cruise thru, getting reintroduced to one of my favorites.

The addition of drawn images with expressions, made it much more tangible and come alive more. I wish I had gotten to read this when I was a kid!

Because it’s from an old literary classic the language is not typical for manga but they made it work somehow.

I was sad to see some of my favorite quotes missing though! I do understand lots had to be cut out and only really necessary dialogue was picked, but some of the quotes are really beloved ones.

When I don’t want to go thru the whole Jane Eyre novel, picking this up to enjoy the storyline is a nice option to have.

I’m glad they made this and will be reading more of these of some other classics I haven’t read yet. While I do want to read them in their entirety my TBR list is so long!

If I ever have kids, this is how I’ll first introduce them to these stories when they’re young!

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Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics! And the manga did not disappoint! Beautiful artwork and retelling. The relationship between the author and illustrator is adorable as well!

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I received an ARC of this book from Udon Entertainment through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.

Jane Eyre is my "book paragon." It is the novel to which I intentionally, and unintentionally compare other novels. It is the story in which I never tire. When I came across this version of Jane Eyre on Netgalley, I had to request an Advanced Readers Copy.

If you are unfamiliar with Manga, take note: the book is read in reverse, from back cover to front. The e-galley is also in this format, which was slightly foreign when navigating on an electronic devise. It did not take away from the story, but was simply different.

Picking up a classical read can sometimes feel daunting. This edition is a great alternative for someone looking to familiarize themselves with a classical novel like Jane Eyre, without the length and full detail. Additionally, one gets a fresh perspective of the characters, style, and atmosphere with the lovely illustrations by SunNeko Lee.

Manga has a way of softening features in more way than one, which is partially a discrepancy I have with this version. Some of the characters aren't depicted in true form. Everyone is beautiful in one way or another, which doesn't always match the age lines and severeness that some characters are renowned for portraying.

Despite these sometimes incompatible illustrations, the story, for the most-part, remains consistent to the original. Some facets are slightly romanticized, which again, I believe is an essence of Manga as a whole. I enjoyed this rendition, and will look into examining more selections from the Manga Classics series.

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Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. We all know the story by heart. But with this manga, the characters, the impressions were so vivid, the dialogues were so easy to follow. I stopped and gazed the drawings.. thank you..

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Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics, and I loved the art style this author gave to this story.
It was simple and beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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It's always nice to read a well lived story and the mangafication of this story was just a brilliant idea. I enjoyed the artwork so thank you netgalley.

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The story of Jane Eyre is one that I truly enjoyed. It had the classic evil stepmother that ships her away to school where she essentially pulls herself up by her bootstraps, makes something of herself and learns to thrive. She also falls in love with her pupil's father and he in turn falls in love with her because she is a genuine human and someone who is very kind.

Women are interested in him because of his money; however, Jane is not. This is all complicated by his previous wife who essentially went mad, and he cannot divorce because of this. If you read the book, you'll find out how it ends, but naturally the artwork is wonderful, the story is accessible for those that might struggle with classic literature language, and the story itself is great. Thank you, Charlotte Bronte.

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Jane Eyre can be a hard story to read, as the character suffers greatly in the course of her ultimate happiness, so the manga illustrations proved a welcome tonic to delivering the essence of this story while still softening some of its edges. Always charming and detailed, sometimes even quite cute, this was a truly picturesque look into the life and trials of Jane.

This manga retelling also brought some aspects into sharp relief. I found Mr. Rochester particularly well-realized here, compellingly pathetic and lonely in a way that live-action adaptations don't always capture when they focus on his snarky wit and boisterousness. It's given me more sympathy for his character than I had before, even as his actions remain terrible.

St. John was well depicted here in a different way, as the illustrations showed him with dull, flat eyes and unchanging expression to emphasize what a cold man he can be.

And of course, the indomitable Jane was wonderfully rendered, properly waifish on the outside but ready to prove that she has a core of steel underneath it all. This was overall a wonderful way to experience the novel all over again.

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I love Jane Eyre (the novel), and I read a lot of manga, so I walked into this having really high hopes which were ultimately dashed.

I understand that I'm not the intended audience for this book, so I will say that perhaps as a meant-for-youths introduction to classic literature, this manga does it's job. I've read other manga adaptations of classic literature and I have found myself enjoying some of those, but this one felt... off somehow.

I think part of the problem for me is how the characters were drawn. The dialogue and plot are all, of course, taken directly from the novel, and since the novel is a favorite of mine, I can't say those are the parts of this manga that I dislike. However, there are some nitpicks I have with the illustrations. First is that Jane looks like she's elementary-school aged, all throughout the book. At the beginning of the book she is a child, and she has a child-like face (which makes sense), and then later she grows up, she gets taller, she puts her hair up, but she still has the exact same child-like face. When her hair is down she looks just like the child version of herself. She's a chibi character, and it's really hard to adapt to having Jane Eyre, a passionate and serious person in the novel, looking child-like and cutesy.

Likewise, I found all of the characters overly emotive. I can understand that this the choice was made to make all of the characters' expressions larger than life in a way that would be actually identifiable and relatable to children (as I can't imagine a book of characters who only smile small, secret smiles, and usually keep brooding our dour expressions would be at all appealing to a younger audience), but it always felt out of place to me. Rochester should not blush, or grin with all his teeth showing-- as a fan of the original novel, it was very off-putting.

I can completely see how this book could be a stepping stone into introducing classic lit to a younger audience, but unfortunately I was not that audience.

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5 out of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite classics and reading this version was an absolute joy. This was my first foray into Manga classics and I want to read more. This was such a lovely read and the artwork was just so beautiful. Each turn of the page I found myself more enraptured.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this manga in exchange for my honest review! I adore manga renderings of classic literature, and this version of "Jane Eyre" was no exception. "Jane Eyre" is a novel I have loved since high school, seeing it as a manga honestly enhanced my reading experience. I love being able to see the emotions the characters have portrayed in illustrations, especially some of the moments when Mr. Rochester was excited around Jane. Anyone who enjoys classic literature but sometimes struggles with the dated language will be sure to love this manga.

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Fantastic adaptation of the original novel and it stuck very close to the text!

The beautiful artwork draws you in to the story and the atmosphere of the story.

Would be great for high school student who needs to supplement the original for a better understanding. Or for anyone who isn't quite ready to dive into the original full length classic.

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These manga are well drawn and a great way for young readers to discover the classics while reminding us why we love these titles. Well done.

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This is such an awesome combination of manga and the classic that is Jane Eyre!

The storyline kept true to Jane Eyre but was such a fun and entertaining way to get immersed in it.

I think even if someone hasn’t read Jane Eyre before this would still be a wonderful way to read the storyline. I could actually see it being much easier to digest for those who don’t do much reading.

The artists did an amazing job at evoking the characters emotions and the feelings of pivotal scenes through the art work.

If you are an ardent fan of Jane Eyre do remember this is an adaptation and won’t be exact in every sense!

The one aspect that needed some work is some of the translations were off. Not so bad I couldn’t get through it but when they did happen it was obvious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga adaptation of Jane Eyre! I would recommend it for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley, UDON - Manga Classics and the artists for providing an advanced reader copy of this book.

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Jane Eyre is my favourite Bronte book. This manga is a fantastic adaptation of this novel with the art style bridging the gap between fans of the classic and fans of manga. This manga closely follows the classic storyline and is something I would love my students to read.

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I love the concept of reading classic stories without having to be bored to death, but vivid in pictures. The end product was nice, but I probably would not reread it.

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This was a perfect visual version of the classic Jane Eyre story. It gave me the same feelings as when I read the original. I also really enjoyed the imagery and the art style. I think that this would be perfect for people who either haven’t read the story before or aren’t keen on reading older books. Sometimes older books can be intimidating to readers, so this is a nice way to still get the feel of Jane Eyre but not have to deal with the older writing style.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys this time era, these types of stories, and manga. It is a mixture of things I never thought that I would see but I'm really glad they made books like this because it can really help someone get more into it.

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Absolutely fantastic--and faithful--manga version of Jane Eyre!

I love Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre itself, and I may or may not have bought my house because it has windowsill seats that remind me of the scene when young Jane is reading behind a curtain on that fateful day.

This manga version hits all the major plot points, and all the minor ones (that I remember), too! I was worried this would be a sanitized version of Jane Eyre, full of all the worst things about adaptations, but it’s not. This book is absolutely faithful to the original. And because it’s visual, you get the delicious chill of the gothic in every image.

Plus, the manga artwork and format makes accessible what can otherwise be a daunting read.

As an English professor, I’d say that someone reading this version of Jane Eyre will get just as much out of it as the original, especially if that reader is intimidated by the thickness of Bronte’s original.

Thank you NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

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Love it how an old classic has been remade into an exciting manga-style page-turner! This format really makes (older, somehow even dated, yet still classic) books more enjoyable for the younger generation.

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