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spacepandita2022's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
animemiz24's review
4.0
This is a great adaption of the classic book, and the drawings are great depictions of how readers would imagine the plot of the story. An advantage of the book is the text and descriptions, but with this graphic novel adaption, it helps to visual certain key parts of the book, such as when there was the description of how the flashback happens. The art is quite cute, and this is a nice clean depiction of Jane Eyre and Rochester. #netgallery
missbryden's review
3.0
I love Jane Eyre, so this review is on the manga, not the story.
Maybe all these are characteristics of manga that I just have to accept are not to my taste - if the form gets more people to read a classic, can that be bad? Being a history nerd, a lot of it comes down to ahistorical or mixed-historical styles.
Specifics:
Mrs. Reed and other women's (Miss Temple, Mrs. Fairfax, Celine Varens) exaggerated figures, namely out of proportion big busts and not in a historical shape (meaning not in a corset shape).
I know I've seen this style in manga or similar illustration/animation, but it bothers me more than the big eyes and small faces, and some of the modern style hair (adult Jane Eyre's buns and braids, aside from her wispy bangs, I thought was really well done), which also seem particular to this illustration style.
Mrs. Reed wearing a bonnet indoors, in her own home.
Mrs. Fairfax's (and the Misses Brocklehursts') funny little hat - more 1950s.
Celine Varens looked more 1980s than anything - though I can see how her overall loose style served to illustrate her character.
Blanche Ingram's weird hair: the idea behind the ringlets has basis in historical style, but they are overly long and loose in the manga, more like those made by a modern curling iron, and they're always long loose (which would only be appropriate for a young girl, not a grown woman) even when riding, and weirdly covered by a little lace floof. Most of the time she appears in evening dress, even when not evening. The ladies around her have more appropriate short curled hair, though their dresses are a weird mix of eras or pseudo-historical dress.
Some other oddities: Lady Ingram wearing a short veil with her evening ensemble (maybe something seen early-mid 20th century if anywhere), and Jane wearing a veil under a sailor hat when she returns from seeing the Reeds, which looks rather like a beekeeper's getup.
Jane and Rochester's wedding outfits: Rochester's shirt especially, looks like the 1970s.
At the conclusion, a growing Adele is shown an outfit I very much like, but more from the turn of the century if not the mid 1900s.
Something that doesn't come under the non-historical, and maybe to do with the manga style, and attempting to show character: Mr. Rochester is often shown pointing at Jane, but his hand very large, pointing at the reader, like it would come off the page - just seemed weird and creepy to me.
One character, for whom the illustration didn't seem to suit, especially given the finery of other characters, Miss Oliver, friend of St. John Rivers, is supposed to be a angelic model of perfection, but in the manga looks rather than plain and child-like with loose hair.
My Pinterest board of book references
Maybe all these are characteristics of manga that I just have to accept are not to my taste - if the form gets more people to read a classic, can that be bad? Being a history nerd, a lot of it comes down to ahistorical or mixed-historical styles.
Specifics:
Mrs. Reed and other women's (Miss Temple, Mrs. Fairfax, Celine Varens) exaggerated figures, namely out of proportion big busts and not in a historical shape (meaning not in a corset shape).
I know I've seen this style in manga or similar illustration/animation, but it bothers me more than the big eyes and small faces, and some of the modern style hair (adult Jane Eyre's buns and braids, aside from her wispy bangs, I thought was really well done), which also seem particular to this illustration style.
Mrs. Reed wearing a bonnet indoors, in her own home.
Mrs. Fairfax's (and the Misses Brocklehursts') funny little hat - more 1950s.
Celine Varens looked more 1980s than anything - though I can see how her overall loose style served to illustrate her character.
Blanche Ingram's weird hair: the idea behind the ringlets has basis in historical style, but they are overly long and loose in the manga, more like those made by a modern curling iron, and they're always long loose (which would only be appropriate for a young girl, not a grown woman) even when riding, and weirdly covered by a little lace floof. Most of the time she appears in evening dress, even when not evening. The ladies around her have more appropriate short curled hair, though their dresses are a weird mix of eras or pseudo-historical dress.
Spoiler
When she appears in her nightgown, she has something like a nightcap, but tied in tubes around the hair in three sections, rather than a whole cap on top of her head.Some other oddities: Lady Ingram wearing a short veil with her evening ensemble (maybe something seen early-mid 20th century if anywhere), and Jane wearing a veil under a sailor hat when she returns from seeing the Reeds, which looks rather like a beekeeper's getup.
Jane and Rochester's wedding outfits: Rochester's shirt especially, looks like the 1970s.
At the conclusion, a growing Adele is shown an outfit I very much like, but more from the turn of the century if not the mid 1900s.
Something that doesn't come under the non-historical, and maybe to do with the manga style, and attempting to show character: Mr. Rochester is often shown pointing at Jane, but his hand very large, pointing at the reader, like it would come off the page - just seemed weird and creepy to me.
One character, for whom the illustration didn't seem to suit, especially given the finery of other characters, Miss Oliver, friend of St. John Rivers, is supposed to be a angelic model of perfection, but in the manga looks rather than plain and child-like with loose hair.
My Pinterest board of book references
alboyer6's review
4.0
Every time I pick up a Manga Classics I am not disappointed. They consistently successfully adapt every classic that I've looked at. I will say the Scarlet Letter is still my favorite, if only because I liked the source material the best. I love to recommend them for their own enjoyment and for those who struggle to get through the original stories.
coffeedragon's review
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, which I received via Netgalley. Like all the other Manga Classics I've checked out, this has made me curious about the novel
In terms of genre, this is one of those books I probably wouldn't have picked up because romance isn't my cup of tea. However, I really ended up liking this story. The way Jane ended up changing from when she was a child, how she fell in love, the deception and drama, and the (finally) happy ending. When I came up to the 'the end' section I was actually a bit sad. The only 'issue' I had with this is that Jane doesn't look like she aged at all. As a child she looked nearly identical and even after twenty years, she looked as she did at 18. I could probably say the same about Mr. Rochester but at least he looked old (lol)
Reviewed on Blog: http://wp.me/p87mzW-6Ha
In terms of genre, this is one of those books I probably wouldn't have picked up because romance isn't my cup of tea. However, I really ended up liking this story. The way Jane ended up changing from when she was a child, how she fell in love, the deception and drama, and the (finally) happy ending. When I came up to the 'the end' section I was actually a bit sad. The only 'issue' I had with this is that Jane doesn't look like she aged at all. As a child she looked nearly identical and even after twenty years, she looked as she did at 18. I could probably say the same about Mr. Rochester but at least he looked old (lol)
Reviewed on Blog: http://wp.me/p87mzW-6Ha
ms_arual's review
3.0
Jane Eyre es uno de mis libros favoritos, por lo que su versión manga también me la he tenido que leer. Me reí mucho con las expresiones de ella y el Sr. Rochester.
Para pasar un buen rato, es una buena opción.
Para pasar un buen rato, es una buena opción.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
5.0
Fabulous!! Artwork is lovely, dialogue and plot follow original story and front matter expands on culture and history of the setting and original author.
I just ordered the complete set for my HS/MS library.
I just ordered the complete set for my HS/MS library.
whitneymouse's review
4.0
**Thank you to Netgalley and UDON Entertainment for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating**
This is the third of the Manga Classics series that I have read and I think the one I ended up enjoying the most. I haven't read the original Jane Eyre because I'm not super big into gothic literature. While it can be seen as campy by today's standards, I often end up being genuinely scared, so I usually avoid that genre. I've been curious about this title for a while, so I figured I'd check out the manga version to gauge my reaction and see if it was a possibility for me to read the original.
This was not nearly as "scary" as I was anticipating. There is definite suspense. "Who's making the mysterious noises Jane hears? Is there really something spooky going on or is there a more reasonable explanation?" I thought these elements were well done without venturing into the territory of terrifying. Enough so that I would venture to read the original in the not so distant future.
Jane and Mr. Rochester's love story was compelling and beautifully told through this adaptation. I liked that you could see the emotions in this version because I'm sure the language would give me some pause in trying to gauge it on my own were I reading the original text.
I also have to applaud this adaptation for "fixing" one of the things I was most worried about with the original text, which is the handling of Bertha Mason. While I understand that the book was written in the mid-1800s and the way biracial characters are portrayed now is much different, it can be hard sometimes, as a biracial reader to set that representation aside. I was concerned I would not be the ideal reader for this since, racially, I identify with Bertha more than I do Jane. In explaining Bertha's madness, they skip over that "she's Creole, maybe it's part of her blood" thing and attribute it to a family predisposition instead. Mental illness representation is also important to me and while Bertha won't be the poster child for mental illness rep any time soon, it *can* run in families and be passed from parent to child. This more scientific explanation for her behavior and clear instability made more sense that "meh, maybe it's because she's mixed." So I appreciate that the authors changed that to make it accessible to today's readers.
Of the three books in this series I've read, I think the art style fits this one the best. It's suitably beautiful when it needs to be and absolutely terrifying when it needs to be. Some of Bertha's panels are very creepy and that is exactly the way it should be! I had said before that I felt Les Miserables' were too pretty at times while The Scarlet Letter's were, at times, too surreal to fit the time period. This one felt just right. I appreciate, too, that the artist talked about how she developed the characters and was able to show the style of the time period accurately.
I think this was an excellent read. The story was great, as was the art work. It was suspenseful without going into the territory of being horror. I would highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and thinking of giving the original a try. Easily a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!
This is the third of the Manga Classics series that I have read and I think the one I ended up enjoying the most. I haven't read the original Jane Eyre because I'm not super big into gothic literature. While it can be seen as campy by today's standards, I often end up being genuinely scared, so I usually avoid that genre. I've been curious about this title for a while, so I figured I'd check out the manga version to gauge my reaction and see if it was a possibility for me to read the original.
This was not nearly as "scary" as I was anticipating. There is definite suspense. "Who's making the mysterious noises Jane hears? Is there really something spooky going on or is there a more reasonable explanation?" I thought these elements were well done without venturing into the territory of terrifying. Enough so that I would venture to read the original in the not so distant future.
Jane and Mr. Rochester's love story was compelling and beautifully told through this adaptation. I liked that you could see the emotions in this version because I'm sure the language would give me some pause in trying to gauge it on my own were I reading the original text.
I also have to applaud this adaptation for "fixing" one of the things I was most worried about with the original text, which is the handling of Bertha Mason. While I understand that the book was written in the mid-1800s and the way biracial characters are portrayed now is much different, it can be hard sometimes, as a biracial reader to set that representation aside. I was concerned I would not be the ideal reader for this since, racially, I identify with Bertha more than I do Jane. In explaining Bertha's madness, they skip over that "she's Creole, maybe it's part of her blood" thing and attribute it to a family predisposition instead. Mental illness representation is also important to me and while Bertha won't be the poster child for mental illness rep any time soon, it *can* run in families and be passed from parent to child. This more scientific explanation for her behavior and clear instability made more sense that "meh, maybe it's because she's mixed." So I appreciate that the authors changed that to make it accessible to today's readers.
Of the three books in this series I've read, I think the art style fits this one the best. It's suitably beautiful when it needs to be and absolutely terrifying when it needs to be. Some of Bertha's panels are very creepy and that is exactly the way it should be! I had said before that I felt Les Miserables' were too pretty at times while The Scarlet Letter's were, at times, too surreal to fit the time period. This one felt just right. I appreciate, too, that the artist talked about how she developed the characters and was able to show the style of the time period accurately.
I think this was an excellent read. The story was great, as was the art work. It was suspenseful without going into the territory of being horror. I would highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and thinking of giving the original a try. Easily a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!