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Manga Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet Preview

Posted by: on April 1, 2007 at 2:37 am

William Shakespeare, Richard Appignanesi, Sonia Leong; published by SelfMadeHero

Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s most famous love story, unfurls in a dramatic manga setting, in which Verona becomes a street in the highly fashionable Shibuya district of Tokyo. The star-crossed lovers, touching in their youth and innocence, are caught up in a bitter feud between two Yakuza families (Japan’s ‘mafia’) whose rivalry erupts into violence and killing on the streets. Romeo, a rock star, is a Montague who falls in love with Juliet, a Capulet. They defy their parents and consummate their passion in secret. This is a story of love, revenge, violence and tragedy.

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Aaron Stephenson May 4th, 2007

being that shakespeare’s stuff is hundreds of years old there isn’t an issue of plaguerism, but they really should know better. This story is over-done and putting it into a unique storyline wont do much.

That they dont have enough original ideas coming out shows that they have no respect for new artists, and little dignity.

Shame on them.

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Wage October 26th, 2007

A classic story like this should not have been done with such poor art. It’s a waste of an opportunity and you guys need to up the bar. It’s a fun idea though!

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Tally October 26th, 2007

I don’t mind the idea of people turning old pieces of work into a more modern form. If only because the next gen kids are most likely not going to be into this stuff as much as the earlier generations.

I think the times are changing and not many people read enough novels, let alone read plays from many decades/centuries back. I think at least they’re trying to get kids into these kind of pieces via a method that won’t seem too overwhelming and more relatable to their everyday lives…just my two cents.

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Katherine Dacey-Tsuei October 26th, 2007

Wage’s point is spot-on: if you’re going to try to win hearts and minds by using the visual tropes of manga, you need to do it well. The artwork shouldn’t look like amateur doujinshi, and whatever “updates” the artist makes (i.e. setting the story in present-day Tokyo, or a distant future) need to be an essential element of the “staging,” not just window dressing.

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sinthy February 16th, 2008

i dont know….maybe i shouldnt have ordered this book with so many bad and dissapointing comments…:( by the way i dont have it yet



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