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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent adaptation, December 12, 2009
This review is from: Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Manga Edition (Paperback)
I'm a graduate student in a Shakespeare class, writing a conference paper on this adaptation of Hamlet. It's safe (at the moment) to say that I've spent more hours studying this book than anyone outside of its creators. There are ways in which this is not manga, of course. And there are ways in which it is not Hamlet. But it is a heavily manga-influenced adaptation of Hamlet, and if you engage it on its own terms, it is simply brilliant. Sexton's adaptation trims a LOT of Shakespeare's language: some minor characters, and even whole scenes are gone. This is simply inevitable, and likely to anger Shakespeare purists. But critically, there is no language in the book that is NOT Shakespeare's, and the major characters, themes, major plot points and speeches are preserved. Neither are the characters reduced to cartoon versions of themselves: thanks in no small part to Tintin Pantoja's excellent artistry in rendering them, the characters retain much of the depth Shakespeare gave them. Meanwhile, the visual art is brilliant. Pantoja's work is first rate, and her choices reflect a strong connection to the play and a unique artistic sensibility that is worthy of praise. It helps readers who might be intimidated by the river of antique language that is Shakespeare's text to engage and interpret the material vividly and at their own pace. With raw text, interpretation can be difficult. Watching a performance or film version, it's easy to get lost. Here, the words and the pictures wait for the reader. I recommend this adaptation to teachers, students, and lovers of Shakespeare of all ages.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Vibrant Version of a Familiar Favorite, March 3, 2008
This review is from: Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Manga Edition (Paperback)
This little version of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is a sparkling gem, thanks to the dynamic illustrations by Tintin Pantoja. Since this play is a familiar favorite of mine I really didn't need another copy of it, but the beguiling cover art convinced me to indulge, and I wasn't disappointed. The text inside is pure Shakespeare - the play has been skillfully pruned, but thankfully not paraphrased. The story moves along briskly with distinctive character designs, varied panel layouts, and brilliantly expressive figures. I keep returning to the beginning of Act V to appreciate my favorite scene: Hamlet by the graveside, cradling the skull of "poor Yorick", the jester from Hamlet's childhood. Two illustrations show Hamlet as a child enjoying the company of Yorick, and such is the advantage of this medium (manga/graphic novel) - that we can see Hamlet as a young adult in one panel and Hamlet as a child in the next. I can only imagine that this manga edition would be an engaging first encounter with the play, but I can say with certainty that this is a pleasant reacquaintance with an old familiar favorite.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun new way to read Hamlet, September 17, 2010
This review is from: Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Manga Edition (Paperback)
As with any adaptation of the play (and there is a note about it in the beginning of the book) there are numerous cut lines and scenes, particularly the vast majority of period-terms. All important monologues though remain intact. It is a tasteful adaptation of the story. My biggest problem was actually with the cartoon-like art. The way some characters were positioned, it became confusing who was talking to whom, and my other big issue was the characters were drawn with almost cartoon-like archetypes in mind. It seemed to take away the inner depth of the characters. Of course as the play develops the characters will become blatantly mad, evil, tragic, and heroic, but the art did not develop the characters with the story.
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