Thank you to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
There are few things in life I am a sucker for more than a good manga and adaptations of Shakespeare – this is the best of both of those things. Romeo and Juliet is one of my guilty pleasures and so I was so excited when I realized this was a thing.
Having this story told through manga/comic form lets the reader see the absolute chaos that is this show, and the illustrator did a great job with that. While it does get hard at times to tell the characters apart, the age difference between Juliet and Romeo (and really all of her suitors) is pronounced which is missing when you are just reading the text – and in many adaptations honestly. Mercutio’s sexual innuendos are more obvious with the imagery accompanying the text, and the illustrations just help with all of the dialogue overall since most people have a hard time with Shakespeare text. The Nurse is hilarious, and the illustrations of her expressions are perfect.
Shakespeare is not highbrow and I think people who have not read a lot of Shakespeare don’t always know that. He wrote for the masses/common folk & put in a lot of sex jokes and I think the whole concept of having a manga version of R&J so it is easier to read would make the Bard very happy. R&J is a tragedy and not a love story, for sure, and this was definitely a fun way to read this story and see it all play out. 5/5