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A review by spenkevich
Manga Classics: Les Miserables by Crystal S. Chan, Victor Hugo
3.0
I’ve been having a bit of a Les Mis moment lately, which are some lovely tunes to have stuck in one’s head and a big epic story to really chew on. I stumbled across this Manga Classics: Les Miserables and it was quite the lovely way to revisit the novel. Decently long enough to do the rather epic tale justice and with some rather eye catching artwork, at the end of the day it’s a worthwhile adaptation.
This manga adaptation by Crystal S. Chan and illustrated by SunNeko Lee does well with the narrative and remains rather faithful to Hugo’s novel. At least far more than any of the films and cover many of the smaller details usually left out or condensed in other adaptations. It does focus the story pretty tightly on Marius and Cosette but that’s to be expected I guess. I quite enjoyed reading this and felt it captured the vibes of the original and it’s fine, nothing special and occasionally feels a bit bland but also nothing worth truly criticizing. One would likely be able to discuss the novel with those who had read the full Hugo classic having just read this though, which is pretty cool. And the black and white art is quite nice.
I like how it sort of reminds me of Miyazaki films where it’s a pretty recognizable Japanese art style in a European setting. The character design is well done and Enjorlas is as dreamy as he should be before he and his friends all become empty chairs and empty tables, though Javert does sort of look like Vicious from Cowboy Bebop.
If you are a fan of the story, this is a nice little read. Nothing special, nothing awful, but a decent adaptation of the story into something you can read in the span of an hour or so with some pleasant visuals.
3.5/5
This manga adaptation by Crystal S. Chan and illustrated by SunNeko Lee does well with the narrative and remains rather faithful to Hugo’s novel. At least far more than any of the films and cover many of the smaller details usually left out or condensed in other adaptations. It does focus the story pretty tightly on Marius and Cosette but that’s to be expected I guess. I quite enjoyed reading this and felt it captured the vibes of the original and it’s fine, nothing special and occasionally feels a bit bland but also nothing worth truly criticizing. One would likely be able to discuss the novel with those who had read the full Hugo classic having just read this though, which is pretty cool. And the black and white art is quite nice.
I like how it sort of reminds me of Miyazaki films where it’s a pretty recognizable Japanese art style in a European setting. The character design is well done and Enjorlas is as dreamy as he should be before he and his friends all become empty chairs and empty tables, though Javert does sort of look like Vicious from Cowboy Bebop.
If you are a fan of the story, this is a nice little read. Nothing special, nothing awful, but a decent adaptation of the story into something you can read in the span of an hour or so with some pleasant visuals.
3.5/5