Manga Review~Pride & Prejudice by Stacy King & Po Tse

Title: Manga Classics: Pride and Prejudice
Editor: Stacy King
Illustrations by: Po Tse
Adapted from: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Publisher: Udon Entertainment
Pub Date: August 12th 2014
Pages: 376
Genre: Classics, Romance, Retellings
Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Official Site

Synopsis: Beloved by millions the world over, Pride & Prejudice is delightfully transformed in this bold, new manga adaptation. All of the joy, heartache, and romance of Jane Austen's original, perfectly illuminated by the sumptuous art of manga-ka Po Tse, and faithfully adapted by Stacy E. King.

Rating: 10/10
Source: Netgalley

My Thoughts: I love Pride & Prejudice! And I love discovering things related to it! Mostly they have not disappointed me and this manga was no exception. I was weary of starting it though. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the story as a manga. I didn't know if the illustrations would do the characters justice. I needn't worry though because this adaptation was great!

The story was changed a little. Well not changed, but the minor, not-so-important stuff was removed. I was okay with that though. Other than that the story is the same as the original one.

I loved the illustration! It was so much like a manga but also kept the essence of the novel. The illustrations were very pretty and the characters were spot-on! I especially loved the little chibi drawings and manga style humor. It made me feel more like I was reading a manga and not a comic.

Overall I loved this! I enjoyed reading it very much and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys manga and is also a fan of classics. People who haven't read Pride & Prejudice or found it boring will also enjoy this one because it is a very easy and light read.

Updates

I have been such a bad blogger lately! Honestly, with the result tension, college applications and what-nots I wanted to take a step back and relax. So I spent a couple of days only reading and watching Kdramas. That is why I haven't been updating. But I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to...

Reading:

• I read Special A Volume 3-10. The story and characters of Kei & Hikari remind me A LOT of Usui & Misaki from Kaichou wa Maid-sama. The story is pretty interesting and all the side stories are nice to read. As the manga progresses, some chapters are from other character's point of view, besides Hikari's. I didn't have a problem with that, it was nice to see into the other character's personalities, but it would've been better if there would've been a notice of who the chapter's narrator would be. It always took me some time to figure it out. I loved the manga up until the 10th volume. But after Kei & Hikari got together, it became somewhat boring. I just can't bring myself to read any longer. So I'm taking a break from SA right now. I'll definitely complete it since it's only 17 volumes long and 7 volumes are left for me to read.
• I didn't really finish any new books. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but honestly I'm not in the mood of reading it since I know what lies ahead... I'm also currently reading Her Secret Whispers and oh my God, it's such a hard read! The protagonist is so annoying! I'm hoping I'll complete it soon and then write up a review. 

Watching:

• I watched Lie To Me (Kdrama). I LOVE Yoon Eun Hye! She's such an amazing actress!! The actor (I forgot his name) is OK. Not that amazing. But YEH really does it for the both of them. The story was really good. It was a little different, but you see no Kdrama is complete without it's cliches which are all there in Lie To Me. I loved the OST! The bubbly pop music was fun to listen to. I loved the title song! I loved loved loved YEH's clothes in this drama! Gosh, I wish I could have her wardrobe! I even loved the clothes she wore at home. I want the Phineas shirt so bad!! There's not much I remember about this drama... The lead guy's brother was one of those bad boys you can't help but fall for. But I hated his transformation! He looked way too young after that. Like a teenage boy... I was going to write a full review of this drama but I couldn't think of much to write about. This drama isn't that memorable. It was fun to watch but I've forgotten most of it now.
• I watched Secret Garden after Lie To Me and ohmyGod Hyun Bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll just leave it at that since I plan on reviewing SG.

Challenges:

• Manga Challenge: I challenged myself to read 12 books/volumes and I've completed it since I read 10 volumes of SA and 2 volumes of Kaichou wa Maid-sama this year. Yaay me! :D
• Ebook Challenge: I challenged myself to read 10 ebooks and I've made it upto 5.
• Off The Shelf Reading Challenge: I challenged myself to read 15 books and I've read 8 books. So 7 books are left. :)

And that's pretty much it. I've prepared a couple of discussion posts so look forward to them ;)

Manga Review~Special A (Vol. 2) by Minami Maki

Synopsis: Hikari and Kei are pitted against a pair of professional wresters in a challenge issued by the student council. Hikari may now be on the same team as Kei, but a rival is still a rival!

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Shoujo, Contemporary, School Life, Drama

My Thoughts: So, in this volume we move further into the lives of SA. We are also introduced to a mysterious new character, Yahiro, from Kei's and Akira's past. 

The story is going pretty good till now. It's really interesting and I noticed that in this volume it's moving towards serious 'drama' from 'cute'. 

It's obvious that Kei likes Hikari but Hikari is too clueless to realize it. Hikari also starts developing feelings towards Kei but isn't sure what they mean. 

As I said in the previous review, I love the art. More than I liked the anime's. Kei reminds me a lot of Usui in the way that he's drawn but I guess all hot, rich, teenage manga boys are drawn like that. :P

I can't wait to read the next volume!

My review of Vol. 1

Manga Review~Special A (Vol. 1) by Minami Maki

Synopsis: Her whole life, Hikari Hanazono has been consumed with the desire to win against her school rival, Kei Takishima--at anything. He always comes out on top no matter what he does, and Hikari is determined to do whatever it takes to beat this guy!

At age 6 Hikari lost to Kei in an impromptu wrestling match. Now, at 15, Hikari joins "Special A," a group of the top seven students at a private academy, for the opportunity to trounce the guy who made her suffer her first defeat. This opens doors to the discovery of many new things for both of them....

Genre: Romance, Humor, YA, Contemporary, Shoujo, School Life

My thoughts: I watched the SA anime a couple of months ago and I loved it! I was looking for a completed manga to read because I don't like to wait for months for the next chapter to release and I saw that SA was completed so I decided to read it.

The story is good. In this volume we get introduced to this strong-willed, determined, hard-working girl who is hell bent on being number 1 and defeating a guy who beat her at wrestling when they were 6. Kei, the guy, is good at EVERYTHING. Plus he's good-looking and rich. He stays cool, calm and collected all the time, never caring for anyone else. EXCEPT Hikari. Those moments when he gave up the cool-guy facade and really showed he cared for Hikari were my favorite moments. They were really sweet. 

We also get introduced to the rest of the SA class and Kei's "fiance" but their stories have not been developed yet. Basically in these 4 chapters we get an overview of the characters and a little of the story of the main characters. How Kei cares for Hikari but keeps teasing her because he enjoys seeing her strive to beat him. He also respects how hardworking she is. Hikari, too, cares for Kei, even though she wants to beat him. She does care about his feelings and well-being and doesn't actually hate him even if she says it time and again.

I liked the drawing. It was better than the anime version and it's not that bad to look at. I don't love it, but it's good.

It's hard to say if I'd recommend this or not since I've only read the first volume but I do like the start and look forward to seeing where this goes.

Manga Mondays (2)~Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya (Vol. 1 & 2)

Manga Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read.

I recently watched an anime, Fruits Basket. Some of you may have heard about it. I saw it on a lot of anime/manga related sites so I finally decided to watch it. I really loved it! Though the story was left open ended in the anime, it was a really sad and beautiful story. And since I loved it so much I decided to read the manga too.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Tohru Honda was an orphan, living with her grandfather, when one day fate kicked her out of the house and she was forced to take up residence in a tent in the forest. Little did she know that the land she was staying on belonged to the Sohma family, a mysterious clan. After stumbling upon the teenage squatter, the Sohmas invite Tohru to stay in their house in exchange for housework. Everything's going well until she discovers the Sohma family's greatest secret: when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they each turn into their Chinese Zodiac animal!

Sounds cool, right? It is! But what's amazing about this story is, that along with all the fun and humor, it holds great life lessons. For example, there is one chapter that teaches us to appreciate ourselves and not to envy others for what they have but to be thankful for what we have. 

All the characters are so great and lovable! Tohru is so sweet and, while some people find her annoying, I think she's a great person and there should be people like her in the real world. I know there are, but they are very rare. She's so selfless and kind and positive. She's the kind of person who would make you feel better even if you were having the worst day of your life.

Shigure is such a funny character! I simply adore him! I didn't like Yuki much. It's not like I hate him or anything, but I don't like him either. I just don't feel anything towards him (no offense Prince Yuki fans!). I love Momiji! He's ssooo adorable!! And I love his name! Oh and Hatori and Kagura are also two of my favorite characters. Basically I like all the characters. :P

But there is one character I love to hate. And that is Akito. I don't care what he has gone through, he has no right to treat everyone like he's some God! According to the story that I know till now, he has scarred every member of the zodiac and everyone STILL say that it's not his fault. I would love to know how he is not to blame.

And then there's a character I love to love! Kyo ♥♥♥♥ I already love cats! [I would have my own once I start living on my own. My parents won't let me have one right now :( ] And Kyo is the cat. (I know there is no cat in the Chinese zodiac but according to this story it was left out... and well it's a long story. So basically Kyo's the cat.) Plus he's hot. And I think his story is so sad. </3 And he doesn't pretend, like Yuki does. I hate people who pretend to be someone they're not just to be liked by others. I get that it's not Yuki's fault and the poor guy does it 'cause he has to. But I appreciate that Kyo doesn't. And even though he has a temper, and it goes out of hand sometimes, it's sweet that he tries to tone it down for Tohru.

I'm still on the third volume of the manga, but I'm really looking forward to the story ahead and to getting to see more of the zodiac animals and their stories. This is a really great manga, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read mangas with a life lesson (and a little bit of romance) plus humor and a great story line!

Oh and I almost forgot! I personally like the illustration of the anime better than that of the manga. I don't think it was done by the same person, but the characters in the anime look better. But that's just my opinion :)

Manga Mondays (1)~ Kaichou wa Maid-sama by Hiro Fujiwara

Manga Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read.

I love reading Mangas and watching Animes! But I'm still pretty new in the world of manga. My cousins are total anime-freaks. They know everything about every anime; it's almost crazy! So usually they are the ones who recommend me animes. And 2 of my friends at school love animes too. They are the ones who told me about Kaichou wa Maid-sama and I've been hooked since then!

Kaichou wa Maid-sama is about a girl, Misaki Ayuzawa, who is a brilliant and overachieving girl. She's the President of the Student Council at Seika High School, which was formerly a boys' school. The thing is, she hates boys. And since the school still largely consists of boys, she's determined to make it a better place for girls and to increase the number of girls in the school.

BUT. Misaki works at a maid-cafe to support her family, and one day the most popular and sexiest guy at school, Usui Takumi, finds that out. The manga follows the story of these too and how she manages to keep her job a secret to save her reputation in school. Oh and btw, Usui is in love with her ;)

I saw the anime first. I couldn't stop watching it! I had to do homework and I was having class tests then, but I just couldn't stop. But thank fully there were only 26 episodes so I was done with it pretty quickly. And then I missed it so much! :( Plus I was not satisfied AT ALL with how the anime ended. And when I searched I found out that there wasn't going to be a second season. I had to know what happened next, so I started reading the manga.

I've read from Volume 1 to Volume 8 and till now it has been awesome!! I really like the illustrations and the story. Sometimes it gets boring, but maybe that's just me, because I love reading Usui-Misaki scenes! Others just seem boring to me :P

I love all the characters! They are well-developed and distinct. My favorites include Misaki and Usui, of course. Other than those too, I like Hinata (who appears later on in the manga), he's so sweet! Yukimura; he's funny and cute! Sakura; she's so bubbly and fun! I love people like her. Kanou; I didn't like him at first, but then he changed and I feel sorry for the poor boy. Plus, he's hot! I also like all the Maid Latte maids and the 3 idiots.

I'm in love with Usui ♥ He's hot, mysterious, handsome, over-protective (sometimes) which is cute, caring and yes, a little perverted but he only does it to tease Misaki. He's such a dream boy and it's so cute, how much he loves Misaki! But his teasing and vagueness really annoyed me sometimes. I mean, come on dude! Tell her you love her and get it over with. But I guess he wants Misaki to say it so he keeps giving her mixed signals. I'll let you read it yourself to know where their story goes and if they end up together or not. I'm still finding out myself ;)