Manga Shakespeare???

Post about anime's sister, manga in here. Manga reviews accepted in here as well.

Manga Shakespeare???

Postby Esoteric » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:40 pm

Okay, I went to a bookstore today and was browsing around in the children's area for a gift for my nephew. Low and behold, I saw something which startled me...a manga version of Hamlet. Thumbing through it, I admit I started chuckling at it...and that's not exactly the response 'Hamlet' should create. They also had Romeo and Juliet, but I didn't even look at that one. Has anyone else seen these; I'm curious about general opinions on the idea.
User avatar
Esoteric
 
Posts: 1603
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:12 pm
Location: The Lost Room.

Postby Phantom_Sorano » Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:47 pm

Really!?! I love Shakespeare, and I have never heard about this! Well, at any rate, I don't know about this manga, but can you describe it more in depth?
Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players; they have their entrances and their exits and one man in his time plays many parts."-Will Shakespeare
@)}~ carry this rose in your sig, as thanks, to all the CAA Moderators
User avatar
Phantom_Sorano
 
Posts: 909
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:19 pm
Location: Between the past and the future.

Postby Esoteric » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:48 pm

Here's the link to what I saw.

http://www.selfmadehero.com/manga_shakespeare/manga_shakespeare.html

Personally I think I would like the idea more if they hadn't 'updated' the settings. However, I do realize that when Shakespeare wrote them, his settings were pretty current. Perhaps that was their goal with these mangas.
User avatar
Esoteric
 
Posts: 1603
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:12 pm
Location: The Lost Room.

Postby AsianBlossom » Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:47 pm

...

Wow.

You think they'll do the Merchant of Venice?
RESPECT THE UNBORN AND CHOOSE LIFE...your mother did.

"Do not underestimate the power of the muffin! The muffin will smite all those who question it! The muffin will crush all nay-sayers! He who controls the muffin shall control the entire world!" -Taishi, Comic Party English Dub
User avatar
AsianBlossom
 
Posts: 1376
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:00 pm
Location: *staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare*

Postby IantheGecko » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:44 pm

I dunno about this; it's an interesting idea, putting Shakespeare into a more "acessible" format. But a lot of his plays are really driven by dialogue and emotion, not really action. I could see where the emotions could play out on anime faces, but I don't think Shakespeare could really work in manga. I could see a manga based on Shakespeare (in the vein of 10 Things I Hate About You, West Side Story, etc.), though.

"Much Ado About Nothing" might work. Might.
"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the Earth"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
BLALALALALALALALALALALA-WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
BANG!
User avatar
IantheGecko
 
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:20 pm
Location: Aurora, CO

Postby Alexander » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:47 pm

AsianBlossom wrote:...

Wow.

You think they'll do the Merchant of Venice?


My thoughts exactly. XD

Although the strangest I ever saw was a combination of Walt Disney characters and Magical Girl Anime styled characters. The combination felt more strange then even Kingdom Hearts.

I think I'll try to take a photo of that manga if I ever get the chance to find it again...
<img src="patent pending.jpg"></p>
<p>Signature in progress</p>
User avatar
Alexander
 
Posts: 877
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:42 am
Location: Sometimes I wish I honestly knew.

Postby shade of dae » Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:17 pm

oh, that's really funny. not suprising, considering how popular shakespear is though. I think they might be kind of fun to read ... maybe I'll check and see if they have any at my library
MAL

What call have I to dream of anything?
I am a wolf. Back to the world again,
And speech of fellow-brutes that once were men
Our throats can bark for slaughter: cannot sing.
-C.S. Lewis
User avatar
shade of dae
 
Posts: 154
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:36 am
Location: currently connected to the wired...

Postby USSRGirl » Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:23 pm

XDDD Seems Merchant of Venice *Temmy's fav* is by far the most popular. Man I would LOOOVE to see a manga of that one. Pericles would be good too. O.O
User avatar
USSRGirl
 
Posts: 1266
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:14 am
Location: In The Place Where There Is No Darkness...

Postby Sheol777 » Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:32 pm

As amused as I am by this concept, I will probably not buy it. Although I understand why someone would.
Image........... My Deep Space Nine Podcast ........... My Anime List...........
User avatar
Sheol777
 
Posts: 592
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:09 pm
Location: South Jersey

Postby Fish and Chips » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:13 pm

Meh, shouldn't really surprise me. They've already done a Romeo and Juliet period piece rendition with Basilisk (except that they resolved one of my biggest complaints with Romeo and Juliet, that it lacked ninjas).
User avatar
Fish and Chips
 
Posts: 4415
Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere.

Postby Debitt » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:14 pm

Hay guyz, Hamlet's a bishie, lol.

u_u I don't have a problem with the updating of the scenery as long as they didn't try to update the language, too. I can't stand it when they put Shakespeare into "modern speak"
Image

[SIZE="5"](*゚∀゚)アハア八アッ八ッノヽ~☆[/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]DEBS: Fan of that manga where the kid's head is on fire.[/SIZE]
User avatar
Debitt
 
Posts: 3654
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2004 10:00 am
Location: 並盛中学校

Postby Ashley » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:25 am

But wouldn't "old speak" feel outrageously inappropriate if Romeo and Juliet are yakuza kiddos?

Actually, I'm not a big fan of this idea at all. Shakespeare just isn't Shakespeare if you wretch it out of its context. I liked West Side Story, 10 Things I Hate About You, heck I even like the new Gonzo Romeo and Juliet...but I like these things because they aren't imitation/substitutes.
Image
User avatar
Ashley
 
Posts: 7364
Joined: Mon May 26, 2003 10:00 am
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Postby Fish and Chips » Thu Jun 07, 2007 9:41 am

Ashley wrote:But wouldn't "old speak" feel outrageously inappropriate if Romeo and Juliet are yakuza kiddos?

...I wanna see that now.
User avatar
Fish and Chips
 
Posts: 4415
Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere.

Postby Debitt » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:06 pm

I was actually thinking of the newer Romeo and Juliet that they set in Venice Beach, Florida - they used the lines from the play, didn't try to slang them up, and watching them be creative with the old language I thought worked surprisingly well. I've seen a similar production on stage (a version of the The Tempest) and neither movie nor play felt outrageously inappropriate to me. I really think you can leave the lines as they are and use it for greater creative purpose.

That and I was appalled by the 'translation' of Hamlet they did in the SparkNotes No Fear Shakespeare. Thinking about it makes me cringe.
Image

[SIZE="5"](*゚∀゚)アハア八アッ八ッノヽ~☆[/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]DEBS: Fan of that manga where the kid's head is on fire.[/SIZE]
User avatar
Debitt
 
Posts: 3654
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2004 10:00 am
Location: 並盛中学校

Postby Mangafanatic » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:21 pm

Fish and Chips wrote:They've already done a Romeo and Juliet period piece rendition with Basilisk (except that they resolved one of my biggest complaints with Romeo and Juliet, that it lacked ninjas).

Verily, sir. Thou doth deserve brown points for thy excellent wit. Take thou thine reward. *bequeaths many much brownie points*

(Really, that's one of the funniest things I've read on CAA in quite a while.)

Modern adaptions of Shakespeare are in vogue right now. Take Romeo x Juliet, for instances. Granted, it's probably more the story that might have inspired the story of Romeo and Juliet, but it plays off of a very similar set up.
Every year in Uganda, innumerable children simply. . . disappear. These children all stolen under the cover of darkness from their homes and impressed into the guerilla armies of the LRA [Lord's Resistance Army]. In the deserts of Uganda, they are forced to witness the mindless slaughter of other children until they themselves can do nothing but kill. Kill. These children, generally ranging from ages 5-12, are brainwashed into murdering in the name of the resistance and into stealing other children from their beds to suffer the same fate.

Because of this genocide of innocence, hundred and hundreds of children live every night sleeping in public places miles from their homes, because they know that if the do not-- they will disappear. They will become just another number in this genocide to which the international community has chosen to turn a blind eye. They will become, in affect, invisible-- Invisible Children.

But there are those who are trying to fight against this slaughter of Uganda's children. They fight to protect these "invisible children." Please, help them help a country full of children who know nothing by fear. Help save the innocence. For more information concerning how you can help and how you can get an incredible video about this horrific reality, visit the Invisible Children home page.
User avatar
Mangafanatic
 
Posts: 4918
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 5:00 am
Location: In La-La land.

Postby ChristianKitsune » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:24 pm

these aren't very new. I saw these in WalMart about 2 years ago. lol...

I am a bit unsure about this stuff too.. I mean...it's shakespeare...does it mix well with Manga?
ImageImage
Stick Monkey Chronicles
Web-Manga Hosted by: The Project
User avatar
ChristianKitsune
 
Posts: 5420
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:00 pm
Location: In my sketchbook of wonderment and puffy pink clouds! *\^o^/*

Postby Nate » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:31 pm

Unconventional Director Sets Shakespeare Play In Time, Place Shakespeare Intended

MORRISTOWN, NJ—In an innovative, tradition-defying rethinking of one of the greatest comedies in the English language, Morristown Community Players director Kevin Hiles announced Monday his bold intention to set his theater's production of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in 16th-century Venice.

"I know when most people hear The Merchant Of Venice, they think 1960s Las Vegas, a high-powered Manhattan stock brokerage, or an 18th-century Georgia slave plantation, but I think it's high time to shake things up a bit," Hiles said. "The great thing about Shakespeare is that the themes in his plays are so universal that they can be adapted to just about any time and place."

According to Hiles, everything in the production will be adapted to the unconventional setting. Swords will replace guns, ducats will be used instead of the American dollar or Japanese yen, and costumes, such as Shylock's customary pinstripe suit, general's uniform, or nudity, will be replaced by garb of the kind worn by Jewish moneylenders of the Italian Renaissance.

"Audiences may be taken aback initially by the lack of Creole accents," Hiles said. "But I think if they pay close enough attention, they'll recognize that all the metaphors, similes, and puns remain firmly intact, maybe even more so, in the Elizabethan dialect."

Hiles said he became drawn to the prospect of setting the play in such an unorthodox locale while casually rereading the play early last year. He noticed that Venice was mentioned several times in the text, not only in character dialogue, but also in italics just before the first character speaks. After doing some additional research, Hiles also learned that 16th-century Europe was a troubled and tumultuous region plagued by a great intolerance toward Jews, historical context which could serve as the social backdrop for the play's central conflict.

Some of Hiles' actors, however, have reacted negatively to his decision. Some are worried Hiles lacks the knowledge and talent to pull off the radical revisionist interpretation, while others characterized it as "self-indulgent."

"I guess it's the director's dramatic license to put his own personal spin on the play he is directing, but this is a little over-the-top," said Stacey Silverman, who played Nurse Brutus in Hiles' 2003 all-female version of Julius Caesar. "I just think Portia not being an aviatrix does a tremendous disservice to the playwright."

Added Silverman: "You just don't mess with a classic."
Image

Ezekiel 23:20
User avatar
Nate
 
Posts: 10725
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Oh right, like anyone actually cares.

Postby rocklobster » Thu Jun 07, 2007 1:39 pm

It might work. And then again, it might not. Shakespeare is just timeless, folks.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you to be a prophet of all nations."
--Jeremiah 1:5
Image
Hit me up on social media!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007205508246<--Facebook

I'm also on Amino as Radical Edward, and on Reddit as Rocklobster as well.


click here for my playlist!
my last fm profile!
User avatar
rocklobster
 
Posts: 8903
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:27 pm
Location: Planet Claire

Postby Debitt » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:19 pm

Nate wrote:Unconventional Director Sets Shakespeare Play In Time, Place Shakespeare Intended

MORRISTOWN, NJ—In an innovative, tradition-defying rethinking of one of the greatest comedies in the English language, Morristown Community Players director Kevin Hiles announced Monday his bold intention to set his theater's production of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in 16th-century Venice.

"I know when most people hear The Merchant Of Venice, they think 1960s Las Vegas, a high-powered Manhattan stock brokerage, or an 18th-century Georgia slave plantation, but I think it's high time to shake things up a bit," Hiles said. "The great thing about Shakespeare is that the themes in his plays are so universal that they can be adapted to just about any time and place."

According to Hiles, everything in the production will be adapted to the unconventional setting. Swords will replace guns, ducats will be used instead of the American dollar or Japanese yen, and costumes, such as Shylock's customary pinstripe suit, general's uniform, or nudity, will be replaced by garb of the kind worn by Jewish moneylenders of the Italian Renaissance.

"Audiences may be taken aback initially by the lack of Creole accents," Hiles said. "But I think if they pay close enough attention, they'll recognize that all the metaphors, similes, and puns remain firmly intact, maybe even more so, in the Elizabethan dialect."

Hiles said he became drawn to the prospect of setting the play in such an unorthodox locale while casually rereading the play early last year. He noticed that Venice was mentioned several times in the text, not only in character dialogue, but also in italics just before the first character speaks. After doing some additional research, Hiles also learned that 16th-century Europe was a troubled and tumultuous region plagued by a great intolerance toward Jews, historical context which could serve as the social backdrop for the play's central conflict.

Some of Hiles' actors, however, have reacted negatively to his decision. Some are worried Hiles lacks the knowledge and talent to pull off the radical revisionist interpretation, while others characterized it as "self-indulgent."

"I guess it's the director's dramatic license to put his own personal spin on the play he is directing, but this is a little over-the-top," said Stacey Silverman, who played Nurse Brutus in Hiles' 2003 all-female version of Julius Caesar. "I just think Portia not being an aviatrix does a tremendous disservice to the playwright."

Added Silverman: "You just don't mess with a classic."

:lol: :lol: :lol: You're kidding me.

EDIT: They forgot film noir. I've seen film noir MoV.
Image

[SIZE="5"](*゚∀゚)アハア八アッ八ッノヽ~☆[/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]DEBS: Fan of that manga where the kid's head is on fire.[/SIZE]
User avatar
Debitt
 
Posts: 3654
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2004 10:00 am
Location: 並盛中学校

Postby AsianBlossom » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:15 am

We recently borrowed a DVD play version of the Merchant of Venice, and the lines were spot-on. Granted, it wasn't a modern adaptation, but it was a fairly recent (perhaps 80's or 90's) production that was made to look like it was a staged performance set as it probably would've looked had the story taken place in reality. In other words, convincing sets, but you can still tell they're sets. (Not sure if it was BBC or someone else)
RESPECT THE UNBORN AND CHOOSE LIFE...your mother did.

"Do not underestimate the power of the muffin! The muffin will smite all those who question it! The muffin will crush all nay-sayers! He who controls the muffin shall control the entire world!" -Taishi, Comic Party English Dub
User avatar
AsianBlossom
 
Posts: 1376
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:00 pm
Location: *staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare*

Postby Monkey J. Luffy » Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:06 am

I just think that the whole thing is really strange, but it is very possible to do
User avatar
Monkey J. Luffy
 
Posts: 509
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:17 pm
Location: Home of the SOX!


Return to Manga and Manga Reviews

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 141 guests