Moby-Dick

by Manga Classic (adaptor), Herman Melville

Experience the classics like never before! These time-honored novels are presented for the first time in the exciting format of Japanese manga. Whether you are a casual reader, a manga fan, or just wanting to familiarize yourself with some of the best books ever written, now you can with the Manga Classic Readers. Considered to be one of the best American novels ever written, Moby-Dick is an American classic and part of the Western cannon. Now experience Ishmael, Ahab, and the hunt for the great white whale Moby-Dick in a new, graphic format.

Genres: Manga, Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a manga, the art is bad. As a story, it's not good. However, I have never read Moby-Dick, and I am glad I was able to knock out the general shape of the story using this rather than the full tome.

...And according to the Melville scholar I once worked with, that wasn't the real masterpiece. I am not surprised.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this when I've never read the original Moby Dick. But now that I've read this VERY watered down (pun intended) version of the book I don't think there's much more I care to know.

I flicked through this very quickly as there's not much to it. The illustrations were good, and helped bring the story to life a little bit.

I thought reading a comic or manga style of the book would be a good way to get to know the story, but maybe I'll just watch the movie instead.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, now I can say that I’ve read Moby Dick. This was a whole lot better than the last time I tried to read it. Still not really my cup of tea, and I think some of it was probably lost in translation to manga. Or is Moby Dick just overrated? I don’t know.

[ArtRogueMel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the art

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who is both a fan of the original book and of manga as medium, I feel that this is serviceable enough, but could have been so much better. The character designs are all spot-on (except for Ishmael; he looks WAY too young), the artwork is easy on the eyes, and the action sequences are awesome, but this is just such a sparse adaptation of a vast and multi-layered story. The nuance, the sense of atmosphere and scale, the fantastic interactions between the crew members, Ahab's few moments of gentleness that add tragedy to his villainous character, all are either gone completely or stripped down to the bare minimum. And Ishmael's eventual coming to grips with his own mortality in an uncaring universe has instead been turned into a stupid "Shonen Hero Faces His Fears" arc. Yawn.

If you're already Moby-Dick trash like I am, and you just want to see what your favorite characters look like with big old anime eyes, this will fit the bill. However, if you're new to Moby-Dick and want to experience it, but are intimidated by the book's size and reputation, you're better off with one of these four options:
1) Check out the MGM movie starring Gregory Peck. It's all the epic action and grand spectacle of the source material, slimmed down and fit into a very reasonable two-hour time slot. And the screenplay was written by Ray Bradbury ! How cool is that?
2) Check out the TV miniseries starring Patrick Stewart for no other reason than it has Patrick Stewart in it.
3) Check out the Great Illustrated Classics version. The language is simplified, but NOTHING is sugar-coated. It's still the same magnificent, gruesome, heart-breaking story.
4) Wait for Manga Classics to come out with their own version if you still want your manga fix and classic lit fix in one sitting.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read Moby Dick. I just couldn't get past all of the whaling descriptions and terminology and it kind of made me seasick. But this illustrated version of the book was just my speed. The art was well done and from what I can tell the important points and themes of the book are covered here. I feel like any urge I have to read the full book has been satisfied.

[Opal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed, I guess because the review I had read was so glowing. Basically, it's Moby Dick stripped of all of the detail and the prose that makes it so much fun to read. Also, in this version there's no nuance.

[Anoush · Rating 2 out of 5]

A graphic novel adaptation of Moby Dick. I haven't read the book so I don't know how similar this is to the novel, but it's significantly shorter and entirely plot based. I'm sure I missed plenty of whatever else is going on in the book, but this is about a man's obsession, with a tragic ending.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

actually manga: story line intact. not much else. lent by a student

[Meena · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Manga version]
A really cool story and a quick & easy read.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I had never read any classic books before.