Much Ado About Nothing (Manga Shakespeare)

Yep, I'm back on the Manga Shakespeare books. And this is the adaptation of one of my favourite Shakespeare plays- Much ado about nothing. It focuses on the story of a household thrown into delighted chaos as their group of victorious soldiers come to visit with their prince.

Young Hero, the daughter of the resident landowner, quickly falls in love with Claudio, one of the Prince's right hand men, while her cousin Beatrice uses to time to dabble in a "war of words" with her rival, Benedick.

Unknown to the happy party-goers, Don Pedro, the prince's illegitimate half-brother, is plotting to destroy the Prince and his friends- and will go to any length to make his brother as miserable as he. A plan that revolves around Hero's imminent engagement and marriage to Claudio...

Meanwhile, another, altogether more cheerful plan hatches to reconcile Benedick and Beatrice, whose constant sparring- while entertaining, is beginning to wear thin. Hero and Claudio talk with the Prince and plan to 'trick' the two into falling in love... After all-

"Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."

The storyline is witty and clever, and the character interaction between Beatrice and Benedick is always a delight- with their characters so inherently brilliant that I can't help but love them as a couple, with banter and probably one of the most equal male/female dynamics I've seen in Shakespeare. I'd also like to point out that I'm a little bit in love with Benedick. If only for this line (read left to right- bear in mind it's a two page spread):

Hero and Claudio are a pretty good representation of young love- easily earned and easily lost, with an interesting play off between Claudio's love of Hero and his pride as a man, as Don Pedro's plan threatens to tear them apart.

As an adaptation, this story works particularly well with great illustrations by Emma Vieceli, making this a really fun and easy way to enjoy Shakespeare's classic tale of love and the fickle nature of humanity. In manga form it's charged with a real energy and good humour.

British and Western Manga is often overlooked, but campaigns such as Sweatdrop Studios' efforts and Manga Shakespeare (Self Made Hero) are producing brilliant, high-quality storylines and artwork in the Manga category. The influence of the genre is spreading and this is a good example of an industry thats beginning to take off in the UK.

The detail in the characters and the gorgeous expressions really bring this story to life, and anyone wanting to give Shakespeare (or manga) a go should really start here.

Sorry, not meaning to do the hard sell, but I just FREAKING LOVE IT! haha :)