With the new Beauty and the Beast movie adaptation starring Emma Watson creating a buzz around the classic ”tale as old as time,” the world of manga is now getting involved with a twist on the beloved fairytale.
This new manga adaptation of Beauty and the Beast brings the story away from the big screen and back into books, although this version is still very different from Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s 1740 French classic.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
The main twist with this version is that its writer, Mallory Reaves, has decided to produce two volumes, Belle’s Tale and The Beast’s Tale. This ingenious idea aims to reveal the classic love story from an original perspective, offering a complete insight into the experiences of both Belle and The Beast.
The new adaptation has been produced by Tokyopop and Disney hopes to honor the original story, as well as providing a more in depth presentation of the much loved characters’ thoughts. With the volumes focusing more on The Beast and Belle, a deeper focus on characterization is achieved.
This means that we can gain an understanding of Belle’s blossoming love that slowly develops over the course of the tale, as well as her frustrations in her small town. For The Beast, this means a closer look at his own dramatic character development from a literal monster, all the way to being a prince in character, and finally in appearance too.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
This creative choice will also maximize the impact of the manga format, with each of the volumes presenting contrasting opening settings for the two different characters, before gradually seeing them in the castle together.
Source: Amazon
As well as this, a manga version provides the perfect middle ground between the celebrated, colorful cartoon and movie adaptations across the years, and the atmospheric original book tale.
Both volumes will be available on April 25th.
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Featured image via Amazon
