Is it Right to Adapt The Scarlet Letter, The Bible, and Mein Kampf into Manga?

It’s an eternal struggle for teachers to get their students interested in important works of literature from years long past. Since the material is so old, it can put younger people off from reading it entirely, even though they might’ve actually enjoyed the content if their eyes hadn’t already glazed over from the presentation. So, what’s the magic bullet that can make these books appealing? …Manga, of course!

Both in and out of Japan, manga is a huge sensation among kids and young adults (as we nerds already know). So naturally, several companies, both Japanese and otherwise, have made it their mission to bring classic literature and other important works to this generation by adapting them into manga. Today, we’re going to examine three of these adaptations, each from a different publisher, to try to figure out why they were reimagined in the style of Japanese comics.

Did it come from a genuine desire to expand the audience of a classic by bringing it to life in a new way? Or was it for the publisher’s own benefit and manga was just the latest trend they could use? Let’s take a look!

This article was written for Manga.Tokyo, so please read it on their site. :)