Manga Classics: The Jungle Book

by Crystal S. Chan (Adapter), Rudyard Kipling, Julien Choy (Artist)

Manga Classics brings to life Rudyard Kipling's original collection of short stories in this fantastic collection. Heavily influenced by his childhood in British-ruled India, Kipling created some of the most well-read children's stories in Western Culture. Book One of The Jungle Book(s) includes Mowgli's Brothers, the story of Mowgli, the abandoned man-cub who was raised by animals in the Indian jungle, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the heroic mongoose, and Toomai of the Elephants, the tale of a young elephant-handler, and in The White Seal, we meet Kotick, a rare white-furred northern fur seal as he searches for a home where his family will not be hunted by humans. Originally published as a series of short stories for magazines in the late 1800s, the Nobel Prize-winning Rudyard Kipling would eventually publish the classic The Jungle Book in 1894.

Genres: Manga, Classics, Graphic Novels, Adventure, Fantasy, Animals

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2021

About the author

Adaptation of classic novels into manga editions with Stacy King.

See also: Crystal King

Reviews

[Ricki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good adaptation of a classic. Kept a lot of the details, rich language, and complexity—the book was not dumbed down for kids. I let my kids read the library copy but I won’t go out of my way to buy it.

[Marjean Eastman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is good however, I didn't like the illustrations at all! I felt so much anger when I looked at them.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Jungle Book character has always been Bagheera, the great black panther. I didn't mind his portrayal as a character here, but his artwork made him too round-faced and cute for my taste. Not quite cat-like enough, I guess.

The three Mowgli stories here are "Mowgli's Brothers," "Kaa's Hunting," and "Tiger! Tiger!" I liked their treatment of "Kaa's Hunting" the best, but all three were quite fun. Some of the action scenes in "Tiger! Tiger!" were particularly good.

I've always found "The White Seal" and "Her Majesty's Servants" kind of boring, and I'm afraid they were here too. Likewise, I've never connected well with "Toomai of the Elephants," though all the elephant artwork here is splendid.

The absolute standout here, for me, is "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." The story is told as a full-blown action-hero sort of story, which was completely perfect and delightful and adorable. Rikki-Tikki himself is drawn as the absolute cutest mongoose... but when he fights, he goes kind of Wolverine from the X-men and leaps fiercely into battle with these monstrous snakes, claws out. Really wonderful stuff.

[Sinai C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only know the Jungle Book from the movies that Disney made (Not my favorite movies at all, but "Bare Necessities" is a full bop). So, when I saw a manga version, I thought it would be a good test run to see if I liked the actual book before I committed to reading the whole thing.

And, I don't think I like it? Like, I enjoyed Mowgli's stories well enough and him trying to figure out where he belongs. But then it switched to seals and elephants and it was just not my style. They were nice, but I think I would have enjoyed the stories and lessons more if I was much younger.

The poems and the art specifically for those sections were probably my favorite parts.

I don't know if I would commit to reading anything beyond Mowgli's stories from the original version though.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the art style to the book. I liked looking at the pictures, but I found the book a bit boring. I wanted to love this because back in the 90s Disney did a live action Jungle Book movie and LOVED it. I always wanted to read the book that inspired the movie and decided to go for the manga to check it out and I am not sure why this is considered a classic. I mean I guess back in the day this book can be considered adventurous, but to me the story does not live up to what I thought it was going to be.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love The Jungle Book. I also love manga. So seeing the cover of this, I was excited.
But the art inside is NOT like the cover. The characters are VERY cartoonish. I couldn't stand Baloo and Akira's designs in particular. Was also disappointed how many of Mowgli's later stories were not included.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

All of my stars are for the art in this one.  I loved the way the characters were designed whether they were human or animal.  I also really liked the sense of movement through the panels and how they drew the scenes.  It was well laid out.  However, when it comes to the story I didn't really like it.  It was weirdly convoluted and the animal stories at the end didn't make a ton of sense to me.  It was a good way to read the story, but I think I'll stick with the Disney movie.

[Gisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my mowgli. the art is just so good I wish the disney movie was more like this. it's just more realistic

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the best of all the stories

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kipling! (with reasonable manga interpretation.

[Carl D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling five stars because it exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t put it down. Describe the setting/characters and provide a context for your readers: Set in India the story follows Mowgli as he set out on a quest to survive like an animal and a man. I discovered this book when I looked it up on goodreads. What I really liked about it was when the book taught me how to read manga. This topic was explored as part of the plot. When I opened the book I was on the last page because it was a manga so you read it right to left and not left to right. it made me feel like I was learning from the book and because of this experience it exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t put it down. I also liked when Mowgli was kidnapped by the monkeys so he had to be saved by Bagheera and Baloo. This topic was explored as part of the plot. When he got kidnapped it was described. It made me imagine what was happening and because of this connection/experience/idea it exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t put it down.What does it reveal to the reader? Why does it matter? This book teaches the reader how to read manga. I wouldn’t read another book by this author because this book is very long. If you like to read manga then this book would be good for you. If you read any japanese manga. and liked it, then you would really enjoy this book.

[Julesy]

DNF - read two-thirds and then gave up.
Not sure why this book is considered a classic. It's really bad.
Credit goes to the adapter and illustrator as I am sure it was difficult to translate into manga.
I'll stick with the Disney movie, thank you very much. lol