國立臺灣師範大學英語學系 碩 士 論 文 Master Thesis Department of English National Taiwan Normal University

莎士比亞之漫畫與動畫改編研究: 以《哈姆雷特》及《羅密歐與茱麗葉》為例

A Study of Manga and Anime Adaptations Based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet

指導教授：林璄南教授

Advisor: Dr. Alan Ying-nan Lin

研 究 生：江俞弦

中 華 民 國 105 年 1 月

January, 2016 i

摘要

本文旨在探討莎士比亞的《哈姆雷特》及《羅密歐與茱麗葉》中的情節和台

詞，如何透過圖片敘述及原著台詞的刪減，交織應用在 21 世紀的動畫及漫畫中，

而使其產生新的詮釋及視聽感受。本論文分為五章: 緒論陳述本文所提及的漫畫

及動畫版本之取材原因，以及簡述各章節概要。第一章則提供漫畫及動畫的初步

認識，並運用 Barbara Postema 所列出的漫畫技巧，解讀圖片在故事中的敘述方

式。將圖片視為一種在文本中敘述的語言，並透過漫畫的敘事架構及圖片在畫面

上的配置技巧，作為分析第二章的基礎。第二章主要著重在 Manga Shakespeare

改編的漫畫版本中，分析僅是文字的原著劇本，如何在漫畫圖片的框架中，結合

既有的台詞與漫畫的敘述架構而得以重新演釋，而產生不同的閱讀可能性及解讀

方式。為了區別漫畫和動畫在改編上有所不同，第三章則以 Zetsuen no Tempest

和 Romeo X Juliet 兩部動畫作品為例，探討莎劇的角色、台詞及劇情，如何經由

應用與修飾，融合劇情，進而在動畫中產生新的詮釋。與漫畫相比，動畫的重點

已經不再是以不同媒介演繹莎士比亞的劇本。反之，原著中的元素(角色、情節、

台詞)變成動畫敘事中的潤飾品，或是作為劇情轉折的關鍵點。最後，結論概述

漫畫和動畫改編的異同，並提出閱聽者在閱讀或欣賞的當下，應將劇本或是改編

作品結合自身經驗，使其產生更具意義的解讀方式。

關鍵詞:莎士比亞、哈姆雷特、羅密歐與茱麗葉、漫畫、動畫、改編 ii

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explore how Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are applied and adapted into manga and anime through graphic narration and application of original lines in the twenty-first century. The thesis is composed of five chapters. The introductory chapter explains the reason for adopting specific adaptations and outlines important points in each chapter. Chapter One begins with a brief introduction to manga and anime, and the narrative structure in manga based on Barbara Postema’s discussions.

To examine how graphics act in sequence and produce meanings, this chapter offers some terminologies of manga as the basis for examining functions and layouts of graphics in manga adaptations. Chapter Two compares and contrasts important scenes and themes in

Manga Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet to discuss how Shakespeare’s plays are represented through graphics and abridged lines. Although numerous lines are omitted, the appealing graphics in manga provide the readers with emotional engagements and different perspectives to reconsider Shakespeare’s plays. In order to look into the differences between manga and anime adaptations, Chapter Three investigates how characters, plots, and quotations are applied in Shakespeare’s anime adaptations (Zetsuen no Tempest and

Romeo X Juliet). Contrary to Manga Shakespeare’s editions which are more attached to the original plays, the anime adaptations become new stories and Shakespeare’s lines are transformed into aiding elements to move stories forward. Finally, the concluding chapter summarizes the similarities and differences of manga and anime adaptations. It also pinpoints the importance of relating Shakespeare’s plays/adaptations with our surroundings and daily experience to make our interpretation more meaningful.

Keywords: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, manga, anime, adaptations

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Acknowledgements

During the past years in the Department of English, I have taken many informative courses to inspire me with my research and got lots of help in writing Master thesis. First, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor Dr. Alan Ying-nan Lin for his encouragement and guidance. Without his valuable advice and persistent instruction, I could not stay at a concrete direction to accomplish my thesis. Besides, I am deeply indebted to the other committee members, Dr. Hui-hua Wang and Dr. Elyssa Y. Cheng, for taking their precious time as my readers and providing me with insightful comments. Their solid suggestions not only helped me improve the quality of my thesis but also encouraged me to explore more possibilities in developing this thesis.

In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to my dear friends, schoolmates, and colleagues in Wangfang High School. During the process of writing my thesis, they always encouraged me and cheered me up whenever I felt frustrated or stuck in my thesis.

Most important of all, I ought to express my greatest debt to my beloved family. Thanks to their unconditional love and wholehearted support, I could concentrate on my thesis and overcome difficulties with their assistance and company.

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Table of Contents

Abstract in Chinese ...... i Abstract ...... ii Acknowledgements ...... iii Introduction ...... 1 Chapter One Narrative Structure in Manga ...... 5 1.1 What are Manga and Anime? ...... 5 1.2 Narrative Structure in Manga...... 7 1.3 A Brief Conclusion ...... 13 Chapter Two Manga Shakespeare...... 16 2.1 Hamlet (2007) ...... 19 2.1.1 The Ghost Scene ...... 19 2.1.2 The Mousetrap Scene ...... 24 2.1.3 The Graveyard Scene ...... 27 2.1.4 The Duel Scene ...... 29 2.2 Romeo and Juliet (2007) ...... 31 2.2.1 Ill-fated love under Traditional Patriarchal System ...... 32 2.2.2 The Function of Death: Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet ...... 37 2.2.3 Romeo’s and Juliet’s Transformation of Agency ...... 40 Chapter Three Visualized Shakespeare in Anime World ...... 44 3.1 Zetsuen no Tempest (2013) ...... 45 3.1.1 Setting and Characters ...... 45 3.1.2 The Time is Out of Joint ...... 49 3.1.3 The Ghost Scene ...... 49 3.1.4 The Graveyard Scene ...... 52 3.1.5 The Duel Scene ...... 55 3.2 Romeo X Juliet (2007) ...... 58 3.2.1 Setting and Characters ...... 58 3.2.2 Four Conflicts in Romeo X Juliet ...... 60 3.2.3 Doomed Love under Revolution of Neo Verona ...... 64 3.2.4 Willy’s Theater: The Play within the Anime ...... 67 3.2.5 Death as Rebirth: The Wind of Freedom ...... 70 Conclusion ...... 72 Works Cited ...... 75 Chiang 1

Introduction

For centuries, the name “Shakespeare” has become a well-known and representative icon. No matter in what kind of adaptation, once an adaptation is entitled or related to “Shakespeare,” this work is endowed with a new perspective for us to read and re-examine Shakespeare’s plays as well. Nowadays, abundant discussions and research on Shakespearean adaptations have been widely explored, ranging from dramas, films, dance performances, even to musicals, but only few of them focus on the adaptations of manga and anime. Compared with other adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, manga and anime adaptations emphasize graphics, visual-verbal allusions, captions, word balloons, and arrangements of stories. Also, with high flexibility of manga and anime, it creates hybridity of different styles and modes of graphic/image making.

To address the issue on how and why the adaptations of manga and anime form a distinctive category to narrate Shakespeare’s texts, the study will look into the following research questions: What are manga and anime? How do mangakas

(cartoon writers) apply Shakespeare’s works into different types of manga and anime

(such as graphics, visual-verbal allusions, frames, panels, captions, and choice/placement of words in word balloons)? How do Shakespearean manga and anime compare with the original texts? What kind of effect is produced through the interplay between Shakespeare’s language and graphics? How do graphics grasp the deep meaning of Shakespearean works? When Shakespeare’s lines are turned into graphics, what contents do graphics replace and interpret? What sort of effect and emotion does Shakespearean manga and anime bring to the readers and viewers?

What aesthetic value does Shakespearean manga and anime possess? Chiang 2

In this chapter, I will explain why I choose to study specific manga and anime in this thesis, and I will also introduce the main ideas of the following chapters. Among various mangas and animes, Japanese mangas and animes have undoubtedly won a worldwide recognition. Therefore, I choose two Japanese animes as my major texts to analyze: Zetsuen No Tempest, also called Blast of Tempest (2013), and Romeo X Juliet

(2007). Although Zetsuen No Tempest is based on both Hamlet and The Tempest, the setting of characters and plots are closer to Hamlet. As a result, I prefer to choose the manga adaptation of Hamlet as a comparison instead of The Tempest in this thesis. To echo with the two animes and to observe different interpretations between anime and manga, I adopt Hamlet (2007) and Romeo and Juliet (2007) of Manga Shakespeare series published by SelfMadeHero publisher as my primary texts.

Regardless of manga or anime, the story is told in a series of pictures as well as dialogues. The most vital element in both manga and anime is graphics accompanied by words to give special intensity on actions and words. Consequently, how graphics are narrated and interpreted in the story are delightful parts when viewers enjoy manga or anime. In Chapter One, I provide a short introduction of manga and its relation with anime and focus on how graphics narrate the story. I draw on Barbara

Postema’s discussions on graphic narrative structure to explore characters, plots, and usage of manga style in graphic narration. Then, Chapter Two examines Manga

Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet to suggest how the original plays are transformed into manga adaptations via graphics and omitted lines. The analysis of two manga adaptations will center on the setting, characters, essential scenes and themes as contrasted and compared with the original plays.

Although both manga and anime are mainly composed of graphics and lines, mangakas’ and animators’ interpretations of Shakespearean texts differ greatly. In Chiang 3 manga adaptations, by means of kawaii graphics and cartoon style, they display various comic devices of situations. Also, Shakespeare’s original lines are usually simplified or omitted. These modified lines are straightforwardly used in characters’ dialogues and panels to strengthen characters’ actions or provide important messages.

Nevertheless, in anime adaptations, dialogue between characters is normal daily conversation. Shakespeare’s lines are thus turned into auxiliary elements that enable the story to go smoothly and build up the climax from a new and distinct perspective.

These techniques imply how the mangakas and animators see the play and what they value. Consequently, Chapter Three deals with how the characters, plots, classic scenes, and original lines in Shakespeare’s plays are applied and modified in Zetsuen

No Tempest and Romeo X Juliet.

Zetsuen No Tempest is a fantasy and detective anime in which main characters seek for their revenge due to the death of one important female character. Then, in

Romeo X Juliet, Juliet is a princess, also a cross-dressing young boy, to revive her kingdom which is overthrown by the cruel Montague. Romeo in this adaptation is more like a helper who betrays his father and assists Juliet to build a peaceful kingdom. In the two animes, it is obvious that the stories differ concidentally from those of Shakespeare’s original plays, and the lines and theatrical elements in

Shakespeare’s plays have become turning points which act as auxiliary functions and climaxes in the animes.

Through different adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, we are encouraged to read

Shakespeare’s works from various perspectives, exploring different possibilities and meanings in the texts. Thus, this thesis takes manga and anime seriously and treats them as something to learn from, seeking to analyze adaptations of Shakespearean manga and anime, and to compare them with the original plays to investigate how Chiang 4

Shakespeare’s works are reconfigured and represented in different narrative media.

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Chapter One

Narrative Structure in Manga

1.1 What are Manga and Anime?

Manga, called “manhua” in Chinese, is a term that particularly means Japanese comics or printed cartoon. Manga explores various themes, ranging from everyday life to Japanese storytelling, religious traditions, horror, and supernatural themes. Due to high thematic range of manga, the influence of manga is like “air” that permeates into other mass media and brings immense “cultural material” (such as magazines, television shows, films, or animes) in the contemporary society (Kinsella 3)

In addition, manga is famous for its authenticity of Japanese culture and experience, rather than being “an American or European political or cultural import” for simply conveying political ideology or material products (Kinsella 3-5). In manga, readers can see not only amusing images combining with concise verbal messages but also deeply decode those symbols based on Japanese conventions and culture. To put it simply, manga’s graphic creation of visual styles and adaptation of retelling traditions “underscores how it is a medium not only for extending, but also engaging with, the historical imaginary central to contemporary Japanese identity” (Bryce and

Davis 37).

Manga’s cooperative and profitable association with anime came in the 1960s when the television emerged. Furthermore, the influence of the anime and animation market led to the “manga boom” in the following years (Hayley 268). In 1963, the success of Tezuka Osamu’s televised animation based on Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy

原子小金剛) launched manga’s association with the mass media, and the publishers continued to develop “the art of media mix,” such as “weekly comics, the reissue of Chiang 6

1 successful series in paperback volumes, TV and OVA series, animated films, live action films, music (from TV shows and movies) and musicals” (Kinsella 28).

Products of these mix media based on manga have brought large profits through advertising popular characters and associated products, and thus enabled manga become one of the pillars of Japanese economy. Moreover, as Hayley observes, owing to the network and translations of languages, manga and anime have entered into the market of the West and rapidly gained numerous fans in the West (268). This successful result has proved charm of manga and anime and also the sharing of visual language around the world.

In addition, extending from the realm of manga, we can observe that the culture of Otaku2and anime has gained its popularity because the market is flooded with related products (such as models, stationery, video games, CD, and so on) based on the characters of the anime, and numerous fans have been eager to purchase them for collections. Then, what is “anime” and why is anime so appealing to the public?

According to the definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary3, the anime is a style of animation created in Japan and is composed of numerous images, strong characters, and stories that have a lot of actions. Also, the anime is the abbreviation for animation in Japanese and usually means the hand-drawn or computer animation. More specifically, the term anime is defined as the animation from Japan or as Japanese animation style with colorful graphics and fantastic themes. Although there are

1 OVA (original video animation), sometimes called OAV (original animated video), is animated series or films specially made for release in home video formats without prior showing on television or in theater. (from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_video_animation) 2 The original meaning of “otaku” refers to another people’s house or family in Japanese. Nowadays, otaku is used metaphorically, called 御宅族 in Chinese, is a term to describe people who have obsessive interests, especially in manga and anime. In a broader sense, this term can relate to the fandom of any particular hobby or form of entertainment. Recently, the otaku subculture has gradually obtained its social and academic recognition, and the central theme of this subculture lies in the works of diverse manga and anime productions. 3 The definition of anime comes from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anime)

Chiang 7 arguments about whether the term can be used to describe the anime produced in other countries other than Japan, most westerners still consider anime as an animation product of Japan.

Nevertheless, in Cinema Anime: Critical Engagements with Japanese Animation,

Steve T. Brown proposes that we should avoid simplifying the anime into a kind of unitary and fixed object which is projected on the screen because the anime’s hybridity of forms, genres, styles, and audiences deserves more to be explored. From my point of view, I agree with Brown’s idea that we should not confine the definition of anime only as an animation product of Japan. Instead, the anime should be positioned as a globalized visual production with various styles and images that blend with diverse issues associated with people’s daily life and the contemporary society, such as ethnic, technological, economic, and political issues. Besides, the anime production shares a kind of universal language through its unique graphic narration and visual language without cultural boundaries.

1.2 Narrative Structure in Manga

Being casual, entertaining, various, and close to people, these favorable qualities have brought manga to a high reputation in the art of visual storytelling. The craze for manga shows its successful function of ideograph and communication in images.

When the readers read manga, they are simultaneously interacting with the mangaka through the process of deciphering the visual and verbal languages on the pages.

As a result, the representation of the image is directly exposed to the readers who are able to fetch concrete impressions from the pictures in a short time. These visual and verbal languages come from the daily-life materials and implications which the mangaka wants to convey or communicate with the readers. In such a manner, how do Chiang 8 the readers analyze these messages from the specific structure of manga? How do images narrate a story with (or even without) the assistance of words? How do images act in sequence to help plots move forward in manga?

Basically, the readers view the images directly and analyze them according to the design of characters, the setting, and the arrangement of stories to presume what the manga is talking about. Through the function of the visual storytelling, with static images and text, manga incorporates two symbolic systems: one is visual and the other is verbal. The visual image plays a far more crucial role than the text because the image takes the responsibility for pushing the story forward while the text is in secondary place, as a supplement for notification in manga. Consequently, to build up a general concept of the narrative structure in manga, I will introduce some basic terminologies and skills in manga.

Color

By and large, the color of manga is usually monocolor with different variation and gradation in gray scale. In order to sustain the consistency of the story, the usage of color will keep in constant style. Therefore, the application of drastic change of color becomes a method to present special meaning in manga. For example, the drawing of black background illustrates the loneliness or astonishment of characters and the gutter chequered with black and white suggests the omitted contents or the separation of the timeline in the story.

Characters

Every character is a vivid symbol and the task of characters is to “act” in manga to set up the plots in sequence. Most characters are designed for readers to quickly realize and imagine from their daily and social experiences. With the individualized Chiang 9 portrait of each character, readers can catch the main qualities of characters and even project themselves into their positions. From this point of view, images in manga not only bring a story to the readers but also involve the value and intention of the mangaka which the readers experience during their reading.

Caption, Word Balloon

Captions are used to support information for word balloons from the third-person’s point of view, such as details of time and places. Since captions are optional elements, placements of captions are flexible. They usually appear outside the panels, placed horizontally, or inserted vertically on the top or bottom of panels.

Unlike captions, balloons are inserted into panels to deliver the texts spoken or thought by characters. Based on these two functions, word balloons can be categorized into two types: speech balloons and thought balloons. Normally, speech balloons are displayed in oval surrounded with solid lines whereas thought balloons are in oval with dashed lines.

In addition, thought balloons are presented in other type of edges, such as radial, jagged or square, instead of ovals. In short, the appearance of word balloons varies from the style of the mangaka and its usage for conveying “emotions or meanings verbalized within the balloons” (Postema 132). Different shapes of word balloons symbolize distinct verbal and emotional meanings, and these elements become part of narration in manga, distinguishing the layers of narration.

Figure 1. speech balloon in oval with solid lines and thought balloon in jagged shape Chiang 10

Frame, Panel

Manga is structured by frames and panels which involve expressionistic forms according to amounts, sizes, and shapes. Frames regard a page as a complete reading unit, while panels emphasize the composition of the page. On the one hand, frames tie the images into sequences “while the image sequence still allows for panels to exist as individual entities, not merely ciphers in a more important string” (Postema 27). In addition to the drawing of picture frame with “double lines,” frames “can also similarly be used in a more imagistic fashion, for example with wobbly or jagged lines” (Postema 131).

On the other hand, panels are commonly rectangular or square without strict restrictions and may not always be surrounded by frames. The style of panels shows different visual or narrative effects. For instance, the irregular curved panel can be used to indicate the narration of flashback and the slopy panel expresses visions of multi-angle, showing functions of categorizing narration in different layers in a simple and clear way. “Panels, by means of frames, combine on the comics page to create synergy that goes beyond the content of the single panel and makes something new”

(Postema 28). Each panel delineates continuing movement of the objects or a specific moment, such as a dynamic action or a close-up of character’s facial expression.

Furthermore, through the size and arrangement of frames and panels, it “creates the effect of a gap while at the same time establishing the means to close it” in manga

(Postema 27). The connection between panels is a distinctive trait of manga narration because the combination of sequences influences the representation of manga and obliquely conveys the messages that the mangaka wants the readers to get involved.

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Gutter

The functions of gutter are to separate panels and to fill the gap between image and sequence. Usually, gutters are “blank and are the color of the unprinted paper”

(Postema 131). However, in some cases, gutters are used in black between panels to help readers tell apart the timeline of the story.

Layout

The layout of a page can be divided into four basic directions (right, left, upper, bottom), middle, and blank. Gutters and frames “break the page into a signifying structure and which signal the existence of sequence by creating a progression from panel to panel” (Postema 30). The placing and spacing of images, texts, gutters, and panels on a page not only affects the sequence of story and power of characters but also influences the expectation of readers when reading the story.

Besides, “the layout can change how the contents of the panel signify, and the panel contents can alter the signification of the layout” (Postema 29). The readers can determine the value and importance of the information from where images and texts are placed on a page. For example, in Manga Shakespeare’s Hamlet on page 6, the image of the ghost appears in the middle across two pages, whereas the soldiers are in small panels. Besides, from the comparison between size, color, and clarity of images, the readers can also detect important elements.

Modality

Modality refers to the extent of simulation and credibility of the narration in manga; that is, the extent of reality which manga indicates. The degree of modality depends on complication of lines and intensity of color. If the image is composed of Chiang 12 simple lines and light color with low layer, like the cartoon version, the image tends to be in low modality and vice versa.

Onomatopoeia

The onomatopoeia possesses the form of image and word at the same time, adding the elements of sound in static manga, such as “beep” (the signal of message),

“plip” (the sound of rolling tears), and “hoff” (sound of breathing heavily). Besides, different shapes of words can provide unique meaning. For instance, bold letter can convey the idea of loud noises or surprise, and italic letter can portray the direction of sound and the effect of lengthening.

Sequence and Action

As Scott McCloud suggests, in terms of sequences of panels, the mangaka uses

“separate images and transform[s] them into a single idea” (63). In other words, the action in manga is created in the combination of panels rather than one panel. An image contains several symbols which are combined as a whole to convey one united idea instead of segments at different periods.

Through the arrangement of panels, the images can represent the sequence of time and thus creates action through sequences. “Each panel—each moment—is contrasted with the one before and after it, so that based on the changes shown in the scene, from one panel to the next, an action unfolds” (Postema 56). By observing the sequential and meaningful graphics, readers can infer characters’ actions. Also, to build the effect of action in a story, in addition to the interplay of images and texts, mangakas apply the skill of arranging layout to make the images act and alive on the page. Chiang 13

1.3 A Brief Conclusion

Generally speaking, the narrative can be summarized in language, but how about summarizing it in pictures? Sol Worth argues that visual media lack the code and grammar to produce specific meanings, while Wendy Steiner proposes that “the image is not a second way of telling the tale, but a way of evoking” and creating symbolic relation with the text in a systematic sequence (139).

In terms of the narrative in comics or in manga, it tends to be the second argument that the images are not simply plain and static pictures on the page; nevertheless, they produce the readers’ own interpretations toward the images in unique ways. Comics or manga share the same features, such as images, texts, sequences of panels and stories. The deliberate sequences of juxtaposed pictorial images thus construct integrating narrative throughout the texts, intending to “convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer” (McCloud 9).

Consequently, from McCloud’s point of view, the sequential images can also be regarded as language, a “purely visual language” with the same structural properties and mental process as the verbalized symbolic language (2). No matter in words or in images, the combinations of verbal and visual elements create a kind of language which is more than two categories of narrative media that help readers “read” into everything.

The celebrated ‘God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka once said, “I don’t consider them pictures…in reality I’m not drawing, I’m writing a story with a unique type of symbol” (Frederik L Schodt 1983, 25). This indicates the potential of images which can be regarded as another system of language conveying meaningful messages. Also,

Fredirik Schodt (the first American who writes about manga) comments that “manga are merely another ‘language,’ and the panels and pages are but another type of Chiang 14

‘ words’” (Schodt 1996, 26) that constructs the sequence of the story and provides readers with different parts of narrative presentation.

Referring to Shakespearean manga, it is a blend of textual words (dialogues between characters or words creating special effects) and visual images (the setting, portrait of characters, or some striking actions) that completes the whole manga. Also, if the mangaka applies the full text, it will ignore the nature of manga which emphasizes its graphical depiction and narration. Via the interplay of visual art with textual poetry, it can avoid being heavily-worded and let the audience pay attention to frames, panels, word balloons, and captions because the main point is to “show” and not to “tell” (Hayley 269), and the focus is that “how meaning is conveyed to the reader in the content of sequential images” (Cohn 194).

However, the style of reading Shakespeare plays from the perspective of graphic narratives leads to a paradoxical argument whether Shakespearean manga is

“Shakespearean” enough or not; that is, is the manga true to the plots and tropes of the original play? Or does the manga transform the contents and motives of the play, and simply apply the characters and setting borrowd from the original text?

Lanier observes that when we re-contextualize Shakespearean narratives in a new place or time, “Shakespeare thereby becomes a collection of narratives highly mobile from context to context, verbal style to style, genre to genre, media platform to platform” (107). In addition, he argues that the authority of the text within the

“graphic performance” is reconfigured. The metaphor or styling option is not the primary source of narrative as that of the original plays. In other words, Shakespeare in graphics has undergone the process of converting Shakespeare’s words into visual form and they represented a curious re-textualization of Shakespeare (111).

On the other hand, Ryan suggests that narrative is “a type of meaning that Chiang 15 transcends particular media” (13), and we might understand this as a kind of consolidating the mobility of Shakespearean narrative across different contexts, and the relationship between the text and the image. As a result, we should focus on the impact on Shakespearean adaptations through the lens of new age by establishing a connection between the literary works and readers’ experiences. Also, we should consider how Shakespeare’s works are reconstructed or reinterpreted through different narrative media with times.

Chiang 16

Chapter Two

Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet (2007) and Romeo and Juliet (2007)

Manga is a visual medium used for popular communication and education, increasingly popular in the West. Representing Shakespeare in the form of manga is more than rearranging the play with graphics but translating words and emotions into pictures which may not be able to be conveyed through actors on the stage or a silver screen.

The rise of Shakespeare in graphics in the West can be traced back to two principal periods: the 1950s and the late 1980s to early 1990s. In the 1950s, the main publication of Shakespearean comics was from Classics Illustrated, beginning its publication in 1941, known for its adaptations of literary classics, such as The

Odyssey, Hamlet, Moby Dick, and Gulliver’s Travels. Later, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the reemergence of adaptations of the plays targeted more on the “young adult males, appropriation of the plays, and man into the ongoing narratives, such as

The Sandman (Wetmore 172).

Moreover, Shakespearean manga or comics provides “a bridge between the world of performance and linear text, a way of bringing Shakespeare to life in a visual way of new audience” (Hayley 269). As Douglas Lanier points out in “Recent

Shakespeare Adaptation and the Mutations of Cultural Capital,” he lists three different

English-language Shakespeare series in manga style that have been published so far: the Manga Shakespeare series (14 titles), Shakespeare: The Manga Edition (4 titles), and Puffin Graphics (1 title) (109). The publication of graphic Shakespeare shows the promotion of some Shakespearean plays to the young generation and popular youth culture. Chiang 17

In this thesis, among other editions, I choose Manga Shakespeare’s edition as my primary texts. Manga Shakespeare is published by SelfMadeHero, a British manga and graphic novel publisher founded in 2007. From 2007 to 2009, SelfMadeHero released fourteen Shakespearean manga adaptations with selected texts (about 200 pages) as Manga Shakespeare series, endeavoring to “breathe new life into classics”

(Hayley 267). It is a series of critically acclaimed books featuring illustrations with the original text of Shakespeare and the editorial team consists of a group of

Shakespeare scholars and educational editors.

Furthermore, the settings and character designs in Manga Shakespeare series range from samurai, cyborgs, ninjas, and Japanese pop fashion. Manga Shakespeare adds visual and emotional interest, and “demonstrate[s] the format’s capacity to handle complex, serious material of Shakespearean plays.” Also, “Manga

Shakespeare becomes a means to ‘universalize’ the form for a broader audience, showing manga’s potential power and value as a global [lingua franca]” (Lanier 112).

In addition to the advantages of Manga Shakespeare’s series mentioned above, another reason why I choose Manga Shakespeare’s edition is because of its drawing style which is influenced by Japan to a certain degree and novelty of reshaping

Shakespeare’s plays with the employment of cyber-modern and Japanese elements.

Also, contrary to the typical format of Japanese manga which is from right to left, the panel layout of Manga Shakespeare series is from left to right as that of Western comics, enabling the readers (most are westerners) to read easily.

The art and form of Manga Shakespeare are clear and engaging with meaningful and stylistic graphics that help readers get closer to Shakespeare’s plays and explore the ideas between lines and pictures. In addition, with the opening color pages of characters and plot summary, readers can follow the story instantly. The following Chiang 18 paragraph is a short introduction to Manga Shakespeare’s edition of Hamlet and

Romeo and Juliet (specifically illustrated by Emma Vieceli and Sonia Leong), and the textual analysis of two manga adaptations will be explored in detail in the following sections.

Unlike the traditional 16th century setting in the original play, resituating the setting in the year 2107, Emma Vieceli’s Hamlet is like a science fiction with cyberspace and futuristic elements4. For instance, characters are equipped with high-tech objects in their bodies to communicate and send messages, and their attires are similar to those in Star Wars. This cyber-world is in a dread of war, and humans have been facing with severe global climate change, so that Prince Hamlet of

Denmark has returned home to face anarchy and an uncertain future.

To further inspect Vieceli’s Hamlet, I will dwell on four important scenes in the original text: the ghost scene, the Mousetrap scene, the graveyard scene, and the duel scene. Following the patterns and structures of manga, we can see how manga edition represents these scenes in graphic narration with its strong comparison of color, background pictures, and bolded words to show character’s emotion and the climax of plots.

In the ghost scene, I probe into the significance of the ghost in the manga and

Hamlet’s belief in the ghost. In the mousetrap scene, I look into how Hamlet in two adaptations employs different approaches to entrap Claudius that lead to different consequences. The graveyard scene is the turning point when Hamlet begins to contemplate on the meaning of death and stops hesitating. At last, the duel scene depicts the final ending of the characters and portrays whether Hamlet walks into the

4 Emma Vieceli is a key member of the UK manga collective Sweatdrop Studios. She is a keen promoter of the UK manga and anime scene and enjoys offering workshops and seminars on creating manga as well as being a freelance illustrator and mangaka. (experts from Manga Shakespeare’s website: http://www.mangashakespeare.com/)

Chiang 19 histor y or not. Aside from the discussions on the four scenes, Hamlet’s mental struggles will also be considered, such as his pretended madness and feeling of uncertainty and loss.

2.1 Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet (2007)

An Analysis of Four Vital Scenes: The Ghost Scene, the Mousetrap Scene, the

Graveyard Scene, and the Duel Scene

2.1.1 The Ghost Scene

In Shakespeare’s play, the ghost scene happens in the very beginning and follows up in the subsequent scenes. The continuous appearances of the ghost imply its importance to the whole play and its influence on Hamlet. Of course the authenticity of the ghost is in doubt, so he keeps appearing in the play and reminds Hamlet that he should not forget his father’s death.

Similarly, in Vieceli’s Hamlet, the opening scene starts with the soldiers holding the lights to take turns for the observant watch, pointing out the technological background of the story. Such introduction provides two effects toward the supernatural appearance of the ghost. One is the unacceptable statement of the illusion which is not correctly proved by science and technology. The other is the belief and awe in the power of supernatural phenomenon which science and technology cannot explain. These two effects toward the illusion can be perceived in Horatio’s encounter with the ghost.

At first, Horatio does not believe in the ghost and considers it only soldiers’ fantasy. However, when Horatio sees the ghost appearing in a big cloak and military armor with his beaver up, he is totally stunned, especially when he sees the appearance of the ghost looks like the late King Hamlet. The ghost has a stern face Chiang 20 with long hair and beard blowing violently in the sky. The picture of the ghost is set in the middle across two pages, while Horatio and other soldiers only appear within small panels, highlighting the importance and overwhelming power of the supernatural illusion.

In the original text, when Horatio speaks to the ghost for the first time, he questions if the ghost is old King Hamlet:

What art thou that usurp’st this time of night,

Together with that fair and warlike form

In which the majesty of buried Denmark

Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee speak. (1.1.44-47)

Nevertheless, in Emma Vieceli’s manga version, instead of questioning the ghost from its resemblance and authenticity, the way Horatio questions the ghost seems to believe that the ghost is the late King who has something to convey: “If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, / Speak to me. / If thou art privy to thy country’s fate […]”

(1.1.109-14; Vieceli 6). Even if Horatio tries hard to ask the ghost to speak to him, the ghost disappears like a mist dissipating into the air.

Before Hamlet sees the ghost of his late father, there are several pages to delineate his sadness toward his father’s death under strict surveillance of monitors in the palace. For instance, after Hamlet finishes the conversation between Claudius and

Gertrude, he walks along the hallway accompanied with a monitor moving around him. Simultaneously, the images of Hamlet are instantly projected on the screens as

Hamlet is monitored. When Hamlet sees his images on the screens, he can no longer curb his rage. He shouts uncontrollably with fists and knees down: “Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.146).

Basically, what Hamlet assumes in the above quote can be related to his mother, Chiang 21

Gertrude ’s overhasty marriage to his uncle after his father’s death. Here, I suggest that the word “frality” both refers to Gertrude and Hamlet himself. On the one hand,

Hamlet blames his mother’s overhasty marriage and betrayal to his father. On the other hand, he resents his lack of power to challenge his uncle, like a weak woman who has no authority to strike back. Interestingly, Hamlet is portrayed as a bishōnen5

(a beautiful boy) with feminine appearance and emotions, and this depiction makes

Hamlet look less masculine but more feminine in the manga, like a woman rather than a man.

Later on, when Horatio tells Hamlet that he sees the ghost of his late father, at first, Hamlet considers it a joke, and becomes furious at Horatio because he thinks that Horatio is teasing him for his sorrow and love for his dead father. After Horatio’s explanation, Hamlet believes him and wants to see the ghost himself. When Hamlet begins his monologue after Horatio leaves, the drawing of Hamlet’s half face with one determined eye is filled within one page without frames, and the lines are posited randomly in proper order. He says: “My father’s spirit? / All is not well [. . .] / Foul deeds will rise [. . .] / Though all the earth o’erwhelm them to men’s eyes”

(1.2.254-57; Vieceli 25).

Peculiarly, the shape of the words “foul deeds” are in bold and larger than other words, indicating something evil is about to come. If we go back to the original text in

Act 1 Scene 2, we can notice that even if some lines are omitted in the manga, the picture still echoes to those missing lines. The original lines are as below:

5 Catering to young Japanese women’s interest in male homosexuality, representations of gay men are quite common in Japanese manga, anime, and other media products. The trend of male-male love, particularly the love between beautiful boys, began in the early 1970s. Generally speaking, these gay men are usually portrayed as bishōnen (beautiful boys) with feminine appearance and emotions and form a romantic relationship with another handsome man (boy-love, the so-called shōnen-ai). Also, these beautiful boys share something in common: “they are always beautiful, slender, depicted with the big eyes and flowing hair that often characterizes female figures” of ambiguous gender (McLelland 82). Most beautiful boys are portrayed with “caring and enduring” characteristics that usually create struggling atmosphere or climax in the manga, enabling the readers (most are female readers) to identify with them. Chiang 22

HAMLET. My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well.

I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come.

Till then, sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,

Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes. (1.2.254-57)

In manga, Hamlet’s determined eyes reveal his calmness and resolution to disclose the so-called foul deeds, and he believes that he will see the truth through his eyes, too.

At almost the same time in the midnight, the ghost suddenly appears in front of them, beckoning Hamlet. Even though Hamlet is starkly astonished, he jumps down from the tower and follows the ghost into the gloomy woods without hesitation.

In preference to start from his recent suffering, the ghost directly reveals its identity to Hamlet and narrates how he was murdered by Claudius6: “I am thy father’s spirit. If thou didst ever thy dear father love. . . Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. Now, Hamlet, hear. It’s given out that, sleeping in mine orchard, a serpent stung me. . . But know. . . The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown. . . Won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen”

(Vieceli 37).

When the ghost delivers his speech, the picture of a wicked serpent moves closely to the old King’s ear with its tongue widely opening. Besides, at the bottom of the same page, there are two panels. One is Hamlet’s shocked face with curved word balloon written with “mine uncle?” in bold shape (1.5.41). The curved word balloon not only shows Hamlet’s surprising astonishment but also prompts the readers to imagine how Hamlet articulates the words “mine uncle” from his trembling voice.

The other is an unknown black paper-cut silhouette of the murderer who smiles widely.

6 The ghost’s statements are abridged and summarized from the Ghost’s lines in Act 1 Scene 4, lines 9-28 and lines 34-46. Chiang 23

Then, turning to the next page, the panel shifts from the late king’s back to his front, and thus enabling the readers to investigate more clearly how the old King is murdered. The old King sleeps peacefully in the orchard when the black paper-cut silhouette of the murderer drops the poisoned fluid from a syringe. Beneath this picture shows the pale face of the ghost who seems to talk painfully with Hamlet.

Finally, delineated in two small panels, as the ghost’s figure becomes obscure, like smoke circumpassing Hamlet, he reaches out one of his hands to touch Hamlet’s cheek and says goodbye to him, revealing the intimate relationship between father and son. At the same page next to the two small panels, with the thundering background to accentuate his fury and his determination to seek revenge, Hamlet holds his fists tightly with tears rolling down from his face. He roars: “So, uncle, there you are [. . .]

/ I have sworn it!” (1.5.111-13; Vieceli 39).

From these two pages, we can observe that even if Hamlet firmly believes in the ghost’s story, the illustrator does not directly draw the picture of Claudius’s face, while the ghost says the murderer is Claudius. Instead, what the readers can see is only a black paper-cut silhouette of the murderer. In other words, the identity of the murderer is still in doubt. Rather than leading the readers to consider Claudius as the murderer like Hamlet does, the illustrator gives the readers more chances to question the authenticity of the ghost and guess who the real murderer is.

The last time the ghost shows up in Queen Gertrude’s bedchamber. After Hamlet slays Polonius, he looks indifferently at the dead and kneels down in front of Gertrude.

He projects the images of the old King and Claudius, trying to invoke Gertrude’s conscience and faithfulness for his father. As Hamlet becomes more and more agitated, the ghost suddenly appears and inquires Hamlet to speak to Gertrude and comfort her.

Even though the ghost is only presented in two small panels, we can notice that it is Chiang 24 the first time that the ghost does not wear his armors and his eyes are gentler and softer. From the ghost’s lines, we learn that it loves Gertrude dearly, for it does not want her to be blamed or hurt.

In Act 1 Scene 1, the old King wears complete armors and roars powerfully with the background of several black lines to strengthen his actions and to foreground his confidence in winning the battle. Moreover, the old King grabs the head of the old

Fortinbras to portray his invincibility in the combat. However, when we compare this image of the old King with the one in Gertrude’s bedchamber, it explicates that the ghost is brutal and cruel in the battlefield; yet, he is gentle and intimate to Gertrude.

2.1.2 The Mousetrap Scene

The mousetrap scene is a crucial one after Hamlet meets the ghost. He starts to ponder what he has seen and heard. Therefore, he sets up a test to detect the reaction of Claudius and to catch his conscience. In Emma Vieceli’s Hamlet, unlike regular players, the player murderer wears a mask with a weird smile that makes it difficult for the readers to speculate his real thoughts. The mask provides the link to Japanese traditional Noh drama7 and also association with kawaii (cute) faces in Japanese manga as “masks” portrayed in graphics. Masks are for disguise, for perfection, for acceptance according to the social norms, so characters’ kawaii faces resemble perfection and reveal their fear to show their real selves. Moreover, these masks also imply characters’ uncertainty, lies, and disguise, such as Hamlet’s uncertainty toward life and disguise of his madness, Claudius’s murder of old Hamlet, Gertrude’s

7 Noh, also called Nōgaku (能樂) in Japanese, has been a classical Japanese theatrical form since the 14th century. It contains multifarious elements in the show, including the performance of masks, music, costumes, dance drama, and so on. The performers would wear traditional Japanese costumes and masks to conceal their facial expressions and emotions when dancing on the stage. During the performance, the actors primarily use their visual appearances and body movements to suggest their emotions and the essence of the story. Chiang 25 seemin g reluctance to marry Claudius, Ophelia’s sorrow after her loss of Hamlet’s love. These unspeakable narrations and emotions are all hidden under the masks of kawaii faces in manga.

After one of the players gives a speech, Hamlet is amused and asks him if the players can play The Murder of Gonzago. Then, the players retire to prepare for the show and Hamlet is left alone, pondering about his plan of mousetrap to reveal his uncle’s guilt. As Hamlet confidently narrates that8 “[f]or murderer, though it ha[s] no tongue to speak, will speak. I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before my uncle. I’ll observe his looks. . . wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King,” the flashback of the poisoned fluid appears again, reminding the readers of how the old King is murdered (Vieceli 73).

What is more, two white masks show up in the middle of the page with the black background beneath them. By means of comparison between white masks and black background, it implies that the hypocritical mask that Claudius wears will be unmasked, and those filthy and secret crimes done under the table will be disclosed as well. Before the play begins, Hamlet informs Horatio to observe his uncle tightly during the performance. This is important for Hamlet to prove the authenticity of the ghost’s story, and then rationalizes Hamlet’s action of revenge.

The play begins with the player King bidding farewell to the player Queen in the form of two black paper-cut silhouettes on the top page. Then, the panel gets closer to focus on the player Queen’s depressed face with tears at the bottom of the page, narrating “[n]one wed the second but who killed the first” (3.2.162). Meanwhile, the portrait of the player Queen’s sorrowful image juxtaposes two small panels which depict the images of shocked Gertrude and calm Hamlet. Both of them share the same

8 The original lines are spoken by Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2, lines 570-82. Chiang 26 word balloon with the symbol of ellipsis, enabling the readers to infer the characters’ thoughts according to their different facial expressions after hearing the player

Queen’s lines. When Hamlet inquires Gertrude’s opinion about the show, Gertrude simply answers “[t]he lady doth protests too much, methinks” (3.2.210; Vieceli 97).

Different from the original text, Hamlet does not reply “O’ but she’ll keep her word”

(3.2.211). Instead, he says nothing, suggesting his resentment against his mother, who does not keep her word but marries Claudius. At the same time, Claudius does not have any obvious change of emotion on his face but his clenching fist shows his agitation and uneasiness.

As the play goes on to the climax of the poison scene, the page is divided into three parts: the close-up of the poisoned syringe at the top, the scene of how the player King is poisoned by the murderer in the middle, and the frame describing the aspects of Gertrude, Ophelia, Hamlet, Horatio, and Claudius at the bottom. This frame is designed in five panels which separately describe five people’s facial expressions from different angles. Here, the technique of sharing the same word balloon in ellipsis is applied again, and encourages the readers to have their perspectives to investigate what kind of thoughts are in these characters’ minds.

Afterwards, Claudius stands up and shouts: “Give me some light. Away” (3.2.

247) while Hamlet and Horatio calmly sit aside, observing Claudius’s unusual reaction toward the play. On the same page, the depiction of Hamlet’s face with only one eye, which has the image of fire, showing his rage under the mask of calmness.

During the play-within-the-play, only the player who plays the role of the murderer wears a mask, which indicates this role’s ambiguity and uncertainty. Furthermore, because the player does not show his real image, the true murderer under the stage will easily project himself on the murder scene, and recall how he murders the late Chiang 27 k ing with the poisoned syringe. In this way, Hamlet can make the murderer self-evident and catches the conscience of the murderer.

After the play, Hamlet has a conversation with Horatio through the communicative screen to confirm Claudius’s abnormal reaction. From Hamlet’s relaxed position on the bed, it shows that he has successfully proved that the murderer is Claudius, and this verification enables Hamlet to keep carrying out the ghost’s request; that is, to revenge for his father. In Claudius’s confession scene, he goes into a chapel where the statue of Mary stands still in the middle. He kneels down and murmurs his confession. We see Claudius kneels in the upper-right of the frame, and the aspect moves away from Claudius and focuses on Hamlet, who holds a sword behind Claudius, preparing to kill him.

Nevertheless, Hamlet hesitates and withdraws his sword, for he knows that he will send his enemy to heaven. Strangely, when Hamlet takes out the sword and prepares to kill Claudius, the shadow of Hamlet which is reflected on the wall is

Hamlet’s shape; however, when he decides not to kill Claudius, the shadow seems to become the shape of Satan, who wears a black cloak and holds a knife in his hand.

The mysterious shadow indicates that Hamlet’s hesitation and decision on not killing

Claudius will bring forth the death of himself and foreshadows the following tragedy.

2.1.3 The Graveyard Scene

The graveyard scene is crucial in Shakespeare’s Hamlet because in this scene

Hamlet starts to contemplate on death and makes some decisions. In the manga version, we can see the illustrator still keeps the presence of diggers but use different ways to adapt Shakespeare’s text. Both the original play and manga adaptation point out the unavoidable death and transience of life. In addition to the issue of death, in Chiang 28 the manga adaptation, the illustrator adds more emotional depictions to portray

Hamlet’s sorrow for Ophelia’s death, highlighting his true love for Ophelia and also

Ophelia’s role as an innocent victim in Hamlet’s plan for revenge.

In the beginning of the graveyard scene, the digger throws up the skull and happily sings: “In youth when I did love, / did love. / Methought it was very sweet

[. . .] / But age, with his stealing steps, / Hath caught me in his clutch” (5.1.57-67;

Vieceli 158). From what the digger sings, the lines explicate sweet but fickle love passing with times, and also point out the love between Hamlet and Ophelia is gone with Ophelia’s death.

Then, the gravedigger takes out a skull from the ground and tells Hamlet that this skull belongs to a King’s jester, Yorick. The skull reminds Hamlet of his childhood memory with Yorick. Although he is no longer alive, he becomes a part of memory for

Hamlet. Seeing this, Hamlet starts to meditate on that even a person as great as

Alexander will die and turn into dust. No matter they are poor or noble when they are alive, all people will become skulls and look no different from one another.

Basically speaking, for a thirty-year-old young man like Hamlet, it is dreadful to face death because death seems to be still far away from him. However, after talking with the gravedigger, death becomes much more acceptable as long as he dies meaningfully and becomes a part of someone’s memory or even a part of the history.

After a while, Hamlet sees Claudius, Gertrude, and courtiers coming to one grave.

The coffin is laid into the pit and Hamlet notices Laertes is in the funeral procession, too.

Having overheard the conversation between Laertes and the priest, Hamlet realizes the corpse lying in the coffin is Ophelia, and he is astonished and gnashes his teeth in sorrow. Before the coffin is going to be closed, Laertes cannot hold his Chiang 29

9 emotions but jumps into the grave . At that moment, Hamlet jumps out from where he hides. Laertes becomes furious upon seeing Hamlet. He pushes Hamlet down and they wrestle. Out of sorrow and rage, Hamlet confesses his love for Ophelia and hopes to do anything for her. It is the first time for Hamlet to admit that he loves Ophelia:

“Forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love, / make up my sum” (5.1.254-56).

2.1.4 The Duel Scene

As the last scene in Hamlet, the duel scene not only provides the climax of the play but marks a tragic epilogue composed of revenge, killing, and sacrifice in the end.

Everything that has been hidden under the masks of kawaii faces are now totally revealed in the fencing match. Furthermore, the significance of Hamlet’s death leaves to the readers to ponder whether he dies meaningfully or not.

In the beginning of the duel scene, Hamlet hits Laertes several times and wins the first round. To celebrate for Hamlet, Claudius puts a pearl in the cup. However,

Hamlet rejects him. When Laertes sees the cup, he becomes astonished, indicating that he has already known that wine is poisoned. In addition, the depiction of Claudius gnashing his teeth in anger also proves that the wine is poisoned. Later on, seeing

Hamlet’s excellent performance, Gertrude is so glad that she shares her happiness with Claudius while he only replies, “Our son will win” (5.2.229) with a stiff face which is drawn in half black, showing his fury and anxiety.

After a while, Hamlet hits Laertes again, and Gertrude wants to drink wine for

Hamlet’s victory. As she prepares to drink, Claudius abruptly shouts out: “Gertrude, do not drink!” (5.2.233). Claudius’s behavior indicates that he does not merely regard

9 In Q1, there is a stage direction indicating that Hamlet leaps into the coffin after Laertes. However, in Q2, there is no such a stage direction. Here, in the manga version, the readers can observe that both Laertes and Hamlet wrestle in the coffin beside Ophelia’s dead body. Chiang 30

Gertrude as a tool to help him enthroned. He really loves her. Yet, Gertrude does not listen to her husband. Her rejection to Claudius’ dissuasion reveals their marital disharmony. After Gertrude is accidentally poisoned to death, and Laertes is wounded by his own poisoned sword, Claudius’s filthy murder and scheme can no longer be concealed and he becomes the main target for everyone to blame.

Unlike the plot in the original text that Claudius is killed by Hamlet himself, in the manga version, Horatio joins the battle and assists Hamlet. To kill Claudius,

Horatio subdues Claudius from his back and lets Hamlet force Claudius to drink the poisoned wine. In this scene, we can see Horatio shows his courage and loyalty to

Hamlet. Also, before Horatio wants to commit suicide and follows Hamlet to die,

Hamlet dissuades him and asks him to live on and tell his story: “And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain. / To tell my story” (5.2.290-91). The reason is because that Hamlet wants to die meaningfully like a hero and be remembered and recorded in the history.

At last, Hamlet utters, “The rest is silence,” and he dies (5.2.300). Not before long, a warlike noise comes from the outside, and Fortinbras comes in. When

Fortinbras appears on the panel, he is posited in the middle part of the frame surrounded by four close-ups of the dead bodies (Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, and

Hamlet). The effect of this arrangement highlights Fortinbras’s surprise upon seeing the bloody corpses. In this way, the readers can also experience the horrifying tragedy again instead of quickly reading through the process of killing.

In the end of the scene, Horatio narrates to Fortinbras what has happened in

Denmark, and Fortinbras buries Hamlet like a soldier accompanied by “the soldier’s music and the rites of war / speak loudly for him” (5.2.344-45). The soldier-like burial suggests that Hamlet is considered an ideal soldier, not an ideal king. Besides, Horatio Chiang 31 does tell the story of Hamlet, but is Hamlet’s story going to be passed down as Hamlet wishes? I consider that the answer is in doubt.

2.2 Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (2007)

Regarding Romeo and Juliet, Sonia Leong10 modernizes Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by setting it in the present day Tokyo. The manga adaptation depicts the story of the star-crossed teenage lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who struggle in the feud between two Yakuza families (members of organized crime syndicates). In this adaptation, readers can see how Shakespeare’s theatricality blends with Japanese culture and traditions, such as kimono (Japanese traditional garment), Shinto

(Japanese religion which focuses on acting out rituals religiously), Bushidō (the way of the warrior’s life), and Yakuza. These elements create a new taste to appreciate

Shakespeare’s play with exotic Japanese and Shakespearean elements at the same time.

Consequently, to investigate how Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is represented in Leong’s manga edition, I want to base my reading mainly on the major themes of love, death, and protagonists’ transformation of self-autonomy through the application of graphics and texts. For example, in Leong’s Romeo and Juliet, instead of showing

Romeo and Juliet’s innocent and juvenile love, she portrays more on their pursuit of self-autonomy, freedom, and transformations through banishment, conflicts with parents, and even their protest through suicide. In addition to these plots, the drawing style of the characters’ appearances (especially the eyes) and usage of words in balloons or panels are worthy of exploring, especially the transformations of eye

10Sonia Leong is a professional illustrator specializing in the anime/manga style and comic artwork. She is a core member of Sweatdrop Studios, the leading UK comic collaborative. Her artwork has featured in several manga-related publications, events, websites and magazines internationally. (experts from Manga Shakespeare’s website: http://www.mangashakespeare.com/) Chiang 32 depict ions which strongly represent characters’ inner feelings instead of verbal words.

Discussions on Major Themes: Love, Death, and Self-Autonomy

2.2.1 Ill-fated Love under Traditional Patriarchal System

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, both Romeo and Juliet act rashly in the voyage of love which is young, irrational, and passionate. From their first encounter at the ball to their final suicide in the tomb, it only takes five days, revealing how fast their love grows and how fatal their love is. Nevertheless, in Leong’s adaptation, despite the fact that actions and hastiness of time can be portrayed through captions or sequence of images, the idea of time passing is not strongly emphasized. Rather, she underscores how Romeo and Juliet stand up for their love and their mental transformation under the patriarchal power of two households.

The voyage of Romeo and Juliet’s love can be briefly divided into four phases: the ball scene, the balcony scene, the bedchamber scene, and the tomb scene. Each phase proclaims different significance of their love and individual inner transformation in the story. In the ball scene and the balcony scene, the seed of love grows in the young lovers’ hearts and leads to the succeeding tragedy. Shifting from happiness to sadness, the bedchamber scene omens the forthcoming death of the lovers who take their life in the final tomb scene. In addition, in these four scenes, we can notice how characters express their emotions through eyes instead of verbal words and how graphics portray the hidden meaning between the lines without many texts.

At their first meeting in the ball scene, Romeo and Juliet fall in love at the first sight, and this hasty love results in a series of fatal death. On the way to the ball,

Mercutio tells Romeo about his dream of Queen Mab11, who is “the fairies’ midwife”

11 In the manga version, instead of quoting the whole speech of Mercutio’s lines on Queen Mab, Leong Chiang 33

(1.4. 55). “[S]he gallops night by night / [T]hrough lover’s brains, and then they dream of love” (1.4.71-72; Leong 29). The drawing of Queen Mab is a traditional Japanese beauty with long black hair and enchanting eyes, appealing to young lovers to indulge in the desire and fantasy of love. Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech can be interpreted in two noteworthy aspects. One is to predict the upcoming romance between Romeo and

Juliet, and the other is to portray love as fantasy which is “as thin of substance as the air” (1.4.99). According to the Queen Mab imagery, it proposes that all desires and fantasies are fragile, transient, and unrealistic as dreams, similar to the love between

Romeo and Juliet.

Unlike the masque ball in the original text, Romeo does not wear a mask but a pair of transparent black sunglasses that enable Romeo to show his passionate emotion in his eyes through lens. When Romeo actively approaches Juliet, he initiates a conversation with Juliet to court her. Also, when Juliet reaches her hand to Romeo for a kiss, the image of several little Cupids is filled with the background of the panel to display the love bond between the lovers. The conversation between Romeo and

Juliet fleetingly ends in ten panels within two pages. The hastiness of their love reveals that everything seems to be predestined, and they are bound to fall in love with each other.

Then, the scene changes to the balcony scene, and we see Romeo hiding himself in the brushwood and eavesdropping what Juliet says from her balcony. Here, the first panel is designed as a long and narrow strip at the left side to create a visual distance between Romeo and Juliet, while the right side is separated into two panels to illustrate the close-ups of Romeo’s and Juliet’s facial expressions. On the next page, as Juliet delivers her well-known “wherefore art thou Romeo” speech (2.1.75), the

only focuses on the romance and fancy of Queen Mab. The readers can observe from Mercutio’s lines and Queen Mab’s graphics on page 29. Chiang 34 image of Juliet’s upper body is depicted at the upper panel and her eyes look into a distant place, illustrating her endless sorrow and worries. The next two panels are the close-ups of Juliet’s sorrowful eyes and Romeo’s distressing facial expression with a thought balloon writing “[s]hall I hear more” next to his face (2.1.75-79). These graphics elucidate that both Romeo and Juliet understand that their love is forbidden but they still cannot resist the temptation of love.

In the subsequent pages of the balcony scene, notwithstanding the abbreviated lines are the same as the original text, through the layout of panels uniquely intersecting on pages, it delineates the physical distance and the mental closeness of

Romeo and Juliet. For instance, during their conversation, the speech balloons of

Romeo’s and Juliet’s are set in the individual panels that separate them and create a sense of isolation. However, by means of cartoon version and close-ups of eyes, the images depict the naïve love between the lovers, and their intimate eye contact shows spontaneous overflow. Besides, some lines are replaced by the protagonist’s silence to represent the characters’ inner worlds, thought, feelings. These silent depictions mostly appear through the presentation of the characters’ eyes. The eyes are the mirror of the soul that directly reflects the lovers’ simple and primal love and their mental closeness with each other.

After two sweet and romantic scenes mentioned above, the bedchamber scene changes into a doleful and melancholy atmosphere. In this scene, Romeo and Juliet spend their last night together before Romeo goes to Mantua. When Romeo says his final goodbye to Juliet, he stands beneath the balcony just like that night at the balcony scene; however, the background of this panel is in gray and filled with irregular curved lines, suggesting Romeo’s impending doom and the lover’s uncertain future. At the same time, Juliet’s painful speech also points out the threatening death Chiang 35 of Romeo:

O God, I have an ill-diving soul!

Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low,

As one dead in the bottom of a tomb.

Either my eyesight fails, or thou look’st pale. (3.5.54-57)

From Juliet’s speech, the words “so low” and “as one dead in the bottom of a tomb” mention not only the positions of the lovers but also the upcoming death of Romeo.

Moreover, after Romeo leaves, Lady Capulet breaks into Juliet’s chamber and narrates her fantasy of poisoning Romeo in Mantua. In this panel, the close-up of

Lady Capulet’s resentful face covers more than half of the page, and the whole background is totally in black. The depiction of this panel elucidates Lady Capulet’s deep hatred toward Romeo and predicts Romeo’s approaching death. These elements of death contribute to the dramatic atmosphere that intensifies the image of death and allow readers to imagine the lovers’ doomed love based on their actions. Finally, in the tomb scene, Romeo and Juliet take their lives and realize their doomed love as the opening prologue suggests.

Compared with the original text, the Montague and the Capulet families are defined as Yakuza in manga, and the group of Yakuza focuses on the law of respect and hierarchy of class. This setting foreshadows brutal and bloody violence and strengthens the power of male dominated society and the idea of patriarchy. The demonstration of male power can be apparently observed from Lord Capulet’s control of Juliet and his treatment to Lady Capulet. The following are three examples to inspect Lord Capulet’s dominating power over Juliet and Lady Capulet.

In the original text, when Lord Capulet and Paris discuss about the marriage between Juliet and Paris, Lord Capulet replies to Paris: “I think she’ll be ruled / In all Chiang 36 respects by me. / Nay, more, I doubt it not” (3.4.13-14). Nonetheless, in the manga adaptation, Lord Capulet answers “I think she’ll be ruled by me. I doubt it not”

(Leong 104). The omitted words “in all respects” demonstrate Lord Capulet’s compelling power and his confidence in controlling over Juliet.

After the serious quarrel with Lord Capulet, Juliet decides to pretend to be dead and elope with Romeo. She even rides a heavy motorcycle to see the Friar for advice, showing her toughness and determination to challenge conventional gender role.

Before taking the vial, Juliet apologizes to Lord Capulet for her disobedience. She says “Where I have learnt me to repent the sin / Of disobedient opposition [. . .]

Pardon, I beseech you. / Henceforward I am ever ruled by you” (4.2.17-22; Leong

140). This statement marks that Juliet belongs to one of her father’s possession and she should be ruled by her father. However, when Juliet kneels down and apologizes to her father, Juliet’s weird facial expression with fake smile conveys that she does the apology on purpose to deceive her father that she will obey whatever he requests.

Additionally, the role of Lady Capulet in manga also pinpoints the overall authority of Lord Capulet. First, it is interesting that Lady Capulet is called “Capulet’s

Wife” in the original text. It implies her subordinate status and husband-and wife relationship with Lord Capulet. Conversely, in the manga adaptation, Lady Capulet is called “Lady Capulet, mother of Juliet” which emphasizes the mother-daughter relationship with Juliet, underlining that both mother of Juliet and Juliet are part of

Lord Capulet’s properties and are ruled by Lord Capulet as well.

Second, in Act 3 Scene 5, when Juliet and Lord Capulet fiercely quarrel about her marriage with Paris, “Capulet’s Wife” reminds her husband that “[y]ou are too hot” in the original text (3.5.175). However, when “mother of Juliet” tells Lord

Capulet that “[y]ou are too hot” in the manga adaptation, she is slapped harshly with Chiang 37 blood by Lord Capulet and falls down. When she falls down, the depiction of Lady

Capulet is set at the upper panel covering almost half of the page with gray curved lines to illustrate her chaotic and startled emotion. She is astonished with shocked eyes depicted in white color, her lips are bleeding, and one of her hands touches her injured cheek.

Below the panel of Lady Capulet lies the graphic of furious Lord Capulet standing straightly and blames Juliet for her disobedient behavior. The background of

Lord Capulet’s panel is the gradient color of black and white. The two panels of Lord

Capulet and Lady Capulet display different emotions through the design of background and point to the power hierarchy between them.

Furthermore, in Act 3 Scene 5 of the manga adaptation, not only Lady Capulet but also Juliet suffers domestic violence by Lord Capulet, who grabs Juliet tightly by her arm and slaps her. Instead of narrating the quarrel in texts, the action of fight is violently acted out through visual images, emphasizing the violent male physical power over the female’s body. Also, after the quarrel, when Juliet wants to support

Lady Capulet from her falling, Lady Capulet coldly rejects her and replies12: “Talk not to me. For I have done with thee” (Leong 126). Lady Capulet’s indifferent action expresses her alienated relationship with Juliet and obedience to Lord Capulet. From these examples, we can understand that female characters go through both physical and mental repression under the male’s control and readers can understand how arduous Juliet’s pursuit for love can be in the story.

2.2.2 The Function of Death: Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet

Each death signals a turning point and thus weaves the whole story into the

12 The original lines spoken by Capulet’s wife are “Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word. / Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee” in Act 3 Scene 5, lines 202-03. Chiang 38 fabric of Romeo and Juliet’s final tragedy. In Romeo and Juliet, death is everywhere.

From the first page of manga, the original 14 lines in prologue are abbreviated into four sentences:

Two households

From ancient grudge to break to new mutiny

From these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. . . . (Leong 1)

The precise four lines portend the impending death of the lovers and encourage readers to carefully witness how the lovers suffer and struggle in their love. Also, we can clearly observe how Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, and Juliet die in individual ways. The rapid death not only speeds up the pace of story but also foreshadows that the love between Romeo and Juliet is transient and not blessed.

The first killing scene occurs in the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt. Besides,

Mercutio’s and Tybalt’s death represent dramatic turning points and change the tone of story from optimistic to sorrowful. Before Mercutio and Tybalt are slain, it is interesting to note that the mangaka applies lots of cartoon versions to illustrate characters. The usage of cartoon version releases the harsh tension of brawls in the street and provides an easy tone for readers to enjoy the story. However, after

Mercutio and Tybalt are killed, the use of cartoon version disappears and the style of drawing turns into mournful atmosphere with more black gutters and dim backgrounds instead.

On the one hand, before Mercutio dies, he says “A plague on both your houses” in bold letters (3.1.95; Leong 80) and this curse portrays Mercutio’s anger about the feud because he is an innocent person but dies of the quarrel between two households.

On the other hand, the depiction of Tybalt’s death is different from the original text. In Chiang 39

Shakespeare ’s play, the stage direction suggests that Tybalt falls and dies. However, in

Leong’s adaptation, it is Romeo that falls and accidentally stabs Tybalt to death. This unintended action makes readers feel more heartbreaking for Romeo’s careless mistake instead of regarding this killing as a revenge for Mercutio.

Second, in the tomb scene, the death of Paris functions as the last straw that smashes Romeo’s hope for seeking whether Juliet is alive and also strengthens Paris’s role as an innocent victim in this tragedy. After the fight between Paris and Romeo in the mourning hall of Juliet, Paris is slain. Paris’s last words confirm Juliet’s death and break the last hope of Romeo, who then indulges in his serious grief without closely observing Juliet’s fake death. Compared with the original text, Romeo does not follow what Paris pleads to lay his body with Juliet in the tomb. Instead, Paris’s body coldly lies where he is slain with half of his body soaring up into the air, far from Juliet’s tomb. Moreover, after Paris is killed, the depiction of his corpse is set in small panels at the bottom of the page. This arrangement shows no value and significance of

Paris’s death but the death of an innocent victim.

Lastly, the death of Romeo and Juliet is the climax of the whole story. As the story goes further, Romeo and Juliet become closer to death. Although Romeo and

Juliet die in the end of the story, they are together in death. Furthermore, their death brings a new life and conciliation to the two households.

Before Romeo and Juliet die in the final scene, in addition to the impending death foreshadowed in the prologue, the implications of death have appeared randomly in the form of bloodstains as backgrounds in manga. For example, in the opening of the ball scene, when Romeo arrives at the ball, the captions13 in this panel are: “Some consequence shall bitterly begin with this night’s revels. Some vile forfeit

13 These captions are adapted from Romeo’s lines in Act 1 Scene 4, lines 107-09. Chiang 40 of untimely death!” (Leong 30).With the background of bloodstains scattered, captions are individually put beside the figure of Romeo, indicating the upcoming death of Romeo after he joins the ball. Also, when Romeo leaves Juliet’s bedchamber and says his final goodbye to her, the sky is full of bloodstains, too. Another example is that when Juliet is found dead by the Nurse in her room, the background of bloodstains appears again. Nevertheless, the potion which Juliet takes will only make her seemingly dead without severe bleeding; therefore, the bloodstain shows the image of death and also foretells Juliet’s suicide with a dagger afterwards.

In the final scene, it shows that even if both Romeo and Juliet die in the end of story, their love still flourishes in the heart of both households. After Romeo and Juliet are found dead, Prince Escalus and two households come to the spot and make peace with each other. In the last two pages, close-ups of Lord Capulet and Lord Montague are portrayed in individual square frames at the upper left page, showing their isolation and alienated space. Then, the depiction of their shaking hands is drawn at the bottom of the page without any frame surrounding them. At the next page, paralleling to the depiction of conciliation is the picture of Romeo and Juliet who close their eyes peacefully with the background of several feathers which indicates the atmosphere of easiness and tenderness.

2.2.3 Romeo’s and Juliet’s Transformation of Agency

In Romeo and Juliet, from their pursuit of love and distinct drawing style of characters, we can clearly notice Romeo and Juliet’s transformations of self-autonomy during the voyage of love. Besides, the way how Romeo and Juliet take their life also shows contrast which lets readers compare the personalities of the two characters.

In the beginning of the story, Romeo is portrayed as a melancholic young boy Chiang 41 who suffers from the sorrow of unrequited love. When readers first see Romeo in manga, Romeo is crying beneath a tree and the sunlight gently shines over his body, creating the image of Romeo as a sensitive and melancholic bishōnen. Later on, when he meets Juliet at the ball, he falls in love with her at the first sight and positively courts her, like an innocent teenager bathed in love without any worries.

However, after Mercutio’s death and his accidentally killing of Tybalt, Romeo is forced to face punishment and challenges in front of him. When Romeo hides in Friar

Laurence’s chapel, he is afraid of dealing with troubles and wants to escape from what he has done. Nevertheless, the Nurse’s blame awakens Romeo because he has to

“stand up” and “be a man” (3.3.88) for the sake of Juliet. Therefore, although Romeo is physically banished from body banishment, his mind becomes stronger. Romeo is transformed from a juvenile teenager to a more mature young man – a stark contrast to the childish, emotional teenager in the beginning of the story. To put it in a nutshell, it implies that the motivation for Romeo to actively seek self-autonomy depends on

Juliet, who is “the sun” to him (2.1.45). When he is with Juliet, the facial expressions of Romeo are full of glamor, and emotions in his eyes are changeable in different circumstances. In other words, the existence of Juliet encourages Romeo to be “alive” and have motives to fight for love against obstacles and oppressions from his family.

With respect to Juliet, Juliet is defined as a Shibuya (涉谷) girl in manga. The common characteristics of Shibuya girl are fashionable and good at showing individual femininity. Take Juliet’s attire for example. Even if she wears the traditional Japanese kimono, we can notice that the kimono Juliet wears is not a traditional one, but more fashionable with stylistic design, indicating her distinct personality and eagerness to reverse traditional restraints upon her.

In the manga adaptation, the role of Juliet’s pet, a black bird, symbolizes the Chiang 42 restricted situation of Juliet. The black bird is caught in the cage and deprived of freedom. As long as the bird tries to escape from the cage, it will be caught and put into the cage again. Also, the skill of the bird is to imitate and repeat sentences spoken by people. These characteristics of the bird correspond to Juliet, who is restrained in the house of Capulet and obeys what her parents tell her to do, lacking of freedom and self-autonomy.

Nevertheless, Juliet’s situation changes after she meets Romeo. She starts to consider for the sake of herself and happiness that she earns for. She even offends her father for the first time for not marrying Paris. When she argues with her father, the emotions shown in her eyes indicate her persistence and toughness that fully reveal her strong determination to preserve her right and willingness. Moreover, in order to successfully elope with Romeo, Juliet takes the medicine to pretend dead at the risk of side effects of the vial.

In the process of Romeo’s and Juliet’s suicide, there are two differences to analyze Romeo’s and Juliet’s personalities. One is observation and attitude toward their lover’s death. The other is the way they take their life. First, Romeo is lack of forethought and too impetuous. When Romeo discovers the “dead” body of Juliet who lies in the tomb, he is immersed in his own sorrow instead of questioning the weird phenomenon of Juliet’s crimson lips and cheeks and he takes his life in haste. On the contrary, Juliet is much more attentive and sensible. She carefully observes whether

Romeo is dead or not and even examines how Romeo kills himself by the poison.

After a prudent observation, Juliet then decides to commit suicide afterwards.

Second, Romeo kills himself by drinking the poisoned potion and dies. However, in four specific close-ups, Juliet shows bravery and determination to die and realizes her self-autonomy through death, as she previously comments that “If all else fail, Chiang 43 m yself have power to die” (3.5.242). She chooses to pick up Romeo’s dagger, tightly stabs into her stomach and tolerates poignant pain to end her life.

Correspondingly, the position that Juliet stabs into her stomach reminds the readers of the traditional ritual of “Seppuku” (stomach-cutting) based on the spirit of

Bushidō, which emphasizes loyalty and honor. Traditionally, the Japanese believes that the stomach is composed of intense nerves, emotions, and soul. To preserve one’s honor, when people do stomach-cutting, he/she will feel severe pain and this powerful endurance of pain thus highlights one’s supreme dignity. From Juliet’s calmness and bravery, we can propose that Juliet is stronger and more masculine than Romeo at a certain degree. Although the spirit of Bushidō strengthens Juliet’s pursuit for self-autonomy and her rebellion against conventional patriarchy, she still replicates the typical male stereotype and frames herself in the idea of male-centered Bushidō spirit.

Chiang 44

Chapter Three

Visualized Shakespeare in Anime World

As I have discussed in Chapter Two, in Manga Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, we can observe vivid and kawaii graphics combined with simplified

Shakespearean lines. Through graphics and texts, they display comic devices of situation, highlighting major themes and events. For example, the modified lines are directly used in characters’ dialogue and panels are applied to strengthen characters’ actions or provide important messages.

However, the intertextuality between graphics and modified Shakespearean lines disappear in anime adaptions. Instead, in anime adaptations, nevertheless, dialogue between characters is normal daily conversation which is far different from

Shakespearean texts. Besides, Shakespeare’s lines are transformed into specific quotations or auxiliary elements that enable the story to go smoothly and build up climax from new aspects in animes. Therefore, to correspond with two manga adaptations in Chapter Two, I choose two Japanese animes, Zetsuen No Tempest (2013) and Romeo X Juliet (2007), to analyze the similarities and differences between manga and anime.

Although both animes are derived from their original manga adaptations, I will focus on their anime adaptation as my main discussions in Chapter Three. Zetsuen no

Tempest, also called Blast of Tempest, is a Japanese manga written by Kyō Shirodaira and illustrated by both Arihide Sano and Ren Saizaki. Its anime adaptation is written by Mari Okada and directed by Masahiro Ando. It is composed of 24 episodes and aired on the television in 2012 to 2013 by Bones Inc. in Japan. On the other hand,

Romeo X Juliet is written by Reiko Yoshida and directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki. It is Chiang 45 also a TV series composed of 24 episodes and broadcast in 2007 by Chubu-Nippon

Broadcasting Co. Then, in 2009, Romeo X Juliet was dubbed into English and released by Funimation Entertainment.

In both animes, they overturn Shakespeare’s original plays and become new stories with applications of Shakespearean lines and theatrical elements. As a result, the chapter underscores how the characters, plots, and original lines in Shakespeare’s plays are applied and modified in Zetsuen No Tempest and Romeo X Juliet and how new sets of characters and classic scenes based on Shakespeare’s plays are created.

3.1 Zetsuen no Tempest (2013)

3.1.1 Setting and Characters

In manga, before the story begins, usually there are several pages of introduction to the setting and characters, so the readers can go through the setting and characters at once. Nevertheless, the way that the anime introduces the setting and characters is different. Instead of pointing out the setting and characters in the beginning of the anime, the viewers have to watch the anime carefully to see how the setting is developed and how characters are involved in the plots. Furthermore, the viewers need to contemplate on other characters’ comments and observations to analyze each character’s personality and presume what kind of consequence that his/her personality will bring about in the story. As the plot moves along, other supporting roles will show up at specific moments to create conflicts or excitement. For instance, in

Episode 1: The Magician in the Barrel of Zetsuen No Tempest, by connecting the setting with characters, it paves the way for the viewers to understand the setting, four main characters (Mahiro, Yoshino, Hakaze, Aika) and their relationship with each other, and two supporting characters (Samon from Kusaribe clan and Evangeline from Chiang 46

Japanese authority).

The setting of Zetsuen no Tempest is modern Japan devastated by severe plague called “the black iron syndrome,” which is a psychic infectious phenomenon that turns all organic life into metal. To convey this gloomy and terrifying atmosphere, thrilling images of people who are gradually metalized happen in front of the viewers through Mahiro’s eyes. This dreadful phenomenon is resulted from the destructive power of the Tree of Exodus, which the Kusaribe clan seeks to awaken to confront the power of the Tree of Genesis in order to prevent the civilization and the world from extinction. The strife between two leagues (one is advocates of the Tree of Exodus and the other is Hakaze’s support for the Tree of Genesis) ties with Mahiro’s revenge for Aika and Yoshino’s alliance with Evangeline and thus develops three branches of plots in anime, independent but relative at the same time.

The characters in anime are generally based on the type in Shakespeare’s plays, such as the characters’ personalities and events that they encounter. In Zetsuen no

Tempest, the main casts are Mahiro, Yoshino, Aika, and Hakaze while Samon and

Evangeline are supporting roles. The major task in anime is to find out the murderer of Aika as well as the battle against the Tree of Genesis for mankind’s civilization in the world. To easily understand the relationship between casts and the plot, a brief introduction to the characters are listed below:

Mahiro Fuwa

Depicted with lively character, Mahiro is logical, impulsive, and selfish. He acts on instinct and always lives fearlessly the way he wants. Mahiro’s setup alludes to

Hamlet and Laertes. Abandoning morals and reason, he is crazy to seek revenge for his beloved family. In order to find the killer of Aika, Mahiro forms an alliance with

Hakaze to help her stop the resurrection of the Tree of Exodus as exchange for Chiang 47

Hakaze ’s power. However, Mahiro does not truly care about the destiny of the world.

All he wants is to kill the murderer for Aika’s sake.

Yoshino Takigawa

As Mahiro’s best friend and Aika’s secret boyfriend, Yoshino’s cast alludes to Horatio and Hamlet. Unlike Mahiro’s impulsiveness, Yoshino is calm, rational, and has a high degree of adaptability but no individuality. When Yoshino works with Mahiro to find out the killer of Aika, the role that Yoshino acts is more like an objective and rational reporter, who analyzes the situation with high logic and assists Mahiro with loyalty as a friend. After Aika dies, Yoshino is too emerged in mourning for her death and tends to ignore reality.

Aika Fuwa

Aika’s character functions as Ophelia whose death results in her brother’s vehement revenge and her lover’s sorrow for her. Aika is Mahiro’s stepsister and also Yoshino’s secret girlfriend. Besides, she is the magician of the Tree of Exodus, who sacrifices her life to save the world. Although Aika is dead when the anime begins, she still appears frequently in flashbacks, like a lingering aspiration, as a guidance that leads the main characters to solve crucial events and mysteries.

Hakaze Kusaribe

The role of Hakaze is apparently based on Prospero from The Tempest. Owning potent magical power, she is not only the leader of Kusaribe clan (an ancient group to protect the Tree of Genesis, which is the origin of their magical power) but also the magician of the Tree of Genesis. However, due to the dispute with Samon, Hakaze is packed in Chiang 48 a barrel, abandoned on an isolated island by Samon, and randomly rescued by Mahiro.

Through Hakaze’s magical doll found by Mahiro, she is able to communicate with

Mahiro and Yoshino and plans schemes to fight against Samon on the island.

Samon Kusaribe and Evangeline Yamamoto

Samon is Hakaze’s former assistant, but he betrays her and becomes the leader in

Kusaribe clan. The reason is that he decides to awaken the Tree of Exodus to contend with the Tree of Genesis, so he must get rid of Hakaze to fulfill his plan. Nevertheless, in the middle of the anime, Samon and Hakaze collaborate with each other and fight for peace of the world. As to Evangeline, she is the agent from the Japanese authority, and her task is to investigate the cause of the black iron syndrome and the myth of the

Tree of Genesis.

The Tree of Genesis and The Tree of Exodus

The Tree of Genesis is the Kusaribe’s god that rules all reason in the world. In other words, the Tree of Genesis dominates the world’s logic. When Kusaribe clan requests power from the Tree of Genesis, in return for the power that it lends, they must make an offering to the Tree of Genesis and an offering could be the fruits of civilization – things created by man’s knowledge, such as tools, machines, and structures. Once the offering is acknowledged, the item will turn to dust. On the other hand, the Tree of

Exodus also possesses the great power, and this power can confront with the Tree of

Exodus to destroy the reason of the world.

Chiang 49

14 3 .1.2 The Time is Out of Joint

This anime artfully combines Hamlet’s revenge theme and the idea of magic and rationality in The Tempest. In Zetsuen No Tempest, through characters’ quotations from both plays interwoven in anime, the viewers can notice characters’ emotional changes and actions that they take according to the quotations they apply. In the previous half part of the anime, lines from Hamlet are quoted pervasively, creating a sense of uncertainty and loss. Then, in the rest of the anime, lines from The Tempest start to appear, providing optimistic hope that turns the seemingly tragedy into a happy ending. For instance, even if Mahiro and Yoshino suffer mental trauma as a tragedy in Hamlet, they still search other possibilities to make the outcome as a comedy in The Tempest.

Therefore, with the aid of unique visual effects in anime, the way how

Shakespeare’s lines are used by characters in specific circumstances will be the primary focus in this section. Besides, Zetsuen No Tempest does not follow all the plots in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, so I will choose some representative scenes as my main source to display similarities and differences in both manga adaptation and anime adaptation. The discussion will focus on three significant scenes: the ghost scene, the graveyard scene and the duel scene, and value of death and revenge as well.

3.1.3 The Ghost Scene

In Shakespeare’s play and Emma Vieceli’s manga version, the ghost scene portrays the issue of the authenticity of the ghost and Hamlet’s motivation for designing the mousetrap and revenge. Nevertheless, in Zetsuen No Tempest, the

14 This is a line spoken by Hamlet (1.5.189). In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet speaks this line after the Ghost tells him about how he is murdered by his uncle. As a result, Hamlet decides to verify the authenticity of the Ghost’s story and sets the dislocated circumstance into justice. In this section, I regard this line as the central idea in Zetsuen No Tempest; that is, characters crave to dig out the truth about Aika’s death and reverse the disordered world into right logic. Chiang 50 so -called ghost scene does not show up in the beginning of the anime but in the episode 16, nearly in the latter part of the anime. Besides, there is no ghost in the anime, either. Although the apparition does not come out in Zetsuen No Tempest, the function and meaning of the ghost does convey thoroughly in the anime by using abundant flashbacks of Aika’s images, no matter in the form of memory or dreams, to illustrate Mahiro’s strong determination for revenge and absurdity of the world.

In Episode 1, when Mahiro tells Yoshino about the agreement with Hakaze in exchange to find out the killer of Aika, Yoshino feels like he is in a strange dream, listening to Mahiro’s words, yet somehow he believes his every word. This emotional conflict of Yoshino is similar to the uncertain feeling of Hamlet when he hears about the murder from the ghost in Shakespeare’s play. To testify Mahiro’s stable decision for revenge, the image then concentrates on his monologue with solemn symphony as background music and a flock of crows flying through the sunset. Mahiro says: “I will do whatever it takes to have everything make sense again. I will kill Aika’s murder with my own hands and save the world in the process.” In other words, Mahiro just cannot forget the fact that Aika’s killer has not received the “judgement” they deserve.

In the end of the Episode 1, we finally see the image of Aika’s death. Compared with the thrilling descriptions of how the old Hamlet is murdered by poison, Aika’s death is more graceful and peaceful. She sits peacefully on a chair with her blood flowing from her wound in stomach to the ground, converging into a beautiful totem shaped in circle. At this spot, the viewers witness Aika’s death but cannot see any evidence that Aika is murdered by someone else other than herself. Based on the common logic, there is no reason for Aika to kill herself; consequently, Mahiro and

Yoshino are convinced that Aika is murdered.

For Mahiro and Yoshino, Aika’s murder is senseless and magic does not make Chiang 51 sense, either. However, if these two senseless things join together, maybe the world’s logic will all begin to make sense. This logic indicates that the characters are in an absurd world but the only solution to solve the problem is to find out the world’s reason and judgement through these senseless events. Here, the situation is the same as Hamlet. The sudden death of his beloved father and his mother’s overhasty marriage with his uncle are senseless to him. Therefore, he chooses to listen to the ghost’s story and finds out the murderer to set the world’s judgement right.

From Episode 2 to the final Episode, the time line of the anime interweaves with the present and the past, especially the flashbacks of Aika, who is like a lingering ghost haunting Mahiro and Yoshino. Interestingly, most of the flashbacks are Aika’s lines derived from Hamlet and The Tempest and what she narrates is often the turning point or predictions of the story. For example, in Episode 5, the image goes back to a past day when Yoshino and Aika date in an aquarium. Aika tells Yoshino that “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (1.5. 168-69). This quotation comes from Hamlet and Aika uses this line to foreshadow the upcoming incident that everything happens for a reason. Also, it means that the daily tragedies and misfortunes are all meaningful events, leading toward an ideal conclusion and a beautiful outcome. However, Yoshino cannot accept

Aika’s quotation from Hamlet because he considers it unlucky to quote from a tragedy.

Thus, Aika mentions about The Tempest, which is a tragedy that turns out to be a comedy in the end. This flashback not only foretells the upcoming event but also connects the relationship between Hamlet and The Tempest.

Finally, in Episode 16, “The Wandering Aspiration,” this episode is the closing part to deal with the ghost scene in Hamlet because it portrays Yoshino and Mahiro’s opinions toward Hamlet’s belief in ghost. Again, the image goes back to Aika when Chiang 52 she tells Yoshino that he is not the type as the one who will not accept irrational things, just like Mahiro. Then, the image shifts to the conversation between Mahiro and Aika, who are discussing about the plot in Hamlet. From Mahiro’s viewpoint, he considers that Hamlet is doomed because he believes in something like a ghost which does not exist. Mahiro regards that the spirits are delusions imagined by the living. Once you are dead, that is it. The dead do not return, nor do they hear the living’s wishes. After all, it is all illusion. From Yoshino and Mahiro’s thought about the ghost, we can understand their rational and practical personalities, and Mahiro’s determination to end revenge with revenge.

3.1.4 The Graveyard Scene

Basically, the graveyard scene highlights Hamlet’s meditation on life and death and also his love to Ophelia. The same themes are applied in Zetsuen No Tempest, too.

The idea of the skeleton leads to the question of life and death beyond time restriction, and both Mahiro and Yoshino show their true love for Aika in the graveyard.

In Episode 17 to 19, when Yoshino admits to Hakaze that his girlfriend is Aika,

Yoshino quotes from Hamlet by narrating: “I loved Ophelia./ Forty thousand brothers

/ Could not, with all their quantity of love, / Make up my sum” (5.1. 254-56). Yoshino applies Hamlet’s lines to describe his profound love for Aika which no one can defeat.

In addition, Yoshino believes that if he does not do anything, Aika’s death will end up as a tragedy like Hamlet, so he wants to save the world with her death. On the other hand, when Mahiro and Yoshino run into each other in the graveyard to visit Aika’s tomb, Mahiro himself admits his affection to Aika, and this is the first time that

Mahiro directly expresses his love for her, not only a brother’s love to sister but a man’s love to a woman. Chiang 53

In Shakespeare’s text and Emma Vieceli’s manga adaptation, they both use the skull of Yorick (the King’s jester) to describe the meaning of death that no matter how poor or great you are, everyone will die and turn into skull or dust, making no difference from each other. It seems that once a person dies, he/she will become dust and returns to nature without exception.

Similarly, in Episode 6, “The Paradox of the Skull,” Hakaze’s full skeleton reveals two ideas. The first one is that the skeleton is the proof of life and death.

When Samon claims Hakaze’s death, he takes the skeleton of Hakaze as his evidence to prove her death. The second one is that the skeleton is without time limit.

According to Samon’s argument, the island is a cage within time, and Hakaze died two years ago. It is through magic that the present (the time when Hakaze communicates with Mahiro and Yoshino) has been connected to her time on the island by traveling through time into the past. Even though the logic of time shift is unacceptable, Hakaze still uses her skeleton as connection with the present and successfully breaks the prison of time. These two ideas seem to delineate one ambiguous notion that— death is a part of life whereas life is also a part of death.

Death continues one’s existence of being alive and also becomes an immortal stuff without time restriction because death is not a temporary but lasting condition.

In addition to the idea of skeleton, the death of Aika also associates the issue of life and death. It is evident that Aika dies in the very beginning of the anime, and her death looks like a tragedy but turns out to be a happy ending. Besides, when Mahiro and Yoshino reminds of Aika’s death, there are hints to show Aika’s death as a new birth and hope. For example, in Episode 13, “The Reason of Dreams,” after Mahiro awakes from his dream about remembrance of Aika’s death, he describes her death as the sight of the red flower that blooms from her. Mahiro’s description foreshadows Chiang 54 that the new hope blooms from Aika’s bloody dead body in the following story.

Furthermore, in the end of the anime, we discover that Aika comes to term with death as her responsibility and solution to save the world from destruction. It is interesting that Aika compares her situation to Caliban in The Tempest. She holds that even if she receives special abilities and knowledge from the two trees (the Tree of

Genesis and the Tree of Exodus), she is still no more than their slaves. In Mahiro’s dream, Aika talks to him by quoting lines from The Tempest in Episode 13: “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep” (4.1.

156-58). Aika describes life as an illusion like dream and narrates that she has suffered with those she should suffer. Consequently, she regards her duty is complete, and there is some noble creature in her. Besides, to make the result a happy ending like The Tempest, Aika decides to sacrifice herself in exchange for benefits and to ensure a chance for Mahiro, Yoshino, and Hakaze to cooperate and fight against the

Tree of Genesis.

Although Aika’s death leads to a happy ending as she has planned, in the end of the anime, Mahiro raises a debate on whether it is right for Aika to sacrifice her own life for the world. In Aika’s last video for Mahiro and Yoshino, she tells them that there is no need to mourn for her death. Since she is the magician of Exodus, she has to act her role and cannot ignore the scripts to do what she wishes. If she could make a beautiful exit, then she would feel satisfied to fulfill her role. Therefore, she has no regret to accept death. Nevertheless, Mahiro cannot endure Aika’s statement. He considers that life should not be something that she just acts out and ends based on the scripts. He thinks Aika is wrong because she relies on someone else’s script and quotes Shakespeare all the time instead of truly living out her life. In short, Mahiro’s doubt can be projected into a general problem that we usually obey social rules, Chiang 55 ignore our own free will, and forget how to live the life that we desire.

3.1.5 The Duel Scene

The duel scene is typically regarded as the climax in the play because this final scene concludes a tragic epilogue, which is composed of truth, revenge, killing, and sacrifice in the end. Nevertheless, contrary to Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Emma

Vieceli’s manga adaptation, there are plenty of fights and duel scenes in Zetsuen No

Tempest. These duel scenes not only propose the idea of how powerful the magic is but also lead the viewers to reconsider the value of revenge in the anime through the main characters’ transformation about their beliefs and emotional conflicts. Most importantly, the viewers can see how the main characters handle their confusion and emotional struggle based on the concept of “to be or not to be.”

Moreover, as Yoshino concludes in Episode 2, he narrates that “one day, a girl was suddenly killed. One day, the princess of the magicians was stuffed into a barrel and exiled to an island. And one day, a battle surpassing time and space, wrapped in revenge and magic began.” From Yoshino’s statement, Aika’s death and fight between magicians are connected with each other for the sake of personal revenge and world peace. Therefore, almost every duel associates with the concept of revenge and process to achieve the goal for rescuing the world.

As what has been stated in the previous section on the setting, magic is one of the crucial elements in anime. The fantastic power of magic adds unpredictable excitement in fight scenes that the viewers can experience the intense atmosphere as if they are watching an action movie. Additionally, when we see the characters performing their magic during the duel, we are provided with opportunities to reflect on the consequence of magical power, whether it is a good tool or a sort of destructive Chiang 56 power. Even though Kusaribe clan relies on the power of the Tree of Genesis, it is also a terrible power with the ability to reset civilization and the world. It implies that power is like a double-edged sword which brings about both good and evil consequences.

In addition to the appealing but dangerous power of magic in duel scenes, the transformations of characters’ beliefs and their perspectives toward revenge are worthy to be examined, especially Mahiro’s transformation for revenge and also

Yoshino’s perspectives toward Mahiro’s revenge. Although both Mahiro and Yoshino want to seek revenge for Aika, their perspectives toward the revenge are different. It is interesting that both Mahiro and Yoshino can allude to the setup of Hamlet in

Shakespeare’s play. Nevertheless, they are like two opposite sides of Hamlet’s characteristics; that is, Mahiro represents Hamlet’s impulsive and self-centered personality, whereas Yoshino reflects Hamlet’s rational and objective side. In Zetsuen

No Tempest, Mahiro always acts on instinct and targets on his own desire, while

Yoshino will inspect a situation thoroughly and figure out the best solution.

Take the three duel scenes in Episode 2, Episode 8, and Episode 11 for example.

At first, it is evident that revenge is the only thing that matters to Mahiro. In Episode

2, Mahiro modifies Laertes’s lines to show his violent and strong determination for revenge. The original line spoken by Laertes when he hears about his father’s death and sees Ophelia’s mad behavior: “O heat dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt /

Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!” (4.5.153-54). Here, Mahiro modifies the lines and narrates: “o’ anger, turn to heat, dry up my brains. This mad thirst for vengeance must be quenched …no matter how cruel and merciless I must become!”

Similarly, in Episode 8, Mahiro still illustrates his strong will for revenge and abandons his morals for desire. When Samon fights with Mahiro, he tries to convince Chiang 57

Mahiro to support him and abandons Hakaze. When Mahiro contemplates on which side will bring him more advantages, the image shifts to the flashbacks of Aika’s dead body and her sweet smile. Recalling these images, Mahiro narrates: “Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit. I dare damnation. To this point I stand that the world I give to negligence. Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged. I’ll worry about the world later.” However, from Yoshino’s viewpoint, he worries that the fate of the world will be determined by Mahiro’s personal desire, and thus becomes a tragedy.

Therefore, Yoshino decides to convince Mahiro to stand on Hakaze’s side and prevents a tragic ending.

As the mysteries are solved one by one, Mahiro begins to wonder if he risks the world for the sake of his own desire, what will the world turn out to be, a tragedy or a comedy? In Episode 11, Aika says “just because it is illogical, that does not make it wrong,” and she also quotes from The Tempest: “Let us not burden our remembrance with / a heaviness that is gone” (5.1.202-03). Aika’s narration indicates that Mahiro should accept the illogical things because there shall be some reason behind it. In addition, Aika encourages Mahiro to lay down his heavy burden for revenge but sets the world into the right reason as his primary goal.

In short, as mysteries are gradually uncovered, the original beliefs of characters are also challenged by these illogical events. The more they see, the less they are certain with what is right. Meanwhile, whenever they face difficulties or in a tough dilemma, they are forced to make suitable choice, and to take action or not to take action. This concept corresponds to what Hamlet ponders on the issue of “to be or not to be.” Whether you decide to live or to die, to take or not to take action, you all need to take the risk of the result. Consequently, when characters cope with their emotional struggle or ambiguities in the illogical life, they are at the same time striving to Chiang 58 overturn a seemingly tragedy in Hamlet into a delightful ending in The Tempest.

3.2 Romeo X Juliet (2007)

3.2.1 Setting and Characters

Romeo X Juliet opens with descriptions of the setting within several lines in

Episode 1: “This is an island that has been long forgotten, the Aerial continent, Neo

Verona. This great power floating in the sky brings the breath of life and prosperity to people. But at times the foolishness of worldly passions doth surpass all bounds. The story now told is of love, ever-fresh and full of sorrow, cruelly toyed with by fate in the midst of war.” These lines invite the audience to enter into this incredible floating island and explain the overall setting of this romantic but tragic fate.

After the brief introduction, the atmosphere turns from solemn into intense with dim light gleaming in the Capulet’s castle. In less than two minutes, the image shows how Juliet’s parents are killed by Lenotes Montague and paves the way for Juliet’s revenge afterwards. Moreover, when the theme song is played, the images of individual character and snatches of plots appear as well. This distinct function of anime lets the audience have a brief introduction of characters and encourages them to presume the following plots.

The arrangements of main and minor characters are quite interesting because they are not only based on the character types from Romeo and Juliet but also from other Shakespeare’s plays. In addition, some characters are reset and assigned to special tasks, especially Tybalt and Mercutio. Moreover, even William Shakespeare himself plays a role in the anime. William de Farnesa, a noble from the House of

Farnesa, is a playwright and often nicknamed Willy. He provides a shelter for Juliet and her servants to hide in his theater and serves as Juliet’s mentor for counselling Chiang 59 love and how to take appropriate actions.

Basically, in Romeo X Juliet, the main narrative focuses on Juliet, who dresses herself as a young boy (named Odin) to revive her kingdom overthrown by the cruel

Montague whereas the role of Romeo is more like a helper for Juliet to regain a peaceful kingdom where they can be together. It seems that although the setting of

Juliet and Romeo has been changed, the theme of their love amongst two households’ feud is still kept.

Nevertheless, as key figures of the turning point in the original text, the role of

Tybalt and Mercutio are now reversed in the anime adaptation. Compared with the original text, two of them do not fight and die in the anime, so their existence does not create direct transition to the plot. Rather, Tybalt is more like a helper to Juliet whereas Mercutio is an opponent to Romeo. Instead of being Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt is turned into Montague’s bastard son and is eager to kill Montague to revenge for his mother who is from the House of Capulet and abandoned by Montague. On the other hand, Mercutio becomes a sly and selfish character in the anime. He pursues for personal profit and obeys Montague’s order to keep a watchful eye on Romeo.

As for the minor characters, their names come from Shakespeare’s other plays and personalities of most minor characters are as the epitomes of the original roles in plays. Take Juliet’s servants and Doctor for example. Cordelia, whose name comes from King Lear, acts as Nurse and thoughtfully takes care of Juliet. Conrad, a loyal old general of the Capulet, devotes himself to reviving the Capulet. The name of

Conrad comes from Much Ado About Nothing, and he is entirely dedicated to Don

John. Then, another key person is Doctor, who sacrifices himself and stiffens Juliet’s resolution to overthrow the Montague. Doctor is a positive and vigorous man, and his name is Lancelot (the name of a clown in The Merchant of Venice). Although Doctor Chiang 60 d oes not act like a fool to please others like any other Shakespearean clown figures, he is witty and points out important messages to the viewers in the anime.

In short, the setting of Neo Verona is on a floating island which secludes itself from the outside world and adds fantastic element into the anime, such as the tree of

Escalus (the sacred and powerful tree that supports the island) and pegasuses (winged horses ridden by the noble). Besides, Neo Verona is cruelly governed by the

Montague, who violently overthrew the kingdom from the former ruler, the Capulet.

Montague’s murder and autarchy rationalize Juliet’s motive for revenge and provides the audience with heartrending feelings when they evaluate love between Romeo and

Juliet. As a result, from this unique setting and arrangement of plots, they reveal that this anime adaptation is obviously contrasted to Shakespeare’s original text. The anime adaptation points out another outlook for the audience to appreciate the theme of sacrifice, love, fate, and death in Romeo and Juliet.

3.2.2 Four Conflicts in Romeo X Juliet

Regardless of Shakespeare’s original text or Sonia Leong’s manga adaptation, we can clearly observe two conflicts in both works. One is the conflict between the

Montague and the Capulet, and the other is the conflict between parent and child, especially Lord Capulet and Juliet. Nevertheless, in the anime adaptation, the thematical conflicts have been enlarged into four conflicts in a broader sense: the noble versus the commoners, the Montague versus the Capulet, father versus sons

(Lord Montague versus Romeo and Tybalt), and pursuit for the public’s welfare versus individual happiness.

In the beginning of the anime, it portrays a sharp contrast between the poor commoners and the noble under the Montague’s tyrannical rule. From Montague’s Chiang 61 perspective , he considers that people are no different to a fruit of a grapevine which can be plucked or crushed when the noble find them useful. In Episode 1, Doctor says:

“In past times, hands stretched out from the Keep to help the poor and the diseased.

Neo Verona has truly changed since Montague became the Duke. Now it is only the nobility who can enjoy profit and wealth.” From Doctor’s comment, the audience can understand the present situation of Neo Verona without much explanation, and they are encouraged to stand on the same side with the Capulet. Besides, the conflict between the commoners and the noble leads to another serious issue – moral corruption of humanities.

The best example of human beings’ moral deterioration can be revealed in the role of Friar, who represents “the way of all men” as Tybalt criticizes in Episode 8.

For instance, in Episode 3, when Doctor discovers Friar’s betrayal by giving out information to ingratiate himself with the noble, Friar does not admit his fault but answers: “We are commoners, the lowest class of society. We simply do not have power to defy the Duke….There are times when anyone would sell their soul to save their own skin….In the end, people have no choice but to bow to the rulers. They have no way to survive.”

Friar’s speech reminds us of two points. The first is about the apothecary in

Shakespeare’s original text. In order to make a living, the apothecary ignores the law and sells illegal drug to Romeo. Here, the apothecary and Friar are in the same situation. Both of them choose to survive and discard their morality and conscience.

The second point is that Friar’s downfall as a clergy highlights the harsh condition of the surroundings and common people’s powerless resistance to the upper class. Even if Friar represents the symbol of spirit and morality, he cannot help but fall into corruption when dealing with material needs. Chiang 62

Second, enmity between the two households is not plainly explained in

Shakespeare’s play. However, in the anime adaptation, the conflict between two households results from Leontes Montague’s rooted hatred toward the House of

Capulet. Lenotes Montague was the son of a prostitute and his father was the noble from the Capulet. Being abandoned as a child, Montague decides to seek his revenge on the whole House of Capulet. After his mother dies, he is adopted by the Montague

House. To achieve his goal and obtain power, he murders the heir of the Montague and then becomes the head of the Montague House. Later, he revolts against the

Capulet, kills the whole Capulet House, and therefore results in the Capulet’s resentment to the Montague. Although this setting of hatred undoubtedly differs from the original text, it dramatizes the plots and provides more possibilities for the audience to conceive how the animosity will be solved through Romeo and Juliet’s love.

Third, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Leong’s manga adaptation, they focus on how Juliet rebels against her father under the patriarchal system and fights for her freedom and autonomy. Similar conflict between parent and children can also be discovered in the anime adaptation. Nevertheless, the family strife turns into father-and-son relationship, Montague and two of his sons, Romeo and Tybalt.

In Episode 10, this is the first time when Romeo rebels against his father. Romeo purposes to pardon Juliet, but his suggestion is refused in the parliament. Then, in

Episode 14, Romeo argues with his father again. He admits his strong love for Juliet in spite of her birth as a Capulet and conveys his will that he shall spend his life with her. Romeo’s announcement makes Montague enraged, and then Romeo is banished to Gradisca Mines (a barren place where criminals are exiled and works until they die).

Only when Romeo has doubled the yield in mines can he come back to Neo Verona. Chiang 63

Compared with Romeo’s rational rebellion, Tybalt’s defiance is more drastic, and he yearns for taking the life of his father to revenge for his abandoned mother. In some way, Tybalt’s intention parallels to Montague’s subversion toward the Capulet, specifying the notion of retribution and comparison of results between father and son.

Even if Montague owns the name of “Duke” and manipulates Neo Verona, he still gets nothing but abrupt murder by Mercutio in the end. On the other hand, Tybalt lays down his resentment toward Montague and lives a more fulfilling life in brand new

Neo Verona.

Lastly, the fourth conflict is the choice between pursuit for public’s welfare or individual’s happiness. As the story goes on, Juliet is at a deadlock, wondering between the choice to sacrifice the minority’s life to assure the majority’s welfare, or the choice to give up her happiness as an exchange for reviving the House of Capulet.

For example, in Episode 5, the government determines to burn the suspects of Red

Whirlwind to death. Although Juliet wants to save those innocent people, she is stopped by her servants to assure the overall situation. After all, it is natural to have sacrifice when it comes to revolution. Nevertheless, is it fair to build peace upon other people’s lives? Will it bring the true happiness?

Another example can be detected in Episode 23 when Juliet resolves to sacrifce her body to the Tree of Escalus to save the world. As Juliet proceeds to the Tree of

Escalus, Romeo prevents her and states: “A world at peace that is built upon your suffering, and yours alone, is wrong. One day Verona will crumble, whether you offer your life or not.” Romeo’s comment elucidates that happiness based on individual’s sacrifice is not true happiness at all and invites the audience to reconsider the value of

Juliet’s sacrifice.

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3 .2.3 Doomed Love under Revolution of Neo Verona

In Leong’s manga adaptation, she follows the sequence of specific scenes (the ball scene, the balcony scene, the bedchamber scene, and the tomb scene) in

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to illustrate how Romeo and Juliet fight for their love and their mental transformation under the patriarchal power of two households.

In the anime adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, however, there is no such vivid sequence of scenes for the audience to perceive the lovers’ transformation. Instead, the anime adds other elements to complicate the star-crossed lovers’ pursuit for love under the revolution of Neo Verona.

Among the 24 episodes in the anime adaptation, Romeo and Juliet experience confusions of self-identity, the burden of duty, banishment, and reunion. Through these process and obstacles, both of them gradually build up resolute minds and have mutual trust in each other that they will construct a country where they can be together eternally in life and in death. Therefore, in this section, I will place emphasis on the significance of names to investigate how Romeo and Juliet deal with their ambiguous identities, and Juliet’s perspectives toward revenge to discover the growth of mental transformation in them.

In Romeo X Juliet, Juliet has three names: Juliet, Odin, and Red Whirlwind. In her daily life, Juliet dresses herself as a boy and is named Odin to avoid Montague’s

“girl hunt” (a policy that executes girls who are at Juliet’s age).Then, during the night in her room, “Odin” will take off her wig and reinstates her true identity as a girl. In

Episode 1, Emily, the actress in Willy’s theater, invites “Odin” to join the Rose Ball held by the Montague. When Odin takes off her male clothes, she looks at the reflection on a mirror and wonders “why she has to dress as a boy? Why can’t she wear a dress?” This confusion of identity points out Juliet’s doubt about herself and Chiang 65 the fluidity of one’s identity through the exchange of clothing, such as Juliet’s another identity as Red Whirlwind.

Red Whirlwind, the symbol of justice and hope in Neo Verona, is similar to the character as Robin Hood, who helps the poor and fights against the government. For instance, in Episode 1, Juliet disguises herself as Red Whirlwind and rescues an innocent girl from being executed. In this scene, it portrays the merciless policy of the

Montague and highlights Juliet’s brave but reckless behavior which foreshadows the following tragedy resulting from Juliet’s impulsive personality.

In Episode 6, the government arrests many innocent people and threatens to burn them to death to force the “true” Red Whirlwind appears. At this moment, Doctor pretends that he is Red Whirlwind and shows up to save those innocent people.

Before Doctor commits suicide to make the existence of Red Whirlwind disappear, he announces: “Give New Verona a future. The Red Whirlwind will vanish here. But the wind will blow once more. As sure as the sun that shines, a new wind shall bring you hope. Embrace that hope and stir up the winds in your own hearts. Do this, and the world will change. It is the wind of freedom.” Due to Doctor’s sacrifice, Red

Whirlwind is no longer a name, but an optimistic faith and wind of freedom in the spiritual level. Besides, after Doctor dies, he becomes the “True” Red Whirlwind that exemplifies the symbol of revolution and freedom.

Lastly, in the beginning of the anime, Juliet does not understand why she cannot have a normal life like common girls. The logic of the world is full of injustice and mysteries to her. In Episode 2, Conrad gives her the sword of the Capulet House that has been passed down through generations. At this moment, Juliet is no more a common girl but becomes the princess of Capulet who should take the responsibility to revive the kingdom. As Conrad instructs Juliet in Episode 4, he states: “You have Chiang 66 inherited that name now. The name of the Capulet House.” Here, it shows the significance of name which one is endowed with; that is, the name turns out to be a paradigm that one should behave and follow.

However, is a name really important? In my opinion, I consider that a name itself is unstable and meaningless. What is more essential is the responsibility and authority behind a given name. For instance, in Episode 2, Romeo comments on Lenotes

Montague’s craziness about the title of Duke: “My father would rather let Neo Verona fall to ruin than step down from the Grand Duke’s seat.” It points out that he is obsessed with the name “Grand Duke” because of the power that the title accompanies with. Also, in Episode 10 (the balcony scene), when Juliet narrates

“wherefore art thou Romeo” speech, Romeo replies “For you, I will renounce the name Montague! I am Romeo. I need no other name.” What Romeo wants to convey is that he will abandon the tie with the Montagues and his responsibility of being

Montague’s son.

In the original text and manga adaptation, Romeo and Juliet fall in love at the first sight in the ball scene, and Juliet articulates the famous “wherefore art thou

Romeo” speech in the balcony scene. In both scenes, the name of “Romeo” stands for the forbidden love of the lovers due to the feud. Nevertheless, in the Episode 2 (the ball scene) in the anime, only Juliet knows Romeo’s name when Benvolio (Romeo’s close friend in the anime) calls him, whereas Romeo does not know Juliet’s name. At this point, there is no significance in Romeo’s name because it is only a label for

Juliet to remind her of Romeo.

Equivalently, in the beginning of the story, we can discover that Romeo and

Juliet are tormented by the names that they inherit. However, after many struggles, they still insist on their love because love does not concern with birth or names, but Chiang 67 with the person whom you love. For example, in Episode 8, Romeo confesses to Juliet that he has already known the rivalry relationship with the Capulets; however, Romeo tells Juliet that: “But to me, you are Juliet.” It indicates that Juliet is only a name standing for the person whom he loves without any extra meanings behind this name.

In addition to the discussion on the significance of names, the theme of revenge is worth examining in the anime. Different from the common concept of revenge which is based on personal intention, revenge in Romeo X Juliet is not for the personal motive but for the welfare of the public. That is to say, revenge is a revolution in a larger scale for the sake of the public. Originally, Juliet regards revenge as an action to kill Lenotes Montague and to retake Neo Verona. Therefore, she suffers great pain at the beginning because she considers that she has to kill her lover’s father to avenge for her parents and her love with Romeo is forbidden.

However, as Juliet encounters more difficulties, she becomes more mature and changes her perspective on revenge as a result. From Juliet’s standpoint, she does not want to kill Montague nor to take vengeance. All she pursues is for the sake of Neo

Verona’s people and to make a world where everyone can live in happiness. Besides, she wants a world without the Montagues and the Capulets, without hatred and grief, and this is the Neo Verona that she desires to make with Romeo. From Juliet’s transformation of attitudes toward revenge, we can noticeably observe her growth.

Along with the time, she has a broader definition on the task of revenge and takes the majority’s welfare into greater consideration.

3.2.4 Willy’s Theater: The Play within the Anime

In Romeo X Juliet, the most creative and amusing element is the participation of

William Shakespeare, who is nicknamed Willy. Although Willy is only a minor Chiang 68 character, he plays several roles in the anime, such as Juliet’s mentor, a playwright, and the chorus. These roles enrich the diversity of plots and create climaxes in the anime.

Sometimes, when Juliet is troubled by her love toward Romeo, she will ask

Willy for suggestions because he can always see right through her and offers her constructive opinions. Generally, Willy positively encourages Juliet to pursue for her love and looks forward to seeing how she will overcome difficulties and thus makes herself become the best heroine of her love story. Besides, in Episode 2, he regards that birth has nothing to do with love within a story and there is no limitation of birth between lovers as long as they are deeply in love.

In Episode 14, the opening begins with Willy’s monologue on the flashback of plots. As Willy goes on his speech, images of important episodes show up to remind the audience what has happened so far. After he finishes his monologue, Willy turns back from the stage to face the audience and gives out inviting questions for the audience to contemplate on the proceeding plots and actions that Romeo and Juliet will take to realize their love. Then, in the final episode, Willy articulates his monologue again to end the story for the audience: “Conflict, hatred, sadness, pain, that which allows one to savor them all. That is love. The two of you have taught us the joy of love.” Willy’s concluding remarks suggest that hatred and sadness will be solved through the power of love.

Furthermore, as a playwright, Willy makes good use of his talent to write a play based on the love story between Romeo and Juliet to stir up the emotions of residents in Mantua. In Episode 18, from Willy’s perspective, he regards that “the stage moves the hearts of people. For a short period only, many people’s hearts can be moved to feel angry, joy, full of hatred or grief! And so in the right hands, it can become a very Chiang 69 dangerous weapon as well.” As a result, Willy and the Capulets decide to hold a public performance to gather the power from townsmen and former nobles. In

Episode 19, the play begins and Juliet shows up in Red Whirlwind’s costume. Seeing

Juliet’s appearance as Red Whirlwind, Willy comments that “she will overthrow

Montague, not as Capulet’s daughter but as the Red Whirlwind. This is no longer a vengeance. It is a revolution. Truth surpasses fiction. And yet, people need stories in order to live through reality. And so I will keep writing.”

Willy’s remarks reveal two ideas. One is the sublimation of revenge and the other is the emotional influence and power that the play connotes. As what has been discussed in the previous section, overthrowing the Montague is not a personal revenge of the Capulets. Instead, it is transformed into an overall revolution of all people in Neo Verona, and the role of Juliet’s Red Whirlwind embodies the spirit of freedom. Second, the power of play stimulates people’s resolution to fight for freedom and hope. The play provides not only an outlet for people to let out their suppressed emotions but also new possibilities to seek for a better life.

Unlike Zetsuen No Tempest (The Blast of Tempest) which directly applies

Shakespeare’s original texts in specific situations, Romeo X Juliet adopts very few quotations during the conversation between characters. Rather, the lines from

Shakespeare’s texts are mostly used for the actors in Willy’s theater to recite and act out. The play becomes a part of anime that takes charge of narrating the story. In some episodes, the images will focus on actors’ rehearsals and what they act out are the plots that echo or foreshadow the situation of the characters in anime. For example, in

Episode 18, Emilia practices rehearsing with Juliet and the lines that they read come from the balcony scene in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 1: “Deny thy father and refuse thy name, / Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love” (76-77). Chiang 70

These lines correspond to Juliet’s wish that she desires Romeo to refuse his name and fulfills their love.

To conclude, the use of the play within the anime creates two levels of displays.

The first one is that the characters in the anime experience their life through the comparison or correspondence with the play, representing that there seems to have no difference between life and drama; in other words, life is like a play and the characters are all actors that act out their life on a stage. The second one is that the anime itself is a theater for the audience to enjoy, including the chorus (Willy) and performers

(characters in the anime).

3.2.5 Death as Rebirth: The Wind of Freedom

Compared with Shakespeare’s original text and Leong’s manga adaptation, death in the anime adaptation does not cause another death but brings rebirth in a symbolic way. In Romeo x Juliet, Juliet’s fatal bond with the tree of Escalus not only questions the idea of fate but also suggests the symbolic rebirth out of total destruction. As a result, the main discussion in this section will focus on Episode 24 (the final episode) to analyze Juliet’s transformation toward the fate.

Escalus is the tree that governs the world’s prosperity and the source of all wealth. However, the tree of Escalus is about to die, so it needs to find another body to take sprout and become a young tree again. Consequently, the seed of Escalus is planted into Juliet’s body and this is the fate of Juliet to sacrifice herself and save the world. However, in Episode 23, we see the disagreement about the fate between

Romeo and Juliet. On the one hand, Romeo repudiates the fate determined by Ophelia and the tree of Escalus and regards it ridiculous and unfair to let Juliet suffer the consequences of human sin. On the other hand, Juliet insists that one’s fate cannot be Chiang 71 changed, and she is supposed to protect the world and people who live in Neo Verona at the cost of her life. Nevertheless, Romeo proposes that Juliet’s fate is also his fate, and he will not let Juliet suffer alone. It shows that Romeo’s fate binds with Juliet’s, and Romeo’s announcement truly proves his deep love with Juliet. Besides, Romeo’s affectionate announcement influences Juliet’s determination to accept her fate, and this transformation can be observed in Episode 24.

Lastly, in Episode 24, when Ophelia kisses Juliet with the kiss of death, the deadly kiss does not work successfully because Juliet’s body resists that transformation, indicating that she is against her fate. After a fierce battle, Romeo defeats Ophelia, and he tells Juliet that she is free from her fate and she does not have to suffer anymore. Then, Romeo dies in the arms of Juliet’s. Seeing this, Tybalt annotates Romeo’s death to Juliet: “Romeo tried to accept you in your entirety. You,

Capulet’s daughter, who believed that your fate did not lie in your name – Romeo loved you.” From the third-person’s point of view, Tybalt’s comment proves the true love between Romeo and Juliet and Juliet’s resistance on her fate. Although Juliet sacrifices her life to save the world in the end, Juliet’s and Romeo’s bodies mingle together and become the new born Escalus to support the world.

From the final episode, we can assume that Romeo and Juliet’s love is beyond the barrier of fate and the names that they inherit. Romeo’s death proves his effort to challenge fate and his selfless love to Juliet. Also, the action that Juliet takes is not out of fate but because of her will to let the wind of freedom blow once more in Neo

Verona. Besides, through this symbolic death, Juliet does keep the vow with Romeo – in life and in death, they shall be together eternally.

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Conclusion

Nowadays, the art of visual storytelling has been soaring up and people are surrounded by plenty of graphics and images in the visual culture. From page to screen, from the flat to the dimensional, when Shakespeare’s drama is shown in a graphic frame, it is translated and narrated under the gaze of receivers through the visual language of graphics and images. Different from the fixed grammar rules, the visual language substitutes for the omitted or abridged lines and encourages the viewers’ activities to produce meanings from graphics because the main point is how meanings are presented through sequences of graphics.

From verbal texts to visual graphics, we see how Shakespeare’s works are adapted into the version of manga and anime through the graphic narration and applications of Shakespeare’s lines to create new interpretation in the realm of popular youth culture. Nonetheless, adapting Shakespeare’s plays to a manga or an anime format is not easy because producers need to combine visual art and abridged dialogue at the same time. Although the richness of the language may be lost, most scripts still keep the major speeches to immerse the viewers in the world of the play with advantages of iconic and appealing characters. In such a context, the viewers will worry less about understanding obscure historical context or mastering archaic vocabulary, and instead be engaged in making meanings of manga and anime.

However, even though manga and anime are primarily composed of visual images, they are represented in different ways. On the one hand, manga emphasizes how to apply attractive and meaningful graphics to inspire readers’ interpretation to the text, and therefore connects with their own experience and environments. The framework of manga is much more attached to the original text. On a certain level, the Chiang 73 adaptation of manga functions as a pedagogical material which is instrumented in leading people into Shakespeare’s classic works. Therefore, there will not be much modification on the graphic narration and citations; instead, the main themes and critical plots based on the original text are emphasized within the limited pages in manga. The diversity of reading possibilities relies on how the readers interpret the graphics and how they respond toward the manga. Also, when people read manga, they can control their speed in reading and take time to interpret those images.

On the other hand, in anime, each shot and action is subjectively decided under the producer’s directions, so the audience will follow his/her route to interpret the scenes and conceive how the producers see the text and what they value. Successive frames automatically dominate viewers’ interpretations of anime because viewers are guided by the sequent images appearing in front of them on screen and they spend most of their time absorbing images in limited time to follow the story.

Moreover, in the anime adaptation, the focus is not to interpret Shakespeare’s works with different narrative medium but to make good use of the original work, and to transform it into a new story. Characters, plots, and lines become important elements or turning points in the anime. This technique breaks the independence of

Shakespeare’s plays and skillfully merges several plays’ roles, plots, and lines into the anime that we observe in Zetsuen No Tempest and Romeo X Juliet. In addition, the anime version also highlights the audio-visual beauty by means of graphics and background music. Even when the plot is over-exaggerated or irrational, it does not affect the dramatic tension but impresses the audience nonetheless by special its audio-visual effects.

When we read manga, we are touched by mangakas’ exquisite drawing styles to delve into the characters’ inner world of emotions that the original text can hardly Chiang 74 achieve . Also, with abridged lines accompanied by clear graphics, the lines seem more friendly than those in the original texts. Moreover, unlike the ancient setting of a play from early modern period, when we enjoy anime adaptations, we are more easily attached to them because the language there is the daily conversation that we speak and settings are similar to our living environment. Besides, the audience (most of them are the youth) are familiar to the pattern of anime. In this way, it is much easier for the audience to engage in the anime and put themselves in the characters’ shoes.

Therefore, the audience can relate their daily experiences with the characters to make the whole story more enjoyable as well as meaningful.

To sum up, Shakespearean manga and anime adaptations provide the audience with diverse opportunities to reconsider these classics by looking into what is replaced, added, or deleted within different narrative media and technology in the contemporary society. The Shakespearean adaptations not only translate language from the original texts but also translate the contemporary culture “to connect Shakespeare to how and where we live ‘now’” (Cartelli and Rowe 6); that is, we should connect the literary works with our social surroundings and investigate how Shakespeare’s works are represented through different narrative media with times.

Chiang 75

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