Reinscribing Sexuality: Manga Versions of Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

Designed to familiarize the younger audience with the Bard’s work, while at the same time catering to their tastes and interests, not only have Shakespearean adaptations moved the original plots to unusual milieus and exotic cultures, but have also ‘translated’ them to new media. This paper analyzes the portrayal of sexuality in two transmediations of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The paper compares and contrasts two manga versions of the play (a British and a Japanese one), aiming to highlight the ways in which the “star crossed lovers’” relationship has been adapted and appropriated by the two cultures in the twentyfirst century.

Keywords

• gender
• manga
• romeo and juliet
• sexuality