Manga Metamorphosis showed how important and dangerous spreading the Gospel to the known world could be at that time and if not for twelve humble messengers – The Apostles, Christianity wouldn't be what it is today. Kumai may have taken some liberties here and there, plus there were some minor interpretation and some non-biblical content – it doesn't take the spirit of the text away. Manga Metamorphosis is the second graphic novel of the Manga Bible series and depicts the rest of the New Testament – the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles in a graphic novel form – specifically the East Asian art style of manga.Īgain, Hidenori Kumai did a wonderful job blending the text together and depicting it in such a manner that makes how dangerous spreading in what was a sect of Judaism throughout the land. They don’t delve into every theological detail of these letters, but they do offer the highlights in a way anyone can understand.Ī map, chronology, and character profiles are included in the back as extras.įor more manga and book reviews, visit my blog Keeping It In Canon! These synopses are one to three pages and inserted after the communities to which they were addressed get introduced. What the creators did was create manga mini-synopses of these letters featuring a cute chibi-Paul. While Metamorphosis is basically a manga retelling of the Book of Acts, it does include Paul’s letters to four communities (Philippians, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Romans). All in all, it’s an entertaining and quick read that stays true to original and inserts just enough historical information to orient a modern audience. One of the best examples is Peter’s escape from prison, where an angel punches him awake and Rhoda’s comic excitement gets elevated by hilarious misunderstanding from the other disciples. She does even better with scenes that lend themselves to humor. Shinozawa-sensei does well with the dramatic parts. Between the actions of God, angels, demons, Yeshuah’s followers, the religious establishment, and missions trips all over the Roman world, there’s plenty of action going on. Second, this particular book lends itself well to Shinozawa-sensei’s shonen style artwork. First, except for a brief prologue, it sticks to a single book, the Book of Acts. While it looks like it was written for a juvenile audience, it’s still a good resource for anyone wanting a quick overview on the history and leaders of the early church.Ĭhronologically speaking, Manga Metamorphosis is the last in NEXT’s Bible series, and in my opinion, it’s the best executed. Shinozawa-sensei’s shonen illustrations and humorous storytelling style are a good complement to the wild adventures of Yeshua’s followers after his ascension. Manga Metamorphosis is fun and lively yet stays true to the original Book of Acts text. God is really good for bringing this book to my attention through the instigation of my friend Weng, my usual lunch companion in the office. Paul became an old man and died at 63 years of age. We all know that most of the Apostles died as martyrs but it's good that the book did not detail their gruesome deaths. How I wish God still use this to release political prisoners and those in prison who are innocent of the crimes they are blamed for. I also enjoyed about the way angels helped the Apostles in times of need. James was the first among the 12 Apostles to die in the name of Jesus. It is only through the book where I learned that St. Stephen who was the first of the seven good people chosen by the Apostles to help them. It is also through this book where I learned about St. Paul that used to be Saul who persecuted the early Christians. Peter and how he lead the 12 apostles and St. Even movies and books on New Testament are about Jesus so that was probably the reason that prior to this book, I only had sketchy knowledge about St. Most of the gospel is focused on either the stories in Old Testaments and the ministry of Jesus. However, it is only now, thanks to this book, that I got a good understanding of what happened after Jesus died particularly the story of the apostles and how they spread Christianity in that part of the world. Two years ago, I've read the Holy Bible from cover to cover.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |