Les Misérables

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Japanese: LES MISERABLES レ・ミゼラブル

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 8

Chapters: 33

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 12, 2013 to May 12, 2016

Genre: Drama

Theme: Historical

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Gessan

Authors: Arai, Takahiro (Story & Art), Hugo, Victor (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.84¹ (scored by 593 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1223²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #7797

Members: 2,867

Favorites: 36

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7.84

Ranked #1223Popularity #7797Members 2,867

MangaGessanArai, Takahiro (Story & Art), Hugo, Victor (Story)

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Volumes: /8

Chapters: /33

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Synopsis

Jean Valjean, a starving man who commits an act that will haunt him for the rest of his life; Cosette, a young orphan girl; Javert, an obsessed policeman; Marius, a revolutionary in love. These and other unforgettable characters make up the cast of Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Misérables, renowned as one of the greatest works of Western literature. Now, experience the epic tale of love, loss, and redemption in this gorgeously illustrated and faithfully adapted manga series!

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

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Background

Les Misérables is based on the 1862 French historical novel of the same title by Victor Hugo.

The series was published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment as 2-in-1 omnibus volumes from December 20, 2022, to December 5, 2023.

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Reviews

Dec 27, 2019

many-bees

Recommended

Preliminary (8/33 eps)

This is probably the best adaptation of Les Miserables out there. It unfortunately doesn't have an English translation as of me writing this, but for those of you who speak enough French to understand most stuff with a little help from google translate once in a while, the French translation of this manga is great.

Most people are at least passingly familiar with the plot of Les Mis. It is one of the most adapted works of all time, and one of those adaptations is one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time. Unfortunately, the very nature of adaptation means that a lot of ... stuff gets left out. This is especially unfortunate in the case of Les Mis because the original is somewhat hard to read for a lot of people due to Victor Hugo's tendency to ramble about tangentially related topics. This adaptation is a great solution for those who are for whatever reason unable to read the book but at the same time wish to experience the story in as close to its original form as possible.

This adaptation is incredibly accurate. Some things are told in a different order than they were in the book, but the events as they happened are largely unchanged both in content and tone/theme. The first two chapters are dedicated to Jean Valjean's backstory, and the third is about Bishop Myriel. This is the opposite order of how things are introduced in the book, but the chapters are still incredibly accurate. So much stuff that's left out of most adaptations is shown here, like the bishop's sister and maid, Valjean covering for his nieces and nephews when they steal food, and Valjean being attacked by dogs when he tries to take refuge in a doghouse. It's clear that the author of this manga had a great level of respect and love for the work he was adapting.

In addition to being incredibly accurate while cutting out a lot of rambling, the art and symbolism in this manga is also incredible. There are a lot of things I could point to as an example of this, but my personal favourite is two pages that happen after Valjean is forgiven by the bishop. He is shown roaring in pain, a lion biting his neck and chains around him breaking. Then as the panels progress he begins to grow younger, turning to a young man, a child, a toddler, and finally a baby. As he grown younger his expression changes, and his scream of rage and pain turns into the crying of an infant. When he's a metaphor baby, the bishop comforts him by holding his hand. As this is happening, Jean Valjean is wondering who his is, and the bishop's voice says "Your name is Jean Valjean." I'm probably not describing this very well but it really needs to be witnessed firsthand. This sequence of Valjean being symbolically reborn is so good and such a great representation of Victor Hugo's intentions and work.

If you have any interest in the story of Les Mis, whether you're a long time fan of the book or you've seen the musical's movie adaptation once at the insistence of a friend, then you should definitely read this manga. The style differs from that of the book, but the substance remains largely unchanged.

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Nov 29, 2023

Canlnon

Recommended

Preliminary (22/33 eps)

Les Misérables is a good classical read rich with life's hard lessons.

This omnibus version is wonderfully drawn. The story is 10/10 to me, without much introductory need; it is derived from one of the best musicals of all time. Again, of all times.

Art: 6-7/10
It matches the vibes and settings of the story at those times.
Nothing spectacular, but it's above average for me.

Story: 10/10
Without any music, the story still able to power through from the original and captures me a lot. We can learn plenty from here if our hearts are ready for it.
...

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Aug 18, 2025

PraiseTheWaifus

Not Recommended

Spoiler

Les Misérables is often called a timeless classic, praised for its deep story and layered characters. From what I’ve heard, the manga is also considered quite a good adaptation of the source. I should mention, though, that I haven’t read the original novel, this review is only about the manga. But if the book follows a similar pattern, then my opinion would probably be the same there as well. That said, as far as the story goes, calling it an “all-time classic” feels like giving it way too much credit. For me, reading it felt less like experiencing a great story and more like slogging ... through misery porn - it’s exhausting, frustrating, and far too forceful in how it handles tragedy..

The beginning wasn’t bad at all. Jean’s backstory stealing bread to feed his family, getting thrown in prison, and then serving even longer sentences because of repeated escape attempts was compelling. It set up his tragic circumstances well. His meeting with the bishop was honestly the highlight of the manga for me; that one act of kindness and forgiveness completely changed him, and his character development in that stretch was strong and believable.

But once Fantine came into the picture, everything went downhill. Her story was written to be as tragic as possible, but it just felt forced and frustrating. The way she gave her child to complete strangers so quickly didn’t make sense it was suspicious from the start, and it’s hard to believe someone could be that careless. Yes, maybe she couldn’t get a job if she traveled with her daughter, but that doesn’t justify blindly handing her over to shady people. And, of course, that decision became the very thing that destroyed her. Instead of feeling sympathy when she died, I felt angry. Her character’s suffering came from ignorance and poor decisions, not from something that felt natural or unavoidable. Watching her send money without ever checking on Cosette while those people exploited her was infuriating. By the time Fantine died, I couldn’t feel sad, just annoyed.

Jean taking Cosette in afterward worked better. It made sense for his character, and their little family dynamic had some charm. Cosette growing up under his care at least gave a glimpse of something more heartwarming after all the forced tragedy.

Then there’s Javert, the inspector. Honestly, he was one of the most irritating parts of the manga. His entire existence revolves around chasing Jean because of some rigid, self-righteous idea of justice he clings to like gospel. Instead of being an intimidating or complex antagonist, he came off as one-note and obsessive. Every time he appeared, it felt repetitive, like the manga was stuck in a loop of “Javert finds Jean, Javert chases Jean, repeat.” It didn’t add tension; it just got annoying. He did end up changing, but only near the very end of the story, and that doesn’t erase how frustrating and poorly written his character was

The time skip introduced Marius, who I actually liked at first. He had his own ideals, wanted to fight for the Republic, and had the passion of a revolutionary. I actually enjoyed his character until the love story kicked in. The romance between him and Cosette felt incredibly shallow. They barely knew each other, yet the story suddenly wanted us to believe they were madly in love. It felt forced, like the author was trying to squeeze in a romance subplot just for emotional weight. Cosette herself was also one-dimensional she had no depth, no real character arc, and was basically reduced to “the love interest.” The lack of focus on her made their entire relationship hollow and unconvincing

The final arc with the revolutionaries was another big letdown. Some of the side characters I actually cared about were killed off in predictable and manipulative ways, just to make the reader cry. But instead of being impactful, it just felt cheap. By the time the revolution failed and the dust settled, the so-called “happy ending” with Jean, Cosette, and Marius was so predictable and flat that it didn’t move me at all.

Overall, this story is severely overrated. The beginning had potential, and the art is really solid, but everything after that is either forced tragedy, shallow writing, or cheap emotional manipulation. The characters don’t hold up, the romance is one of the worst I’ve seen which makes me hate the characters more, and the story aged poorly. I hope it won’t get any further adaptation in the future as it will be big waste of resources.

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