Okay, so who can blame me for looking at the live journal? any curious fan would, so I popped over there and looked at the manga, as closely as I could.
My first reaction was shock, to see the characters in manga style, and in black and white (Im sorry Im not knowlegeable about the art form) and so firstly I had to get my head around this.
I thought it amusing that the ending of the movie was told as if it were a legend, because it is! And that made me laugh, and hats off to them for that. thank you.
As I continued to scan the pictures, (please note I could not read them, my poor eye sight- well I think I need glasses) I've come to the assumption that this manga is possibly for a young teen market. I just get the feeling that it is their aim to bring in fresh fans, who would identify with Toby, someone of his age, whatever that is now. Im not too old myself mind you, only twenty, but still it makes me think that this would probably have better affect on someone younger. When older fans, like me, look at this Manga, they probably hoped Sarah to be the protagonist, even if this is unrealistic. Toby makes the better choice as regards to progression of the story. And for people who want to focus on Sarah's life, I guess there is always fan fiction. It would be better for younger readers to folow Toby's journey, like we older fans followed Sarahs, and this will capture their attention, like the movie blew me away when I was a kid, and I got swept up into that world, and her character. hmm I hope that made sense.
When I imagine Labyrinth its a world of wonder and magic, and the issue I saw didnt show this to my interpretation, but anyway, all I have to say is lets see. I guess I think back on the story with nostalgic eyes and imagination, thinking of the film sets and what it was, the world that Froud created. So in that respect, I guess manga style could sadly not recapture my imagined image, possible only Froud could have in book format.
As regards to Jareth's lipstick I think some people are forgetting that Bowie wore lipstick in the film, well in the ballroom scene at least.
As regards to Irene, aka 'Karen' I think Sarah did learn at the end of the film, that she should treat her parents differently, and this showed in her lighter temper towards her dad's call. But am I mistaken? In the manga Irene is said to be Toby's Aunt and not mother, (again, my eyesight might be failing me) but this would therefore go against these judgements of her being Karen, his mother. And if Irene is Toby's Aunt, who in fact mistreats him, then we are seeing a repetition of a Sarah-like character- who is alienated, playing by himself with escapest toys, and seemed to be misunderstood by his family. Even more reasons for him to take off into the underground.
I think you could either take or leave this manga, and I think if you feel insulted, because its an offical story that didn't live up to what you hoped, then theres not much I can say for your dissapointment. But with people who had expectations for twenty years, all I can say is that sadly, with that in mind, they werent going to please everyone, and rather far from it, as you say alorindanya, with such huge expectaions, it looks as if people were all ready to reject it before its anitcipated release.
Through study of the media, Ive learnt then when sequel films/books etc are introduced to the public, they must follow enough of their audiences expectations, as to not dissapoint them. But, importantly, it is with their new innovative content that they succeed, in areas that an audience didn't expect. This is usually how they work the system, and hope that a new product, or in this case, a fresh slant on an old beloved story will be accepted by an anxious public.
Even if this manga isn't for me, Im hopeful, that its helps in prolongng the life of the film, and all the fun and such its provided to people everywhere.