The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1 (1)

If you don't like the idea of Link having a back story, of the plot diverging from the way it goes in the game, if you don't like a bit of artistic liberty, then this manga is not for you.

I am so ecstatic that Akira finally got to do Twilight Princess in their style! And I just love all the extras that they included to flesh out the world of Twilight Princess. It's nothing like what I was expecting and I'm excited for that and for vol. 2.

This is my first time owning one of the Zelda series that they have done and I have read most of the other ones. Really good work. But if you don't like divergence from the games, the manga aren't for you.

What’s Hot
+ Arguably one of the best Legend Of Zelda games receives the manga treatment.
+ Awesome art direction
+ Revisiting the world of Hyrule during Twilight Princess in greater detail
+ Inexpensive

What’s Not
- Some may not be so open to the inevitable story changes
- The issue that most manga fans have, after you read the volume there is typically a long wait till volume 2 is released.
- Text close to the seam of the book can be challenging to read.
- Font size is on the small side.

What is it
To put simply, this is the Story of The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess in manga form. From what I can tell, the manga will follow the major events of the game while focusing on character development for both major and minor characters.

Story: 4
Volume 1 covers the back story of what happened in the Twilight Realm before the events of the game. Then the story moves to Link (The main Protagonist) currently residing in the Ordon Village. Before the volume ends we get Link’s backstory and see the chaos before link gets dragged into the twilight realm for the first time.

Art Style: 4.5
I find it hard to complain about the art style at all. If you have ever played the game before you will notice the art doesn’t stray far from the source. My main issue is some of the boxes are small and hard to tell what is going on, and or read the text.

Replay: 3.5
While I do intend on reading this volume again before, volume 2 releases I don’t see myself reading too many times again in between that. Don’t get me wrong this is a great volume but, it like many other books / mangas are slow to start due to setting the atmosphere of the story.

Value: 4.5
You can’t go wrong here, $10 for 5+ chapters of quality manga, this is a great value. Over time it may get a bit pricey due to the pacing appearing to be on the slower side but we’ll see.

Around The Web: 5.0
This product is currently holding a 5 star rating on amazon,

Thoughts
Since the demise of both Naruto (Temporarily) and Bleach, manga has been sadly absent from my life. I do finger through other manga from time to time but nothing has had me hooked and anxiously awaiting the next release. This may have changed thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. As of right now it may be too early to call but I am excited for the next volume.

Score
21.5 / 25
86

This review contains no spoilers except what anyone who’s already played the game would know.

I was absolutely blown away by the quality of this manga. Everything about it was fantastic, leaps and bounds above what I expected. I haven’t read any of the other Zelda manga in about six years, but from what I remember of them the skill of the storytelling in Twilight Princess is vastly superior to what came before it.

This first volume spends the majority of its time exploring Link’s peaceful everyday life in Ordon Village. This might sound boring, but it isn’t in the slightest. It’s absolutely delightful, adorable, hilarious, and serves its purpose in the story flawlessly: it builds your investment in Link and this life he’s come to love so much, and creates tension and dread for the foreshadowed day it will come crashing to an end.

Link, in this story, is not the silent protagonist you play as in the game. He’s a distinct character with his own personality and history. He’s glib and humorous, and at first seems shallow--asking about his pay and talking about how hungry he is. But in the first few pages of his interaction with Rusl, the village swordsman, you see a hint at serious thought and distant reflection. Unlike the game, where we assume Link has lived in Ordon Village all his life, here Link has only lived in the village for six months. He was quickly accepted by the village; he’s cheerful and cool, great at riding his horse and working at the ranch, and gets along well with all the children, each of whom idolize him. His interaction with the kids, and with Ilia the obvious love interest, is heartwarming and will make you laugh. But all throughout this happy time we keep getting hints that something deeper and potentially darker is going on with Link’s past. When Talo declares he’s going to go into the forest, which is exciting because it’s dark and dangerous, Link furiously yells at him with an anger none of the villagers had ever seen from him. And Colin was surprised when he discovered that Link had an extensive library, the largest collection of books in the village for sure, all about magic. When we eventually learn what this hidden past of his is, it’s emotionally potent and very satisfying.

The inciting incident comes about three quarters the way through the first volume, and mirrors the game: King Bulblin comes charging out of the forest on his giant boar, leading an army of monsters that attacks the village. That’s when you learn that, despite how cute and heartwarming the beginning of the story was, this manga is not afraid to be deadly serious as well. People die, and you see them die. Not as graphically as Berserk or Battle Angel Alita, nothing horrifyingly grotesque--but blunt, and open to see. One villager is stabbed through chest with a spear while his neck is bitten by the fangs of a bokoblin, Ilia is shot in the shoulder by an arrow, and Link’s arm is cleaved from his body by King Bulblin’s axe. The monsters are scary in this world, they present a deadly threat, and they are not to be taken lightly. The book ends at a natural stopping point in the story, when Link was transformed into a Wolf by being dragged into the Twilight and Imp-Midna looking on from a distance, saying how he would be useful to serve her.

I can’t overstate how happy and impressed I was with this manga. There are another two volumes in the Twilight Princess story, and I believe the third will be the conclusion of the trilogy. While all the other Zelda manga were, in my opinion, "cool if you're already a Zelda fan," Twilight Princess easily stands alone, worthy on its own merits whether you like Zelda or not. I am very eager to pick up the next chapter in this story, and highly recommend you do as well.

Okay, first I'll say I enjoyed this as I have the other Zelda manga I've read. That said I'm glad I read it before I shared it with my 5 year old son. I know the age range said 8-11, but he Ocarina of time Manga was 9-12 and that wasn't nearly as violent (My son love OOT). I honestly saw it as a reading level. To avoid specific spoilers, I'll just say this one gets dark near the end. Can't wait for next volume to come out in August, but it'll be for my collection not the family books.

Wow ! The art is as always amazing, the characters are lively, and damn is this story intense haha (especially for a Zelda story). The game was dark and this manga goes along with that well, that is what I will say without spilling any details. As always I love the artistic creativity taken by the authors, the world and characters are beautifully fleshed out and expanded upon. For all LoZ fans out there, I will of course highly recommend this. Looking forward to the next installments of this series ! (just to clear up for parents buying for younger kids and possibly reading this review, I did say the story was dark but I will not say that the book contains improper content. If they played the game they can handle this). Cheers !

It's been over a decade since I've played The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. And to be perfectly honest with you, I don't remember much about it at all. I mean, I remember Link turning into a wolf. I remember Midna. And I remember walking along the walls of Hyrule castle while in the Twilight Realm. But that's about it. I didn't spend a lot of time with it and, as a result, couldn't remember much of the story at all.

So when I started reading this manga, I didn't have any expectations about the story. I was coming in with a clean slate. And that's probably a good thing because I was able to enjoy it without worrying about this plot point not matching up or that character not being portrayed like the game.

In other words, I wasn't reading it with one eye on the game and one on the manga. I was able to read and enjoy it for what it was: a high-quality manga based on one of my favorite video game series. And that's exactly what it is.

Though I don't remember much of the game, I do remember the fact that I didn't play long enough to see Midna's original form (though I've seen illustrations and screenshots since). So, when I opened the book and saw her - as well as Zant - I knew that the manga wasn't trying to do a strict retelling of the game. But I actually like this fact. I'm glad that it began with some backstory - and it does. From the very beginning you have a basic understanding of what happened to Midna and the Twilight Realm.

The rest of this volume covers very little ground and moves somewhat slowly. So slowly, in fact, that it ends with Link transforming into his wolf form and meeting Midna. I don't remember for sure, but I feel like that was very early in the game (maybe an hour or so in?). If Himekawa continues at this pace (which I can only assume they won't), the story will take 10 volumes to retell.

Regardless, this volume sets the story up nicely and gives a lot more backstory to Link than some of the other 'Legend of Zelda' mangas that I've read. I enjoyed seeing him fleshed out and I believe it will only serve to make the subsequent volumes more engaging.

As always, the artwork is beautiful does a fantastic job of portraying the movement/action inherent in a manga like this. I especially like the way that the artwork for the enemies seems to be done in a more rough fashion than that of Link and the other humans. It creates a nice contrast between the light and dark.

If you're a Legend of Zelda fan (or even just a fan of quality manga), I highly recommend this volume. And when you finish, make sure to preorder the second volume that's coming out this August. I'm sure the story (and action) will pick up even further in that one.

I usually don't review the products I buy unless I feel the need to
There's not much I can say about this great book that other reviewers have already mentioned
-Beautiful Art
-Great Story with very good pacing (much better than previous LoZ mangas) good jokes and some differences from the game'a story to make it a bit more interesting
Cannot wait for Aug 8 when vol 2 releases
Loved this one so much!

I got attached to and emotionally invested in Link like an idiot and every single one of these mangas makes me progressively sadder
Amazing book 10/10 would cry about again
Only thing is I feel like the age rating should be higher, there’s some DARK stuff in this series…

It's a good book coming from someone who isn't into comics like others are. I will list my personal pros and cons based on my modest perspective...

Pros:
- It gives a backstory of the main characters and even some of the supporting ones.
- The character illustrations are consistent enough with the game.
- It's humor is simple and fitting for younger readers.

Cons:
- I feel there are some flaws within some of the characters in a few areas and by that I mean I believe they would speak a bit differently in those particular situations...but whatever.
- It's in black and white. I recommend buying Legendary Editions of the Zelda manga wherever you can.
- While this is an interesting book and gives a backstory for Link and even Golden Wolf, the story spends so much time touching up on setting a foundation of the characters and getting into their personal lives (which I like as long as it's accurate) that the author is able to reach only the part where Link is first transformed. This could (most likely) mean that there are several parts to the Twilight manga and the 2nd volume isn't even out yet. I guess I'll have to be patient. After all, comics that root with games/shows/movies are well known for timely development.

Note: As we all know, there are some slight differences from the game. KEEP IN MIND that the reason for character precision being in book and not game is for feeding certain players across the world; players who want to see Link in there own way. I see this aspect as being both good and bad but I shouldn't get into that here. I recommend buying this book considering the price!

Question: Do you agree with the first point under my 'Cons'?

Great book, I loved that this one is a black cover compared to the other Zelda mangas that are green.. It kinda signifies its a bit more for a mature audience as it has a bit more action and overall that 'creepy' aspect.