{Manga Monday #1} The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess: Volume 1
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the, uh, "first" Manga Monday!
'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.
As the title of this post says, we're going to be talking about the first volume of the Twilight Princess manga by Akira Himekawa. I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there will be spoilers ahead!
Disclaimer: I apologize if there are any crucial cultural notes or nuances that I misunderstand or fail to recognize. I, unfortunately, must trust the accuracy of the translated text to accurately represent the story and characters.
Trigger Warnings: Violence, On-page Deaths, Murder of a Wolf, Villainy, Fantasy Monsters, Depictions of PTSD, Sword-fighting, Link Talks, Kidnapping
T/N: Since manga chapters are relatively short, the format for these posts will first be a run through of each chapter, then brief thoughts regarding each chapter, then a final summary talking about the volume as a whole
Chapter 1 - Light and Shadow {Part 1}
Recollection
- The Goddess of Hyrule banished rebellious scoundrels to the Twilight Realm
- The Twilight Realm advanced in magic and technology parallel to Hyrule
- Princess Midna is set to take over the Twilight Realm after the passing of her father, the Twilight King
- The royal advisor, Zant, revolts and turns everyone into enslaved monsters
- Zant (the bastard) also kills Midna's companion, a golden wolf
On the light side of this chapter, Midna's full design is so damn pretty. The LOZ series always knocks it out of the park with their character designs (including the toon ones), but jeez Twilight Princess just had a different level of intricacy and detail in the designs. Maybe it's because the overall tone was darker or maybe they just really wanted to go ham with harsher lines and more metalwork inspired features.
On the shadow side, Zant, you are a horrible, atrocious wretch of a sentient being and I hope your death matches your personality.
Chapter 2 - Light and Shadow {Part 2}
Recollection
- Link and Epona make their debut alongside their fellow villagers of Ordon Vilage
- A strange goat herd goes crazy and on a stampede, but Link takes care of it
- The mayor asks Link to deliver their blacksmith's best sword to the royal family, but Link refuses
- Link has the tri-force mark, but hides it
- Link is friends with the mayor's daughter, Ilia
- Cliffhanger with the Twilight Monsters
Right off the bat, I am so very not used to a talking Link. I've only played Windwaker HD myself, but I've watched playthroughs of some of the other games. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually...but that moment is not now. He also seems a bit in that "well, excuuuuuse me, princess" vein of talkative, hehe. Also, 500 RUPEES AN HOUR??. Okay, admittedly, I'm not sure off the top of my head if that's by USD rules where it's $500 or if that's by JPY rules where it's only $5, but I think it's the former. I wish I made 500 Rupees an hour, good grief.
Ilia is scaring me because she's clearly set up to be the tragic close friend and maybe love interest...all I see are doom flags. I'm about to turn the page to see what happens with this monster because it feels awfully early to launch right into battle.
Chapter 3 - Ordon Village
Recollection
- The monsters were just part of a nightmare from Link's past
- Link goes fishing with the village kids after showing off his magic books
- Ordon Village is an agricultural village that's famous for it's pumpkins, specifically
- Link gets intense and vehemently denies Talo's request to take him on as an apprentice
- Link also scares the children with how upset he gets at them talking about going into the woods
It's really such a classic pitfall, isn't it? The whole, "I know more about the dangers surrounding something, so I heavily reacted to it, but I'm trying to not upset you or make you even more curious" problem. I really just want to know what Link's deal is here with the whole light/darkness thing. Those words specifically have come up a lot, and while I know that light/dark/twilight is literally the whole theme of this series...plot-wise there's gotta be more here, right? Link, just what exactly did you go through to be this traumatized by monsters that aren't even here yet?
Chapter 4 - Omens
Recollection
- Talo get's upset at Link's sternness and refusal
- Princess Zelda and the King's first proper mentions in the story
- Link get's offered to be a village swordsman/guardsman, but refuses citing his lack of skill
- Some of the famous pumpkins mysteriously rot and get toss off the bridge (an apparently common practice for anything the village doesn't want)
- Link has another nightmare about the Twilight Monsters and his past trauma
- A village fisherman gets monstered while the Twilight demon guy under the bridge is getting more blood thirsty
I knew it, and maybe not, but I knew that Ilia was gonna be getting more bad omens...thank you, chapter title. What kind of story goes "yeah, let's have this character talk with the friend character about how they hope nothing changes and how they'll protect the village" and expects me NOT to immediately clock a doom flag? "I'm sure all is right" COME ON, MAN. You might as well walk under a ladder into an ER room talking about how it's sooo quiet you can even hear the sound of the umbrella you're opening indoors. Crack a mirror on my heart, why don't you. AND SHE HAS AN "UNFINISHED" GIFT FOR HIM??? Oh, oh no...
...while I absolutely do not side with the Twilight Demons here...c'mon Ordon Village. Don't treat your ever so sacred bridge as a void-based garbage disposal. Bad villagers!
Chapter 5 - Those Who Come Forth from Shadow
Recollection
- Link returns Sera's (the village shop owner) cat, Roo (Roo does not like Link)
- Sera gives link a magical potion for free after talking about protective spirits and light
- Link's fixation on not repeating his mistakes and bringing "light" gets worse
- Talo and Malo were idiot kids and decided to jump on Epona and spook her into running off into the woods
- Link and the towns people go after them
- Link has visions/dreams of Midna and the wolf (who makes eye contact with Link)
I am so, so curious what the heck this past trauma Link is feeling from. It's clearly intense enough to give the guy nightmares and an obsession over hiding things and protecting the "light" of his village. Just...what happened to you??? Did you kill someone??? Did you fail to save someone??? What the heck did these Twilight things do to make you filled with such a primal fear.
Also, GODDAMNT YOU STUPID CHILDREN! HOW DARE YOU DRAG EPONA INTO THIS! Epona, I'm so sorry...
Chapter 6 - Link's Past
Recollection
- Everyone in the village is either worried or out looking for the kids and Epona
- One asshole wonders if the spirits have turned against them because Link (specifically pointy-eared Link) was welcomed into their home
- Link's past is finally revealed (2 years ago his entire homeland disappeared and he believes it to be his fault; He was training to protect Hyrule but then pulled the magic Gaurof Sword from stone and unleashed Twilight Monsters. he also lied about never holding a sword)
- Link say's he's avoiding the castle because he might see someone he knows
...well, fuck. Yeah, man, yeah. That is definitely a past that would mess someone up. Good grief, I'm so sorry, Link. While I'm fairly certain the thing Link released was part of the Twilight...I'm not entirely certain? I mean, it could be an entire separate incident because of the whole Zant thing happening, but I'll just be excited to find out as the story goes on I suppose! I'm glad his tri-force mark is getting more screentime too since he was so concerned about hiding it prior. What the heck is the Gaurof Sword, though? Again, I'm not a LOZ hardcore fan, so maybe this is more significant but...is that just a version of the Master Sword or something else? (die-hard fans, please forgive my ignorance here) Also, we're all in agreement that the person he doesn't want to meet is most definitely Princess Zelda, right? Right!
Chapter 7 - The Monster Who Devours Fear
Recollection
- Link is comforted by Rusl about his past (he knew Link was hiding /something)
- Link regains the courage to fight against the Twilight Monsters to protect the people of Ordon Village
- Rusl gives Link a sword to fight with and Link beings battle
- Ilia gets shot and taken hostage; Colin also is taken hostage (but not shot)
- Link confronts the main Twilight Demon, but gets swarmed by bokoblins who chop his sword arm off
I just want to point out, the first page of this chapter has "DEATH GOD?!" in giant lettering during the flashback part. That brings me back to my original question of "is this a Twilight Demon or no?" again. Admittedly, I was not expecting layers here as the game storylines are typically straight forward...but ooo, I'm excited for layers! However also, is Colin okay??? Ilia's been shot, the main Demon is being creepy towards her, and she has passed out; that's understandable, but the literal child-child is just strung to a war pole with no signs of life or anything at all. Aside from Midna's wolf getting slain, I think this is the most troubling image in the manga.
Chapter 8 - Into Twilight
Recollection
- The monsters call themselves "The Shadow King's Minions" (presumptuous much, Zant? Unless they mean Ganondorf...)
- Link gets drowned by the bokoblins, but he lives and gets healed by a spirit (arm included)
- Ilia and Colin are still hostage and presumably more hostaged now
- Link turns into a wolf the moment he crosses the Twilight Gate outside the village
- Wolf-Link gets taken prisoner by the Twilight Monsters as Gremlin-Form Midna watches on
I am seriously conflicted on if they mean Zant as the "Shadow King" or Ganondorf...unless Zant is Ganondorf??? Questions, questions. Even in gremlin form, Midna has such an intricate design. The swirls on her skin and the mask piece and her hair just...agh, it's so pretty and detailed. Midna makes me swoon. The transformation to Wolf-Link was interestingly paced. Maybe I've just been spoiled by the more gradual werewolf-esque transformation sequences I've seen prior? It wasn't bad, I wanna clarify, definitely not bad. Just jarring...then again the different between "light" and "dark" is too so...
Volume Reflection
What an excellent introduction to the world of Twilight Princess and to The Legend of Zelda as a whole, honestly. I'm already familiar, so there's certain things I can appreciate ahead of time like Link's tri-force mark or the fact that I know "Ganondorf" as a concept (or that the little Gremlin is, in-fact, Princess Midna). However, they've blanketed the well-known facts within all the new things so nothing feels over-done or tiresome. There's a great balance of assumptions and questions within the story's portrayal that keep it engaging. I'm really, really keen to see how the story develops and how this Link's past gets expanded out. Maybe the "Death God" was Ganon? I know Midna is the main focus here, but surely Princess Zelda also has to play her large part in this, right? What's the history between them? I'm gonna tear through the next volume now that we're getting into the meat of everything and Wolfy has made his appearance!
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you've been able to read (or play) and enjoy the story for yourself! If you haven't, that's okay too! My thoughts are here to keep you updated and entertained in the meantime.
This caps off this post for Manga Monday, so off into the nighttime we go in preparation for the second part of this double-feature incoming! I hope to see you again real soon for the second volume of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess!
May we meet again when the clock strikes 12:00!