The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess: Volume 5 {Manga Monday #5}
T/N: To anyone who says this post was blank...it was just a nightmare, go back to bed!
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 this week's gathering of Manga Monday!
'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.
As the title of this post says, we're going to be talking about the fifth volume of Akira Himekawa's manga series, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there will be spoilers ahead!
Page Bound Link: click here!
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: Big & Beefy Chapters, Zant is Creepy, Fantasy Violence, Impalement, Near-Death Midna, Self-Sacrifice, Ganondorf
Chapter 31 ~ Midna Covered in Wounds
Recollection
- Midna and Link begin to fight Zant which results in Link getting stabbed in the Shadow-Eye and Midna having PTSD from seeing her OG Wolf get murdered (remember, OG Wolf is still alive!)
- Zant reveals his creepy mouth and is creepy towards Midna and just a giant creepy Zant
- Midna refuses to join Zant, so he afflicts her with a bunch of light to try and kill her
- Link can't return to human form until he gets the evil shard from Zant out of his head
- Link races to Castle Town to find Princess Zelda so she can save Midna, but scares a girl who then causes the Guards and Townspeople to go into attack mode (alongside a good old telephone game from "it scared me!" to "it killed a girl!")
- Midna thinks back on when she saw a young girl like her (definitely Princess Zelda) in a mirror stone and how they promised to meet and be friends, but unfortunately they never did and the stone turned normal
- Zelda also thinks back to meeting Child Midna, but she saw her in a magic fountain instead
- Link brings Dying-Midna to Zelda after a series of secret passageways and sneaking around
- Zelda finds Link's Tri-Force and tells him to go find the Master Sword in the forest and use it to defeat Evil
- Zelda didn't make it to meet Midna back then because the Royal Advisor and Castle Guard sealed off the fountain and then walled off the courtyard (what massive jerks)
- Zelda sacrifices herself to save Midna's life and tells Midna that her friendship (even though it was brief) was her greatest treasure
IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT YOU KNOW THAT THIS ONE CHAPTER TOOK UP BASICALLY HALF OF THE VOLUME. Holy jeez the plot is good but the pages are thick. First off, Zant, you're creepier with lips. You should get rid of those. I know that's difficult though, so just go ahead and throw your whole body off the cliff to be safe, yeah? Second, eugheughueguhguehg spikey things going into bodies gives me the eughuehguehgheugh, you know? Especially when it's an evil spikey thing because that's a whole new level of violating. Thirdly, ZELDA?!?! She's gonna come back, right? She has to come back. She's Princess Zelda!!! It's "Legend of Zelda" not "Legend of Zelda who Died"!!!
Agh, but what an absolutely selfless and sentimental way to go out. She gave her entire life-force to save Midna and had such a strong value for their friendship that didn't even get a second chance. Argh, stupid castle people! Why the hell is there a forbidden magic fountain just out in the open if you don't want anybody to interact with it??? "Oh yeah, here's the fountain that shows us the people we're discriminatory against. Let's just pop that right there in a freely accessible courtyard. That makes sense!" Did they really have to go so far as to wall it up? Who even set up that system in the first place?! The thought process of these people astounds me. "No better friends than Hyruleans"???
I am so excited for the Master Sword though! Finally, the emergence of Link's Tri-Force and Legendary Stabby!
Chapter 32 ~ The Master Sword
Recollection
- Zant puts an ownership barrier around Hyrule Castle while Link and Midna race off to Faron Woods
- Puppet-looking Things and Guardian Statues let Link through to the Master Sword's resting place because of his Tri-Force mark being the same as "The Brave One"
- Link awakens the Master Sword and it's power resonates with his Tri-Force mark
Oh thank goodness. A nice breather of a chapter with some beautiful environmental art to boot! I'd be so keen to see these pages in full colour (guess I'll have to play the game at some point!). I'm not a big fan of the creepy puppet people, but hey, they didn't chose to be creepy puppet people! I respect them for doing their jobs to watch over the Master Sword nonetheless. I do really, really enjoy how the final 2-page art of Link and the sword makes full use of the black/white colouring to showcase shadowy and glowing bits. Everything from the manic look of power in his eyes to the dappled specs of light just oozes magic!!!
Chapter 33 ~ The Resistance
Recollection
- Link gets carried away in the epicness of the Master Sword for a moment
- Link returns to Castle Town for equipment before setting off
- Telma (tavern owner) introduces Link to their resistance group of Auru (same royal teacher who forbade Zelda from the fountain), Ashei (a warrior), and Rusl (Link's Mentor from Kakariko Village), and Shad (historian with a crush on Ilia)
- Link is going to go investigate the desert (where his original village was) to find clues about the Mirror of Shadow
- Link gets a 95.5% discount of the Hylian Shield as a thanks from Malo (kid from Kakariko Village who's now a multi-store magnate) alongside some new gear for Epona
- Midna recounts the history of how the Twilight Realm came to be and how the Mirror of Shadow is an enchanted item that bridges the two worlds
- Midna asks if Link will come with her to the Mirror and into the Twilight Realm to defeat Zant
HOLY- A 95.5% DISCOUNT ON AN S-TIER ITEM??? Black Friday could never... ALSO YAYYY EPONA GOT SHINY NEW THINGS TOO!!!
Gotta say, I like the little rebellion group that Telma's got! "We don't know who we're resisting, but we know it ain't right" isn't the most fool proof motivation, but it's an honest one! What more could you ever really ask of someone in this situation, eh? I'm feeling a little dubious about Auru being involved because of the assholery he committed in the flashbacks of Zelda and Midna, but second-chances and all that.
Now then, what's the deal with this Mirror of Shadow? If that's the item you're supposed to need to travel back-and-forth...then how did Zant manage to blend the entire worlds together???
Chapter 34 ~ Desert Arbiter's Grounds
Recollection
- Link and Midna agree to be partners on the journey ahead
- Midna and Link hear scary ghost voices, but press on to their source in the Arbiter's Grounds
- Epona gets beamed back to Castle Town for safety
- Link and Midna enter the grounds and then immediately fall through the floor
- Link vanquishes one hateful ghost who proclaims that his "king" will get his revenge and that the hate will never end
- Link fights and slays a Giant Bone Dragon Monster-thing (it looked very cool)
- They find the mirror has already been shattered
- The protector spirits of the mirror reveal that the one who broke it is the evil entity named GANONDORF
HE'S HERE!!! Well, not here-here, but he is officially within the story now!!! Ganondorf, the big-bad, the Evil King, the pick-a-name! Oh, man. The side profile they show of him too is downright dastardly. Dark colours, evil smirk, pure white eyes full of hatred. Agh, I can't wait!!! Why'd he break the mirror though???
Volume Reflection
Half-the-volume's page count of a chapter aside, we've had yet another great installment in the series! 5/11 means that we're basically at that halfway point and it has been perfectly timed with a hero's upgrade and leveling up the mystery levels within the plot. It's especially impeccable timing to introduce the iconic villain and equipment of the series overall!
Link seems really settled into his role as hero, so aside from my curiosity about "The Brave One" there's not much to talk about there. However, on the sides of Zelda and Midna...oooh, I want to know so much more. We got the backstory of their meeting as kids, but Midna already knew and had a rapport with Zelda way back when Link had newly turned into a wolf. What led them to meet and be familiar then? Additionally, IS ZELDA GONNA STAY DEAD FOREVER??? She's the Tri-Force of Wisdom and the Goddess Hylia Incarnate, she can't just give up her life like that!!! Further, will Midna ever get her true form back? Clearly from the showdown with Zant, she's limited in her powers against him right now. Is that just because she's in gremlin form? I'm glad she's at least sub-textually admitted to her fondness for Link as an adventuring partner. I'd hope that saving her life would do that. Speaking of, Zant, I can't wait to read your demise.
The Master Sword has been awoken. Link's Tri-Force is a known power in play. Ganondorf has been revealed. Zelda's dead. Midna is healed. Zant is creepy. Epona is perfection.
Here's to more questions than answers in Volume 6, eh?
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 week's gathering for Manga Monday, so off into the nighttime we go in preparation for tomorrow!
I hope you'll come back for tomorrow's Taffy Tuesday: Midnight Series! I'll be taking you into the Midnight Concert Hall to discuss my most recently obtained vinyls: Em Beihold's "Egg in the Backseat" LP and "Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter" LP!.
May we meet again at Midnight!