The Legend of Zelda ~ Twilight Princess: Volume 7 {Manga Monday #7}
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 seventh 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!
AniList 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: Fantasy Violence, Ganondorf, Injuries, Mass Causalities, Grief, Mind Games
Chapter 37 ~ Invitation to Rebirth
Recollection
- A very battered Link is currently recovering in a barn/shack while being nursed by an unknown traditional healer
- "A man in a cape" left him there and paid for his treatment
- Link is also struggling against the intrusive presence of Shadow Link's ranting hallucination
- "The Man in the Cape" shows up, gives Link one hell of a pep-talk meets reality check meets commiseration about being the chosen hero
- Link divulges more about being over taken by the Tri-Force's power
- "The Man in the Cape" is actually a Tri-Force hero from before and is also actually the skeleton warrior guy that Link fought against in the mindscape
- He gives Link the Master Sword again and Link starts to recover much faster
- The Man in the Cape reveals again that they are also actually Midna's Golden Wolf and leaves (much to Link's protest)
- Midna and Link reunite and Link apologizes for losing his way
"I am one who has walked the same path"
"Taking in each of those things that knocked you down and made you grind your teeth...and then standing up again...is what makes a true hero"
Holy smokes the transition panels to reveal cape man's identity were so cool!!! The slow show of hair into the full Link-looking face and then the aging progression until finally being a haunted skeleton. Agh, that was so sick!!! The reveals of "I'm an older you" "No, I'm actually the dead you" "No, as a matter of fact, I'm the wolf!" were just agghhh. So awesome!!!
I'm glad that Link got the heart-to-heart he needed. While I'm certain his journey of acceptance and healing is far from over, I can't think of a better person/skeleton/wolf to help ground him back to reality. A small comfort against an insurmountable responsibility.
Midna coming back is such a cherry-on-the-cake! I missed her!!!
Chapter 38 ~ Setting Out on a Journey Again
Recollection
- Link goes to ask the girl where his clothes and equipment are before he and Midna set off on their quest again
- The girl yells at him to go away before breaking down crying in front of the village cemetery (the village is /very/ desolated)
- When the Twilight attacked the village, Hyrule Soldiers swore to stay and defend them, but the soldiers got turned into monsters and killed everyone in the village except for her on Zant's orders (including everyone in her family, she was hidden away)
- The girl refuses to leave because it's her only home and where her family is
- Link comforts the girl and tells her that there is still hope in fighting and staying strong, even amidst everything that's happened
- He vows himself to be the the hero to protect people like her
- The girl, Anika, gives Link his clothes back after having mended them
- Link gives Anika one of his earrings to show the people at Ordon Village if she choses to leave and go seek shelter there
- Link and Midna set off to continue their quest as a flower blooms at the grave of Anika's older brother
"Today, you can cry a whole year's worth."
ANIKAAAA, I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYY. Oh my god, I'm so sorry. To carry the grief and weight of your entire family and village being decimated like that...to live alone in the place that echoes of them...Anika, I'm so sorry. The sheer thought of that radiates pain right through the heart.
I'm glad that Link was able to comfort her and that a flower bloomed to signify a new beginning and peace, but just...I can't get over the imagery of that cemetery panel. You have this small girl at the center front. At first you think oh, just a handful of tombstones in a rundown town. I'm sure this will be sad. Yet, the manga decides to go even further and zooms out to show who knows how many tombstones absolutely engulfing her form and you're stuck with this "ohno..." moment. Absolutely, dreadfully done in a masterful way.
Chapter 39 ~ Destiny of the Triforce
Recollection
- Ganondorf somehow summons Zelda out of her death-like state back into the Twilight Realm and Hyrule Castle
- Ganondorf speaks about their connection through the Triforce and how, regarding his execution 100 years ago, a different Princess Zelda was responsible for his death sentence
- Zelda reveals that she knowns of Ganondorf's past and "her" involvement because she used her Triforce of Wisdom to open a record of the dark past which awakened her memories from her prior reincarnation
- Zelda, back at the time of Ganondorf's original execution, turned back time after that time's Hero of Time (Link) defeated Ganondorf so that way they could banish him off before he could ever attack Hyrule, kill the King, and try to claim all three Triforces for himself
- Ganondorf says that being banished to the Twilight Realm actually helped him cultivate dark power, manipulate Zant into helping him, and now grants him the opportunity for vengeance against Zelda, Link, and Hyrule (alongside stealing all three Triforces, of course)
- Whilst cutting to flashes of Link and Midna's haphazard journey to "The Temple Where Time Sleeps" in the forest, Ganondorf and Zelda play mind-games with each other about how Ganondorf's plan will succeed/fail
- Ganondorf tells Zelda that her always teaming up with Link has been unfair, so this time around, he would like to be allies instead
"Don't take me for nothing more than a fine doll only good for decoration. If the need arises, I will not hesitate to take up a sword and fight"
Ganondorf...just what the hell are you talking about??? Let's think this through logically. In every iteration so far, regardless of how much progress you made, you have always failed and been killed. You have trapped this woman in the castle (again), have raved to her about your plans to once again try and take over Hyrule and monopolize the Triforce, and yet you also expect for her to be onboard with all of that in the spirit of "fairness"???
Dude...no? Just, no??? I get it, you've done a lot of damage and now you're feeling all high and mighty off the Twilight Realm, but my guy, you're not even listening to Zelda when she says that Link has a traveling companion. Ya know, Midna, the actual Twilight Princess!!! I'm sure there's bigger 4D chess afoot here, but...what???
Chapter 40 ~ The Temple Where Time Sleeps
Recollection
- Link and Midna find the Master Sword's pedestal, insert the sword, and open the door to the "Temple Where Time Never Sleeps"
- They are transported into the past where everything wasn't overgrown and decrepit
- Before Link can put his sword into the old pedestal, a child Link comes running up and puts their own sword into it
- Child Link and a shadow figure/beast begin an epic battle while the form of presumably Princess Zelda is trapped in a crystal above them
- The fight flashes out into white
- The Hero of Time (skeleton/wolf man) shows up to explain to Link that the fight was from the timeline before Zelda altered it by 7 years
- Link resolves that he wants to fight as the Hero of Time did
- The Hero of Time warns link of the danger to his own flesh, but agrees to teach Link the techniques he needs to defeat Ganondorf
"Even if it shaves away my life...I cannot put aside my hope now"
OH MY GOODNESS ALL OF THIS IS SO COOL!!! Holy smokes, so cool!!!
The time jumping. The flashbacks. The conjoining of Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time (I think). Link finding his resolution to be the Hero of...whatever his title will be! The Hero of Time being around and conscious in such a free form way specifically because his actual life doesn't exist anymore...
I absolutely love how each of these threads are weaving together to make the story even bigger than just "evil land does evil things and now good guy from good place stops it".
The Questioning Query
- What must it be like to be conscious of your reincarnation(s)?
Zelda said "I" with a strong sense of ownership when she talked about the actions of past Princess Zelda, but it wasn't actually her, right? Does she truly see the memories as things she did? Jeez, how weird must it be when you first take realization of the fact that you've been stuck in this same cycle for centuries? Especially when it's sprinkled with a bit of "sure, you've always won in the past, but...can you really be 100% sure you'll win again?"
- At what point, in the history of Hyrule, does the Royal Family maybe decide not to name their daughter Zelda? How about citizens to stop naming their kids "Link"? Maybe, here me out, the Gerudo also stop using Ganondorf as a name?
I know that there's a whole bunch of God/Goddess malarky at play in the background, but I don't know...it seems like a pretty simple fix here.
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you've been able to read (or play) 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! We're heading back into the Midnight Concert Hall for a look at another recent vinyl acquisition of mine..."This & That" by Stray Kids!
May we meet again at Midnight!