The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016)

[ゼルダの伝説：トワイライトプリンセス]

Volume 1

Author/Artist: Akira Himekawa
Publisher: Tentomushi Comics

Synopsis:
A goatherd with a mysterious past must contend with the dark forces that attack his village.

Story/Characters:
Seeing as how Twilight Princess is my second favorite game in the Zelda series, you can imagine my excitement when I found out the manga adaptation was underway. I was further encouraged by the more leisurely pacing compared to a lot of Himekawa's adaptations. If they stretch the story over four or six volumes, we could actually see a nicely fleshed out story. Just for reference, this volume ends right after Link turns into a wolf for the first time. If they were keeping the same pacing as the Ocarina of Time manga, we'd already be collecting the pieces of the Mirror of Twilight. I have mixed feelings about Midna appearing in her true form at the beginning of the story. On the one hand, it's Midna in her true form, but I kinda liked it being a big reveal at the end. Given what people who've played the game know about Zant, it strains credulity that he would be a legitimate candidate to succeed the late king, but maybe that'll get worked out in future volumes. It's interesting that they give Link a dark and mysterious past and I'm willing to give the expansion of the story a chance. Also, I have to credit them for making Ilia more likeable. If Midna didn't exist, I'd actually consider shipping her with Link in this continuity. (N.B. I never really cared for Ilia in the original game and she really got blown out of the water once Midna and Link's chemistry started coming together.) Anyway, I like where this is going and looking forward to seeing more.

Art:
After so many cartoony stories, it's a nice change of pace to see a more mature art style. You'd almost swear it was a completely different artist. True form Midna is suitably gorgeous and as things take a turn for the dire, there's some good nightmarish imagery to match. It's no exaggeration to say this is a dang fine-looking manga.

Conclusion:
While I've always enjoyed Himekawa's adaptations of the Zelda series, this one goes above and beyond. If we can keep up this pacing, the story can get real justice done to it. Zelda fans and TwiPri fans in particular are definitely going to want this in their collection.

Rating:
Own It