Manga Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Volume 2, by Akira Himekawa

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 3+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Link must defeat evil at every turn in his perilous quest to help Princess Zelda!

Once upon a time, wizards tried to conquer the Sacred Realm of Hyrule. The Spirits of Light sealed the wizards’ power within the Shadow Crystal and banished them to the Twilight Realm beyond the Mirror of Twilight. Now, an evil menace is trying to find Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm, and the fragments of the Shadow Crystal to gain the power to rule over both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light.

Link awakens in the Twilight Realm, in the form of a wolf! Here he meets Midna, and she escorts Link to Hyrule Castle where none other than Princess Zelda bestows a question upon him—if the world is to be saved from the encroaching darkness, Link must recover the shards of the Shadow Crystal. The task will be long and difficult, and Link will need to use new powers he doesn't know he has!

Review:

We get a glimpse of Zelda as the volume starts. The princess is remembering things, and having to figure out a way to save her kingdom.

Then we see that Link is now a wolf, and following Midna. Midna acts like she's on his side—kind of—but it's a bit hard to tell, and Link doesn't quite trust her, understandably. But he's a wolf and in an unfamiliar place and doesn't really have a lot to go on, or any idea what to do at this point.

Link gets to come face to face with the evil that's happening and invading, and he gets to battle it and discover what his part in this whole plot might be.

This was an okay volume. While I've always liked the idea of Zelda, I've never actually played any of it, nor read any of it. So this is rather new to me, and it still feels like it's getting started. I'm intrigued, though.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Volume 1, by Akira Himekawa

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 3+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Once upon a time, wizards tried to conquer the Sacred Realm of Hyrule. The Spirits of Light sealed the wizards' power within the Shadow Crystal and banished them to the Twilight Realm beyond the Mirror of Twilight. Now, an evil menace is trying to find Midna, princess of the Twilight Realm, and the fragments of the Shadow Crystal to gain the power to rule over both the Twilight Realm and the World of Light.

Review:

I know next to nothing about Zelda, and particularly about this plot line, since I've never played the games, nor have I watched anyone else play them. Thankfully, you don't need to know anything to read this volume, as it explains things as it goes.

The story line is a little muddled to me, and I'm not really sure where it's going or how it started. It's mostly the start of the volume where I was a little lost. But then we get to really meet Link and where he is and why he's there. He has some tragic backstory, and I'm sure we'll see more of what it means soon. There's also some hints of him seeing Princess Zelda, and their relation. Then near the end we see Link's relation to the wolf, and the people who are after his village.

This was a little slow, and I wasn't too sure where it was going. I have to admit it didn't really pull me in, and I didn't really get a big feel for Link's character—or at least I didn't grow attached.

I'm a little intrigued, but this might just not be my genre of story.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!