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Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick 01
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2025
About the author
Kamui Fujiwara
127 books3 followersFujiwara Kamui (藤原カムイ) is a Japanese character designer and manga artist.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 20, 2026
Set between the events of Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest I, Prince Arus, bearer of the Emblem of legendary hero Erdrick (protagonist of the third game), is destined to defeat the evil Dragonlord.
I was pleasantly surprised how well this basically stand-alone spinoff manga fits in with the main video game series of Dragon Quest, and I don't even mean just thematically, but also from the way chapters and the story are structured as a whole. It is VERY reminiscent of the way Yuji Hori dramaturgically structures the stories in the games. Like in the games, the overall plot is, generally, very very basic (as you could see by my small summary), but the way in which the plot is layed out and written is in most cases the main part why people love the series. Furthermore, the characters are all so likeable thus far, and you quickly begin to appreciate most of them. They each have their own reasonable motivations (and are quirky as heck), and it is fun seeing them interact with eachother and the world around them.
Following that, the pacing is immaculate. Never to slow, never too fast, and I was blown away how intriguing the manga was since chapter 1. Just plain good.
The art style, while emulating parts of Akira Toriyama's signature style, at the same time tries something completely different, very moody and, honestly, absolutely breathtaking. It is a pleasure seeing all the monsters from the games represented in such an engaging manner, I always grinned when they were on the page.
Lastly, I want to applaud the translators of the manga. It not only feels like something straight out of the games with the more antiquated and epic way of speaking, but also the jokes and word play surrounding many characters, locations and monsters are all there. I truly am a sucker for the slime-based puns in Dragon Quest, they are so goo-reat~
All in all, while the manga is especially directed towards fans of the series, I believe it can still be an absolute blast for anyone. It's just a good manga, period.
As a last hint: I would highly suggest watching the OVA "Dragon Quest - Emblem of Roto" between the first and second chapter. It's such a good and short little movie that fleshes out the characters even more (and features an absolutely amazing soundtrack, to top it off ^^)
I was pleasantly surprised how well this basically stand-alone spinoff manga fits in with the main video game series of Dragon Quest, and I don't even mean just thematically, but also from the way chapters and the story are structured as a whole. It is VERY reminiscent of the way Yuji Hori dramaturgically structures the stories in the games. Like in the games, the overall plot is, generally, very very basic (as you could see by my small summary), but the way in which the plot is layed out and written is in most cases the main part why people love the series. Furthermore, the characters are all so likeable thus far, and you quickly begin to appreciate most of them. They each have their own reasonable motivations (and are quirky as heck), and it is fun seeing them interact with eachother and the world around them.
Following that, the pacing is immaculate. Never to slow, never too fast, and I was blown away how intriguing the manga was since chapter 1. Just plain good.
The art style, while emulating parts of Akira Toriyama's signature style, at the same time tries something completely different, very moody and, honestly, absolutely breathtaking. It is a pleasure seeing all the monsters from the games represented in such an engaging manner, I always grinned when they were on the page.
Lastly, I want to applaud the translators of the manga. It not only feels like something straight out of the games with the more antiquated and epic way of speaking, but also the jokes and word play surrounding many characters, locations and monsters are all there. I truly am a sucker for the slime-based puns in Dragon Quest, they are so goo-reat~
All in all, while the manga is especially directed towards fans of the series, I believe it can still be an absolute blast for anyone. It's just a good manga, period.
As a last hint: I would highly suggest watching the OVA "Dragon Quest - Emblem of Roto" between the first and second chapter. It's such a good and short little movie that fleshes out the characters even more (and features an absolutely amazing soundtrack, to top it off ^^)
February 7, 2026
epic start to what looks like an epic storyline..Great world building and some well placed humor invested as well.
October 4, 2025
I picked this up as I wanted to dip my toe into the world of Dragon Quest. With the impact the series has had on so many other RPG’s, fantasy story lines, and its distinctive style (Toriyama-san the MVP) it’s a bit hard to read fantasy tropes and recontextualize them as, at the time, fresh and new ideas in the genre.
As such I don’t personally feel like I really liked this all that much. I was stuck between a three and four star.
I think functionally it is a four star due to its incredibly clean art, properly paced story, and lore / world building. In my heart it’s a three as I just didn’t care for some of that well built lore anyways…
If you’re a fan of Dragon Quest I’m sure this will be an enjoyable read. If you’re new to the series try to go in with an open mind. If you’re looking for dark gritty fantasy, plot twists, or are just very familiar with common RPG fantasy storytelling this might not be for you.
As such I don’t personally feel like I really liked this all that much. I was stuck between a three and four star.
I think functionally it is a four star due to its incredibly clean art, properly paced story, and lore / world building. In my heart it’s a three as I just didn’t care for some of that well built lore anyways…
If you’re a fan of Dragon Quest I’m sure this will be an enjoyable read. If you’re new to the series try to go in with an open mind. If you’re looking for dark gritty fantasy, plot twists, or are just very familiar with common RPG fantasy storytelling this might not be for you.
October 14, 2025
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This classic manga feels very inspired by Dragon Ball, but without the bawdy humor that mars some of the earlier volumes of that series. Many of the same tropes exist here - mysterious wise sages come to offer training and advice, and young heroes face insurmountable odds. But Kawamata also shows emotional depth on more than one occasion and reminds readers that Arus is still a young child who grew up without the love of his parents. Kawamata and Fujiwara’s monsters also occasionally have emotional moments as they contemplate their actions and the benefits of blindly following a demon lord’s orders. A mark of a great story is getting lost in its pages and being sad when the volume is over — both of which happened during my reading experience.
Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher.
This classic manga feels very inspired by Dragon Ball, but without the bawdy humor that mars some of the earlier volumes of that series. Many of the same tropes exist here - mysterious wise sages come to offer training and advice, and young heroes face insurmountable odds. But Kawamata also shows emotional depth on more than one occasion and reminds readers that Arus is still a young child who grew up without the love of his parents. Kawamata and Fujiwara’s monsters also occasionally have emotional moments as they contemplate their actions and the benefits of blindly following a demon lord’s orders. A mark of a great story is getting lost in its pages and being sad when the volume is over — both of which happened during my reading experience.
Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher.
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October 1, 2025Great start. have never read this before, but love the Dragon Quest world. characters are unfamiliar to me for the most part, but echoes some similarities between the first trilogy of games.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews