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Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick 01
- GenresManga
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2025
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Kamui Fujiwara
124 books3 followersFujiwara Kamui (藤原カムイ) is a Japanese character designer and manga artist.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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.
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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.
December 16, 2025
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
In this land, there are two kingdoms, both with descendants of the great Erdrick, and both expecting newborn princes. Evil forces work against both royal families in attempts to establish a foothold for the Fiendlord Imagine. In the kingdom of Carmen, loyal knights thwart the plot to steal the baby prince, but at great cost. The young Lunafreya escapes the castle walls with baby Arus and is rescued by a sandsailor. In the northern kingdom, demons have been more successful, and they are able to steal a baby prince for the fiends. Ten years pass, and the young Arus has been training to take back his kingdom and vanquish monster-kind from kingdoms across the land.
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
In this land, there are two kingdoms, both with descendants of the great Erdrick, and both expecting newborn princes. Evil forces work against both royal families in attempts to establish a foothold for the Fiendlord Imagine. In the kingdom of Carmen, loyal knights thwart the plot to steal the baby prince, but at great cost. The young Lunafreya escapes the castle walls with baby Arus and is rescued by a sandsailor. In the northern kingdom, demons have been more successful, and they are able to steal a baby prince for the fiends. Ten years pass, and the young Arus has been training to take back his kingdom and vanquish monster-kind from kingdoms across the land.
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
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews