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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess #3

The Legend of Zelda 13: Twilight Princess 03

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Link hadert mit seinem Schicksal, der auserwählte Held zu sein, der die Welt vor dem König der Finsternis bewahren soll. Mit gemischten Gefühlen macht er sich auf den Weg zum Feuerberg, wo ein weiterer Lichtgeist in den Schatten gefangen sein soll. Wird er für seine Freunde aus Ordon kämpfen oder verlässt ihn der Mut?

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2017

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1254 people want to read

About the author

Akira Himekawa

111 books543 followers
Akira Himekawa is the collaboration of two women, A. Honda and S. Nagano. Together they have created nine manga adventures featuring Link and the popular video game world of The Legend of Zelda, including Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons and Four Swords. Their most recent work, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, was serialized in Shogaku Rokunensei.

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5 stars
1,355 (54%)
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812 (32%)
3 stars
289 (11%)
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20 (<1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
Profile Image for Khurram.
2,364 reviews6,690 followers
June 23, 2021
A good continuation of the story, the pace of the book is a bit slow for my liking however it is a enjoyable book. the art work is good and detailed, I especially like the close up stuff. This volume is more about Link accepting his role as a chosen. Also Link is still learning skills, powers as well as finding allies. There is a rematch from the first volume. As much as I like the Manga art work I do find some of the fight scenes a bit hard to follow, I did have to keep looking back in case I missed something. However it was a good volume, I really do hope the pace picks up in the next volume. Part of me collects this out of nostalgia as this was the first game I ever played on the Nintendo (the original NES), so I still have great hope for this series.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
June 27, 2018
Disclaimer: I've done it again, and blitzed 3 volumes of manga in one day, so I'm reviewing all three in one review here.

Full disclosure, I wasn't really looking forward to reading this. It's been a long time since I a) played Twilight Princess and b) read Zelda manga, so I wasn't expecting much, but this stuff? This stuff is good.

The other volumes of Zelda manga are all heavily truncated, having to squeeze most of the games into one tankobon (bar Ocarina of Time, my second favourite adaptation so far, and Four Swords, that I don't really care for), but Twilight Princess isn't restricted like that, and is so much better as a result.

There's a lot of both world building and character building going on here. Link feels like a fully formed character with a backstory separate to the game, as do the kids of Ordon Village, and even Midna who comes across as a bit one-note to begin with is much deeper than you'd expect. There's a lot of work put in to show how Zant affects Hyrule, and the Bokoblins get their own side plot too. Even the dungeons are adapted in such a way that they flow with the story rather than just being a method to get Link the items he needs. Speaking of item side quests, who'd have thought that the Golden Wolf guy would get a whole storyline, and yet here we are.

The pacing is really well done too; as I said, this story gets time to spread out, so three volumes in and we're barely scratching the surface of the game, but it feels natural, like a long-form story should. Most Zelda games have a lot going on, and this extended run really allows for the story to be done justice.

The artwork is absolutely phenomenal as well. The action scenes are insane, and both Link and Wolf Link look perfect in every panel; Wolf Link especially looks very lifelike, and affects the mannerisms you'd expect from a dog even in inconsequential panels. There's a bit of him lying completely spread eagled that looks exactly like my own dog.

So yeah, I wasn't looking forward to reading this. Past me was a fool.
Profile Image for H.S.J. Williams.
Author 6 books325 followers
March 10, 2021
The hero is in Green! Say what you will, I’ve always loved Link’s classic attire and elfish pointed cap.

I really enjoyed this volume, from the sweet people of Kakariko village, to the totally epic fight with the mysterious Hero’s Shade, to the iconic battle on the bridge.

The series continues to remind it is meant for a mature audience as it includes a painful moment of a girl considering suicide rather than living with monsters, but she remembers in time that there are reasons to live in even the worst of circumstances.
Profile Image for Sarah Hyatt.
219 reviews33 followers
January 2, 2020
HAHAHAHA I GUESS THIS IS HOW 2020 IS GOING TO GO, Y'ALL

My children made me read this despite me saying "fine, I'll check it out but you can just look at the pictures." I caved. I read badly translated, confusing comics backwards. I dramatized. I made all the sound effects LOUDLY and finally just settled for shouting, "SWORDFIGHTING! NOISES!" I read all the punctuation because half the dialogue in this book is just punctuation: ! ? !? I sang a lot of Frozen songs at moments that lent themselves to Frozen songs. ("STOP, Mama.")

There was a lot of name shouting, kind of like Titanic. "JACK! ROSE! JACK! ROSE! JACK! ROSE!" There was a baby cat. There was a near suicide, which was a plot twist I didn't see coming in a comic book based on a Zelda video game and which I conveniently glossed over. There were, oddly, some in-game tutorials worked into the story. I'm using "worked" loosely.

I was not expecting to start 2020 off this way but 2020 does what it wants and I give up trying to exert influence or control.

I write all this out of a deep love for the Legend of Zelda. Not the way the Fans™ love it but the way ENFP women love games about pretty boys running around in aesthetically pleasing and atmospheric landscapes meeting all the people! and hoarding all the things! and making friends! and helping! also cats! I did not find that charm here.
Profile Image for Rosa Pateraki.
274 reviews10 followers
October 23, 2023
I don’t think I’ll give this series less than five stars. I know the story from the video game, but it’s like this is the premium version. There’s more sassy Midna, and we get to see Link’s personality and values, the bad guys’ motives. It’s so interesting.
Profile Image for ˚⊱ Avi ⊰˚.
229 reviews2 followers
November 10, 2022
We're still sticking really close to the game, but I'm so glad for it! The bridge scene and the events that unfold around it is one of my favorite moments from the game and I think it translated really well onto paper! I also like seeing Link start to cope with being a Hero, I'm glad it's an active part of the story and not just brushed off. Checking in with other characters like Ilia and Colin were nice and I also find it interesting that Midna is close to the golden wolf, which kinda raises some logistical questions for me, so I hope those get answered in following volumes.

4.5/5 stars
378 reviews
May 20, 2024
3.5 stars
I love the story (it is one of my favorite video games) , however i found this volume of the manga didn't really add anything for me to the story.

But i love Midna and Link , so if you like the game you will probably like this addition to the manga
it is definitely just a manga version of the game.
Profile Image for Therese.
110 reviews17 followers
January 11, 2022
Twilight Princess continues to surprise me with how well it is made in volume 3 of this manga series. In vol. 3 we get to see more of Link's struggle to reconcile himself to his destiny as the hero of Hyrule, and we learn more of why he is turned into a wolf in the Twilight realm. This part of the manga was probably my favorite, and I loved how Link reconciled his own desire to save his friends with his call to save Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda just does "the chosen one" trope in SUCH a good wa! We also get to see more of a bond between him and Midna develop in this one, and we get teased the appearance of a a certain skeleton warrior, which made me really, really excited. The manga ends with the famous Eldin bridge-duel, which was really cool!
Profile Image for Lila Diller.
Author 11 books46 followers
July 25, 2020
I'm reading these aloud with my 14-yr-old who has been obsessed with Link for years! He binged these all 1-6 in two days, and then he insisted I read them, too. This is my son's favorite volume.

The art is amazing! Especially the full-page spreads. But even the smallest expressions are perfect, too! I love that it gets a little deeper into the characters -- especially Link -- than the video game did.
Profile Image for Sunny :).
55 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2024
Oh Link is such a dramatic prettyboy in this it's amazing this is everything I could've asked for <3 The little game references with the sounds and the poses are really good even though the story is a bit mixed up (not complaining about that). The pacing is like, kinda wild but having played the video game like 15 times I am having no problem following what's going on
Profile Image for Emma Doucette.
174 reviews32 followers
February 21, 2024
There are more cats in this one + link looks amazing (bless you A. Honda and S. Nagano)

five stars...
Profile Image for kristiana.
182 reviews23 followers
June 3, 2024
A yet another cute and gripping volume! And we meet a very important character!
Profile Image for Kayla Lodge.
635 reviews12 followers
April 14, 2023
This story just keeps getting better and better even though they have changed how some things happen. I love every part of this story.
Profile Image for Everett.
316 reviews3 followers
April 12, 2022
Now this is what I'm talking about! This book was great, and I absolutely loved it. It had all the things that I loved about the first book- the carefree spirit, the mystery of what was going on, and Link's personal struggles. But then there were elements the second book had that this one had as well- epic fight scenes, exploration of the Twilight Realm, wolf Link, it was all amazing. I'm really excited to see how the series goes on from here because I'm really loving what I'm reading so far. Obviously this is the first one from the series that I rated 5 stars, and I think that was because this one really felt like we were in the rising action rather than simply the exposition. The first book was obviously mostly exposition, the second one had elements of both, but by now everything has been established and now we're running along with the story. I don't hate reading a book that is mostly exposition, and sometimes I think that first book in a series is the best, but with something like LOZ the whole appeal is the action and seeing these really epic moments, and this was the first book where I felt that energy. This was the first book in the series that made me think "now THIS is why I'm a Legend of Zelda fan."

I liked going back to following the kids around and seeing what they're up to. I like how their characters actually play a role in the story and weren't simply characters who were just there to aid the exposition. They were all such charming individuals and they added so much humor and life to the story, especially Talo. Their characters added so much humor to the story by simply existing, but they also were characters I could connect to and feel bad for. I don't want Link to rescue Hyrule just for a happy ending for the people of Hyrule, I want Link to succeed for these characters that I have become overly attached to. Maybe I am too attached to those kids, but I can't help myself, they're so precious. I also thought that his reunion with the children was amazing, but that reunion couldn't top his reunion with Epona.

I really liked getting to see more of Hyrule as well. So far we saw Ordon village, Faron woods, and Hyrule castle in ruins, which is cool and all, but it's only a small part of Hyrule, and with the exception of the castle, it was sort of your typical old village and forest. I'm definitely excited to go to Goron city, and I know that Link Midna also get to go to Zora's Domain as well. We already got to meet one Goron, and an interesting conflict between the Gorons and the humans in Kakariko village. The Goron designs seem really cool, and so do the Zora designs. It all looks really nice and I'm ready to meet more characters from all over Hyrule and see the villages around it as well. Also, THE BABY GORON!!!!!!!!! It was so cute and fat, and it had these little baby boobs. I have found a will to live and I will forfeit all my mortal possessions to it.

Hands down the best thing about the book were the fight scenes. They were so amazing and epic, it was constantly moving and they were drawn so well. I loved how the sword slashes and the additional sound affects helped add to the atmosphere and make me as a reader feel more immersed. The one against the skeleton soldier was really interesting, and I love how it took place in this sort of dream world and the fight was in front of the castle, which I found sort of touching for some reason. I will admit that I have no memory of seeing the skeleton guy before, even though link said he had seen them before. Maybe that was referring to the golden wolf? That seems like that's what Link meant, but it seemed like Link was saying he had seen the skeleton before. However, that fight had NOTHING against the fight on Eldin Bridge. That was so amazing and was the best fight scene of the series so far. There were high stakes, the fight got really close at some points, we got that ominous final message from the villain, and an AWESOME drawing of Link and Epona at the end. That drawing was the money shot of the book, and there were some great, grand pictures in the book.

This was just a wonderful adventure, and it makes me really excited to read the next book in the series. This is my favorite so far, and my first 5 star read of the year, although to be fair I've only read three books this year, and those three being the first three volumes of this series, so I don't know how big of an achievement it is. Once I submit this review I'll probably start of volume 4, and I wouldn't be surprised if I finish the rest of the ones I currently have checked out of the library this weekend. This was absolutely amazing, and it gets bonus points for the baby Goron.
13 reviews
January 16, 2021
I realy like the point where the monster boss and link fights
Profile Image for Anniken Haga.
Author 10 books90 followers
October 6, 2020
This album had a lot of action, and I have to say that the art was rather unclear when trying to capture it. More often than not, it just looked like black on white doodles, and I didn't understand what was actually happening.

Link is so cute, though! And I'm really happy with Midna's storyline!
Profile Image for Alex Young.
458 reviews4 followers
January 10, 2025
This is a really solid volume with the arrival at Kakariko and the fight with King Bulblin on the Bridge of Eldin. Love the skeletal Hero of Time art. There are a couple moments I slightly prefer in the game, but Ilia’s determination is scarily impactful. I also really like how Himekawa portrays Link’s emotional relief when he saves the kids.
Profile Image for Gianna.
71 reviews
January 26, 2022
I FINISHED THIS IN ONE PERIOD AND OH MY GOD I NEED THE REST.

The legend of Zelda is still one of my most favorite things since I grew up with it AND I LOVE THE MANGA VERSION OF TP

I desperately need to go back to Barnes
Profile Image for Jedi Wolf.
24 reviews1 follower
April 8, 2023
Somehow this series has gotten better. This story is a must read. We get to see how the characters grow and adapt to new surroundings. It's a rollercoaster, too. One moment things seem to have improved and the next everything is going downhill. Again, amazing ending. Warning: Tears may be shed.
Profile Image for kuristina- tabreez.
1,013 reviews
January 12, 2019
We saw both wolf Link and human Link interchangeably in this volume! Honestly, I had a bit of trouble keeping up with a bit of everything that happened in this volume, but that's due to my own lack of focus from being tired and generally distracted. The volume itself was absolutely amazing and I absolutely loved it. I can't wait for more, and luckily, I took so long to continue reading this line that the fourth volume is finally out! Yay! Now to wait for five, UGH.
Link is reunited with all the children at long last and there's just so many heart wrenching scenes, so many inspiring things too. Comparing him to normal villagers, Link truly is amazing, even against the strongest. To us readers, he doesn't always appear so, but in his world, he really, really is amazing. I want to aspire to be someone like him. I'd love to be someone like him. And it feels obtainable with how much he falters and how we got to see him overcome his wavering thoughts and feelings and steady his blade and his heart. He became more brave and thus more strong and then suddenly so amazing, so much so that Beth, the little girl, almost doubted it was really him when she saw him save everyone all valiantly on Epona.
Additionally, Link has such kind eyes... They can be so fierce too, but I could fall in love with those eyes. His journey is a bit disorganized, but he's getting there, and no matter what direction he chooses to go toward, he accomplishes something on the agenda, so all is okay. Plus, we still have Midna hanging out, so that's nice too.
And I don't know how to interject this in there... But the thing with Ilia and the kittens just made me so tense. I know that situation so well, so it pulled at my heart strings but oh geez... It seems so likely and realistic for terrible things to happen to the kittens... Such terrible things that I wrote three lines of text about it before I highlighted and erased it all. It's far too terrible. But surely, they'll be okay, won't they? Yes. Yes, they will be okay. Ilia is strong enough to protect them. She must protect something to feel brave as she waits for Link to come save her.
Just like the last two volumes, there's just so much to touch on in this and I want to but I also simply... can't. But, oh, it's just so good! I can't wait for more. I feel so guilty not touching on all those other things, it really bothers me not to, but I just can't!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Camryn Daytona.
Author 7 books49 followers
August 8, 2019
This review was originally posted on Camryn DaytonaI talked about the authors and the game in my review of volume 1. If you'd like to get even more caught up, check out my review of Vol 2.

tl;dr This is a manga based on the popular Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess video game, which I have played. The Manga is written by two women, A. Honda and S. Nagano, under the name Akira Himekawa.
The Story
Picking up right where Vol 2 left off, Vol 3 continues the tale of Link, starting after his victory in Faron Woods.

Since the evil was defeated in Faron, Link moves on to find the next Shadow Crystal, inadvertently following on the footsteps of the children of Ordon Village, who are being taken to Kakariko village for protection.

It's never fully explained why Kakariko Village is believed to be so much safer, particularly since getting there involves a several day journey across Hyrule Field.

Almost as soon as the kids arrive in Kakariko Village, trouble arrives and Twilight falls there as well, trapping the residents of the village, and the Gorgons up in the hills, in eternal darkness.

At the same time, we finally see more of Ilia's fate. As one of the missing children, Ilia was taken captive by one of the big bad guys (I don't think we ever find out exactly what he's called).

This volume is different from the previous ones, in that it has a lot of different points of view. Link, Ilia, the Ordon children, and Zelda all have POV scenes in this volume, which is one of the things that sets it apart from the game.

There's so much more development, which makes the world even more interesting than it was in the game.
Profile Image for Bradley.
1,188 reviews11 followers
March 5, 2024
Another installment and another thumbs up. It varies from the game. The most telltale variation is Link's interaction with the characters, story and audience. In the game it's a subtle bridge built by your actions. You, the player, are very much Link. Our silent, green hero leaves a lot to the imagination. It's beautiful.

In the manga the character is much more solid. You are no longer our hero and the character Akira Himekawa created is now the player. This is probably my biggest complaint. It might be one of my only complaints. Sometimes the art is a bit too fanciful and the panes with Link staring in the distance with meaning is a bit overdone, but that's not to say there isn't anything to look forward to.

I'd say Midna is captured very well. The author's are tasked with creating a concrete, linear story that has to equal the free and open player world. They dance on a delicate balance of reminding us why we loved the game while delivering the same satisfying story. Again, there are variations and I believe Link's character is the origin of that. Link talks. Open dialogue versus grunting and yells.

I tend to focus on the negative in my reviews. Proof that I am cynical and petty. I try to imagine how this manga series would come across if I had never played the game. It's difficult and maybe a little unfair. In the end I would have to say this series is well worth the time and effort. If you're a Zelda fan and have played the games, you might be disappointed in certain elements or irked by the creator's choices, but ultimately this can serve as a starting point for someone who has never been introduced to these worlds.

I'll lay on 3 stars and move on. I might not continue the series depending on the speed of the release. I now know how it feels to be caught up and I have no clue know how people can wait for the rest of the volumes to come out. Best of luck if you don't hear from me. Cheers!
Profile Image for Eloise.
8 reviews
May 9, 2020
This volume of the story was really interesting for me. As someone who has played the game multiple times, I often wondered exactly what happened from both Ilia's point of view as well as the children of Ordon's. While we are given some explanation in the game, it was interesting to delve into other characters' perspectives, and also to see the development of relationships between characters.

I also particularly loved the artwork in this. The art style is really beautiful and some panels were really well done. Some of the panels I enjoyed most were those showing Link's transformation into a wolf, and the epic battle scenes.

Finally, I really enjoy Link's characterisation in this manga. At times he acts a little differently in-game and a little differently to how I imagine him to be. This is the beauty of the game really - him being a silent character who you can interpret as your own. However, some scenes in particular hit the nail on the head and really show you what is going through the character's head throughout the story.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable volume of what is a very good series so far. It stays true enough to the game while divulging and offering more details and scenes, which allow you to understand the story, world and characters a little better. It's action packed, fun and I think anybody who is a hardcore fan of the games would enjoy this series, so I definitely recommend it.
Profile Image for Blaine Bentley.
296 reviews
April 22, 2023
This third volume was awesome! I do want to say that these Twilight Princess mangas are for a more adult audience. I did notice on the back they recommend it for teenagers (whereas the other mangas are rated for everyone). This volume really did show why they are for a more teenage audience. Not only is there more violence, but this book also had a scene with a heavy subject. With Hyrule being overrun with monsters and people being taken from home, it does show some of the despair that comes with it and some of the more negative thoughts one individual has.

This book had some of the best action and battle scenes so far. I also love how these mangas fill in the gaps from the game. In the game Link just finds the kids in Kakariko village, but how did they all get there? This manga does a great job at showing the stories of the other characters in this story.

In this volume I felt like the enemies were a lot more threatening. I feel they did a great job at fleshing out these characters and giving them an arc.

Lastly I loved how this volume showed Link’s training. They did a very nice transition from the game to the story as far as Link’s training, him learning new moves. Great entry in this series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews

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