The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 7

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess #7

by Akira Himekawa

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’s battle with his dark alter ego leaves him wounded and exhausted. With Midna gone and Link unable to harness the power of the Master Sword, his quest seems doomed. Visions of a grizzled warrior also haunt his dreams, but who is it? And what can this warrior teach Link that he will need to defeat Ganondorf? Certainly Link will need the Master Sword again, but only a true hero can wield the power of that legendary weapon…

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Adventure

168 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2019

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my favourite book of the series so far. Link is thought the meaning of being a hero from a mysterious stranger. There are also big revelations concerning the series and especially the main characters. This book does not have much action, and is more visual that wordy which I usually do not like, but I get goose bumps all through this volume and could not put it down and read it in one go and immediately ordered the next volume. I can't wait for that one. If I am right, it will be super action-packed.

[H.S.J. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

-SCREECHING-

BEST ONE YET, BEST ONE YET.

Sob.

This volume is all about the HEART. The incredible struggle we have against our fears, our failures, the life we’ve been given, and the fate we are headed towards. It considers what attitude we should bear to such things. How to handle hardship with grace or with frustration, and that the difference in doing so will make or break your life.

As Link’s heart is restored and realigned with his true values, we once again see that real heroes are not about fame or fortune, but helping people, whether that’s defending them with a sword or comforting them with a much-needed hug.

Okay, okay, so there is no further explaining my feelings for this volume without diving into major spoiler territory. So you are warned.

First of all.

THE HERO OF TIME, THE HERO OF TIME, YES YES YES. I LOVE HIS MENTORSHIP OF TWILIGHT SO MUCH. And by the end of the volume, we get flashbacks to Ocarina of Time and ahhhhhhhh, it’s so epic!

This Zelda actually displays a power related to wisdom or at least knowledge, which is super cool.

Also!!!! Ganondorf is annoyed with the never-ending struggle of the triforce and straight up suggests to Zelda that they could work together? I always thought stuff like that was pure fan-conjecture but here it is! Of course, Ganondorf is up to no good and has made it clear he isn’t interested in full unity, but just getting Zelda to join forces with him against the “Lord Hero.” Seriously, Ganondorf, you just gave Link the coolest title ever.

[Rosa Pateraki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another GORGEOUS instalment to this series. Absolutely loved it. I adored the Ocarina of Time references and how the Zelda timeline I have read so much about in my Hyrule Historia is finally coming together and being explained!

[kristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was so full of revelations and life lessons!
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also link can get it

[Shannon Rohrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't help appreciating how introspective these manga are, how much more depth they add to the events of Twilight Princess. There's such a remarkable change in how Link views the world, his role, and himself. Midna said it perfectly toward the end: "This is the nature of a hero. The boy who struggled desperately as events swept him along...is gone."

And it's true. That boy is gone, no longer content to let others forge his path, yet also no longer opposing his destiny. He's found it in himself to want this path, to believe in himself without giving himself over to arrogance and resentment as he did before. To believing in so much more for his future and the future of the world he lives in.

I can't wait until Vol. 8 becomes available. I don't know how many volumes remain, but I'm eager to read them all.

[Collin Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A low key volume in terms of the bigger picture of this longform series, but a brilliant one as well. The first two chapters sees link recovering from his battle with shadow link in the previous volume, and it expertly dissects the idea of link as a hero through the ages. The last two chapters directly reference previous manga (appropriate enough since last year marked the 20th anniversary of Himekawas serialization of Ocarina of Time) and make past adaptations relevant to this one.

Himekawa have taken some bold moves with this adaptation of twilight princess, and the result so far has been unexpected and powerful. I'm looking forward to the final stretch.

[Véronique Laplante Grenier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this Zelda game and really have fun reading it in manga.

[Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor kid I love her. SO GOOD

[Jedi Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot twist! Man, this series just keeps giving. I already knew the twist but it was still so awesome to see it play out. I've become Ash, I've got to read em' all.

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strength through defeat.

After discovering in the last volume that he could not rely entirly on the sword that made defeating evil so much easier this volume deals more with Link's recovery both physically and mentally as a shadow of another time leaves him in the care of a lone girl who survived the cataclysmic end of her village. There is not a lot of action in this volume if you are looking for that kind of thing but what you will get is fantastic art, redemption of a hero who is ready to learn how to protect those that need it, and plenty of emotions. You will also get to see Ganondorf returning to the world of light as he awakens Princess Zelda to have a leisurely chat about what is yet to come and how the Triforce seems to trap the three of them in a destiny of conflict. Now Link has made his way to the Temple Where Time Sleeps to take new steps to becoming the hero he needs to be. Honestly if you love the Zelda franchise you really out to read these books for yourself and see how the world comes to life in these pages.

[Jenneth Leed · Rating 5 out of 5]

When people tell me "Link doesn't talk, so they better not make him talk in the upcoming movie," I need to just hand them this book.

I was not emotionally prepared for this bonus storyline. Much of this book deters from the original game storyline, but I loved everything about it. The creators understood the story they were writing (and the fan theories that needed validation), and they understood how to give a well-known video game character some personality, depth, and even a dark side, without disrespecting the source material. We think of Link as our game avatar running around and saving the princess, and the games don't often park on his own struggles, temptations, and vulnerabilities, so seeing that up close in manga-form was excellent. Also the healing hugs...all the healing hugs. Do I just like seeing my favorite characters broken? Do I lose all control when they go through redemption and healing? Resounding yes.

This was exceptional.

[Kerrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very intense read. I was amazed with the change in Link's perspective and personality throughout this volume. I am getting more and more intrigued with the Legend of Zelda franchise with each volume I read.

[vexie · Rating 5 out of 5]

soooo good and moving and beautifully written. really resonated with me + my place in the universe

[Emma Doucette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very intrigued by changes being developed in this installment............

[• chri⚡ • · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! Bestmöglich umgesetzt - wirklich unglaublich geil!

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The expansion on Link’s character arc is like *chef’s kiss* and it makes me wish it was apart of the original game story

[Chloe Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I read manga regularly I’d probably hit like 500 books a year

[chess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalmente un focus decente su Link, le 4⭐️ sono per la trama e la gestione del passato, i riferimenti a OoT che mi hanno resa emo; vediamo se basta per risollevare la serie tho

[Taylor♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my fav volume of the manga so far. I absolutely LOVE Link's arc in this book: having to overcome himself and heal not only physically but with his mindset as the hero as well. I also eat up any interaction with the Hero's Shade and this volume delivered exactly that (I will still always need more of them tho!!). The addition of Akina as a character was also great to give more depth to the tragedy Zant brought upon Hyrule. I'll elaborate at the end of the series but OH I LOVE IT! Akina thank you for looking after my fav hero you a real one!

SPOILER: Getting a glimpse into Ocarina of Time was such a wonderful treat! Not even bringing up Ganondorf cuz that's a trip and a half lol but the TP nerd in me is shrieking with glee

[Anna Klungland · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has been my favorite so far!!! beginning made me cry, the relationship between link and midna is so special! and the end made me giggle and kick my feet lmao!!! i love how much more this adds to the games story, and especially deepening the connection between TP and ocarina of time!!!😍so in love with this series, it’s making me so emotional, it’s written and drawn so well🥹🥰

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that they included the past timelines, like Ocarine of Time.
We also get to see more Zelda than in the game, but the tea scene with Ganondorf was a little bit weird.
Another thing we don't get to see in the game is Link vulnerability, it make him feel more humans (or Hylian?)
Midna is back and their quest can continue!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very quick read - I put it away in about half an hour. I'm a little disappointed these volumes are getting smaller and smaller, but happy that the story is more layered (in my opinion) than the original video game, which I love. The Legend of Zelda games are an essential in my family and we've been playing them since the N64 Ocarina of Time days, so there's probably a bit of nostalgia in my liking of this manga. Despite this though, I think Akira Himekawa (Honda and Nagano) have done a really nice job developing Link into a more interesting and likeable hero, whilst also giving the supporting characters a bit more personality as well.

[Pedro Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best volume so far. Good lore and world building in the last 2 chapters, but most importantly: great character writting and development.
While i love the fights, what gets me to care about a story is the characters and their arcs, and i just loved what they did with Link in this volume.

I hope we still havent see the last of his development, especially since he'll now train with the Hero of time. I could see in his conversation in ch37 with Link that the hero's shade is also tired and has some inner turmoil within him, so i'm excited to see what Himekawa will do with him.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

My gripe? This one and the last one were a little short. Great for bringing characters to life and adding depth. Obviously great artwork - duh. Connected it to the Zelda franchise in a fun way with the timeline and chronology stuff. Answered questions that people had who played the video game Twilight Princess.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storyline of Twilight Princess is more fleshed out in this adaptation than the original game and it continues to have incredible pacing throughout. This volume begins the setup for the third act without rushing any scenes and even manages to have some of the best art in the series so far. A perfect Zelda manga volume.

[Luke Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

See Vol. 11 review...

[Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the wild ride that was the sixth volume (and by wild I mean WILD), we got a tender sequel that follows Link as he heals, learns to forgive himself, and grows as a person. He starts the book out at an all time low as he grapples with the reality he is in and reflects on his past actions. The average rating for this volume is considerably higher than the rest, and although I liked it I didn't like it nearly as much as some of the other books. I gave the two books before this five stars, and there was no way I was going to like this book more than the last one, because that was the book with Dark Link. Well, Dark Link did make an appearance in the beginning, which was great. He is a mental image and now that Link knows that he has to deal with this shadow of himself, it makes his mental journey so much harder. Dark Link is still there, hiding in the depths of his mind and lurking in the background.

This book didn't focus on action, or even pushing the story that much forward for Link, but it focused on emotions and relationships, which was really nice. I liked in the fifth book how we got the touching moment between Zelda and Midna, and I really liked their story and how we got to see how strong the bond is between them. For the most part I liked the touching parts in this book as well, although there were some moments where it started to feel a bit cliche to me. I loved Midna and Link's reunion, and that scene really goes to show how much they care about each other, because when you think about the second book they only dealt with each other to get what they wanted. The part that was really cliche to me was when Link gave Anika that pep talk after he found her at the cemetery. It was sort of your run of the mill "don't give up, be strong" kind of speech, and even though I could see why it might have been comforting for Anika, I found it rather boring. It was the sort of stuff I've seen many times in books, movies, and my real life, and since the speech took up like half of the book, I couldn't have cared less about it.

I also wasn't completely into the part of the book where Link and Midna were at the Temple of Time either. Don't get me wrong, I still really liked it and thought it was a cool place, but I got a bit confused about what was happening in the story. So, was there a mirror fragment in the temple or not? And who was the person we saw in the temple whom was from the past. It sure looked like Link, and I can't figure out if it is Link but from another time line, if it is someone who is completely different from Link, or if it's one of Links past lives or something. Zelda talked about a past Zelda, and we saw someone who was a past Link-looking person, and Zelda referred to the past Zelda as "I" so I really can't tell what is going on. Is it sort of like the Avatar spirit, where you're essentially a new person but are connected to these past lives in a way that they're essentially you? I'm just really confused about this. I also wasn't entirely happy to see time travel brought into the story. Now I know that many LOZ games have some sort of time travel, but I still don't like it. It can be really hard to write it well, and I generally prefer the stories I read to not have it so I don't have to worry about whether or not it will be any good.

The one part that I really really liked was Zelda and Ganondorf's conversation. I already mentioned that I was sort of confused about some elements and topics that were brought up, but I didn't think it distracted me from what was going on so much that I couldn't be immersed in it. I love Ganondorf's character, and that may be partly because I don't know very much about him, but we all have to start somewhere. I knew Zelda wasn't dead, but it was still good to see her again and see her stand her ground and defend Hyrule courageously. There was something about the line "if the need arises, I will not hesitate to take up a sword and fight" that sounded so metal from her. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't fight that often that makes the prospect of her doing it seem cooler than with any other character. Zelda is very righteous, so I don't know why she would ever work with Ganondorf under normal circumstances, but clearly there is some sort of catch to his Ganondorf's plan if he bothered to talk to Zelda and ask her for her allyship.

I know that the next book is going to be the LOZ equivalent to one of those training-montages that you see in every single crappy sports movie. Except sports movies don't have a sick-looking skeleton as the protagonist's trainer, so we know this is going to be cool. We also might get to learn about Ganondorf's offer to Zelda, and I have a feeling she's going to say yes to it, but I want to see why she does. Link and Midna still have two more shards of the Shadow Mirror to find, and now that I think about it, we haven't been seeing much about the Ordon kids in a while. There's quite a few potential plot threads this story could follow, and I'm ready to see which one or ones the story goes after.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose this is the payoff for Link's sharp decline in the prior book, that he not only has remorse for his behaviour and learns from his mistake but also gets nursed back to health! (I have a curious fascination with "character dutifully caring for/being cared for by someone else" scenarios.)

That's half the book, though, Link and Anika (who lost her entire village, yikes).

The rest is a weird "conversation" between Zelda and Ganondorf about how Zelda turned back time to undo Ganondorf's damage, yet he (or his reincarnation) still managed to return and bring back destruction upon Hyrule after Zelda reincarnated, and how they would have kept doing this dance forever EXCEPT that Ganondorf is determined to win this time and break the cycle... all of this followed by a short bit where Link finds himself (literally, his prior incarnation, the golden wolf) and asks to learn all of his prior training.

So, a part I really like, followed by some middling parts. Kind of typical for a lot of adventure stories focused on one character, I think, though some of it is I got tired of Link (and Zelda and Ganon) reincarnating so many times that I never played beyond A Link to the Past out of character fatigue, I think. That, or by then I was out of the habit of playing longer format games between having to get a whole new system/emulator even BEFORE getting the game in question and I just ran out of free time I wanted to spend on adventure games that take more than ten hours to play through ONCE.

(Exception: I was okay playing lots of shorter, puzzle-centered games like Nancy Drew because I could predictably finish one in about three days maximum.)

A good chapter in the series, though definitely confusing if read by itself, especially for newcomers who somehow don't know the first thing about Zelda (??? how?! Even MY DAD had played the game!).

[Jonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're reaching new heights here. We're divesting from the original Twilight Princess story in ways that are actually successful. I love to see Link as a reluctant hero grow into his role - and also face down the corruption that his power could be. This is an idea the Manga explores that the games never have. Why would the gods give Ganondorf a piece of their power? It's simple- they aren't good or evil, the gods just don't care. What you do with that power determines the course of history. Dark Link is used as a representation of the call evil has.

I also really like the development given to the Hero's shade. It's really cool to see more personality and connection there. This exploration and clear connection to Ocarina of Time is really good, and this is the first time I'm seeing the Manga's story rise above that of the original game. I wish they incorporated the Hero's Shade as an actual character in the game's story, rather than make him an optional side quest to learn some sword moves. Learning sword moves from him is great, that's an awesome idea, but he could've participated in the actual story, like we see here.

Also love to see Ganondorf have a casual conversation with Zelda. Lots of exposition there, sure, but in the context of the story, it just works. It isn't distracting like the expositional chapters at the very start of this Manga.

This Manga also does a great job making Hyrule seem bigger than it is in the game. The journey to the temple of time is a long one, full of climbing and camping through the forest.

And they're letting the panels talk more (without dialog). Almost all my complaints are being resolved, they really are aiming to finish strong.

I'm starting to be impressed.

[Ezma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strength of this adaptation is largely on how it builds on what the game did. Twilight Princess is a good game, but its story had several weird moments and plot details pushed to the background. It's fine because you're really here for the gameplay.

Himekawa is in a medium without gameplay, and their changing of certain story details throughout has helped the manga come together stronger than the game did. This volume shows them tackling two huge details from the game. The first was the game's general lack of Ganondorf and Zelda. One chapter here gives them a lengthy conversation that helps set up larger background details. It's great to see the characters, but it's also giving the story some more depth by showing Ganon's motivations more.

The other big change is the explicit tying of this story in to Ocarina of Time. This was always a part of Twilight Princess, but it's something that could very much be missed. A newbie to the franchise could easily miss the significance of the Temple of Time or that the skeleton who gives you new moves is actually Link from OoT. This volume puts it all out there, and again uses that to build on the game's story. Something that's touched on here is the actual weight of being a destined hero, and our Link gains his confidence back by seeing his past self, and thus seeing someone else who's had to deal with what he's had to deal with.

Great all around as we go into the back half of the series. Artwork continues to look good. Maybe a bit of lack of backgrounds? The soft touch on the characters brings the series to life, though. Sets the appropriate mood for the story being told.