The Legend of Zelda Manga: Legendary Ed. Vol. 04 (2017)

The Minish Cap (2006) / Phantom Hourglass (2009)

Author and Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 374

"The road you travel will be dangerous. Take this."

Series protagonist Link is always recognisable in his green duds and pointy hat, but he's not always the same Link. There are exceptions, of course, such as the one in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but mostly the character is different in each game. It's not a drastic change; it's more of a variation on a theme.

Akira Himekawa applies the same principle to each of her Links in the mangas. In The Minish Cap's case the artwork is one-hundred percent chibi. It would've made sense to draw certain parts of it that way, but unfortunately it's used from beginning to end.

I'm not a fan of the exaggerated art style, but judging by the level of excellence shown in the previous books I'm guessing that it's at least good chibi?

I didn't warm to TMC's moody child version of Link, either. Fortunately, he gets a reality check when a villain casts a spell on Princess Zelda. I'd probably have left her as she was, she'd complain less and the only maintenance required would be a dusting every now and then, but Link wants her back as she was before, so in proper questing procedure he sets off to right a wrong.

When child Link is the protagonist, LoZ fans are required to dismiss questions about why a child is sent into danger with a sword to kill and maim, but TMC addresses those concerns wonderfully by providing a valid reason for that kind of irresponsibility to be necessary. Bravo!

I really enjoyed the game's story because it explores the ordinary from an extraordinary perspective. I'd hoped that behind the eye-bleeding cuteness the book would deliver the same. It does, but in a much shorter span of time. I also love the changing history of Hyrule that shapes the societal and religious beliefs each time; that part of it is well-represented herein.

Hopefully I've made it clear that the problems I had with the adaptation were predominantly of my own making and based on my own preferences, so please take that into account. The story is good and takes some risks that pay off handsomely. If you enjoy the chibi art style and have an interest in The Legend of Zelda franchise, then TMC may be tailor-made for you.

Phantom Hourglass (2009)

"[E]verything changed, and nothing did."

The 2007 game on which the Phantom Hourglass manga is based is a sequel to The Wind Waker (2002), but WW didn't get a manga, so if you read Phantom Hourglass without having played Wind Waker, you may be wondering why Link is on a sailing ship with a crew. Alternatively, you may not care very much because the story of Phantom Hourglass offers little to connect with. Of the ten Legend of Zelda mangas that I've read thus far, it was the least entertaining. 

The saving grace, ironically an element that was absent from the game, is the inclusion of a dangerous guilt that eats away at the conscience of one of the characters; it plants a seed of unpredictability within the already shaky group stability.

The elongated midriff and stumpy legs aesthetic of Toon Link world's populace is recreated. I was prepared for that, but without the eye-gasm attained from the beautiful cel shading that makes everything on a screen glow alluringly, the weird perspectives are harder to overlook. There's also more chibi, but it's not as frequent as it was in The Minish Cap.

NOTE: the Twilight Princess (2006) game came out before Phantom Hourglass, but it didn't receive a manga adaptation at that time. I was saddened because I felt that TP's dark ambiguity could've worked really well in the format, more than the tone of PH, at the very least. It wasn't until 2016 that TP got the treatment. It's a multi-part work, so I'll link to it when it's complete.