Manga / The Legend of Zelda (Akira Himekawa)

Besides the Nintendo Power The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past comic by Shotaro Ishinomori, the only other The Legend of Zelda manga titles released outside Japan are those drawn and written by Akira Himekawa, the collaboration of two women, A. Honda and S. Nagano.

While keeping close to most of the key points, their manga adaptations can run between fairly loose, Compressed Adaptation to Pragmatic Adaptation. Sometimes certain events are condensed down into one or two (usually dungeons); omitting them because the authors weren't able to work it into the story, expanding backstories, and set canonical/original events as side-stories at the end of a volume. Similarly to Ishinomori's comic, Canon Foreigner are occasionally included in some of the titles that don't appear in the original games.

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• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2004)

A Link to the Past

A fourth adaptation of A Link to the Past. This manga was created as a tie-in to the Game Boy Advance release of A Link to the Past in 2005.

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• Adaptational Heroism: Vitreous is a friendly Cyclops girl as opposed to the game where it was a mass of eyeballs acting as a boss without any real background.
• Adaptation Species Change: Just like Ishinomori's comic, the guards are actually Animated Armor rather than real people.
  • Link's Dark World form is a wolf instead of a rabbit.
• Adapted Out: Arrghus is the only Dark World boss not shown in the manga.

• Betty and Veronica: Ghanti the bandit (who has dark hair) is jealous of Link's feelings for blonde Zelda.
• Canon Foreigner: Ghanti the bandit. Subverted in that she is transformed into the monster Trinexx. The author's notes at the end state their hope that Ghanti would be present in a future game.
• Chekhov's Gun: While on his way to Hyrule Castle in the middle of a storm, Link finds an apple coming from his farm. He cleans it and picks it up, then a priest in the Sanctuary blesses it, rendering it able to heal any injuries. It comes into play several times afterwards, culminating in Link giving it to Ghanti to heal her after she was mortally wounded as Trinexx.
• Clipped-Wing Angel: All the monsters Link fights in the Dark World turn back into humans afterwards.
• Continuity Drift: This manga came out over a decade after the other three Link to the Past mangas and incorporated elements from the later games released in the series that didn't exist when the earlier mangas were created. Ganondorf's human form uses his design from Ocarina of Time and the Armos Knight uses the Ocarina of Time design for Armos rather than the original A Link to the Past design.
• Cooldown Hug: Zelda delivers one to Link when his hate for Agahnim makes susceptible to the Dark World's corruption and starts to transform him.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Compared to how much trouble he had fighting other monsters, Link pretty much owned Trinexx. Aside from parrying its fire breath with his sword, he didn't have to do anything other than to hit it. Once. Even he noticed how Trinexx wasn't that strong.
• Damsel out of Distress: In the game, Zelda remains in the crystal until the end of the game. Here, however, as Link is starting to transform, Zelda breaks herself free out of the Crystal Prison she's in in order to calm Link down from the corruption!
• Dead Person Impersonation: Agahnim was a friend of Link's father who was killed by Ganon. Ganon then took Agahnim's form as a disguise.
• Empathic Weapon: The Master Sword has some intelligence to it.
• Face–Heel Turn: Agahnim was genuinely good-hearted until Ganon's power affected his mind.
• Fantastic Fruits and Vegetables: Link wants to be an apple farmer. Keeping with the imagery, he also gets a healing apple.
• Forced Transformation: People who wander in the Dark World for too long end up turning into beasts because of Ganon's power. More actively, Agahnim transforms Ghanti into Trinexx as part of his plan to get Link to succumb to his hatred. It's implied that after the story's end, the transformed people turn back to normal, with Ganon's power disappearing after his defeat and Link's wish for Hyrule to be at peace.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Mothula is described in the manga as originally being a beautiful girl who turned jealous of a prettier girl. No such backstory is given to Mothula in the game.
• Heroic Lineage: Link is descended from the Knights, as is Ghanti, turns out she wasn't descended from thieves.
• Heel–Face Turn: Ghanti, who started off as a bandit before becoming Link's friend.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Agahnim indulges in a bit of this once he's captured Zelda, saying how he's wanted her for a slave since the moment he first saw her.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Subverted — Link is set up to be this, but Agahnim takes great pleasure in showing him that he's not as incorruptible as he thinks.
• It Was with You All Along: Ghanti's earrings turn out to be the weapon they need to defeat their enemy.
• Love Triangle: Ghanti the bandit cites this as the reason for her reluctance to help Link rescue Zelda.
• Only the Pure of Heart: The Dark World transforms those with greed or hate in their hearts, so someone like Link or Link's parents can travel through there without fear of a Forced Transformation. That isn't to say Link can't be corrupted...
• Secret-Keeper: The barkeeper and bar patrons in Kakariko Village doesn't turn Link in after his wanted posters go up, and help him out by telling him to leave via the back door and handing over a map.
• Spell My Name with an S: The fan translations originally spelled Ghanti's name as "Ganty".
• Stab the Sky: The Master Sword actually tells Link to do this after he draws it from its pedestal.
• Villainous BSoD: Agahnim experiences this at one point in the manga.
• Was Once a Man: All the Dark World bosses are here revealed to be Hylians cursed into monster forms when they entered the Dark World:
  • Helmasaur King was a scaredy cat who went around wearing a large suit of armor to look more intimidating.
  • Mothula was a pretty girl who was jealous of another girl prettier than her.
  • Blind the Thief was actually three brothers who bickered all the time.
  • Kholdstare was a very rich man that was left alone because he cared more about his money than anything else.
  • Vitreous was a woman who loved spying other people to listen to their secrets.
  • Trinexx was Ghanti, transformed by Aghanim to trick Link into succumbing to hatred and turning into a monster.
• Wasteful Wishing: Link uses the Triforce to wish for his own apple farm rather than wising his uncle or parents back to life.
• You Are What You Hate: Ghanti hates the Hylian knights so much that she used to want to kill Link because he's descended from them. It turns out that she's also descended from the Hylian knights, and the thieves killed her real parents. Learning that leads her to get over her hatred.
• You Don't Look Like You: The designs for Kholdstare and Vitreous are completely different from the original ones. While Game!Kholdstare is a spikeless Kracko and Game!Vitreous is a genderless giant poison-oozing eye surrounded by other eyes, Manga!Kholdstare is a Piloswine-like creature and Manga!Vitreous is a female giant one-eyed swamp-creature.
  • Whenever Ganon makes an appearance in the story, he is often shown as a silhouette of his appearance in Ocarina of Time. During the final battle however, he has coarse black fur present only in this version despite not having such in previous and later appearances.
• You Killed My Father: Ghanti the bandit declares Link her enemy because he's the last of the Hylian knights, whom she has been raised to believe killed her parents. She's, therefore, surprised to find that her guardian lied to her and she herself is, in fact, also descended from the Hylian knights.
• You Must Be Cold: Link wraps Zelda in his cloak to protect her from the rain when they escape from Hyrule Castle. She smiles and tells him that it's warm, prompting the first appearance of his recurring Luminescent Blush.

Majora's Mask

• Adaptation Expansion: The extra chapter provides an origin story for the titular mask, told in style similar to real-life ancient myths. The tale is of an evil beast named Majora, who was defeated by a traveller who played a bongo for three days straight, causing Majora to go into a trance and dance until it drops dead. The traveller then carved the mask from the beast's armor, sealing the evil spirit away inside said mask forever.
• Adaptational Villainy: The Happy Mask Salesman is implied to have a little more to do with the events of the story than in the game.
• Adapted Out:
  • Romani and Cremia; the authors admit that they couldn't work them into the story no matter how hard they tried, and include drawings of them at the end to make up for it. People who have played the game will likely find their absence rather jarring since their role in the game was of the few required subplots^note You get Epona back partway through the sidequest, and she is needed to access the last two areas of the game..
  • Much of the Ikana Canyon section of the game is glossed over in favor of expanding on the Kafei and Anju sidequest. All that's depicted is Link traversing through Stone Tower Temple, getting ambushed by one of the Twinmold monsters (as opposed to the two featured in the game), and defeating it fairly quickly. Justified in that by this point, it's well into the final day.
• Big Eater: Link. Lampshaded by Osun, who remarks that while he may have the battle skills of an adult, he still has the appetite of a child.
• Cool Old Guy: Osun is the leading officer of a group of soldiers Link is asked to help train. While Link humiliates his men, Sun actually manages to fight him on equal terms while sparring and they acknowledge each other as a Worthy Opponent.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Link using the Fierce Deity' Mask against Majora. Majora only hits him once with its Combat Tentacles (apparently trying to also electrocute him), which Link shrugs off and tosses the thing against a wall and kills it with one swing. Sorta a given seeing as the mask in the game allows the player to end the boss fight in seconds.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Link blunders through a few of these in order to give the souls whose masks he wears some peace.
• Diabolus ex Nihilo: While none of the bosses have much of explanation where they came from in the game, here the first one actually makes his appearance by barging into the Deku Palace with no foreshadowing.
• Expecting Someone Taller: Boy, did those soldiers regret thinking a "kid" was weak.
• Forced Transformation: Link, when stuck in Deku form.
• Genre Blindness: A group of soldiers Link was brought to train with sees him, and even after hearing he's the famed hero assume he's just some overeager kid. He promptly humiliates them offscreen, even breaking some of their swords.

• Invincible Hero: Link, unlike some of the other mangas, is never any danger when fighting, in fact, the only time he's in any danger is when he falls into the poisoned swamp before the monkeys rescue him.

• The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Link finds his kind words of encouragement to Anju, particularly when saying Kafei wouldn't abandon a "good girl" like her, to be pretty uncharacteristic for himself, attributing it to his Deku Scrub body.
• Prequel: The Majora's Mask manga includes a bonus story illustrating the creation of the titular mask.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Majora's Mask. When Fierce Deity Link starts winning the fight, Majora’s Mask becomes angry and throws a fit, claiming that he’s not “playing nice”.
• Put on a Bus:
  • As an unfortunate result of the Romani Ranch subplot being scrapped from the manga, Epona is horse-napped at the beginning of the story, and at the very end she just comes back without ceremony.
  • The inhabitants of Ikana Canyon, due to Link already completing Stone Tower Temple by that point in the manga.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Link and Tatl are the only ones to experience it.
• Shout-Out: Mikau's grave has the epitaph,"Here lies a Guitar Hero." ^note This only appears in the English and Italian versions, however; the original Japanese version was written before Guitar Hero's existence.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Link's reaction to Majora's Mask vagabonding the Skull Kid after he said the mask was his only friend, calling him worthless and trying to kill him. To put this in perspective, Majora's Mask gives Link the Fierce Deity's Mask (going by it's Japanese name the "Oni Mask") and tells him to become the oni in a game of tag (Japanese terms for someone being "it"), and he agrees to the idea without a second thought.
• Tsundere: Tatl is a Type A example, as she was in the game.
• What Could Have Been: There were a couple of scrapped chapters of the manga that Himekawa couldn't fit in despite their best efforts. The first involved the Romani Ranch subplot with Romani and Cremia, and the second involved an Indigo-Go's concert where Link would show up as Mikau (Romani and Cremia also appear in this chapter, which might explain why it too was cut). Himekawa unveiled images from the scrapped chapters to commemorate the release of the game's 3DS remake.

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages

Kanzenban edition cover featuring both volumes.

• Adaptational Heroism: Maple in the original game, while not malevolent, was a Jerkass and a nuisance who would occasionally cause item losses if you weren't careful. In the manga, she ends up joining Link on his quest to stop Onox (if for completely selfish reasons) and comes to befriend him over the course of the story.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: Link’s starting weapon is changed from a wooden sword to a metal sword. In addition, Ralph’s sword is changed from a typical arming sword to a smallsword.
• Adapted Out: Poor Farore can never catch a break. Also, Labrynna's Maku Tree.
• Annoying Arrows: Sir Raven can still fight quite competently after taking an arrow for Link.
• Ascended Extra: Maple the witch.
• As Long as There Is Evil: A heroic version is invoked by Link
  Link: Come back to life a thousand times and in any age, a hero bearing this symbol will appear to bring an end to your reign of terror!
• Big Damn Heroes: Several times, but most surprisingly by Nayru after Link, Ralph, and Raven find themselves surrounded by Ambi's royal guard.
• Birthmark of Destiny: Link has one on his left hand in the shape of the Triforce. He's not exactly comfortable with the implications at the start.
• Bishōnen: Link's ancestor Sir Raven.
• Book Ends: Oracle of Seasons begins with Link's grandfather explaining their family history and pointing to a portrait of Sir Raven. Oracle of Ages ends with Link's grandfather bringing up their family history again and Link looks at the portrait of Sir Raven again. However, as a result of Link's time travels, the portrait of Sir Raven has changed to look more heroic.

• Canon Foreigner: Link's grandparents in both Oracle stories and Sir Raven in Oracle of Ages, just for starters.
• The Cavalry: Queen Ambi's army versus Ganon.
• The Champion: Ralph to Nayru. Well, he aspires to be, at least.
• Chekhov's Gun: Roperi's sprout ends up being vital in fighting Veran in Oracle of Ages.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Raven is introduced as a portrait in Oracle of Seasons.
• Childhood Friend Romance: It's implied that Ralph in Oracle of Ages hopes to be the Victorious Childhood Friend for "my beloved Nayru," although it's not made clear whether he achieves this or Unlucky Childhood Friend.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: As with everything involving Link, Ralph finds a way to complain about having his life saved.
  Ralph: Sure, you're happy. You saved the day... Again! I was all set to die heroically, but noooo...
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Link really doesn't fare well in his first proper fight with Onox.
  • He fights Onox a second time when he comes to kidnap Din, he loses just as badly.

• Darker and Edgier: The Oracle of Ages manga adaptation may qualify.
• Delayed Ripple Effect: Appears to be how changes in time work in Oracle of Ages.
• Demonic Possession: Veran's specialty in Oracle of Ages.
• Demoted to Extra: Holodrum's Maku Tree has a minimal role in the story compared to the game. Well, at least he gets to appear.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Onox, initially set up as the Big Bad before Twinrova appears towards the end of the "Oracle of Seasons" manga, and ironically he puts up more fight than Veran or Ganon, taking Link, Ricky, and Maple to beat him. Veran, unlike in the game, is shown to be taking orders from them at the start.
• Disproportionate Retribution: General Onox's response to Link throwing a stick at him? He sends monsters after his hide.
• Dork Knight: Link, as Ralph comments in Oracle of Ages.
  Ralph: Zelda may be the famed ruler of Hyrule with mystical powers, but she sure picked a goofy hero.
• Dramatic Irony: When Jhovan tries to press Link into joining the circus troupe permanently, Din scolds him for trying to decide Link's life for him — he's aiming to become a knight (with a great deal of reluctance and almost entirely due to his grandfather's insistence) after all!
• Dueling Scar: Link cuts the cheek of a cocky knight-in-training in their bout.
• Expecting Someone Taller: Ralph is not impressed by Zelda's choice in heroes in Oracle of Ages.
• Expy: Raven, Link's ancestor, is one for adult Link from Ocarina of Time.
• Farm Boy: Link... sort of. He and his family were originally from Hyrule Castle Town but moved to the countryside when Link's mother fell ill.
• Friend to All Living Things: Nayru. Link also skirts this - some animals are even romantically attracted to him.
• Hammer Hilt: In Ages, Link gives an opponent a pommel strike to the groin. His ancestor Raven uses a similar technique aimed at the stomach.
• Heroes Want Redheads: Link has a massive crush on Din in Oracle of Seasons.
• Heroic Lineage: Link's grandfather is quite proud of the fact that their family has served as knights of Hyrule for ages, which is why he's insistent on Link becoming one himself.
• I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: When Impa notices the Triforce birthmark on Link's hand, Link gets very defensive about it, insisting that it means nothing and that he's just a regular person.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Piyoko the chicken, in Oracle of Seasons, reveals herself to have romantic feelings for Link.
  • Ricky nearly becomes this. He wants to be Link's retainer but becomes enamored with Link when Link calls Ricky his "Buddy". The kangaroo gets disappointed when he hears about Din, thinking his master has feelings for another, prompting the appropriate reaction from Link. Though he vows to still follow him around forever.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Raven, in contrast to Link's Dork Knight.
• Link, I Am Your Ancestor: Sir Raven. This is the reason why Link is worried about Raven fighting Veran.
• Magic Music: The Harp of Ages - part instrument, part TARDIS.
• Manly Tears: Ralph sheds one or two in Oracle of Ages after Link saves his life.
• Marshmallow Hell: Link endures this with Impa.
• Mundane Utility: Much to Ralph's surprise, it turns out you can use the Harp of Ages as just a plain old harp.
• My Own Grampa: At the end of Oracle of Ages, Link discovers that his actions in the past have changed his family's history, and there is a portrait of himself hanging in his grandparents' house. His grandfather crossly reminds him that this is Link, their greatest ancestor, after whom he was named. So Link was, in the altered reality, named after himself.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As Veran is happy to announce
  Veran: You're just figuring that out now? Thank goodness the princess chose such a fool to be her hero. You're the one who broke the barrier and let me in!
• Not Himself: Impa insists on Link moving the stone blocking the path to Nayru when she's the one who can lift cows. Link finds it weird but unfortunately doesn't give it much thought until its too late.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Being a short, skinny teenage boy doesn't stop Link from being very effective against large opponents.
• Precocious Crush: Roperi has one on Raven, and eventually develops a bit of one on Link as well.
• Raised by Grandparents: Link grandparents raised him and taught him swordplay.
• Refusal of the Call: Link is conflicted about his Birthmark of Destiny and his grandfather's insistence that he become a knight in Oracle of Seasons because he doesn't want his future decided for him. While he does initially go to take the exam required to become one, he quickly gets sidetracked until Onox kidnaps Din.
• Remember the New Guy?: Link's ancestor Raven introduced in Oracle of Ages, who wasn't even mentioned in Oracle of Seasons.
• Ret-Gone: Veran attempts to do this to Link by ordering the execution of his ancestor. Includes Link experiencing Delayed Ripple Effect dizzyness with his hand fading out like in Back to the Future.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Everyone in Oracle of Ages seems to have it.
• Sequel Hook: The ending of Oracle of Seasons, with the witches Koume and Kotake plotting the events of Oracle of Ages.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Veran mocks Ralph's Suicide Mission plan, pointing out that killing his ancestor, Ambi, won't actually kill her. Ralph counters that, while Ambi's death won't end Veran, it will at least put a major spanner in her plans, and that's what he's hoping for.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Link keeps saying this to Ricky the kangaroo about Din in Oracle of Seasons.
• Slashed Throat: Link kills Ganon in this fashion.
• The Slow Path: The Harp of Ages. After Link runs off into the past with it, Ralph manages to find it in an antique shop in the present. Turns out that the guard who took it from Link used it to pay his bar tab.
  Link: How did you get the Harp of Ages?
  Ralph: Because you just left it lying around in the past!
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Link in Oracle of Seasons, thanks to the power of the Triforce. While he doesn't retain this power fully afterward, it's shown in Oracle of Ages that animals can still understand him much better than other humans.
• Stalker with a Crush: General Onox seems to be this to Din in Oracle of Seasons.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Raven looks just like Link as an adult.
• Sword and Sorcerer: Link and Maple in Oracle of Seasons.
• Take Me Instead: After Onox defeats Link in a Curb-Stomp Battle, Din offers herself up in exchange for the boy's life.
• Team Mom: Impa serves as this to the circus troupe in Oracle of Seasons. After discovering that Link was Raised by Grandparents, she decides that she's going to be his mom as well. Cue the Marshmallow Hell.
• Team Pet: Piyoko the chicken in Oracle of Seasons.
• There Is Another: Not another hero, but it turns out that not all of the Mystery seeds needed to draw out Veran were destroyed.
• Time Skip: There's one year between Seasons and Ages
• Walking Wasteland: Onox. Din realizes that he's been in the area when she discovers a long strip of inexplicably barren land stretching across a field.
• You Are Too Late: At the end of Oracle of Seasons Onox tells Link that he may have defeated him, but not before he could gather what he came to Holodrum for and send it back to Koume and Kotake. Link doesn't get to learn the significance of this is until Oracle of Ages.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Ganon is still revived, although not quite in the state as his followers might have wanted.
• You Monster!: Link screams this to Onox in Oracle of Seasons after he kills Piyoko as a chick.

The Minish Cap

• Adaptational Heroism: Vaati redeems himself, unlike in the game.
• Adapted Out: The Big Chuchu, Mazaal, and Big Octorok bosses don't appear at all (though Link has to flee from a couple Octoroks the first time he's tiny).
• Chivalrous Pervert: When Link's tiny, he takes advantage of an opportunity to look up Anju's skirt. This nearly results in him getting crushed by bits of food she drops.
• Crocodile Tears: Even if he knows she's not really crying, Link admits that Zelda can pretty much make him do whatever she wants by pretending to cry.
• Everybody Lives: Yep, Vaati included.
• Forced Transformation: Ezlo was turned into a hat by Vaati.
• Giant Woman: At one point, Link is shrunken while in the presence of Anju, making the normal-sized girl proportionally massive to the diminutive hero.
• Heel–Face Turn: The manga changes the ending so that Vaati does this when the magic hat is removed from his head and he turns back into a Minish.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: Thanks to Ezlo, Link can become this, just like in the game the manga is based on.

• Lighter and Softer: There is not a single death in the entire manga. All of the enemies that Link defeats are innocent beings that were cursed by Vaati and defeating them returns them to their original form (with the exception of the Gyorg pair who were chopped into sashimi). At the end of the manga, Vaati renounces his evil ways and apologizes for his actions.
• Mythology Gag:
  • When Link first discovers the Picori world, he mimics a piece of the game's promotional art.
  • The elder Minish Librari is very proud of fighting a (to him) giant monstrous Cucco. Considering the general reputation that Cuccos have...
• Power Incontinence: Vaati is unable to control his newly acquired powers after absorbing most of Zelda's Light Force, which gives Link the chance to defeat him.
• Power Perversion Potential: When a shrunken Link is with Anju, he realizes that this ability allows him a great chance to sneak under her dress without her knowing it. However, he never manages to actually do so.
• Rebellious Princess: Zelda always tries to escape from the castle to hang out with Link.
• Ship Tease: In the market, some people tease Link about being "really close" to Zelda, which makes both of them to blush.
• What Have I Become?: Vaati at the end, when his pursuit of ultimate power causes him to mutate into a demonic monster.

Phantom Hourglass

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: It turns out that Linebeck abandoned his crewmates on the Ghost Ship, and for all of his attempts to look indifferent the incident still haunts him.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Compared to her game's appearance, and the rest of the Super-Deformed cast, Astrid is given a very tall a thin figure and long hair.
• Adaptational Heroism: Jolene forgives Linebeck and helps Link in his quest to defeat Bellum.
• Adaptational Villainy: The manga version of Bellum is completely self-aware and sapient, meaning that its destructive actions can't be excused by an animalistic nature.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Linebeck and Jolene and also Linebeck and Ciela.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Linebeck's Member Card for Eddo's:
  Eddo's Garage Point Card (not in the video game)
• Heroic Sacrifice: After being possessed by Bellum, Linebeck attempts suicide so he won't be able to hurt Link. The only thing that stops him is one of Ciela's Phantom Spheres.
• Scenery Censor: Yes there is, involving Link. It's just as ridiculous as it sounds.
• Sequel First: An odd example where there's no official Wind Waker manga but the sequel has been adapted. Even weirder is that it's the only one of the adult timeline to be properly adapted.
• Taking You with Me: Bellum attempts a suicide attack on Oshus, saying they will both die together. Thankfully, Link and the gang managed to stop him.

Skyward Sword

Japanese title page of Skyward Sword in Hyrule Historia.

A prequel to the main Skyward Sword narrative, set in the distant past during the demons' original invasion of the surface and following the original incarnations of Link and the goddess Hylia.

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• Adaptation Expansion: Though the Sky Era Link is still the earliest Link playable, the book tells the story of the very first Link/Hero of the Goddess who is only mentioned in Skyward Sword.
• The Atoner: The very first Link, the champion chosen by Hylia to wield the Master Sword, went through many hardships and ultimately died in the battle unable to head into the sky with his people. This was planned by Hylia, as his hardships were necessary to make him strong enough to reforge and wield the Master Sword, though she deeply regrets having to do this. As such, she blesses his spirit to forever be reincarnated should the land and people need his help.
• Badass Cape: Hylia's Chosen Hero wears a red one, distinguishing him from the Sky-Era Link.
• Badass Normal: Unlike Zelda and Ganon, who are the reincarnation of powerful deities representing good and evil, Link is the reincarnation of a mortal human. A human whose will is unbreakable and chosen by Goddess Hylia for that reason. Deconstructed in that it's this very status that allows Demon King Demise to fatally wound him, as Hylia's Chosen Hero was too exhausted to put up a proper fight with an all-powerful demon.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Demon King is sealed away and the humans are safe in the sky, but Link is mortally wounded from battle and is unable to join his companions to the sky. After sealing Demise away, Hylia discovers her fallen hero and mourns his death. She quietly promises him that they will be reborn as the Link and Zelda in Skyward Sword.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: It's implied by his dialogue that Demise sees the Goddess-Era Link as another cowardly human, taunting him to cry in despair or beg for mercy despite the Chosen Hero being the polar opposite of that. The Demon King then fatally wounds the battle-worn Link across the torso and leaves him to die without second thought. All of this seems to be the Watsonian explanation as to why Demise would claim to never have faced a human as courageous as Sky-Era Link in Skyward Sword.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The battle between the Goddess-Era's Link and the Demon King Demise begins and immediately ends with Demise slashing across Link's torso and leaving him for dead. It's so anticlimactic that Demise didn't even realize that the man he fought was Hylia's Chosen Hero.
• BFS: The original Master Sword as carried by the goddess is a pretty decent zweihänder that brings to mind the Biggoron Sword. Arguably justified, as the weapon in this state is for use by the gods; when Hylia bids Link to reforge it to be used by mortals, it becomes the modest arming sword the series loves.
• Darker and Edgier: Not so much the story but more so on the previous Link — quite possibly the first Link — who fought in the war against the demon king that's mentioned throughout the game. Goddess-Era Link is drawn with sharper features compared to Sky-Era Link, as well having a slightly more grimmer outlook. Plus, he's been framed, imprisoned, and tortured!
• Divine Date: While she obviously didn't officially date anyone due to the world being in crisis, it's heavily implied that Hylia has romantic feelings for her mortal Chosen Hero. When discovering Goddess Era's Link's deceased body, Hylia decides to reincarnate herself along with her Chosen Hero as mortal humans, not simply to be the motivation for Sky-Era Link to fulfill his destiny, but also give her and hero the life they could never have as goddess and human.
• Dying Alone: After completing his task to send the humans up to the sky, Link dies alone with no one around him to comfort him. He dies happily though, but laments not being able to ride with the divine Loftwing despite his promise. Hylia later finds his body and regrets putting him through all the hardship to become her worthy champion, and so blesses his spirit to be reincarnated to live the life he deserves with her as a mortal beside him.
• Easily Forgiven: The Goddess Era Link was betrayed, imprisoned for years under horrible conditions. But when given the choice of saving or abandoning his people, he finds it in his heart to forgive and save them.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Upon being offered the Master Sword, Link hesitates, saying that due to his lingering feeling of anger and resentment that he is not worthy to even touch the holy blade. The sword itself believed otherwise.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: The story is framed as an unconscious past-life memory of Sky-Era Link, revealing certain details that were not present in the backstory lore of Skyward Sword. Namely that Link had once been the Chosen Hero of Hylia long ago, fought Demise's demon army with his fellow knights, and lifted Skyloft to the heavens with the Master Sword, contrary to the tales told in Skyloft. It's implied that, after his death, this Link was forgotten by everyone expect Goddess Hylia herself.
• The Hero Dies: The first Link succumbs to his wounds and dies alone after completing his task to send his people skyward. His spirit later reincarnates as the Sky-Era Link by Hylia's will.
• Heroic Mime: Like the TP Manga, and unlike most portrayals of Link, this manga completely averts the trope. Justified, as the Goddess Hero predates the Sky Hero, thus hasn't inherited his personality traits.
• I Choose to Stay: After Link uses the Master Sword to send his civilization skyward, his friends beg him to reach for their hands. Link refuses as he was fatally wounded by Demise and couldn't join them even though he truly wants to. He collapses from blood loss, lamenting that he could never fulfill the promises he made to his friends and the Crimson Loftwing due to his impeding death. Hylia, feeling guilty over her role of her Chosen Hero's fate, blesses his soul to reincarnate on Skyloft as the Sky-Era Link.
• Loose Canon: Unlike other Zelda mangas done by Akira Himekawa, the Skyward Sword manga is not an adaptation of the game. Rather, it's an expansion of the game's backstory, detailing the events of the Ancient Battle against Demon King Demise. While several small elements in the manga seem to contradict what was presented in the game,^note Such as Goddess-Era Link fighting Demon King Demise despite the latter in the actual game claiming he never knew any human would stand and fight rather than flee in terror. it should be noted that the Zelda games are no stranger to major retcons for previous backstories^note Most infamously Ocarina of Time taking place during A Link to the Past's backstory and featuring Link wielding the Master Sword to fight Ganondorf despite the fact that nearly all the backstories and ancillary media of A Link to the Past claim that the Master Sword was never used because no hero emerged to fight Ganon. and thus it's easy for fans to accept the general story as canon even if Nintendo doesn't officially confirm or deny it.
• Miscarriage of Justice: Due to misleading evidence, the original hero is locked in a horrible prison for four years.
• Named by the Adaptation: The Goddess's chosen hero who was unnamed in the game is named Link in the manga.
• Pietà Plagiarism: Hylia holds the Goddess Era Link in a pose wholly reminiscent of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ.
• Reincarnation: The story reveals that Link from Skyward Sword is also a reincarnation of a predecessor, not unlike Zelda/Hylia and Ganondorf/Demise. The difference is that this predecessor is a mere mortal chosen by Hylia to be her champion, and his name is also Link. Additionally, it's implied that Link's Crimson Loftwing is the reincarnation of a divine Loftwing that Hylia rode in ancient past.
• Reincarnation Romance: The manga reveals that Hylia's decision to reincarnate as the first Zelda, while mainly a ploy to give her Chosen Hero's reincarnation the motive to save the world, also stems from her desire to be with Link as an actual friend or lover rather than a goddess to kneel before.
• Spikes of Villainy: The manga took the abstract painting of Demon King Demise in opening prologue of Skyward Sword and interpret it as a war helmet with three prongs coming out.

Twilight Princess

Originally released digitally starting on February 8, 2016, via the app MangaONE, the first eight chapters were eventually compiled into a physical volume. VIZ Media released volume 1 of the English adaptation on March 14, 2017. Compared to previous Zelda adaptations done by Himekawa, Twilight Princess features more changes and a much larger Adaptation Expansion.

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• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Midna's true form appears and is named in the prologue.
  • The Golden Wolf appears in the prologue as a friend of Midna's.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: Downplayed. In the game, King Bulbin had a two-handed axe with a hammer head for a poll. The manga gives him a one-handed axe with only a blade.
• Adaptation Expansion: The manga adds more details.
  • The first chapter shows the corpse of Midna's father, the members of the Twili's parliament, and how Zant usurped the throne.
  • Much of it is original to the manga, like a new town and Link coming to Ordon two years ago rather than growing up there.
  • Minor characters such as Shad and the monkey leader Ook have been given backstories.
  • Zelda and Midna are revealed to have communicated with each other for a time as children and become friends.
• An Arm and a Leg: Link loses his left arm, but unlike most examples, it does get re-attached again due to the sacred spring with Ordona's help.
• Back from the Dead: Ordona revives Link and reattaches his arm after King Bulbin kills him.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Some of Link's nude body is shown in chapter 9, although, not much. Like in the game, Midna also doesn't show anything.
• Black Mage: Link is studying to become one to bring his town back.
• Bloodless Carnage: Subverted, where unlike the game which has a little bit, there is a lot of blood in the manga.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Quite! Ganondorf's skin and flesh are even stripped off his bones when he's banished.
• Blood-Splattered Innocents: Ilia is held up by the King Bulblin's almost cut clean off arm, causing him to bleed over Ilia whose wrist is also bleeding from being held so tight. Fortunately, she is passed out at the time.
• The Cameo: The King of Hyrule appears to personally sentence Ganondorf to death.
• Canon Foreigner:
  • Link's fellow trainees, Darpa, Rioma, and Zeu are among the many canon foreigners introduced, such as Mayor Grisna who heads the Rufurio family that rules Link's hometown.
  • The manga adds a new Goron character into the story called Darb, which is a confusingly similar name to Darbus, an existing character from the game. There isn't much of a reason for him to exist, except to provide a reason for why Luda would accompany Link into the Goron Mines.
  • Link's overconfidence and Blood Knight attitude manifest as Dark Link, who didn't appear in the game except in a Disney Acid Sequence cutscene. Its appearance also resembles the Dark Link color scheme from Super Smash Bros. (which used Twilight Princess as the base for its Zelda characters in Brawl and for 3DS/Wii U), as well as Cia exploiting Link's overconfidence with the Master Sword in Hyrule Warriors.
• Chekhov's Gun: Subverted, Ilia's bag falls off earlier in the story causing Link to run towards Faron Woods instead of leading him to her later.
• Chickification: Ilia goes from being a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak in the game to just standing around when the enemies come. Averted later when she does a Heroic Sacrifice to save Colin, but still doesn't manage to save him. Of course, she averts it again in Volume 4 when she takes the reins of Thelma's horse wagon to give them more speed to flee from Bulblin's minions.
• Clothing Damage: Happens to Midna in the prologue while escaping Zant's forces.
• Compressed Adaptation: Subverted, kinda — the first part of the game is extended, but other parts are cut together.
  • As with other Himekawa Zelda manga, the dungeons tend to be skipped over quite a lot, with more of a focus on the boss battles.
  • Freeing Faron Woods, hunting the shadow insects, the section with the monkeys and the Ook mini-boss battle were blended into one event.
  • On the way up to Death Mountain, Link doesn't return to Ordon Village to pick up sumo wrestling lessons from Mayor Bo, as Midna helps out Link during his sumo match against Gor Coron. Link also doesn't pick up the Iron Boots as well, relying solely on the Hero's Bow and arrows provided by Luda that originally belonged to Renado, instead of Dangoro allowing Link access to the bow, to defeat Fyrus.
  • Ilia's memory is recovered much more quickly than in the game.
• Continuity Nod: Link meets a Skull Kid in the Lost Woods who seems to recognize him and the mark of the Triforce, suggesting that it's the same one from Majora's Mask.
• Cool-Down Hug: Rusl gives one to Link when he panics.
• Dark and Troubled Past: During the search for the missing kids, Link reveals to Rusl that he was the only survivor of his hometown, a desert border town that protected Hyrule by watching over the Arbiter's Grounds. Him pulling out Gaurof's Sword from its stone pedestal on a dare from his fellow trainees sent the town into the Twlight Realm (which Link didn't know at the time), leaving only him behind in the Light Realm because of the Hero's Shade keeping him from being dragged in as well. Survivor's Guilt was the reason why Link came to live in Ordon, and his collection of books on magic was him researching ways to bring his hometown back.
• Darker and Edgier: Good grief, YES.
  • When Link is trying to save Colin and Ilia while searching for Talo and Malo, he gets his left arm chopped off by King Bulblin. Luckily, Ordona fixes that, since it happened at Ordon Spring.
  • The Hyrule Castle showdown of the resistance forces against Ganondorf's forces is more brutal, several panels of Hyrulian soldiers being cut down like they're nothing.

• Decomposite Character: In the game, the Goron chief Darbus was turned into Fyrus when he touched the Fused Shadow. In the manga, Luda's friend Darb becomes Fyrus, and he assimilates the chief when he tries to fight him.
• Dented Iron: Ook has become frailer with age, and his fear of being overcome by another monkey makes him vulnerable to the Shadow Insect that takes control of him.
• Dominatrix: How Midna acts at the start, rather than being a Tsundere like in the game. She keeps calling Link her pet, and that she has the right to as humans treat animals the same way.
• Drunk with Power: Getting the Master Sword goes to Link's head and he starts getting bloodthirsty. Eventually the Master Sword starts rejecting him, starting by manifesting Dark Link.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Some of the Twili, including Zant, comment how the Light Realm treats the Twilight Realm as supernatural sewers, a place to throw cursed items and sentenced criminals away, on top of never even remembering of their existence.
• Early-Bird Cameo: The Horse Charm makes an earlier appearance.
• Enemy Within: Dark Link is a manifestation of Link's Inferiority Superiority Complex, who has been repeatedly lamenting of being unfit for the hero title. Once Link gets the Master Sword, he becomes incredibly violent towards Bulblins and gets offended by people not treating him well enough as their savior. After Link loses a fight to him, and then to Zant, Dark Link rubs everything into his face.
• Evil-Detecting Animal: Evil makes the animals in Ordon uneasy and not willing to listen to their owners.
• Expy: Zelda's father is shown and is an expy of Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.
• Eye Scream: Subverted, as the golden wolf — and the Hero's Shade — has both eyes intact, unlike the game.
• Fearful Symmetry: Link's fight with Dark Link is completely mirrored, to the point when the Link gets the upper hand and stabs Dark Link, only to discover Master Sword piercing through himself a moment later.
• Happily Failed Suicide: Illia considers using a broken cup's shard on her wrist while in the Bulblins' captivity, but is interrupted by stray kittens in the hut, and decides to hope that Link will rescue her, drawing inspiration from one of the kittens struggling to live.
• Harmful to Minors: Zelda watched a recording of sorts of Ganondorf's execution as a child and her caretaker did not want her to watch, claiming she's too young.
• The Hero Dies: Link dies in chapter 8 after losing his left arm and being drowned. Fortunately, he's revived.
• Heroic Mime: Despite being one of the most iconic traits of Link, this manga went as far as to COMPLETELY AVERT IT. See "Suddenly Speaking" below.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Link himself, several times.
  • Link responds badly when Faron calls him "the hero chosen by the gods", citing his failure to protect his hometown, later Ordon Village, and his transformation into a wolf in chapter 17. Unfortunately, getting the Master Sword later on causes him to go to the opposite extreme...
  • When Link and Midna are able to bring his hometown from the Twilight Realm back to Hyrule, Darpa takes issue with him being the Chosen Hero as well saving their town by simply pulling out Gaurof's Sword, and accues Link of thinking his fellow trainees as hindrances. Link frustratingly responds that he'd find his friends as "hindrances" only because he'd have to worry about protecting them, that he never wanted the role in the first place, never mind bearing the Triforce's mark, but he's reconciled with himself over having to bear the Triforce and needing to defeat Ganondorf.
• Hey, You!: Midna calls Link simply "wolf". She later switches to calling him by name after nearly dying and then rescued by Zelda's light.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: King Bulblin says he wants to make Ilia his toy, complete with Perverted Drooling.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Link ends the fight with Dark Link by running him through... and then wonders why he's the one with the Master Sword in his chest. And then he's fine a minute later - that fight ends up being a Mind Screw.
  • Link landing his final attack on Ganondorf, same as in-game.
• I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Link says multiple times that he doesn't see himself as a hero, he just wants to protect his friends from the monsters.
• In-Joke: When Link recalls his past in chapter 6, Liom complains that it was tiring sparing with Link due to him being left-handed. Link tells him that one would also get tired if they were right-handed. The Twilight Princess game has Link either left or right handed depending on the version (GameCube, left-handed; Wii, right-handed) or mode (Wii U: Normal, left-handed; Hero, right-handed).
• Invisible to Normals: The light spirits. Ashei also can't see Midna when Link talks to her.
• Kick the Dog: Zant literally shreds the Golden Wolf apart with his magic when he tries to help Midna. He gets better thanks to being the Hero's Shade, but still...
• Last Kiss: Midna actually kisses Link before shattering the Mirror of Twilight, forever separating the two worlds.
• Mars Needs Women: King Bulbin has a Villainous Crush on Ilia despite being an orc-like creature.
• Mood Whiplash: It starts peaceful, with comedy to the point of Link almost being a Dork Knight and having fun every day. Then Link wishes it'll last forever.
• Motivated by Fear: King Bulblin apparently gains energy from fear.
• Nice Girl: Ilia's most prominent feature. She's apparently a Cool Big Sis.
• Only in It for the Money: Link acts like it, complaining about his pay and wants payments for every task he does. But in reality, this is just an jerkass act Played for Laughs among the characters as it's implied that Link Cannot Tell a Joke.
• Only the Chosen May Wield: "Gaurof's Sword" that Link pulled out of a stone two years prior to the story. And, as always, the Master Sword can only be held by the Chosen Hero.
• Promoted to Love Interest:
  • It's clearer that Ilia has a crush on Link with crush blushes and Link also blushing around her. She was a strongly implied love interest in the game but not outright stated not unlike the other main women in the game.
  • While the game implies that Midna had feelings for Link but Cannot Spit It Out, the manga has her kiss him before returning to the Twilight Realm.
• Redemption Equals Death: In the original game, King Bublin simply leaves after being defeated by Link and giving Link one of the needed keys, other than saying that he respects only the strongest. In the manga, after he is healed by Ilia prior to the invasion on Castle Town, in part of her kindness despite their earlier animosity, King Bulblin fights the invading Twili and Ganondorf's forces in defense of the Hylians. In the end, he dies with many weapons stabbed in his back.

• Ret-Canon: Eventually, Link would lose his left arm in Tears of Kingdom, though from Malice.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Link has many triggers and trained to become a knight, although he was actually a trainee rather than a previously active soldier.
• She's Not My Girlfriend: Link denies it when Sera asks if Ilia is his girlfriend quite bluntly. Unlike most examples does he not blush despite blushing around Ilia earlier.
• The Social Darwinist: While the King Bulbin of the game was a pragmatist who believed in fighting for the strongest side, the manga version openly despises the weak and declares that his strength alone gives him the right to whatever he wants.
• Stab the Sky: Ordona makes Link's detached left arm with the sword rise skyward.
• Suddenly Speaking: Downplayed; King Bulblin speaks much more frequently in the manga than he did in the game, which consisted of one line before his last fight and two lines after being defeated. And more importantly, Link himself, who strangely enough had his Heroic Mime status completely averted for this manga and was given an expanded backstory and a huge character development arc.
• Take Up My Sword: Rusl gives Link his sword after hearing a near death Fado talk about monsters in the forest.
• Talking Animal: Ordona speaks through a massive goat, Faron through an oversized hawk, and Lanayru through a giant snake. Also, Link's wolf form is given just as much dialogue as his human form, but as he only takes the form in the Twilight (unlike in the game, where he made periodic trips into dispelled regions), it's unclear if anyone besides Midna can understand him.
• Tears of Fear: Ilia and Colin both do this when encountering King Bulbin and his forces.
• Tragic Keepsake: Link is shown to keep a Black Cloak he had from his days as a wanderer after the loss of his home.
• Trauma Button: In Volume 4, Ilia nearly breaks down in fear when the bulblins appear, having previously lost her memory to cope from her time in captivity.
• Training from Hell: The Hero's Shade more or less puts Link through this in chapters 22 and 23.
• Was Once a Man: The Shadow Beasts along with being Brainwashed and Crazy and can happen to humans just as well as the Twili.
• Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Poor, poor, Colin. He wouldn't look out of place in Higurashi: When They Cry.
• Wrecked Weapon: Zelda breaks her rapier when she surrenders to Zant's forces.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Multiple characters have pointed to Link that he's The Chosen One by the Triforce, so he can't even attempt Refusal of the Call. After the episode of Drunk with Power, he becomes bed-ridden for a few days, as he doesn't want to screw up the mission he didn't agree on again.

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