How often has Quincy Gotten hurt? Has it ever gotten really bad before?
"Quincy does his best to make sure that things don't get too dangerous around here, and most of the time, he manages to keep things so.
But there are times when he is unable to do so. I remember that during one of my early days of being here, a Visitor had gotten out of control and violent. Quincy had to step in- and it wasn't a pretty sight.
I think that was one of the first and few times I've seen him use his vines.
Thankfully, he was able to handle the situation, and we were able to help him heal. It took him a while to regrow his limbs, though, so he had only one arm for a while."
~ Stella 🪡
9 notes
·
View notes
Let’s Talk the Twilight Princess Manga- Book #1
Released on March 14, 2017, volume 1 of Akira Himekawa's Twilight Princess manga adaptation kicks off an 11 part series retelling the story from the original game from 2006, Twilight Princess. The final volume of the series came out in English the other day on April 11th, 2023. With 11 volumes over 6 years, I figured now is a good time to go through the series and see how well it holds up. Since this is a longer series, each book will get its own post. I have a lot of opinions about this adaptation of Twilight Princess, so let’s talk about it.
The Good
First of all, the art style that Akira Himekawa uses for this series is easily the best we’ve seen out of The Legend of Zelda manga adaptations. The amount of detail put into every page perfectly captures the vibe of the scene and the emotions of the characters involved. As someone who has read the other 10 volumes, let me tell you that the art only improves from here, and it's already very solid. The art style is the number one thing I hype up about this series when I recommend it to other people. Even if some of the changes they make in this adaptation don’t work for you, I suggest picking it up anyway for the art alone.
Rusl is another highlight, especially in volume 1. Himekawa perfectly captures that stern but caring father figure vibe for Rusl, having him be the voice of reason while also being the one to comfort Link early on. He also takes his job as the protector of Ordon seriously. I like Rusl in the game, but I feel like we see more of his personality in the manga. Maybe I’m biased because I hate playing through the opening section of Twilight Princess and zone out until we hit the first temple, but even so Rusl is a much needed character in this first volume.
Something else I greatly appreciate is the T rating here feeling earned. The manga adaptation takes those scenes that likely gave the game a T rating in the first place and elevates them, raising the stakes a considerable amount. While I love the previous manga adaptations of Legend of Zelda games, they were all clearly made for children. I appreciate Himekawa giving us a series that doesn’t shy away from its rating.
The Bad
In the first couple of pages, we're shown scenes of Midna fighting alongside a wolf. It's difficult to explain why I am not a fan of this inclusion in the manga without spoiling future books that we'll talk about regarding this series, but this early on inclusion feels unnecessary. If you've played Twilight Princess though, you know who this wolf is supposed to be. I understand wanting to have a link between the Twilight realm and the Light realm, but we didn't need a literal Link to connect them. Plus, we're shown a much better connection between the two realms later on in the series that I'll discuss at a later point.
I hate to say it, but book 1 Link does a terrible job at convincing people to keep reading. He's a bratty teenager to say the least, which can be fun, but his personality feels very different than what we're shown in Twilight Princess. His personality reminds me more of Link from early on in the Four Swords manga, which works for that series, but feels a little out of place here. I am all for making changes from the source material, but this change doesn't make sense, especially considering his new tragic backstory introduced in this series.
The Neutral
Link is given a mysterious backstory in this series, coming from a city that vanished one day after Link tried removing a sword from a stone. The Hero's Shade rises up from the ground as the whole city gets sucked into this strange portal, leaving Link as the lone survivor. This backstory feels very out of place in book 1, but I am placing it in the neutral category because I do believe it has its moments in the story that help add emotional depth and world building. It's weird here, yes, but if you keep going it does get interesting.
Midna's reveal early on is something else that I think is okay. Keeping her true form a secret was good for the game back in 2006, but it's 2023. With the target audience for this series being dedicated Legend of Zelda fans, there's no reason to act like we don't know who Midna is. Her true form is still kept a secret from Link, but getting a scene in the beginning where Midna introduces herself doesn't take away from that eventual reveal later on. The only reason it's not up there with the good parts is because I cannot get over the fact that she has a wolf before she meets our main Link. It just feels like unnecessary fanservice to add in the golden wolf right away and have him know Midna.
Conclusion
Overall I think volume 1 of the Twilight Princess manga adaptation does a decent enough job setting the scene and introducing us to a lot of characters all at once, with the main highlights being Midna's introduction and Rusl's whole character. Every page is crammed with beautiful artwork that matches the game's style, but some of the plot points are lacking early on. However, since I have finished the series, I will say to keep reading past book 1. Even if some of the changes annoy you, it's worth it to keep going.
Unlike Ocarina of Time where I was biased in favor of the manga, with Twilight Princess I did play the game before reading the series, so I may favor the game more at times. If you love something that I labeled as bad, tell me why it works for you! All of the things mentioned here are just my opinion, so I'd love to hear what moments worked or didn't work for other people. For anyone looking to read this series, I will try and find the website that I used to read a few of the volumes online. If I find it, I'll share it in the responses of this post, and I'll see you again for volume 2!
10 notes
·
View notes
Deep breath in. Deep breath out
In the palm of her hand, she had nothing. Yet in the other, she could hold nothing. There was a sense of unresolved tension between limbs. From the one she still had, to the other so brutally ripped from her, torn to shreds and devoured. An experience she would not soon forget.
Yet the others cried out and filled her mind, the ones so connected to her spinal cord and mind like wire melded to metal.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
It was enlightening, shatter bones and a scream that mixed with the laughter of sanity being drained out of her. To allow more of them to consume her mind as she leaked so profusely with red and metal so imbedded in her body. Incapable of removing, only embracing. Membrane that scoured her lungs and screamed for more. More. MORE.
All it took was a push, was the right move to take it in, and release it. Or in this case, to let go of what was hers, to be embraced, to be evolved past what she might be capable. Perhaps she should thank it.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
She had been getting better and remaking limbs, enhanced and not quite the same...better. humanity was flawed in it's inability to evolve at such a fast rate. There were exceptions, of course...those with superpowers, born, given, or created. Mutants.
Yet some, with intelligence, enough to be considered a power in and of itself. It was, in a way, god or the universe's own thought experience. Humanity. Weak and feeble till proven otherwise.
Cellular membrane, aritifical, digging soon into the barely healed stump. She had thought of trying it sooner, though found it would be better to give it time, wait and see. Results were always better when the body was at it's highest, not when it was panicked and bleeding out.
Deep breath in.
It would more harder, had she only one limb, alone surrounded by bright and overly luminous LEDs...but she wasn't. Machinery with minds of its own both imbedded into her back, her spine and nervous system, as well as around the lab itself.
Some found it unnerving, she found it to be enlightening. Surrounded by technology that had learned to think, to be human.
Deep breath out.
How she felt the strings attach, like a puppet being carved open, her skin peeling back and fusing together with silicon and nanotechnology. It was enlightening, how it felt.
How it hurt. How her bones were being eaten away at the stem which had been nipped at the bud. Roots regrowing and heading towards the rest of her nerves, like a weed being purposefully thrown amidst roses. To be replaced, to be reorganized. The pain a rushing of adrenaline that made her shiver.
Deep breath in.
Becoming umbearable, like locusts biting and eating away at her flesh, the green-transparent colour filling with pale skin cells, replacing, becoming, duplicating. Red and white mixing so elegantly, then ugly...then beautifully. Pieces being laid into place like a puzzle being concluded and snapped together.
Hold.
Her lungs, her heart, it screamed to breath, it screamed yet was caught in her throat. Tentacles of her back moving out like serpents wrapping and curling as they felt it too. Her entire body a system of multiple, all feeling so excruciating. As if she would explode. As if layers of her skin were being peeled back to reveal the rudimentary yet so complicated surface of a human body.
A willing vivisection, by the creation of a symbiotic relationship. A parasitic one turned mutually beneficial.
Hold.
Skin and body trembling while nerves connected, replaced and made her eyes widen. The hue of her irises becoming so briefly vibrant and the brightest of green before reverting.
Hold.
Hold.
A growl, the release of breath soon forming from snarl and grimace of teeth to the laugh of a woman who's feeling had returned. Phantom limb so temporary now physical. How in the empty lab, her laugh echoed, tentacles splayed across the floor--how even technology could not handle the resolve of pain.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
But she could.
4 notes
·
View notes