#22 The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa
This was a new experience for me. I've never read a Manga before, so there was a bit of an adjustment reading from right to left and from the back of the book forward. But, I'm a huge Zelda fan and Ocarina is my favorite of the games (tied neatly with Breath of the Wild, which I really, really need to get back to). This comic is, in every way, faithful to the game, so it was a lot like "going home" in that sense. (I've been known to go back to Ocarina over and over as time allows.) Non gamers might find the comic a bit abrupt in places, but gamers will recognize that these "jumps" in the action are where the player would be battling their way through a dungeon to get to the final boss. That wouldn't translate well to the page, so instead we have Link entering the dungeon and immediately facing off against the boss.
What struck me the most, however, was how faithful the comic is to the characters. Usually, I find comic dialogue to be very stilted and out of character (I've read my far share of Xena and Evil Dead comics), but not in this case. The goodness and innocence of Link shines through the page in a way I've never seen before. This is especially heartwarming and unexpected as Link NEVER TALKS in the games. So to see him having dialogue that remains true to the silent hero I've loved since 1987 is just incredibly special.
I've already dropped some not so subtle hints to my husband that I would like the other Mangas in the Zelda series.
