Daily Debate: Which Manga Artist Would You Pick for Retelling The Wind Waker?
Posted on August 06 2020 by Michaela El-Ters
One of the hobbies that I’ve been finding a lot of enjoyment in recently has been manga reading. I have a few series I’ve been collecting and I started looking at some of the Zelda manga to see what’s available. Looking at the list, though, The Wind Waker doesn’t have a proper or localized manga adaptation, which was pretty disappointing. I think the expansive ocean world setting and Link’s driving motivation to rescue Aryll would make for a compelling story in manga form. Instead, the existing manga version of the game is a logbook that cuts most of the story, skipping the dungeons and even parodying some scenes. The manga adaptations of Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, and Twilight Princess have succeeded in retelling the story of each respective game while bringing something new and meaningful to the table, so why shouldn’t The Wind Waker get the same treatment?
If I could pick a manga artist to pen a faithful adaptation of The Wind Waker — capturing both the character’s humor and the dark, tense story moments — it would be Hiromu Arakawa. Known for the critically acclaimed Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa has fantastic storytelling sensibilities. Within just a few panels, a scene can go from being intense and emotional to comedic and light-hearted without feeling out of place. On top of that, Arakawa’s art style is clean and aesthetically pleasing, and action scenes are dynamic and easy to follow. I think The Wind Waker deserves to have a proper manga adaptation that retells the story in a way that captures the humor and adventure of the game, and Arakawa would be my go-to pick. If you could a manga artist to retell The Wind Waker or another Zelda game, who would you pick? Let us know in the comments!
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
