A Zeal For Zelda's Past Continues

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda began as one of the first true “hit” game releases for the 8-bit NES/Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Since then, the series has expanded to include 18 entries on all of Nintendo's major game consoles, as well as a number of spin-offs. As of 2011, the series has sold over 62 million copies worldwide… and probably more since. With a new Legend of Zelda game coming in 2017 for both the Wii U and new NX console, the series is more popular than ever.

With plenty of Zelda and Link coming soon to video games, VIZ Media Senior Editorial Director, Beth Kawasaki, wants to make certain that fans are getting what they want… and that translates to rare material made available once again by VIZ!

**********

PREVIEWSworld: How did you get involved with this project?

Beth Kawasaki: My job at VIZ involves acquiring new content, including Japanese manga that can be localized into English. VIZ had published the English-language version of a 10-volume The Legend of Zelda manga series by Akira Himekawa in 2009-2010. The books are still consistent sellers so when we were brainstorming ideas for more Zelda content a few years ago, we started researching The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (MAR151495), which originally was serialized in Nintendo Power magazine in the early ’90s and then collected into a graphic novel in 1993. It was never reprinted and fans had been clamoring for the book for years.

From there, it was several rounds of conversations with the rights holders, including Nintendo, one of our parent companies, Shogakukan, and the estate of artist Shotaro Ishinomori.

PREVIEWSworld: How closely do you work with the video game developers and publishers when working on the adaptations?

Beth Kawasaki: It varies with each publisher and manga creator. In this case, even though the work was originally produced in English, we had a fair amount of back and forth with Nintendo and the Japanese publisher, especially about the cover and the overall design. Everyone really wanted to get it right and stay true to Ishinomori’s aesthetic.

PREVIEWSworld: A Link to the Past came out on the Super Nintendo more than 20 years before the book was released, meaning a large chunk of your audience may have never even played through the story before. Why was it important for Viz to release the manga adaptation after all this time?

Beth Kawasaki: First and foremost, we’re fans of Zelda. And we have a huge audience for the manga that we’ve already published. Readers and retailers are always asking for more. Zelda is stronger now that it’s ever been and it is not slowing down. If you played the A Link to the Past game 20 years ago, you probably have very fond memories of it, maybe even read the comic chapters when they originally ran in Nintendo Power, and will definitely love this book. If you didn’t play that specific game arc but are a Zelda fan, you’ll love this book too because it captures the classic storytelling essence of the games with familiar characters, but Ishinomori also put his own unique stamp on it with his art style and pacing.

PREVIEWSworld: This was the only Zelda-related work that Shotaro Ishinomori ever worked on, with most of the other game-based manga having been done by Akira Himekawa. What did Ishinomori bring to the world of Zelda that made this work stand out among the rest?

Beth Kawasaki: Ishinomori was a prolific manga creator, most well-known for Cyborg 009, and was a co-founder of an animation production company in Japan. He also was famous for creating franchise TV series such as Kamen Rider and Kikaider. If you don’t know either of those series, you probably know Power Rangers, which was heavily inspired by those shows. In other words, Ishinomori was always creating some form of entertainment.

Ishinomori followed the A Link to the Past game themes of good-versus-evil adventure, but expanded upon that world, especially with Link. Ishinomori has a gift for capturing action and humor and really brought Link’s personality to life as you see him transform from a common villager to a hero, mistakes, misunderstandings and all.

Osamu Tezuka, best known for Astro Boy, was a mentor to Ishinomori early on in his career and his influence can definitely be seen in the pages of A Link to the Past. Ishinomori’s story builds anticipation with measured panel pacing and accentuates major scenes with splash pages.

PREVIEWSworld: Why did you opt for a larger page size on this book, especially compared to most of the other Viz publications?

Beth Kawasaki: The original edition was done at the same size, and we really wanted to make sure that Ishinomori’s art was showcased at that size so all the art nuances would be captured. Also, we really wanted this book to physically stand out to fans of all ages so they would instantly see the big Zelda logo and pick it up.

PREVIEWSworld: Why do you think Zelda translates as a successful property for both print and video entertainment?

Beth Kawasaki: It’s addictive storytelling, mixing adventure with a reluctant hero’s quest to overcome his fears and discover his strength.

PREVIEWSworld: Are there any Japanese comic series based on video games that you would love to bring to American audiences?

Beth Kawasaki: Monster Hunter was recently adapted and we’re releasing that series. There’s a new Capcom game so I think it will get lots of interest. Splatoon is a very fun game and a manga series just started in Japan. I’m interested to see how that story develops.

PREVIEWSworld: Can we expect more Link/Zelda projects from VIZ in the future?

Beth Kawasaki: Yes, we are working on it! The original Akira Himekawa 10-volume series is going to come out as five deluxe editions, called The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Edition. Each book will contain two of the original volumes, be printed on upgraded paper stock at a larger 5 ¾” x 8 ¼” size, and will include an original color art piece plus 16 color pages. We’re so excited that Himekawa was able to contribute new color art for these editions! Volume 1 will release in November, and subsequent volumes will come out bimonthly.