You probably remember the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. It was a huge deal. Nintendo released Skyward Sword on the Wii, gave us that shiny gold Wiimote, and bundled a symphony CD that honestly still slaps. But tucked away in the back of the official Hyrule Historia art book was something else. A comic. Specifically, a 32-page prequel comic. Most people just call it the Zelda Skyward Sword manga, and even though it’s over a decade old, it does things to the lore that the games still haven't touched. It's weirdly dark. It's heavy. And it changes how you look at Link entirely.
Akira Himekawa wrote it. That's actually a pen name for a duo of artists, and if you’ve read any Zelda manga in the last twenty years, you know their style. They have this knack for taking a silent protagonist and giving him a soul that feels earned rather than forced. In this short prequel, they don't just retell the game. They go back thousands of years. Before the floating island of Skyloft even existed.
The First Hero Nobody Talks About
The Zelda Skyward Sword manga isn't about the Link you play as in the game. It’s about the "First Hero."
In the game's opening cinematic, we get those blurry, ancient-looking paintings of a war against Demise. It's vague. The manga fills those gaps with a version of Link who is—frankly—a bit of a tragic badass. This Link isn't a student at a knight academy or a kid looking for his sister. He's a prisoner. He’s been rotting in a jail cell because the people of the surface world feared his strength.
Think about that for a second.
Nintendo usually keeps Link as this "blank slate" champion, but Himekawa went the "martyr" route. When Demise’s forces attack, Hylia releases him. There's this heartbreaking moment where he's just exhausted, but he picks up the sword anyway because it’s who he is. It gives the Master Sword’s origin a much grittier weight.
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Why the Prequel Setting Matters for the Lore
A lot of fans argue about whether the manga is "canon." Nintendo is notoriously shifty about this. Usually, they say the games are the only true history, and the books are "interpretations." But Hyrule Historia was marketed as the definitive Bible of the series. Putting this specific Zelda Skyward Sword manga at the very beginning of that book felt like a massive statement of intent.
It explains the bond.
In the game, Link and Zelda are childhood friends with some heavy romantic tension. It's cute. But the manga suggests their connection is literally written into their DNA across time. When the First Hero dies, he doesn't just pass away; he makes a pact. It’s the foundational moment for the entire cycle of reincarnation that drives every single game from Ocarina of Time to Tears of the Kingdom.
The Brutality of the War Against Demise
If you’ve played the game, you know Demise looks like a buff, flaming-haired version of Akuma from Street Fighter. He's intimidating. But the manga portrays the war on the surface as a total apocalypse. It’s not a fun adventure. It’s a desperate, bloody retreat.
Himekawa’s art shines here. They use heavy blacks and jagged lines to show the "God-Tribe" and the humans getting absolutely slaughtered. There is a specific panel where Link’s Loftwing—a massive, majestic bird—gets struck down. It’s brutal. It’s the kind of stakes we rarely see in the actual games because Nintendo wants to keep that E-for-Everyone rating.
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- The First Hero doesn't use the Master Sword initially; he uses a different blade that eventually breaks.
- Hylia isn't just a distant goddess; she’s depicted as someone carrying immense guilt for what she has to ask of Link.
- The creation of Skyloft isn't a miracle; it's a desperate escape pod.
The manga makes the "Skyward" part of the title feel like a tragedy. The humans aren't going to the sky to start a new, beautiful life. They are fleeing a dying world because they lost.
Is the Zelda Skyward Sword Manga Canon in 2026?
With Tears of the Kingdom having been out for a while now, fans are constantly looking back at the "Zonai" and the "Founding of Hyrule." The Zelda Skyward Sword manga gets brought up in Discord servers and Reddit threads every single day because it complicates the timeline.
Some people think the manga contradicts the later games. Honestly? It kinda does. But that’s Zelda lore in a nutshell. It’s a series of myths. One person's "history" is another's "legend."
The real value of the manga isn't in whether it perfectly fits a timeline. It’s in the characterization. It portrays the Master Sword not just as a tool, but as a burden. When the First Hero raises the sword to the sky for the first time—the "Skyward Strike"—it’s not a cool gameplay mechanic. It’s a signal of defiance against a literal demon god while the world burns around them.
What You're Missing if You Haven't Read It
If you only know the story from the Wii or Switch versions of the game, you're missing the "Why."
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Why did Hylia choose Link?
Why is the Master Sword so special?
Why does the spirit of the Hero keep coming back?
The game says "destiny." The manga says "trauma and devotion." It’s much more human. You see Link’s frustration. You see his physical pain. You see the moment he realizes he’s never going to have a normal life because he’s the only one who can stand in the gap.
How to Find and Read It Today
Finding this thing is actually pretty easy now, which wasn't always the case. For years, you had to hunt down a physical copy of Hyrule Historia, which is a giant, heavy coffee table book. Not exactly great for reading in bed.
- The Legendary Edition: Viz Media released the Zelda manga in "Legendary Editions." The Skyward Sword prequel is included in the back of the Twilight Princess Volume 11 or sometimes as a standalone bonus in the boxed sets.
- Digital Versions: Most major ebook retailers have the Himekawa Zelda collection.
- The Original Source: If you want the full experience with the concept art, just get Hyrule Historia. It’s a foundational piece of gaming history anyway.
It’s a quick read—maybe 15 minutes—but it’ll stick with you longer than the 40 hours you spent collecting tears of light in the game.
Moving Forward With the Legend
If you're a Zelda fan, the Zelda Skyward Sword manga is basically mandatory reading. It recontextualizes the most important relationship in the franchise. It’s not just a boy saving a girl. It’s two souls bound by a sacrifice made at the beginning of time.
Once you finish those 32 pages, go back and watch the final boss fight in Skyward Sword. Look at the way Link stands. Look at the way he looks at the Master Sword. It hits differently when you realize he’s carrying the weight of a version of himself that was forgotten by history.
To dive deeper into this world, your next move is simple. Stop scrolling through wiki pages and get your hands on the Legendary Edition of the manga. Read it, then jump back into Skyward Sword HD or even Breath of the Wild. You'll start seeing the "First Hero" everywhere, from the ruins on the surface to the silent pedestal in the Lost Woods. The lore is much deeper than the games let on, and this manga is the key to unlocking it.