Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)

I am a huge fan of serious stuff being able to laugh at itself and the Elden Ring manga lands this perfectly. While it takes liberties with the plot from the game, so far it does proceed similarly in regard to locations and the characters you meet along the way. The art style is fantastic and an absolute pleasure to look over, and the protagonist's observations and interactions are a lot of fun. Having noticed 1-star reviews stating it's "printed backward", I would like to mention this is a manga meaning it is published in the opposite direction of most American graphic novels. When art is flipped it can look really awkward, so preserving the layout means retaining the artists' intentions instead of potentially revealing a bunch of unintentional flaws. If you enjoy comedy and Elden Ring, this is a truly enjoyable read and a promising start to the series!

It was PEAK and was very goofy good art too

I really didn't know what to expect with this manga but I love Elden ring so I took a shot. First let me say this is a manga, not a comic, so its black and white and read in reverse. Secondly this is 100% a comedy, so that may be a turn off to some elden ring fans. But as someone who has beaten elden ring twice and put in well over 100 hours, I found the book to be hilarious and clearly written by someone who played the game a lot! There's so many little hidden jokes and references, a lot of care clearly has gone into this. I rarely laugh out loud when reading something, but this manga actually had me cracking up at its ridiculousness lol it really is very funny. Its also well drawn, the art style is very reminiscent of attack on titan. Sorry, writing this on my phone so I know its a bit all over the place, but if you don't mind a little slapstick ridiculous comedy and you love elden ring I think you should give this one a shot.

Before anything I must stress: this is a comical retelling of a Tarnished that awoke in the Lands Betweens and now must maneuver among weirdos and oddities while wearing only his loincloth and being berated by a strange girl named Melina. But don't turn away upon hearing this is a comedy, as the manga has heart. The characters are parodies of themselves to an extent, but it isn't overdone or mean-spirited and actually makes them more lovable, even Godrick! It plays off of little things about them in-game, such as Merchant Kale mentioning Blaidd "couldn't find his nose with both hands," to develop them. And the art is gorgeous - Mr. Tobita really captures the style of the game while adding his own twists and flairs, seamlessly blending in visual gags. I will follow this series closely!

I knew it was going to be a comedy coming into it, as I've read the description. The jokes primarily rely on the reader being familiar with Elden Ring so I can't really recommend it to anyone who hasn't played the game. Some of the gags are pretty funny and land well, others simply read like a group of friends at 3 a.m. just saying: "Wouldn't it be funny if..." and then saying something that they'd really only find funny at 3 a.m. I would say that my main gripe other than some of the jokes not landing is that there is basically no action. While I wasn't expecting an action packed adventure, it would be nice to see some actual stakes and action instead of simply a string of jokes.

I liked it. It was funny, and it followed the game's story pretty well. The main characters were accurate, but the most important thing I have to mention is MAID OUTFIT RANNI, 12/10. Aw, that's hot- Will Smith.

This is a fun, comical, and relatable read. For anyone that's played definitely pick it up!

It's quite remarkable to me that this got made in this way! This graphic novel is absolutely hilarious, with characterizations that lampoon each character's qualities from the game, and essentially follows the general story. Art is of good quality. Be aware if you're not accustomed to manga, it reads right-to-left, top-to-bottom, and the book itself is bound "reversed" compared to typical western texts, and most pages are not in color. I can't wait to see how they deal with Malenia....