4 out of 5

It’s actually pretty funny, it moves the plot forward significantly, and it does a nice dance around the lore so that noobs can follow along and Elden Ring pros can get their I-recognize-that jollies as well… has the ER manga found its stride?

I mean, maybe it did before; I skipped a volume because the second one was such a dive in enjoyability, and picked this one up casually. And between 2 and 4, it seems like our unnamed writer (still being credited to “Original Story: Elden Ring (FromSoftware, Inc.)”) decided on something key which really helps things on their way: lead character Aseo is no longer depicted as an aimless dullard. He will avoid conflict, but he’s actually learned some spells and skills, and knows how to apply them; furthermore, he seems committed to helping ‘Meli-Meli’ out – giving the character, and the story, actual trajectory. Wow! Who knew that would help?

In the hopes of putting off a revisit to the desolate Caelid for as long as possible, Aseo first heads to see Carrian Queen Rennala, then has a side adventure with Boc the tailor before the book sets us up for the Weeping Peninsula. Now, likely, readers are going to know these beats from their playthrough, and there’s fun in how they’re reconfigured here. Since Aseo can actually fight now, his Rennala scuffles don’t have to be as forced, and now he can be the straight man – rolling his eyes at how these Lands Beyond folks have pretty weird ways of doing things. That’s a setup that also works well for new readers, and for any hyper-specific callout to the game that may pass by them, the book has also built up a small cache of repeated jokes that prove good for a chuckle.

Tobita’s art has similarly adapted to or is now better suited to the tone: timing is better, and there’s just a more “organic” stitch between the handdrawn stuff and the stuff statted in from the game, though action is still pretty difficult to depict effectively when stuck with these stiffer character models.

Then, of course, there’s the reality of this series: it’s a long form parody. It’s hard to insert actual stakes into that; my ability to drop a volume and come back without any real effect on the story is testament to. There are ongoing comedy series, of course, and sometimes they can be Archie-comics-esque, where there’s not really much carryover issue by issue. Elden Ring isn’t at that extreme end of things, but maybe it’d be better in that format? It’s hard to say. It’s just difficult for me to write this up as a must buy without stronger selling points, unless the humor is really laugh out loud stuff for you, or you’ve the extra budget and enjoy a game-themed distraction.