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So the Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree manga is a gag manga, which means that while it does cover lots of events from the game and feature familiar characters, it’s going to get extremely goofy. Here’s the thing. Along the way, the bumbling lead character actually does start to “get good.” It’s fascinating! While some of it does seem like a means of Nikiichi Tobita doing so in order to ensure we can see later quests and bosses, by volume 7 it also feels like part of it mirrors the idea that anyone, with a lot of effort and skill, could make any build and approach work in the actual game. This is because this volume deals with Aseo starting Ranni’s questline in order to get the Cursemark of Death.
Editor’s Note: There will be mild spoilers up through part of volume 7 of the Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree manga below.
To fully understand how great the development of Aseo is as a character in the Elden Ring manga, you really need to grasp how it started. In the first volume, he begins as The Wretch. He’s running around in a loincloth. His intelligence stat is abysmal, even after Melina attempts to help with that. He doesn’t know how to use his potions. He dies. A lot. It almost feels like a miracle that he even makes it through the first two volumes, to be honest. If the Godrick the Grafted fight didn’t involve a crafting contest at one part, he might not have!
But after that win, we start to see a change. He’s still a mess by the third volume. However, Aseo catches the attention of Ranni. She asks him to become a Carian Knight, though he refuses. He’s still so weak that can’t equip the armor she offers, due to the equip load, and can only take the pants. But he starts learning about Runes. He gets to the Raya Lucaria Academy. He’s tasked with getting the Great Rune from Rennala.
It’s once he gets to that point that Aseo starts to feel like he could actually be a reliable hero in the Elden Ring manga. He’s able to survive the Rennala encounter, besting Moongrum in the process. We learn actual insights about the Queen of the Full Moon in a way that makes her sympathetic. When it comes to the Starscourge Radahn fight, Aseo is absolutely a dork and remains comic relief. Other characters put him in danger for their own safety/amusement. But he survives the fight and they all win. It’s a big deal!
Which means once he gets to the events of volume 7 and is trying to get the Cursemark of Death. It’s like we’re seeing now that he is getting on a path that could actually lead to one of the major endings. He’s getting sent to Nokron with Blaidd. He actually faces the Mimic Tear boss and, through his own unique methods and logic, wins against a replica of himself. He does get a weapon, outsmart an opponent, and get what he’s looking for.
I get that Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree wouldn’t be all that interesting if it was too silly and Aseo was dying all the time, but now that we’re so many volumes into it, it really is clear how clever Nikiichi Tobita’s development is. It hits major story beats. Aseo still remains a goof. But he also becomes gradually more competent. He manages to accomplish some pretty great things, while making us laugh about it along the way.
Volume 7 of Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 8 on March 24, 2026.
