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Given the serious nature of the Elden Ring game, it’s honestly pretty amazing that there’s not just one gag manga based on it, but now two comedies building on its established characters and lore. But here we are! Yen Press previously released single chapters of Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between from Haruichi in English, and now the first full volume is out and explores moments in the lives of Roderika, Brother Corhyn, Rya, and Blackguard Big Boggart. It’s less joke-after-joke than Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree, while still offering a similar sort of tone.
Editor’s Note: There will be no spoilers for the character stories found in the first volume of the Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between manga below.
While the Elden Ring: Road to the Erdtree manga follows a specific Tarnished named Aseo, the Distant Tales Between dedicates each chapter to a major NPC we may or may not meet as we play. It reads more as a short story collection. Which is beneficial, in its way. I think it might be more appealing to someone coming from the game as a result of the decision, since it could be highlighting someone you connected with when playing through your Tarnished’s story. And, at the same time, it’s less focused on constant jokes than the other series Yen Press is handling.
I did find this means some of the individual chapters might feel a little stronger than others. The introduction with Roderika is a perfect point. It is set in essentially a route where a player didn’t encounter her at Stormhill Shack and instead probably already met her after she got to Roundtable Hold. As such, we’re seeing how she reacted and got comfortable there, as well as the response of the other NPCs to her and her situation. Said reactions from other characters are where the comedy comes in, but I also appreciate how it still maintained moments that highlighted the nature of her situation and showed her personal growth.
The more outright comedic tale here is clearly designed to be Blackguard Big Boggart. I promised no spoilers earlier and I meant it, but the best way to describe it is a culinary tour of The Lands Between after he gets fed up with eating prawns. It’s very silly and provides an excuse for him to meet and interact with other established NPCs from our Tarnished’s journey. Plus, I appreciated how each “meal” ended up feeling like both something maybe, vaguely appealing and that would probably be at home in Delicious in Dungeon.
While it does break from the whole “gag” thing the rest of the first volume of the Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between manga has going, I think my favorite chapter here is “The World of Animals: The Springhare’s Excursion.” It’s a wordless look into the life of essentially an ordinary baby bunny in The Lands Between. Which, naturally, means it can get a little harrowing. But it’s also heartwarming at times! And even though there are some concerning moments, it also has a “lighter” sort of feel than someone would expect from Elden Ring and keeps up the tone in that fashion.
The Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between offers the same lighter approach to a manga based on the game as the earlier Road to the Erdtree while also highlighting more characters. Each NPC gets a moment to themselves. While these can be sillier moments, there is still a lot of folks staying somewhat in character, and the stories being told are definitely rooted in established lore to make it more fun.
Volume 1 of the Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between manga is available now, and Yen Press hasn’t shared a release date for the second one yet.
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