Hi! What do you think of Linebeck’s manga counterpart compared to his game counterpart? Is it about the same or do you feel different about them? Any sort of thoughts opinions and interpretations about his manga and or game counterparts?
Hi! Thanks for the ask!
I had to dig up and reread my Phantom Hourglass manga for this since I haven’t actually read it in a while, which I guess already reveals some of my opinions about it.
Off the bat, I feel differently about manga Linebeck than game Linebeck; I like the game’s version of him better, and I’ll go ahead and say that it’s probably because the manga cut out pretty much over half of the game’s plot, which severely limits a lot of stuff in the manga, as well as trashing the majority of Linebeck’s original arc and therefore making his manga arc feel very abrupt to me.
So, in terms of how the manga version feels in comparison to the game version… overall a bit lackluster compared to the game? Mainly due to the fact that half of the plot was cut, so you lose the letter, the slower changes seen through dialogue, as well as losing the two sea monster battles. The fact that the manga cuts from the ghost ship right into the Bellum fight is mainly what kills his arc a bit, since he more or less start and ends in the same places as the game’s versions, but in the manga you lose most of the build-up to that change. It also suggests the idea that he actually had less development than in the game, due to losing the letter bit and cutting out a lot of the time he had to change in the game. You lose some of the smaller details.
In general, I’m not a big fan of what the manga did with Phantom Hourglass’s overall plot, and this even extends to how they presented the final boss, too, even though a lot of people like this interpretation. I do like this play on the final boss, but it feels like it just… lost what extra impact it could have had due to the plot getting shuffled around. Placing the bellumbeck fight before the fight against just Bellum just feels… wrong. In the game, the bellumbeck fight being the last thing gives it more impact and leaves Linebeck’s possible fate a bit murkier (if you don’t know what happens, of course), and I actually dislike how this shuffling of events erases a) the ghost ship battle and b) Linebeck using the phantom sword to protect link. Obviously, these have their manga parallels (Linebeck helping fight Bellum in the end; his waking up during the bellumbeck battle and that ensuing bit), but I feel like the game’s version of events do more to support his development and make it feel more meaningful.
So, my general feeling about manga Linebeck compared to game Linebeck is essentially that the manga version kinda got shafted by the story cuts and shuffling of events.
Aside from problems caused by the pacing of the manga (this thing is at breakneck speed it’s been a while since I read it and man that’s fast pacing), in terms of his actual characterization, he’s also a bit different from the game. A lot of his traits are exaggerated throughout, which has its ups and downs.
I’m just going to go through the negatives before going through what I like; I’m not really a fan of how… over-the-top and cartoonish he comes off at times. Even in the game he doesn’t really come off like that, and with some of the turns the manga takes, it makes it a little harder to pinpoint exactly what his deal is. He’s definitely treated as a joke for a majority of the manga, and he generally comes of as incompetent at points, too. It’s a little harder to track his character development since, due to story cuts and pacing, it comes about faster and with little visible warning. Overall, he’s a bit shallower in the manga, though mostly due to axing the part of the story where the majority of his character development happens.
I don’t hate this characterization, though. There are a few small details- usually things either unique to the manga or other things not really even touched in fan media- that I really like. Number one on that list is the visual detail of him sticking out his bottom lip at lot. It’s so fucking good and fits him perfectly it’s so childish and I could absolutely see him doing that within the context of the game’s plot.
I also love how awful he is in the manga. I love it when he’s genuinely terrible and morally dubious. There isn’t much of a ‘oh he’s actually good at heart’ thing going on until later and it’s great. I personally love characterizations of Linebeck where he’s genuinely kind of awful on purpose. He borders on antagonistic a few times and it’s great.
In terms of deeper interpretations… I’m not at invested in the manga, so there isn’t much, so I’ll compare notes with my game interpretation. Linebeck in the manga doesn’t give me the same general vibes as Linebeck in the game; he seems more comfortable talking to people, less affected by Ciela (less negatively affected, that is; meaning that in the manga she actually helps him towards his development, while in the game she seems to make it a bit harder for him), and there’s less evidence of autistic traits or stuff like that. I’m pretty sure that plenty of people have psychologically picked apart manga Linebeck, so I’m not really going to touch on that beyond he’s definitely got some issues, though different issues than his game counterpart, in my eyes.
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Time and our hearts will wear us thin please ~since I'm being denied my shadow and dust ;P~
(From WIP Wednesday)(On AO3 here)
“Well, it’s not like I have anything better to spend it on,” he says, chest tightening, as he moves on to the other shoe. “Besides, you’ll need some kind of transportation when you’re off at college next year.”
Robin stays quiet until he finishes, and when Steve gives her back her feet, he finds her watching him.
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I told myself I'd finish one famdom's fics before working more on my other. Unfortunately I have poor self-discipline.
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