This year is big for Dragon Quest fans. Not only have we been enjoying the Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake, but we are getting the HD-2D remakes of 1 & 2 in a few months, and we're getting a full English translation of the acclaimed Japanese manga, Emblem of Roto. Only in English, it's called The Mark of Erdrick, and set to come out on September 25th.
Austin and I were lucky enough to have the localization and translation editor, Jennifer Sherman, on Dragon Quest FM this week, and she was able to give us not only a sneak-peek at what we can expect with the release, but also an inside look at the behind-the-scenes processes of such a massive undertaking.
So click on the video above from our DQFM YouTube channel or check out the newest episode of Dragon Quest FM on Spotify.
What is The Mark of Erdrick?
Originally published in Japan in the early '90s, the manga spanned decades and wound up lasting for 21 collected volumes. It was later republished in chonkier volumes (Jennifer's term, not mine) as a 15-volume set, which is what we are getting in English. You can see how similar the covers are in this image:
That fidelity speaks volumes for what we can expect on the inside, too. If you watch the video embedded above, or watch the video version in your favorite podcast player, you'll see more comparisons of how Jennifer fought for the English versions to be super high-quality with other extras, too.
But what is the manga about? From the SE product page:
Many years have passed since the legendary hero Erdrick and his companions defeated the forces of evil. But after a century of peace and prosperity, the world is once again under threat. Now Prince Arus, scion of the hero Erdrick, decides to take to the road along with his guardians and friends to counter the rise of darkness!
One of the coolest things to me is that the manga series takes place after Dragon Quest III, but before Dragon Quest I. So it covers those between-times, which is what makes the DQ Builders games so fantastic and interesting to play.
Like a lot of manga, there are beautiful color images interspersed, and then the amazing black-and-white art fills the rest of the volume. After reading the first ~20% of the book in the preview, I am so excited to get my hands on the full version and do a full review.
SE Books was awesome enough to share some of the hi-res images of The Mark of Erdrick‘s interior (and you can read a big preview on the product page, too). Just look at this! You can click on the images below to expand them and see just how great they are.
I am more than excited for this manga to come out in English. Especially after reading other fantastic DQ manga series like Monsters+ and The Adventures of Dai. Did I mention that Jennifer also edited the localization/translation of the Dai manga? No? Well, she did, and its quality speaks volumes for why The Mark of Erdrick is getting as solid a translation as it is.
Don't Miss The Mark (of Erdrick)
Released on September 25th, you can pre-order The Mark of Erdrick manga here.
Be sure to follow and say hi to Jennifer Sherman on Twitter and Bluesky as https://x.com/jaasherman and https://bsky.app/profile/jaasherman.bsky.social. And so many thanks to Square Enix Manga & Books for this opportunity!
If You Liked This, Don't Miss…
In the interview with Jennifer, Austin also mentions a previous translator interview he did with Nob Ogasawara, and you can find that here.
Additionally, you can find us at https://bsky.app/profile/dragonquest.fm and https://x.com/dragonquestfm, as well as https://patreon.com/dragonquestfm for more DQ goodness every week.
Interior Pages for Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick, vol. 1 provided by Square Enix Manga & Books.
©Kamui Fujiwara, Chiaki Kawamata, Junji Koyanagi/SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
©1991-1997, 2006 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.