I remember OG Record of Lodoss War, so I was expecting something more like that. This was good, and I found it easily followable. The art is gorgeous.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I can't wait to read the 2nd in the series and I know my students will greatly enjoy this series.

ARC From Netgalley.
Following the Demon Wars, the War of Heroes, and the War of Evil Spirits, all six Kings of Lodoss were given a Crown of the Covenant, signifying that they dedicate their people and their lands to 1000 years of peace.

Unfortunately, the Isle of Lodoss has only kept peace for 100 years. The new King of Flaim, Diaz, has refused to wear the Covenant Crown and instead declares his intention to make war on the rest of the Kingdoms, to prove that Flaim should rule over all.

When news reaches the Kingdom of Marmo, Lyle, Fourth in line for the throne, is given the quest to find the legendary elf maiden Deedlit. 100 years prior, she aligned herself with a group of heroes that included Lyle’s idol Parn, self proclaimed Knight of Lodoss, and her assistance is vital in uniting the people to rise up against the tyranny of Diaz.

When I was a teen, Record of Lodoss War was a pivotal anime that helped cement my appreciation for both the art form, and the connection to its manga. The adventures of Deedlit and Parn were covered in both, and serve as the past here in the new publication of Crown of the Covenant Volume 1. Ryo Mizuno, the author who has brought us the entire Lodoss Saga gives his blessing to writer/illustrator Atsushi Suzumi (Venus Meets Virus) to show off this rich fantasy world, bringing the new chapter to modern audiences.

I’m really excited to see where this will go and how exactly everything will unfold. I’ve got both Volumes 2 and 3 queued up to read soon. For fantasy violence and political planning and content, Crown of the Covenant Volume 1 is best read by those 13 and up.

As a fan of the original Record of Lodoss War, I had to read this. It perfectly captures the atmosphere and the illustrations are lovely and so detailed. It has a whole new cast of characters to enjoy and yet returns you to a familiar place of adventure, war, and courage where the hero’s are tested at every turn and stories bring hope and light in the darkness. Excellent work, I can’t wait for more!

I haven't read the Lodoss War series, but now I'm interested. We get a story of throne politics, thievery, and adventure.

Prince Lyle's father has died, and his older brother the crown prince has renounced the throne in favor of worship. It's good enough for Lyle; he wants to right the wrongs in his kingdom, and ensure criminals get punished, like his uncle Parn, a knight that protected the innocent. Lyle's brothers are not happy about this, being second and third in line, but they have a bigger problem: the new king of Flaim won't wear the Crown of the Covenant, a binding oath of peace. He also wants to use Marmo's resources to declare war.

Prince Alucia decides to become king and wear the Crown of the Covenant while Prince Zayd announces his plans to defect with Princess Bina, in the hopes of changing Flaim's mind from the inside, and to preserve Marmo's ways if Flaim wins the upcoming battles. Both brothers send Lyle on a quest to find a mysterious woman that can save their kingdom and prevent war.

Sibling interactions are complex enough; being siblings to a kingdom makes things harder! But Lyle is determined, and soon he assembles a band of people to go to Lodoss to find Deedlit and ask for her aid. He's a sweetie, and you can see why he's a hero of the people.

The color pages are gorgeous in this. While I miss the 90s-2000s style coloring, you can tell the artists know what they're doing.

The art style is my favorite part of this book. I am not familiar with the original book or anime. I was not even aware that there was an original before starting this book. That being said, I didn't feel lost while reading. I wasn't invested in the characters like someone who might be familiar with the original source material, but it didn't take long to become invested. It was well written and I am always a sucker for a fantasy war story.

4 stars

2.5 stars

Going into this manga, I didn’t realize it was a sequel. I have not read any of the other Record of Lodoss War or seen the anime. This didn’t matter, as I could still understand the story. I may be missing some of the history, but that is made up for within the storytelling itself.

I think this would be better as a Light Novel instead of a manga. There is so much info dumping, and the manga format seems not quite right. I found the cast of characters to be too broad. There are so many players that you can’t really build a connection to them. I know the antagonist, but I don’t have any strong feelings for those fighting against him. The story also feels redundant. It pulls from Tolkien lore and is just another fantasy world with a war. It’s not very original. Sometimes, I don’t need original content, but this was a little boring.

The art was beautiful. It is well-drawn and I enjoyed the style when I wasn’t overwhelmed by the text. The cover is beautiful, which pulled me in to read the volume. Unfortunately, good art and covers can’t carry this manga.

I probably won’t be continuing this series. There are others out there that are worth my time. This was too easy to put down and not pick back up again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Udon Entertainment for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately the download link was not functioning properly. I tried downloading a few different times, and each time gave me an error. That could be because this volume came out midway through last year, though I know some arcs are left up for readers in order to get reviews more easily, so I am not 100% sure.
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This is an epic fantasy with a complex worldbuilding, politics, and has a myriad of characters. It has a potential to be a great story, but I have to say this manga may not be the best medium for it. It might be the writing style, with too much info dump and political discussion right off the bat before I can even connect to the characters.

The Marmo Kingdom alone has 4 princes and 2 princesses, each was only introduced briefly before they all separated to pursue their own quest. The pace is a bit too fast. And because there's no depth--both in the characters background and readers' connection with them--serious scenes (like Lyle's bold declaration to stand for justice and become the knight of Lodoss) feel trite and comical instead.

I guess fans of the original story will still enjoy this story, but for a new reader like me, the first installment isn't enough to make me warm up to these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read any of the original Lodoss war books or watched any of the anime, but I've heard of the series. This spin-off (sequel?) can be read without prior knowledge of the previous series.

I was hooked from the start. The main character is a prince with an unshakeable belief in justice who will do anything to stop a coming war, even fight against his own siblings. The story is filled with royal intrigue, including a crown prince who abdicates his throne to join a demon-worshipping cult, and another prince whose elder brother demands he break off his engagement with his fiancée when she is caught up in an indiscretion of his own making. You meet the royal families of multiple nations and see how they interact and manipulate one another. I love this sort of thing and was totally caught up in each character's story as you watch the saga begin to unfold.

The art is beautiful. You get to see a variety of locations, from royal palaces to desert cities, from temples to elven forests. There are battle scenes with action and magic at work, and the characters even ride gryphons for their mode of transportation!

This is one I want to keep up with so I'm going to buy this series!

For those who have seen and loved the anime, this will be a treasure! I think it is well written, and the art is fantastic, but there is a lot of history and content to get through before the storyline starts to progress. Volume 2 is likely where this series will kick off!

Now, this is pretty nostalgic for me, as the original was one of the first anime series I watched, and also my first fantasy anime. I had read "The Lord of the Rings" but I was pretty new to the fantasy world, and it was one of my best experiences reading/watching a story. So going back to that world would always be special.

"Record of Lodoss War - Crown of the Covenant" picks things up after a hundred years of peace, when one of the six kings/queens of Lodoss decides that six kingdoms are too many and that one is more than enough. Cue lots of plot exposition and (too many) characters' introductions, a typical trope of this kind of stories. It is not particularly original, but it is difficult to be very original in a 'nostalgic hero's journey story, as this seems to be'. It feels, at least in this first volume, even with the differences, like Mizuno is basically trying to retell the original story with new characters (again, nothing bad with nostalgia). It is fun, and it is great to revisit the world, but there is nothing that makes the story stand out, or make the reader want to get the second volume as soon as possible.

The art is pretty good, and replicates the original really well, maybe even too much, as here there is also a lack of originality. But, with an art so good, and taking into account that it continues a story from the past, is something easily forgivable.

All in all, not very original, but if you like fantasy (and particularly shônen manga fantasy) this might be a good afternoon read. I quite enjoyed it.

Record of Lodoss War has a beautiful art style. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of exposition needed. It didn't feel like a lot of setup could happen because all the politics were dumped onto the reader. Cute but not for me.

Record of the Lodoss War's basic theme is well done. Although it is quite wordy with too many names that make it hard to keep track of everyone/thing. The illustrations are quite good, especially the main characters. So far they talk about war but the action to back it up is lacking. The story starts to get interesting on page 82. The contrast of magic along with the wielding of weapons creates a believable essence of the conflict between kingdoms. The first volume has a very hopeful ending to a continuing series. Will there be a millennium of peace or will the knights start a new era of peace?

I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.97 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover (+art): 4/5
-Story: 3.75/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Shonen
-Action: 3/5
-Adventure: 3/5
-Fantasy: 5/5
-Shonen: 5/5
Type: Manga
Worth?: Yeah

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

If you like Zelda and your basic fantasy, fighting, adventure manga/anime then you'd like this. It has all your components. Where as it didn't really stand out from the rest in the crowd it was still entertaining.

I was a huge fan of the Lodoss War anime back in the 90's, so I had to pick this one up. The story is great, the art is fantastic, but it didn't invoke the same feelings as before. Whether that's because I am old now, or just something in the translation, I'm not sure. Either way it is a great starting point for new manga fans or even seasoned ones.

I had never heard of lodoss before, but after this I'm highly interested in checking out the franchise. I loved the character art and the story. I'm highly emotionally invested in the fate of these characters and the way by the end of just one volume.

It reminded me highly of high fantasy books and video games in a way no other manga has done for me before. It was heavily info dumpy. Which I enjoy an info dumb in fantasy video games, so it was interesting. But sometimes a little much. The info dumb being put into character dialogue felt unnatural at times. That being said I really enjoyed the split pov of all the different characters and their separate missions all in the quest of one goal, to protect their home kingdom as its princess.

This has the most complex, in depth, and truly fantasy feeling world building I've ever seen in a manga. Or any story in general. Will be continuing the series.

"Record of Lodoss War: The Crown of the Covenant Volume 1" is a triumphant return to a beloved fantasy realm. Ryo Mizuno's storytelling prowess and the visual splendor brought forth by UDON Entertainment Corporation make this manga a must-read for both longtime enthusiasts and those embarking on their first Lodoss adventure. As the stage is set for a new chapter in the annals of Lodoss, readers can eagerly anticipate the unfolding saga of heroes, magic, and the enduring quest for peace in this captivating world.

The rush of serotonin that comes with discovering a delightful new fantasy manga is unmatched. Drawing readers in through its artistically crafted cover, readers will find themselves embroiled in the politics of the island of Lodoss. An island that has only known war finds themselves finally at peace. 100 year later, a new ruler threatens to return the people to the time of violence.
Based on the synopsis, this volume is the start of a series that takes places at the conclusion of a different manga. However, readers do not have to read the previous series in order to understand the events of this one. Any information needed is provided in the panels of the manga.
Certainly a speedy read, the story is action packed and perfect for fans of Lodoss, or those looking for a fantastic adventure.

Record Lodoss War holds a special place in my heart, it was one of the first anime I watched and the Chronicles of the Heroic Knight manga series was one of the first manga series I collected. So when I saw this new series I was churros and a little hesitant. At first the story seemed pretty atypical, what won me over was how the royal family of Marmo decided to handle the upcoming conflict. At first glance it seems the new King of Flaim is a very stereotypical villain, but there are a couple moments and other characters' dialogue that make you question if he is kind of right .

Where this manga really shines is its theme of how the power that legends have over the heart of mankind. There are so many callbacks to previous Record of Lodoss War events that fills me with both nostalgia and bittersweet emotions. This lived up to the expectation and I can't wait to read the other volumes.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Record of Lodoss War – Crown of the covenant Vol 1

I really enjoyed reading this. It seems to be an interesting story of coming of age and the main hero Price Lyle seeks the help of high elf Deedlit. This causes him to endure an enchanted forest. He also has brothers who must deal with the enemies who want to start wars and destroy the surrounding kingdoms. By the end of book one Lyle does find Deedlit but the question at the end is will he be able with the help of the elf be able to beat the enemies and trials ahead of him?

I have read other manga in a similar type era. I think this might be as good as those but the first book did not give me those feelings yet. I think there is potential but I don’t know if it has been set up enough that I would want to continue to find out if it is.