Pokemon Adventures Collector's Edition 1: Volume 1 (Pokémon Adventures Collector's Edition)

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Despite my obsession with the Pokémon games, I had never read the manga. To be honest, it completely blew me away and made my inner Pokénerd very happy. Where do I even begin?

This story feels much more inspired by the handhelds than the anime, which is a pleasant change of pace. The Ruby & Sapphire arc was released in a boxed set of three omnibus volumes on October 24, 2018. Each volume was released separately at a later date.

This manga, originally released in 1997, is based on the first set of Pokémon games and its main character Red. If you aren’t aware, Red inspired the creation of the well-known Ash Ketchum, the protagonist in the Pokémon anime. (And while we are on the subject, I want to point that, for the purpose of this review, whenever I mention the Pokémon anime, I am referring to the first few seasons. I haven’t watched the newer ones, so I am not sure how they compare.)

While Red, Blue, and Green were the first three Pokémon games (the green one was released in Japan but you could get all of the monsters from just red and blue) to introduce many fans to the world of Pokémon and when the anime came out it became even more popular inspiring the remake of the original games into Pokémon Yellow which followed the anime more closely and took advantage of the (at the time) nifty new Gameboy Color screen. On December 24, 2015, following the completion of the Ruby & Sapphire arc, Kurokawa announced they would start publishing the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc in omnibus format. [7] A boxed set containing the three volumes was released on November 15, 2018. [8] Cover This first volume follows Red (from the games, essentially) on his adventure through the world and story of the first Pokémon Red game. It really feels like a deep dive into the world of the games in a way that no other medium has quite captured, and it brings the games to life with anime logic, adorable Pokémon, and a whole lot of personality. The FireRed & LeafGreen and Emerald arcs were released together in a boxed set of four omnibus volumes on June 5, 2019. Each volume was released separately at a later date. Like I said, I am extremely biased, but this manga was amazing. I have years of Pokémon sentimentality brewing in me, but I think almost anyone would enjoy this read. Even if they’re not a hopeless Pokénerd like me.Honestly I had forgotten how much I loved (and still love) these stories. Pokemon Adventures was the first graphic novel/manga I ever read, and I was utterly obsessed. After all, it was Pokemon! And it remains true, the stories are fantastic and I could rave about it for hours and hours. Any Pokemon fan who hasn't read it would find it engrossing, I believe, and anyone using it as a first exposure to Pokemon...well, it's not exactly like most of the rest of the franchise but its still so great. As with a lot of manga, a lot of content was lost in the effort to localize for English-speaking children. Some conversations lose steam due to puns that don't translate, some words (especially in the art) have their letters scrambled in strange ways, and of course the infamous "Surprise!" scene at Silph Co becomes nearly unintelligible as the writers try to skate around a character's risqué dialogue. Professor Birch sends Ruby and Sapphire to help Emerald find the Wish Pokémon Jirachi. But first there are fierce Pokémon battles to fight in the Battle Dome Tournament! The manga follows the same general outline of the games and anime – Red wants to become a better Pokémon trainer, catch as many Pokémon as possible, and battle gym leaders so he can challenge the Pokémon League. But it also provides so much more. When I saw they were re-releasing the series in a complied 10 volume collection I knew I had to jump in the bandwagon and buy the series to support it. Nevertheless, re-reading this series brought me a lot of joy and entertainment. The Pokemon Adventures manga is hybrid of its own spin to the Pokemon world but still borrowing some elements from the video game franchise. Red is a fun and likable main character and his bond with his Pokemon is very pleasant to see. He is very similar to Ash in many ways but very different at the same time. I mean, spoiler, he does win his big battle against Blue at the end of the series.

On March 24, 2017, Kurokawa announced they would start publishing the FireRed & LeafGreen and Emerald arcs together as a series of four omnibus volumes. [17] A boxed set containing the four volumes was released on October 8, 2020. [18] Cover This is the first time I have read manga in my life and I guess, I chose a good one to start with as a first time. If you have not played any of the Pokémon games, you will still understand the main concept of the plotline (as an avid Pokémon game player, the games and manga story kind of go hand and hand with some plot twists you do not expect). It is a long story but there is not like a traditional novel with full blown sentences and so on. I believe it is a well-written manga and plan on trying to read the other volumes. Yellow is childish but charming. I think that her ability to get in touch with Pokemon is interesting, although, maybe a little contrived in that only she can defeat Lance because Viridian. She's challenged a lot, but her determination keeps her as a palatable protagonist. I especially liked Yellow's interactions with Blaine, as he was a complex character with a conflicted heart in the first volume.On November 21, 2014, following the completion of the Yellow arc, Kurokawa announced they would start publishing the Ruby & Sapphire arc in omnibus format, tying in with the newly released Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. [12] A boxed set containing the three volumes was released on October 10, 2019. [13] Cover I will say that for this edition, one of the few complaints I'd have is that one or two things seem to be different than the individual editions were...I could've sworn there was a small section missing from the Articuno scene, which made it a bit disjointed, and one of the translations near the end doesn't entirely make sense. I believe it was trying to reference "With enough leverage you could move the earth," but instead it said you could change the world? On January 16, 2018, Kurokawa announced they would start publishing the Diamond & Pearl and Platinum arcs together in omnibus format. [23] A boxed set containing the five volumes was released on October 14, 2021. [24] Cover

I feel like I could make comparisons, babble about Pokémon facts, and really show what a nerd I am all day long. But what about people who aren’t as familiar with Pokémon as I am? Will they enjoy the manga? I think so because, for starters, the writing is very strong. The author included seeds throughout the story that help connect everything together. They put a lot of thought into the story, and it paid off in the end. In October 2015, Spanish publisher Norma Editorial announced they would be publishing the entirety of the Pokémon Adventures manga. Due to the length of the series (52 volumes at the time of announcing the license) and due to different story arcs often starting and ending partway through volumes, Norma Editorial opted for an omnibus format, with 30 volumes released. The volumes have double numbering to accommodate fans who may wish to begin reading from a particular story arc. For example, the Yellow arc was published over two volumes, which were numbered as Yellow volumes 1 and 2, and as volumes 3 and 4 of the series overall. On March 22, 2022, Panini released a new limited-edition boxed set, this time for the Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon arc. It consists of three omnibus volumes and includes six postcards with the original Japanese cover illustrations of the adapted mini-volumes. The release itself is limited to 2500 copies.On top of the unique plot elements, the story and battles were a lot more intense compared to the game or anime. The animated adaption tends to sugarcoat everything and adds a lot of silliness to battles or other important situations. It can be hard to take things seriously at times. The manga has humor, but it’s more serious in my opinion. It’s still kid-friendly, but there is actually some blood shown! Additionally, a bunch of scenes showed the potential danger of Pokémon battles or Pokémon in general. There are moments where Red, other characters, or the Pokémon themselves could have possibly lost their lives. I remember seeing someone on Tik Tok call this the "ultimate form of Pokémon media" and while I disagree, this is pretty damn good. The only downside I can see is that it seems to gloss over important plot points a lot. It could be a symptom of the fact that the story moves at a blazing speed, to where an entire feature-length movie could be made out of 1-2 chapters of this alone. saw the release of new collector’s edition manga formats, such as the Soul Eater Perfect Editions, and manga box sets, like the Tokyo Ghoul:re Complete Box Set and the reissuing of the Akira 35th Anniversary Manga Box Set. This year, a lot of continuing volumes are releasing along with new ones, including a Collector’s Edition of A Silent Voice, Fist of the North Star hardcovers, and a Season 1 Manga Box Set of The Quintessential Quintuplets, that are making 2021 yet another strong year for collectors.