The Platinum and HeartGold & SoulSilver arcs were released together in a boxed set of two omnibus volumes on October 28, 2020. Each volume was released separately at a later date. 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. At first, the story has a slice of life vibe to it, where we get to experience Red’s everyday adventures with his team of Pokémon as they travel across Kanto. Some parts of the game are explored in a little more depth, such as the Pokémon Fan Club. I personally loved seeing different Pokémon in action and in various scenarios because, well, I am a dork.

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.) In 2011, a series of omnibus releases were announced in Japan, collecting the Ruby & Sapphire arc. The arc was chosen due to its high popularity in Japan. These volumes were issued under Shogakukan's "My First WIDE" brand. 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. In the games, there are Pokédex entries that explain the savagery of some Pokémon. For example, Pinsir likes to cut its prey in half with its claws. But we never get any real evidence of Pokémon’s ferocity in the games. I finally got a glimpse of the savage side of some Pokémon while reading this manga. It really put things in perspective for me. However, what really intrigued me the most were the new aspects the author, Hidenori Kusaka, added to the plot. He included many twists and turns, things that aren’t in the game or anime. The manga took essential elements from the other two series and turned them on their head. I was really surprised…in a good way.

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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. In 2014, Shogakukan announced that they would be releasing a new omnibus edition of the Ruby & Sapphire arc, in commemoration of the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The volumes were released under Shogakukan's "My First Series" brand, which are bargain-priced volumes sold only in Japanese convenience stores. A total of four volumes were released, beginning with volume one on October 24, 2014. The pokemon manga is a refreshing take on pokemon. For the most part, the story of pokemon for the first two generations was to collect 8 badges and complete the pokemon leauge. The story in the game was not there and relied on gameplay. This is an important factor since the manga is able to create it's own story with the assets presented. 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 No. This is not based on the Pokémon television series. It's based on the games. But it still manages to strip away that awkward gameplay system that ultimately comes down to numbers. The pokémon in this series are used creatively and realistically meaning Charizard can actually fly! Not only that, a fainted pokémon may not even recover so warning, this series is a lot darker than either the games or the show.

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. 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. 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.

Instead of having the child-friendly image, Pokémon Adventures decides to delve into some pretty sensitive themes, such as PTSD and emotional maturity being at the forefront. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of the story was seeing how the characters learned from each other and grew as people as the story went on. Though it glosses over some things (such as how certain characters' past trauma affects them) the thoughts and feelings of the characters are what makes this phenomenal. Everyone grows and you can easily see their growth and maturity, no matter whether they be 14 years old or 58 years old. It is really hard not to be biased when it comes to pokemon. I grew up with it, and it hits the nostalgia hard. I'll try to be bias free in the review. 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

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. The Diamond & Pearl arc was released in a boxed set of four omnibus volumes on November 6, 2019. Each volume was released separately at a later date.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.