Manga 928 Pocket Monsters Special

When playing the games, have you ever though to yourself, "Man, if only I could use my flying legendary bird to hop over this inconveniently placed tree without requiring cut? Or hey, why don't the bad guys ever try attacking the trainer instead of just battling?"

Well this manga has that and much more.

Now, is it a masterpiece of storytelling and perfect in every way? Well, no. (Though I'll still say it is) At it's core it is a story aimed mainly at younger audiences. However, that doesn't really take away anything from the story. Especially considering some of the darker aspects of Pokémon and ... people it decides to showcase at times. The cast of characters are a fun bunch as well, expanded on much more than has been done before in the games, especially since there, aside from the rivals, they mostly serve as self-inserts in an RPG while here they're individual well developed characters that learn and grow as they progress on their journeys. Even the supporting characters, like the gym leaders for example, get much more development here than what could be fair to say they've really ever gotten anywhere else

Pre-existing Pokémon fans however, whether you've played the games or watched the anime before, would probably enjoy Pokémon Adventures (Pocket Monsters Special) even more. Not only does it make use of some of the facts mentioned in the pokedex entries as more than just random trivia by implementing them into some of the aspects of the Pokémon themselves, but they also use those unique qualities of the Pokémon as part of the battle strategies. Honestly, at times I found myself making comparisons to somewhat simplified stand battles from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure since the trainers don't always just shout commands to fight the Pokémon, but sometimes have to do things themselves to win a battle.

In conclusion, if you're not a fan of Pokémon, maybe give it a shot and you might like it despite some of its flaws. For a Pokémon fan, I greatly recommend reading these fun stories.

I still remember to this day going to the library on weekends just to read more and more of this story, it was interesting to me as a kid and I can never deny it was apart of who I was back then, when I was going through a Pokémon phase these books are what kept me entertained during that time.

This manga is a blast especially the parts with red and yellow. This review is heavily influenced by nostalgia but even now I still find enjoyment in these books so much. The adventure and seeing the characters grow makes it all the more exciting.

Pokemon Adventures is a manga i really like and i hold it dear to me.. haven't read this manga too much though (For those that hates Pokémon because of the anime i can tell you that this is WAY better than the anime).


Story: The story is pretty simple and straightforward without plot holes and the outcome of stuff are not clear. Beware that there are many side story chapters but each arc this far had a lot of content so it makes up for it. Some arcs does get too long and drags out the story but it's still good. Some chapters are unnecesary but ... still good.

Art: Briliant art for 1997 and the design is different from usual and Red looks like a badass.

Character: Red is an awesome protagonist he's not dull like many other people. The antagonist did a good job .. They were pretty strong and forces Red to change his way of thinking. I think that it's pretty good that Red does not one-shot everyone he meets. Red will always be one of my favourite characters. Some characters lack development though.

Enjoyment: If you like the idea of the pokémon system then i believe that you will love this manga and there's no way that i'll ever forget this manga. It gets a bit boring at times but it is very rare because of the slow pacing and heavy dialogues.

Overall: This manga is a ride and you'll probably love it. Although it gets holden back due to the slow and unexpected pacing.