Would I like Adventures?

[Vulpes]

I've never read Pokémon Adventures (or Pokémon Special or Pokéspe or whatever you want to call it), and I'm semi-interested in starting to read it. But everything I read about it leads me to believe I wouldn't like it.

For starters, it's supposed to be serious. Unfortunately, I can't take anything seriously. Ever. And, at least when it comes to comic books and TV shows, I want constant humor (assuming they're works of fiction and not documentaries or something; those don't have to be funny). And it has to be GOOD humor. I'm talking Mystery Science Theater 3000-good (or at least approaching it). At the VERY least, the characters shouldn't constantly be locked in conflicts with the fate of the world at stake.

Secondly, there's a bunch of main characters, and each chapter focuses on different ones. I find the concept of not having a consistent set of characters extremely irritating. I don't want to grow to like a character, and then all of a sudden they disappear for a long time. Not only that, from what I've read, I can't say that I like any of the characters. Either they choose to use Pokémon I dislike, or their personalities are (to me) insufferable.


Is this accurate, or do I have the wrong impression?

 

[pokeslob]

If you're not interested in a serious story,
this and pretty much 80% of all other manga in the world will not interest you

on the other hand though, PokeSupe isn't very "heavy" serious, but its also not a comedy

 

[Adamant]

Your impressions seems about right, yeah. Read Pocket Monsters instead. 100% humor.

 

[Vulpes]

If you're not interested in a serious story,
this and pretty much 80% of all other manga in the world will not interest you

Well, I think that might be something of an exaggeration...

Your impressions seems about right, yeah. Read Pocket Monsters instead. 100% humor.

Well, I'm not exactly a slapstick kind of guy. I prefer observational and absurdist humor; think MST3K.

 

[pokeslob]

Well, I'm not exactly a slapstick kind of guy. I prefer observational and absurdist humor; think MST3K.

there are very few manga that have MST3K style humour, I can't personally think of any right now either

 

[Vulpes]

Admittedly, they are few and far between. To be fair, EToP was fairly MST3K-ish, what with all the fourth wall breaks, self-mockery and suchlike.

I suppose a more reasonable level of comedy to expect would be Green Acres, which I think is a pretty good show.

Anyway, I think I might check out Adventures in a bookstore or something, just to be sure, but I probably won't like it.

 

[Zesty Cactus]

If you have access to it at a public library or something, maybe give that a try. I know some public libraries do carry it - they certainly do in Toronto. If not, see if you can at least flip through it in a book shop. It really might not be up your alley, but it's still a good story and I would recommend it to anyone.

in b4 OMG POKEMON ADVENTURES IZ THE ONLY GUD PKMN MANGA <- lies.

 

[nidoisdabomb]

They are really good, nothing like the anime at all!

it does have a little humor, it's fun to read, although after the FireRed/LeafGreen chapter, things start to suck

 

[Spiny]

They are really good, nothing like the anime at all!

it does have a little humor, it's fun to read, although after the FireRed/LeafGreen chapter, things start to suck

This. The characters are in a good balance of funny and serious in their own ways. I read it, I'm closing up on the Diamond and Pearl Chapter now, i've loved it so far.

If you're thinking about reading, AT LEAST read the Ruby/Sapphire Chapter, it has the best story in my opinion, it sticks to it's own characters. The others are a bit entangled with the whole Silver/Green thing and others.

So basically, yes to nidoisdabomb except that the FRLG only sucks in matter of opinion.

 

[Enzap]

I'm thinking about starting to read them too. Where is Pokemon Adventure's sold at? Can you get them at most bookstores?

 

[NeoKING]

I won't beat around the bush; you will hate Adventures. Let's review why:

For starters, it's supposed to be serious.

Dam~n right. Up until the G/S/C arc, the art by MATO is very chibi-ish and psuedo-serious. Everyone looks like she's taken liberties with their overworld sprites in the game and then some, and then when the Pokemon get hurt you can see them faint by the "X"'s in their eyes or a bandage patch somewhere on their bodies. You'd think it's not a serious story because of the art, until you get to crap like the final showdowns in Silph Co. or on Cerise Island, then you'll see how serious the story takes itself.

Unfortunately, I can't take anything seriously. Ever. And, at least when it comes to comic books and TV shows, I want constant humor (assuming they're works of fiction and not documentaries or something; those don't have to be funny). And it has to be GOOD humor. I'm talking Mystery Science Theater 3000-good (or at least approaching it). At the VERY least, the characters shouldn't constantly be locked in conflicts with the fate of the world at stake.

There is humor, I won't lie about that. But if you're expecting internet parody-kind of humor or some kind of abridged series, then you won't find it in Adventures. The world is always in deep shit in this manga.

Secondly, there's a bunch of main characters, and each chapter focuses on different ones. I find the concept of not having a consistent set of characters extremely irritating. I don't want to grow to like a character, and then all of a sudden they disappear for a long time. Not only that, from what I've read, I can't say that I like any of the characters. Either they choose to use Pokémon I dislike, or their personalities are (to me) insufferable.

Yup, there's a bunch of Dex Holders, and two of 'em are original characters. Not counting the Dex Holders, even the minor trainers and Gym Leaders get spotlight, especially in the Yellow saga. The thing is, the manga reflects and references the nature of the games, so for example, just like how Gen I and Gen II are linked, the same is said in the manga; many Gen I characters make an appearance in the Gen II saga plenty of times. And in the the end of basically every saga, you can guarantee a cross-over or team-up of some sort.

As for their Pokemon, I heard that the author gives them Pokemon that he actually uses while playing the games or popular ones that win fan polls or ones that can fulfill certain needs like Surfing or Flying. But it doesn't matter, because the Trainers use every Pokemon to their full potential and they all get spotlight. You won't believe how many Pokemon I've come to like because of how ingeniously the Trainers in this manga manipulate their Pokemon and their abilities, especially Emerald.

Is this accurate?

More or less, yes. So yeah, you probably won't like this manga.

 

[Zesty Cactus]

I'm thinking about starting to read them too. Where is Pokemon Adventure's sold at? Can you get them at most bookstores?

What country do you live in? Generally, yeah, most bookshops that carry manga should have it. If you can't find it in the manga section, try the kids'.

 

[Shiny Noctowl]

after the FireRed/LeafGreen chapter, things start to suck

No. FRLG was good; the only bad chapter so far is Emerald (though even it gets better during the final battle).

 

[NeoKING]

No. FRLG was good; the only bad chapter so far is Emerald (though even it gets better during the final battle).

Let me just chip in my 2 cents on all the arcs for a quick second:

- RBG: I thought this arc was pretty simple and fun, especially with the art and everything. It was kind of like reading about yourself playing the original game with story and expected twists thrown in.

- Y: Same as above, and the showdown on Cerise Island was pretty fun, but it still felt like a rehash of the previous arc.

- GSC: Here's where stuff showed signs of change. We still had some traces of trends in the previous arc, but things got much more interesting when more dimensional characters like Gold and Silver were thrown into the mix, and they also gave Red and Green their spotlight too, even though they weren't the main heroes.

- RS: Shit gets real. The art changes completely, characters and story is much more serious. It was pretty much easy to tell what would happen, kinda like the RBG arc, but it was still really fun and interesting. I'd say this is a good arc for people to get into the Adventures manga if they're concerned about the art and such, just like how RS were good games to get into Pokemon if anyone was concerned about GB graphics.

- E: I thought Emerald was a fun chapter. It really showed some ingenuity in battles that we will probably never see in the anime.

FRLG: Took a different tone from all the other sagas. It's like, it took the original RBGY arc and put it into a much more realistic and serious perspective. It gave Red some serious development.

DP: Reminds me of the anime, as you have the trio travelling around Sinnoh. But the thing here? EVERYONE GETS THEIR FAIR SHARE OF DEVELOPMENT! Even the comedy duo proves to be bad ass on a regular basis.

HGSS: From what I'm hearing, it seems like they're taking the FRLG approach with the GSC saga, which means our favorite prankster might grow up a bit.

 

[Puddle]

I don't know about the later series, but the few R/B/G comics I've read made me laugh a lot! There are some really interesting characters and witty dialogue, as well as some very good storylines. I thought they were perhaps even better than the anime in some ways.

 

[Vulpes]

All right, so I took a look at this thing and read the first three rounds... and all I have to say is... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIING! No jokes, nothing. Just seriousness. I'll give it a little more time to see if it'll grow on me, but signs point to NO, I would not like Adventures.

 

[Shiny Noctowl]

All right, so I took a look at this thing and read the first three rounds... and all I have to say is... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIING! No jokes, nothing. Just seriousness. I'll give it a little more time to see if it'll grow on me, but signs point to NO, I would not like Adventures.

The DP series would probably better if you're looking for humor.

 

[pokeslob]

All right, so I took a look at this thing and read the first three rounds... and all I have to say is... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIING! No jokes, nothing. Just seriousness. I'll give it a little more time to see if it'll grow on me, but signs point to NO, I would not like Adventures.

I told you this already!
again, most manga WILL NOT INTREST YOU

 

[NeoKING]

All right, so I took a look at this thing and read the first three rounds... and all I have to say is... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIING! No jokes, nothing. Just seriousness. I'll give it a little more time to see if it'll grow on me, but signs point to NO, I would not like Adventures.

So, you went and wasted your time after we went and told you that this manga is probably the most serious Pokemon manga out there. Nooiiiceee. But you'll probably like DP Adventures a lot more.

 

[Vulpes]

So, you went and wasted your time after we went and told you that this manga is probably the most serious Pokemon manga out there. Nooiiiceee.

Well, hey, I got a lot of time to waste.