This review will contain no spoilers. Also I will be calling Green and Blue by their localized names. Therefore the rival is Blue and the girl is Green. 800https://tiny.io/i/Pyl4sf5.jpeg Background Pokmon as a franchise has always found its stride in miscellaneous and meandering adventures. A charmander lost in the rain hidden ancient Pokmon buried deep underground a hamlet full of eerie ghosts or a mysterious and looming figure beyond the lighthouse over the ocean so many atmospheric and adventurous moments that have been imprinted into many childrens minds including mine. Theres a certain magic to it that seriously leaves an impression on people theres a level of fun and escapism a whole wonderous world with new things to see awaiting you. So does the manga capture this magic well yes and no but Ill get into that. For now I should clarify I went into this series with one question: is this going to be genuinely good or is it gonna be a selfmasturbatory fanservice circle jerk for nostalgia filled junkies? Fortunately for the most part I was pleasantly surprised so lets get right into it. For some background Pokmon Adventures takes place in the Kanto region so generation one for those of you familiar with the franchise. We follow our protagonist Red as he adventures across the country battling and capturing many Pokmon along the way. The APlot involves our protagonist and his rival Blue battling gym leaders and filling out their Pokdex. Team Rocket an evil organization is trying to capture a Pokmon called Mew which Red has to put a stop to thats the Bplot. Its hard to sum up simply but Ive taken the liberty that the readers here at least know what a Pokmon is. Cliches Tropes and Innovation Img800https://tiny.io/i/vVYXegY.jpeg Pokmon Adventure is in no way atypical for a Pokmon installment. You have all of the usual setups a strong and somewhat callous rival a wacky professor a naive but goodhearted protagonist and a goofily evil team of bad guys. Being based off of the first generation of Pokmon its the usual crew of familiar faces as well. Something that doesnt shoot in the mangas favor is that along with it they bring cliches as well which arent really evolved from their previous incarnations. There are very few instances where they evolve these tropes past their most archetypal forms so be prepared to experience some eyerollingly lazy writing on the plots front this effect is only confounded upon if youve played or seen any previous Pokmon work. However I do think there are real nuggets of gold sprinkled into the crevices of every arc I can really see this story blooming to be something special in further installments. For one since its a manga aimed toward children its easy to forgive the cliches as long as they do something interesting with them. Im happy to say theres some fun stuff here. By the end of the manga even if Professor Oak points it out in an exposition dump you can see how both Red and Blue have changed. Rubbing off on eachother which is a nice dichotomy even if they are the stock and standard rival duo honestly. Of course not everything is done incredibly well. Take this for example: 800https://tiny.io/i/J989IQm.jpeg Bad dialogue really perforates the chapters of this manga. Not only do they constantly use tropey and overused lines but sometimes it doesnt even make sense in context of the characters especially exposition wise. In the example above not only is let me show you the cruelty of adults a cliche its just stupid. He has no reason to be so evil and it just comes off as corny despite trying to strike a serious tone. Beyond the occasionally lazy writing however Pokmon find its stride in being simple. It takes these stock characters and gives them likable dynamics that are fun to see in action given the dialogue isnt particularly bad in said scene. You root for our naive protagonist as he adventures towards his dream and thats kind of the point. Its supposed to be a funfilled adventure about friendship and teamwork and thats totally fine. At times it really does this perfectly I couldnt be happier with those moments of pure unadulterated entertainment. So yeah it can own its cliches. One of the best examples of this would be Red as a character. His onenote naive and kind personality makes him incredibly likable and charming not to mention captures a childlike innocence most of us have long lost. Even if he does develop to be a bit more coolheaded by the end of the mangas run Red is a trope done near perfectly. Sometimes you dont need to innovate too much given the setting and context. Img800https://tiny.io/i/BpRKpQJ.jpeg Finally the themes are about as stock and standard as they get. Which in this case is no way a bad thing. A sense of camaraderie and friendship really works in a story like this. Not only is it good for teaching children the basic moral of compassion for others but its heartwarming as an adult. Its pleasant simple and to the point. Nothing wrong with talking about friendship as the crux of your show depending on what youre trying to do or what tone youre trying to convey. Hell even the setting contributes to this its literally just about adventuring and making friends. Id be shocked if they made the main thematic purpose anything else. A Sense of Adventure Img800https://tiny.io/i/xhwhWfP.jpeg Harkening back to the hook statement for this review Pokmon is a series about adventure first and foremost. In the sense of random fun and episodic encounters that are memorable and inspire a feeling of childlike wonder Pokmon Adventures succeeds. There are plenty of enjoyable oneoffs that Red stumbled into and damn were those chapters good: finding a Pokmon race on the way to the next city joining Team Rocket to catch a badge thief stumbling upon a bizarre Pokmon fan club entering a hollowed city of ghosts the list goes on and on here. It really captures the appeal of the early Pokmon episodes and also in early Pokmons likeness it captures very mixed pacing. Chapters constantly flash by hardly bothering to set up the next event. Hell never setting up the next event. The manga has no clear direction for most of its run and it makes the whole adventure feel aimless and meandering. It would have benefited the story to include a map or outline the route Red will be traveling to get his badges at some point. This may seem minor but it really ruined the whole adventure schtick. Without a baseline for travel its hard to get invested or excited. Img800https://tiny.io/i/ZR4oUDA.jpeg Whats this? Theres already an adventure map? Oh well uh its still bullshit. I really like the illustrations and route details provided in these maps but theyre not given in the story so much as endofthevolume extras. The context and timing is completely off here making the maps more of an insult to injury than anything. This whole thing ties into the nostalgiabased circlejerk anyway. People who loved these locations and played the games as a kid wont be near as bothered with the lack of outline and will just be happy to see these places reimagined in manga format. I really hope the writers didnt write this with the express intent that most would have preknowledge. The Characters Img800https://tiny.io/i/rFQLfO9.jpeg The characters in Pokmon Adventures are all cardboard cutouts but in no way is that a bad thing. As touched upon earlier Red is an extremely likable protagonist who touts the adventurous themes of the series. His opposing personality to Blue is fun to see in action and often leads to humorous moments. Theyre simple enough for kids to understand while being charming enough for adults to have fun with. I talked about this earlier but the way they develop each other is quite apt as well. Red becomes more of a critical thinker Blue becomes more compassionate for his Pokmon and generally less selfcentered. My favorite from the primary cast is definitely Green however. Shes a genuinely witty and charming character her manipulative tendencies play off of Reds naiveness very well. Dont expect a lot from any of these characters and theres nothing to really analyze but its a fun cast that certainly serves its purpose well. On the other hand I cannot say the same about the tertiary cast. Some characters feel like theyre just shoved into importance due to being popular in the anime or games. Brock is the easiest example I can think of. Hes barely in the story at all and serves his purpose as a gym leader but then they make a big deal of him and Red being friends having him travel to a city during the climax to save him. Not only does him knowing Red is in trouble not make sense but they had a singular Pokmon battle. Its such a pointless turn of events and I cant help but think it was done for fan service. Img800https://tiny.io/i/Ru3mH1g.jpeg Know what character also randomly showed up during the penultimate finale? Thats right Misty and god damn does she vex me. Shes the perfect example of how the pacing in the manga can screw over both the plot and characters. Her character struggle is introduced and concluded in the span of three chapters so I cant help but feel its rushed. She somehow starts liking Red in a semiromantic tsundere type of way and evolves to genuinely care about him from one battle where she was knocked out for the entire chapter. Then when Red is ready to rush back into combat she gets mad and stops him declaring theyre friends who care about each other so he shouldnt be reckless noting that she thought he already understood that. For one they dont have a bond. Theyve been together for one day and she acts like they should understand each other perfectly. This sort of plot line is a cliche you see in a lot of stories but without the proper time to breath and develop it feels anticlimactic and brushed over. It doesnt help that she randomly shows up twice on later occasions just because its convenient for the plot. Hopefully her character will improve in further installments. Img800https://tiny.io/i/DyXOxqT.jpeg Another thing I should mention is that the Pokmon are oddly decentralized here. They dont have distinctive personalities and hardly get scenes to themselves for the most part. Hell the manga is oddly selective with the Pokmon it wants to become part of the main cast as well. Red will catch a Pokmon and then it will never show up again but sometimes he just randomly catches a Krabby and it sticks around. What happened to all of those Pokmon he caught in the forest and the Safari Zone? Its not a big deal but its a bit weird. Especially when compared to stuff like the Pokmon anime which creates characters as memorable as Charizard despite Pokmon only being able to say their names. The World of Pokmon Img800https://tiny.io/i/8rbNl65.jpeg For Pokmon to work you have to hold your suspension of disbelief. You have to simply accept the idea that an 11yearold child can travel across the country and fight evil criminals organizations by himself. Its part of the fun Im not so petty as to nitpick whats necessary to make the story work. However there are plenty of issues present outside of this. For example: Img800https://tiny.io/i/VPWo8yx.jpeg On the surface level stuff like this is fine but Im concerned the writers will write themselves into holes sooner or later. In later generations we get introduced into many more Eevee forms. How does one introduce Umbreon or Leafeon when its already been established that theres only three types of Eevee? The same thing goes for Pokmon count. Theyve already established a set limit in the entire world so how do they explain future generations? Hopefully theyll have a way around this but its hard to take the worldbuilding seriously when itll just betray itself in the next installment. Img800https://tiny.io/i/o1iM46n.jpeg On top of this the manga is filled to the brim with inconsistencies. They had a lowlevel Pikachu oneshot a high level Onyx despite their type difference. In Pokmon an electric type is supposed to be weakened against a rock type. Fucking hell in the anime Ash had to put Pikachu on a wholeass electric power mill to beat Onyx in the first place. Here he just does it. Whats worse is that they establish water attacks dont work on grass Pokmon the chapter after. Which isnt how it works exactly for the grass Pokmon should still take some reduced damage but thats besides the point. The authors just bend the rules of the world towards whatevers convenient for the plot. Pandering Writing Img800https://tiny.io/i/7AcU8cV.jpeg Perhaps my biggest issue with the manga which permeates every single section Ive talked about so far is how often they base writing off of precontextualized knowledge. They dont really bother explaining gyms Pokmon types the Pokmon league locations or legendaries. They just throw you in and assume you know its so incredibly lazy. Im sure they would have just delivered it in exposition dumps anyways though. You can really feel this aspect as we travel around unknown locations with no clear direction as we get into strategic battles with no knowledge as to how types work. Rushing the setup always muddles the execution and fuck is it crippling here. Even outside of assuming you have preknowledge of some things they base some character appearances and events off of nostalgia. As previously stated Brock had absolutely no reason to come back into the story. Misty was rather shoehorned in as well. Fuck it heres another example: Img800https://tiny.io/i/lJbAbVp.jpeg No Pokmon Adventures I dont know Articuno you didnt bother introducing the concept of legendaries until this very chapter. I dont know if they simply forgot or didnt have the foresight but the introduction of Articuno would be so much more impactful had they established legendary Pokmon before this event. It doesnt hold any weight or impact the story at all due to this. It feels like it was just aimed at fanboys who would already be hyped to see legendaries. So in the end is it a pure nostalgia trip? No not really but it certainly has pandering elements which ultimately bog it down. Conclusion Img800https://tiny.io/i/wZpDJiq.jpeg Pokmon Adventures was a very flawed but overall enjoyable ride I can easily recommend it and Im excited for more. Despite its tropes cliches and pandering there are genuine nuggets of gold within the character interactions and exploration elements. If youre a fan of Pokmon as a franchise definitely check this out. Otherwise maybe give it a shot but itll be harder to get into. If you have any criticisms or other thoughts please leave a message on my profile. Im always down to discuss series. Next Review Pokmon Adventures: Yellow https://anilist.co/review/14536