Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Vol. 1 (1)

Finally, a worthy edition of this underrated classic Pokémon manga! This series - at least the first few volumes - hold a very special place in my nostalgic heart.Following the adventures of Red, Blue, and Green in this series is a delight, encompassing a world of wonder, companionship, and surprisingly, some moral gray areas for characters to explore. This series is a true companion to the mainline Pokémon games, fully fleshing out a story that makes sense, in the most realistic possible way a cute, monster-infested world could be. The characters and storyline are developed in a much more mature and cohesive manner than that of its juggernaut anime counterpart, or even the stories that reside in the games storylines. For Pokémon, this is the end-all, be-all of Pokémon stories and the only Pokémon series’s that even come anywhere within the domain of ‘Adventures’ creativity or level of world-building that come close are the spin-off shorts series, ‘Pokémon: Origins,’ ‘Pokémon: Generations,’ and the recent on-going ‘Pokémon: Twilight Wings.’For someone who has been following the Pokémon franchise since the moment I could insert a Pokémon cartridge in a GameBoy (which, by the way, was ‘Pokémon: Silver‘ from the GameBoy Color on Christmas of 1999), I have never ever come up by another Pokémon series as rewarding as this one.There are through-line stories that weave and interconnect, with changing main characters - just as you would be forced into a new avatar in a new installment of Pokémon on your GameBoy, GB Color, GB Advanced, and so on, that would make, for the most part logical sense. At the same time, these characters receive a full storyline to follow and connections are made by the emphasis of companionship in this series - nearly all of these Pokémon trainers spend thorough amounts of time letting (all?) their Pokémon roam around free, interacting with their good and evil human counterparts around them. The abilities of the Pokémon have real-world consequences too, as evil, brutish Pokémon really do attack people (and conversely, evil people attack people and Pokémon alike). At one point or another a Pokémon or person may even be fatally or mortally wounded, which adds to the realism of monsters duking it out with fire, electricity, ice, and other dangerous abilities.The artwork enhances the simplistic magic that laces this world and it really helps that in nearly every chapter a Pokémon can be utterly hilarious, downright scary, unbelievably threatening, mischievous, good-hearted, and so on. The Pokémon all around are given real personalities, and they aren’t merely dangerous monster pets that can be tamed and kept in a ball - they’re just so much more than that here.Needless to say, there’s a whole lot going on for this series and it couldn’t be recommended enough for any Pokémon fan. It’s a genuinely good read.On to the *product*Pokémon - Adventures - Collector’s Edition is something interesting. It’s near perfect for what it’s trying to accomplish, and I )for the most part) have to give props to Viz Media for this. This edition aims to be a value-bound product but doesn’t skimp out on making this also a quality product as well. at three collected volumes, this first collected volume compiles a meaty 640 pages, and in doing so collects the whole first story arc.This new edition could be compared favorably between the 3-in-1 collections that have plagued many series and is more akin to the VizBig editions of old. The difference mainly lies in the size. These are taller than the standard Tankouban volumes (the same as your average single-volume manga or the 3-in-1) and shorter than the VizBig - they’re somewhere in between (I think potentially around the same size as the Death Note: Black Editions - I don’t have those, but I know I should). Regardless, it’s a pretty generous size.The dust jacket surprised me with its quality. It’s solid, somewhat matte-feel finish makes this book easy and welcome to hold, and the print, from the lettering to the artwork is embossed in a glossy finish that makes it ‘pop’ just right on your shelf.To be honest, I was expecting this release to be all-around budget cheap, my expectations were much closer to the 3-in-1 collections, and we all know how terrible those are. But the paper quality is much closer, again, to that of the VizBig editions, and while none of the paper is not quite as thick as that, it doesn’t feel cheap, you won’t be able to see trough to the next page almost ever unless you really try - which is pretty nice. Additionally inside, you’ll find some colored pages - not many, only 7 - but it is a nice addition none the less. My only gripe here is, of course, there could have been more, but I imagine the base price would have gone up more.As for content, I am very thrilled to say that it is mostly left uncensored, which is, all things considered for Viz Media, a general improvement on other releases. But here lies my biggest gripe: original versions have kept some of the translated ”sexual” jokes, such as Misty calling Red a pervert for “groping her” (he wasn’t, he was carrying her to safety), and some direct mentions of dating one another. This edition seems to have either kept more recent censor revisions, rather than being truly untainted, which I find slightly disappointing. There’s really never any need to censor things, for the most part, and I think this particular instance was a mistake. I am assuming that all volumes retain a certain ‘G-rated standard,’ and luckily, I don’t remember too many ’racy’ moments in this series. If there are moments that seem just slightly off or contrived, I’ll have to assume it’s because of a censorship that’s rewritten my memories.But at the end of the day, this release is a genuine delight. It far exceeds my expectations, as I was fully expecting another cheap Viz release, and I am grateful to have this series back in my shelves for the first time in years, and this time more “complete” than ever before.If you, or someone close to you is/are a fan of the Pokémon franchise in some capacity, I guarantee that this is will be a delight. Take it from a life-long fan that this is the Pokémon story you have been waiting for - and this just happens to be to date, the best (and currently, cheapest?) edition to get ahold of.

It's an amazing book by far the best way to read the series it's just terrible that once again this amazing release is damaged by amazons terrible packaging

I've always been interested in the Pokemon Adventures comics but in the 20+ years I've been a fan of Pokemon I'd never actually looked into buying them until I saw this product listed here for such a reasonable price.Since this is a collector's edition intended mostly for existing fans I'll focus on the quality of the physical product rather than the quality of the story/art. The book reads right to left as is typical with manga. It is primarily in black and white, with a few color illustrations at the very front. The book feels high quality for a paperback and I see no issues with the print quality.I anticipate I'll be buying volume 2 once I finish reading this one.

I purchase volumes 1-3 together and only this volume came damaged. Luckily none of the pages for the comic itself were bent, but the cover was and it will bother me for a long while.

Dynamic art, at a great price, in a perfect size. Just about as strong as a soft cover manga collection can be

These are easy to read and my 9yo with dyslexia loves them! They have really encouraged him to read over the past few years! Fun stories!

It's wonderful to see a manga based on the awesome X and Y games to come out so recently! It's also at a wonderfully cheap price. This manga is awesome and I'm looking forward to the new volumes being released! Pokemon for life!!

It's a great start to another Pokemon adventure series. I have red/green - ruby/sapphire pokemon adventure book, so I really love these books. It's a shorter book, like the black/white adventure books. It's not bad for 5 bucks.In the first book you are introduced to the main characters, x and y, the legendary pokemon, Xerneas and Yveltal, and the new mega evolutions.

A lovely collection of Pokémon nostalgia here, featuring the original designs of many pokémon, including fat pikachu! The story itself is surprisingly dark for a pokémon adventure, nowhere near as sanitised as the anime. In one chapter, pokémon zombies and skeletons feature, and the sequence ends with one pokémon being cut in half. As a result I would probably advise looking through this yourself before letting young children read it. The book itself is genuinely high quality, with well printed paper, and a matte cover that is great to both read and display. Highly recommended for all pokémon fans.

Very accessible and enjoyable comic book. Great images although a colour version would be most welcome.Story line touches briefly on the contemporary theme of Hikikomori ( Self Isolation) offering spectacular resolution for re inclusion from the condition. Next addition will be sought. Team Flare unnamed but hopeful for the next book.

Many thanks John

This is the first graphic novel I have purchased and I am very pleased with it. Takes some getting used to reading from right to left!

it did come with dogeared pages but besides that it was in good condition