///Warning: Spoilers Ahead///

I believe Pokémon requires no introduction. We all know what it is and how influential the franchise has become. Have you ever wondered how the manga adaptation is? Well I'm going to dive in and tell you why you should read this manga.

Story: Pokemon Adventures Red Blue & Green starts off in Pallet town quite like the game it is adapting. We are introduced to our first main character Red and his Poliwhirl. Red is a feisty and rambunctious ten year old who is itching for adventure especially after his encounter with the mythical Pokémon Mew. After being given a Bulbasaur and a Pokedex by Professor Oak he is well on his way to becoming a Pokémon master.

One standout feature of this manga is the tone. It establishes the world of Pokémon to be a more dangerous and harrowing place. Pokémon have the ability to hurt and even kill eachother and people. A good example is around halfway through the story Red is almost digested by a wild Victreebel in the safari zone after his life breaks down. Team Rocket is also depicted as being more cruel and heartless in this adaptation. Most notably in their experimentation on Pokémon like Eevee for example or even the legendary birds themselves.

But as the story goes along Red makes friends and rivals that show this world isn't full of gloom and doom. But a more grounded and down to earth representation of the Pokémon world. Speaking of Rivals both Blue and Green (Names dependent on the version you are reading) are fantastic characters. Blue being a reserved and serious character to counter Red's more silly and laid back attitude. Then there is Green who is a more sneaky and lighthearted. You get to watch these three grow as trainers as they face off against and aid eachother.

In general the story is a very fun and snappy read. The pages aren't muddled down with needless dialogue as you would find in other long running battle series. My personal high note of the series is how they depict Giovanni. He is first shown as a short term travel companion of Red's and Red genuinely thinks he is a upstanding person only to have his perceptions shattered in the final confrontation in the Viridian Gym. A quick draw battle of that has equal parts trainer and Pokémon input. A stellar battle to cap off the Team Rocket portion of the story.

Art: The artist Mato does a really good job depicting both humans and Pokémon. A part of me was worried having another artist besides Ken Sugimori draw this fun little creatures but my apprehension was quickly demolished very early on. I especially enjoy how Mato draws people. They breathe life into all these characters from pixels to art. Everybody looks how you imagined they would on the tiny screen oh so many years ago. Sure some of the people may have chibi like proportions with a big head and all but it actually works and is tied together really well.

The artist goes above and beyond with the environments. The urban areas looks lived in and are lively. The forests and grasslands are vast and detailed.

Conclusion: Now I have been really talking this series up but I do have a few complaints to be said. Mostly in the Gym challenge and length of the series. Being only three volumes it is really difficult for the writer to fit in all eight Gyms and the Team Rocket storyline all at the same time. A way they overcome this constraint is to have around half of the Gym Leaders be members of Team Rocket. Placing them where Team Rocket would naturally be in the plot. I feel as though this is a decision that was made to fix the pacing. Speaking of pacing that is another issue. The pacing is so fast the manga is over right when it begins. Now to be honest I know this issue gets fixed in later longer adaptations but since I am only reviewing Red, Blue and Green today I feel like this must be said.

Overall though Pokémon Adventures Red, Blue and Green was an exceptional beginning to a long running videogames licensed manga. It comes recommended whole heartedly from me. Now would be the perfect time to buy it too since Viz recently released a Collector's Edition that includes the whole saga in one oversized volume, atleast in my territory.