Pokémon Black and White, Vol. 8 (8)

I haven't read comics (manga is the Japanese word) about Pokemon for a long time, but I was eager to read the Black and White series, story by Hidenori Kusaka and art by Satoshi Yamamoto. For me, it was really good and fun to read. It is a story about a ten-year-old boy named Black who has wanted to be a Pokemon trainer ever since he was a little kid....or littler, rather...toddler age, I think. Most Pokemon stories are about a young person becoming a trainer and challenging the region's gym leaders, Pokemon League and finally the Pokemon League Champion while facing a threat from the series' antagonists (in Black and White it's Team Plasma, as well as a mysterious stalker guy named N--yep, his name is N), but this story gained its own little charm and individuality pretty quickly, I thought. The series was creative, and in each volume I could tell that the author and illustrator had a good time creating the series by seeing how the characters interacted with each other, and because of the funny, cute and amusing little mannerisms the human and Pokemon characters have. Instead of just having the characters go on another generic journey, it had a nice touch of depth and history that the Pokemon games sometimes don't or can't have because of the fact that the games have to appeal to a huge amount of people. The main character in the games normally doesn't talk, but when Pokemon is made into a manga series, the author and writer add nuances, history and personality to the characters and Pokemon which gets pretty interesting. Even though the volumes were pretty short, there was a lot to look at in each one, a lot of interesting stories and, again, lots of meaningful character interaction. It seems that the author and artist knew what they were doing and used their time, words and style well. Despite the stress that manga artists and authors are under to meet deadlines, it was nice to see that they seemed to have had a good time developing the story, art and characters of Pokemon Black and White. The art style is great, as well as being clean and easy to follow, except for a couple times--the Pokemon battle scenes mostly. But this isn't the only series that's had me confused sometimes about what's going on, and it's normally not enough of a problem to get me annoyed. I think a minimal-to-medium amount of confusion is sometimes normal for manga because of the perspectives the artists draw in (for example, sideways panels that make the characters look like they're standing on the wall). And if readers aren't used to the right-to-left style of Japanese comics, that can take some getting used to. Anyway, speaking of the battling scenes, there is plenty of action in the series because of it, and I was intrigued to see violence in one of the volumes that actually involved some blood. Seeing blood in Pokemon was a first for me but maybe there is blood in the other Pokemon manga series. I don't think it was too horribly devastating, though, and there is no language worse than "Darn!" or "What the heck!" in the series, so it's likely still just fine for the kids who read it. I really am glad that I found this boxed set, because it was really fun to read and was a good price for eight volumes. I notice that manga tend to be around 5-20 dollars a volume, give or take, which gets to be pretty expensive for a long series. I'll wrap this up. The boxed set got to me in a couple of days, and was packaged neatly. The comics were in good shape, no torn pages or covers, and the plastic wrap around the box set was in good shape too. Thank you very much. The last manga in the box set said there will be a continuing series of the Black and White graphic novel, because volume eight ended at a little cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the continuing story!

This was a Christmas gift for my 8 yr old son and he loved it. He reads a lot books at school and so adding this to his choices makes him want to just leisurely read at home too. He completed vol 1 before Christmas day was over and loved it. Any reading is good reading..

When I bought them I was expecting a large box set because they were 8 books and I thought they were average thickness in pages as a regular manga would but when I got I was surprise how thin the books were about 60 actual pages in each book then I saw why it was cheaper then other book sets. Overall I still enjoy them and a cute fun manga they have very nice quality the covers a have combo matte (black) and laminate (white) feels real nice artwork been done nicely so I recommend to any pokemon fan and or manga lover.

I never write reviews but I had to for this. Has been a really fun read and can't wait to get the next set in a few days. It came quickly and in perfect condition. I highly recommend this to any Pokemon fan!

Great basic book for 8-12 year olds. It's a Japanese manga book so comic book style. It's still easy enough to read for basic readers while still interesting to older readers. Great quick bedtime book.

I was with my grand daughter in a Comic Store when she saw this Pokemon Box Set & asked if she could have it for Xmas. Fortunately I found it on Amazon for a much cheaper price. I ordered it 1st part of December but it was not delivered until almost 2 weeks after Xmas. Amazon was great updating me on the status of the vendor & it was a nice extra present after Xmas.

Loved the book

I can honestly not recommend this manga highly enough. Pokémon Adventures is a downright brilliant series, and despite often being branded a children's series, it does have some mature themes that both kids and adults can enjoy. This box set however, is somewhat disappointing. First of all, it doesn't even cover the whole B&W story arc. I knew that when I bought it, but it just isn't as good value as the other box sets in the series that do. The free poster is a nice touch, but a bit small. The volumes themselves are tiny. About half or a third of the regular volumes. Hmm. After I purchased this box set, I had to purchase the remaining volumes as they were released (the 2nd box set was not yet available). I was shocked when I realised the plot was censored - the publisher of this version cut off the true ending despite not containing any inappropriate content, although it is admittedly bittersweet. This makes the end seem really unresolved and too sudden. Also mucks up the BW2 arc. Who knows what else has been censored? If you can, buy the Shogakukan-published version. Normal-sized volumes and true to the story.

サブウェイマスターは触りだけですが、8巻に登場します。ノボリ・クダリではなく、インゴ・エメットです。 日本語版ではかなり先の登場になりそうです。「出発の」「お時間です」までが収録されています。

My son is an avid reader of these back to front Pokemon Manga books. He is often to be found tucked away re-reading them endlessly. So much better than him playing a computer game and he's even started to draw his own versions. It does seem to be impossible to buy the next set in the collection though which is a big disappointment to him.

Bought for my 8 year old as a gift and he loved it. Fast shipping, good product. Was a bit confusing for him to figure out to begin with as you start reading from the back of the book.

I bought this set of Pokemon comics for my son because it's one of his favorites he read them all really fast because he couldn't wait to see what happened next! Very happy with my purchase

Awesome as well, and they got to us in no time.