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Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (1) (Pokémon the Movie

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On their way to participate in the next Pokémon contest, Ash, Brock, and Dawn come to Álamos Town, known for its beautiful gardens and the impressive Space-time Tower, built by the famous architect Gowdy. After mysterious swathes of destruction begin to appear and an ominous fog envelops the town, preventing the people from leaving, Tonio, Gowdy's grandson recognizes these phenomena as having been predictions in his grandfather's diaryÉ predictions that the integrity of space and time are under threat from a battle between the legendary Pokémon Diagla and Darkrai. Will Ash and his friends be able to save Álamos Town?
This is the manga tie in to Pokémon Movie 10: Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai.

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2008

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About the author

Ryo Takamisaki

37 books13 followers

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5 stars
433 (69%)
4 stars
95 (15%)
3 stars
62 (10%)
2 stars
15 (2%)
1 star
15 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Subham.
2,932 reviews83 followers
November 14, 2021
This was an amazing read! I loved it!

Ash, Dawn and Brock come to Alamos Town and there they meet Alice and Torio, two people there but when strange things start happening in the city like the disappearance of the entire town into somewhere else and pokemon fears becoming true and the appearance of Darkrai we see everyone blaming it but the truth is revealed when

The battles were intense and I love the way it folds in the legendaries and does justice by its title and gives the character a solid story and Ash and Alice get great moments and there are references to the wider Sinnoh myths and its awesomely done! Great stuff and highly recommending it!
Profile Image for Mavis Ros.
522 reviews15 followers
September 14, 2018

*REREAD TWICE at 2018*

"I've got a weakness for the hard-shelled softies, so Darkrai really got to me, Just imagining it battling all alone to answer the prayers of the little girl who was kind to it is enough to make me tear up... And so, that's why Darkrai has become my favourite Pokemon.
- Takamisaki Ryo "

Really crazy of me to read this story twice in one day. I couldn't help it. Darkrai is the star Pokemon of this manga. I loved everything about this book.

Profile Image for Jake.
8 reviews
January 12, 2015
Pokemon The Rise of Darkrai is a science fiction/fantasy graphic novel that is also a thriller and written by Ryo Takamisaki. Since this graphic novel originated in Japan, it is considered a manga comic. The story line is a classic battle between two Legendary rival Pokemon, Palkia and Dialga, for the for ultimate domination of the Universe. This story is brought to life by the exaggerated artwork which brings out the characters’ emotions and actions and is iconic of the Japanese-style anime drawings.

In this world, there are pokemon that live with humans in harmony. While there are regular pokemon, there also exist pokemon with supernatural powers. For example, they have the power to control time or space which makes them a Legendary Pokemon. The protagonist is Ash, a Pokemon Trainer, and he and his friends are visiting Alamos Town, the home to the Space Time Towers. These towers control the space/time continuum by serving as a barrier, keeping the Legendary Pokemon, who are in control of space and time, apart. Should the two Legendary Pokemon ever meet, the result would be disastrous and cause a rip in the boundaries of space and time. During the visit, Ash discovers that the magical garden of Alamos was ransacked and most of the townsfolk blame a mysterious Legendary Pokemon called Darkrai, who lives in this garden. Darkrai has the power to put you to sleep and control dreams but is he alone, responsible for all the strange occurrences? When the Legendaries that control space and time battle each other to become the most powerful Pokemon, only Darkrai can protect and save the town from destruction.

The background stories of the legendary pokemon and a few of the main characters are key components that make the plot so thrilling. A great example focuses on the origin-story of Darkrai and the magical garden of Alamos Town. Darkrai was injured from battle and landed in the garden where a little girl found him and healed him. As a result, Darkrai vowed to protect the generous and kind town of Alamos.

The most important part of the book is the artwork. The artwork in anime brings the story to life by the exaggerated drawing of specific facial features. Anime is a diverse, Japanese art form that uses different production methods and techniques. Different art styles are used and character proportions and features are drawn, including over-sized eyes. Anime artists reference and use specific set of facial expressions to convey emotions thus lending a uniformity to all faces despite the diversity of anime characters.

Pokemon the Rise of Darkrai is a real page turner that intrigues all audiences.
While reading this book, I experienced many emotions that ranged from empathy for Darkrai being wrongly accused to excitement and thrills from the Pokemon battles. I would rate this book four out of five stars. It would have five out of five stars but the vocabulary level of the story was basic and clearly meant for younger readers. Overall, Pokemon The Rise of Darkrai is a nice easy read that crosses genres allowing anyone to enjoy .

Profile Image for Ben Walkush.
9 reviews
January 9, 2018
Personal Response
I read this manga Pokemon The Rise of Darkrai before and saw the movie but it nevers gets old. I love the way Ryo Takamisaki the author, draws Dialga and Palkia fighting in space. Some parts of the story that I thought were a little short were Palkia and Dialga battling over Alamos Town. I like how Ryo draws Alberto transforming into his Lickilicky with his face getting fat and puffy.
Plot
Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Dawn arrive in Alamos Town ready to begin the Pokemon Contest but their plans are cut short by strange events that are happening in the town’s gardens. Darkrai appears and tells Ash and his friends to go away. Ash is determined to defeat Darkrai but Alberto comes in and clams that he should be the one to defeat Darkrai. Darkrai then puts all the pokemon fighting him asleep and their nightmares come to life and The Baron transformed into his Lickilicky. All of a sudden Palkia shows up to get away from Dialga after fighting in space. Then Darkrai tells Palkia to leave but Palkia does not listen so Darkrai uses force. Then Dialga finds Palkia and they resume fighting, when they are fighting the city starts getting ripped apart from the powers of the two pokemon. Ash and Dawn have a plan to use The Oraion in the Space-Time Towers to play a song that will calm down the pokemon from fighting.
Characterization:
The graphic novel was told in third person, made up of Ash, Pikachu, Alice, Darkrai, Palkia, and Dialga. Ash is the main protagonist of all the TV shows, Movies ,and some graphic novels. Ash is the boy that every kid wants to be if pokemon adventures were real. Pikachu is Ash’s first pokemon and the one that he brings with on his adventures. Pikachu is an electric mouse pokemon that does everything with Ash. Darkrai, Palkia, and Dialga are all legendary pokemon. Darkrai is said to be an evil pokemon and can disappear in shadows, Palkia controls space, and Dialga controls time.
Setting
In this adventure Ash and his friends are visiting Alamos Town for a pokemon contest. In Alamos Town there is a building called The Space-time Towers designed by Godey a famous architect. Up on the top floor, is a large machine that plays music from special disks. The city is on a island and there is only one bridge connecting it to the mainland of the Sinnoh region. The time period for the pokemon universe could be set in the future because of advanced technology, or it can be in a parallel dimension of ours.
Thematic Connection
The Rise of Darkrai and any other pokemon media has Ash very competitive on defeating people or pokemon that he comes across on his adventures. In this adventure Ash wants to challenge Darkrai when he sees him in the Alamos Town square but Alberto comes in and said that he is the one to defeat Darkrai, but fails miserably and all the pokemon are put asleep with nightmares.
Recommendation
I would recommend this manga to all the pokemon fans. It could be for middle schoolers to high schoolers. I think boys and girls would like this book because of Ash and Pikachu adventures together. If you get done with this manga there are hundreds of more pokemon stories.
Profile Image for Chris Young.
25 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2015
It shows everything that happened in the actual movie Pokemon the rise of darkrai.
Profile Image for Bo.
5 reviews
March 2, 2019
I liked it. Compared to the plentiful other Pokemon books I've read it's okay.
Profile Image for A.L..
Author 5 books4 followers
April 6, 2015
Of the three Pokemon books I've read so far, this one is easily the strongest. The dialogue and the action made more sense in this book than the other two (volumes 2 and 3 from the Black and White series). I'm still getting accustomed to manga in general, and to the Pokemon universe specifically. I'll probably read more and see how it goes. So far I'm lukewarm about the whole thing, but fairly certain that my son will enjoy it.
Profile Image for Hannah Belyea.
2,378 reviews36 followers
November 9, 2020
While touring Álamos Town and the Space-Time tower with new friend Alice, Ash and co. end up in the middle of a grand crisis as the mysterious Darkrai, powerful Dialga and deadly Palkia begin a fight that drags the entire town into a completely different dimension! Takamisaki gives readers an action-packed and exciting novelization that will keep fans glued to every page. What side are Ash and his friends supposed to take in such a cataclysmic event?!
Profile Image for Kikiwayi.
18 reviews
October 14, 2010
Title: The Rise of Drakrai
Author: Ryo Takamisaki

I gotta say, I'm a little bit of a fan of Pokemon. Plus, I read comics when they come out... xD
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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