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By Zarat.
It has now been over a year since I bought my manga volumes from the Forbidden Planet megastore and my collection has become larger and I have become poorer. I remember the first volumes I bought clearly. Attack on Titan Volume 29, the first Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 volume and The Promised Neverland Volume 1 (which considering events, will never be read but might go to a new owner soon, *winks*). As of April 2021, I now have 136 volumes from a variety of genres.
But anyway, here is a fool-proof guide on how to start your manga collection. I have made all the mistakes, wasted all the money, time and energy so you do not have to.
Tip #1 - Amazon isn’t a Go-To Source
Yes, Amazon has next-day delivery shipping. But that’s incorporated in the price you pay, so nine times out of ten you’re paying way more in the long run. It’s worth paying less and waiting a week longer than paying more because you’re impatient! Remember patience is a virtue. Don’t allow Jeff to profit from you trying to help your overworked Japanese mangaka make a living. That defeats the purpose. That said you may rarely find that Amazon has a manga that offers a better price than other websites after you’ve done a lot of searching- which leads us to our next part.
Tip #2 - Better Manga Sites than Amazon
There are a lot of websites where you can buy manga from, some you might recognise and some you may just have heard of and some things that I particularly recommend them for based on prior purchases I have made. Here are the best online websites and most of them do free worldwide shipping!
OnBuy (A great place to get more obscure manga)
Fishpond (Bought some Hunter x Hunter volumes from here)
School Depot (I swear by this store, they have lots of cheap prices!)
WHSmith (I know, I was shocked as well, that store is actually useful for something)
Hive
Blackwells (Where I got most of my Attack on Titan volumes)
eBay (Great place for manga bundles and box sets)
Booksplease
Book Depository (You can use MASTERCARD5 for a good deal when you buy manga singles)
Wordery (I bought a Tokyo Ghoul: re box set from here!)
If you’re based in the UK and want to buy some single volumes, I recommend going to your local Forbidden Planet and take advantage of their 3 for 2 offers!
Tip #3 - Know what you want
You will end up with lots of unwanted manga volumes if you just buy for the sake of buying. You should consider manga collecting as not just a fun (but expensive) hobby but a lifestyle that takes a lot of commitment and you will face many challenges. I wish I could say I was exaggerating but I’m not. To ensure you end up with a manga collection full of things you like, keep a logbook, and update it with prices as they change. By doing that, you have a goal and know what you are working towards every payday or when you get some extra money. Here is a page of my logbook:
As you can see, I’m more organised with manga collecting than most other parts of my life. But hey, that is what keeps me happy. I note down the series with a volume number and keep track of the cheapest price. I update this on a weekly basis so I can be sure I’m always getting the best deal I can.
Tip #4 - Buy Manga Boxsets
This is the ultimate way how I saved money and built up my manga collection quicker. Think about it this way, you bought all 14 volumes of Tokyo Ghoul over 5 months at £7.99 per volume. That’d cost you about £111.86 in total. Alternatively, you could have waited 2 months to buy it from eBay for £53.77. Now I’m no mathematician (I literally did that on my phone’s calculator), but that’s a large amount you could have spent. I don’t know who said it but always shop smarter. As I have said before, a lot of series also do bundles and 3-in-1s so look out for those too!
Here are some manga series (ongoing and completed) that have available manga sets!
Attack on Titan (organised by seasons, but since the manga has ended, lookout for a set)
Fullmetal Alchemist (this has a manga set but buying the 3-in-1s are cheaper)
My Hero Academia (bundles)
Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul: re (box sets with some bundles but get the box sets)
The Promised Neverland (but I don’t think you should…)
One Piece (box sets)
Dragon Ball (box sets)
Bleach (box sets)
Naruto (box sets)
Death Note (box set)
Assassination Classroom (box set)
Tip #5 - Manga Recommendations
It feels wrong to finish off a blog post without some personal recommendations, so here are some great titles you can start your collection with!
Any Junji Ito manga for horror fans, my personal favorites are No Longer Human and Dissolving Classroom, which both explore the human condition and have fantastic art! Some others I own are Tomie, Gyo and Uzumaki!
Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Monster by Naoki Urasawa
Kaguya-Sama by Aka Akasaka
Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami
My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi
Fire Punch by Tatsuki Fujimoto
However, this list is not exhaustive! When trying to work out manga to buy perhaps review the anime you’ve watched and see how the manga is. Maybe try to read some chapters online before you commit to picking up that first volume. That’s how I wish I started!
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