Starting a Manga Collection in 2023...Is it a GOOD Idea? 

I started collecting 3 years ago and have over 300+ Volumes. I love this hobby and I will definitle keep going collecting but the biggest mistake I made was spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars for manga in a short period of time and I also started a lot of new series which I never read. My advice for people who want to start a collection is... don't rush things! Try to complete 1 or 2 series and set yourself an amount you want to spend per month. slowly growing your collection makes this hobby a lot more fun

I always recommend to people to read a few chapters, if not a volume or two, online before buying physically. Personally I think it's a fun part of collecting to look back and unhaul series that you once enjoyed but feel its time to move on from.

I 100% agree. it's my 3rd year into the hobby, started with a small shelf now I have 6 billy bookcase full of manga. Almost all of my salary went to the collection and it become a routine researching manga deals every day. Now I already sold series that I dont plan to keep and focusing on series that were a part of me growing up. Im now selective to what I get (tho good deals are really tempting) and plan to quit once I completed on the on going series im following.

So my thought is this- I’m not a huge digital fan. Just feels not right to me, and personally I feel like reading physically is so much better. Obviously that’s my opinion, but it’s just a different feeling to be able to feel the pages and hold the manga volume itself. And reorganizing my collection is a form of therapy for me. But, I COMPLETELY understand where you’re coming from! Digital for a lot of people is probably the better route, but for someone like me physical will always be preferable, 10/10 times.

Great video man, being selective about which series you buy is definitely something that needs to be told to newcomers, like myself. I did start collecting this year (or well, end of december 2022 but it's close enough lol) and, already at the start I was trying to think about restraint and only collecting the series I really enjoy the most but even then it still turned into a massive hit for my wallet. It really is addicting and it's just sinking in how expensive this hobby is. All that said though, I don't regret it. You could argue it was always a bad idea to get into a hobby like this when it's not really necessary and you could just read stuff online, and now it's just a worst idea than before since it's getting more expensive, but if it brings you joy then screw it. As long as you don't go into debt for a hobby and make sure the necessities come first, then do what makes you happy you know. Also, I just wanted to say I really enjoy when you do these kinds of videos. In your All Manga Content Is The Same video you said something about how everyone kind of carves out their own niche, well I think these videos where you pose a question regarding the hobby / the industry / the stories and share your thoughts on it is definitely yours, and having the mix of that plus the standard manga hauls / series review or whatever else just make for a really fun channel with lots of variety. Keep it up man!

As someone who had a large-ish collection and sold it go digital. Some of it was space and price like you said. However, it was also giving me anxiety to always be on top of new volumes, deals, and other aspects of buying. So a mostly digital approach has been great.

I have come across this issue where I Regret my earlier purchases so im trying to play catch up on all my uncompleted series. Also I am big on buying oop series mostly cause the covers look immaculate even if i dont know what the series is about. I have been planning on reading every single volume in my collection/rereading and anything i dont rate an 7/8 or higher imo ill just sell unless it has some dope cover art.

I feel this completely. I just hit 1000 volumes in my collection and I'm proud of it. But with this huge amount of manga in my collection I'm now trying to focus only on the series that I am currently collecting. From collecting from these few years I've collected I just wished that I didn't branch out too much since I have a lot of volumes ones that had long run time for me to collect. Now I'm trying to only focus on a few series and finished them or catch up to them while sticking mostly to just pre-orders for series that im currently collecting.

I would say yes, with the release of more hardcovers, box sets and more complete series it’s ideal, and more reprints and series are frequently released

I collected American comics for over 30 years. I have too many comic boxes now. Sometimes less is more. I consider myself curator instead of a collector. My manga shelves are slowly growing but I’m quicker to get rid if things I don’t like.

I’m currently running out of space and consistently taking things off my shelf to make room for volumes of series that I am collecting. Personally when it comes to starting or having a manga collection collect what you like. Try out a series first before you buy it for yourself whether you read a few chapters online in the store before buying the manga or if it has some sort of adaptation anime drama movie etc try watching that to see if the series you will enjoy reading and collecting in the long run.

I buy to read. So I have a small manga selection compared to most others even though I've been buying manga for about 20 years. Can't start any new series this year (or likely next year too) because I'm reading many ongoing ones now, so that limits purchasing. As does having a weekly or monthly budget that you absolutely do not surpass. A series must justify shelf space and price, especially since Viz increased its prices for Fall 2023, joining the ranks of manga priced over $9.99, and thus print manga will now be about $12 per volume to jump on board. I doubt that I'll ever have enough manga to do a huge room tour with tons of shelves because I'm being super frugal and highly selective.😂

Here’s my regret: impulse buying series and then never reading them it’s gotten so bad I am working on selling over 50 volumes in a collection of 200+ volumes

Another well executed video! Great topic! My collection brings me so much joy! But I also don’t keep series that I don’t ABSOLUTELY love. I’m very selective about what I keep because yes, space! I’ve only got one wall to keep my manga. I do read things digitally to try it out and if I love it I’ll get it physically if I can.

Collecting was super fun when I lived at home but shaving off half the collection everytime I moved was a blessing, now I only have Berserk/Pokemon Adventures/Dragon Ball and like 15-20 books Way too many people have 100s of lb's worth of paper that they haven't read since 2009 sitting around, knowing they'll never get back to it - reselling is too much effort for most people. I used to want to keep different series for my kid when she grows up but kindle life and subscriptions have made it so easy to avoid physical, especially if you're dangerous enough to just 'read-anime name-online' the first 1-3 chapters to test out a series rather than dropping $10-25 AUD on a volume 1 for what is essentially a $2-5 pulpy comic book in Japan

Honestly if I knew now what I did when I started hell no I wouldn’t. I feel like I am in to deep now lol I do love my collection but it’s holding me back on so many things. Not only it’s expensive but I pay for an extra room just to keep it all in. If I went digital I could couch surf and move to anywhere. Also digital you don’t really have to worry about volumes going out of stock or print. I would save so much money 💰 also wish I read like I used to. I would buy manga back in the day than read it or buy an anime and read it. Now I buy to many to keep up with. Great video discussion btw

I personally think the difference between collecting and hoarding is if you’re buying for the sake of buying, you’re hoarding. Collecting is more of an intentional thing.

There are so many factors but as we are talking in collecting terms, these are where a lot of the problems arise. I think if we just kept a handful...or two handfuls 😅 of series we owned and reread every year or two that's the real love of a series and the hobby. Not just because its new and exciting and then oh yeah...next thing, etc. There are so many series, so many new series, older series being printed that you have to draw the line somewhere eventually. It's always a good discussion to keep ourselves in check. Cheers!

if you never start youll never learn. just choose wisely. read the back.

i really only collect series i like or i’ll buy/read it digitally honestly

I have a great theory about the problem of not having space and still want to collect manga. So, here we go.let say if you want to jump into manga collection journey like me or you are already into it then what we should do is that buy mangas which have made their spots in top 10 in MAL keep them for 1 year or two, next year go ahead with the other top 10 if the list has been totally changed meanwhile for the whole year you can also read some other mangas digitally. let say you want to collect berserk deluxe editions collect those keep them for one or two years read them thoroughly sell them and during that time you can read dorohedoro digitally. so, this was we can have the hobby of manga collection and also you can countinue your journey of finding other mangas or manhwa thorough digital apps. good luck and keep reading good stuffs.

So I kinda stumbled upon this video while I was searching for reviews/recommendations because I just started collecting end of February/ early March….I’m already at 100+ volumes. I just had to make risers over the weekend for the 5 shelf bookcase from Target 😂 you make a lot of great points in this video. I’ve already felt the pain of having to shift the entire library down for a title that starts with B or C 😂 Is it expensive?…eh..kinda. I have other hobbies that are way more expensive than manga. But any hobby has costs associated with it. Personally, I try to find good deals for stuff on eBay or half price books. I think the important thing is to remember not to overextend yourself. As long as you’re taking care of your responsibilities…hey, yolo 🤷🏻‍♂️ Manga has been a fun hobby to get into for myself and my 2 youngest daughters. I’m definitely having fun so far and I’ve read and am working my way through some fantastic stories.

I'm from Brazil, the phyisical mangas are very expensive, but the problem is that we don't have an app like Viz, that you could pay monthly for the mangas, if there was something like that here, I think i'd change from phyisical to digital, because space and money are really a problem right now for me.

I'll take those books you don't have room for. Thaaaanks😅

My ex stole at least $10,000 worth of manga from me 18 months ago. I recently started rebuilding, but am very selective of what I am buying now. It just feels good to have the physical stuff because you never know when the digital stuff will become unavailable.

I think it shouldn’t be a hobby. For me, I only buy series that I enjoy or arcs I enjoy. For example, for bleach I only own the soul society arc. I don’t understand how people will buy books and good fat into a series if they’ve never read it

i jus started my manga collection got all the chainsaw man books

I would never buy all series that u can buy Rather I will only buy the series that made a great impact in my life,like bakuman,hajime no ippo,blue period😁

Now no. Back then yes

If you read something and didn't like it get rid of it