Day 20 - Manga Mail #4

The weekly mail manga has come in and in my usual day late fashion, I have finally gotten around to writing my ramble about what I got this week and I am so pleased of them since that means three series are finished, a manga I’d always like, started a new one and continued a few ones.

So, I am finally going to share and talk about how I feel about the following series.

Sankarea was a series I started ages ago and someone was selling the whole series for a really good price and sadly, I have so many mangas to read before it since Naruto is a fair distance to go, well 48 out of 60 volumes read. I am contemplating using Sankarea one as a giveaway item once I reach 333 followers and last check, I finally cracked 300 followers.

Acute is a stand-alone manga based on the Vocaloid song of the same name. It’s one I been wanting to get for ages since I enjoyed the song and I was happy to finally read a Vocaloid based manga instead of listening to the music and I’m really glad that it came in and so cheaply.

Since I read volume 1 of Ao Haru Ride and seemed to enjoy it a lot, I ended up ordering 2 and 3. Volume 2 has come in and recently got the email informing that volume 3 will soon be in the warehouse and be dispatched to me as soon as it is in but then again, it is one of four pre-orders that I have finally getting into my collection.

I bought volume 1 of Beast Master via a seller on Facebook and so, of course, I had to nab volume 2 to finish the set since I really like finishing series, it gives me a joy of knowing that when I get to reading them, I can finish them in one sitting.

In a previous post, I mentioned Angelic Days and finally, volume 4 came in and finally completed the set and I was really happy for the condition and I can’t wait to reread that series again, since it’s been years since I last held them.

I been delaying buying Food Wars for some reason. I manage to nab 5 and 6 for about 5AUD and I am hoping to eventually buy them all and keep up to date on it since it’s a rather long series, I am unsure why I keep delaying it even though it’s a really great series and there are nearly 30 volumes out to date.

Manage to score Prison School for a rather cheap price just to see if it is worth buying. I am amused by the series, even though at times it is intense, and I am so amused and looking forward to reading more of it.

Out of the pile, I only read Prison School, since I took a small break from reading Naruto and eventually plan to read the rest since I am getting so much closer to being up to date with the volumes I currently have on hand. Then again, Naruto is starting to really get good and I dread the time when I finish the series. Either way, let’s welcome the new babies into my collection. They are all so cute and it makes me very happy to get a hold of all these.

Day 11 - Personal Rambles

As someone that has been collecting mangas more extensively of late, I recall some things people have asked me and I thought I may just ramble about it today. 

I get asked a few questions, mostly by family, such as “How can you afford all this?”, “Where can you put them?”, “Why are you buying so many?” and the short answer is “cause I can” but where is the fun in that, so here is my long answers. I will start with the why? 

Why am I buying so many?
I started too many series and I wish to either keep them up to date or finish the series. I am a collector, I want to have a large set that I can read and enjoy. Manga is a sanctuary for me, they give me joy as well as an escape from a reality I am not happy with. I have a negative view on myself a lot of the time and reading, escaping to someone else’s reality helps me put mine in perspective. The other reason is, sometimes I enjoy finding deals for mangas, especially rare and out of print ones. I am starting to develop a knack for finding series for cheaper and basically buying whole sets for a fraction of the price. I sadly bring my partner into buying them and I feel bad but at the same time, I have someone to show off to someone at digging up a great find. A recent buy I have is the five volumes from Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, which has become a pain to find, I got it for 30aud with shipping and the fourth volume that wasn’t included, got it from AbeBooks for 11aud. Which makes the six volumes under 50aud which, is a steal for a complete series, is hard to find normally. I will talk about this series more extensively once I have all six volumes.

Old Shelf but a good idea

Where can I put them all?
I have a tiny arse room and, in that room, I managed to fit in a double bed, glass cabinet of figurines, several shelves, plushies, a gaming system complete with giant arse TV and at last count, 669 volumes of mangas and this doesn’t count the 60 volumes of Naruto I borrowed off my partner. I always organise them into better shelving ways, just so I can fit them in there. I value my mangas a lot and I always want them under constant watch. I want to make sure nothing happens to them and if anyone touches them, I know who does and when. This does sound intense, but I have this same attitude when it comes to all my gaming equipment and games, my novels, plushies and figurines. I am very protective of my stuff. It’s in my nature to want to protect them from damage since I am known for an aggressive and destructive moods which I do best to keep under wraps. That’s also another reason I buy mangas, when I am in a mood, they sometimes help to quell it.

Recent batch, 7 has been ordered

How can I afford this?
This one I got a lot until my sister started complaining about her lack of money and I reminded her that even though I buy manga, I budget to make sure I still have funds until the next pay. She has stopped asking but I know it bugs her. So, how I can afford this hobby, I search, and I try and buy mostly in bundles of complete sets for most series. For the newer stuff, I keep an eye on certain websites and pick them up when they are at it’s lowest, mainly on Book Depository and AbeBooks, or I exploit sales, especially with Kinokuniya when it has the 20% for members. I also lurk on sites such as eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Markets. Mainly with eBay, I have buyers I frequent because I know what I am getting off them and they are reasonably priced and very transparent with me. I appreciate that from a seller and in turn, I sometimes find out what’s for sale before they are on eBay, same price but I can plan to see them without going to the site. I do plan to write more about the people I frequently buy off since they are worth buying from. 

The other way I can afford mangas is because of my partner, he enjoys manga himself and occasionally indulges me in buying them with the intent of reading them for himself. I really appreciate it so much since I am happy to be sharing a large hobby with someone I love very much. Though, recently, he started to buy a few series for himself or even finish off the sets he has started. I really enjoy that since I want to enjoy reading them with him as well. I sometimes think he has better tastes than me. But that’s just me though.

Recent Manga Mail

Also, I do admit my cat loves them too, means more shelves and boxes for her to claim as her own and she spends a lot of time sniffing the new mangas.

I been asked, if I would ever sell any and the answer is no. Even if I hate the series, I won’t sell them because it’s part of my collection and I’d only really sell doubles to those who need help finishing their sets. I think I am just that sort of collector that is very attached to their series and couldn’t part with them, I am even like that with my games because I want to see the changes that occurred in my collections.

If there is more, I wish to discuss on a personal level, I will do so at a later time since manga is a huge part of my life and it helps allow me to indulge in my desire to organise, catalogue and watch the progress of things and it makes me happy on some deep level. Hope this was a somewhat interesting read for some of you, I also hope this gives you more of an idea about me as a person and a collector.