I try to avoid collecting series that never got a full release because it really bothers me knowing that I'll never be able to own a complete set. I have to really love the series to keep it in my collection. Even then I end up getting rid of the dropped series in my collection most of the time, as much as I'd like to keep them.
Do you collect series that have been dropped (either by publishers choice or from going defunct)?
DiscussionThat makes sense! Didn't Tokyopop finally release all of DN Angel, or are we still missing a couple volumes? I have up to volume 13.
To my knowledge, it isn’t finished in English physicals unfortunately. I thought there were around 20ish volumes in Japan. I could be wrong though, as it’s been only a year and a half since I started collecting again, so I am still surprised when I find that I have series that weren’t completed lol
I'm sure you were disappointed to find out just how many dropped series we have, especially when Tokyopop went under the first time. ):
It must be rough coming back after all this time and learning about all that happened.
Yes, really disappointed! I made a tracker to know what I had and know what volumes I need to find and I was like, wait, where’s the rest?? But it’s all right, I figure the rest must be online somewhere so I can still finish the story. It’s just too bad that so many great series are OOP now and cost so much to buy secondhand :( I wish old series were more accessible sometimes.
I was surprised to see old Tokyopop in particular had gone under. They had so many series when I was young! I always figured they were doing so well. Guess it goes to show that my teenage self did not understand business very well haha
Manga really picked up during lockdown. I remember a lot of older series being dirt cheap to buy, and now a lot of them are becoming more expensive. I'm happy though that manga is becoming more popular these days. We're seeing a lot of the older stuff getting reprints/revived.
Also, I think Tokyopop going under was due to the recession going on at the time as well (mixed in with the poor business decisions). It's great that they're back now!
Yeah, I agree. I’m happy more people are enjoying manga now, and reprints and revivals are always welcome. I hold out a faint hope that one day, some of my incomplete sets will get revivals 🥲 But just being able to enjoy manga now with so much variety available is amazing, and I’m glad I got back into collecting. I’ve found some amazing gems since I came back to the hobby.
That definitely make sense about Tokyopop. I’m glad they’re back too, more publishers releasing more great works for us in other languages is always a cause for excitement.
they didn’t. viz picked up the digital rights but didn’t release the last few vols either
VB Rose collector here too 😭 I think we were only one or two volumes away from completion so that one really stings. I really enjoyed that series.
I still have hope, one day, it'll change back 🥲 be reprinted and finished. One can dream.
I have that dream too. I remember buying the volumes as they were coming out.
I dream with you 🥲 I love that series, I really hope one day it can be released in full.
IIRC in Spain there's a new edition of DNAngel,, idk if it's the same format, likely not, but something that I do is just complete the collection with another countries edition if they're similar enough.
Yes, because these days, there are other way to finish reading it. I prefer physical books, but if I need to, I'll do some digital reading to finish a series
That's fair
Personally I find it annoying going back and forth with prints and digital. I'd rather just read it all digitally or from prints. Especially since it can be difficult figuring out which chapter you're on when looking for it online. There are some series I have that chop up the chapters differently in the prints.
Yeah, can be annoying, but if it's a good series, also worth it. I might also do that for an oop series where the missing vols are like, $150 each or something outrageous
For me it depends how expensive it is to acquire an oop series.
I will fork up the money for an expensive volume if it's the only expensive volume. I usually wait until I can find it for a better price, but if months pass and I can't find it for a lower price I'll give in and just buy it (unless it costs hundreds of dollars obviously).
However, if a good chunk of the series is expensive, I usually just leave it alone. I'd have to get really lucky to find it for an amazing price.
I just picked up the 14 volumes of Crimson Hero that shojo beat published before dropping it. I also plan on collecting Nodame Cantabile someday.
I bought Nodame Cantabile as it came out. I was heart broken when they discontinued it.
I'm so sorry to hear that ):
I ended up reading the rest online since I couldn't get it anywhere else. I still own them all and sigh wistfully at them.
Oh wow, I didn't know that series never got fully published. Good thing I know that now because I've been thinking about picking up that series myself. I'll have to think about it more before getting any volumes.
I do. I have bought one that had the first volume published and then the company when under, I still got it.
Which series is it?
Honestly, I think I can handle only the first volume being published. It's just the absolute worst when I come across a series and all the volumes get translated except for the last one (or the last two). 😩
It's Kirepapa by Ryo Takagi. The saddest part is that there's only 4 volumes 😭 but I'm going to buy the rest in japanese.
But that is foul! Just the final volumes are not translated??!! That'll kill me lol
Omg, I also have Kirepapa! I found it for $3 at a used bookstore.
And lots of BLU titles suffer from the last volume being abandoned because of Tokyopop going under. Just yesterday I found a series published by BLU, and only 4 out of 5 volumes got published before they went under. 😩
Totally!! I went on a hungry, crazy hunt to find Love Pistols (Sex Pistols) of Blu and it was crazy how lucky I got. I found 3 of them in vinted and the other 2 pop out randomly in the US in a thriftshop like a month later, it's like the universe was looking out for me even though I don't live in the US.
It's so sad that they went under, so much variety and quality, they were ahead of their time!
That is a very lucky find! I don't know if you know this, but SuBLime picked up Sex Pistols (they call it Love Pistols)! They only offer it in digital format though. /: But at least we still have an official translation in some way! They have 11 volumes translated so far.
And I agree, I miss BLU so much! But at least Tokyopop is still releasing BL titles. They are releasing a good amount these days.
Yeah! I actually was up to date with the Manga when I was 15, that was a long time ago tho, I'll pick it up!
Oh cool! I don't know if I'm all caught up with the series. I haven't seen it updated nor have I read it in a while.
If its not finished, they do tend to update every few years, but I have the patience to wait for this things Lol
Same, I'm a fan of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. Waiting is part of the reading experience. 😂
As long as they don't abandon the series, I don't mind if it takes a while for publishers to release volumes.
If its not finished, they do tend to update every few years, but I have the patience to wait for this things Lol
Yes but mostly when I first got them they where not that hard to find like who could pass up zatch bell 1-7 for 2 dollars a piece or 3-10 of future diaries when borders? Is going out of business
Understandable! That's usually how I acquire my dropped series, too. I get them for super cheap.
Damn that's a hell of a deal on zatch bell. I bought the whole English set and hated that they didn't finish the last 8ish volumes in English. But I love the series and the spines look great so I just felt like I had to get it.
10ish years ago used manga was very cheap hpb would just mark all volumes for 2 dollars back then manga was just considered graphic novels or Japanese comics and nerdy
I do, but mostly by accidentally picking up a few volumes second-hand only to realize after the fact 😅 Although it bothers me, I keep them primarily because I like them, but also because I can’t help being a bit of an optimist. After seeing dropped series like Initial D and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service get rebooted with omnibuses, I hold onto a little bit of hope lol. I am an avid ongoing series collector though, so if any publishers went under I would be totally screwed!!
That's how it goes for me too! That actually happened to me yesterday. I picked up a series secondhand, only to find out later on it never got finished (only the last volume at that 😭).
Ahh I feel your pain 😭😭
I have lots: Song of the Hanging Sky, Ghost Hunt, DVD, Masca AND Evione by the same manhwaga where both publishers just went 'nah' after one volume, The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko (my favorite)... Lots more. It sucks that with some, I'll probably never know the ending, short of learning another language or two.
I try to find the rest online, but with a physical copy, I'll never completely lose access.
If I see the series was cancelled I usually don’t collect it myself but what I really hate is when a long running series that is still ongoing in Japan is cancelled over here and I’m sitting there with 13 volumes of Nurse Hitomi Monster Infirmary and can’t go any farther because these dipshits at Seven Seas don’t want to continue putting them out.
I used to, but I've sold a lot of the incomplete series I used to have. There's some I still keep for nostalgia's sake or if they're not too long, but I steer clear these days usually
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan was cancelled sadly.
This is what happened with InuBaka. I collected each volume as it came out and then suddenly the next volume’s preorder got delayed and then canceled. I even emailed VIZ about it but got an unclear response on if the series was canceled or not. Never got an answer, but it’s been years so I doubt the final couple volumes will ever get an English release.
It’s frustrating because this was the only manga I’ve read that made me cry. I still have the volumes I bought, except one that’s gone missing. Not sure if I lent it to someone or not it’s been so long lol.
That really sucks. I can only imagine how frustrating that is. ):
I think the only dropped series I've experienced so far (as in collecting them as they come out) were series that actually got cancelled. At least then I can justify my set being "complete." 🥲
VIZ stopped releasing InuBaka with volume 18 (the canceled volume) and It’s a 22 volume series. So I was very invested in the story.
The art is so beautiful and the dogs are so cute. I’m hoping another company either picks it up or someone does a scanlation of the last few volumes.
Yep, many of my favorites are dropped or incomplete.
I tend to try and not collect series that were never finished or never fully published in english/french because not having the end of story sucks and I feel like there's no point in collecting it,there's no payoff at all. It's the same thing with cancelled series that don't have a proper ending,or even a rushed ending.
My exception being series that had a sequel or spin-off that came out years after the original manga ended since the original series was actually finished and had a proper ending(DBZ if Super never finishes,for exemple.)
In the rare case where I do want read something never finished/published I tend to go digital.
Yes. I actually own the complete of Kurohime in Japanese and in English. I own the all the English volumes of Strawberry 100% and I'll probably buy all the Japanese volumes too.
No, it’s just too heartbreaking to know I will never be able to complete the series. If I do want to read a dropped series, I try to find it digitally.
I have a couple.
Ghost talkers daydream & Shadow Star, published and dropped part way through their serialization in English by Dark Horse.
Bastard too, by Viz after 19 volumes.
In general I buy as it comes out (albeit a little slower as I wait for sales to stock up instead of buying immediately) and I do hate when a series doesn't get finished. I sold off Gintama way back when I found viz never finished it. I'm holding out hope that Zatch Bell will get a rerelease, especially now that the sequel is out and Japan got nice new omnibus editions of the original.
Tokyopop really killed it for me for a bunch of series that will never get finished. However, one thing I do appreciate is when the series finished in Japan and there's english scans for it. At the very least then I can self print the rest so it won't be an incomplete series on my shelf. I did that for School Rumble and Future Diary. But sadly, this isn't always feasible as some series just stopped getting scans when they were picked up by publishers and some just don't have any scans whatsoever (wish I could self print Now by Park Sun-Woo p____q).
I also hate when a series gets prematurely cancelled and still releases the volumes. I still buy them because I enjoyed the series and I want the mangaka to still get paid for their work but man does it hurt knowing Jump likes cancelling series left and right nowadays. Ayashimon, Hunter's Red Guild, PPPPP, Hell Warden Higuma and a bunch of others. I've learned to be wary of Jump's newest series and try not to get too invested. I don't get why they can't just move these series to a different magazine if they're not doing great in Jump itself.
Anyway! Yes and No is the answer to your question for me. I both hate it and buy them to show my support. :/ sometimes that's how it be.
I will forever be upset that Kodansha never printed those last few volumes of School Rumble (only released it digitally). It shocks me that they went ahead and completed printing The Wallflower (a series that's not nearly as popular as School Rumble). I'm lucky though as a Wallflower fan, but boy does it hurt to see School Rumble getting kicked like that with Kodansha.
It hurts a lot to see Kodansha be so stingy with their manga. The amount of times I got excited for a new release from them only to see it digital is enough that if I got a nickel each time I'd have enough to buy a volume in stores. I'm still holding out hope that Altair will get a physical release, but it's over 20 volumes digital so far so I'm really doubting that'll happen.
Yes, it's super annoying how much stuff they only release digitally. I really want them to print Mermaid Melody Aqua.
I wish manga companies could do like a print on demand thing for vaulted series or digital only so if you wanted it in print you could still get it and support the mangaka.
Agreed! I think Rightstuf did something like that with Tokyopop. They still had copies of Junjou Romantica under their BLU imprint available to purchase, unless there was a ton of old stock in the warehouse. I don't think it was though because some volumes would go out of stock and then come back at a higher price.
Rightstuf definitely had some sort of print on demand going on because they did that with Future Diary which had been sold out for years. Sadly it was still only the 10 volumes tokyopop released but that was still something.
Another unfortunate reason for Crunchyroll to do that merge. ):
There’s one I want to complete: Bride of the Water God. It’s a manwha, and it was being released by Dark Horse around 10-12 years ago before being dropped.
I have volume 1, and want to collect the entire series. However, they only got a release up until volume 14 or something, the rest hasn’t been released from what I’ve seen, and on top of all that, it is very hard to find in actual bookstores. Dark Horse still has it listed, but none of their linked sources have it.
I only managed to collect until vol 5 of that series.
I do collect them!!! I have School-zone that was discontinued. Now Yuri Is My Job is on indefinite hiatus, hope it comes back... Also plenty of the CMX titles like GALS only has 10 vols in English.
Wait, GALS got completed by CMX. The series is only 10 volumes, unless you're talking about the sequel that came out a few years ago?
I didn't know Yuri Is My Job went on hiatus (I started it but never got into it). I hope it comes back for the fans!
Oh okay I thought there were more for some reason! Glad to know it's finished.
For me it's Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. It's one of my favorite music series ever and it was dropped by Tokyopop back when they went under. I'm so tempted to buy some bootlegs just to have it on my shelf lol.
Kodansha has the license for it now, but they only have it for digital purchase. ):
Yes and it hurts
I try to avoid it if possible because I am somewhat of a completionist.
There is one series I have that is on hiatus... Snow White with the Red Hair. Volume 26 just came out but there hasn't been any updates in chapters for almost a year. Even if it never continues, I will still keep it. I've loved it. I do prefer to get a whole series but I can still appreciate having some volumes of a series and not completing it. I do have a few series that are missing volumes but eventually I will catch up....with the exception of Natsume's Book of Friends (several have not been available anywhere) and In/Spectre volume 5 hasn't got re-printed. It is what it is. I will take into account where I put it on my shelves and if I use other merch to place in front to kinda hide it.
Okay hilarious timing because LaLa just announced that there will be a new Snow White with the Red Hair chapter next month!!
WOW!!!!! and here I accepted the death of the series lol, that's awesome. Felt like it was getting better and better to end. I REALLY want to see more of Hisame and Kiki together
That's great news because I just started collecting the series (I found a few volumes marked down at a Barnes and Noble)!
Of course! Some of those dropped/defunct manga are my favourites. It's a shame that most of the titles are shoujo like Cantarella, From Eroica with Love, Swan, and The Bride of Deimos.
I say we take what we can get
Only 1, but I don’t plan on buying the rest.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. I have Vol 1, and it was released up to Vol 14 by Del Rey. Kodansha has the rights to it now, but only up to Vol 14 and digitally. The series is 30 volumes long in Japan.
Petshop of horrors Tokyo, x/1999 is in hiatus forever, zombie powder dropped by author,
Golden Japanesque and Mermaid Boys are both by yen press and incomplete due to the authors going on hiatus for both series :(
It's really unfortunate for Mermaid Boys. I loved that series. ):
It was getting so good. The plot was good, the characters were likable and the world building was compelling. They had just introduced a new character too so it looked like it could go on for a good while and then bam! No warning, no more chapters. :(
Both because of the mangakas and not because they were dropped in English, but Nana (of course) and much more recently, School Zone Girls. Still really sad about that one never getting an ending.
Its only 4 volumes but Emanon:( god I just wish some publisher will take that amazing story so it will be complete. I was heartbroken when I discovered it was cancelled.
Depends on the series. If I’m going after a series from a defunct publisher then I look for a series that is complete or mostly complete. If it was a series that was ongoing and then dropped by the publisher well I’ll hold on to it just in case it ends up being picked up again. For me that would be a series like Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei.
Only I have that stopped being published is reborn!
That one is still l weird to me. I remember Reborn being fairly popular at the time. It wasn't big 3 levels but it had a fairly big following so I'm surprised it was never finished. But we're talking anime/manga in it's pre-mainstream and pre-streaming services era so my gauge might be off.
My guess is that Viz heard about the reception about the second part of the manga and their profit(They were 3 years or so behind at the time) and dropped it before getting to the Future arc that a lot of people found too long and uninteresting. The manga last few arcs and the ending was also not great,felt like a complete wast of my time.
I was collecting Reborn as they came out in English, and I definitely feel like it was a mix of how long it was getting and public perception. I was a part of a lot of fan communities that were boycotting the releases in English at the time because of the poor translations and editing. I imagine that's why the sales took a further hit. This is all speculation though so don't take my word!
It's pretty much the same theories most people had,I mean it even had a rushed ending that felt like a cancelation 2 years later in Japan.
The landscape was different at the time,took a couple of years after that for anime to boom because of streaming,so if the sales weren't great and the perception was bad they canned it.
Nowadays publishers pick up whatever and everything they can,just look at some stuff Seven Seas releases 🤣
Only one series because I love it so much!
I mainly own out of print series so, yeah. A lot of them are in unfortunately like that, mainly because I don’t do my research before buying, lo
If I can I try to finish with
I've thought about buying the volumes in Japanese (or another language), and then writing it over in English, but it sounds way too time consuming and tedious. 😅 Maybe one day I'll finally get the motivation to do it and see how it goes.
It depends on how much I enjoy it/care about it. I generally view that as a “complete” series when that happens even though it sucks that there were meta reasons why it never continued; so, if the part that exists is something I enjoy as is then I’ll still collect it.
I recently started collecting Satsuma Gishiden cause Hirata is goated. Sucks it isn’t finished but I want his art more than anything.
I avoid it because I prefer to reserve room to series completed or with chance for. By the way I have rare exceptions as "Phoenix" and "Ultra Heaven" (not only on hiatus from years but even dropped in my country).
Yes, because to me that is the full set. At least in my language. Like, Gintama may have been dropped, but I'm still collecting all 23 volumes out in English.
No. I don't collect nor read them unless the final chapter feels like a decent ending. Same for TV series.
I don’t because of my OCD lol it would destroy me to not be able to finish a collection
I think 80% of the series I own from Dark Horse were dropped
I got the first volume of Act-Age if that counts
I think theyre worth collecting because in a way theyre a part of history!
I'm more hesitant to. I actually haven't tried Nana because I know it's not finished but at the same time, I've heard so many good things so I might make an exception and look for it.
You could watch the anime instead if you haven't already, but the ending to the anime is a little dissatisfying (it's still such a really good series and the soundtrack alone is so good).
Thanks for the tip! I'll add that to my watch list!
Nah. Once I see it’s been dropped I just go ahead and sell the set and read the rest online. If I ever want to go back and read again I’ll just do it digitally. Don’t want to take up space with incomplete series
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I do collect them, in part because when I started my collection many, many years ago, I didn’t know they wouldn’t be finished in English. I enjoyed the series so I bought them as they came out and expected the next one would always follow.
Some of my incomplete series are D.N.Angel, V.B. Rose, and KAMUI, all of which (to my knowledge) were left incomplete by the publishers going under at the time. I think I have some others like that as well, but I love my collection so I won’t get rid of them just because they’re not finished in English.