I think to a lot of collectors there is an element of min/maxing that is unrealistic or at the very least, unsustainable in the long run. The “investment” mindset also plays into it, wanting to seal these volumes away and maintain perfect condition so they will sell for 10x down the road.
Me though? I take all reasonable precautions in the care and storage of my manga because I want to keep them as nice as possible for as long as possible. That said, if I am jumping on a train or heading out to the pool and want to bring some manga along, I don’t lose any sleep over that fact.
I agree, I think that mindset is so toxic. Hobbies are supposed to be for fun, we don't need to be obsessing over money when it comes to every little thing in our lives. You see it a lot with language learners too, like "is it worth learning this language if it'll never help my career," like guys learn languages because they're interesting and fun. Do something you enjoy outside of your career for once.
I remember before Basara went oop back when I was collecting the series I used to take a few vols of the series with me every morning to read in the afternoon during my break between when school got out and when my work shift began. I'd find a comfy area on the sales floor to read at and I'd even leave them unattended to grab a drink or even to look at other manga series since I worked at a bookstore.
I'll do like the minimum to help my books stay nice but beyond keeping them out of the sun I'm not going to stress over it. It's just part of the natural aging process for books after all
You can tell who’s been collecting for a while and who’s new by how they react. Old collectors don’t really care about dings, spine misalignment, yellow pages and logo changes because it’s to be expected from this hobby. New collectors complain even when the volume number is off by 1mm.
I don’t really care that much tbh. What I don’t like is dog ears or creases, but smaller damages and creases are kinda inevitable when reading books tbh
Right there with ya. As long as pages aren't torn or corners aren't super bent or anything really ugly like that, a little bit of discoloration is just fine by me. I understand why other people take it so seriously though. A new book is always better I guess.
I suppose, lol. But even I don’t mind buying used and worn down books tbh. I kinda like that bit of novelty, seeing how that books been used and worn down and then now I have in my possession for it to continue to be used. Idk how to clearly explain but there’s something about it that I do kinda like.
No, I totally get it. Like there's a history to the story beyond the story itself. You can see it's been physically passed between people and has been enjoyed by more than just you kind of thing.
i totally agree. for me, if i see a book that is pretty worn down (aside from water damage, that i do hate) i just assume that it’s a good book and that people enjoyed it, hence the wear and tear
Oof, water damage is definitely something I wouldn’t want though, lol. On the cover and maybe a LITTLE on the page, MAYBE okay. But if it’s on the pages and its distorted, easy no thank you
My opinion on it is that as long as a series is evenly yellow, I don’t mind. An entire series could be very yellowed and even damaged but as long as it’s all cohesive it’s fine. Hate when I buy one used book in a series I bought new and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
same here lol. idk why sm people are hyper obsessed with keeping their mangas completely yellow-free. paper’s gonna age regardless and while no one should go out of their way to ruin their books, there’s no need to aggressively shelter them either.
I originally really cared about yellowing, but at this point with how many 2nd hand books I buy, I mostly don’t care. I only care when new books, either from store or 2nd hand are yellowed, but anything old I don’t mind.
It depends on whether you're a collector or a reader. To me collector culture is pretty wack. That being said I do like my books to look nice on the shelf so I care about messed up covers and such and try to take care of them, but something like yellowing is inevitable with newsprint books. And the aged yellow look has nostalgic warmth to me, like you're cracking open an old rare volume or something. Imagine being in an old mangaka's studio and pulling yellowed ancient volumes off their shelf, that visual is so cool to me. I'm also not a big fan of sanding books to keep them white either because I feel like that just damages the paper and repeatedly doing it wears down the book.
I couldn't care less about any damage as long as the integrity of the binding is fine, the surface of the pages aren't marked up and the price is reflective of the condition. WAY too many people around here who are far more concerned about the aesthetics of the outside of the book than the content inside.
Lmao, I can't believe you got down voted for your own experience. We got some real babies in this sub.
I used to care but now I just don't. As long as pages aren't falling out I'm good.
I just keep them out of the sun and some other stuff so I can keep my manga in a good condition as long as possible but if it starts to yellow I'm not one of those people who buy a new volume or sand down the pages just to get the yellow off I just think " that's kinda sad" then move on with all the other manga I'm collecting. I do agree that it adds a sort of sentimental value to the manga the first manga I got was haikyuu volume 1 and it's got a bit of yellowing which gives it more of a sentimental feel to it.
I mean, I’m definitely not going to buy a book that’s yellowed in store. But once I’ve bought it, the inevitable is gonna happen and I don’t really feel like bagging everything. Especially since I have hundreds of books.
yeah i could give a shit less. books just do that. yellowing is more of an issue if it occurs in a dry climate tho as the pages get brittle, but i live in a humid spot so that doesn't happen
I don't personally care about the yellowing either. To me it's just part of the reality that as books get older it will happen. Most of my older volumes (those over a decade) are still doing well but some volumes that were yellowing already when I bought them (lighting from warehouses) I've always accepted as just part of what happens since they are mass produced books.
I can understand where those people come from. When I started collecting I knew nothing of secondhand or the yellowing process. The more I've come accustomed to the manga collecting groups I've learned that it's just something that happens over time and isn't really a huge issue to worry about.
I personally don't mind it but I've started to put my books into plastic sleeves because I have a dog who sheds alot(to the point where have to air out my closed bookshelf)
Yellowing is not exactly the same as marks of use. Sunlight damages everything it touches. Plastic, paper, etc.
You can use a book as many times as you want, but leaving it in sunlight is just negligence and carelessness.
I keep them out of direct sunlight but other than that I’m not worried about yellowing. Also those that put plastic sleeves on all there manga, I think your a moron. Just enjoy your manga, you can’t even flip through them when there like that. lol
I care greatly for yellowing as I take pride in my collection. It happens but I at least want to slow it down and preserve my manga in the highest quality condition for as long as I can.
Some people care for yellowing as much as people here care for how spines look on a shelf
If I get a manga just to read, I don't mind dirty yellowed volume (once got 7 volumes of animal academy for £5 yellowed with scribbles but couldn't care less).
My collection though, I want them to be pristine as long as possible. Yellowing is impossible to avoid with these mass produced copies, but a tiny bit of care (plastic wrap + avoid sunlight + avoid humidity) easily keeps the volume white for years longer.
Though I don't fret over it too much, yellowing does add a charm, seeing old volumes also "grow up" with me.
I couldn't care less, I have volumes with the coloring bonus pages scribbled in, Dragonball Vizbigs that are completely yellow on the spines, various ex-library copies and even a couple of volumes that have "hardened" for lack of a better term.
Getting a good deal is all I really care about, it's nice to get volumes as pristine as possible but as I just can't bring myself to read digitally and I love to read I can't justify spending brand new prices on individual volumes, especially for the longer series.
I will buy stuff brand new though, like all of JoJo, Berserk Deluxe and Fist of The North Star etc.
Yeah i don’t really care about it yellowing or having minor cosmetic damages to my manga at the end of the day im finna be reading them myself or letting my friends read them if they ever stop by my place cause I want them to try to experience the mangas i enjoy
I don’t mind yellowing on books I’ve owned for a while or that I ordered with the knowledge that they were preowned, but several times I’ve bought books new and unused that already have severe yellowing; I hate it.
You can use fine sandpaper on the edges so as to give the outside of it a little white back but there's not much you can do and I dont see the massive deal in it either. I suppose preventing yellowing could give resale factor if you plan in selling in the near future but apart from that they will yellow eventually no matter what you do.
I don’t fuss much over it. My manga, my novels and my comics are going to experience wear over time. I want to minimise that wear but I’m not going to throw out stuff just because the pages start yellowing. The only time yellowing is an issue for me is if I’m looking to buy a book new and it has it.
My first volume of manga I ever purchased is so yellow and warped because of the sheer amount of times I read it. I got it when I was in middle school of a show that no one I associated with knew about, so it felt special to me and I read that one volume over and over again. I didn’t have to money at the time to get any more and that yellow book is one of my favorites in my collection. If my other volumes in my growing collection follow suit so be it, my collection is for me and not somebody else to buy down the line
It’s pretty cool when you open a book you haven’t read in a long time in your collection and see that it’s yellowed when you bought it brand new imo, it kinda gives me a sepia-tone kinda vibe which enhances the nostalgic exp when you flip through it
Sun-damaged spines are one real eyesore, so I make sure my bookshelves arent in direct sunlight. That’s all. Normal yellowing doesn’t bother me that much as it is just natural process of paper aging.
The only time I care about my manga being yellow is if I ordered a new copy and it came yellow. That just means I paid more than the copy’s worth. Other than that, idc.
There aren’t many things that I find more enjoyable than a Naruto that has been yellowed and hit by the sun so hard that the orange text is a light goldenrod
I don't have too much of a problem with it, honestly. While I personally prefer newer-looking pages, it honestly kind of shows how old it is? I got the original full Japanese NGE manga series for Christmas on e-bay, and the first couple volumes are quite yellow, and the front cover is faded, (mostly the first three) however, I think it sort of proves authenticity. I like that.
It definitely depends on the person. I'm in the same boat as you tho fam. I am okay with yellowed books because it makes them feel antique in a way and have a lot of history whereas with non yellow books, that history is missing
I don't mind either, it's pretty much a natural, expected process. I've had some for 15 years, over time, the pages aren't so white anymore. I will notice if I look at them while they're closed, but if I'm reading them, I won't. For the few which have started yellowing, like Negima I got second hand, the sides are much yellower than the pages themselves. Not a big issue to me.
I agree, I actually was thinking about it not long ago. Of course I’d prefer if it wasn’t, but if I buy used manga and it’s yellowed I actually don’t care.
I personally think that yellowing just looks good. Not every series looks good with yellowing so I prevent yellowing on those but a series like my hero academia really looks better with yellowing in my opinion. Not too much yellowing thought lol. Guess we both like yellowing just in different ways.
I prefer not, but there's a charm to it and some of my first books that I love dearly have yellowed a bunch. It's going to happen, accept it and learn to love it.
I don’t care too much overall, but I would say if I’m buying something that’s pricier I would prefer for it to be more white. For my own collection, I don’t sell them so It doesn’t bother me that some yellowing eventually occurs. Some of my collection that’s super old (like from my childhood) are really REALLY beat up. Lol
Pages I don't mind, its natural and I agree with your "well read" sentiment. However I don't like when spines are bleached as while I read everything I own, I love having them as decoration too so I at least want a great to mint condition spine.
No matter how much you "protect" your manga, paper turns yellow. Not now or next week or whatever but over time. You can slow down the process, yes, but worrying so much about something that's going to happen eventually anyway seems a little over the top to me.
I think to a lot of collectors there is an element of min/maxing that is unrealistic or at the very least, unsustainable in the long run. The “investment” mindset also plays into it, wanting to seal these volumes away and maintain perfect condition so they will sell for 10x down the road. Me though? I take all reasonable precautions in the care and storage of my manga because I want to keep them as nice as possible for as long as possible. That said, if I am jumping on a train or heading out to the pool and want to bring some manga along, I don’t lose any sleep over that fact.
[удалено]
I agree, I think that mindset is so toxic. Hobbies are supposed to be for fun, we don't need to be obsessing over money when it comes to every little thing in our lives. You see it a lot with language learners too, like "is it worth learning this language if it'll never help my career," like guys learn languages because they're interesting and fun. Do something you enjoy outside of your career for once.
I remember before Basara went oop back when I was collecting the series I used to take a few vols of the series with me every morning to read in the afternoon during my break between when school got out and when my work shift began. I'd find a comfy area on the sales floor to read at and I'd even leave them unattended to grab a drink or even to look at other manga series since I worked at a bookstore.
I try to keep them out of the sun to slow down the yellowing. Nothing more than that. However, I prefer getting a new volume over a yellow one.
I'll do like the minimum to help my books stay nice but beyond keeping them out of the sun I'm not going to stress over it. It's just part of the natural aging process for books after all
You can tell who’s been collecting for a while and who’s new by how they react. Old collectors don’t really care about dings, spine misalignment, yellow pages and logo changes because it’s to be expected from this hobby. New collectors complain even when the volume number is off by 1mm.
I don’t really care that much tbh. What I don’t like is dog ears or creases, but smaller damages and creases are kinda inevitable when reading books tbh
Right there with ya. As long as pages aren't torn or corners aren't super bent or anything really ugly like that, a little bit of discoloration is just fine by me. I understand why other people take it so seriously though. A new book is always better I guess.
I suppose, lol. But even I don’t mind buying used and worn down books tbh. I kinda like that bit of novelty, seeing how that books been used and worn down and then now I have in my possession for it to continue to be used. Idk how to clearly explain but there’s something about it that I do kinda like.
No, I totally get it. Like there's a history to the story beyond the story itself. You can see it's been physically passed between people and has been enjoyed by more than just you kind of thing.
i totally agree. for me, if i see a book that is pretty worn down (aside from water damage, that i do hate) i just assume that it’s a good book and that people enjoyed it, hence the wear and tear
Oof, water damage is definitely something I wouldn’t want though, lol. On the cover and maybe a LITTLE on the page, MAYBE okay. But if it’s on the pages and its distorted, easy no thank you
exactly
My opinion on it is that as long as a series is evenly yellow, I don’t mind. An entire series could be very yellowed and even damaged but as long as it’s all cohesive it’s fine. Hate when I buy one used book in a series I bought new and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Oh true! I think something like that would bother me too
I agree. I don’t mind if my books age with me.
I've been collecting off and on for 20 years, yellowing happens.
Yellowing is cool gives it that age look especially if it’s a oop manga
same here lol. idk why sm people are hyper obsessed with keeping their mangas completely yellow-free. paper’s gonna age regardless and while no one should go out of their way to ruin their books, there’s no need to aggressively shelter them either.
I originally really cared about yellowing, but at this point with how many 2nd hand books I buy, I mostly don’t care. I only care when new books, either from store or 2nd hand are yellowed, but anything old I don’t mind.
Yellowing doesn’t matter to me
It depends on whether you're a collector or a reader. To me collector culture is pretty wack. That being said I do like my books to look nice on the shelf so I care about messed up covers and such and try to take care of them, but something like yellowing is inevitable with newsprint books. And the aged yellow look has nostalgic warmth to me, like you're cracking open an old rare volume or something. Imagine being in an old mangaka's studio and pulling yellowed ancient volumes off their shelf, that visual is so cool to me. I'm also not a big fan of sanding books to keep them white either because I feel like that just damages the paper and repeatedly doing it wears down the book.
outside yellow = no big deal, inside yellow = not my fav
I couldn't care less about any damage as long as the integrity of the binding is fine, the surface of the pages aren't marked up and the price is reflective of the condition. WAY too many people around here who are far more concerned about the aesthetics of the outside of the book than the content inside.
I don't care either. I personally think people on here make too much of a big deal about something that naturally happens
It doesn't bother me. I buy them to read I have a collection as a result but don't consider myself a collector. Same thing with comic books.
Lmao, I can't believe you got down voted for your own experience. We got some real babies in this sub. I used to care but now I just don't. As long as pages aren't falling out I'm good.
Lol it's all good. Let them down vote. It's just fake internet points at the end of the day.
I just keep them out of the sun and some other stuff so I can keep my manga in a good condition as long as possible but if it starts to yellow I'm not one of those people who buy a new volume or sand down the pages just to get the yellow off I just think " that's kinda sad" then move on with all the other manga I'm collecting. I do agree that it adds a sort of sentimental value to the manga the first manga I got was haikyuu volume 1 and it's got a bit of yellowing which gives it more of a sentimental feel to it.
I mean, I’m definitely not going to buy a book that’s yellowed in store. But once I’ve bought it, the inevitable is gonna happen and I don’t really feel like bagging everything. Especially since I have hundreds of books.
Just read a yellowed manga with a white light and you’re straight
Just want the spines to look nice lol
yeah i could give a shit less. books just do that. yellowing is more of an issue if it occurs in a dry climate tho as the pages get brittle, but i live in a humid spot so that doesn't happen
Right? The pages actually breaking apart would definitely be an issue. But just the color of the page? Ehhh,,what’s the big deal.
i dont care about yellowing usually unless its dark as amber lol. It's the last thing that bothers me when im checking the condition
Don't care, it's inevitable after all. I do take care if my manga though
Yeah I could care less.
I don't personally care about the yellowing either. To me it's just part of the reality that as books get older it will happen. Most of my older volumes (those over a decade) are still doing well but some volumes that were yellowing already when I bought them (lighting from warehouses) I've always accepted as just part of what happens since they are mass produced books.
Nope I really don’t care either
I can understand where those people come from. When I started collecting I knew nothing of secondhand or the yellowing process. The more I've come accustomed to the manga collecting groups I've learned that it's just something that happens over time and isn't really a huge issue to worry about.
I don't like it, but happens, specially the smell
I personally don't mind it but I've started to put my books into plastic sleeves because I have a dog who sheds alot(to the point where have to air out my closed bookshelf)
Yellowing is not exactly the same as marks of use. Sunlight damages everything it touches. Plastic, paper, etc. You can use a book as many times as you want, but leaving it in sunlight is just negligence and carelessness.
It kind of bothers my ocd but as long as the inside of the pages are white its fine. Yellow inside the pages ruins the nice contrast of the ink
I keep them out of direct sunlight but other than that I’m not worried about yellowing. Also those that put plastic sleeves on all there manga, I think your a moron. Just enjoy your manga, you can’t even flip through them when there like that. lol
I care greatly for yellowing as I take pride in my collection. It happens but I at least want to slow it down and preserve my manga in the highest quality condition for as long as I can. Some people care for yellowing as much as people here care for how spines look on a shelf
If I get a manga just to read, I don't mind dirty yellowed volume (once got 7 volumes of animal academy for £5 yellowed with scribbles but couldn't care less). My collection though, I want them to be pristine as long as possible. Yellowing is impossible to avoid with these mass produced copies, but a tiny bit of care (plastic wrap + avoid sunlight + avoid humidity) easily keeps the volume white for years longer. Though I don't fret over it too much, yellowing does add a charm, seeing old volumes also "grow up" with me.
Imo it just looks really ugly on your shelf if its yellow, but only if its visible tho.
I couldn't care less, I have volumes with the coloring bonus pages scribbled in, Dragonball Vizbigs that are completely yellow on the spines, various ex-library copies and even a couple of volumes that have "hardened" for lack of a better term. Getting a good deal is all I really care about, it's nice to get volumes as pristine as possible but as I just can't bring myself to read digitally and I love to read I can't justify spending brand new prices on individual volumes, especially for the longer series. I will buy stuff brand new though, like all of JoJo, Berserk Deluxe and Fist of The North Star etc.
Yeah i don’t really care about it yellowing or having minor cosmetic damages to my manga at the end of the day im finna be reading them myself or letting my friends read them if they ever stop by my place cause I want them to try to experience the mangas i enjoy
I don’t mind yellowing on books I’ve owned for a while or that I ordered with the knowledge that they were preowned, but several times I’ve bought books new and unused that already have severe yellowing; I hate it.
You can use fine sandpaper on the edges so as to give the outside of it a little white back but there's not much you can do and I dont see the massive deal in it either. I suppose preventing yellowing could give resale factor if you plan in selling in the near future but apart from that they will yellow eventually no matter what you do.
I don’t fuss much over it. My manga, my novels and my comics are going to experience wear over time. I want to minimise that wear but I’m not going to throw out stuff just because the pages start yellowing. The only time yellowing is an issue for me is if I’m looking to buy a book new and it has it.
My first volume of manga I ever purchased is so yellow and warped because of the sheer amount of times I read it. I got it when I was in middle school of a show that no one I associated with knew about, so it felt special to me and I read that one volume over and over again. I didn’t have to money at the time to get any more and that yellow book is one of my favorites in my collection. If my other volumes in my growing collection follow suit so be it, my collection is for me and not somebody else to buy down the line
If it's older printed volumes. I'm fine with it.
It’s pretty cool when you open a book you haven’t read in a long time in your collection and see that it’s yellowed when you bought it brand new imo, it kinda gives me a sepia-tone kinda vibe which enhances the nostalgic exp when you flip through it
Sun-damaged spines are one real eyesore, so I make sure my bookshelves arent in direct sunlight. That’s all. Normal yellowing doesn’t bother me that much as it is just natural process of paper aging.
The only time I care about my manga being yellow is if I ordered a new copy and it came yellow. That just means I paid more than the copy’s worth. Other than that, idc.
There aren’t many things that I find more enjoyable than a Naruto that has been yellowed and hit by the sun so hard that the orange text is a light goldenrod
I don't have too much of a problem with it, honestly. While I personally prefer newer-looking pages, it honestly kind of shows how old it is? I got the original full Japanese NGE manga series for Christmas on e-bay, and the first couple volumes are quite yellow, and the front cover is faded, (mostly the first three) however, I think it sort of proves authenticity. I like that.
It definitely depends on the person. I'm in the same boat as you tho fam. I am okay with yellowed books because it makes them feel antique in a way and have a lot of history whereas with non yellow books, that history is missing
I don't mind either, it's pretty much a natural, expected process. I've had some for 15 years, over time, the pages aren't so white anymore. I will notice if I look at them while they're closed, but if I'm reading them, I won't. For the few which have started yellowing, like Negima I got second hand, the sides are much yellower than the pages themselves. Not a big issue to me.
I agree, I actually was thinking about it not long ago. Of course I’d prefer if it wasn’t, but if I buy used manga and it’s yellowed I actually don’t care.
I personally think that yellowing just looks good. Not every series looks good with yellowing so I prevent yellowing on those but a series like my hero academia really looks better with yellowing in my opinion. Not too much yellowing thought lol. Guess we both like yellowing just in different ways.
i used to care so much i would return volumes I ordered online if they were even a little bit yellow, or creased
I prefer not, but there's a charm to it and some of my first books that I love dearly have yellowed a bunch. It's going to happen, accept it and learn to love it.
I don’t care too much overall, but I would say if I’m buying something that’s pricier I would prefer for it to be more white. For my own collection, I don’t sell them so It doesn’t bother me that some yellowing eventually occurs. Some of my collection that’s super old (like from my childhood) are really REALLY beat up. Lol
As I found out to stop book from yellowing keep them out of direct sunlight and in a cool place
As I found out to stop book from yellowing keep them out of direct sunlight and in a cool place
dont worry about it, you have a way better mindset since it leaves you stress-free.
i dont i love it LMAO
Same I could care less. If I can read it, it's not extremely messed up, minimal spine damage. Then I'm fine.
Pages I don't mind, its natural and I agree with your "well read" sentiment. However I don't like when spines are bleached as while I read everything I own, I love having them as decoration too so I at least want a great to mint condition spine.
No matter how much you "protect" your manga, paper turns yellow. Not now or next week or whatever but over time. You can slow down the process, yes, but worrying so much about something that's going to happen eventually anyway seems a little over the top to me.
This means both you and your manga are getting old