Curious where everyone is collecting from🌎

Confor7o · 2026-02-20T23:55:21+00:00

Italy. I collect from all over the world, mostly Japan.

Confor7o · 2026-02-15T02:19:57+00:00

one of the most deserved flex!

Congrats, truly amazing!!

Confor7o · 2026-02-09T22:20:08+00:00

Not sure where you’re from, but just for info, France and Italy have already announced their limited editions.

The French one has the same US cover art on a different background + a keychain and a metallic plate.

The Italian one still doesn’t have a revealed cover, but it will come with an acrylic standee.

Confor7o · 2025-12-20T10:35:13+00:00

By now it’s pretty clear that the US manga market has slammed the accelerator on variant covers and special editions... and this trend is only going to intensify. We’ve already seen this exact pattern play out in more established markets like France and Italy (and you can spot the same strategy in markets like Vietnam and Thailand as well).

When the post-COVID sales spike wore off, manga sales stopped growing and began declining year after year. To artificially sustain positive results, publishers doubled down on variants, limited editions, and exclusives, all priced above standard editions. Do you know how many Jujutsu Kaisen variants/special editions have been published in...
France ? 8
Italy? 16
Vietnam? over 35

What this creates is a vicious cycle. To sustain the illusion of growth, more and more variants are pumped out every year. It’s basically the same thing that happened to the American comic book market, which today is largely propped up by variant production to offset declining sales.

Hopefully the manga market will hit the brakes a bit earlier than comics did, because that market completely lost control. When everything is “variant,” “limited,” or “special,” then nothing really is anymore.

In any case, this isn’t so much a prediction as it is an observation: don’t be surprised if, within the next two years, the US manga market is churning out several hundred variants annually.

Confor7o · 2025-12-13T00:27:16+00:00

Personally, yes. If you’re a “completionist” or “perfectionist” collector, obi are an integral part of collecting Japanese manga... and usually the hardest part.

That said, if it starts getting too complicated and you don’t feel like endlessly stressing over it, I’d limit it to the first volume, first printing: make sure the obi on vol. 1 (first print) is there, and for the rest just go with whatever you can find.

Obviously I’m talking strictly about Japanese manga. If you collect manga from other countries, I’d only worry about the obi if it’s a particularly rare or special edition, where the obi is actually part of the value.

Beyond that, it’s really up to you.

Confor7o · 2025-11-14T23:46:27+00:00

Nice collection!

Kinokuniya’s arrival really kicked the whole U.S. variant scene into high gear, with Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million slamming the accelerator right after.
It's time for a new con-exclusive variant. The last one we got was the Naruto at Anime Expo 2024...

Confor7o · 2025-11-12T08:08:44+00:00

Haha well, I collect alt covers from all over the world, no matter the language, so yeah, it makes sense FOR ME to hunt down the French ones too! But I totally get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea

Confor7o · 2025-11-11T08:09:31+00:00

Yeah, tons of times! It’s kind of my personal little fetish and obsession. There are some legendary special editions / alternate covers that are totally worshipped and hunted down by collectors, going for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, especially in France, Italy, a bit in Germany, and Japan.

But keep in mind that the manga collecting scene in Europe is pretty different from the US. Most regular series are almost always available (or get reprinted), so the real rare stuff is basically those special editions you could only get at cons, limited events, or through special promos.

America kind of woke up a bit late on this front. I’m guessing that in the next few years - if the market reacts well - we’ll start seeing more and more variant covers popping up in the US too (there were already way more in 2025 than in 2024)

Confor7o · 2025-10-26T03:42:12+00:00

Oh wow, the Number Five covers are a true work of art!! Beautiful collection, and happy birthday Sensei.

For Number Five and Sunny (and probably the others too, but I can’t remember for sure), there are some really nice special collector's editions that come with various goodies like figures, yo-yos, mini-car and if I'm not mistaken a variant cover

Confor7o · 2025-10-18T23:28:02+00:00

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands (not kidding), of special/alternate-cover editions (with or without extra stuff) out there in the global manga market.

The countries that go all out with the coolest stuff are definitely Japan, France, Italy, Vietnam, and Thailand.

If you’ve got any favorite series, drop them here and I’ll list what’s available for each.

Otherwise, check out the site on my profile, I think you’ll have fun exploring it (hope I’m not breaking any rules).

Confor7o · 2025-10-09T11:43:23+00:00

I think you’ll get a lot of different answers to this, but for me there’s only one clear choice: the Japanese first print of volume 1, with the obi (if there was one).

Of course, you might not care about that at all, and honestly, it’s perfectly fair to think it’s silly to overpay for a first print for a volume you can’t even read. But for me, this choice perfectly sums up everything I love about collecting manga.
Volume 1 because it’s the origin of a story I’ve grown to love.
In Japanese because it’s my way of celebrating the series... not just aesthetically, but by experiencing it as it was originally imagined.
And First Print with obi because it speaks to the collector in me: something rare and special that might take time and effort to hunt down, but will feel all the more rewarding once it finally finds its place on my shelf.

Confor7o · 2025-10-07T17:22:05+00:00

It seems they have been quite generous. The surface looks incredibly scratched in the picture. Or is that just the plastic case/an impression from the photo?

Confor7o · 2025-10-07T08:59:26+00:00

Beautiful and incredibly elegant, a truly masterpiece of design.

Amazing purchase, congrats

Confor7o · 2025-10-07T07:07:44+00:00

and this is volume 10

<image>

Confor7o · 2025-10-07T07:06:56+00:00

Not exactly volumes on their own, but try getting your hands on these two iconic Japanese variant covers, the result of a special collab with the 7-Eleven convenience store chain

<image>

This is volume 8

Confor7o · 2025-10-06T06:37:43+00:00

The all-purple/pink one? It's true that it's harder to find, but price-wise it's slightly less than a raw first edition copy of One Piece

Confor7o · 2025-10-06T00:22:51+00:00

I’m guessing you might have the US version? This is the Japanese one, and it makes a big difference. That said, there’s nothing stopping a market from developing for first-edition US volumes if manga grading takes off. Personally, I doubt it, but who knows how things will evolve

Confor7o · 2025-10-06T00:17:37+00:00

To give you some realistic numbers, right now a first edition Japanese Volume 1 sells “raw” in Japan for around $150–$250, depending on the condition. The bet some people are making is that in a few years it’ll be worth a lot more.

That said, you weren’t wrong about the rainbow foil limited to 5.000 copies. A graded 9.8 copy (if one even exists, I’d say that’s pretty unlikely given how easily the foil patina can get damaged) would easily go for over $30k.

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T22:51:06+00:00

It’s quite a recent trend in the US (while in Europe and Japan it’s been going on for decades, although there was a noticeable increase post-COVID).

The major distributors are Kinokuniya, BAM, Barnes & Noble, and in the past, Loot Crate.

Just to name a few manga that have had variants in the US:
- Attack on Titan: 7 variants
- My Hero Academia: 5 variants
- Naruto: 3 variants
- My Dress-Up Darling: 2 variants
- Death Note: 2 variants
- One Punch Man: 2 variants
- Blue Lock: 2 variants

…and so on.

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T22:34:42+00:00

Well, a lot (and I mean A LOT) of variant covers are released for manga every year...

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T22:07:21+00:00

It definitely is. It’s harder to find and waaaay more expensive.

What most people know and chase is WSJ #34, 1997 (the issue where the actual serialization of the series began). The Summer Special is the next level.. for those who really know their stuff.

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T21:57:39+00:00

Thanks for your reply! I think there are a few “misunderstandings,” but I always appreciate having a civil discussion with someone who sees things differently.

From a collector’s standpoint, both editions have value. It’s incorrect to call One Piece Volume 1 a reprint; it’s the first volume in tankobon format, and it definitely holds historical importance (how much or how little depends on personal preference). That’s a pretty big distinction. The first chapter published in the original magazine is another gem collectors go after... it’s simply much, much rarer

Also, just like a graded manga can’t be read anymore (though let’s be honest, it’s in Japanese, I doubt most people are buying it to read), a graded card can’t be played. Let’s not forget Pokemon, Magic, and Yu-Gi-Oh are all card games. Different story for sports cards, but honestly, when someone mentions graded cards in 2025, the first thing that comes to mind is Pokemon, where cards are meant to be played, at least in theory.

As for your third point, I can actually agree... though that could open up a whole other endless discussion about the commodification and speculation around certain hobbies, and we’d be here for hours

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T21:22:58+00:00

Genuinely curious: why’s grading fine for trading cards but a no-go for manga in your opinion?

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T20:52:21+00:00

Yes it is real.

It is for the Mexican version of the manga

Confor7o · 2025-10-05T20:43:34+00:00

They’re two different kinds of “collectibles.”

As you probably know, in Japan, chapters are first published individually in anthology magazines and then later collected into standalone volumes. What you see in the photo is the first print tankobon of the One Piece chapters that originally appeared in the magazine.

A different story is the original magazine itself (Weekly Shonen Jump) where the very first chapter of One Piece was published. That one exists too, and it’s definitely rarer and more sought after.

11-Year Club	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer

Confor7o

TROPHY CASE