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A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and '' bunkobon''. Used as a
loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
that was previously published in a serialized format. Manga typically contain a handful of chapters, and may collect multiple volumes as a series continues publication. Major publishing
imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
for of manga include Jump Comics (for serials in
Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
's ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
'' and other ''Jump'' magazines),
Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
's Shōnen Magazine Comics,
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
's Shōnen Sunday Comics, and
Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita in 1948. As of May 2023, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. The company is known for publishing the manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champ ...
’s Shōnen Champion Comics.


Manga

Increasingly after 1959,
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
came to be published in thick, phone-book-sized weekly or monthly anthology
manga magazines This is a list of notable manga magazine are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The te ...
(such as ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' or ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
''). These anthologies often have hundreds of pages and dozens of individual series by multiple authors. They are printed on cheap
newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has ...
and are considered disposable. Since the 1930s, though, comic strips had been compiled into collecting multiple installments from a single series and reprinting them in a roughly
paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
-sized volume on higher quality paper than in the original magazine printing. Strips in manga magazines and tankobon are typically printed in black and white, but sometimes certain sections may be printed in colour or using colored inks or paper. In English, while a translation is usually marketed as a "
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
" or " trade paperback", the transliterated terms and are sometimes used amongst online communities. Japanese speakers frequently refer to manga by the English
loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
, although it is more widespread for being used in place of the word "manga", as they are the same thing. The term also refers to the format itself—a comic collection in a trade paperback sized (roughly ) book (as opposed to the larger format used by traditional American graphic novels). Although Japanese manga tankobon may be in various sizes, the most common are Japanese B6 () and ISO A5 (). The format has made inroads in the American comics market, with several major publishers opting to release some of their titles in this smaller format, which is sometimes also called "digest format" or "
digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine, but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately . It is also a and format, similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes evolved from the printing ...
". In the United States, many manga are released in the so-called "Tokyopop trim" or "Tokyopop size" (approximately ).


Special formats


''Aizōban''

An is a collector's edition
volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...
. These volumes are generally more expensive and lavished with special features such as a special cover created specifically for the edition, a special paper used for the cover, higher quality paper, a special slipcase, etc. are generally printed in a limited run, thereby increasing the value and collectability of those few copies made. The format has begun to make inroads into the US market, with titles such as ''
Fruits Basket , sometimes abbreviated , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine , published by Hakusensha, from 1998 to 2006. The series' title comes from ...
'' and '' Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin'' being reissued in a similar format.


''Bunkoban''

A edition refers to a printed in '' bunko'' format, or a typical Japanese novel-sized volume. are generally A6 size () and thicker than and, in the case of manga, usually have a new cover designed specifically for the release. In the case of manga, a tends to contain considerably more pages than a and usually is a republication of of the same title which may or may not have been out of print. Thus, the edition of a given manga will consist of fewer volumes. For example, '' Please Save My Earth'' was published in 21 volumes, and then re-released in 12 volumes. If the original manga was a ''wide-ban'' release, the release will generally have the same number of volumes.


''Gōka Aizōban''

A is another term occasionally used to designate a type of special release.


''Kanzenban''

The is yet another term sometimes used to denote a type of special release. A release is generally A5 size () and will typically reproduce individual chapter covers, colour pages, and side-stories from its original magazine run, features that are often omitted or converted to
grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a greyscale (more common in Commonwealth English) or grayscale (more common in American English) image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample (signal), s ...
in standard releases. While the appellation emphasizes the value of the volumes, the term emphasizes their completeness.


''Shinsōban''

Similar to a ''wide-ban'', a or is a special edition released with (usually) a new cover. The volumes in such a release usually have new colour pages and other extras. For example, in 2003, ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...
'' was re-edited; some pages were completely redrawn, and most dialogues were rewritten by the author. The chapters were also redivided to fit into 12 volumes instead of 18.


''Sōshūhen''

The is a format published by
Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
beginning in 2008. A edition is B5 size (), larger than a , and similarly reproduces chapter covers and colour pages while also including a variety of bonus features such as posters and interviews. The majority of releases are for popular manga with ongoing serializations. They also contain far more pages than a standard and thus feature more chapters in fewer volumes; ''
Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...
'' Part I was originally published in 27 volumes, but was completed in just eight volumes.


''Wide-ban''

A ''wide-ban'' or edition is larger ( A5 size) than a regular . Many manga, particularly and manga, are published in ''wide-ban'' editions after magazine serialisation, and are never released in the format that is common in manga and manga. When a series originally published in format is re-released in ''wide-ban'' format, each volume will contain more pages than in the original edition, and therefore the series will consist of fewer volumes. For example, '' Inuyasha'' was originally released in 56 volumes, but was republished as 30 ''wide-ban'' volumes.


See also

* *
Omnibus edition An omnibus edition or omnibus is a book containing multiple creative works by the same or, more rarely, different authors. Commonly two or more of the works have been previously published as books, but a collection of shorter works, or shorter w ...
* Trade paperback *
List of best-selling manga The following is a list of the best-selling Japanese manga series to date in terms of the number of collected volumes sold. All series in this list have at least 20 million copies in circulation. This list is limited to Japanese manga and does ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tankobon Anime and manga terminology Japanese books Japanese words and phrases Books by type Comics formats