Forum - View topicManga Answerman - What's With All The Omnibus Releases?
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2544 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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I'm all for the proliferation of omnibus releases for manga, personally. You get more content for (usually) less than the price it would have cost to buy the same content via single releases, and it helps encourage the releases of longer series.
For example, I know that Denpa's Ed Chavez was interested in releasing Ubel Blatt back when he was at Vertical, but the length of the series, combined with an unsure idea as to when it would end, made him never go through with it. Yen Press wound up licensing it, and now that it's ended we know that Yen will likely only have to deal with 11 omnibuses, which isn't too bad compared to the 23 tankouban volumes it'll likely be in Japan. I only hope that Seven Seas' "Classic Collection" initiative pays off well for them, because if something like that winds up being the only way we can get vintage manga, then I'll gladly go for just about any of them that we get.
I only wish Saint Seiya would get this kind of treatment, or at least would just get an omnibus release with a translation to reverts all of the altered names & terminology back to their original forms (rather than the DiC alterations), but I know this will never happen. |
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Ouran High School Dropout
 Posts: 440 Location: Somewhere in Massachusetts, USA |
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I for one appreciate omnibus editions!
I was rather a latecomer to the Dance in the Vampire Bund manga; having the omnibus books already out made the series a lot easier to obtain (as compared to the original 17 books, if you include Sledgehammer). More recently, Seven Seas released the 20-year-old Dragon Half in only 3 volumes. I always wanted to see the manga that inspired that demented OVA, and I wasn't disappointed. It sure beats trying to buy the original 7 tankobon separately (that is, if the relatively few fans would commercially back 7 separate purchases over the course of years).
Roger that for the sake of all manga lovers out there (I can't really go all out because of lack of shelf space). |
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1175 |
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...wish Dark Horse would reprint those darned Gunsmith Cats onmibuses, maybe do ones for Burst too, grumble grumble 70 dollar volumes...
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Florete
Posts: 363 |
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The true downside to omnibus collections is missing out on all the cover art. I would love to have 5 separate volumes of Girl Friends.
It's a small price to pay, though, especially when it means getting series that otherwise just wouldn't be published at all. |
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LegitPancake
 Posts: 1294 Location: Texas, USA |
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Omnibuses also seem to be appearing in the light novel market, at least for classic series. Boogiepop is already out, with Crest of the Stars and Full Metal Panic getting hardback omnibuses in early 2020.
I believe Sam at J-Novel Club has made it clear that he is interested in printing more recent titles that are 10+ volumes long in omnibuses, but no plans have been made public. It would have been nice if Smartphone was published in omnibuses, what with it being 16+ volumes long and counting, but it sells incredibly well, so there's no reason to compile them apparently. As for manga, there are several titles I kind of wish had gotten omnibuses, such as Snow White with the Red Hair (20+ volumes and a bit old), Mob Psycho 100 (16 volumes completed and Dark Horse is taking their sweet time in publishing it, might take 4-5 years at this rate), Ao Haru Ride (13 volumes and a bit old), Komi-san (12+ volumes and nearly 200 chapters, Viz might never catch up, especially when they're not simulpubbing), and probably several others. I've talked to people who say "As a collector, I prefer single volumes...," but as a collector myself, as long as the omnibus includes all cover and insert art, I very much prefer omnibuses. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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For the few physical release I get, I definitely prefer omnibuses.
I also rarely ever jump into a title when it's first released in the US simply because of the large delay between in each volume. Each normal tankobon is consumed quickly, in one sitting, then waiting another 3-4 months for the next just kills the experience. If there's an anime adaptation out and the release hasn't caught up yet, I'll wait even further. I guess I might be contributing to a chicken and egg problem if they're trying to rely on current sales to continue publication... but that's why omnibus or multi-volume digitally in one shot helps with consumers like who like to wait |
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ZelosZoidberg
 Posts: 635 |
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I also hope they continue to release Ah (Oh)! My Goddess! in Omnibuses.They stopped at 6. And if someone could released GTO in Omnibus form that would be great. Still hard to find used at a good price. |
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R. Kasahara
 Posts: 649 |
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Seven Seas did a fantastic job with the Dragon Half omnibus editions. It seems like they were localizations of a set of Japanese omnibus editions from 1998, and I love that they kept all the color art and bonus features from those. Rereleases of Japanese kanzenban/omnibus editions are probably my favorite type of omnibus. Viz's nine volume Monster rerelease is a great example, and while not "2-in-1", Master Keaton's treatment was even better. I really enjoy omnibus volumes, kanzenban localizations or not, when they're presented so well. |
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Sakagami Tomoyo
 Posts: 940 Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia |
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Typically cover art for the volumes that go into the omnibus are included within the book, so there's that. It's certainly nicer to have on the outside of each book, but we do usually get it in some form. |
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OjaruFan2
Posts: 661 |
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Thanks for answering my question, Deb!
I prefer collecting single volumes, but I respect that omnibus volumes are just cheaper and easier from the publisher, retailer, and consumer ends.
Never say never. If the upcoming Netflix adaptation performs well in North America, then Viz Media (or any other manga publisher) might consider giving the manga an omnibus release with a more faithful translation. |
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HamsterExAstris
Posts: 12 |
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Unfortunately, these print omnibuses are often available as a discount, when the digital versions aren't. That leads to some pretty absurd price differentials - e.g. I picked up both Boogiepop omnibuses together for $25; the digital versions would have run $60 for the series.
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marshmallowpie
 Posts: 300 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada |
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I like omnibus releases when they're large sized, like Sweet Blue Flowers or Aria, but I'm not at all into the smaller, more brick-like releases like Girlfriends or Whispered Words. If they're like that, then they're almost not even any better than nothing at all. I care a little less about spine creases if it's a library book, but they're still annoying to hold. The latter two manga I mentioned feel so cheap, while the former two are beautiful. It kinda of sucks to spend over $30 on a single volume, but it at least feels like some care was put into the release. Get what you pay for.
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Lenks
Posts: 139 |
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I really love omnibus editions. It really makes some of the much longer titles less daunting to buy, and they look awesome. I've really enjoyed Viz's over the years, and I made sure to buy most of Seven Seas' classics that recently came out.
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Covnam
 Posts: 3644 |
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While I appreciate the cost savings, I prefer single volume releases. I don't like the feel of holding larger books. Though that's more of an issue for me with the triple sized books. The doubles really aren't too bad (just not my preference).
Also prefer soft cover to hard cover while on the subject of being comfortable while reading. |
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VampireNaomi
 Posts: 146 |
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What Seven Seas did with Dragon Half is exactly how I like to see omnibus releases handled. They were small and light enough that it wasn't a chore to read them, but they included all that nice extra art and commentary that made it feel like the release was special, not just multiple volumes crammed into one. The hardcover classics were nice as well, but I wouldn't want to read any long series in that format.
I really hope to see some more older titles announced over the summer, preferably as omnibus. |
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