As much as the art and story of any manga series is crucial to me, I’m always happy to see an English language manga publisher take the extra step to make their release a little special. Taking that into account, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the best editions that English language manga publishers have released. However, I also want to stress that when I’m praising a manga’s presentation, I’m specifically praising the presentation. My thoughts regarding the manga itself are entirely separate which I may or may not mention.
Having said all that, the first edition that I want to take a look at is actually a category of releases that Viz Media used to release. VizBigs were a type of edition that Viz Media released across six different series, Dragon Ball, Fushigi Yugi, Hot Gimmick, Inuyasha, Rurouni Kenshin and Vagabond. These editions were presented in a larger trim size, higher-quality paper with pages originally in colour actually in colour, were three volume omnibuses and, best of all, were quite affordable. Unfortunately, it seems Viz Media have lost interest in releasing VizBigs and simply keep some of them in print rather than releasing any new series in this format. Understandably, I think this is a shame and I’d love to see Viz Media return to VizBigs someday.
Another stunning release that comes to mind is the full colour edition of Highschool of the Dead. This book’s trim size is huge and reminds me of the trim size you tend to see with Western graphic novels. The book is also a lovely hardcover, the pages inside are a high quality glossy paper and, most notably, the entire book is presented in full colour. It isn’t a half-rushed colour job either, it looks gorgeous and reminds me a lot of the anime while reading it. It’s also worth noting that there are two full colour volumes of Highschool of the Dead with the first containing four volumes while the second contains three. While I ultimately found the excessive fan service of Highschool of the Dead off putting and did not pick up the second release, any Highschool of the Dead fan will find these editions to be unbelievably well-crafted and beautiful.
Another fantastic release that an English language manga publisher did was the “Ten Cent Manga” imprint. Unfortunately, PictureBox, the company that ran the Ten Cent Manga imprint, shut down soon after Ten Cent Manga began. Still, the two titles that were released under Ten Cent Manga were brilliant releases that deserve to be recognised. My personal favourite of the two was their release of Osamu Tezuka’s The Mysterious Underground Men. The release attempted to present the manga as authentically as possible with brown pages, which are still much higher quality than the original release, crude colouring and the small trim size of the original. This is supplemented by a very high quality hardcover and an incredibly detailed and informative essay from Ryan Holmberg. The second and last release in the Ten Cent Manga line was Shigeru Sugiura’s Last of the Mohicans, a rather strange and bizarre adaptation of the novel. While I’m not as enthusiastic about this manga as I was with The Mysterious Underground Men, it still manages to be an incredibly handsome release with all of the authenticity and excellent supplements that The Mysterious Underground Men had while being presented in a much larger trim size. I continue to mourn the loss of Ten Cent Manga as they are amongst the best releases I’ve ever seen from a Western manga publisher.
Another incredible release that comes to my mind when I think of the best editions English language manga publishers have released is Vertical’s release of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Encased in some incredible hardcovers, Vertical’s release also contained glossy paper, unusual for a predominantly black and white artwork series, spectacular colour pages and oodles of extras from bonus artwork to discussions from other mangaka about both Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin and the impact that the Gundam franchise has had. It also helps that these releases condense the original 23 volumes into 12 releases.
I always love to see English language manga publishers make an effort when it comes to their manga releases and I think these examples are some of the very best that we’ve ever seen in the Western manga market. Let me know your thoughts on the best editions English language manga publishers have released, what other manga releases stood out to you as being exceptional, what you look for in a high-quality manga release and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!