What is a tankobon? A tankobon (単行本) refers to a stand alone book, or a collection of individual chapters from a story. For us Manga lovers based outside of Japan, we consume Manga mainly through these tankobons, also known as volumes. Each volume contains roughly ten to twelve chapters and are compiled from the Manga’s weekly serialization. Getting a tankobon usually indicates there is a strong demand for the story and also reflects the publisher’s confidence in the manga. In essence, each tankobon represents ten to twelve weeks worth of content repackaged into a book. Before having individual volumes, how to Manga’s start?
Most manga begin as one-shots. These are self-contained fifty-page prototypes of the story. They feature the main character overcoming some sort of big bad. Successful one-shots that rank highly on the voter polls are rewarded with serialization in a magazine line. Though publishers schedule their releases differently, most mainstream manga are serialized weekly. Working within this narrow timeframe, a mangaka often creates a storyboard. They write and illustrate anywhere from eighteen to twenty pages. Then, they submit this chapter to be serialized. Each week, a magazine carries anywhere from fifteen to twenty different chapters. On special occasions, like an anniversary or a big fight scene, mangakas produce double-chapters. Readers vote on which chapter they enjoyed the most from that week’s lineup. The Manga industry is very competitive and publishers rely on this data to feature the popular series on promotional materials and the covers of future magazines. Mangas that perform exceptionally can also get its own anime adapation which skyrockets its sales across the world. When a manga becomes popular enough that there is a substantial demand for republication, these chapters are compiled sequentially from their initial publication into a volume. Currently, the best selling Manga of all time is One Piece, which has sold over five hundred million copies in 2025.
Stay tuned for more blog posts where I discuss my tankobon collection and how I started collecting!
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