tankobon vs. Kanzenban

Acid_Reign · Post by **Acid_Reign** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:45 am

Which do you prefer? I'm currently in the process of collecting the animé, which in terms of the video in its most original form is a no-brainer with the Dragon Box releases. However, when I'm done with that (and have recovered financially) I'd very much like to pursue the series in manga form; something I haven't looked into too much because my brothers already own most of the Viz releases. I have one tankobon and one kanzenban, and I honestly enjoy both formats, but while the latter has the "perfect edition" feel to it upon which its name is based, I also appreciate the original published format. If I were to pick just one line to own the story in, which would you recommend? Is one rarer than the other? It may be both eventually, but I like to set these types of goals in ladder-steps.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:45 am

The original tankoubon do contain a couple little things here and there that the re-prints do not, so that's also something to take into consideration even with the kanzenban being pretty sexy with all their awesomeness.

Personally, I would also take a look at price. It's most convenient for me to go by the Book-Off prices, since picking them up used there is easiest and cheapest for me.

Tankoubon: 42 volumes x ~$3.00 per volume = $126
Kanzenban: 34 volumes x ~$7.50 per volumes = $255

As you can see, there's a pretty big price commitment to both, though one's certainly higher. All in all, I'd say just go for the kanzeban. They're bigger, look better, will last longer, etc. I think the pros certainly out-weigh the cons.

YouTube · Post by **Hujio** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:04 pm

If you want to compare the two releases, this might help you out a little. I know when I was in your situation, I decided I might as well have both. But if you are only considering owning one set, I'd definitely go with the Kanzenban. Of course, the money factor is always an issue.

Post by **Herms** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:05 pm

Kanzentai has a good comparision on the pros and cons of each release (edit: arrg, which Hujio beat me to linking to).

If you don't mind the higher cost, I'd say get the kanzenban. They might not have some of the extra things that the tankoubon have, but they just plain look better from page to page. Besides, Viz's volumes contain all the additional things that the tankoubon have that weren't included in the kanzenban, so if your brother already owns most of those you won't be missing much.

the original ero-sennin · Post by **the original ero-sennin** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:37 pm

They obviously both have their advantages and drawbacks. But for me the decision was to purchase the tankobon releases. This was, however, due to the fact that I got them all in a cheap package deal. A tough choice, but I'd have to say that the bonuses in the Kanzenban are definitley cool. It just comes down to the ever important 'cost' issue.

Chibi Mystic Gohan · Post by **Chibi Mystic Gohan** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:49 am

What's interesting about the Kanzenban is that there is some cropping of the side of the panels, so you lose some of the image, but the top and bottom gain extra things you couldn't see in either the Weekly Jump version or the tankôbon version. You can see this in the Kanzentai link above if you switch from version to version with your eyes.

It's like the inverse of FUNimation's cropping of the anime, actually.