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Out of Print Manga Guide

How to Tell If a Manga Is Going Out of Print

We can’t predict the future, but there are some tell-tale signs we can look for that will help us determine if a manga series is at risk of going out of print.

Kristin
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Manga titles going out of print without sudden warning is something I’ve not just had to get used to, but prepare for. Even the publishers themselves, in most cases, aren’t aware until it’s too late, so there’s no wonder we too are often left in the dark.

With resale prices sometimes going into the hundreds, I do my best to complete all the series and find all the volumes I’m in search of at retail, but more often than not, things slip by me. And no wonder, with so many new series and volumes being announced and released weekly, my want list gets out of hand fast.

We can’t be expected to predict the future, but there are some tell-tale signs we can look for that will help us determine whether or not a series is going out of print. I also included an out-of-print manga list at the end of this post if you’d like to check that out and I recently did a post on the best places to buy manga if you are interested in that as well!

Out of Stock Manga vs Out of Print Manga

First I want to clarify that there is a difference between out-of-stock manga and out-of-print manga. Out-of-print manga are books that are no longer going to be published by a publisher; However, that doesn’t mean that new formats of that series will never be released. For example, Dark Horse put the individual volumes of Hellsing out of print, but they recently released Hellsing Deluxe Editions. Other examples are No Longer Human by Usamaru Furuya and NOiSE by Tsutomu Nihei, which Kodansha announced they are bringing back to print.

I really want to mention this because scalping has become an issue more so than ever with supply chain issues, such as shipping delays, paper shortages, etc, which is the reason why a lot of manga is out of stock.

More recently serialized series like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man are not of concern and are temporarily out of stock, so please don’t pay ridiculous prices on eBay for them as they will go back in stock as soon as supply catches up to demand and supply chain issues are fixed. I’ve actually seen more and more volumes of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man popping up in Barnes and Noble and whatnot recently, so hopefully this is going to be fixed sooner than later.

Usually when an item says it’s out of stock, expecting more on a site there is no need for concern unless it’s an older series. I recently placed an order for some Übel Blatt volumes and Right Stuf canceled one of the volumes I had purchased even though their listing said out of stock, expecting more.

So in some cases, they will cancel your order when they find out they can’t get any more stock. But, this is something that has only happened to me with series that have been in circulation for quite some time. To give you an idea, the volume in question that Right Stuf canceled from Übel Blatt was first released back in 2015.

If you are concerned about a certain series going out of print, a lot of publishers are good at responding to Tweets on their official Twitter pages as well as their contact forms on their website, so you can always reach out directly to the source to verify. We also keep an updated list of manga restock dates that you can check out as well!

Signs That a Manga Is Going Out of Print

Listed as No Longer Available on Major Sites

Perhaps the biggest way you can tell if a manga is going out of print is if it’s an older series that goes on backorder or if pages are suddenly unlisted on sites like Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. If it’s also listed as no longer available on sites, there is a possibility that the item is going out of print. Although, as seen with the Higurashi When They Cry manga, which was thought to be out of print, things can change. In my experience, Yen Press manga, in particular, are harder to predict than other manga publishers.

Some volumes sometimes have a lower run than others too, so that’s why you may see something like Volume 1, which most likely has the highest number of volumes printed, everywhere you look while other random volumes, like Volume 4 of Triage X, may have less and therefore are being sold for high aftermarket prices. So some volumes may start going out before others due to the number of volumes they printed.

Keep in mind though that this has become harder to predict with the current state of things since publishers and sites are experiencing delays. With that said, this usually would be a sign that something may be going OOP, but with supply chain issues and demand increasing and the current climate and state of things, this has become harder to predict. With that said though, please do not pay more than the cover price for newer series like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Those will come back in stock eventually, but if it’s an older series, where some volumes are now listed as no longer available, that’s when I personally start getting concerned that something is out of print or going out of print and purchase all of the volumes that I can. You can keep up to date with manga restocks via my 2022 manga restocks list! However, in some cases, it does happen where something going out of stock can be a sign of a series going OOP.

Major Sales and Format Changes

Another sign that a series is going out of print is if you see places start to put it up on massive sale or if they start releasing it in different formats, such as omnibuses, like Hellsing and Gantz are currently doing. Their individual volumes released by Dark Horse are out of print, but the Hellsing Deluxe Editions and the Gantz omnibuses are not.

If you don’t want to pay high aftermarket prices, definitely research if the out-of-print series you are looking for has been released in a new format.

Older Series and Time Lags

Time is also something you need to look out for. With large gaps in between volume releases, there’s the possibility that something is about to go out of print. If it’s an older release and it starts selling out places or being listed as no longer available, that’s also something to look out for.

How do I prevent my favorite manga titles from going out of print?

Support Your Favorite Titles

In some cases, there is a chance for reprinting, but I always follow the motto, “better safe than sorry”, when it comes to the titles I want to collect. Sometimes things just run for so long that they go out of print, but other times they get dropped because they weren’t selling well.

Best way to keep a title going? Keep supporting it and buy the volumes; It’s as simple as that. But, even then, sometimes what you like isn’t liked by the masses. Black Torch from Viz happens to be that title for me, but it is bound to happen to us all eventually. Being canceled though is different than out of print, but that is something to look out for too, and something that supporting your favorite manga titles can help prevent. Showing your love for a series also can increase the chance that a publisher will re-release the series in a new format, like a collector’s edition, omnibus, etc.

What if a manga title is already out of print and sold out?

Patience Is a Virtue

If you missed out on picking something up, patience is truly a virtue, especially when resale prices can go up to the hundreds and even above. I missed out on picking up Gantz before it started hiking up in price.

One day I checked out Half Price Books and saw most of the volumes sitting on the shelf. I checked the price, and to my surprise, they were only $3 apiece. They were on clearance… These chances of luck truly have happened to me many times at Half Price Books because (1) they don’t know what they have or (2) they didn’t know something went out of print and went drastically up in price.

Other than that, as I mentioned before, you can get lucky with a reprint. But, I’m personally one of those people who’s not willing to wait if I know something’s at risk. But, it does happen as seen with the Higurashi manga volumes.

Another example is the Akira 35th Anniversary Manga Box Set, which I was able to pick up on its 2nd release. Since then, it has gone back in and out of stock, so stock often flickers for select series. With that said, always be on the lookout for new runs or potential reprints!

Out of Print Manga Guide Video

Out of Print Manga List

Here are the manga titles that I am aware of that are currently out of print. I’ve separated them by publisher so you can find the series you are looking for easier and I’ve also included whether or not those out-of-print series have been published in other formats.

I’ll also call out some of my favorite out-of-print series or most wanted out-of-print series by adding links to eBay, so you can check out recent listings. But a good way to really make sure you are getting a good price on sites like eBay is to check recently sold listings and see what prices on average the series you are looking to buy are actually selling for versus what people are asking.

It’s hard to find out which series are out of print, so this is not a complete list as of yet. I’m currently compiling this list for each publisher but I will constantly update this post as I discover more.

Note: Some of the series listed below are fully out of print while others only have certain volumes that are listed as no longer available, but most of this list is fully out of print.

Out of Print Bandai Entertainment Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Bandai Entertainment manga that we are currently aware of.

Out of Print Dark Horse Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Dark Horse manga that we are currently aware of.

Out of Print Del Rey Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Del Rey manga that we are currently aware of.

  • A Perfect Day for Love Letters
  • Air Gear
  • Alive: The Final Evolution
  • Basilisk
  • Code:Breaker
  • Dragon Eye
  • ES: Eternal Sabbath
  • Fairy Navigator Runa
  • Fairy Tail Volumes 1-12 (Kodansha took over the publishing of Fairy Tail)
  • Free Collars Kingdom
  • Gacha Gacha
  • Gacha Gacha: The Next Revolution
  • Gakuen Prince
  • Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Genshiken Individual Volumes
  • Ghost Hunt
  • Guru Guru Pon-chan
  • Haridama Magic Cram School
  • Hell Girl
  • Kagetora
  • Kamichama Karin Chu
  • Kitchen Princess
  • Koko ni iru yo!
  • Kujibiki Unbalance
  • Kurogane
  • Le Chevalier d’Eon
  • Love Roma
  • Mamotte! Lollipop
  • Mao-Chan
  • Me and the Devil Blues
  • Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
  • Minima!
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
  • Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture
  • Mushishi
  • My Heavenly Hockey Club
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi
  • Night Head Genesis
  • Nodame Cantabile
  • Othello
  • Papillon
  • Parasyte (Only published 8 volumes, Kodansha later republished Parasyte)
  • Pastel
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
  • Pink Innocent
  • Pumpkin Scissors
  • Princess Resurrection
  • Psycho Busters
  • Q-Ko-Chan: The Earth Invader Girl
  • Samurai 7
  • Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
  • School Rumble
  • Shiki Tsukai
  • Shugo Chara!
  • Sugar Sugar Rune
  • Train Man
  • Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Individual Volumes
  • The Wallflower
  • xxxHolic Individual Volumes
  • Yokaiden
  • Yozakura Quartet

Out of Print Kodansha Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Kodansha manga that we are currently aware of.

  • Air Gear (Later released as omnibuses by Kodansha)
  • Battle Angel Alita Last Order Individual Volumes
  • Bloody Monday
  • Genshiken
  • I Am Here!
  • Monster Hunter Orage
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi

Out of Print Tokyopop Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Tokyopop manga that we are currently aware of.

  • @Large
  • The 9 Lives
  • A.I. Love You
  • +Anima
  • Animal Academy
  • Ark Angels
  • Arm of Kannon
  • Battle Royale Individual Volumes
  • Battle Royale Ultimate Editions (Hardcover)
  • Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
  • Between the Sheets
  • Bizenghast
  • Blame! (Vertical later released Master Editions of Blame!)
  • Blank
  • B’t X
  • Cardcaptor Sakura (Kodansha is now releasing Collector’s Editions of Cardcaptor Sakura)
  • Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
  • Chibi Vampire
  • Chronicles of the Cursed Sword
  • Clamp School Detectives
  • Comic Party
  • Corpse Party Blood Covered (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star
  • Daemonium
  • Dark Metro Individual Volumes (There’s also an Ultimate Edition of Dark Metro)
  • Deadman Wonderland (Viz later released individual volumes of Deadman Wonderland)
  • DearS
  • Demon Diary
  • Devil May Cry
  • Devil’s Bride
  • Diabolo
  • Digimon
  • D.N.Angel
  • Dragon Knights
  • Dramacon
  • The Dreaming
  • Erica Sakurazawa
  • Fate/stay night
  • FLCL Light Novels
  • Fruits Basket Individual Volumes (Later released by Yen Press as Fruits Basket Collector’s Editions)
  • Fruits Basket Ultimate Editions (Hardcover)
  • Future Diary (1st Editions with matte cover)
  • Future Diary Hardcovers
  • Gakuen Alice
  • Getbackers
  • Goth
  • Gothic Sports
  • GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka
  • GTO: The Early Years
  • Hibiki’s Magic
  • Hyper Police
  • Initial D
  • Innocent W
  • Mobile Suit Gundam École du Ciel
  • Kami-Kaze
  • Kannazuki no Miko
  • Kingdom Hearts
  • Kino’s Journey Light Novel
  • Kodocha: Sana’s Stage
  • Lament of the Lamb
  • Life
  • Love Hina (Later released in omnibuses by Kodansha)
  • Lupin III (Later released by Dark Horse as a Lupin III Classic Manga Collection)
  • Magical x Miracle
  • Marmalade Boy
  • Mars
  • Miracle Girls
  • NOiSE (Kodansha are bringing NOiSE back to print)
  • Paradise Kiss (Later released by Vertical as a 20th Anniversary Edition)
  • Peacemaker Kurogane
  • Pet Shop of Horrors
  • Planetes Individual Volumes (Later released in omnibuses by Dark Horse)
  • President Dad
  • Priest
  • Ragnarok
  • Ratman
  • Rave Master
  • Red Hot Chili Samurai
  • Return to Labyrinth
  • RG Veda Individual Volumes
  • Rozen Maiden
  • Sailor Moon
  • Sailor Moon StarS
  • Sailor Moon SuperS
  • Saiyuki (Later released as Resurrected Editions by Kodansha)
  • Saiyuki Reload
  • Samurai Champloo
  • Samurai Deeper Kyo
  • Skull Man
  • Soul Rescue
  • Suikoden III: The Successor of Fate
  • takeru: OPERA SUSANOH SWORD OF THE DEVIL
  • The Tarot Cafe (Tokyopop also released Collector’s Editions of Tarot Cafe)
  • Threads of Time
  • Tokyo Babylon
  • Tokyo Mew Mew
  • Tramps Like Us
  • V.B. Rose
  • The Vision Of Escaflowne
  • Wild Act
  • Wish (Later released by Dark Horse)

Out of Print Viz Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Viz manga that we are currently aware of.

  • 20th Century Boys Individual Volumes (Certain volumes still in stock on select sites, Viz later released 20th Century Boys Perfect Editions)
  • Ad Police
  • Bastard!!
  • Beauty Pop
  • Beyblade
  • The Big O
  • Battle Angel Alita Last Order (Later released as omnibuses by Kodansha)
  • Black Cat
  • Black Jack
  • Blue Spring
  • Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
  • Boys Over Flowers
  • Crimson Hero
  • The Drifting Classroom Individual Volumes (Viz later released The Drifting Classroom Perfect Edition Hardcovers)
  • Excel Saga
  • Gimmick!
  • Gun Blaze West
  • Gundam the Origin Individual Volumes (Vertical later released hardcovers of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin)
  • Gundam Wing: Blind Target
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Paperback Volumes
  • Kekkaishi 3-in-1 Editions
  • Please Save My Earth
  • Mai The Psychic Girl
  • Maison Ikkoku Individual Volumes (Viz later released Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Editions)
  • Maoh: Juvenile Remix
  • MÄR
  • Mermaid Saga Individual Volumes (Viz later released Mermaid Saga Collector’s Editions)
  • MeruPuri
  • Metal Guardian Faust
  • Mobile Police Patlabor
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 0079
  • Monster Individual Volumes (Viz later released Monster Perfect Editions)
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion Individual Volumes (Viz later released 3-in-1 Editions of Neon Genesis Evangelion)
  • Nightmare Inspector
  • Pretty Face
  • Project Arms
  • Ral Ω Grad
  • Reborn!
  • Red River
  • Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire
  • Rurouni Kenshin Individual Volumes (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Rurouni Kenshin VIZBIG Editions (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Shaman King Individual Volumes (Currently released by Kodansha as 3-in-1 omnibuses)
  • SOS
  • Strawberry 100%
  • Striker
  • Tokyo Ghoul Monster Editions (Select volumes no longer available)
  • Toriko
  • Ultimate Muscle
  • Uzumaki Individual Volumes (Viz later released an Uzumaki 3-in-1 Deluxe Edition)
  • Vagabond Individual Volumes (Later released by Viz as Vagabond VIZBIG Editions)
  • Vampire Knight
  • Wedding Peach
  • What A Wonderful World!
  • Yurara
  • Zatch Bell!
  • Zoids Chaotic Century
  • Zoids New Century

Out of Print Yen Press Manga

Here are all of the out-of-print Yen Press manga that we are currently aware of.

  • 11th Cat
  • 13th Boy
  • A Certain Magical Index (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Alice in Murderland
  • Bamboo Blade (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • B. Ichi
  • Blood Lad Individual Volumes (Omnibuses are also available of the series)
  • BTOOOM!
  • Goong
  • Hero Tales
  • Highschool of the Dead Individual Volumes (Later released as Full Color Editions by Yen Press)
  • Inu x Boku SS (A few volumes Inu x Boku SS are still available for cover price on Amazon at the time of this post)
  • Jack Frost (Certain volumes are no longer available)
  • Kaoru Mori: Anything and Something
  • K-On! (Yen Press released a new K-On! omnibus collection)
  • Kobato.
  • Legend
  • One Thousand and One Nights
  • Oninagi (Volume 1 no longer available)
  • Pig Bride
  • Strike The Blood (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Tena On S-string
  • Triage X (Some volumes are no longer available)
  • Übel Blatt (Some volumes of Übel Blatt are still in stock at select sites)
  • Umineko When They Cry
  • With the Light
  • Zombie-Loan (Certain volumes no longer available)

Out of Print Seven Seas Manga

  • Gunslinger Girl Omnibuses
  • Angel Beats!: Heaven’s Door
  • Boogiepop Dual
  • Eve and Eve

Note: Franken Fran is being reprinted by Seven Seas. It was out of print for quite some time, but it is returning in May 2023.

Other Out of Print Manga

  • Chikyu Misaki
  • Cipher
  • Densha Otoko
  • Diamond Girl
  • Girls und Panzer (Certain volumes no longer available)
  • Maka-Maka
  • No Longer Human (Individual Volumes) by Usamaru Furuya (Kodansha is releasing a No Longer Human Complete Edition in Fall 2022)
  • My Code Name Is Charmer

I hope that was helpful for those of you who, like me, are always trying to complete my favorite series. There’s no real method to knowing when something is going to go out of print, but hopefully, you’ll be better prepared with these suggestions!

In other manga news, check out all of the new manga that’s releasing in 2022! Also, I recently did a post about where I buy manga if you are interested in checking that out as well.

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