A climate controlled environment with your books out of direct sunlight and an occasional light dusting is really all you need to keep your books in good shape. I don't think bags do much, if anything.

I only recently found out about manga sleeves so I’m slowly opting for those rather than manga bags. They aren’t as restrictive in that you can still open then and have still have some protection. I’ve eased off my stance of bagging manga the past year or so. I figure as long as I close my curtains I should be fine. I definitely don’t mind a bit of yellowing like I did in the past.

There really aren't many measures you need to take. Having a dehumidifier is ideal but whether it's necessary or not depends on where you live. Keep the books out of direct sunlight, dust them off once in awhile and handle them gently when you read.

Nothing else is required.

They're just books, you don't need to do anything to them. Keep them out of the sun; don't let them flap around in a bag; don't use them as a coaster; don't bend pages back; don't dog-ear pages. Also don't use those stupid bags, they look terrible and can cause damage on their own.

And rock salt isn't doing anything. It's not the first time I've seen that suggestion, but I have no idea how people can think that. A real dehumidifier (or aircon) removes say 500mL per day. Rock salt just gets mildly damp.

I have some Ikea 'box' shelves with no backing on them.
This piece of furniture (and most of my manga collection today) have been to 4 houses now and some had damp concerns.
Don't have your books touching a wall in case it traps moisture. My last flat we moved from because the landlord would not fix the damp that crept towards this bookshelf and for 6 months half of my collection sat in boxes in the spare room.

Just be mindful how you hold them as you read. Eventually the binding will crack since it is just glue, not much you can do to prevent that unfortunately.

Sacrifice a newborn lamb at midnight and bathe in its blood, then recite the necronomicon in its entirety, and finally utter my wish to the manga gods. They take a piece of my soul and in return I can count on my manga being dust free for the next decennia or two

Don't follow too many series at one time. Some series go out of stock fast, so if you see it in stock, pick it up (like one piece box set, goodnight punpun)

My advice is to pace yourself. I let it get out of hand and just ordered everything I wanted for months and now have too much backlog

My advice would be drop the "collecting for x time" in future posts. Other would be enjoy your collection on your terms, and resist paying scalpers. Have fun!

Get yourself a decent bookshelf where you can slowly build your collection

Buy stuff on Amazon, Kijiji or Rightstuff anime. I haven’t paid a full price manga in over 2 years. Generally I suggest to wait a discount in the range 25-35%

"Compromise and discipline" I like that.

Manga Collecting in general isn't any different than other forms of collecting, but for a lot of people, it seems to be it's own little monster. Posts that try to call out bad collecting habits and the difference between collecting and hoarding are discussed widely in this sub, but it hasn't been embraced until this year I think, and it's because of the popularity and publisher boom that's happening. Unlike in 2020 when manga was "hard" to get, it took a lot for people who were depressed and stuck at home to get rid of anything. What if it gets more valuable? Why should I give up xyz, even if I don't like it? etc, etc But that mentality was very damaging and newbies suffered a lot and couldn't get things like Chainsaw Man for a good price. But we're passed that and there are more people buying new manga than ever in a healthier way.

That said, hoarding and fomo buying still pops up sometimes and it's better to let people know then to not, even if it's mean. If you go to r/unfuckmyhabitat, I'm sure some people here live like that. It's important to see the problem, address it and ways to overcome it, and how to prevent it in the future.

And you're right. Digital is an important tool, but I read how people don't like spending more time on technology. That said, everyone who says this should get a device that is seperate from everything else to read manga. If you can find an iPad or Kindle and start using that, you can start to travel with your books and read easily on the go. It's not always about the money, but the space we take up with all our hobbies. Which is... a lot.

Curate your collection. Read what you like :)

Good post, OP

For me I don't get overwhelmed by it if anything I'm proud whenever I see my collection. I view it as basically my way of expressing my love and joy for these series. That joy makes me wanna get even more series to continue that expression specially with other people who also enjoy expressing their joy from their collection. (Just to clarify I couldn't care less if anyone doesn't like what I have or haven't collected so not looking for any validation on that front)

I definitely get overwhelmed whenever I want to read just cause I have so many series I wanna go through but I'm taking a step at a time (just recently made a list of all my series and am writing down which I read making it a goal to go through series)

As for collecting I try to only pick up series I know or at least some I've gotten interested in enough to keep going with. I do pickup some series I'm not sure if I'll reread anytime soon but I like having the option sorta like owning a DVD for a TV show you've already seen. Never know when the itch to re experience it will strike. I do also still read some digitally as I don't like to take my physical books to work but I make sure to avoid series I'm actively reading at home.

I definitely went through a bit of a phase when I first started collecting of just picking up as many of the series I liked as I could which resulted in probably some unhealthy spending habits but as of late with some health issues it's really helped me sit down and really think through a lot of the stuff I planned to pick up and really pick out the stuff I'm getting just for the sake of getting. I still do want to get another shelf and pick up some more series but I also realize like someone else in these comments said.

Manga is as much a book meant to be read as they are merch for a series and that's really pushed me on my above point of getting to reading what I have before I really get back into picking up a lot of series.

I feel rather stressed because I have limited space. In just few months I bought a lot of series, I enjoy reading physical copies much more. And to be fair, most of them were more affordable (second hand) than digital copied. When I was younger I sold lots of series because I wasn’t interested in them anymore, and guess what. 10 years later I regret! I want to reread them. Some which I really loved I even bought them again.

External validation alone shouldn’t be a reason for anyone to start collecting manga. It’s too expensive, as well as space- and time-consuming, to pursue this hobby just for the sake of validation.

I do it because I love it. It’s also just a bonus that my partner supports and loves the fact that I read novels and manga like my life force depended on it.

Just to comment on the last part of your post, where you mentioned mangatubers and videos like "top 10 manga you should buy" etc, and also I see a lot of people collecting manga just to own a physical copy of something they read scans of before and won't even re-read the physical copy they have : it's crazy to me how so many people don't treat manga the same way they treat books. Like on this sub sometimes it feels like people consider manga as merch almost. Something you buy just to own. They're just books! lol

Yes, I can appreciate that...and it is actually this concern that is the reason for me buying dvds/ boxsets of a film/TV series I love, because what if I don't have WiFi to stream, or my device isn't working etc.? Initially, I was worried about reading more digitally, but I am fortunate that my amazon Kindle from 6 years ago still works and my digital manga is downloaded there and have never had any issues. I also had a kindle before that and because I bought my books before I could just re-download them from my account on to my new kindle. In fairness for the digital stuff I read, I stick to the mainstream stuff...and I prioritise buying the physical series that are harder to find online, or like you said are more niche or that don't have digital releases.

Thank you for taking the time to read the post and comment. 😊

S-Six months..? I've been collecting for a year and only just reached 90 volumes lol. Looks good, I can tell you love BL manga!

FANGS YESSS someone else of culture I see 😎

I’m saving that pic so I can look up all that bl lmaooo

Beautiful collection Try out Kagurabachi

6 months oh my

Nice set up and collection!

A bit chaotic to my liking but has a lot of character! That corner transition where the Given manga is so smooth tho.

I at least keep all finished series on one side, ongoing on another, so I don’t have to reorganise everything every time

I kept my collection in two parts: finished and unfinished. The finished ones go on the nice shelves. The unfinished go on a different shelf or in particular boxes.

I've posted this in another thread, but I like to place volumes that are ongoing with at least one of them forward facing to save space. This can help a bit in my experience. But you'll almost always, no matter what, have to rearrange at some point lol.

https://preview.redd.it/i3y3z4a1ovdf1.jpeg?width=3868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ed993df542e7cd6457ab3c64c9d0df28c46bc9e

Staring at it and hoping it fixes itself.

I just put wherever space is available at this point. I ran out of shelf space a long time ago. I got manga in bags, on my desk, etc.

I was in the same boat when I started collecting! It’s really hard to complete a series and not start 5 others while doing so. What kept the price down for me was buying second hand. This also made the hunt for manga exciting. Sure, I was only collecting one series but trying to find it all second hand made it fun. I got to explore new book stores and get that “high” when I managed to find some volumes I needed. I don’t know if this is helpful but it might be a good way to help keep the excitement up for a single series for longer.

Read what you buy, don't buy more till you have read it

I actually read the stuff I buy. This stretches the time until I need something new to read.

I don’t purchase anything with full price (unless it’s super rare) that makes my job harder, and i purchase less.

Don't bulk buy a series. If you want to get a series that is like 30 volumes, spread your purchases out over the year. While it feels good to have the whole series, you probably won't read it that quickly. Also, it's easier to walk away at six volumes than at 36.

Pick a monthly limit. Either budget or number of volumes.

Don't buy anything new in a particular series unless you've read the rest. You don't need to have zero books in your TBR, but don't buy volume 14 if you haven't read volume 13 yet.

Keep track of how many series you are collecting, and consider not starting anything new until at least some are finished.

One shots are great for collection building, but bad for budget and space. Be cautious.

Don't buy on impulse. Whether in store or online, give yourself a few days or even weeks to mull over new series you might want to start.

If you take a buying break, maintain your previous limiters when you start buying again.

I hope this helps a bit.

Sleeves? Yea sure

Bags? No 

No they suck.

Maybe having a collection of something you are passionate about will motivate you to dust.

What does bagging mean?

Hey, my tip is to choose some day in the month and clean the dust on this day, with the pass of time, it will be natural, or at least you will have something reminding you to clean

Bagging is completely unnecessary. A lot of effort for no real gain.

I would strongly recommend getting an acid-free storage bin with a locking lid. Cheap plastic or rubber bins can actually break down over time and become sticky, which can eat at or discolor the paper in your books if they're left there for a long time (premature yellowing or actually dissolve bits). The locking lid and being acid-free will help protect your stuff from silverfish, dust, and the container itself.

I've loved the Really Useful Box line for my own stuff, but there's tons of them out there.

Make sure there isn't a lot of moisture in your house. If there is, probably should get a dehumidifier for the room they'll be in cause books can get moldy.

Also keep it away from sunlight. You can sun-bleach your books if you showcase it and it's near a window.

Make sure to grab your books with clean hands and don't bend your books so far that you mess up the spine. Less damage, it'll last longer.

Since you don't have a bookcase, make sure that the last book on top has something to weigh it down. The cover/back can warp after a while and it'll curl.

I know it's a lot but really it's the usual things you should do for your stuff to keep it clean and long lasting. It wont last forever for sure, but this way it'll last as long as possible :)