What's up, guys? It's Kristin from Anime Collective.
So Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto is the first manga I ever purchased and read.
Many years have passed since then and it's still one of my all time favorites.
Not only is it the series that got me into manga, it's
one of the most exciting shonen
I've ever read with one of my favorite villain groups of all time, the Akatsuki.
Naruto means a lot to me. It made me laugh and cry.
I grew immensely connected to its characters
and its ability to humanize the quote unquote bad guys is top notch.
You really feel for the characters in this story on both sides.
It's a great beginner manga, but it's one that longtime fans will enjoy also.
Nostalgia aside, it's amazingly written and has some of my favorite characters
in manga.
All around Naruto is a series that I love and highly recommend.
But what's the best way you can collect the series?
As it currently stands, there are three different ways
you can collect Naruto,
the individual paperbacks, the manga box sets, and the 3-in-1 edition paperbacks.
If you go the individual route, there are 72 paperbacks to collect.
If you go the box set route, there are three box sets
that fully collect the series.
The first box set collects the first 27 volumes in Naruto and the second box
set collects volumes
28 through 48, and the third box set collects volumes 49 through 72.
If you go with the 3-in-1
editions, there are 24 volumes that fully collect the series.
There is also a special edition Naruto Shadow Box that collects 1 through 27.
It also came with a trading game card as well as a sticker set,
a double sided poster and more and a collector's edition hardcover
of volume one only that I want to mention real quick.
I won't have these in the video because they don't fully
collect the series, but they are cool nonetheless.
Now let's get into the comparison and let's kick things off with size.
Here are the individual paperbacks in comparison to the 3-in-1 editions.
You can see that they are the same size, both height and width wise.
The only difference between the two
is that the 3-in-1 editions are thicker because they collect three volumes in one.
When it comes to cost, the individual paperbacks are $9.99 a volume.
The 3-in-1 editions are $14.99 a volume and the box sets cost
$174.99, $185.99 and $214.99.
These are their prices at full retail, but you can usually find
all of these at discounted prices when you can find them in stock.
That being said, collecting the full series via the 72 individual
paperbacks would cost you $719.28 via the 24 3-in-1 editions it would cost you
$359.76 and via the three box sets, it would cost you $575.97.
So the cheapest way by far to collect Naruto is the 3-in-1 editions
and the second cheapest would be the box sets.
I want to talk about availability real quick too because Naruto
is one of those series that has volumes that are temporarily out of stock.
Select volumes and sets of the individuals,
3-in-1 editions and box sets have been in and out of stock
but it looks like a lot of them are finally coming back in.
I source all my restock dates from Barnes and Noble
and if you'd like to see
when those out of stock volumes and manga box sets are coming back in, definitely
check out the link in the description below.
I'll keep that post up to date as more expected restock dates are revealed too.
That being said, please don't pay crazy prices for any of the Naruto box
sets, 3-in-1s, or individual volumes because they will all restock eventually.
Box set 2 actually just recently restocked on RightStuf
so you can pick it up there while supplies last.
As far as their design goes, the Naruto individual paperbacks
feature the original cover art.
They actually feature the same cover art
that's seen on the individual Japanese volumes.
The spines of Naruto are white while the spines of Naruto Shippuden are black.
I really like the look of them on and off the shelf.
The Naruto 3-in-1 editions feature new artwork
for the most part, aside from a few, the covers feature Naruto.
They all have light orange spines, so they do look more uniform on the shelf.
I personally like the change in the individual paperback spines
but some may not.
The box sets on the other hand, all feature different artwork.
Box set 1 has Naruto on the front
and Sasuke and Sakura on its sides so it highlights team seven.
Box set 2 has artwork of Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto on the front and artwork of
Naruto performing the Rasengan on one side and artwork and Sasuke on the other.
The back features a collage of the characters
and highlights pivotal moments
like the entrance of the Akatsuki and Sasuke's curse mark.
This is one of my favorites because of the split
graphic of Sasuke and Naruto on the inside,
but also because of the artwork on the outside of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura
as well as the back, which features all of Naruto's comrades and Kakashi.
Print quality wise, the individual paperbacks
have more contrast than the 3-in-1 editions.
The blacks in particular are deeper and the mid-tones are more present
in the individual paperbacks as well.
The biggest difference in quality between the two is their page quality though.
The page quality of the 3-in-1 editions is worse than the individual paperbacks.
The 3-in-1s have these newspaper like thin pages so they are extremely see through.
The pages in both have an eggshell like texture and an off white color,
but the individual paperbacks are printed on thicker, higher quality paper.
What about the cropping of the artwork?
In most cases, the cropping is about the same vertically,
but you can see very slight differences
on certain pages in how they crop the artwork.
Horizontally however, the 3-in-1 editions are the most cropped.
In these types of panels that reach the edge of the volumes
you can see that they've cropped certain areas a bit more in the 3-in-1s
and even cut off some of the sound effects in some areas, as seen in this panel.
What about readability?
Both the individual paperbacks and the 3-in-1 editions are easy to read.
They added enough margins around the panels,
so nothing is obstructed by or falls into the gutter of the volumes.
Since the 3-in-1 editions are relatively flexible in comparison
to other 3-in-1 or omnibus-like editions, they're easy and pleasing to read.
The individuals are the easiest to read and are the most portable,
but the 3-in-1 editions have good readability too.
As far as translation and lettering goes, I read them side by side
and they're exactly the same.
The sound effects are the same as well, so no differences to report here.
Up next is extras.
The only edition that comes with the extras are the manga box sets.
All three of the box sets come with extras.
I haven't been able to pick up
box set 1 yet to show you guys the extras in that one, but I do have 2 and 3.
The first box set comes with a double sided poster and a special booklet.
The second comes with an exclusive mini comic containing Naruto's pilot story
and a double sided poster and the third comes
with a double sided poster and a booklet as well.
Now, that we've gone over everything, what's the final verdict?
If you're looking for the cheapest way to collect Naruto, it's the 3-in-1 editions.
If you're looking for the highest page
and print quality it's the individual paperbacks
which you can also collect in the box sets.
Like extras?
The box set is the only edition that comes se them.
What do I think, though?
Personally, I think the manga box sets are the best way to collect Naruto.
I really enjoy the way the spines look on the shelf,
they have the best print and page quality and they allow you to collect
the individuals at a cheaper cost, and you get the extras too.
What about you guys, which is your favorite way to collect Naruto?
And if it's one of your favorites as well, let me know in the comments.
If you're looking for any of the out of stock Naruto volumes and are curious
as to when they may be restocking, check out the link in my description.
I have listed
all of the known restock dates for the box sets, 3-in-1s and individual paperbacks.
And that's it for the video guys.
Thanks as always for watching and I hope you all are having an awesome day.