Originating in Japan, manga are graphic novels or graphic novels or comic books drawn in a manner that conforms to a style developed in the East Asian country in the late 19th century – although the style has a long prehistory that began in earlier Japanese art – and they can sell for some significant prices.
In this piece, we’ll be taking you through eight of the most expensive mangas to have ever been sold.
8 What A Wonderful World! Vol. 1
The first entry in eighth place on our list is Volume 1 of What a Wonderful World! by the legendary Inio Asano. This is the first of a two-part collection of short stories and, while it isn’t Asano’s best work, this particular volume sells for $135.
This collection of stories sees Asano taking his readers through the daily lives of a wide variety of characters. What they all have in common is a darkness that plagues them and an ongoing struggle to overcome it. Essentially, what all of the characters really want is for the world they live in to be wonderful – hence the title!
7 Bokurano: Ours Vol. 3
The seventh most expensive manga is Volume 3 of Bokurano: Ours by Mohiro Kitoh. This is a peculiar anomaly in the Bokurano: Ours series, as it’s the only one in the eleven-strong set that’s out of print – which certainly explains its price. This particular volume has sold for around $150.
Volume 3 is the one volume in the set that has some… let’s say “questionable” content, but the story in general is about a group of students who inadvertently find themselves piloting a giant mecha named Zearth in a series of battles against mechas from parallel worlds. The survival of Earth is dependent on their continuing victories at the expense of the life of the pilot during each battle.
6 Battle Angel Alita: Last Order Vol. 15
At number six in our list, it’s Volume 15 of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order by Yukito Kishiro. This series is out of print and everything from Volume 12 upwards is very hard to find, with Volume 15 being the most difficult and, therefore, the most expensive. This one has sold for $160.
The second series in the popular cyberpunk Battle Angel Alita franchise – you may remember there was a 2019 movie starring the likes of Christoph Waltz – Last Order tells the story of Alita (or Gally as she’s known in the original Japanese version). Alita is a cyborg who lost all her memories and embarks on a quest to uncover her mysterious past.
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5 Eden: It’s an Endless World! Vol. 8
Here we come to Volume 8 of Eden: It’s an Endless World! This incredibly hard to find book by Hiroki Endo is a controversial story, due to its adult content, but its elusiveness is certainly reflected in its price. It’s currently selling for around $180.
Regarding its story, Eden: It’s an Endless World! is – to some extent at least – based on Gnostic mythology. It’s set in the near future, directly following a pandemic (which, of course, the real world is all too familiar with!) of the “Closure Virus”. Said virus killed 15 percent of the world’s population, crippled or disfigured an even larger number of people, and massively altered the political balance around the globe.
4 GANTZ Vol. 26
Up next we’ve got Volume 26 of GANTZ by Hiroya Oku. In general, most of the volumes in the GANTZ set are quite hard to find, but this one is particularly difficult. As a result, in optimum condition, it’s sold for as much as $200.
GANTZ is a particularly violent manga that tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato – two people who die in a train accident and find themselves forced into playing a semi-posthumous “game”. The game sees them and several other recently deceased individuals having to hunt and kill aliens armed with a small arsenal of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry.
3 BTOOOM! Vol. 14
Now we come to Volume 14 of BTOOOM! by Junya Inoue. In typical style for the genre, it has some rather inappropriate and suggestive imagery on the cover (hence the censoring above), but that’s manga for you! In recent times, volumes of BTOOOM! have been going out of print and this one has sold for $350 (with poorer condition copies going for $150).
BTOOOM! is all about an unemployed loner named Ryōta Sakamoto – one of the world’s best players of the titular video game. Having been nominated to participate in a real-life version of the game, Ryōta gets trapped inside it and meets his love interest Himiko.
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2 Karakuri Dôji Ultimo Vol. 12
Our penultimate entry is Volume 12 of Karakuri Dôji Ultimo. This is the final volume in the series and one of the rarest (along with nine, ten and eleven – all of which can sell for a hefty sum). This particular volume has sold for $500.
Although it’s illustrated by manga artist Hiroyuki Takei, this series is particularly popular due to its writer being American comic book legend Stan Lee. Its story centres around a conflict between good and evil, implicated through the titular Karakuri Dôji (literally “mechanical boy”) created by the character Dr. Roger Dunstan – a man who looks suspiciously like the aforementioned Mr. Lee.
1 One Piece: Romance Dawn Vol. 1 Limited Edition
The most expensive manga ever sold is the shiny gold edition of One Piece: Romance Dawn Volume 1 by Eiichiro Oda. The cheapest copies available sell for around $2,000, but average around $3,500 on eBay. However, the price can reach anything up to $4,999.99 depending on the condition the particular specimen is in.
One Piece is one of the most popular and globally famous mangas and its story centres on the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a boy whose body gained rubber-like properties after he unintentionally ate something called a Devil Fruit – a mysterious and distinctive range of fruits known for granting permanent superhuman powers to those who consume them.
So, as you can see, while classic manga may not (yet) be as costly as more traditional classic comic books – such as those published by Marvel and their long-term rivals DC Comics – they can still set you back a few bucks!
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Sources: YouTube, MangaScout, eBay.
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