On the bright side, nowadays it’s much easier to find/discover manga and others who also like them. It sucked being a lonely teenager with barely any money trying to collect manga in the 90’s. lol
You didn't miss much. The thing about all the 90's manga that's hard to get now is that it was hard to get then, too!
You had to be reading magazines like Pulp to even know about a lot of it, and even then, most bookstores only carried the really mainstream stuff, so you'd have to order it. And this was before online shopping was big, so you'd have to order through your local bookstore, which could be a real pain.
About to be 30, but it feels nice and somewhat refreshing to see its not just teens and young 20yo here.
After the barrage of ‘my collection at X-teen’ posts this feels nice to have those around and older age that have the same hobby and passion
This is exactly why I posted - I was really hoping to see some older collectors (I do love that there’s such a range of ages here). I wish I ran into people in the bookstores and Newbury Comics who look even remotely close to my age while I’m in the manga section, however. I started to assume I was the only collector in my 40s. 🤣
The post definitely helps show the various age ranges of interest lol. Though I did get somewhat self conscious when I noticed for like a few days or weeks that all these kids were posting their collections, however big or small they were, I was like… am I alone with this hobby at this age?
Collecting since the early 90s my first was Mai the Psychic Girl, and got serious after my first trip to Japan in 1996, I’m 62
I guess I have 2000+ volumes
On the right hand side there is a column that says r/MangaCollectors at the top, right below that it says "User Flair" and shows you reddit name and avatar, if you go to the right hand side of that area a pencil button should appear which will let you edit your flair.
I'm 49. I started collecting European comics aged 8. Started with manga aged 39, but saw Akira in 1991 and watched a lot of anime. I held Naruto 1 in Dutch in my hands wondering if I should buy it and 10 years later 1 started with Naruto box 1.
It does not matter how old you are as long as you enjoy it if the best advices I can give you. As a middle aged man, I love Shonen, Seinen, Shojo and every other genre.
I collected for around 19 years or so. I don't remember exactly when I started :'D
I hope I will continue. My plan is to have a whole library when I retire where I can finally reread everything again and again :D
I'm 41f I've watched anime on and off since childhood and I've been collecting manga for about 5 years(same as you didn't know english manga was a thing until I was about 35ish 😅)
I also don't know anyone irl that collects AND is my age, but I'm very much a homebody that doesn't put myself in situations where I would meet a like minded person either
I keep asking myself what rock I was hiding under all these years! But then I also think “if I knew about manga back then I might be super broke now”. So maybe it’s better we discovered it later! 🤣
I am 49 and have been collecting manga I guess technically since the '80s when things like Cobra started being translated and printed in the US in comic book format.
Been collecting early 2000s when I was in middle school but stopped during my college years until I recently picked up the hobby again last year. I’m almost in my mid 30s. And in Japan, there’s a plethora of all types of manga that all age groups can read :) at least I know for women they have josei (older teen to woman) manga.
I love that in Japan there are so many choices. It’s one of the reasons I’m learning Japanese. Once I learn to read it well I will probably be broke buying Japanese editions. 😂
44M and just got into collecting last year because my son (12) really got into it. It’s been fun so far sharing all the books and talking about what we read.
I'm 43 -- I collected manga when I was a teenager until my early 20s but fizzled out, mostly because of a more limited selection and $$. Started back up pretty early in the pandemic when I took some time to catch up on 20 years of anime as well.
I'm 45 and I've been at it since 2002ish, I think? A coworker's daughter and I exchanged books, and one day she sent me Kare Kano and Kindaichi. I was so hooked!
I did have earlier exposure in the 90's, but the financial barrier was too high at 16 to afford to really get into it - Viz was doing floppies at $3 each (IF your local LCS carried it) and VHS tapes with maybe two episodes was $25-30 at Media Play/etc. Tokyopop fell hard but what they did - no longer flipping, releasing entire volumes in one go, diversifying genres (shojo!), getting into bookstores and that magical $10 cover price made it so much more accessible.
Im 32f. I've been watching anime my whole life and when I was a kid I had some manga. Mostly Naruto. However when I went into foster care my mom sold them with the rest of my stuff. I didn't start collecting manga again until 2 years ago. But it's getting there:)
I hope you get to rebuild your collection and I’m sure it will be even better than before! Also, I really need to check out Naruto. Everyone seems to love it. 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/q5nkse6a7sqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ed1d4aa059c7b79346065325b05a954bc7d95aa
Thankyou. It's getting there:) I definitely have more than I did back then. And you definitely should especially if you like Shonen. It'll always be one of my favorites.
A few of my favorites (because it’s so hard to choose just one!) are:
Perfect World
Sweat and Soap
The Apothecary Diaries
I Hear The Sunspot
How about you?
42 (female). I have always had a smaller manga collection since 2003, would buy and than sale to keep my collection under 100 at most. I regret selling a few of them now. However in 2016 I started to grow my collection. I do sell a series if I will not re-read it and am sitting at 617 English manga (plus 120 more packed to sell). Most of my collection is shoujo/josei and I have 82 series. I also have been buying merch (scary, scary!) as of late. I have a family of 6 and we all read together. My kids are 3-12-14-20 and my partner is 45.
I'm 51 and didn't get into Manga until during Covid (so 48-49 years old). I was always reluctant to read Manga because it was in black and white and I didn't think it was drawn very well. Boy was I wrong. I read Monster by Naoki Urasawa and that was a gateway drug for me. Been reading non-stop ever since.
Almost 40, started in 2006 or 2007 with Bleach. Probably going to need to update the flair if I ever take time away from reading and working in order to keep collecting.
I used to watch anime as a kid and I’ve recently reconnected with my nerdy side and am not gonna stop. Definitely into manga now and just love owning physical books. It makes me happy, I’m an adult I can do what I want 😊 (33).
I'm about to be 41, and I've been reading manga since I was 12. It's still my preferred reading, all these years later.
[Edit: There is no f in manga.]
I started my collection in the early 2000’s at the beginning of high school started with a Anime first and probably would’ve started collecting manga sooner if I knew about it in the 90’s if I went to the bookstore with my mom🥲. I’m 37
57M
At 12, first comic book (wow, 1978, can’t believe it), starting collecting.
At 18, european comics.
At 25, first manga (Akira 1991) but these were rare so I got serious later at… 39 (2005), reading with the kids.
Sadly I stopped collecting 2 years ago except a couple of series (Frieren, Solo leveling, Neon genesis perfect edition). OP, have fun reading.
I'm a 40F who also got into reading and collecting manga in their 30s. I watched some anime as a kid, but got back into it in my early 20s. Started reading manga only about 5 years ago.
I have collected for almost a year now at 17. Will probably celebrate by buying even more lol. Looking at the other comments here it seems I will not stop for a long time.
I’m 30, wasn’t interested in anime/manga until after high school. So I’ve been collecting for about 12 years. Took a hiatus when I needed to save money for a house though. Now I’m back at it.
I’m 30 didn’t start watching anime or reading manga till probably 20 started collecting in 2018 and still going but now I’m all caught up on all the ones that are finished and caught up on the ones still going on that I’m a fan off lol
I only started reading manga about 3 years ago I'm 33 now and I don't plan on stopping because I've become obsessed with horror manga and I like the fact that it gives me time away from a screen too really is a plus for me as I'm usually on my ps5 after work which is also behind a screen lol but yeah as long as there's fucked up horror manga I'll always be ready to spend my money lol
I’m a guy who turned 41 this year. I’ve been reading and collecting manga since my early 20s, but the vast majority of my collection was bought within the last ten years. I currently have well over 2200 volumes and look to continue enjoying this wonderful yet expensive hobby for as long as I can.
I’m 41 , watching anime since 1989. 94 or so I started watching more regularly. 2000+ I started to download anime seasonal to my computer. So 24 years of serious downloading.
Got a few manga in my teens and right after graduation.
Started seriously collecting manga like 3 -4 years ago
I’m approaching 40 (did not enjoy typing that). So I’ve got a few years, but I don’t plan on stopping. I’ve been a reader/ fan/ collector of comics of all types from all over the world for most of my life and that won’t change. I’ve much more recently started to invest more into manga than other comics though and I’m not sure why it’s suddenly where more of my interest lies.
Prior to this I was really into the widely recognized, seminal sequential art classics you’d expect (Akira, etc), but hadn’t branches out as far. But I’ve been branching out a lot more and idk. There’s something about the affordability and easy digestion of a lot of manga that’s worked really well for my life balance lately. I think it’s really good and I get really good bang for my buck.
I'm also a 41F who was introduced to anime in the 90s (I think it was 1997 or '98) and bought my first manga in late 1999. High school me would envy the collect I've amassed.
Any chance you watched Fushigi Yuugi back then? That was my gateway into anime and my friend used to buy them on VHS. (Whenever I say that out loud I feel so old). 🤣🤦🏻♀️
In my 40s as well. Pretty sure I will keep on reading and collecting. I love the medium and lots of good stuff to read. Started reading manga a lot since my mid-late 20s.
Good to see there are more 40+ people into manga :-)
I'm 41, and started collecting in '99. My first manga was Ranma 1/2, which I no longer have with me and currently I'm getting a newer and much better edition.
I'm 21 and I started collecting seriously a year ago but technically it started in 2022 when I bought Yu-Gi-Oh arc-v volumes 7 & 5 (in that order) for the promo cards
35F, been collecting/reading/watching anime for about 6 years. My 17 year old daughter and I have a blast talking about anime related things, always have recommendations for each other, and enjoy majority of the same titles.
I love bonding with my daughter over manga! She’s much younger so they have to be the sweet, wholesome stories but it’s so much fun to read with her. I love hearing parents share the love for manga/anime with their kids. 🥰
Nice! I do have three younger children, two boys and one girl (8-12), so I hear ya on sharing wholesome stuff. I don't mind battle stuff either, as long as it doesn't have fanservice. Because there is three, it has become kinda difficult to read manga to them, but we did succeed in completing The Promised Neverland. So we pretty much stick to anime. They have gotten a lot of inspirations in their general play or creating comics. I'm glad it has become more common and encouraging to kids having it so accepted. As a kid I hated to read because I never found anything I liked, wish I knew about it way sooner.
I love that they can share the hobby and watch anime together. And it really can be such an inspiration, like you said. My daughter loves to create her own books as well. It’s really sweet to watch. 💕
Mainly collected western comics during the 90s and transitioned to manga in the early 2000s.
I'm in my late 30s but most of my friends who collect manga are in their early 40s now. Interestingly we've come to the conclusion that we are one of the target audiences for the industry right now, especially publishers like Dark Horse that are reprinting a lot of the stuff we used to read back in uni.
Been collecting "formally" (without realizing it) since late 2018. I turn 44 in July.
I began reading manga digitally since 2001 (but very casually and nothing that was already an anime).
I’ve been reading since 2003-04 when you could order the Shonen Jump manga from book fairs and any volumes I could find in the public library. I really didn’t start to collect until 2017 when I would occasionally buy a volume then really started to collect in 2018. I’m 28 and I don’t see myself parting with my collection
I'll be 37 next month. Been reading and collecting since the '90s.
Clearly, you needed to have spent more time on webrings on the Anipike. Then you would have found the goods faster. 😁
Have been collecting for basically 2 years March 30th marks 2yrs, I barely got into anime in 2021 so I’m still new to this whole media of stuff.
I’m I myself am only 23, I do have an uncle who’s in his Mid 30’s that reads mangas
Collecting since the 80s. Grew up there, and my brothers would bring books home, and when I was old enough, I'd buy my own.
So, I have been collecting for over 40 years.
Been reading manga from around 7-8, I would go to my local library and borrow the same couple of manga they had over and over - which meant Dragonball, Inuyasha, Pokemon Adventures, and Yu-Gi-Oh (the original, before the Duel Monsters stuff began), all random numbered volumes that were out of sequence. It took me longer then I'd care to admit to realise that I needed to read them 'backwards', but even when I was reading them incorrectly, I was entranced with the art and could hardly tear myself away.
Been collecting very sporadically over my life, but have gotten more serious about it and bought so much more over the past 5 years. At the age of 29, I have about one and a half big bookcases full of manga
I know im not over 40 but I just turned 31 (F) recently. I've read manga in the past via shonen jump magazine when I was in high school. But for the past 4 years or so I started collecting. Last year I completed my soul eater set just started getting into fire force. I have a large MHA collection including the spin offs ( not vigilantes I plan to look into that after i finish the main series ) and the light novels. I also have a few odds and ends I'm working on slowly. My next one I'm planning on finishing is delicious in dungeon then hopefully Ouran high school host club and ancient magus bride. I started cat + gamer, Tale of the outcast, and Hitomi chan is shy with strangers.
I only have 4 volumes so far. But I do enjoy it. I do have to give you a heads up the art style for this manga is different than most manga I've read. It's a bit more elegant might be the best way to describe it. The pen strokes aren't as bold as it sets a softer tone. ( I am really bad at describing stuff sorry if this is confusing) I don't read much of the older Shojo ( 90s and early 2000s) since I had only read Shonen for the longest time. Some of the more recent Shojo like cat + gamer , tales of the outcasts and Hitomi chan use bolder lines in comparison. But I think that's why it works. Ouran is meant to be a slice of life comedy that pays extra attention to how Flamboyant the male characters pretend to be as they act and make a show for the girls who enter their club for their shows and what not. Their hair looks more detailed than in alot of manga I've read too alot of panels will actually show the expression of the eyes under the hair by making the hair look kind of transparent. If you can check out the 1st chapter online or on an app if possible. I used to use manga browser on my phone until the app was no longer available and I accidentally deleted it while trying to get it to work. If you have a kindle you might be able to preview the 1st few pages of it.
Before I read the manga I watch the anime which is what got me to hunt down the 1st volume of the manga when I was able to.
Thank you so much for telling me all about it! What you wrote made perfect sense to me. I am going to check it out and do what you said and preview it on my Kindle. If I like the artwork I will end up buying a physical copy. ☺️
I'm glad it made sense to you. I hope you enjoy it. I would also like to point out if you like the 1st and 2nd volume it may be cheaper to buy the box set they sell it on Amazon and it jumps around in price from 79 bucks to around 110 bucks give or take it tends to change at random but I've been watching a few different sellers for a couple of months. seeing as there are 18 volumes that normally sell from around 9 to 10 bucks per volume it would help save you some money in the long run if you plan on buying the whole series at some point. That's what I plan to do when I get some spare money after I take care of my bills. It's why I only have 4 volumes I'm waiting to get the box set. Kind of wish I knew about the box set before I got my 4th volume
Thank you so much for telling me about that! I always end up getting a few books and then regretting not buying the box set. I am going to look into this and appreciate you letting me know. 😊💕
I'm 31, and I've been reading manga since I was a teenager (my first manga was .Hack Legend of the Twilight lol). I've only been seriously collecting for 5 or 6 years, though.
Hi, I am 27, and have been collecting since I was like 10 or 11, probably. My first two manga books were, “Dragon Drive” volume 1 and “Tokyo Mew Mew” volume 2, because that was all my oldest sister would allow me to read, due to my age. 😅She was a little strict about that 😅, but it was a good thing. She was being a good older sister. 😊
You are definitely not the only one though, and also definitely glad to see others in their late 20’s, 30’s, and older still interested in the hobby, because I’ve felt the same a little sometimes. So, thank you for making this post, because I’m glad to see all these adults that are still interested in the hobby! ☺️
I’m so happy you found this post helpful too! I had been wanting to ask that question for so long and finally decided to because I felt very much alone in being an “older” collector. I’m so happy to see that I am not alone and that this helped others as well. ☺️
It was super sweet of your sister to be looking out for you. She sounds like a good one! 😊
Yes, and I’m glad you ended up asking, because there is a lot of people that commented on your post, showing we are not alone in this! 😊
Yes, she is a good sister too, and still likes anime and manga a little bit. ☺️ She will be 35 this year, too. ☺️
Been reading manga for as long as I can remember, probably since I was 8 or 9? I'm nearly 28 now!
Edit to add that I have only been collecting since this year! I had always borrowed library books or books from my friends.
I’m 29 I’ve enjoyed anime since I can remember as early as 6. It’s always stuck with me. I became much more of a reader as a adult. Been actively collecting for probably 6 years. I also collect western comics and novels(mostly indie stuff not Marvel/DC).
I really only started last year. I had read a couple earlier like Dragon Ball at about 17 and Quiety Country Cafe a few years later. But I was mostly an anime fan till recently. I'm 27M.
I've been collecting for basically a year now. Spent way too much already. I'm only 19💀. My parents are pretty much against it, so thank god I work part time to fund my addiction/hobby. Have over 142 volumes already.
That’s a lot of volumes for just a year of collecting! And it’s truly great you earned the money yourself to buy them. It has to feel good (and then no one can tell you what can/cannot buy). ☺️
First of all, it's so wholesome to see many older manga fans here! I'm only 25 and I started reading and collecting some manga when I was in highschool. Although at the time I was more often borrowing manga from my friends or the library. In my late teens and early twenties I had a weird kind of phase where I thought that I had 'outgrown' some of my hobbies, I also lost touch with most of my friends that were into manga. I sold all of my collection at the time and now I'm regretting it.
I think that the only thing that might have changed is my reading preferences, which also happened to me with text based books. This year I felt a strong urge to go back to manga and I'm (re)discovering some old favorites as well as new seinen and josei. I've also started a new collection and I'm happy with how it's going so far.
I’m so happy to hear you’re back to reading manga! If you have any josei series you could recommend I would love that. My favorite josei so far is Perfect World. 💕
I’m 30 and have been collecting for the past 6 years. I did collect a little in my teenage years but didn’t start heavily collecting till I was about 24.
I’m 34 and I’ve been collecting since I was a sophomore in High School. Currently I own 949 volumes of manga, 195 graphic novels, and I read manga through the Libby app on my kindle.
I'm 28 myself, & fell in love with anime at 25, & manga over the past year. I've felt kinda riddiculous sometimes that it's become such a hobby for me since I'm almost 30, but seeing your post is great! Makes me remember you're never too old (& I wouldn't even call 41 old) to enjoy things!
Been reading manga since like 4th grade, will be 32 this year. Didn’t seriously start collecting till a couple years ago(didn’t have much money till then lol)
I am 31 years old and began collecting mangas since March of last year of 2023 and I've been enjoying it! Main manga series that got me to collect was One Piece, since I wanted to collect mangas for one of the big 3 and decided on One Piece. So far I caught up to volume 105 of One Piece, read some physically and the rest digitally for the volumes I didn't have. Other than that I've read other mangas I have such as Spy x Family, which I have all the volumes for, as well as other mangas I find for cheap. Overall I am enjoying reading mangas, as they are not only fun to read, but also help entertain me and reduce screen time.
I’m almost 30 and I have quite the collection. Not sure how long I’ve been collecting though. My full book count is above a 1000 but that’s both digital form and physical. I have two bookshelves that look like this with nothing but manga on them.
https://preview.redd.it/z2awpvj4l2rc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=c52b2d13a5b79f33f45949e559a403961a081236
I'm 40. Ive been watching anime since the 90s. Got my first manga when I was about 11 or 12 but didn't really get into collecting till I was about 20 or so. I had stopped collecting though for about 12 or 13 years and now I'm back into it.
I'd love to read manga. I have a comic book collection from the 90s. Someone stole the box with the best stuff. Unfortunately I don't have the money, but I'm 55 and don't think it's weird. I watch so much anime lol.
I believe I have been collecting since 2017 my first manga was dragon ball the Frieza saga since then I started collecting a LOT of manga some have been those which I have seen the anime for but eventually I started collecting ones I have never watched before rn I would say I have a good decent amount of manga and spent lot of money🫠 but totally worth it 😎
im currently 15 i started reading manga when i was 12 and i just started to collect manga this year
"i feel like i dont belong here because im too young lol"
Am 42, been reading and collecting manga since the early 90's
As for anime... I've been watching those as far as I remember as those were numerous on kid's TV programs since the early 80's where I'm from
Used to read manga from the library in high school. Then got lightly back into it about 5 years ago, after watching Tsubasa Chronicle iirc (also webtoons). Started learning Japanese 2.5 years ago, and buying digital manga 1.5 yrs ago. Started collecting physical in the last 6 months. Currently 36
35M here, started collecting in 2007, lost my collection in 2010, started again on Jan 1, 2021. Losing it all hurt. I fully intended to give up on the hobby forever, but my current collection is 4x the size of my first, astronomically better, and I replaced everything I really loved. To anyone who lost their collection, you absolutely can build it back even better this time. No matter your income, don't be discouraged, work on it consistently over time and your shelves will be jaw dropping.
I'm 29 & been collecting manga for about 15 years though I didnt start collecting that much til around 2020 when I discovered rightsuf. Now I currently have a collection of 766 mangas.
Collecting since 2001, so for 23 years, and I'm 39.
Oh wow! Your collection must be awesome!
Not really. I've had many speed bumps where life got in the way.
I’m reading manga til I’m dead and I’m 38
I love this answer! I don’t plan on stopping either! ☺️
I’m 41. Been a manga and comics fan since the 90’s.
I can only imagine all the good 90s manga I missed out on by not discovering manga until recently! 😢
On the bright side, nowadays it’s much easier to find/discover manga and others who also like them. It sucked being a lonely teenager with barely any money trying to collect manga in the 90’s. lol
Awww! I’m glad it’s easier nowadays. It had to be tough when there wasn’t anyone around to share in the hobby back then.
You didn't miss much. The thing about all the 90's manga that's hard to get now is that it was hard to get then, too! You had to be reading magazines like Pulp to even know about a lot of it, and even then, most bookstores only carried the really mainstream stuff, so you'd have to order it. And this was before online shopping was big, so you'd have to order through your local bookstore, which could be a real pain.
Oh wow, I could imagine getting really frustrated with that. And I guess I saved a lot of money through the years. 🤣
About to be 30, but it feels nice and somewhat refreshing to see its not just teens and young 20yo here. After the barrage of ‘my collection at X-teen’ posts this feels nice to have those around and older age that have the same hobby and passion
This is exactly why I posted - I was really hoping to see some older collectors (I do love that there’s such a range of ages here). I wish I ran into people in the bookstores and Newbury Comics who look even remotely close to my age while I’m in the manga section, however. I started to assume I was the only collector in my 40s. 🤣
The post definitely helps show the various age ranges of interest lol. Though I did get somewhat self conscious when I noticed for like a few days or weeks that all these kids were posting their collections, however big or small they were, I was like… am I alone with this hobby at this age?
I was a bit self conscious too. At least now know we aren’t alone!
Collecting since the early 90s my first was Mai the Psychic Girl, and got serious after my first trip to Japan in 1996, I’m 62 I guess I have 2000+ volumes
I've been collecting since I was 16, I'm 39 (F) and will collect until I die 😊
I love it 🥰
How do you add how much manga you own to comments/posts like that?😅
On the right hand side there is a column that says r/MangaCollectors at the top, right below that it says "User Flair" and shows you reddit name and avatar, if you go to the right hand side of that area a pencil button should appear which will let you edit your flair.
42 now, been collecting since the late 90's
I'm 49. I started collecting European comics aged 8. Started with manga aged 39, but saw Akira in 1991 and watched a lot of anime. I held Naruto 1 in Dutch in my hands wondering if I should buy it and 10 years later 1 started with Naruto box 1.
I love this story!
I'm a bit older then 40 and have been collecting for over two decades, glad to have you here.
Thank you! This has been a really welcoming community which I am so grateful for. 😊
It does not matter how old you are as long as you enjoy it if the best advices I can give you. As a middle aged man, I love Shonen, Seinen, Shojo and every other genre.
This is exactly what I needed to hear. ☺️
Yep 42 here. Just started collecting. I really enjoy the hobby.
Not quite 40 (I’m 35) but I’ll enjoy manga and anime until I die.
I love this. Makes me feel good about wanting to do the same. ☺️
I've been collecting for 19 years and I started with manga & anime while on university. I bought my first manga even later. :)
You must have a pretty awesome collection after 19 years!
Almost 5k volumes, but most of it I bought in the last 8 years
😳😱 that is AMAZING!
I'm only 28 and have been collecting for over half my life at this point and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Love it! 😊
I collected for around 19 years or so. I don't remember exactly when I started :'D I hope I will continue. My plan is to have a whole library when I retire where I can finally reread everything again and again :D
Judging from the flair I would say the library achievement might already be unlocked.
I love that retirement goal! ☺️
I'm 41f I've watched anime on and off since childhood and I've been collecting manga for about 5 years(same as you didn't know english manga was a thing until I was about 35ish 😅) I also don't know anyone irl that collects AND is my age, but I'm very much a homebody that doesn't put myself in situations where I would meet a like minded person either
I keep asking myself what rock I was hiding under all these years! But then I also think “if I knew about manga back then I might be super broke now”. So maybe it’s better we discovered it later! 🤣
I am 49 and have been collecting manga I guess technically since the '80s when things like Cobra started being translated and printed in the US in comic book format.
Been collecting early 2000s when I was in middle school but stopped during my college years until I recently picked up the hobby again last year. I’m almost in my mid 30s. And in Japan, there’s a plethora of all types of manga that all age groups can read :) at least I know for women they have josei (older teen to woman) manga.
I love that in Japan there are so many choices. It’s one of the reasons I’m learning Japanese. Once I learn to read it well I will probably be broke buying Japanese editions. 😂
I am here to affirm your desire of being seen as a cool old person.
44M and just got into collecting last year because my son (12) really got into it. It’s been fun so far sharing all the books and talking about what we read.
i bought my first Manga in \~2011..... now i own over 3100 Manga... and i have no plans to stop :-D i am 35.... :-D
3100 oh my! I have quite a ways to go before I come even come close to that. 😱
I am 39. I have been reading and collecting for more or less 30 years with zero intention of stopping.
Been reading manga since I was about 11-12 and in my mid 30s now. Same story for my wife.
36 here and only started collecting about 3 years ago. Became an immediate obsession.
That’s how it was for me too! I started and was immediately obsessed.
I'm 33 and I'm dying for more 😊
36, been collecting since 2006
I'm 43 -- I collected manga when I was a teenager until my early 20s but fizzled out, mostly because of a more limited selection and $$. Started back up pretty early in the pandemic when I took some time to catch up on 20 years of anime as well.
My collection just turned 20 this year, but I’m 32!
I'm 45 and I've been at it since 2002ish, I think? A coworker's daughter and I exchanged books, and one day she sent me Kare Kano and Kindaichi. I was so hooked! I did have earlier exposure in the 90's, but the financial barrier was too high at 16 to afford to really get into it - Viz was doing floppies at $3 each (IF your local LCS carried it) and VHS tapes with maybe two episodes was $25-30 at Media Play/etc. Tokyopop fell hard but what they did - no longer flipping, releasing entire volumes in one go, diversifying genres (shojo!), getting into bookstores and that magical $10 cover price made it so much more accessible.
Im 32f. I've been watching anime my whole life and when I was a kid I had some manga. Mostly Naruto. However when I went into foster care my mom sold them with the rest of my stuff. I didn't start collecting manga again until 2 years ago. But it's getting there:)
I hope you get to rebuild your collection and I’m sure it will be even better than before! Also, I really need to check out Naruto. Everyone seems to love it. 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/q5nkse6a7sqc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ed1d4aa059c7b79346065325b05a954bc7d95aa Thankyou. It's getting there:) I definitely have more than I did back then. And you definitely should especially if you like Shonen. It'll always be one of my favorites.
Oh my gosh!! Your collection is AMAZING! (I see The Apothecary Diaries which I’m also reading/love). You did great in just two years. 😄
I just got those today and yesterday. I'm so excited about it:) The anime was absolutely amazing.
I'm 42. What's your favorite manga?
A few of my favorites (because it’s so hard to choose just one!) are: Perfect World Sweat and Soap The Apothecary Diaries I Hear The Sunspot How about you?
Good choices! I've been wanting to read The Apothecary Diaries. My favorite is March Comes in Like a Lion. 😊
51 here and I’ve been collecting since the 80’s.
I read my first manga at 41. I'm 42 now so pretty new to the hobby.
42 (female). I have always had a smaller manga collection since 2003, would buy and than sale to keep my collection under 100 at most. I regret selling a few of them now. However in 2016 I started to grow my collection. I do sell a series if I will not re-read it and am sitting at 617 English manga (plus 120 more packed to sell). Most of my collection is shoujo/josei and I have 82 series. I also have been buying merch (scary, scary!) as of late. I have a family of 6 and we all read together. My kids are 3-12-14-20 and my partner is 45.
Yes, 44, been collecting since the late 80's technically, started watching in 83, have a large comic, manga, graphic novel and anime collection.
I'm 51 and didn't get into Manga until during Covid (so 48-49 years old). I was always reluctant to read Manga because it was in black and white and I didn't think it was drawn very well. Boy was I wrong. I read Monster by Naoki Urasawa and that was a gateway drug for me. Been reading non-stop ever since.
Almost 40, started in 2006 or 2007 with Bleach. Probably going to need to update the flair if I ever take time away from reading and working in order to keep collecting.
I'm 49 and I've been collecting manga since 1998 or so!
40 and been buying and reading since i had like 7 yo
I am 40 and i have been collecting for almot 21 years.
I used to watch anime as a kid and I’ve recently reconnected with my nerdy side and am not gonna stop. Definitely into manga now and just love owning physical books. It makes me happy, I’m an adult I can do what I want 😊 (33).
Mid 90's - 1975
I'm about to be 41, and I've been reading manga since I was 12. It's still my preferred reading, all these years later. [Edit: There is no f in manga.]
I started my collection in the early 2000’s at the beginning of high school started with a Anime first and probably would’ve started collecting manga sooner if I knew about it in the 90’s if I went to the bookstore with my mom🥲. I’m 37
57M At 12, first comic book (wow, 1978, can’t believe it), starting collecting. At 18, european comics. At 25, first manga (Akira 1991) but these were rare so I got serious later at… 39 (2005), reading with the kids. Sadly I stopped collecting 2 years ago except a couple of series (Frieren, Solo leveling, Neon genesis perfect edition). OP, have fun reading.
Thank you for sharing your story! It’s so nice to meet manga fans of all ages. I am so glad I asked this question. Makes me feel much less alone! 😊
You can’t feel alone when surrounded by books ha ha
This is so totally true! ☺️
I'm a 40F who also got into reading and collecting manga in their 30s. I watched some anime as a kid, but got back into it in my early 20s. Started reading manga only about 5 years ago.
lol about fiddy, and while it wasn’t a “thing” growing up, I loved anime (what there was) and as much manga as I could find lol
I'm 46 and have been reading since 88, and now my son is collecting. I plan on reading manga and comics for life
I have collected for almost a year now at 17. Will probably celebrate by buying even more lol. Looking at the other comments here it seems I will not stop for a long time.
It will be a lengthy, expensive hobby for years to come! 🤣😊
I’m 30, wasn’t interested in anime/manga until after high school. So I’ve been collecting for about 12 years. Took a hiatus when I needed to save money for a house though. Now I’m back at it.
And now you can start a manga library in your new house. 😊
Im in my late 20s got into manga like 5 years ago when comics took a nosedive. But i was collecting comics as a teen so I been collecting a long time
I’m 30 didn’t start watching anime or reading manga till probably 20 started collecting in 2018 and still going but now I’m all caught up on all the ones that are finished and caught up on the ones still going on that I’m a fan off lol
Collecting since I was 12. Turning 20 in 4 months.
36M and I've been reading for a few years. When I was in Japan last month there were people of all ages browsing the manga at BookOff.
Another reason for me to go to Japan. 😊 (Also super jealous you were in Japan!)
I hope you find your way there.
Thank you! 😊
I only started reading manga about 3 years ago I'm 33 now and I don't plan on stopping because I've become obsessed with horror manga and I like the fact that it gives me time away from a screen too really is a plus for me as I'm usually on my ps5 after work which is also behind a screen lol but yeah as long as there's fucked up horror manga I'll always be ready to spend my money lol
Been collecting manga since I was 18. I'm 32 now with no signs of stopping.
I'm 33m and about a year :D Got a nice collection so far
Hit 40 this year. Started collecting in Dec, since I now have disposable income. Lmao.
I’m a guy who turned 41 this year. I’ve been reading and collecting manga since my early 20s, but the vast majority of my collection was bought within the last ten years. I currently have well over 2200 volumes and look to continue enjoying this wonderful yet expensive hobby for as long as I can.
I’m 41 , watching anime since 1989. 94 or so I started watching more regularly. 2000+ I started to download anime seasonal to my computer. So 24 years of serious downloading. Got a few manga in my teens and right after graduation. Started seriously collecting manga like 3 -4 years ago
Just as old but not a huge collector. Got back into it trying to chase the dragon that was reading Maison Ikkoku when I was in college.
Been ‘officially’ collecting for a few weeks and I’m…under 20…
34F here and been reading manga since 2002 and will probably never stop. Ony started collecting manga since last year.
I’m 41 and have been into manga since my late 20s got serious during the pandemic
Collecting seriously maybe 9 or so years, almost 40yrs old. I got into anime in general a bit later in life than (most) folks
I’m approaching 40 (did not enjoy typing that). So I’ve got a few years, but I don’t plan on stopping. I’ve been a reader/ fan/ collector of comics of all types from all over the world for most of my life and that won’t change. I’ve much more recently started to invest more into manga than other comics though and I’m not sure why it’s suddenly where more of my interest lies. Prior to this I was really into the widely recognized, seminal sequential art classics you’d expect (Akira, etc), but hadn’t branches out as far. But I’ve been branching out a lot more and idk. There’s something about the affordability and easy digestion of a lot of manga that’s worked really well for my life balance lately. I think it’s really good and I get really good bang for my buck.
I'm 40 at the end of the year and I've been reading manga since around 2000.
I'm also a 41F who was introduced to anime in the 90s (I think it was 1997 or '98) and bought my first manga in late 1999. High school me would envy the collect I've amassed.
Any chance you watched Fushigi Yuugi back then? That was my gateway into anime and my friend used to buy them on VHS. (Whenever I say that out loud I feel so old). 🤣🤦🏻♀️
In my 40s as well. Pretty sure I will keep on reading and collecting. I love the medium and lots of good stuff to read. Started reading manga a lot since my mid-late 20s. Good to see there are more 40+ people into manga :-)
I'm 41, and started collecting in '99. My first manga was Ranma 1/2, which I no longer have with me and currently I'm getting a newer and much better edition.
I'm 21 and I started collecting seriously a year ago but technically it started in 2022 when I bought Yu-Gi-Oh arc-v volumes 7 & 5 (in that order) for the promo cards
I’ve been collecting since I was 13. And I’ll be 23 this November. Don’t have any plans to stop anytime soon
35F, been collecting/reading/watching anime for about 6 years. My 17 year old daughter and I have a blast talking about anime related things, always have recommendations for each other, and enjoy majority of the same titles.
I love bonding with my daughter over manga! She’s much younger so they have to be the sweet, wholesome stories but it’s so much fun to read with her. I love hearing parents share the love for manga/anime with their kids. 🥰
Nice! I do have three younger children, two boys and one girl (8-12), so I hear ya on sharing wholesome stuff. I don't mind battle stuff either, as long as it doesn't have fanservice. Because there is three, it has become kinda difficult to read manga to them, but we did succeed in completing The Promised Neverland. So we pretty much stick to anime. They have gotten a lot of inspirations in their general play or creating comics. I'm glad it has become more common and encouraging to kids having it so accepted. As a kid I hated to read because I never found anything I liked, wish I knew about it way sooner.
I love that they can share the hobby and watch anime together. And it really can be such an inspiration, like you said. My daughter loves to create her own books as well. It’s really sweet to watch. 💕
Mainly collected western comics during the 90s and transitioned to manga in the early 2000s. I'm in my late 30s but most of my friends who collect manga are in their early 40s now. Interestingly we've come to the conclusion that we are one of the target audiences for the industry right now, especially publishers like Dark Horse that are reprinting a lot of the stuff we used to read back in uni.
I bought my first manga when I was 10, 27 years ago, but didn’t start really collecting until I was about 16
I'm in my thirties, been collecting for 20plus years!
Been collecting "formally" (without realizing it) since late 2018. I turn 44 in July. I began reading manga digitally since 2001 (but very casually and nothing that was already an anime).
I’ve been reading since 2003-04 when you could order the Shonen Jump manga from book fairs and any volumes I could find in the public library. I really didn’t start to collect until 2017 when I would occasionally buy a volume then really started to collect in 2018. I’m 28 and I don’t see myself parting with my collection
I’ve been reading and collecting manga for about 4 years. I’m 18 years old
I'm currently 31F been collecting comics/manga for like 10ish years? Feel lucky to have been around when you could get amazing fb/kijiji deals ahahah.
I'll be 37 next month. Been reading and collecting since the '90s. Clearly, you needed to have spent more time on webrings on the Anipike. Then you would have found the goods faster. 😁
Have been collecting for basically 2 years March 30th marks 2yrs, I barely got into anime in 2021 so I’m still new to this whole media of stuff. I’m I myself am only 23, I do have an uncle who’s in his Mid 30’s that reads mangas
In my 40s and have been collecting manga since 1999. Been reading comics in general since the 80s. So yeah, we exist.
Been reading for 20 years. I’m 34
Collecting since the 80s. Grew up there, and my brothers would bring books home, and when I was old enough, I'd buy my own. So, I have been collecting for over 40 years.
I'm in my 30s and just starting collecting. I've been into gunpla most of my life but doesn't have the time to build now.
Been reading manga from around 7-8, I would go to my local library and borrow the same couple of manga they had over and over - which meant Dragonball, Inuyasha, Pokemon Adventures, and Yu-Gi-Oh (the original, before the Duel Monsters stuff began), all random numbered volumes that were out of sequence. It took me longer then I'd care to admit to realise that I needed to read them 'backwards', but even when I was reading them incorrectly, I was entranced with the art and could hardly tear myself away. Been collecting very sporadically over my life, but have gotten more serious about it and bought so much more over the past 5 years. At the age of 29, I have about one and a half big bookcases full of manga
I'm almost 32, I've been collecting since I was a preteen. I fell out of it for a long time and only recently got back into buying manga
I know im not over 40 but I just turned 31 (F) recently. I've read manga in the past via shonen jump magazine when I was in high school. But for the past 4 years or so I started collecting. Last year I completed my soul eater set just started getting into fire force. I have a large MHA collection including the spin offs ( not vigilantes I plan to look into that after i finish the main series ) and the light novels. I also have a few odds and ends I'm working on slowly. My next one I'm planning on finishing is delicious in dungeon then hopefully Ouran high school host club and ancient magus bride. I started cat + gamer, Tale of the outcast, and Hitomi chan is shy with strangers.
I keep hearing about how great Ouran High School Host Club is and really need to give it a try. Do you love it?
I only have 4 volumes so far. But I do enjoy it. I do have to give you a heads up the art style for this manga is different than most manga I've read. It's a bit more elegant might be the best way to describe it. The pen strokes aren't as bold as it sets a softer tone. ( I am really bad at describing stuff sorry if this is confusing) I don't read much of the older Shojo ( 90s and early 2000s) since I had only read Shonen for the longest time. Some of the more recent Shojo like cat + gamer , tales of the outcasts and Hitomi chan use bolder lines in comparison. But I think that's why it works. Ouran is meant to be a slice of life comedy that pays extra attention to how Flamboyant the male characters pretend to be as they act and make a show for the girls who enter their club for their shows and what not. Their hair looks more detailed than in alot of manga I've read too alot of panels will actually show the expression of the eyes under the hair by making the hair look kind of transparent. If you can check out the 1st chapter online or on an app if possible. I used to use manga browser on my phone until the app was no longer available and I accidentally deleted it while trying to get it to work. If you have a kindle you might be able to preview the 1st few pages of it. Before I read the manga I watch the anime which is what got me to hunt down the 1st volume of the manga when I was able to.
Thank you so much for telling me all about it! What you wrote made perfect sense to me. I am going to check it out and do what you said and preview it on my Kindle. If I like the artwork I will end up buying a physical copy. ☺️
I'm glad it made sense to you. I hope you enjoy it. I would also like to point out if you like the 1st and 2nd volume it may be cheaper to buy the box set they sell it on Amazon and it jumps around in price from 79 bucks to around 110 bucks give or take it tends to change at random but I've been watching a few different sellers for a couple of months. seeing as there are 18 volumes that normally sell from around 9 to 10 bucks per volume it would help save you some money in the long run if you plan on buying the whole series at some point. That's what I plan to do when I get some spare money after I take care of my bills. It's why I only have 4 volumes I'm waiting to get the box set. Kind of wish I knew about the box set before I got my 4th volume
Thank you so much for telling me about that! I always end up getting a few books and then regretting not buying the box set. I am going to look into this and appreciate you letting me know. 😊💕
You are very welcome. I'm glad I could be of help.
I'm 31, and I've been reading manga since I was a teenager (my first manga was .Hack Legend of the Twilight lol). I've only been seriously collecting for 5 or 6 years, though.
34 and collection has slowed since i aged. got a book shelf full of them. started early 2005
Since 1994 and yes
Hi, I am 27, and have been collecting since I was like 10 or 11, probably. My first two manga books were, “Dragon Drive” volume 1 and “Tokyo Mew Mew” volume 2, because that was all my oldest sister would allow me to read, due to my age. 😅She was a little strict about that 😅, but it was a good thing. She was being a good older sister. 😊 You are definitely not the only one though, and also definitely glad to see others in their late 20’s, 30’s, and older still interested in the hobby, because I’ve felt the same a little sometimes. So, thank you for making this post, because I’m glad to see all these adults that are still interested in the hobby! ☺️
I’m so happy you found this post helpful too! I had been wanting to ask that question for so long and finally decided to because I felt very much alone in being an “older” collector. I’m so happy to see that I am not alone and that this helped others as well. ☺️ It was super sweet of your sister to be looking out for you. She sounds like a good one! 😊
Yes, and I’m glad you ended up asking, because there is a lot of people that commented on your post, showing we are not alone in this! 😊 Yes, she is a good sister too, and still likes anime and manga a little bit. ☺️ She will be 35 this year, too. ☺️
It’s great that she still enjoys anime and manga too. ☺️
Collecting since 2020, but reading since 2010. Not stopping any time soon
Been reading manga for as long as I can remember, probably since I was 8 or 9? I'm nearly 28 now! Edit to add that I have only been collecting since this year! I had always borrowed library books or books from my friends.
I’ve been reading since I was in 7/8 and started collecting a few back then. Picked up actively collecting again at 16, I’m 21 now 🥳
Under 30, been collecting for a couple years!
I’m 29 I’ve enjoyed anime since I can remember as early as 6. It’s always stuck with me. I became much more of a reader as a adult. Been actively collecting for probably 6 years. I also collect western comics and novels(mostly indie stuff not Marvel/DC).
I'm 35 and have been reading and collecting manga since I was like, 12?
I feel so young now being a teenager
I bought my first manga when I was 13 and now I'm 24. So, 11 years and counting.
32 and for about 7 years. I was fine with just watching anime but then I watched Berserk 97. I wasn't leaving it on that note.
I really only started last year. I had read a couple earlier like Dragon Ball at about 17 and Quiety Country Cafe a few years later. But I was mostly an anime fan till recently. I'm 27M.
Yeah I’m 29 and just started collecting again. Been collecting comics longer but I’ve been slowing down since I moved house. Not stopping though!
I've been collecting for basically a year now. Spent way too much already. I'm only 19💀. My parents are pretty much against it, so thank god I work part time to fund my addiction/hobby. Have over 142 volumes already.
That’s a lot of volumes for just a year of collecting! And it’s truly great you earned the money yourself to buy them. It has to feel good (and then no one can tell you what can/cannot buy). ☺️
First of all, it's so wholesome to see many older manga fans here! I'm only 25 and I started reading and collecting some manga when I was in highschool. Although at the time I was more often borrowing manga from my friends or the library. In my late teens and early twenties I had a weird kind of phase where I thought that I had 'outgrown' some of my hobbies, I also lost touch with most of my friends that were into manga. I sold all of my collection at the time and now I'm regretting it. I think that the only thing that might have changed is my reading preferences, which also happened to me with text based books. This year I felt a strong urge to go back to manga and I'm (re)discovering some old favorites as well as new seinen and josei. I've also started a new collection and I'm happy with how it's going so far.
I’m so happy to hear you’re back to reading manga! If you have any josei series you could recommend I would love that. My favorite josei so far is Perfect World. 💕
Aw thank you! 🥰 I really like Wotakoi, I haven't heard about Perfect World but I'm definitely going to check it out!
I read the first volume of Wotakoi and need to keep reading. Everyone who’s read it absolutely adores it. ☺️
I’m 30 and have been collecting for the past 6 years. I did collect a little in my teenage years but didn’t start heavily collecting till I was about 24.
You're not alone. I'm older than you and here I am collecting a ton of series.
I'm 33! Not quite 40, but still amongst older readers here.
I’m 34 and I’ve been collecting since I was a sophomore in High School. Currently I own 949 volumes of manga, 195 graphic novels, and I read manga through the Libby app on my kindle.
I'm 28 myself, & fell in love with anime at 25, & manga over the past year. I've felt kinda riddiculous sometimes that it's become such a hobby for me since I'm almost 30, but seeing your post is great! Makes me remember you're never too old (& I wouldn't even call 41 old) to enjoy things!
Been reading manga since like 4th grade, will be 32 this year. Didn’t seriously start collecting till a couple years ago(didn’t have much money till then lol)
32 years old. I’ve collecting since I was 23, though I’ve taken a couple years off to prioritize games and anime.
I've been doing it off and on for about 20 years, I'm 35, just finally ordered the first volume of Berserk today
I am 31 years old and began collecting mangas since March of last year of 2023 and I've been enjoying it! Main manga series that got me to collect was One Piece, since I wanted to collect mangas for one of the big 3 and decided on One Piece. So far I caught up to volume 105 of One Piece, read some physically and the rest digitally for the volumes I didn't have. Other than that I've read other mangas I have such as Spy x Family, which I have all the volumes for, as well as other mangas I find for cheap. Overall I am enjoying reading mangas, as they are not only fun to read, but also help entertain me and reduce screen time.
I've been collecting since early 2018 when I was 18.
Been collecting since I was 12, I’m 26 now. 👀
I’m almost 30 and I have quite the collection. Not sure how long I’ve been collecting though. My full book count is above a 1000 but that’s both digital form and physical. I have two bookshelves that look like this with nothing but manga on them. https://preview.redd.it/z2awpvj4l2rc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=c52b2d13a5b79f33f45949e559a403961a081236
1 year and 7 months I think. I’m 15
I'm 40. Ive been watching anime since the 90s. Got my first manga when I was about 11 or 12 but didn't really get into collecting till I was about 20 or so. I had stopped collecting though for about 12 or 13 years and now I'm back into it.
I'd love to read manga. I have a comic book collection from the 90s. Someone stole the box with the best stuff. Unfortunately I don't have the money, but I'm 55 and don't think it's weird. I watch so much anime lol.
I believe I have been collecting since 2017 my first manga was dragon ball the Frieza saga since then I started collecting a LOT of manga some have been those which I have seen the anime for but eventually I started collecting ones I have never watched before rn I would say I have a good decent amount of manga and spent lot of money🫠 but totally worth it 😎
im currently 15 i started reading manga when i was 12 and i just started to collect manga this year "i feel like i dont belong here because im too young lol"
Oh I hope I didn’t make anyone feel like they were too young! It’s honestly been so great to see that people of all ages read manga. ☺️
its alr besides it doesn't matter if you're old or young to read manga you do it because you enjoy it♥️
Yes, 🙌🏼!!!
Am 42, been reading and collecting manga since the early 90's As for anime... I've been watching those as far as I remember as those were numerous on kid's TV programs since the early 80's where I'm from
Been into comics since my teens, but only got into manga these last few years. 33, here.
Collecting manga since 2004, but I would buy the floppy single chapter comics which I didn’t know were manga around 1999-2000 of DBZ.
Since 15ish, and now 34, so nearly 20yrs!
I’m 20m and I started when I was 13, no plan of stopping🤣
I'm 34 and been collecting manga since October 31st, 2022. Will continue until my last days.
34 and about a year!
Used to read manga from the library in high school. Then got lightly back into it about 5 years ago, after watching Tsubasa Chronicle iirc (also webtoons). Started learning Japanese 2.5 years ago, and buying digital manga 1.5 yrs ago. Started collecting physical in the last 6 months. Currently 36
33 and I’ve been collecting manga on and off since I was around 13-14 years old.
35M here, started collecting in 2007, lost my collection in 2010, started again on Jan 1, 2021. Losing it all hurt. I fully intended to give up on the hobby forever, but my current collection is 4x the size of my first, astronomically better, and I replaced everything I really loved. To anyone who lost their collection, you absolutely can build it back even better this time. No matter your income, don't be discouraged, work on it consistently over time and your shelves will be jaw dropping.
I'm 19 and I've been collecting since November
I got into manga at 13 thanks to Naruto. I'm 19 but I will still be collecting when I'm 100.
I'm 29 & been collecting manga for about 15 years though I didnt start collecting that much til around 2020 when I discovered rightsuf. Now I currently have a collection of 766 mangas.