Manga Collecting Tips: Protecting Your Collection From Light Humidity & More

Expanding on my previous Manga Collecting Tips video, in this video I hope to give a lot of helpful information and advice on how to protect your collection from the various elements that can cause them damage and harm!
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[@NEXUSXEMNAS23]

Since you've moved at least a few times with your collection it would also be nice to get a guide on how you pack away and transport your books safely.

[@ChichiNaka]

"Put in box, put box in car, drive to new house" People are getting silly at this point? books are books, we've been moving with books for hundreds of years, put them in a box, don't dunk that box into the ocean and you're fine

[@NEXUSXEMNAS23]

@@ChichiNaka Hmm, do I need to put a seatbelt on the box?

[@ChichiNaka]

@@NEXUSXEMNAS23 Honestly no, the box, and books themselves are pretty sturdy, as long as the books shut you can even take corners pretty fast

[@DeDe-ly4bd]

I just used a lot of bubble wrap and some of that crunch up paper. Also think about the size of the boxes you use to transport the books. If your collection isn‘t huge, I recommend smallee boxes.

[@lloydirving6209]

@@DeDe-ly4bd smaller boxes are definitely better for transporting books mostly because books can get really heavy if you fill a huge box with them

[@christianmatthew]

I protect my manga with a shotgun! Anything that tries to damage it and POW! But in reality, all I got is a large stick, and some blackout blinds. Got to start somewhere.

[@duane_313]

Much American 🇺🇸

[@aarom]

I never thought of how humidity effects my manga, where I live it’s always 90% humidity. 😭

[@josevleon1626]

Maybe comic bags can help

[@otakuparadise3585]

I live at the coast so there alot mlister in the air but we also got a dehumidifier

[@mikael2312]

@@josevleon1626 I live in a very humid area and I started using bags, and noticed that the manga that were bagged did not have any sign of waves in the pages, but the ones I left unbagged did get wavy pages, I'm considering getting a dehumidifier but it's not that cheap unfornately,

[@starzzshop]

@@mikael2312 what bags did you usev

[@imagindraggin8851]

Is 70% to much? Or am I good

[@gianlucamelchionda3020]

Crazy how in Japan, some stores keep their manga outside, exposed to sunlight and humidity, but people have no problem with that and just buy them anyway, maybe we're a bit paranoid tbh

[@xunvenile]

I guess bc we value the collection more. In Japan reading manga and collecting them is so normal. And they have access to manga in EVERY store. Even the oldest manga are still on the market. But international (like me in Germany) lots of old manga aren't produced in my language anymore so you have to buy it at eBay where people sell their old manga. It's the rarity. You want to make sure that your manga stay really clean and nice even after years and years since it can be very worthy.

[@DMArmada]

I can totally attest to the effects of sunlight on collectible cards! Displaying cards can be tricky when trying to avoid direct sunlight.

[@Davies46]

I was so worried when I noticed my whole collection had warped from a couple days of high humidity. I though, why should I bother collecting if the weather is just going to kill all my books. Luckily I live in a pretty low humidity area and so when the humidity returned to normal, all of my books did too.

[@seaniverse]

I’m not so lucky… Florida isn’t known for its low humidity

[@plastic8570]

That sounds really scary, I always put them in a plastic bag even though its quite annoying sometimes.

[@IchigoKurosaki]

Whenever I get manga in the mail or from the store it is wavy. After being on my book shelf for a week or two it straightens out and the waviness is completely gone. Not sure why this is tbh. Was the temp in the store/mail the problem and my room was the solution?

[@abdiel1133]

@@plastic8570 And im amazed amost no one does this...

[@SongSupply]

Same thing happened with me and I was so glad once they returned to normal

[@arifammirul9189]

that dry humidity fact really surprised me, thank you for the heads up!!

[@virtual_self]

In that type of scenario just put a glass of water 😉 the heat will evaporate the water and make the room more humid.

[@ellythehuman9304]

This was really helpful! Enjoyed watching!

[@Sanjis3rdLeg]

Thanks so much for the tips and btw that shirt is freaking awesome!

[@timy8304]

Love this video and your channel, thanks for the info!

[@ZekeFreek]

I've used blackout curtains for years now because my room's window is directly under the sun and I really hate too much light in my space. One thing I'll point out is that they do degrade in effectiveness over time. I've found I've had to replace my curtains every 3-4 years or so. I don't have any experience with thick-ass stage curtains though, which might last longer, though of course, might look more jarring in a home. They also might be expensive? I don't know. That said, blackout curtains aren't that expensive so replacing them every so often isn't that big a deal.

[@melc3345]

Hey sorry if it’s a stupid question but does it matter if the manga is under bright indirect light?

[@epistarter1136]

Do blackout curtains block out some heat? I live in Australia and it's summer here and it's the hottest in the afternoon just when the sun facing into my curtains and it sucks and my manga is here too

[@pupuhiroehvidah]

@@melc3345 I have the same question

[@Findlay946]

Love your channel! thanks for the tips :)

[@hackedagent1008]

Thank you so much dude! I appreciate it, now I have more info on how to protect my mangas

[@yakko789]

Thanks for all the great info! let's goo!

[@soulkingjack]

I really love your videos and I think i’m gonna give making manga videos a try keep making great content!

[@John_Q]

I put all my shelved collected comics (omni's, hc's, tpb's, etc) in comic and newspaper resealable plastic bags and drop a couple silica packs in each, and I also keep a dehumidifier nearby. I put some action figures in the empty space in front of the books for added aesthetics.

[@potero4351]

Great tip, good to know as a beginner manga collector.

[@kudomaharizu]

Learnt a lot this morning. I am considering moving my books to my attic (converted, livable) which has lots of light - the window tips are very useful! Off topic - love your Chainsaw Man tee. May I know where I can buy one? ^^

[@KristynRene.]

Unpopular Opinion: I really don't mind naturally slow page yellowing O.o

[@philipk101]

great advice man!

[@dongukkim7024]

just began with collecting, now I'm binge watching all your videos

[@DreadfulUtopia]

Quick tip for all of you who are renting and want to put up blackout blinds. Just get yourself a tension rod. You can put the tension rod up with the blackout curtains, it uses tension to mount to the inside of your windowsill meaning no nailing or drilling of any kind and can be taken down at a moments notice.

[@dyl87]

thank you, this really helped

[@kodawari1354]

Houses in america don't come with pre-installed shutters? What the actual fuck

[@jfrandy4978]

i’m a lot of places it’s not a requirement for living so cheap owners who are renting just don’t put any on or put the cheapest paper blinds it’s garbage

[@machuie]

Did a double take at 12:14 because my office / library thermometer had the exact same temperature and humidity reading while watching this lol. Great tips! I don't think you've ever talked about it before - do you have any pointers for dealing with wavy or curved manga and getting it "back into shape" or at least close to original shape?

[@DeDe-ly4bd]

Thanks for the vid. Whats your opinion on see through manga bags/covers? And how do you remove the dusts on the top of your books? (Some books aren‘t easily reachable since the next shelf blooks the hand)

[@ylaito7634]

I bought myself a dehumidifier and just put it near my shelf, as well as blackout curtains!

[@KillerTacos54]

Thank you so much for this excellent video

[@jeronnamoe]

Wow....all of this info for storing manga. I really appreciate it. my son is getting into manga and I want to teach him how to take care of it. I also collect kpop photocards and am starting to realize that 1) it's an investment 2) there are steps I need to take to take care of my collection. I need to learn abt paper and protection for paper products and just how to store everything properly. this stuff is really interesting now and I'm started to get into it.

[@blueberry-nc9hf]

that helped a lot. thanks a bunch

[@p_ttown1979]

thanks SO MUCH for this! i will gladly value your advice since you are a collecting veteran!

[@leonelrivera3082]

Great video. Thank you

[@AshTheDuke]

ty for this very valuable advice am a newbie

[@bruhhbruhh8533]

thank you!

[@kvs4115]

Cool vid man 👍

[@Falcon364]

Very informative! Please do one on stickers!

[@zuffin1864]

I think those glass panel shelves are good, i have a bunch of books (not comics) in them and it is hot up there but none of them have yellow pages. Some of my dad's books have been in there for 20 years and are still not yellow

[@tayojb]

I’ve been doing an experiment I placed a panel of a manga in front of a window where the sun always hits and placed one in a dark spot that never gets sunlight, it’s been 4 years now (started in 2017) the page directly in the sunlight has almost completely faded and yellowed the other page hasn’t faded at all but is just as yellow

[@chunkymilk]

oxygen. bag your manga.

[@Neillionaire]

This video taught me that shutters were called shutters. I thought they were just a bigger type of blinds that didnt pull up like the smaller blinds did. Good to know what they're actually called lol. So my room has windows with shutters, but they let in too much light for my taste, so I have them covered with black sheets which effectively act as permanently closed blackout curtains.

[@AlexK07779]

also if you live somewhere like Southwest ontario which has high humid summers and then low humid winters (running a furnace) that change from high humidity to low humidity can be really damaging. So In the summer I try to keep the A/c running longer (to pull more humidity out) and then in the winter have a duhimdifier In my book room to keep it between 40-60 relative humidity.

[@WhispyMoon]

So many of my original tokyo ghoul manga from middle and early highschool have yellowed because my parents make the sun light shine in my room, and the shelf was put in the direct line of light of the window, and it made me so upset when I realized I may get a blackout curtain to put over my shelf so they can be protected more efficiently

[@ah-xw9rx]

I personally keep my collection in my closet on some shelves. My room doesn't really get humid it always stays relatively the same temp wise except during winter when he still goes through the vents. Even then I can just shut the vents if I want! I think my collection is in a pretty good spot but I'm not too sure

[@taliban223ms3]

I live in Chicago so the summer is hot and the rest of the year is almost freezing, maybe I should get a dehumidifier

[@prod-JESSE]

Great tips! Also, where did you buy that chainsaw man shirt? it looks awesome

[@dragonball3166]

Good video , what’s opinion on keeping manga in card board boxes it’s only place I can keep them at

[@hackedagent1008]

Hey @Omnibus I have a question, what binding glue is it used in binding a manga, cuz one of my manga broke down to every page and I'm planning to bind it all together

[@ceekuu708]

Thanks

[@pukewhenimsad]

Where did you get that awesome chainsaw man shirt?? i cant quite find it online. Awesome video this will be super helpful

[@CubeSalmon]

nice shirt man

[@WhatBigClawsYouHave]

My Pandora Hearts have never been exposed to sunlight, yet two out of 24 of the white spines are yellowing.

[@ratchet2505]

Tip for the light problem : sticker window tint (look for the UV blockers) protects both your skin and the books. 👍❤️

[@virtual_self]

I have them in my man cave.

[@miscellaneousfauna]

One time I accidentally spilled water and my manga started to absorb some of it and the bottoms swelled. I fixed it by stacking other manga that was hardcover and basically made a sort of clamp by sticking it between two shelves. It worked

[@kostasmariolas9830]

Hello , I recently started collecting manga . I store them in a dark cold room vertical . But the humidity in my area is 60-70% most time of the year …… do u think I am gonna have a problem as the time goes by ?

[@lloydirving6209]

thank you for the reminder to change my air filter lol

[@Mr.Draegoon]

the only room with no windows that i have is my toillete but i think it could be a good place. maybe i should get some echi manga....

[@spiele_maus]

1. Sunlight: yes, I know that, in our living room we have a big bookshelf, and a bunch on books, especially the red and older ones, have lost a lot of color. Unfortunately my manga collection (aswell as the whole shelf, where there’s also anime DVDs and BDs is right by the window, and the sun shines directly on the shelf during lunch time….If I notice there’s lots of sun, I close the curtains but often I will just forget…that might become a problem in a few years 2. That might be a problem and even so it’s very humid here, older books don’t show any effect, so I guess it’s fine.

[@Hadam10Rose]

Did you ever make a video about cleaning library books?

[@MightBeAnt]

Do light bulbs mess with them or just sunlight?

[@abdirahmanahmed8055]

do lamps yellow manga? I have a lamp very close to my manga collection and I'm wondering if lamps yellow manga.

[@Hehehaha1]

This might be a dumb question but is the yellowing on pages contagious to other books? Bc I have some ordinary sacrificial books (sun shields for my manga) that have yellowing. If I store my manga behind them will that make their pages yellow faster?

[@asnuinameng]

Are silicon bags effective?

[@Hadam10Rose]

For fire safety, you should never cover your windows unless you can easily move the obstruction. When it comes to air filters another good reason to change them it because it will help you Air Conditioner's life span, and allow it to run smoother. Making it cheaper to use.

[@DogDayFromPoppyPlaytime180]

How do I get rid of creases on manga covers?

[@ThousandSsunnyss]

For anyone worried about humidity, placing coal briquettes around your bookshelves or even behind your books can help as well. Also good for smell. Cheap and affective 👍🏽

[@Gattsu_the_struggler]

Where did you get that shirt?

[@charleynestel3104]

Does keeping your manga in box sets help from yellowing?

[@semekiizuio]

I wouldnt put it next to cardboard(paper) better in a plastic storage container, make sure it's not clear.

[@alvarodeuxame146]

You think UV Light filter for windows can work?

[@juancarloshorta1934]

What type of bookshelves do you have?

[@astrogamerg2263]

Ok I’m so late but I have a ton of manga on my shelf they are not standing but flat is that ok also I live in a cold country

[@elijahjobe1671]

Where did you get that shirt

[@boardsomnis55]

Anyone tried using UV window film in conjuction with blinds?

[@arima171]

I live in the Philippines and it's always hot here is it ok for manga?

[@ymwai]

The credits were just 😂

[@misascoffin]

i keep em in a drawer, is that good?

[@godkillerspear1911]

What if I shrink wrap my manga collection?

[@BeratMunchen]

Omg i love tokyo ghoul and i noticed it at first glance next to you

[@wolfbrigade8042]

So long story short: Humidity is actually the worst and not sunlight as so many people think?

[@ykucb]

Yeah that’s why every library in the world is properly air conditioned. It won’t ruin the books unless it’s constantly being abused by high humidity but it’s best to store them in cool tempatures to avoid accidents

[@MythTheFan]

How effective are blinds? I don’t really want to use blackout curtains bc my books are in my room and I kinda want sunlight in the day haha and the room is fairly small so I don’t have the luxury of a lot of space

[@ZekeFreek]

Blinds I think are the least effective method but they may be appropriate if your books aren't in the direct path of light. I don't know your room but I might recommend putting shelves on the same wall as the window facing inward so they'll be out of the way of the light exposure, if you're someone who likes to have light in your room.

[@MythTheFan]

@@ZekeFreek idk if I would say it’s in the direct path my room is basically laid out top part of my room has a TV and the door entrance my bookshelf is on the right side of my room along with my dresser and PC my bed and nightstand are in the bottom left of the room facing towards the window which is on the top left side of my room I have look into moving things around to move the bookshelf but my tv stand is too long for it to work

[@soulkingjack]

i’ve seen people but the blackouts on their bookshelf’s infringe of their books and if your books arnt in the line of light you should be fine

[@DeBeOtaku]

Firstly, dope T-Shirt my dude. I use black out curtains ^^ also keep the heat in during winter. I saw a video once about "fixing" yellowing with sandpaper. Yet to try this out though, thoughts?

[@count-robo]

do not use any carpet in the bookshelf room. a carpet on the floor is a dustproducer for sure

[@ZENEdits444]

Im so happy to be living in Canada. I dont have to worry about humidity. But literally my dbz manga is a fire hazard because its infront of a fully used up extension power strip. So yikes

[@ajb31]

If you don’t mind me asking, which province? Just wondering because I’m from Ontario

[@AlecInstant]

Out here in Arizona it’s safe to say you don’t need a de-humidifier. If anything I may need a humidifier every now and then 😂

[@cabrita8118]

Are you still looking for any volumes os I''s?

[@charliegreen3426]

6:45 aw man! my house is full of that stuff 😫😫

[@wolfbrigade8042]

Do blackout curtains only come in black? This might be a strange question but black curtains would look very bizarre in my room as its color palette is mostly made up of beige and brown tones.

[@wolfbrigade8042]

@catXcoffee Yea I have beige colored curtains now and the sun rays pretty much get stuck on it and they don't penetrate any further into the room. That should be enough, right? I don't know if those curtains are even blackout ones but they work really well.

[@guts8244]

Is it ok to put my book on a cardboard box? because I don't have a bookshelf

[@dvdert6]

I wanna know cuz some friends cover their books like cover the whole book with plastic cover, is that ideal for a high humidity environment?

[@Naaverr]

Chainsaw man shirt on point 👌

[@ghoulchan7525]

i thought yellowing of pages was caused by Acid in the paper.. which is why archival paper is usually Acid free. either way Yellowing of paper and it turning brittle is just the fate of almost all paper. you can only delay it.

[@omnibuscollector]

Acid-free is also lignin- and sulfur-free.

[@ghoulchan7525]

@@omnibuscollector i see. i never knew that. thanks for the info.

[@elusnuga]

So, no matter what you do your books won't look new after a while. And that's completely normal👍🏻 My bookcases don't face the sun directly, I regularly air out the room and dust my bookcases. That's all I can do.

[@giffica]

A lot of misconceptions in manga protection stem from the fact people are using 1990s preservation methods from Japan that got popular on boards back in the 00s. Japan is extremely humid, maybe one of the most humid places on earth, and that changes a lot. Plus the paper and ink used back in the day was completely different. Ink doesn’t fade anymore. It used to. There are factual misconceptions baked into collecting manga that are often annoying.

[@virtual_self]

People forget or don't know that Manga back in the days were printed in cheap paper like newspaper and that it was disposable, people would read it and sometimes just throw them in the 🗑 I was a huge collector and slowly I've started to realize that books, action figures, statues, all that is very cool to own but the more you have the more concerned you should be, because things are not the quality they used to be and you've to constantly monitor the temperature and the whole environment of the room, pay attention to the furniture you'll buy etc I see people spend hundreds on statues and not getting a proper shelf and a good dehumidifier. I also see the same thing for 📚 That's why I've sold almost all my collection and I made things rotate in my house. I buy something, I read it and after awhile I sell it. 🤓 I'm still an avid reader and a Manga fan but I no longer identify as a collector. 🤓 I don't really have time or patience to take care of collectibles.

[@korami.23]

I bought 12 used mangas for 15€ once, wich is already to good to be true and the owner probably smoked in they're house because u can really smell it in the books. I personally don't mind, but remember to always ask about the circumstances the books were in if u care about that!

[@alibaba0428]

this dude right here got a phd in paper.

[@scatnic4224]

But if you don’t expose your books to a bit of sunlight, I have seen fungus, molds, small insects near the books. Do you have a suggestion on how to prevent that? I tried disinfecting and even cleaned the whole shelf but the next day it was back.

[@Ryan-iv5fr]

I think that’s just a cleanliness problem for you… If there’s bug roaming around your books and fungus growing from them.

[@ajones0916]

Never really understood why people are so sensitive about yellowing, after about 30 seconds of reading I forget all about it.

[@zapier1493]

It’s really just so it would look better. Seeing yellow pages isn’t as good as seeing white paper

[@nicholashennessy7774]

People want to retain value. I’m content with reading it but I see the argument from a collection standpoint

[@UltimatePower01]

Only the top is typically yellowed, the inside of the book, usually look new

[@sannat0384]

I notice everything and I think it’s just a much better reading experience when the pages aren’t yellow, that’s just my opinion. Plus yellow pages don’t look good on your bookshelf either.

[@semekiizuio]

Mornings/nights are humid, day/evenings are dry so .....

[@omnibuscollector]

So use a dehumidifier in the mornings and nights and a humidifier in the days and evenings, unless your home is fully climate controlled in which you shouldn’t have any issues keeping it at a good level consistently.

[@SynysterGoose]

I wish English manga had dust jackets like the Japanese ones do.

[@omnibuscollector]

Several publishers do have them.

[@SynysterGoose]

@@omnibuscollector I wish someone made them. I’d buy them all for my complete Dragon ball, Z, and super run lol

[@chunkymilk]

bagging manga prevents yellowing. i don’t see a reason as to why you wouldn’t do it.

[@omnibuscollector]

Only if you are able to vacuum seal them and ensure there’s no dust or other outside elements between the pages of the book. Otherwise you’re just trapping air and whatnot in there along with the actual book, which can ultimately be harmful.

[@chunkymilk]

@@omnibuscollector all my bagged manga is completely white after a decade of collecting whereas a couple volumes i didn’t bag are slightly yellow now. if it can ‘ultimately be harmful’ then why is this standard practice in comic book collecting?

[@omnibuscollector]

@@chunkymilk in comics they’re bagged specifically so that the rigidity of the backing boards can keep the books from creasing. If you’ve had luck that’s fantastic for you, but in my 19 years of reading and collecting it hasn’t been beneficial for me.

[@chunkymilk]

@@omnibuscollector it wasn’t luck.

[@Amprilion]

my shelf blocks everything including light and oxygen... as its made out of glass

[@MICOXD]

I can’t believe there’s ligma in the paper