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What's up guys, it's Kristen from Anime Collective
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So Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto is the first manga I ever purchased and read
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Many years have passed since then and it is 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 shounen I've ever read
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with one of my favorite villain groups of all time, the Akatsuki. Naruto means a lot to me. It made me laugh and cry
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I grew immensely connected to its characters and its ability to humanize the quote-unquote bad guys is top-notch
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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
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Nostalgia aside, it's amazingly written and has some of my favorite characters in manga
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All around, Naruto is a series that I love and highly recommend, but what's the best
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way you can collect the series? As it currently stands, there are three different ways you can collect Naruto
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The individual paperbacks, the manga box sets, and the 3-in-1 edition paperbacks
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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
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The first box set collects the first 27 volumes of Naruto, and the second box set collects volumes 28 through 48
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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
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There is also a special edition Naruto Shadow Box that collects 1 through 27
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It also came with a trading game card, as well as a sticker set, a double-sided poster, and more
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And a collector's edition hardcover of volume 1 only, that I want to mention real quick
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I won't have these in the video because they don't fully collect the series, but they are cool nonetheless
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Now let's get into the comparison and let's kick things off with size
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Here are the individual paperbacks in comparison to the 3 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 editions are thicker because they collect three volumes in one When it comes to cost the individual paperbacks
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are $9.99 a volume, the 3-in-1 editions are $14.99 a volume, and the boxes cost $174.99, $185.99
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and $214.99 USD. These are their prices at full retail, but you can usually find all of these at
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discounted prices when you can find them in stock. That being said, collecting the full series via
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the 72 individual paperbacks would cost you $719.28. Via the 24 3-in-1 editions, it would cost you $359.76
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And via the three box sets, it would cost you $575.97. So the cheapest way by far to collect Naruto
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is the 3-in-1 editions, and the second cheapest would be the box sets. I want to talk about
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availability real quick too, because Naruto is one of those series that has volumes that are
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temporarily out of stock. Select volumes and sets of the individual's 3-in-1 editions and box sets
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have been in and out of stock, but it looks like a lot of them are finally coming back in. I source
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all my restock dates from Barnes & Noble, and if you'd like to see when those out-of-stock volumes
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and manga box sets are coming back in, definitely check out the link in the description below
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I'll keep that post up to date as more expected restock dates are revealed too. That being said
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please don't pay crazy prices for any of the Naruto box sets, 3-in-1s, or individual volumes
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because they will all restock eventually. Box set 2 actually just recently restocked on Right Stuff
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so you can pick it up there while supplies last. As far as their design goes, the Naruto individual paperbacks
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feature the original cover art. They actually feature the same cover art that's seen on the individual Japanese volumes
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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 and 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
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I personally like the change in the individual paperback spines, but some may not
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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 side, so it highlights Team 7
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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 of Sasuke on the other
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The back features a collage of the characters and highlights pivotal moments like the entrance of
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the Akatsuki and Sasuke's Curse Mark. This is one of my favorites because of the split graphic of
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Sasuke and Naruto on the inside, but also because of the artwork on the outside of Sasuke, Naruto
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and Sakura, as well as the back which features all of Naruto's comrades in Kakashi. Print quality-wise
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the individual paperbacks have more contrast than the 3-in-1 editions. The blacks in particular are
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deeper and the mid-tones are more present in the individual paperbacks as well. The biggest
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difference in quality between the two is their page quality though. The page quality of the 3-in-1
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editions is worse than the individual paperbacks. The 3-in-1s have these newspaper-like thin pages
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so they are extremely see-through. The pages in both have an eggshell-like texture and an off-white
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color, but the individual paperbacks are printed on thicker, higher quality paper. What about the
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cropping of the artwork? In most cases, the cropping is about the same vertically, but you can see very
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slight differences on certain pages in how they crop the artwork. Horizontally, however, the 3-in-1
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editions are the most cropped. In these types of panels that reach the edge of the volumes, you can
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see that they've cropped certain areas a bit more in the 3-in-1s, and even cut off some of the sound
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effects in some areas as seen in this panel What about readability Both the individual paperbacks and the 3 editions are easy to read They added enough margins around the panel so nothing is obstructed by or falls into the gutter of the volumes Since the 3 editions are relatively flexible in comparison to other 3 or omnibus editions they easy and pleasing to read
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The individuals are the easiest to read and are the most portable, but the 3-in-1 editions have good readability too
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As far as translation and lettering goes, I've read them side by side and they're exactly the same
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The sound effects are the same as well, so no differences to report here. Up next is extras
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The only addition that comes with extras are the manga box sets. All three of the box sets come with extras
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I haven't been able to pick up box set one yet to show you guys the extras in that one
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but I do have two and three. The first box set comes with a double-sided poster and a special booklet
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The second comes with an exclusive mini-comic containing Naruto's pilot story and a double-sided poster
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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
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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
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which you can also collect in the box sets. Like extras, the box sets are the only edition that comes with them
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What do I think, though? Personally, I think the manga box sets are the best way to collect Naruto
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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
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at a cheaper cost, and you get the extras, too. What about you guys
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Which is your favorite way to collect Naruto? and if it's one of your favorites as well, let me know in the comments
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If you are looking for any of the out-of-stock Naruto volumes and are curious as to when they may be restocking
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check out the link in my description. I have listed all of the known restock days for the box sets
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3-in-1s, and individual paperbacks. And that's it for the video, guys. Thanks as always for watching and hope you all are having an awesome day
