ext_25833 ([identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] hetalia2010-05-23 01:29 am
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[Question] What do the different covers for the manga mean?

Hello everyone! Please excuse me for asking an obviously stupid question but I am in need of your assistance.

We all know volume 3 of the manga is out and that's great! But apparently there is also an illustration book as well? They have the same covers but the background is a different color...

So my question is: is this how it is for ALL the manga volumes?

I'm looking at amazon.co.jp and I see five different manga volumes. 1 for volume 1, 2 for volume 2, and 2 for volume 3.

Volume 2 and volume 3 both have a book that says 特装版, which to me, just means "special edition." But does this mean these are illustration books or just collectible covers? Volume 2 is green but the special one is brown, Volume 3 is pink and the special one is white.

I'd love to buy the illustration books as well as the manga, but if it's just a difference in covers, I wouldn't need two copies...

And if these are illustration books, where can we get them? Because it looks like they're only up for sale used on amazon.co.jp and I don't think we can buy things used if we don't live in Japan...

Any help would appreciated guys! I'm sorry for being such a loser at all this. OTL
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[identity profile] sealand.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
Well the special editions come with a small illustration booklet for free. There's only a special edition for vol 2-3. ^^

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! I never knew that! I just thought they had like different covers was all.

Ah, now I feel really down! Everywhere I usually buy Japanese books from is out of stock on the special editions. And I don't live in Japan so I can't use amazon.co.jp to get the used copies, or even to go check the book stores...

[identity profile] nagisa-kaworu.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
Have you tried eBay?

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't looked there yet! Since the third volume just came out, do you think it will already be up on there?

[identity profile] nagisa-kaworu.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't be surprised if there had been copies available there before the street date even.

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
When I went to my local japanese bookstore the other day, they said the special edition was already completely sold out in Japan. (Not even one day after the official release, wtf Japan?!) Which would most probably also be the reason why you can only buy them used on Amazon.co.jp.
If you really want the special edition (like I do) and are in no hurry, you could always try and wait for a reprint? Or at least I hope there will be one, but then I see no reason why there shouldn't be.:-\

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I see. (Indeed, how many copies did they make?! Japan, you are lightning fast!)

I'm in no particular hurry! I hope there is a reprint for our sake's. ^_^; If not, then maybe they'll put all the illustrations into their own book some day?

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
According to that bookseller, the japanese publishers have significantly reduced the number of prints due to the current financial crisis. Which would make sense not to have huge stocks taking up place and binding money for nothing, but still... Sold out in not even one day?! That's what I call a bad case of miscalculation. orz

I still hope that my japanese bookshop will get the copies they ordered long before with their next shipping, but I have few hopes. So I guess I have to wait for the reprint as well. ._.

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, seriously. I know the economy is not doing well the whole world over, but if there is a demand for a product, you shouldn't make it's numbers so limited. You're losing money that way for sure. But then if you oversupply, you could lose money too.

We can wait together at least?

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, at least it shows how popular Hetalia is?

And yep, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has to wait for it.:) Usually I'm always the one who is too late. Japan is crazy when it comes to release dates and how quickly they're sold out, seriously!

Come on LJ, work with me!

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Seriously! I hope so. I would love an artbook for Hetalia.

I used to live in Japan and could pre-order things or whatever, but I never knew the special editions came with that booklet. I just thought the cover was different. But I missed out on things too - it's all about timing and having the money at the time. It's a bit harder from abroad but if the numbers are limited, even people within the country of origin will miss out! =( Let's hope they reprint them!

RP journals are nasty! *g*

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Same for me, although just one year. I knew about the special edition because, well, I saw both versions in the bookstores over there, but I'm not sure the illustration booklet is even mentioned anywhere in an online store. Just "special edition", duh. That's a great help, really.
If you've been living in Japan and are a Hide fan (as your icon would imply), I'm sure you went or tried to go to concerts at least once? That was my craziest experience ever, trying to buy concert tickets online. I'm not even kidding when I tell you that the tickets for that one Takarazuka show in Tôkyô (Gyakuten Saiban aka Phoenix Wright, I was a huge fan at that time) was completely sold out a minute later, for the whole week! Since that time, nothing surprises me anymore, and certainly not the thing about the special edition here. *le sigh*

shhhh it's our secret!

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, me too! I saw them there and was like uh ok so it's just a different cover...why? That booklet is definitely not mentioned. And "special edition" in Japanese can mean anything - thicker pages, different cover, some pages in color, comes with this extra, look the mangaka signed it! I think they say it half the time to get it to sell more.

What I really regret missing out on was the first presses of CDs. I have yet to get Italy or Germany's character CDs because I LOVE the trading cards. Like a whole lot.

Oh yes I managed to go to the concerts I wanted to go to just fine! I saw X Japan several times. But I was in the fan clubs for various members and knew friends who were also in it...and I knew how to use yahoo japan auctions. XD; But yeah Takarazuka sell out like...faster than the speed of light. They are very popular. I don't know how I managed to go see them the one time I did. I guess I got to see the unpopular troupe doing an unpopular play in an unpopular town. It was still cool though!

But yeah with tickets and certain items, if it's not done by the lottery system but first come first serve, it can be ridiculous. Especially if the fan clubs - if they have one - get to go before that because I think some things - like Takarazuka - will sell out through the fan club and thus the general public is screwed, along with half the fan club!

OK, I didn't see anything, Nu-uh!

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't even know that the special editions could even mean that the mangaka signed them.:o In that case I could see through the plastic wrap that there was an extra booklet included, and it only costed a few hundred yen more, so I thought, hey, go for it! It's not much, only a few raw sketches and minor notes in his unreadable handwriting, but they're imho very much worth it.<3
I didn't buy the cds either, not even one. Which I'm now seriously regretting of course, although I'm more interested in the drama cds myself. Oh well, maybe I'll manage to go to Japan in fall, I don't knew yet, so that would be dôjinshi and Hetalia merchandise Shopping Timez FTW \o/ a nice opportunity to buy a thing or two next to all that uni stuff I should gather?

Oooooh, that might explain why I had no chance to begin with indeed. Did they even release tickets online then or did they go straight from "sales start on..." to "sold out" then? That was so frustrating, really! Good thing you managed to get the tickets you wanted though, although maybe they just have more tickets available to begin with for X Japan? A friend of mine usually got all the tickets she wanted to as well, and she wasn't in any fan club afaik.

That's right!

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-23 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, I was just making a point of how they'll label something special edition and sometimes it isn't all that "special" and sometimes it is, so it's a 50-50 chance of that extra money being worth it. Ah darn! See I only had checked online and the extra booklet isn't mentioned at all so I just bought the normal 1st and 2nd volumes. =(

Hahaha yeah! I like the drama CDs too but I think I might be behind on those...I got the first two anyways and they crack me up. Doujinshi is love. I swear I came back from Japan with 60 or more Hetalia doujinshi.

Well, I guess so? I never checked that. X Japan tends to always play in the domes, so there's like...50,000 tickets available. Plenty for the hard core fans, and the other fans, and members of the general public who get dragged along. They do sell out but if you look on auctions or go to those ticket stores, you can buy them, usually for a lot more. =/ Scalping is a big problem in Japan. Because the scalpers will buy all these tickets and try to make money off of them, and if they don't, then those seats are just left empty. You can really notice that at concerts. But Takarazuka have to perform in theaters, which definitely has a smaller ticket count. And their fans mean serious business - it's kind of scary. So you have to battle someone like they do here in the US for Hannah Montana tickets to get into see the Takarazuka. But I think, for musicians, they try to hold only so many for the fan club so people who aren't in it have a chance. That's why they use a lottery system. If you win, you can purchase the ticket. If not, then you can try again in the next stage of selling.

Re: That's right!

[identity profile] bf-nightingale.livejournal.com 2010-05-24 08:10 am (UTC)(link)
Oops. Uhm, I was already half asleep when I wrote my last comment?orz

Me too, I have almost an entire bookshelf full of Hetalia dôjinshi. But one can never get enough dôjinshi!~♥
Where were you staying? In a big city or inaka?

I didn't know that about scalpers, that's definitely a good thing to know, thank you. I'm not much into japanese groups usually (or well, I am, but I have pretty weird tastes there, I don't know if scalpers would be even interested in my favorite musicians), but I'd love to go to concerts in Japan anyway if I ever get another chance to stay there for a while. (And I NEED to see a Takarazuka show at least once in my life! I'm not much into the kitsch, but mmmmh the otokoyaku! Yummy! You can only guess how disappointed I was that I didn't get any tickets then, which is why I never really tried again so far.)

Re: That's right!

[identity profile] hideincarnate.livejournal.com 2010-05-26 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Pffffffft I see. XD

I know right?! Well, I lived in a city in the inaka. 8;D I did go to Osaka twice, wait, three times, and I have mad yahoo! japan auction skills. So I won a lot of the doujin off auctions/bought them online if I couldn't get them in person. But I like very specific pairings. XD; So that makes it easier kind of sort of. It's hard to shop for AmericaXJapan because it has a lot! X__x AmericaXCanada is a lot easier! RussiaXAmerica is hard to find. =( And GermanyXItaly...I buy the pretty ones? XD;

Scalpers are interested in EVERYTHING. 8| But if you are into small indies bands, you should be alright. Unless they are very popular - then it might be a problem. Takarazuka is hard...my host family from 2003 managed to take me in 2006 to a show in...Fukuoka? Maybe not Fukuoka, but it was on Kyushu. And we saw Coppa Cabana by the...uh...which troupe was it...Star troupe maybe....or moon? It felt like a younger, newer troupe and less well known. But we were like...last row. So I mean we were lucky to get seats for sure. So I think you'll have to really go to the boondocks to see them. Because then, no one might care about them and you might be more likely to get a ticket. It's probably impossible in the big cities unless you buy scalped tickets, and then it might be an outrageous price. But don't give up!
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