Objects can define who a person is by holding a narrative and history. We value our items sentimentality to make us feel better about ourselves. We cherish these objects to a point where we feel like it connects to others like family or friends. These defining features are what makes us human.
Our minds are unique and act and think differently from one another. Having different tastes and interests allows us to connect with our surroundings. Michael Bond's article Stuff: Psychological Power of Possessions helps support my claim with this quote, “The inclination to value things we own beyond what others think they are worth is known in psychology as the endowment effect. It explains why we are more likely to buy a coat once we have tried it on, or a car once we have test-driven it. Just imagining that something is ours makes it seem more valuable.” Bond describes the process of valuing certain objects more than what they are actually worth.
Like most people, I do not obsess over a singular object, I have multiple: my manga collection. You may ask “What is manga?” Manga is a form of graphic novel specifically illustrated in Japan. It has varying differences from a basic graphic novel that makes it stand out.
Every single volume of manga in my collection means so much to me. From old to new, each one tells a story that is personal and not told inside of them. I hold around 80 of these books and still growing. Due to the amount that I own, My collection is organized in alphabetical order and genre so It’s easier for me to remember where a specific volume is located.
So where did this all start? The first manga I ever bought was The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Vol. 1. I bought this one at one of my middle school book fairs back in seventh grade. Back then I wasn’t too interested in anime, which is a form of animation derived from Japan. Anime normally bases itself off of manga which makes it usually more popular due to it being an animated version of its original predecessor. So a book from a video game series really caught my eye.
Upon opening it I was in utter confusion. The book was in reverse, even the comic panels were backwards. On the back it explains that manga format originates from Japanese print so you have to read it from right to left. It took some time to get used to, but I eventually got the hang of it. As I was reading I was so fascinated by the mixture of illustrations and the narrative that I couldn’t stop reading. The grayscale colors made it feel more authentic than most comic books I have read before.
When I was finally finished with the book I craved for more. After a few years around sophomore year of highschool, I finally earned myself a job. In Sherry Turkle's introduction to Evocative Objects, she states, ”Objects help us make our minds, reaching out to us to form active partnerships.” This quote defines why objects could make us who we are and can motivate us to earn more of what we desire. Over time I started earning a pretty decent income for my age, giving me the opportunity to try out some of those novels I was interested in a while back. As time went on, my collection grew from a single book to dozens taking up more space in my room.
I have been gathering my manga from multiple sources: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books a Million. However, the resource I use the most is Barnes and Noble to really just pick them up for convenience. Every trip there is a joy to me because knowing that I'll be able to add new books to my collection really is exciting. The manga section is usually huge with multiple different genres like shonen (action), mystery, romance, comedy, or slice of life. Usually it takes me a while to pick up and decide which ones I'll purchase because there's just so many.
One of the most popular picks and one of my personal favorites is Demon Slayer, a Shonen series about a boy who learns supernatural techniques through breathing to fight off demons and save his sister from being a demon. With a bunch of really amazing stories in one big area it makes me feel like being a kid in a candy store, if that analogy hasn’t been used enough. Another quote from Bond's article actually relates to this, “We may not be able to shake our drive to acquire stuff, nor our tendency to compare ourselves with others. But we can change the amount of happiness we get out of the stuff we buy.” The meaning behind this captures the reason why we buy items to make us more “happy.”
Usually upon reading the titles or the summaries on the back helps me find interest in what I can potentially invest in time and financial wise. When I finally decide, sometimes I usually pick up two or four volumes each trip depending on whether I am in the mood to spend more money. After coming back home from the store I normally place these in my collection and examine the progress and growth of my collection over time. Of course I will be reading these, however I just like to take the time to admire them when they are put with everything else. It makes my room feel like my own personal library.
Every single manga I own is originally illustrated by artists and authors who come up with the books. Often they are solo illustrators, which is really crazy to me. Like, how could one person illustrate an entire series without getting tired of it? Most of these illustrators/authors originate from Japan, the homeland for all manga.
These illustrators tend to only publish these books in Japan which makes the language exclusively Japanese only. According to the article "A Beginners Guide to Manga" by Amanda Pagan, “In Japan, manga are typically released on a monthly or a weekly chapter-by-chapter basis through manga magazines such as Weekly Shōnen Jump, (which has been in circulation since 1968).” This quote explains that manga is usually published in Japanese manga magazines because of how popularized it is in Japan.
At a certain point the creators decide to localize these titles and grant permission for different publishers to translate the language for them. Most popular publishers being Viz Media, Seven Seas Entertainment, Square Enix Manga, Kodansha Comics, etc. These publishers help translate and ship these books out to different countries, primarily to the U.S. which is why most manga is usually sold at bookstores like Barnes and Noble.
In the end, where am I now with this hobby? I am still investing my hard earned cash into these books, but why am I still encouraging myself to be involved in this hobby after all of these years? Like I said before, collecting manga isn’t just for the fun of it. It is more for a personal reason. This quote from Turkle may support what I’m hinting at, “To the question 'What makes an object evocative?' This collection offers pointers to theory (presented as epigraphs) and the testimony of its object narratives." This quote reminds me of how it all started and how far I have gone.
My collection of manga is like a collection of memories that is normally looked back on. Memories of times where I felt excitement, joy, and thrill. Knowing that I am contributing to the hard working illustrators reminds me of how involved I am in this community. Thinking about these moments together releases a sense of happiness to think of how much time and effort I took into expressing what my interests are makes me who I am. That is the main reason why I still collect manga to this day and I don't think I will be stopping anytime soon.
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