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Tankobon
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is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series, though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series. Generally it is used for a novel, a nonfiction work, an economics textbook, a book of beauty tips, a book presenting a coherent set of photographs, an exhibition catalogue that samples earlier books, and so forth in a hardcover format. It's a more specific term than plain hon, which encompasses such books but also one or more issues of a periodical, one or more volumes (or the whole set) of an encyclopedia, etc.
Tankobon do not include bunkobon (typically used for novels), , or rather larger-format , as each is within a series.
Tankobon may be of any dimensions, from a miniature-sized novelty book (i.e.
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Encyclopedia
is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series, though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series. Generally it is used for a novel, a nonfiction work, an economics textbook, a book of beauty tips, a book presenting a coherent set of photographs, an exhibition catalogue that samples earlier books, and so forth in a hardcover format. It's a more specific term than plain hon, which encompasses such books but also one or more issues of a periodical, one or more volumes (or the whole set) of an encyclopedia, etc.
Tankobon do not include bunkobon (typically used for novels), , or rather larger-format , as each is within a series.
Tankobon may be of any dimensions, from a miniature-sized novelty book (i.e. mamehon, ??) to a sumptuous folio-sized one. Nonetheless, oddly-sized tankobon tend to be given a taxonomical name. Using English bookbinding terms, a tankobon of prototypical size would be called quarto or octavo.
Manga
Typically, manga are first published in phone-book-sized weekly or monthly anthology manga magazines (such as Afternoon, Shonen Jump, or Hana to Yume). These anthologies often have hundreds of pages and dozens of individual storylines by multiple authors. They are printed on very cheap newsprint and are considered disposable. A tankobon collects chapters from a single series and reprints them in a roughly paperback-sized volume on higher quality paper.
In English, while a tankobon translation is usually marketed as a "graphic novel" or "trade paperback", the transliterated terms tankoubon and tankobon are sometimes used amongst online communities. Japanese people frequently refer to manga tankobon as , from the English word "comics".
The term may also refer to the format itself—a comic collection in a trade paperback sized (roughly 13 × 18 cm (5" × 7")) book (as opposed to the larger 18 × 25 cm (7" × 10") format used by traditional American graphic novels). The tankobon format has made inroads in the American comics market, with several major publishers opting to release some of their titles in this smaller format. This format is also called "digest format" or "digest size".
Aizoban and kanzenban
An is a collector's edition volume. These volumes are generally more expensive and lavished with special features such as special covers created specifically for the edition, special paper used for the cover, higher quality paper, a special slipcase, and so on. Aizoban are generally printed in a limited run, thereby increasing the value and collectability of those few copies made. Generally only the most popular manga (such as Dragon Ball) are released in this format. is another term sometimes used to denote this kind of a special release. While the aizoban appellation emphasizes the value of the volumes, the term kanzenban emphasizes their completeness.
The aizoban format has begun to make inroads into the US market, with titles such as Fruits Basket and Rurouni Kenshin being reissued in aizoban format.
Bunkoban
A edition is a typical Japanese novel-sized volume. These are generally A6 size (105 x 148 mm) and thicker than tankobon, printed on thinner, much higher quality paper, and usually have a new cover designed specifically for the release (in the case of manga). In the case of manga, a bunko-ban tends to contain considerably more pages than a tankobon. Thus, the bunko edition of a given manga will consist of fewer volumes. For example, Please Save My Earth was published in 21 tankobon volumes, and then re-released in 12 bunko volumes. If the original manga was a wide-ban release, the bunkoban release will generally have the same number of volumes. The term is commonly abbreviated to just bunko (without the -ban).
Wide-ban
A edition is larger (A5 size) than a regular tankobon. Many manga, particularly seinen manga and josei manga, are published in wide-ban editions after magazine serialization, and are never released in the tankobon format that is common in shonen manga and shojo manga. When a series originally published in tankobon format is re-released in wide-ban format, each volume will contain more pages than in the original edition, and therefore the series will consist fewer volumes. For example, Maison Ikkoku was originally released in 15 tankobon volumes, but was republished as 10 wide-ban volumes.
See also
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