The end of an era

June 12, 2025.

Hi! This is Bon from Tankobonbon. Will someone get the hidden joke why I've posted this on independence day? (LOL).

I wanted to let you all know that the bookstore will officially close at the end of this year. There are a few reasons behind this decision, but the main one is simple: I can’t keep doing this alone. Over the years, running Tankobonbon solo has taken a huge toll on my health; sleep has become a luxury I can rarely afford. And this isn’t the only thing I do! It’s funny to say, but Tankobonbon became too successful to be a one-person job.

Yes, I’ve had amazing people offer help like volunteers and friends who've stepped in, and I’m so grateful. But as someone who’s “solo leveled” all my life, it’s hard to shift into party play. That’s why I’ve decided to end this journey on a high note.

Financially, it’s also been tough. I’ve been putting more in than I’ve gotten back. Tankobonbon was never about getting rich; it was a passion project, through and through. But still, it’s a tough reality when something you love becomes a source of stress instead of joy. Even so, it’s been an incredible feeling helping fans build their shelves with beloved stories.

I started Tankobonbon five years ago out of frustration. I couldn’t find manga easily in local stores, and importing them was a nightmare of shipping fees and customs. Now, there are so many other manga stores out there, and titles are much easier to get. It’s amazing to see how the community has grown. I like to think I helped kick off something that mattered. I’ve done what I came to do.

I know a lot of you will miss the site and its system. I’m a collector too, and I built everything based on what I hated about ordering from other stores. I knew nothing about coding, websites, importing, or business when I started, but I taught myself what I needed to keep this running. It really proves that nothing is impossible… though maybe it shouldn’t be your only project if you’re also trying to do 10 other things, haha.

Manga is still my main thing. So I’ll still be around, you just might not recognize me. As long as you keep supporting manga officially, our paths will cross again, I’m sure.

Over the years, I’ve met so many different people through your orders. Couples whose names eventually hyphenated, customers who moved overseas, graduates who now spend adult money on manga, collectors evolving from mainstream to niche titles, brave boys buying BL and bold girls buying GL, kids convincing their parents to get them Berserk or danmei, genre shifts, obsessions with certain tropes, and those daring collections I silently cheered on.

I’ve whispered things like:

“Oh, they’ll love this new license.”
“Oh no, this ending will destroy them.”
“Ahhh, a box set announced right after they finished the singles??”
“Crap, their books arrived damaged—this customer needs pristine condition.”

It’s been a wild ride. And while I mostly ran this alone (with help from my dad at the physical store), it never felt lonely. It’s been an incredible five years. I’ll miss it, well, maybe not fighting with suppliers, couriers, and customs, but I’ll miss the rest deeply. Also, RIP to the days when manga was just ₱480. Haha.

Important Dates:

Business will continue as usual until we close. Donchu wori. I'll still ship your books. Please take them away from me. Please fill out the ship order early form (LOL).
Pre-order & backorder form closes: September 30, 2025
Pre-orders with release dates after October 28, 2025 will no longer be processed
Last Hold Day: October 31, 2025
Final MIBF appearance (Sept 10–14, 2025): All on-hand books will be on clearance sale
Final order day (online and walk-in): September 30, 2025
Bookstore closes: December 31, 2025 (Publicly? Hehe.)

If you were hoping to keep placing pre-orders with us, I'm really sorry. But I believe someone else cool will pop up. Just like how anime is now legally one click away on Muse Asia’s YouTube channel, when we used to dig through flipped 144p Spanish-subbed uploads in 12 parts; things change, often for the better.

But not everything’s ending.

The Tankobonbon Lounge will still continue. I’ll personally buy all the unsold on-hand books and transfer them there for anyone to read. I’ll even keep buying new books for the lounge, it’ll be part manga library, part legacy. Maybe one day we’ll lend books to other provinces. No promises, but it’s a dream I’d love to explore.

And if you’re some rich person reading this and thinking of buying Tankobonbon... forget it (lol). This wasn’t built for profit, and honestly, the system is so complicated I’m too lazy to explain it. But if you’re a school or library interested in buying the stocks, let’s talk, I’ll give you a discount. These books might just spark a hero origin story in someone. (Hopefully not a villain one; I don’t stock Death Note, so we’re probably safe.)

Who knows... maybe someone will hate this closure enough to start their own bookstore. Maybe it’s you. If so, I’ll be rooting for you, and if I like your website, I might even become your customer.

Jokes aside, I could’ve kept going, but I don’t want to be greedy. On a recent vacation, I finally slept well, even while still busy. That sleep hit different. I can’t wait to have more than three hours of it next year. (HAHA. Real.)

Thank you for being part of this. You made Tankobonbon what it is. I’ll never forget these five years.

My email of bon[at]tankobonbon.com will continue to be open (cause the lounge will still be lol).

– Bon
Tankobonbon

P.S.: I'm announcing this 6 months early to give you ample time to fight with me on my emails (lol), and have you transition to a Tankobonbon-free life (wow). Some of you may already have a hunch since the beginning of the year, or when CDJapan has closed in April, or when new books don't get added anymore, or when you checked our social media and it's basically dead. I never intended Tankobonbon to last, but it did, way longer than I thought. Real homies know how I badly wanna close this bookstore years ago (lol). I've written so so so many of this final letter, but I ended up here having to write it from scratch, the most raw than them raw chapters. I even thought of pushing it 'till seven years cause I like 7 as a number, but I might really get isekai'd if I force it.

If anyone wants to ask my MBTI why this letter felt cold, it's ISTP. I asked ChatGPT to help make it sound........ human (HAHAHA), cause I'm a robot (lmao). It's so scary how this felt more human that I am... woah. Welp, If you wanna read what I actually wrote, click here. (How transparent, huh? LOL, I always am.)