How to track the manga volumes you own and stop buying duplicates

Manga collections grow fast and quietly. Volume 9 looks exactly like volume 8 from across a bookstore, and by the time you own a shelf of them, remembering which numbers you have is a job in itself. Here is a simple way to stay on top of it.

Why manga is hard to track

• There are a lot of volumes. A single series can run past 100.
• Editions change the numbering. A 3-in-1 omnibus, a box set or a collector's edition packs several volumes into one book, and the numbers no longer line up with the originals.
• Ongoing series keep growing. The "next volume" is a moving target.
• Volumes look alike. It is easy to buy the same one twice.

How many English volumes does each series have?

English volume counts as of October 7, 2026, from the English publishers' pages (VIZ Media and Kodansha) and Wikipedia. The Attack on Titan count rests on Wikipedia alone. Counts change as new volumes come out, and your edition may number volumes differently.

Step by step

1. Find the volume count. Use the table above, or the publisher's page for the series.
2. Scan each volume. In Dog-Ear, tap Add, then Scan Barcode, and use Rapid Scan to scan a whole stack in a row. Every manga volume has its own barcode. Here is how Rapid Scan works.
3. Note the highest volume you own. Search the series name in your library and look for the highest volume number, then compare it with the English volume count.
4. Keep the next volumes on a wish list. Switch to Wish list and scan the volumes you want next. They wait in Books to Buy until you do.
5. Check in the store. Scan a volume you are about to buy. If you already own it, Dog-Ear tells you. Here is how.

The omnibus trap

If you own a 3-in-1 edition, the barcode on it belongs to the omnibus, not to volumes 1, 2 and 3. Whatever tool you use, keep an eye on this. A tracker that expects single volumes can make you look as if you are missing numbers you own, and the reverse can happen too: you buy single volume 4 when the omnibus on your shelf already has it. When in doubt, check the edition on the cover.

What Dog-Ear does for manga, and what it does not

• It scans and keeps your volumes. Each volume you scan goes into your library, with its cover when one is available.
• It keeps a wish list. Scan the next volumes and they sit in Books to Buy.
• It suggests manga and anime. In Find me something new, there is a Manga and Anime genre to pick.
• It does not yet flag missing manga volumes. For many novel series, the Series page shows what you are missing, but manga is left out on purpose, because omnibus and collector's editions would make volumes you own look missing, and a wrong "missing" is worse than none.

Questions

Related: How to scan your whole bookshelf, How to scan books in a bookstore and save them for later, How to track book series you own.