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Box sets are worth waiting for a sale on, and Black Friday through Cyber Monday is the big one. Nobody haggles over one $12 book. A box set is a bigger number, and the price on Amazon can move a lot from one week to the next. Below are the manga box sets kids ask for by name, then the book box sets that work as family gifts. Every manga set has the age we rate the series at. My daughter is 13 and my son is 12 this year, and that age column decides more of my shopping than the discount does.
The Short Answer
- When to buy: most of these sets usually drop during Black Friday week through Cyber Monday. Amazon’s October Prime sale is the other big one, and some weeks in between beat both.
- What counts as a deal: divide the price by the number of books. Under $6 a book is good. Under $5 is great.
- Manga for a kid under 12: the Dragon Ball Complete Box Set. Dragon Ball is the only manga series here we rate 10+.
- Books for a kid around 8: the Harry Potter paperback box set, all seven books in one box.
How to Spot a Real Deal
A big red percentage means nothing until you divide. Take the price on the button, divide by the number of books, and compare it to what one book costs on its own.
A new manga volume is about $12 now.
- Under $5 a book is a great price. Buy it.
- $5 to $6 a book is a good price, and about where most manga sets land on a decent sale.
- $7 to $8 a book is fine if the kid wants it right now. You will see better.
- Above $9 a book is barely better than buying singles one at a time.
Picture books and kids’ paperbacks cost less per book, so the math shifts down, but the habit is the same. Price history helps more than the sale banner: free trackers like camelcamelcamel and Keepa show what a set has sold for over the past year, so you can tell whether this week’s “deal” is actually low.
Before you check out, look at who is selling it. If it isn’t Amazon, compare the price with what Amazon charged a few weeks ago, because a third-party listing at a “deal” price can still cost more. Stock is the other risk. Every December some of the popular sets sell out on Amazon or flip to third-party sellers at a markup, so set a target price and buy when the set hits it, even if that’s before Black Friday.
Single volumes are the exception. If your kid finishes volume 4 on a Tuesday, buy volume 5 on Tuesday. Waiting for a sale saves a couple of dollars and costs you the momentum.
One annoyance: box sets ship in a slipcase, and that case gets dinged in transit more than you would like. Open it when it arrives. If it is a gift and the box is crushed, ask for a replacement while there is still time before the holidays.
Manga Box Sets
Fourteen sets across six series, sorted from youngest rating to oldest. Tap a name to jump to it. Ages come from our Anime Finder.
| Box set | Volumes | Our age rating | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Ball Complete Box Set | 1-16 (16 books) | 10+ | Check price |
| Dragon Ball Z Complete Box Set | 1-26 (26 books) | 10+ | Check price |
| Naruto Box Set 1 | 1-27 (27 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| Naruto Box Set 2 | 28-48 (21 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| Naruto Box Set 3 | 49-72 (24 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| One Piece Box Set 1 | 1-23 (23 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| One Piece Box Set 2 | 24-46 (23 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| One Piece Box Set 3 | 47-70 (24 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| One Piece Box Set 4 | 71-90 (20 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| One Piece Box Set 5 Pre-order, out December 8 | 91-111 (21 books) | 12+ | Check price |
| Demon Slayer Complete Box Set | 1-23 (23 books) | 14+ | Check price |
| Bleach Box Set 1 | 1-21 (21 books) | 14+ | Check price |
| Bleach Box Set 3 | 49-74 (26 books) | 14+ | Check price |
| Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set New, out October 27 | 0-30 (31 books) | 16+ | Check price |
Dragon Ball Box Sets (10+)
Two sets, and together they are the complete original manga. The Dragon Ball set (volumes 1 to 16) is Goku as a kid, lighter and funnier. Dragon Ball Z (26 volumes) is the fighting most kids picture when they hear the name. The Dragon Ball set is already up in The Short Answer, so here is the Z set.
If you buy both, read them in order. The Dragon Ball reading order explains how VIZ split one story into two boxes.
Naruto Box Sets (12+)
Three sets cover the whole series, 72 volumes. Box Set 1 is the one to watch, since it usually has the biggest gap between list price and what Amazon charges. We rate Naruto 12+, and the Naruto age guide explains where the darker arcs come in.
Not sure which set covers which arc? The Naruto reading order lines up every volume with its box set.
One Piece Box Sets (12+)
One Piece is the big commitment. Four box sets take you to volume 90, and Box Set 5 (Wano to Egghead, volumes 91 to 111) is up for pre-order with a December 8 release, so it lands after Cyber Monday. Box Set 1 has usually had the smallest discount of the bunch, probably because it is the one everybody buys first. My advice for a kid who has never read it: buy Box Set 1 and stop there until they finish it. Twenty-three volumes is enough to know.
We rate One Piece 12+ (the One Piece age guide has why). The One Piece reading order breaks the series down by arc and box set.
Demon Slayer Complete Box Set (14+)
The whole story in one box, all 23 volumes. That makes it the easiest manga set to buy as a gift, because there is no Box Set 2 to buy later. The manga also finishes the story, which matters if your kid has seen the Infinity Castle movie and wants the ending now.
We rate Demon Slayer 14+. The violence is real and so are the decapitations. The Demon Slayer age guide covers it season by season.
If the box set is more than you want to spend, our Demon Slayer gift guide has smaller things fans actually use.
Bleach Box Sets (14+)
Bleach runs 74 volumes over three box sets. Box Set 3 tends to sell for less per book than Box Set 1. When I checked, Box Set 2 (volumes 22 to 48) was only available from third-party sellers on Amazon, so it is not listed here. If you are buying the full run, look at other stores for that one.
We rate Bleach 14+. The Bleach age guide and the Bleach reading order have the details.
Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set (16+)
This one is new. VIZ’s complete set collects volumes 1 to 30 plus the prequel, volume 0, so 31 books, with an October 27 release. It is the most expensive set here by a distance. Pre-orders were already under list price on Amazon when I checked, and with no price history yet, I would wait for Black Friday week and see where it settles.
We rate Jujutsu Kaisen 16+, the highest on this list. I have watched it, and neither of my kids has. The Jujutsu Kaisen age guide explains why.
Two More Worth Watching
These two are outside the big six but go on sale at the same time. My Hero Academia Box Set 1 is 12+ and a good next step for a kid who liked Naruto. Fullmetal Alchemist is 14+ and complete in one box, the one I would pick for a teenager who wants a story that ends well.
You will also see Chainsaw Man and Attack on Titan box sets on every manga sale list. They sell well, but we rate both Skip in our Anime Finder, so they are for adults buying for themselves.
Book Box Sets
Eight sets, from board books up to Tolkien. These ages are the reading ages Amazon lists, not ours, so treat them as a rough guide. You know your reader better than a product page does.
Kids’ box sets also turn up in Amazon’s Buy 2, Get 1 Free book promotion, which runs a few times a year, often near the holidays. The cheapest of the three items is the free one, so it pays most when the other two gifts cost about as much as the set.
If you shop by age instead of by series, our children’s books by age guide has picks for each year.
Harry Potter Box Sets
Three ways to buy the same story. The paperback box set (up in The Short Answer) is all seven books and the cheapest per book by a long way. The other two only cover books 1 to 3, and you are paying for the art.
Jim Kay’s Illustrated Collection has full-page paintings on almost every spread, and it reads well aloud to a younger kid. The MinaLima edition has fold-outs and pull-tabs. Our guide to illustrated Harry Potter books compares the two in more detail.
More Potter, including LEGO sets and merch, is on our Harry Potter hub.
The Lord of the Rings Box Set
The deluxe pocket set has The Hobbit and all three Lord of the Rings books in compact editions, small enough for a backpack. For most kids, The Hobbit is the place to start, around 10 to 12, and the rest can wait a few years on the shelf. Older Tolkien fans have more ideas in our Lord of the Rings merch guide.
The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set
All seven books in paperback, with Pauline Baynes’s illustrations in color. Narnia is the series I would read aloud before a kid is ready for Tolkien. One thing to know: box sets number The Magician’s Nephew as book 1. Plenty of families start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe instead, and the story works either way.
Julia Donaldson Collection
For the youngest readers, The Gruffalo Little Library is a set of small board books. When I checked it said it ships in 11 to 12 days, so order it early if it is going under a tree.
The bigger Julia Donaldson packs on Amazon US are mostly UK imports from third-party sellers.
Dr. Seuss Box Set
The Beginner Book boxed set has five of the classics: The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop and Fox in Socks. They were written for kids learning to read, and the rhymes make them easy to read aloud a hundred times. For Seuss fans, our Dr. Seuss gifts page goes beyond the books.
Dog Man Box Set
Dog Man is the series that gets reluctant readers turning pages. The Supa Epic Collection has books 1 to 6. If your kid finishes them fast, our list of graphic novels to read after Dog Man has the next step.
What’s Next
If you are still deciding which anime or manga fits your kid, the anime age ratings page has every show we have rated in one table, and the anime and manga hub has our reading orders and parent guides.
For the three series kids ask about most, the Big Three parent guide compares Naruto, One Piece and Bleach side by side.
And for single books, Kindles and audiobooks, our Amazon book deals page covers the rest of the shelf.
About These Recommendations
I’m George. I read to my kids for 10+ years before they started reading on their own. My wife’s a therapist who helped pick books that actually matter for development. Everything on this site got tested on our family first.
FAQ
Usually, yes, if you buy on sale. Most manga box sets list at about the same price per book as single volumes, so the value comes from the discount. Under $6 a book is a good price. Box sets also look better on a shelf than a stack of singles, and most include a poster.
Most of the big ones do. Manga sets like Naruto, One Piece, Demon Slayer and Dragon Ball, and book sets like Harry Potter and Narnia, usually drop during Black Friday week and through Cyber Monday. Amazon’s October Prime sale is the other big one. Divide the price by the number of books before you buy.
Divide the price by the number of books. Under $5 a book is a great price, $5 to $6 is a good one, and above $9 is barely better than buying single volumes at around $12 each.
The Dragon Ball Complete Box Set. We rate Dragon Ball 10+, the youngest rating of the major shonen series. Naruto, One Piece and My Hero Academia are 12+, Demon Slayer and Bleach are 14+, and Jujutsu Kaisen is 16+.
Yes. The Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set from VIZ has an October 27 release date. It has volumes 1 to 30 plus the prequel, volume 0, so 31 books. We rate Jujutsu Kaisen 16+.
Five. Box Sets 1 to 4 cover volumes 1 to 90. Box Set 5 (Wano to Egghead) covers volumes 91 to 111 and is due out on December 8.
The paperback box set. It has all seven books, and on sale it costs far less per book than buying them one at a time or picking the illustrated editions, which only cover books 1 to 3.