Altered manga: the grade does not tell the whole story

Sanded means that a surface has been abraded. This may make a book’s edge look more even or lighter, but removes original material. Here BGS names only the top edge, not every edge and not a generic cleaning treatment.

Look at the number: this Attack on Titan received 9.6, with an 8.0 dust jacket and an obi included. “ALTERED” appears above the grade. This is exactly why the large number is not enough: a high grade and an alteration appear on the same label.

What to remember: a very bright edge does not, by itself, prove exceptional preservation. Read the note and ask for close-up photographs of the page edges.

This note describes mechanical treatment of the book’s page edges, not polishing of the slab’s plastic. It includes a detail worth reading carefully: “affects page quality”.

This Berserk has a 5.5 book grade, a 5.0 dust jacket and an “ALTERED” classification. BGS does not identify the machine, abrasive or procedure. We cannot reconstruct those from the photograph, so we retain machine polished rather than replacing it with sanded.

What to remember: read the second half of the sentence too. This note records both treatment of the edges and an effect on page quality.

“It was only cleaned” can sound reassuring. This label shows why it is worth asking more. BGS identifies amateur conservation and names two separate parts: the book’s cover and its outer dust jacket.

The book is graded 7.5 and the dust jacket 8.5. Cleaned does not tell us which products were used or whether the process was dry or wet. We cannot fill that gap ourselves. This one example also does not establish that every instance of dust removal receives the same classification.

What to remember: “CONSERVED” does not mean “well kept”. Here it records a treatment, qualified as “AMATEUR”, which belongs in your price comparison.

Read the whole sentence: it describes two repairs. The spine was completely split and reattached with glue; a few interior pages were also reattached with glue. Reducing this to “glue present” would miss the important information.

This Dragon Ball is classified “CONSERVED / AMATEUR”, with a 2.0 book grade and a 5.5 dust jacket. The book was originally produced with an adhesive binding; the note concerns later repairs, not ordinary manufacturing glue.

What to remember: an attractive dust jacket can surround a much more damaged book. Read its grade separately from the condition of the book itself.

BGS counts three pieces of tape on the spine and records interior reinforcement with tape. It does not specify the product or when the repair took place. This is information about the book’s condition, even when the numerical grade is already low.

The book is graded 1.8 and the dust jacket 4.0. Look at the photograph: there is no “ALTERED” box above the grade. Adding one in our description would be inaccurate. Our database still groups this recorded intervention under the Altered filter, with its type identified.

What to remember: the absence of the word “ALTERED” is no substitute for reading the notes. A repair may be disclosed in an ordinary sentence.

Lightened means that the page edges have been made lighter. The result may make a book look less yellowed, but it is not the same as paper that remained naturally lighter over time.

On this One Piece, BGS writes “Amateur Restoration” and displays “RESTORED”: the book is 7.0 and the dust jacket 6.5. Page quality is still recorded as “CREAM/OFF-WHITE”. The note does not identify the method. Naming bleach, another chemical or UV treatment as a certainty would add information that is not there.

What to remember: read page colour and treatment notes together. A bright photograph alone cannot tell you how the paper acquired its appearance.

Trimming means recutting a margin and removing some material. It differs from sanding, which abrades a surface. Here BGS records both interventions: all three page edges were sanded, while the top edge of the cover was trimmed.

The distinction matters. The note says cover, not dust jacket, and does not say that all the pages were trimmed. This Dragon Ball has a 7.0 book grade, a 6.5 dust jacket and an “ALTERED” classification. [5–6]

What to remember: identify the exact part BGS names. “Modified edges” is too vague to explain what you are buying.

This example is about more than a treated surface: it concerns how the copy is assembled. Married identifies components from different copies brought together in one book. The note names the cover, first four pages and last four pages. It does not mention an added obi or attribute the intervention to the dust jacket.

The book is graded 8.5 and the dust jacket 7.5. There is another important detail: this is the January 1998 second printing, not the December 1997 first printing. We use it to illustrate the intervention, not as a first-print price comparison.

What to remember: authentic parts can have been assembled later. Check both the copy’s composition and the printing recorded on the slab.