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The Climber manga series by authors Shin-ichi Sakamoto and Yoshiro Nabeda (with Sakamoto also serving as the illustrator) is one of the most popular manga series of all time. Despite never receiving an anime adaptation of any kind, it remains one of the most well-received Shuiesha series to ever be published.
Naturally, this has led many fans to wonder how they can read The Climber manga series at home. Unfortunately, the series concluded its story in October 2012 after what was days short of a five-year long run. However, this also means that those interested in reading the series will be able to do so in one sitting.
While it may initially seem simple to purchase the series in its entirety, it may prove more difficult than prospective buyers are expecting, thanks to the series’ age. Follow along as this article fully breaks down where to read the The Climber manga series, what to expect from it, and more.
The Climber manga series can be read in entirety by fans willing to purchase official volumes
Where to read
The Climber manga series was serialized on a weekly basis in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine from November 1, 2007 to October 27, 2012. It has been serialized with this cadence and in Shueisha’s seinen-focused magazine since the beginning of November 2021. The series concluded with the release of chapter 170, and it has not released any sequels or spinoffs.
Likewise, this also means that the concluded mainline series is all fans have to read of Sakamoto and Nabeda’s series, which was based on a novel by Jiro Nitta. However, as mentioned above, the silver lining to this is that fans can read the entire mainline series simply by purchasing all the previously released manga volumes.
Unfortunately, this may not be as simple as many would hope for. With The Climber manga series having concluded roughly 11 years ago as of this article’s writing, most major retailers aren’t carrying the series in its entirety. In fact, those who carry the series at all seem to only carry select entries into the series’ 17 total compilation volumes.
As a result, this makes auction sites such as eBay the best place to shop online for a full series set. Fans will also benefit from attending local anime and manga conventions, browsing specialized sites for the sale of manga, and exploring other alternate avenues of purchase.
Series synopsis
The Climber manga series follows central protagonist Buntaro Mori, a lonesome and gloomy high school student. The series begins with Mori in high school, but follows him into his adult life as the story progresses. The focus is on Mori's journey after he discovers a new passion in the form of climbing.
Mori was first exposed to the world of climbing when he was a member of a high school climbing club. Fans do eventually see him become a world-class professional climber as he grows older, and they get to join Mori as he goes through different stages of his life while dealing with loneliness, solo climbing, and depression.
Fans also see Mori striving to conquer the most difficult mountain, K2, as The Climber manga series progresses. The K2 is a real-life mountain which has the highest peak on Earth, lying in the Karakoram range, which splits borders with Pakistani and Chinese territory. It’s also known as the “Savage Mountain” after climber George Bell dubbed it as “a savage mountain that tries to kill you.”
What to expect (speculative)
As a character-driven seinen series, fans can count on The Climber manga focusing mainly on protagonist Mori’s development as the series progresses. While this isn’t an inherent part of seinen comics in general, it tends to be the driving force behind those seinen series which don’t play into the action tropes of the medium.
The Climber manga series will also likely focus on Mori’s emotional and physical isolation as a climber, given the emphasis on such topics in the aforementioned synopsis. Considering how beloved the series is, fans can expect this aspect of the story to be incredibly well-done.
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