Princess Jellyfish Manga Reading Order (All 9 Omnibus)

Good news if you’re picking up Princess Jellyfish for the first time — the reading order could not be simpler. This complete Princess Jellyfish manga reading order is just a straight line from start to finish. The series is a single, completed story by Akiko Higashimura, published in English by Kodansha Comics (one of Japan’s largest manga publishers). There are no spin-offs, no companion volumes, no branching timelines. You start at Omnibus 1 and read straight through to Omnibus 9. That’s it.

One quick note if you’re brand new to manga: manga reads right-to-left, meaning you open the book from what would be the “back” cover in a Western novel and read each page from right to left. The books themselves will have a note about this, so don’t worry — you’ll adjust within a few pages.

If you’ve tried searching for this series online, you may have run into some confusion around volume numbering, the omnibus format, or how the anime fits into the picture. This guide clears all of that up so you can just focus on enjoying the story.

Princess Jellyfish Manga Reading Order: Start With Omnibus 1 and Read Straight Through

First, a quick vocabulary note: an omnibus is simply a collected edition that bundles multiple smaller volumes into one bigger book. In this case, each Princess Jellyfish omnibus is a 2-in-1 book — two Japanese volumes packaged together in a single English release.

The complete Princess Jellyfish manga is contained in 9 omnibus editions. The original Japanese run was 17 volumes, which were first published chapter-by-chapter in Kiss magazine (a major Japanese manga magazine aimed at adult women) before being collected into book form. This chapter-by-chapter magazine publishing process is called serialization — it’s how most manga gets created. The series completed in 2017. Kodansha Comics published the entire series in English using the omnibus format, and this is the only English print format that exists. There were never individual single-volume English releases.

Because Princess Jellyfish is entirely self-contained, your reading order is beautifully straightforward:

Omnibus 1 → Omnibus 2 → Omnibus 3 → Omnibus 4 → Omnibus 5 → Omnibus 6 → Omnibus 7 → Omnibus 8 → Omnibus 9

No detours. No optional side reading. Just nine books, one story, start to finish.

Each omnibus runs roughly 300+ pages, so expect each book to take a few hours of reading depending on your pace. The full series is a satisfying but manageable commitment — you could finish it in a couple of dedicated weekends or stretch it out over several weeks.

Complete Reading Order at a Glance

Here’s the full breakdown of what each omnibus contains. Each 2-in-1 book collects two consecutive Japanese volumes (with Omnibus 9 containing the final volume 17 on its own, since 17 is an odd number).

Omnibus	Japanese Volumes	What You’ll Find
Omnibus 1	Vols. 1–2	Meet Tsukimi, the Amars, and the unforgettable Kuranosuke — the hook that launches everything
Omnibus 2	Vols. 3–4	Relationships deepen as the apartment residents face their first real outside threat to their home
Omnibus 3	Vols. 5–6	The Jelly Fish fashion brand is born, and the story shifts from cozy comedy to something with real momentum
Omnibus 4	Vols. 7–8	Fashion world stakes rise; romantic tension between Tsukimi and multiple characters heats up
Omnibus 5	Vols. 9–10	Competing love interests reach a boiling point alongside mounting business drama
Omnibus 6	Vols. 11–12	Major confessions and decisions reshape who’s allied with whom — and who loves whom
Omnibus 7	Vols. 13–14	Characters confront their biggest personal fears while the fashion brand faces its toughest challenge yet
Omnibus 8	Vols. 15–16	All storylines accelerate toward resolution; emotional payoffs begin landing
Omnibus 9	Vol. 17	The finale — every romantic and personal storyline reaches its conclusion

A quick note on that table: 9 physical books contain all 17 Japanese volumes of content. This is important because if you see “17 volumes” referenced somewhere and panic about the cost, remember that 9 purchases gets you the complete story.

What Each Part Covers and Why the Order Matters

Princess Jellyfish is a purely linear story. There’s no alternate reading path, no “skip to the romance” shortcut. Here’s why each phase of the manga earns its place in order.

Early Volumes (Omnibus 1–2): The Foundation

Everything starts here. Tsukimi Kurashita is a jellyfish-obsessed illustrator living in Amamizukan, a women-only apartment building inhabited by a group of self-proclaimed fangirls — women who are deeply, unapologetically passionate about their niche hobbies (trains, traditional dolls, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you name it). They call themselves the Amars. When the stylish, confident Kuranosuke Koibuchi crashes into their world, the comedy ignites immediately — but so does the emotional core of the story.

These early volumes establish the characters’ insecurities, their bonds with each other, and the specific kind of warmth that makes Princess Jellyfish so beloved. Kuranosuke’s true identity, Tsukimi’s paralyzing self-doubt, and the Amars’ fierce loyalty to their home all get seeded here. The romance cannot land later if you don’t experience this setup. It would be like watching the last twenty minutes of a movie and wondering why you don’t care about the characters.

Middle Volumes (Omnibus 3–4): The Transformation

This is where Princess Jellyfish shifts from a charming, everyday comedy into something with real momentum. The birth of the Jelly Fish fashion brand changes the entire trajectory of the story. Suddenly Tsukimi’s jellyfish obsession isn’t just a quirky personality trait — it becomes the engine driving a creative venture that puts the Amars in contact with the wider world they’ve been hiding from.

The comedy doesn’t disappear (Higashimura’s humor is relentless), but real stakes enter the picture. The Amars’ home is under threat, and the fashion brand becomes both a creative outlet and a survival strategy. Romance starts weaving more tightly into the plot as Tsukimi’s relationships with the people around her become more complicated.

Later Volumes (Omnibus 5–6): Love and Business Collide

By this point, multiple characters have developed genuine feelings for each other, and the competing affections create real tension. The manga handles these tangled relationships with surprising nuance for a series that also features one Amar whose favorite method of communication involves a hand puppet (you’ll understand when you meet her).

The business drama around the Jelly Fish brand also intensifies. Fashion industry politics, financial pressures, and creative ambition all intertwine with the romantic developments. Skipping ahead to see “who ends up with who” would rob these volumes of their tension — because the romantic outcomes are deeply connected to each character’s personal growth journey.

Final Volumes (Omnibus 7–9): Everything Converges

The last three omnibus volumes bring every thread together. Character storylines that were planted in Omnibus 1 reach their conclusions. The romance resolves. The Jelly Fish brand faces its biggest tests. And the Amars — each one of them — get moments of genuine growth that feel earned because you’ve spent eight books watching them struggle and support each other.

Omnibus 9 contains only the final Japanese volume (Vol. 17), so it’s a shorter read than the others. But it wraps the story up completely. No cliffhangers, no “read the sequel” bait. Just a satisfying ending to a series that ran for eight years.

Where to Buy Princess Jellyfish in English

All 9 omnibus volumes are published by Kodansha Comics and widely available through major book retailers. Here’s what you need to know before purchasing.

The Omnibus Format

The English edition of Princess Jellyfish exists only in the 2-in-1 omnibus format. If you search for “Princess Jellyfish Volume 1,” you’ll find Omnibus 1 — which contains the first two Japanese volumes. There are no separate single-volume English editions. This is actually great news for your wallet, since you’re getting two volumes of content in each physical book.

Each omnibus is a solid chunk of manga. You’re looking at roughly twice the page count of a standard single-volume release, which makes these books feel substantial in your hands.

Price Expectations

Each omnibus carries a typical retail price in line with other 2-in-1 manga releases from Kodansha Comics. Prices vary by retailer, but budgeting for nine omnibus volumes at standard manga omnibus pricing will give you the complete series. Checking a few different retailers before buying can help you find the most comfortable price point.

Getting Started

If you want to test the waters before committing to the full series, grab the first omnibus. It contains enough story to know whether Princess Jellyfish clicks for you — and it almost certainly will. The humor lands fast, and Tsukimi and Kuranosuke’s dynamic is magnetic from the opening chapters.

Digital Editions

Princess Jellyfish is also available digitally through standard manga platforms. The digital versions follow the same omnibus numbering as the print editions, so there’s no confusion between formats.

Collecting the Full Series

Since the series is complete, you can buy all nine omnibus volumes at once if you prefer reading the whole thing in one go. Whether you buy one at a time or all together, the total commitment is nine books for the entire story — a very manageable collection that won’t overwhelm your shelf.

Common Mistakes New Readers Make

A few pitfalls trip up first-time Princess Jellyfish readers. Here’s how to avoid them.

Confusing the Volume Numbering

This is the most common source of confusion. When people search for “Princess Jellyfish Volume 1,” they might expect a single Japanese volume’s worth of content. But the English “Volume 1” is actually Omnibus 1, containing Japanese Volumes 1 and 2. There’s no separate “Volume 1” and “Volume 2” in English — they’re packaged together.

This means when someone tells you the series is “17 volumes,” they’re talking about the Japanese release count. In English, you need 9 physical books to own the complete story. Don’t let the number 17 intimidate you.

Assuming the Anime Tells the Whole Story

The Princess Jellyfish anime is a fun introduction to the characters and world, but it covers only a fraction of the full manga. The manga ran for 17 Japanese volumes; the anime adapts a relatively small portion of that. If you watched the anime and loved it, the manga has significantly more story to tell — including the complete resolution of every romance and character storyline.

You absolutely don’t need to watch the anime before reading the manga. The manga is the complete, original story. The anime is more like a preview that captures the tone and humor well but stops long before the story’s real payoffs.

Skipping Early Volumes for the Romance

It’s tempting to jump ahead if you’ve heard great things about the romantic developments in later volumes. Resist that urge. Princess Jellyfish is a josei romantic comedy — meaning it’s manga created for adult women readers — and the romance is built on adult emotional complexity rather than instant sparks. The comedy and character work in the early omnibus volumes — Tsukimi’s growth, the Amars’ group dynamics, Kuranosuke’s hidden vulnerabilities — are precisely what make the romantic moments meaningful later.

The series rewards patience. The early volumes aren’t filler; they’re the foundation the entire emotional payoff stands on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books do I need to buy to read the complete story?

9 omnibus volumes from Kodansha Comics. Each omnibus collects two Japanese volumes (except the final one, which contains the last single volume). That’s the entire series — beginning, middle, and end.

Is Princess Jellyfish finished?

Yes. The manga is completed. It ran in Kiss magazine and wrapped up in 2017 with 17 Japanese volumes. You can read the whole thing without waiting for new releases.

Do I need to watch the anime first?

Nope. The manga is the complete story, and the anime only covers a small portion of it. You can watch the anime for fun, but it’s not a prerequisite for the manga — and the manga goes far beyond where the anime ends.

Is there a sequel or spin-off?

No known sequel or spin-off exists. Princess Jellyfish is a self-contained story that begins and ends within its 17 volumes (9 English omnibus editions). Akiko Higashimura has created other manga series, but none are direct continuations of Princess Jellyfish.

What genre is Princess Jellyfish?

It’s a josei romantic comedy. Josei is a category of manga aimed at adult women readers, and Princess Jellyfish lives up to that demographic perfectly — it deals with adult insecurities, career ambitions, and romantic relationships with both humor and emotional honesty. It was originally serialized in Kiss magazine, one of the major josei publications in Japan.

Can I read it if I’m new to manga?

Absolutely. Princess Jellyfish is one of the most beginner-friendly manga out there. The humor is universal, the characters are immediately lovable, and the omnibus format means you’re getting a lot of story in each book. If you’ve never read manga before, the only adjustment is that you read right-to-left — but every volume includes a note about this, and it becomes second nature within a few pages. Just pick up Omnibus 1 and let Tsukimi and the Amars take it from there.