S.A: Special A Manga — All 17 Volumes Explained

If you’ve been eyeing S.A: Special A and wondering how many manga volumes you’ll need to collect, good news — the series is finished and it’s a clean, manageable run. The full story clocks in at 17 volumes, all available in English. Here’s everything worth knowing before you start buying.

S.A: Special A Manga Is Complete at 17 Volumes

S.A: Special A (Ｓ・Ａ　スペシャル・エー) by Maki Minami is a completed romantic comedy manga spanning 17 volumes in both Japanese and English. The series was serialized — meaning its chapters were originally published on a regular schedule in a magazine before being collected into book form — in Hana to Yume, a Japanese manga magazine focused on stories aimed at a teen girl readership. The Japanese volumes were published by Hakusensha, the company behind that magazine. The English-language edition comes from VIZ Media, one of the largest publishers of translated manga in North America, also at 17 volumes, meaning nothing was cut or left untranslated.

The story follows Hikari Hanazono, a fiercely competitive girl who has spent her entire life trying to beat Kei Takishima — the one person who always ranks above her. Both are members of “Special A” (SA), the top-ranked class at an elite academy filled with wealthy, talented students. What starts as a one-sided academic rivalry gradually becomes something much more complicated as feelings get tangled up with pride and competition.

It’s a shojo series through and through — “shojo” being a category of manga created for a teen girl audience, typically featuring romance, emotional storytelling, and character-driven drama. S.A fits that mold perfectly: it’s funny, sweet, and full of characters who are way too stubborn for their own good. VIZ rates it Teen, so it’s accessible for a broad audience and doesn’t contain anything particularly intense.

A TV anime adaptation (an animated television series based on the manga) also aired starting in April 2008, which is how many English-speaking fans first discovered the series. The anime covered only a portion of the manga’s story, so if you’ve already watched the show and want the full picture — including how the central romance actually resolves — the manga is where you need to go. All 17 volumes take the characters well beyond where the anime leaves off.

The final Japanese volume was released on June 19, 2009, so this is a series that’s been done for a long time. A single-volume Japanese sequel, Special A – Street Fight, was published by Hana to Yume in 2013, but it has not been licensed in English — for English readers, VIZ’s 17-volume run is the complete, self-contained story. It’s also worth noting upfront: if you want to test the waters before committing to all 17 books, your local library may carry the series, and many library systems also offer digital manga borrowing through apps like Libby or Hoopla.

Key Volumes and What They Cover

Reading order here is about as simple as it gets: Volume 1 through Volume 17, straight through. There are no spin-offs you need to read, no alternate timelines, and no companion volumes required to understand the plot. Just pick up the first book and go.

Here’s a look at how the story progresses across the run:

Volume 1 — The Rivalry Begins

Volume 1 sets up everything. You meet Hikari, Kei, and the rest of the SA class — a group of seven students who occupy the school’s most elite ranking. Hikari’s obsession with defeating Kei is established immediately, and it’s both hilarious and endearing. The comedic tone is locked in from page one, with exaggerated competitions and absurd displays of wealth from the supporting cast. You’ll know within the first few chapters whether this series is for you.

Early Volumes (Vols. 2–5) — Building the Cast

The early stretch of the series spends time fleshing out the other SA members. Each character gets moments in the spotlight through various comedic scenarios — school events, challenge matches, and social entanglements. These volumes are lighter and more self-contained in structure, with individual chapters that work as their own little stories rather than one continuous plotline. The humor leans heavily on the back-and-forth dynamic between Hikari and Kei. The romantic tension is there, but Hikari is so focused on competition that she’s completely oblivious to it, which is a running joke that somehow stays funny.

Mid-Series Volumes (Vols. 6–12) — Romance Takes the Lead

This is where the series starts shifting gears. The comedic competitions don’t disappear, but the emotional stakes climb significantly. Kei’s feelings become harder to ignore — for the reader and eventually for Hikari herself. Supporting characters also get their own romantic storylines running alongside the main plot, and the stories become more interconnected rather than standing alone chapter by chapter. If you’re reading for the romance, these middle volumes are where the series really finds its groove.

Late Volumes (Vols. 13–16) — Complications and Resolution

The later stretch introduces more serious obstacles to the central relationship, including family expectations and external pressures that test the bond between Hikari and Kei. The tone stays true to its romantic comedy roots, but there’s genuine emotional weight behind the conflicts. Characters who have been growing and changing quietly across many volumes start seeing those journeys pay off here.

Volume 17 — The Finale

The final volume wraps everything up. The central romance between Hikari and Kei reaches its conclusion, and the supporting cast gets closure as well. All 17 volumes of the Japanese run are covered by the English edition, so you’re getting the full story with nothing missing.

How Much Does a Complete Set Cost

S.A: Special A volumes are standard manga paperback singles — individual books, each containing one volume’s worth of the story — published by VIZ Media. At 17 volumes, a complete physical set is a moderate commitment — not as daunting as a 30+ volume series, but still a shelf’s worth of books.

There is no known English omnibus edition (a format that combines multiple volumes into one thicker book), no box set, and no collector’s format for this series as of this writing. The VIZ singles are the only way to collect it in English, which means you’re looking at purchasing all 17 individually.

Since the series wrapped up in Japan back in 2009, some volumes may be harder to find new. Individual volumes carry a typical manga retail price, and at 17 volumes the total adds up — though secondhand copies can bring the per-volume cost down considerably. Here are some general approaches for building a set:

• New copies are available through major retailers, though stock can be inconsistent for older shojo titles. Not every volume may be actively in print at any given time, so check availability before assuming the whole set is sitting on a shelf waiting for you.
• Used and secondhand copies are often the most practical route for completing a full set. Manga resale markets, secondhand bookshops, and online marketplaces frequently have S.A volumes floating around.
• Condition matters for pricing. Volumes in good condition from a completed series that may not be actively reprinted can sometimes carry a small premium, but S.A isn’t a high-demand collector’s title, so prices generally stay reasonable.
• Buying in bulk from other collectors selling their full sets is often the most cost-effective approach. Keep an eye on listings where someone is offloading all 17 at once.

If you’re not sure whether you want to commit to the full set right away, grabbing the first volume or two is a low-risk way to test the waters.

How the Final Volume Wraps Up the Story

Here’s the answer many readers searching for this series want to hear: yes, Hikari and Kei get together. The rivalry that drives the entire series resolves into a genuine romantic relationship, and the manga commits to that resolution rather than leaving it ambiguous. If you’ve been reading for 16 volumes wondering whether these two will ever sort themselves out — the series delivers on that front.

The ending stays true to the lighthearted, warm tone that defines the whole run. There’s no sudden shift into dark or heavy territory, no twist that undercuts the comedy, and no bittersweet ambiguity. It’s a romantic comedy that ends like a romantic comedy should: with resolution, warmth, and the sense that these characters earned their happy ending.

Supporting characters also get closure. The various friendships and romantic threads woven through the SA group are tied off rather than left dangling, which is something not every shojo series manages to do gracefully at the end of a 17-volume run.

Importantly, there are no cliffhangers and no sequel hooks. The story is fully self-contained. When you close Volume 17, you’re done — and it feels complete rather than abrupt. For readers who specifically seek out finished manga because they want that sense of closure, S.A delivers exactly that.

Which Edition Should You Buy for a Full Set

This one is straightforward: there’s only one English edition of S.A: Special A, and that’s the VIZ Media singles. Seventeen individual volumes, each containing a portion of the original Japanese story, covering the complete series from beginning to end.

There are no omnibus editions combining multiple volumes into one book. There’s no deluxe or hardcover edition. And as of this writing, no box set packaging all 17 together. If you want S.A in English, it’s the VIZ singles or nothing.

Here’s what that means practically:

• Every volume uses the same format. They’ll look uniform on your shelf, which is nice for collectors who care about that sort of thing.
• The Teen rating applies across the entire run. No volume suddenly jumps to a Mature rating or includes content outside what you’d expect from a shojo romantic comedy.
• All 17 VIZ volumes cover the complete Japanese serialization. Nothing was censored, rearranged, or omitted in the English release. You’re reading the same story Japanese readers got.

For anyone coming from the anime and wanting the full story, the manga is the way to go. The anime adaptation covered a portion of the series, but the manga runs longer and takes the relationships further. The 17-volume set gives you everything.

Where to Buy S.A: Special A Manga Volumes in English

Since this is an older completed series, buying S.A requires a little more resourcefulness than picking up a currently popular title. Here’s where to look:

New Copies

Major online book retailers and brick-and-mortar bookstores with manga sections are your first stop. VIZ Media titles have wide distribution, but individual volume availability fluctuates for series that finished years ago. If you find volumes in stock, it’s worth grabbing them rather than assuming they’ll stay available indefinitely.

Digital

VIZ titles are typically available on digital platforms, which can be a convenient option if you don’t need physical copies. Digital editions don’t go out of stock, making them a reliable fallback for any volumes you can’t find in print — meaning volumes the publisher may not be actively producing physical copies of anymore.

Used and Secondhand

For building a physical set of a series this age, secondhand is often your best friend. Online marketplaces, used bookstores, manga trading communities, and local secondhand shops all turn up S.A volumes regularly. The series isn’t rare enough to command collector’s prices in most cases, so patience and consistent checking will usually get you a complete set at fair prices.

Libraries

Before spending anything, check your local library system. Shojo titles from VIZ — especially completed series — are well-represented in many library manga collections. Reading a few volumes through the library is a great way to confirm you enjoy the series before committing to buying all 17 books. Many library systems also offer digital manga lending through apps like Libby or Hoopla, so even if the physical copies aren’t on the shelf, a digital borrow might be available.

Building a complete set of S.A: Special A takes a bit of hunting, but 17 volumes of a sweet, funny romantic comedy with a proper ending is a great addition to any manga shelf. Grab Volume 1, meet Hikari and Kei, and see if their ridiculous rivalry hooks you the way it’s hooked so many readers before.