I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
“I want to start a great new manga, but there are thousands of them coming out now, I don’t know which one to read.”
To overcome this dilemma, you might ask a friend, or possibly just head to Google and search “popular manga in Japan” or “best-selling manga in Japan.”
However, in my experience, the second method isn’t all that efficient. The results you get from search engines are not entirely accurate.
Well, in this post, I will show four rankings that Japanese people use to discover:
- Trending shonen manga in Japan
- The most popular digital manga in Japan
- Best-selling shoujo manga in Japan
- Best-selling manga in 2021
- and many more!
Note: This post is based on quantitative data.
So, if you are looking for manga recommendations, you will love this post!
Let’s get started!
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1. Rakuten
I think that you’ll have heard of Rakuten, it’s probably the biggest e-commerce company in Japan. It’s often called the “Japanese Amazon”.
They actually have a manga ranking where you can see the top-selling manga on Rakuten.
Top-selling shonen manga by volume this mid-September are:
- Spy x Family (Vol.10)
- One Piece (Vol. 103)
- World Trigger (Vol.25)
- Detective Conan (Vol.102)
- Tokyo Revengers (Vol. 29)
- World’s End Harem (Vol.16)
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Vol.9)
- Haikyu!! (Vol.1-45 Complete Set)
- Jujutsu Kaisen (Vol.20)
- One Piece (Vol.1-103 Box Set)
World Trigger (Vol.25)
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Vol.9)
The complete top-selling list can be seen here (in Japanese), as well.
By the way, if you are looking to become a manga artist yourself, check out our other video titled: “How to become a MANGA ARTIST?”
Click on the video below!
2. Mangazenkan
Mangazenkan is a popular site in Japan to buy manga. They also have their own ranking based on their top sellers.
You can filter by digital and physical manga!
The most popular digital manga in Japan right now are:
- Baki Dou (Vol.14)
- One Piece (Vol. 103)
- Beast Tamer (Vol.7)
- By the Grace of the Gods (Vol.9)
- World Trigger (Vol.25)
- Juujika no Rokunin (Vol.8)
- The Unrivaled Reincarnated Sage of Another World ~The Strongest in Another World Through Game Knowledges~ (Vol.6)
- Manshuu Ahen Squad (Vol.10)
- Zatch Bell! II (Vol.6)
- The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest (Vol.20)
Beast Tamer (Vol.7)
Juujika no Rokunin (Vol.8)
Manshuu Ahen Squad (Vol.10)
The complete top-selling list can be seen here (in Japanese).
If you are a manga artist looking to self-publish and find a publisher, be sure to check out our other video: “HOW and Where To PUBLISH Your Own MANGA?”
Watch this video below to find out!
3. CMOA
Another fantastic manga ranking is CMOA.
Compared with the other rankings, CMOA focuses more on teenage girls and adult women.
You can filter by shoujo, aoi, josei manga, etc.
The highest rated shoujo manga (teenage girls manga) are:
- Wakeari Reijou deshita ga, Dekiaisarete Ima de wa Shiawase desu (Vol.4)
- Heibon na Ore ♂ dakedo Isekai de Dekiai saretemasu: Anthology Comic (Vol.2)
- Aku no Kadou wo Ikimashou (Vol.2)
- Oni no Hanayome (Vol.1)
- Promise Cinderella (Vol.16)
Wakeari Reijou deshita ga, Dekiaisarete Ima de wa Shiawase desu (Vol.4)
Aku no Kadou wo Ikimashou (Vol.2)
Note: Most of the above haven’t been translated into English.
The complete top-ranking list can be found here.
4. Oricon
The last ranking that I would like to show is Oricon. On there, you can find the best-selling light novels, manga & books in general for 2021.
Note: The lists below cover sales of physical copies surveyed from November 23, 2020, to November 21, 2021.
The best-selling manga by series in Japan (2021):
- Jujutsu Kaisen (30,917,746)
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (29,511,021)
- Tokyo Revengers (24,981,486)
- Attack on Titan (Shingeki No Kyojin) (7,332,398) 🔥
- My Hero Academia (Boko no Hero Academia) (7,020,361)
Attack On Titan Vol.1
Here is the source for the above list.
The best-selling manga by volume in Japan (2021):
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Vol.23 (5,171,440)
- Demon Slayer: Stories of Water and Flame (2,374,621)
- Jujutsu Kaisen Vol.14 (2,312,250)
- Jujutsu Kaisen Vol.15 (2,306,950)
- Jujutsu Kaisen Vol.16 (2,098,087)
- One Piece Vol.98 (2,018,042)
- Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Koto Senmon Gakko (1,930,831)
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Official Fan Book II (1,630,162)
- One Piece Vol.99 (1,863,574)
- One Piece Vol.100 (1,839,886)
Demon Slayer: Stories of Water and Flame
Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Koto Senmon Gakko
The complete top-selling list can be seen here.
Also, if you want to know how much a manga artist can make per year, especially in Japan, don’t forget to check out the video below!
Lastly, if you’re looking for popular anime in Japan, check this out:
Or, for light novels recommendations:
Which manga are you reading currently? Let me know right now in the comments below!
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