Boku no Hero Academia Volume 34 leads the weekly sales chart between May 2 and May 8 with a great opening of 445,910 copies sold in its first week, a 3.64% improvement over Volume 29, but a small drop of 1.51% over Volume 33. The series has been reporting better sales performance as of late since Volume 31 where copies sold were reportedly a lot stronger for the 5-day sales and 3-day sales of Volumes 31 and 33 when compared to other volumes with the same number of days in the past. The series has been said to have entered its “Final Arc” when the announcement was made last year, and a sixth season is planned for broadcast this coming Fall 2022.
Next, at Number 2 is a title that has been struggling for the past few volumes. One Punch-Man makes its 25th volume debut at 212,414 copies sold in its first 7 days. Not as good as Volume 23’s 274,698 copies sold back in January 2021, and clearly worse than the 285,015 copies sold with Volume 21 in its first 5 days. The series received a 12-episode TV Anime series adaptation by Madhouse in 2015, and a second season was broadcasted in 2019. It then received several special episodes all the way to 2020. There has so far been no official announcement of a Season 3.
Number 3 is Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan – Hokkaido-hen Volume 7, a troubling series that had a strong start, but copies sold could not repeat its past performances. Please observe the first four volumes: Volume 1 had 172,160 copies sold in its first 6 days, Volume 2 was at 201,590 copies sold in its first 7 days, Volume 3 at 111,231 copies sold in 3 days while Volume 4 noted 147,286 copies sold in its first 5 days. And then, compare it to the 3-day sales of Volume 5 at 108,859 copies sold, which is a small 2.13% reduction over Volume 3, then copies sold nosedived for Volume 6 which only accumulated 75,731 copies sold in its first 4 days, much less compared to Volume 3 which had a day of sales shorter. The gap widened for Volume 7 when it only sold 117,720 copies sold in 7 days, a heavy drop of 41.60% when compared to Volume 2. It is quite and highly possible that the series will continue to see a downtrend in sales.
Though the decline is a lot more obvious for Number 4’s Natsume Yuujinchou after a strong start all the way to Volume 17, its sales performance has tanked ever since. However, copies sold for Volume 28 witnessed a small respite when compared to its other and latest 7-day sales performance of Volume 26 of which a 0.22% improvement was recorded to 108,343 copies sold. Revenue-wise, Volume 28 will be a lot stronger considering its Special Edition has also made onto the list at Number 27 at 24,692 copies sold and selling 950 yen (≈7.35 USD) a piece compared to the 450 yen (≈3.50 USD) a piece for its Regular Edition volume. If we add the pre-sales of its Special Edition which made it onto the chart the week before, that would put its total lifetime sales so far at 150,880 copies.
It is thanks to the amazing folks over at Oricon that we get to see these charts on a weekly basis, so be sure to head over to their site here and show them lots of love! In addition, all the data you find below is accessible via Oricon right here (Manga) and here (Series). If Google charts are what you prefer, you can find their respective links to the charts at the bottom of the post. Many of the titles that you see below have been discussed in the TSUTAYA’s sales chart for the same week, so do have a look at it right here. Some titles that did not make it onto the Top 30 chart were also discussed in the COMIC ZIN’s chart here.
Dandadan Volume 5 places 6th on the list at 83,136 copies sold, a small retreat from the 85,717 copies sold it achieved in the first 7 days for Volume 2 by 3.01%. Initially, I figured the momentum for the series would still be strong, but it may just hit its peak for now before it gets an Anime adaptation (which I do believe it will). Remember that the series is available for reading for free in English through Manga Plus, so do check them out!
Head over to Number 8, and you will find Akagami no Shirayuki-hime Volume 25 at 76,789 copies sold in its first week, down by 9.65% from the 84,993 copies sold and far from its best performance of 113,067 copies sold for Volume 15 in its first 6 days back in January 2016. Its latest trend is indicative of a decline. The title received a split-cour Anime adaptation by Bones back in 2015 and 2016 but has so far not received an official sequel announcement. Its official English releases for its Manga are available with up to Volume 18 for grabs while Volumes 19 and 20 are expected to hit shores this coming June and August.
Mashle Volume 11 is 10th on the list at 68,086 copies sold in its first week, not as good as the 93,423 copies sold it had for Volume 8. The series, for a fact, has not been able to push out numbers as good as Volumes 4 to 8. The series is now in its final arc according to an announcement made on the 2nd of May this month, and in the meantime, several of its chapters are available for reading through Manga Plus right here. So, do check them out!
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is on the list at Number 11 with its 7th volume at 66,932 copies sold in its first week. The series has so far not been able to get out of its slump, hitting a new low for its 7-day sales. Note that Volume 13 saw 96,482 copies sold in its first week back in January 21 and Volume 11 did even better at 83,613 copies sold in just 5 days. Note that the series is still having its Anime adaptation ongoing, adapted by Studio Pierrot.
Shuumatsu no Harem Volume 15 is on the list at Number 23 with a continuous drop observed for the volume. This time, it made 40,189 copies sold, 4.43% less than Volume 13’s 42,054 copies back in October 2021. Note that Volume 11 was a lot better performance-wise seeing it sold 61,033 copies in just 5 days. Shuumatsu no Harem was adapted into an 11-episode TV Anime series by Studio Gokumi and AXsiZ which was broadcasted between January and March of this year. The Manga is also out officially in English with up to Volume 12 available for order.
As for other new releases, we have Spy x Family Official Fanbook: Eyes Only at 78,611 copies sold in its first week as it places 7th on the list. Several others include The Fable: The Second Contact Volume 3 at 51,120 copies sold in its first 3 days, a 12.08% increase over Volume 2’s 44,943 copies sold back in February. Then, MF Ghost Volume 14 is 22nd at 47,354 copies sold in its first 3 days, quite stable when compared to Volume 13’s 59,532 copies sold in January this year (in its first 4 days). This would be Mato Seihei no Slave’s first breach onto Oricon’s Top 30 sales chart with its 10th volume at Number 29 at 21,882 copies sold in its first week while Undead Unluck Volume 11 is 30th at 21,744 copies sold in its first week.
Manga Weekly Top 30
1. Boku no Hero Academia Vol. 34 (NEW)
by Kouhei Horikoshi
Publisher: Shueisha
Release date: May 2, 2022
Price: 440 yen
Estimated number of copies sold: 445,910
Link (JPN): Vol. 34
Link (ENG): Right Stuf; Amazon
2. One Punch-Man Vol. 25 (NEW)
by (Story) ONE and (Art) Yusuke Murata
Publisher: Shueisha
Release date: May 2, 2022
Price: 440 yen
Estimated number of copies sold: 212,414
Link (JPN): Vol. 25
Link (ENG): Right Stuf; Amazon
3. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan – Hokkaido-hen Vol. 7 (NEW)
by (Story) Kaoru Kurosaki and (Story & Art) Nobuhiro Watsuki
Publisher: Shueisha
Release date: May 2, 2022
Price: 480 yen
Estimated number of copies sold: 117,720
Link (JPN): Vol. 7
4. Natsume Yuujinchou Vol. 28 (NEW)
by Yuki Midorikawa
Publisher: Hakusensha
Release date: May 2, 2022
Price: 450 yen
Estimated number of copies sold: 108,343
Link (JPN): Vol. 28
Link (ENG): Right Stuf; Amazon
5. Spy x Family Vol. 9