Oricon’s Half-Year Light Novel Sales Ranking 2023 and a Short Market Update

This isn’t the first time Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken has made it onto the half-year sales chart, having been seen doing the same the year before. However, this time, sales are much stronger, climbing by as much as 175.72% over the half-year achieved in 2022. Much of this can be attributed to the adaptation of the work into a TV Anime series that was broadcast from January 7 to March 25, 2023. Throughout the Anime’s run, the spillover effect can be felt, with copies sold for the Light Novel volumes spiking in January 2023, partly thanks to the release of Volume 8, before a slowdown in February. Sales then pick up slightly in March after the Anime broadcast ended.

Despite the sales of Blue Lock: Tatakai no Mae, Bokura wa. Isagi・Nagi・Bachira happening earlier in October of last year, the series could not sell enough to place on the full-year list due to a short sales period. Therefore, this would be the series’ first appearance, and its success here can be attributed to its Anime that began airing on October 9, 2022, which has also spurred demand for the latest Light Novel volume titled “Blue Lock: Tatakai no Mae, Bokura wa. Chigiri・Reo・Rin”.

Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Aalya-san did slightly better the year before, selling 9.25% more copies. The series saw two volumes released throughout the tracked period for the half-year of 2023. One was Volume 5, which registered a strong debut sales performance of 23,973 copies in its first four days, and the other was Volume 6, which sold 15,047 copies in just two days. Because Volume 5 was released earlier, its 172 days of sales have given it an advantage over Volume 6, allowing it to occupy the 8th spot on the volume chart below with 73,240 copies sold.

Nevertheless, the overall performance of the series is nothing short of spectacular, considering it is very new, having only been released in October 2022. With an upcoming Anime adaptation, sales are expected to grow significantly for the series. However, as for when this will happen, we will just have to wait and see, as no broadcast dates have been announced.

This is Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e: 2-nensei-hen‘s second consecutive appearance on the half-year list, with another appearance made in 2022. However, perhaps as a series, its overall performance was much stronger the year before than in 2023.

In 2022, both the prequel and sequel were placed in the Top 10, with a total of 302,598 copies sold throughout the half-year period. This time, only 2-nensei-hen made the cut with 183,668 copies sold. The good news is that for 2-nensei-hen, this represents a 3.88% increase in sales over the same period in the previous year.

With the Anime’s third season, which covers the 1st year arc, set to appear sometime in 2023, we can expect a slight boost in overall sales for the series’ Light Novel volumes. The series is expected to end the year on a stronger note.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is one of those series that has performed favorably despite the lack of an Anime adaptation. With only one new main volume released during the period, the series has done well enough to secure the 6th spot, selling 163,677 copies. However, the series has seen better days with 317,749 copies and 350,043 copies sold in 2020 and 2021 respectively. It failed to chart in 2022, most likely with sales lower than 120,000 copies. With an Anime adaptation announced and set to appear sometime in 2023, it is highly likely to see a strong spillover effect that will boost overall sales of its Light Novel volumes.

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka is a series that has been on a decline in terms of its sales since 2015. The copies sold were much stronger in 2015, with 528,617 copies sold, supported by the adaptation of the work into a TV Anime. After a period of absence from the half-year sales charts from 2016 to 2018, the series re-emerged in 2019 with 212,170 copies sold, coinciding with the broadcast of its second TV Anime season. However, it experienced another slow sales period from 2020 to 2022, failing to chart on any of the half-year lists despite the third season of its Anime being broadcast in 2020.

With the airing of Meikyuu-hen and Fuka Shou – Yakusai-hen last year and this year, along with newer volumes being released, the series has made its return, although not as strongly as it has achieved in the past. Perhaps the growing competition among other Light Novel series and the lack of overall interest in Light Novels may have contributed to the decline seen here.

Among the titles in the Top 10, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken has been the most consistent, making appearances since 2017. The copies sold for the work were already strong in 2017 and 2018 but reached their peak in 2019 with 604,159 copies sold, coinciding with the broadcast of its first TV Anime series season from October 2018 to March 2019. Sales have continued to remain strong from 2020 to 2022, with over 300,000 copies sold in the first six months of each year. However, the 162,904 copies it achieved this time is the series’ weakest by far, which is understandable since there were no new main volume releases during the period tracked. If it doesn’t have a new volume before the end of the year (most likely before November 21), the series may drop out of the Top 5 or Top 10 list.

This would be Hoshi no Kirby‘s second consecutive appearance on the half-year sales chart; however, the 130,694 copies achieved represent a 20.43% drop in sales compared to the same period the year before. Throughout the period, the series saw two releases making their debuts. Hoshi no Kirby: Manpuku, Manmaru, Gourmet Fest! was released first on December 14, 2022, followed by Hoshi no Kirby: Setsuna no Mikiri de Aku wo Tate! on March 8, 2023. Manpuku, Manmaru, Gourmet Fest! had a good start, selling 11,993 copies in its first five days, while Setsuna no Mikiri de Aku wo Tate! improved upon the previous volume’s performance, selling 12,752 copies in its first five days. Unfortunately, both volumes were unable to sell enough copies to place on the Top 10 individual volume sales chart below.

This would be Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi‘s first-ever appearance on the half-year sales chart. Thanks to its TV Anime adaptation (broadcasted from January to March 2023), the impact on the Light Novel’s overall sales can be felt. Despite that, its individual volume performances have been very irregular. For instance, the one-day sales of Volume 13 saw 15,803 copies sold in December last year, slightly before the Anime episodes were broadcast, while Volume 14 sold 17,236 copies in its first six days in April 2023. Overall, though, the series’ sales picked up considerably in January 2023 when the Anime began airing, before slowing down but still maintaining a strong performance from February to March. The series achieved its strongest monthly performance ever since December 2022 in April 2023, which was heavily supported by the release of Volume 14.