Oricon’s Half-Year Manga Sales Ranking 2022

The Oricon half-year sales chart for the year 2022 is finally out! And before jumping right into it, there are a couple of things that you ought to know. First, the aggregation period. Take note that the aggregation period for the list occurs between November 22, 2021, and May 22, 2022. In case you would like to see what other titles that have missed out on a placement on the chart, you can visit the weekly Manga page for 2021 here while the page for 2022 is here. Second, for the individual volumes, the Regular Editions are separated from their other editions (if available), such as the Limited Edition or the Premium Edition. Hence, the volume for a Manga in particular may not be conclusive. Third, Oricon has been limiting their widely and publicly available half-year sales charts since the year 2020 (as in the one through their Oricon News website). Any charts you see out there that contain more than the information provided on Oricon News are either leaked or being based on leaks. In case you would like to know where the data is coming from, it comes from the Oricon personal sales platform called the “Yuutaijuu” which I have already covered extensively right here.

Remember! Thank it is thanks to Oricon that we get to see these charts on a yearly basis, so be sure to say your thanks by visiting their site here. All the information you see below is accessible via Oricon right here (Series) and here (Individuals). For previous years’ charts, you can read them here (for 2020) and here (for 2021).

Overall, by looking at the performance of the Top 4 titles since 2015, we can strongly surmise that the half-year performance of Manga in Japan is much less impactful than in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the market greeted a strong Kimetsu no Yaiba which remains the best performing title still at 45,297,633 copies sold since 2015. In 2021 we got to see both Jujutsu Kaisen and Kimetsu no Yaiba competing for the top spots of which the latter title narrowly beat the first by 9.69%.

The Top 5 half-year series is topped by Jujutsu Kaisen at 9,382,099 copies sold, down by 60.57% from its half-year sales performance for 2021. The slowdown is understandable since those who want to own the volumes, have already owned the volumes as of the time of writing. Since the series will see a sequel to its Anime adaptation, we may see a boost to its volumes, though I suspect it may not be the kind of nudge we saw in 2021. Apart from that, the series is also seeing weakening performance, particularly its latest volume which despite having charted for seven consecutive weeks (at 49 days of sales) still could not produce the numbers (including the Limited Edition in Week 1) seen for Volume 18. Note that Volume 18 charted on the Top 30 for four consecutive weeks at 1,699,437 copies sold in just 23 days. Sales were also moderately stronger for Volume 16 which saw 1,723,538 copies sold in its first 24 days.

Tokyo Revengers is 2nd on the list at 7,200,532 copies sold, up by 30.45%. Note that the Anime adaptation for the series ended its broadcast in September 2021, hence providing a push for its volumes near the end of the year. In terms of copies sold, you can look at Volume 24 which was released in September 2021 and went on to chart for the next nine weeks, bringing in a total of 969,856 copies sold in its first 59 days (but note that due to the aggregation period, these sales were not counted). Sales were also strong for Volume 25 onward, and the series has topped the monthly sales charts for the months of November and December 2021 and January and February of 2022, topping the Top 3 lists continuously four times. Although the series witnessed a smaller turnout compared to Jujutsu Kaisen, it does have a better retention rate. For example, Volume 23 and Volume 25 charted for eleven weeks while the latter at ten weeks (note: not continuously).

Occupying the 3rd place is Spy x Family, surpassing Manga titles like One Piece and Boku no Hero Academia for the year, consolidating itself more and more as a great commercial success. Its sales are constantly growing, and, currently thanks to the broadcast of its Anime adaptation (since April 9, 2022), it was able to accrue great sales in 2022. For instance, for its latest volumes, its sales in one month went from 666,432 copies in November 2021 for Volume 8 (note that this is excluding the Limited Edition copies) to 1,007,670 copies alone for Volume 9 (in April 2022) in the initial stages of the Anime broadcast, a great boost it has received due to the Anime adaptation, also with better retention. It has been charting since its release with its year-to-date sales now at 1,229,061 copies sold in its first 49 days.

But all this success should not only be attributed to its Anime as the Manga was also already a heavy hitter since its early days. In addition, in the same year of the release of its 1^st Volume, the Hon Hikidasi website ranked the Manga as the best-selling volume of the period (July to September 2019). Later on, the Manga achieved its 2 million printed circulation milestone as of the release of its 2^nd volume.

Apart from that, the Anime broadcast has also caused great demands for its Books and Manga (particularly its Manga) seeing great sales generated continuously for seven weeks. Sales peaked between April 4 and April 10 (almost immediately after the Anime’s broadcast) at 454.5 million yen (≈3.58 million USD) and another big sum between May 2 and May 8 at 416 million yen (≈3.27 million USD) before slowing down the next two weeks. All in all, those seven weeks have allowed it to amass 2,265.20 million yen (≈17.83 million USD) in sales.

Onto Number 4 and you will find One Piece at 4,155,790 copies sold. Note that the series has been consistently placed on the Top 5 series rankings since 2015, but in 2021 it surprisingly missed out on a spot. Its performance was visibly strong in 2015, accumulating 7,046,066 copies sold before dragging all the way to 3,110,049 copies sold in 2018. Sales recovered the year after, but it has been on a decline ever since. In addition, the series also saw better retention for its older volumes such as Volume 93 which charted for seven consecutive weeks. Many of its latest volumes could not do the same, partly due to intense competition with other titles such as Kimetsu no Yaiba, Jujutsu Kaisen and Tokyo Revengers. Volume 102, its latest, managed to place a spot on Oricon’s Top 30 sales chart continuously for five weeks, however its 35-day sales could only produce 1,361,516 copies sold, whereas Volume 101 could see 1,582,331 copies sold in just 31 days.

I am pretty sure that many people have had their qualms as to the series trajectory. Copies sold in Japan have not been great for its past volumes which have been contributing to a continuous decline. However, I strongly believe that the series’ performance as a whole is something that we should not take lightly, and that it is for a fact still performing great. Note that, One Piece is a series that has been ongoing since 1997 and has been in serialization consistently for 25 years. It now has up to Volume 102 to be consumed. For it to be able to push out easily a million copies sold or more each new volume for so many years now is a feat that should be recognized. To say that the series is no longer popular is far-fetched at best if we are limiting our perspective to only the Japanese market which is now in a time of turbulence (a shrinking market). As for now, I can assure you that the market for One Piece is still very much strong. Remember that Oricon only captures sales that occur in Japan, and without getting the full picture, we are missing a lot of valuable information as to the series’ actual sales performance. Note that sales of One Piece as a series through Bandai Namco and Toei Animation alone put its sales performance for the Fiscal Year 2022 at 56,174,000,000 yen (≈440.79 million USD) which is a very large sum.

Finally, at Number 5 is Boku no Hero Academia making a return after skipping the Top 5 chart the year before to see 2,894,149 copies sold. Its sales performance is visibly stronger when compared to its past volumes. Look at Volumes 32 and 33, both at 35 days and 31 days respectively, and then go over to Volumes 24 and 28 which have 31 days of sales each. Volume 33 for instance has sold 18.81% and 19.98% more than Volumes 24 and 28 (within the same period). As for Volume 34, it is too early to say since it has only been up for three weeks. Nevertheless, copies sold are still great for the volume having accumulated 577,173 copies sold in 21 days and is clearly an upgrade over Volume 30’s 572,698 copies sold in its first 24 days. One thing to note here would be that the average sales would be a lot higher the smaller number of days a volume has, thus the really large average per day performance for Volume 29. The volume only has 14 days of sales.

Manga Series Sales Ranking (Top 5)

(November 22, 2021 to May 22, 2022)

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As for individual volumes, Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 18 tops the list at 2,011,232 copies sold which went on sale on December 25, 2021. Note that the volume went on the Top 30 chart continuously for four weeks seeing a total of 1,699,437 copies sold in its first 23 days. Although Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 19 is 3rd on the list, the series actually witnessed greater retention with its volumes, excluding its Special Edition, it noted 1,608,811 copies sold in its first 49 days, the volume was officially released on April the 4th this year.

Similarly, One Piece sold better for Volume 101 than Volume 102 (due to it being sold on a later date). The earlier volume is 2^nd on the list at 1,793,360 copies sold and note that this would be sales since its initial release back in December 2021. As for One Piece Volume 102, it places 4^th on the list at 1,605,641 copies sold since April 4 this year (in 49 days), meaning that on Week 6 and Week 7, it sold a total of 32,203 copies. Remember that it noted 211,922 copies sold for its pre-release sales between March 28 and April 3.

Now, an interesting comparison can be seen for its latest four volumes since all of them were charted at five weeks of sales (excluding pre-release sales). Volumes 99 to 101 have 31 days of sales while Volume 102 has 35 days of sales. Despite Volume 102 having the longest days of sales among the four volumes, it is by far the weakest. Volume 100 for instance was able to push out 1,765,067 copies sold in just 31 days whereas Volume 102 was 1,361,516 copies sold. As for others, the 31 days of sales for Volume 99 was at 1,610,803 copies and Volume 101 was at 1,582,331 copies.

Spy x Family Volume 9 is 5^th on the list at 1,232,036 copies sold since April 4 (in its first 49 days) and note that the number is slightly higher due to the inclusion of some backlogs which amounts to 2,975 copies. In terms of retention, the volume is the best so far among its volumes, and I predict that it will be on the chart for the next couple of weeks before slowing down completely. As of the end of the year, it is quite plausible for the volume to achieve 1.4 million copies sold and above.

Tokyo Revengers is another title that sees its earlier volume selling slightly more than its latest. At Number 7, you will find its 26^th volume at 997,857 copies sold since its official release on February 17, 2022. Just right below is its 27^th volume at 835,721 copies sold, less than Volume 26, but that is due to its shorter days of sales. Note that the volume was released on April 15 this year and has only been on the chart for six weeks compared to Volume 26’s 14 weeks. With sales of Volume 27 slowing down, it may only be on the Top 30 chart for the next couple of weeks at best, and by the end of the year, numbers may go over the 1 million copies sold mark.

Likewise, Boku no Hero Academia Volume 33 is above Volume 34 for the very same reason as Tokyo Revengers. The 33^rd volume went on sale earlier on February 4^th this year which puts it at a 16-week advantage over Volume 34’s 3-week sales. Ergo, as to why you would find Volume 34 all the way at Number 15 at only 579,579 copies sold. Note that as for its 34^th volume, copies sold are slightly below the amount I tracked amid backlogs which amounts to 2,406 copies sold. The volume should see it being placed on the Oricon sales charts in the next week or two before slowing down.

Manga Individual Volume Sales Ranking (Top 25)

(November 22, 2021 to May 22, 2022)

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As always, if you find any faults with the list above, please do not hesitate to let me know! Also, don’t shy away from dropping a comment or two down below and share your thoughts with us!

Note:
All currency conversion was done at the time of writing. 1 USD ≈ 127 yen

Source: Oricon

Google Charts:
Oricon Top 4 Series Ranking Over the Years (2015 – 2022)
Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Sales Performance (Japan)
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 19 Performance (Japan, YTD)
Jujutsu Kaisen Individual Volumes Performance (Japan, 2021)
Tokyo Revengers Manga Sales Performance (Japan)
Tokyo Revengers Volume 27 Performance (Japan, YTD)
Spy x Family Manga Sales Performance (Japan)
Spy x Family Volume 9 Performance (Japan, YTD)
Spy x Family (Weekly Revenue)
One Piece Manga Sales Performance (Japan)
One Piece Volume 102 Performance (Japan, YTD)
One Piece Volumes 99 – 102 Performance (Japan, 5-week)
One Piece Volume Performance (Japan, Half-year)
Boku no Hero Academia Manga Sales Performance (Japan)
Boku no Hero Academia Volume 34 Performance (Japan, YTD)

Visualisations:
Series (Part 1)
Series (Part 2)

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