Looks like it will be an exciting week between May 16 and May 22 with lots of notable releases on the chart. Before jumping right in, I have updated the look and feel of the graphs. So, from this week onward, on other posts, I will be using the same format. Let me know what you think of it. On a side note, the posts for the weekly Manga and Light Novel sales charts for the week between May 9 and May 15 have been updated with analyses. You can check them out here (Manga) and here (Light Novel) if you have missed out on them.
Uma Musume Cinderella Gray leads the list at 5 days of sales with its 7th volume which based on its previous performance, should be able to hit between 130,000 copies to 150,000 copies easily. For comparison, Volume 3 debuted back in May 2021 at 93,287 copies sold while Volume 4 had a total of 148,572 copies sold back in August 2021, both in their first 5 days. However, there is a possibility that sales may not be able to achieve its optimum performance. Volume 5 and Volume 6 for instance witnessed a 15.86% reduction in sales debut-to-debut. Uma Musume Cinderella Gray is a side story to the Starting Gate!: Uma Musume Pretty Derby series which ended its serialization back in November 2019. Some of its chapters are available for free right here in Japanese, so do check them out!
Uma Musume Cinderella Gray’s Chapter colour spread page
Number 2 places a title that you may be familiar with, Blue Lock Volume 19 makes its debut at 6 days of sales. Based on its past performance, copies sold should be able to achieve around 90,000 copies to 100,000 copies sold. Seeing that it will be having its Anime adaptation coming soon, it may also see a small boost, though that is quite unlikely at this point. Blue Lock began its serialization journey back in August 2018 via the Weekly Shounen Magazine, and Kodansha Comics is set to publish its official English volumes this coming month of June. As for its TV Anime series, the title received a new promotional video recently, so feel free to check it out below.
Right below at Number 3 is the final volume of Enen no Shouboutai by Atsushi Ookubo (Soul Eater) at 6 days of sales. The volume is expected to hit at least 80,000 copies to 90,000 copies for the week. Since this is its last volume, it may also note copies sold higher than that, as such closer or more than 100,000 copies sold is still quite plausible. Enen no Shouboutai was serialized in the Weekly Shounen Magazine between September 2015 and February this year. It was adapted into two TV Anime seasons with the first airing in 2019 while the other was broadcasted in 2020. Recently, the series was announced to be receiving a third and follow up sequel, so far, on an unannounced date. You can check out the announcement via its official website right here. Kodansha has up to Volume 26 for grabs with the 27th and 28th volumes expecting to hit shores these coming months of June and August.
Enen no Shouboutai’s TV Anime 3rd season announcement banner on its website
All of the data you find below is all thanks to TSUTAYA, one of Japan’s largest bookstores chain which has around 1,200 stores in its local market. You can check out their website here and show them lots of love! Plus, for the week’s chart, you can find it through the link right here. If Google charts are what you are more comfortable with, feel free to visit the respective chart via the link right at the bottom of the post.
Kakkou no Iinazuke Volume 12 is 4th on the list at 3 day of sales which it should be able to amass between 45,000 copies to 55,000 copies sold based on its past performance. For that, you can observe the performances of Volumes 5 to 8, all at 3 days of sales. There is a hint of a slight decline for the series, however, a small recovery can be seen between Volumes 7 and 8. With its Anime adaptation currently being broadcasted as we speak, it may very well be able to bring in 60,000 copies sold in its first 3 days. The Manga is brought to you by Miki Yoshikawa (Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo) which first began serialization in January 2020 through the Weekly Shounen Magazine. Kodansha Comics is publishing the official English version digitally with up to Volume 7 now available for purchase. You can also check out a preview of Chapter 1 through Kodansha Comics in English right here.
Mokushiroku no Yonkishi is next with its 7th volume at 6 days of sales. The title has consistently placed on the Top 30 charts for its past three volumes seeing a turnout of 53,316 copies sold for Volume 5 in its first 7 days while Volume 4 debuted at 45,627 copies sold in its first 5 days. Therefore, you can expect its 7th volume to have at least 47,000 copies to 52,000 copies sold for the week. Note that on May 10 this year, the title was announced to receive a TV Anime adaptation on an unannounced date (Source: ANN). Serialized in the Weekly Shounen Magazine, the series can be read for free right here in Japanese while its official English releases are already available up to Volume 3. Volumes 4 and 5 are set to come out these coming months of July and September. You can also check out its Chapter 1 preview via Kodansha Comics right here in English.
Mokushiroku no Yonkishi’s Chapter 1 colour spread page in English
Head all the way to Number 14 and you will find Choujin X Volume 3 at 5 days of sales. Previously, the series saw simultaneous releases of its first two volumes which made their debuts between December 13 and December 19 at 33,113 copies and 29,852 copies sold respectively in their first 3 days. Choujin X is a new work by Sui Ishida, whom you may have heard of since the author previously worked on the Tokyo Ghoul series. The Manga began its serialization in May of 2021 through Tonari no Young Jump and it is also available through Manga Plus in five different languages (though not all chapters are out for free). So do check them out here! Of course, you must not miss out on this really cool promotional video that was released to commemorate its 3rd volume which you can watch down below.
Bakemonogatari is 16th with its 17th volume at 6 days of sales. As for its sales performance, copies sold have in fact been rather good with a jump in sales observable between Volumes 15 and 16. Note that Volume 15 was at 5 days of sales whereas Volume 16 was at 4 days. Since the latest volume will have 6 days of sales, a comparison can be made directly with its 14th volume which saw 54,844 copies sold back in August 2021. Thus, expect a similar turnout. If the upward trend persists, we may even see a better outcome. Bakemonogatari is the adaptation of the Monogatari Series Light Novels by Isin Nisio. It is currently being serialized in the Weekly Shounen Magazine. More information about the title can be found via its official page right here, and official English releases are available with up to Volume 13 available for grabs while Volumes 14 and 15 are set to release in June this year. In February, the title received a very well-made promotional video of which you watch down below. So, do check it out!
Finally, we have the pre-release of Akatsuki no Yona Volume 38 making its way onto the chart at Number 20. More about it will be discussed further the week after. Update: My apologies, this is not a pre-release for Akatsuki no Yona Volume 38. I will have the chart out for the series when discussing Oricon weekly sales chart for the week this Friday. Without further ado, the full list is as follows:
TSUTAYA
1. Uma Musume Cinderella Gray Vol. 7