After Japan, France is the second largest consumer of manga in the world. Manga that sometimes flow by the millions in the Japanese archipelago, before arriving in France with a translation. The sales figures for this year 2021 have been unveiled, with a well-crafted podium.
ranking of the best-selling franchises in 2021
For 12 consecutive years, One Piece topped the ranking of the best-selling manga in Japan. A reign that ended in 2019 with the release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, a manga recounting the misadventure of Tanjirō, the eldest son of a family of coal merchants whose family was slaughtered and sister Nezuko transformed into a demon. He will then go to his master to become a demon slayer in order to embark on a journey to find an antidote to cure his little sister.
A franchise that quickly established itself as THE event saga of the moment, becoming the best-selling manga in Japan in 2019 as well as in 2020. In total, the circulation of the franchise reached 150 million copies last February. Only 2020 and 2021 were marked by the release of extremely popular manga. Jujutsu Kaisen or Tokyo Revengers, works propelled to the front of the stage thanks to animes with small onions.
So, if we are to believe the sales figures, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is no longer the best-selling franchise of the year. No third consecutive year for this work by Koyoharu Gotōge, which sees the first place slipping away from a few sales. And for good reason, if we are to believe the faithful Oricon company, the most popular franchise of the year is none other than Jujutsu Kaisen, with nearly 31 million copies sold all the same.
- Jujutsu Kaisen – 30,917,746
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – 29,511,021
- Tokyo Revengers – 24,981,486
- Attack on titans – 7,332,398
- My Hero Academia – 7,020,361
ranking of the best-selling manga in 2021
No One Piece on the horizon, the manga of Eiichirō Oda no longer managing to keep pace, although the saga remains the best-selling of all time with more than 490 million copies sold. Even if Jujutsu Kaisen is the best-selling franchise of 2021, they are indeed two volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, namely volume 23, the last volume published to date, and Stories of Water and Flame, the book bringing together the two crossover based on the characters of Kyojuro Rengoku and Giyu Tomioka, who occupy the first two places in the ranking.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 23 – 5,171,440
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–Stories of Water and Flame – 2,374,621
- Jujutsu Kaisen 14 – 2,312,250
- Jujutsu Kaisen 15 – 2,306,950
- Jujutsu Kaisen 16 – 2,098,087
- One Piece 98 – 2,018,042
- Jujutsu Kaisen 0 – 1,930,831
- One Piece 99 – 1,863,574
- One Piece 100 – 1,839,886
- Jujutsu Kaisen 13 – 1,772,617
Far ahead of the others, this is the last volume of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba which dominates the ranking of the best-selling manga books in Japan in 2021. A work that quickly established itself as a must, both in its paper version and its adaptation in anime. It’s a safe bet that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is not as present in 2022. No sequel is currently planned, although many fans are asking for more. While, for his part, Jujutsu Kaisen must continue to appear, volume 18 is scheduled for December 25. It is possible that next year, the work of Gege Akutami dominates all the charts this time.