Solo Leveling Anime Records Surprisingly Poor Sales

Apr 7, 2024 2:39 PM

#2

delanodb

Offline

Oct 2021

170

Damn i hope they will continue making all seasons but this doesnt look good

Apr 7, 2024 2:43 PM

#3

deg

lagom

Offline

Jan 2009

107334

no manga sales boost from the anime adaptation too afaik so ye global legal streaming profit will have to carry this

Apr 7, 2024 2:49 PM

#4

Gui_silva23

Offline

Mar 2023

186

It's not surprising, since chainsaw man we have been seeing a lot of new supposed main stream anime that don't sell that well. We've seen that the Japanese prefers the underground or "not shounen" over the most popular things. Jujutsu might be the only exception

Apr 7, 2024 2:56 PM

#5

Angglio_1

Offline

Feb 2023

165

Is this a trend? Chainsaw Man failed, Hell’s Paradise double failed, Undead Unluck…it’s not looking good and now Solo Leveling. Is every action anime not doing good in BR/DVD, well except Jujutsu Kaisen.

Apr 7, 2024 3:04 PM

#6

Biisoo

Offline

Apr 2015

2916

Oh damn, They already announced a second season so I guess they do have a proper schedule in mind for the release. Hopefully the sales amp up.

Apr 7, 2024 3:14 PM

#7

Radical_Orion

Offline

Apr 2016

269

Reply to Angglio_1

Is this a trend? Chainsaw Man failed, Hell’s Paradise double failed, Undead Unluck…it’s not looking good and now Solo Leveling. Is every action anime not doing good in BR/DVD, well except Jujutsu Kaisen.

@Angglio_1 I see a pattern here. People seem to don't like poorly written action animes, but seem to appreciate well written action anime.
Who would have thought?

https://www.instagram.com/vinyvague_art/

Apr 7, 2024 3:26 PM

#8

Animaticide

Offline

Aug 2021

487

So the Japanese only want to see cute girls doing cute or lewd stuff...

This only signals to production comittees that the formula to success lies in funding the low-hanging fruit that baits through only having those things superficially.

To each their own, I guess. It is their industry after all and it self-sustains within the country, but as someone who appreciates the riskier but much more interesting shows like CSM and Tengoku Daimakyo that don't seem to get much attention there, I am worried about the future of my favorite medium.

Either someone finds a way to capitalize off of foreign audiences other than just through streaming rev or this might be the end of the second golden era of anime. I guess all that remains is for big western studios to increase the funding of shows that do find success overseas and aggressively market it so that their fans can actually support them through buying merch and stuff directly without having to import said stuff through intermediaries or depend on shady knock-offs passing off as the real deal.

Apr 7, 2024 3:31 PM

#9

Hacker075

Offline

Mar 2021

322

Animaticide said:
So the Japanese only want to see cute girls doing cute or lewd stuff...

This only signals to production comittees that the formula to success lies in funding the low-hanging fruit that baits through only having those things superficially.

To each their own, I guess. It is their industry after all and it self-sustains within the country, but as someone who appreciates the riskier but much more interesting shows like CSM and Tengoku Daimakyo that don't seem to get much attention there, I am worried about the future of my favorite medium.

Either someone finds a way to capitalize off of foreign audiences other than just through streaming rev or this might be the end of the second golden era of anime. I guess all that remains is for big western studios to increase the funding of shows that do find success overseas and aggressively market it so that their fans can actually support them through buying merch and stuff directly without having to import said stuff through intermediaries or depend on shady knock-offs passing off as the real deal.

I'm not contradicting your points, only adding to them here:

If you've read the Manwha, you'd learn that Japan is painted in a very negative way in the coming seasons. It could also be because of this that the Japanese that have read it, aren't interested in watching the show.

Apr 7, 2024 3:36 PM

#10

khunrakbam

Offline

Jan 2023

19

south korea should animate their own manhwas instead of japan doing it.

Apr 7, 2024 3:53 PM

#11

Animaticide

Offline

Aug 2021

487

Hacker075 said:

Animaticide said:
So the Japanese only want to see cute girls doing cute or lewd stuff...

This only signals to production comittees that the formula to success lies in funding the low-hanging fruit that baits through only having those things superficially.

To each their own, I guess. It is their industry after all and it self-sustains within the country, but as someone who appreciates the riskier but much more interesting shows like CSM and Tengoku Daimakyo that don't seem to get much attention there, I am worried about the future of my favorite medium.

Either someone finds a way to capitalize off of foreign audiences other than just through streaming rev or this might be the end of the second golden era of anime. I guess all that remains is for big western studios to increase the funding of shows that do find success overseas and aggressively market it so that their fans can actually support them through buying merch and stuff directly without having to import said stuff through intermediaries or depend on shady knock-offs passing off as the real deal.

I'm not contradicting your points, only adding to them here:

If you've read the Manwha, you'd learn that Japan is painted in a very negative way in the coming seasons. It could also be because of this that the Japanese that have read it, aren't interested in watching the show.

That's an interesting theory. No, I haven't read it. The show wasn't that much appealing to me personally but my impression wasn't made on SL's figures alone, but rather the comparatively higher success of other less-impressive shows (at least from the perspective of my personal bias) and the ongoing trend of great shows tanking sales that keeps getting mentioned here. Granted, I haven't made a full dive myself into the numbers, but from an outsider's POV, I am disappointed that this is a thing.

Japan is the birthplace of some of the most interesting and innovative pieces of media ever made FULL STOP. But season by season it appears like those works only seem to be appreciated by EVERYONE but the Japanese audiences and we as outsiders don't matter in the bigger picture. It's bad enough that those artists have to work for pennies and the global reach they have doesn't reflect on actual revenue that could bolster the industry to become the money-making leviathan it deserves to be, but to also have a precedent to shut down the potentially-good shows that don't rely solely on cute waifus because they are seen as riskier would be a tragedy on another level.

But who knows, I am just yapping.

Apr 7, 2024 4:30 PM

#12

J2C

Offline

Aug 2021

78

I really don't get it, I saw SL and I enjoyed it as much as Kimetsu, Jujutsu and the others big animes, I don't understand why the difference between theses animes and SL is that big. I fear the anime industry in Japan will go downhill.

Apr 7, 2024 5:31 PM

#13

No1_LoliLover

Offline

Jun 2021

311

khunrakbam said:
south korea should animate their own manhwas instead of japan doing it.

there is one studio, studio xtorm who is animating the boxer and seasons of blossom

Apr 7, 2024 5:45 PM

#14

MadanielFL

Offline

Feb 2021

7212

But anime pirates told me that anime studios only care about sales in Japan, and that watching anime legally makes no difference, since CR only pays them "pennies"......

Apr 7, 2024 5:54 PM

#15

Oongbuh

Offline

Apr 2021

1717

People here acting like this is surprising. The only shows who actually sell a shit ton in BDs are series that have heavy appeal to otaku, specially fujoshi.

Apr 7, 2024 7:15 PM

#16

adesh17

Offline

May 2022

141

whatever it was never good to begin with

My mal account is not working properly. In the last 24 hours, there isn't showing any forum discussion. What should I do?!

Apr 7, 2024 8:23 PM

#17

SweetCoconut

Offline

May 2013

2766

Don’t think the show was gonna do great in BD numbers anyways.

If anything, it’s very clear that the SL anime aimed for the global audience. They even said that in the documentary. That’s why the show had more localization than other manwha adaptations.

The world shall know the truth soon.

Apr 7, 2024 8:31 PM

#18

Avamarie316

Offline

May 2022

502

can't believe comments saying it's on jjk levels. think this anime was a big flop. enjoyed chainsaw man more even last season of demon slayer was still better. manga love needs to stop. it'd not living up to it. your lying to yourself. like saying x men movies are good cos the comics was the best

Apr 7, 2024 8:57 PM

#19

kylekingsley

Offline

Aug 2022

2

The fact that people still buy br/dvd in the first place is hilarious to me

Apr 7, 2024 9:19 PM

#20

Leon888

Offline

Dec 2017

2029

Reply to Angglio_1

Is this a trend? Chainsaw Man failed, Hell’s Paradise double failed, Undead Unluck…it’s not looking good and now Solo Leveling. Is every action anime not doing good in BR/DVD, well except Jujutsu Kaisen.

@Angglio_1 Well actually there are reasons:
1- Chainsaw Man hated him for some questionable choices in the show
2- Hell's Paradise was technically crap, bad animations and mediocre direction
3- Solo leveling was very disappointing in many respects, it's no surprise that it saw low sales
4- I don't know Undead Unluck so I don't know

Apr 7, 2024 9:24 PM

#21

Angglio_1

Offline

Feb 2023

165

@Leon888 What about Jujutsu Kaisen? how'd it break the sales record?

Apr 7, 2024 9:36 PM

#22

Leon888

Offline

Dec 2017

2029

Reply to Angglio_1

@Leon888 What about Jujutsu Kaisen? how'd it break the sales record?

@Angglio_1 Because the 1st season was loved by many and therefore already started from a good premise, and this 2nd season, despite some controversy, still managed to convince a large part of the public...

Apr 7, 2024 11:31 PM

#23

TheRealRouges

Offline

Feb 2021

1168

deg said:
Despite Solo Leveling's incredible global popularity, sales in Japan reveal surprisingly low sales for its first Blu-ray and DVD volume.

Oricon released its Blu-ray and DVD sales data for March 25-March 31, 2024, revealing that the popular Girls Und Panzer Final Chapter Part 4 was by far the most popular anime sold that week, with 32,614 copies. In second was Gushing over Magical Girls Volume 1 with 8,114, followed by Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror [Limited Edition] Part 7 with 3,380 copies. In contrast, Solo Leveling's sales didn't rank high enough to be published, with the lowest Blu-ray/DVD to be ranked -- Mashle: Divine Visionary Selection Exam Arc Volume 1 -- indicating that Solo Leveling Volume 1 (released on March 27) must have sold fewer than 634 units in its first week.

https://www.cbr.com/solo-leveling-anime-low-sales-surprise/

global legal streaming profit will carry the anime sequels and maybe japan hates the anti japanese plot of the story

Well, that’s what you get when the product is lacking in every regard but animations, plot is ass, characters are non existant, chara designs are mediocre, direction is all over the place, eccetera….

Apr 7, 2024 11:41 PM

#24

Otakupervert890

Offline

Oct 2019

3125

Reply to kylekingsley

The fact that people still buy br/dvd in the first place is hilarious to me

@kylekingsley Japan is slow to take certain steps in progress due to his old population. Streaming platform are starting to take flight in the recent years but it's still not on the level of the west. Also late night anime relie on merch and BD sales to make a profit since advertising is on low on that schedule block.

Apr 8, 2024 12:19 AM

#25

Buny0058

Offline

Nov 2022

994

Ahh this shitty trend again.

Apr 8, 2024 1:33 AM

#26

Avicebrons

Offline

Jul 2019

928

Reply to Oongbuh

People here acting like this is surprising. The only shows who actually sell a shit ton in BDs are series that have heavy appeal to otaku, specially fujoshi.

@Oongbuh That's...Just simply wrong? Jujtsu Kaisen for instance sold insanely well. Even Mashle of all things sold better than Solo Leveling. There are many examples you can bring up. I'm not really sure where this copium is coming from. It was the exact same thing when CSM sold poorly and people essentially said "Well who buys BDs now anyways" and then pretty much everything else that was popular that season outsold CSM in BD numbers. So obviously people bought BDs, they simply aren't buying that BD.

Subarashii

Apr 8, 2024 1:48 AM

#27

Shinpei106

Offline

Mar 2023

246

khunrakbam said:
south korea should animate their own manhwas instead of japan doing it.

no one gonna watch anime made by country other than japan though

Apr 8, 2024 6:16 AM

#28

Anime_Skaddiel

Offline

Jul 2021

487

delanodb said:
Damn i hope they will continue making all seasons but this doesnt look good

Blue ray sales doesn't definitea shows success.It's branding and popularity carries it's profits. Same as how Chainsawman made shit ton of money in the name of royalities, but it's own fanbase thinks it's a commercial flop because of 1.7k blue ray sales.

Apr 8, 2024 6:18 AM

#29

AltN

Offline

Mar 2022

180

I don't think they would have announced Season 2 as soon as season 1 finished airing if the Blue ray and DVD's sale mattered that much

Apr 8, 2024 6:23 AM

#30

Anime_Skaddiel

Offline

Jul 2021

487

Gui_silva23 said:
It's not surprising, since chainsaw man we have been seeing a lot of new supposed main stream anime that don't sell that well. We've seen that the Japanese prefers the underground or "not shounen" over the most popular things. Jujutsu might be the only exception

Jujutsu Kaisen sold 26k for 1st volume main because of Sato-Sugu ship. Even a historic BD remake like vol 4 only sold 10k in first week. Mind you Eromanga Sensei used to have 10-15k sales in BD+DVD. Japanese fans have a thing for moe/cute cat girls/horse girls/middle school girls with guns/softcore yuri p0rn. Umamusume still holds the record of first week blue ray sales with 100k+ copies. Half the west doesn't know about it. Anime profits go 2 ways. One doesn't do exceptionally well digitally but pleases the hardore Japanese otakus will do well on disc sales. Other does poorly on discs but has massive digital market and branding.

Apr 8, 2024 6:26 AM

#31

Anime_Skaddiel

Offline

Jul 2021

487

J2C said:
I really don't get it, I saw SL and I enjoyed it as much as Kimetsu, Jujutsu and the others big animes, I don't understand why the difference between theses animes and SL is that big. I fear the anime industry in Japan will go downhill.

Wow nice joke. Anime like Haikyuu movie has been clocking big numbers at box office. JJK was probably the most successful anime of 2023. I don't see how the anime industry is doomed. 4/5 times in the past 5 years anime is the most popular and demanded medium.

Apr 8, 2024 6:29 AM

#32

Anime_Skaddiel

Offline

Jul 2021

487

AltN said:
I don't think they would have announced Season 2 as soon as season 1 finished airing if the Blue ray and DVD's sale mattered that much

They really don't play a part in majority.

Apr 8, 2024 6:33 AM

#33

Alexioos95

Offline

Jan 2017

6565

AltN said:
I don't think they would have announced Season 2 as soon as season 1 finished airing if the Blue ray and DVD's sale mattered that much

Unless they are confident in its success, or if that was planned from the very start.
As per diverse leaks, Solo Leveling was meant to be split cour from the beginning, and they are even planning 6+ Seasons.

"Genius lives only one story above madness."
– Arthur Schopenhauer.

"Stupidity is a talent for misconception."
– Edgar Allan Poe.

"I'm tired... and hungry."
– Alexioos95.

Apr 8, 2024 6:43 AM

#34

FZREMAKE

Offline

Jan 2021

6928

Yeah I got the news and apparently, its far too low. Same shit happened with CSM but I guess this is worse. Anyways, its not happening with every mainstream anime though. Anime like Jjk and Kny are doing fine.

If you enjoyed the time you wasted, then its not a waste of time.

Apr 8, 2024 7:34 AM

#35

inuboku7777

Offline

Jan 2023

4

Solo Leveling is a niche in Japan. only isekai fans know about it.

Apr 8, 2024 9:14 AM

#36

Rezwan1024

Offline

Oct 2020

40

I think it's no surprise, with anime episodes being released and easily accessible online plays a big role. Why would anyone pay extra ? I can understand the ecchi and stuff that are clearly pure fan service because I would wanna get a uncensored copy of the ecchi anime that I'm watching like gushing over magical girls for example. Other things like regional story and painting a bad image of Japan 🗾 is another reason. I think the people don't want any foreign influence on their culture, Specially when it's Korea.. I think solo leveling will be continued non the less because it's proven itself to be very popular and we all know what that means, Crunchyroll and other producing companies are going to monopolize on that. And it was targeted towards a foreign audience from the start instead of Japan only like few of the animes that solely rely on manga sales etc..

Rezwan1024Apr 8, 2024 9:20 AM

Apr 8, 2024 10:18 AM

#37

SoloNecromancer

Offline

Mar 2021

806

khunrakbam said:
south korea should animate their own manhwas instead of japan doing it.

they don't have that kind of facilities or else they would have done long time ago,anime industry has its own things

Anime Rules the world

Apr 8, 2024 10:22 AM

#38

vespinecosine

Offline

Feb 2021

1

Radical_Orion said:
@Angglio_1 I see a pattern here. People seem to don't like poorly written action animes, but seem to appreciate well written action anime.
Who would have thought?

Well said, first season felt like 20 other shows just with good animation

Apr 8, 2024 10:50 AM

#39

Oongbuh

Offline

Apr 2021

1717

Reply to Avicebrons

@Oongbuh That's...Just simply wrong? Jujtsu Kaisen for instance sold insanely well. Even Mashle of all things sold better than Solo Leveling. There are many examples you can bring up. I'm not really sure where this copium is coming from. It was the exact same thing when CSM sold poorly and people essentially said "Well who buys BDs now anyways" and then pretty much everything else that was popular that season outsold CSM in BD numbers. So obviously people bought BDs, they simply aren't buying that BD.

@Avicebrons You can literally see that the BDs for Hidden Inventory in JJK sold way more than Shibuya's, and a large reason for that is the fujoshi audience, them Geto x Gojo shippers are way more passionate than you'd think. You can literally see for yourself most of the series that sold large BD numbers and they usually tend to be either gacha adaptations, or series that try to capitalize on pandering to a specific part of the audience to sell.

Apr 8, 2024 10:54 AM

#40

Oongbuh

Offline

Apr 2021

1717

Reply to AltN

I don't think they would have announced Season 2 as soon as season 1 finished airing if the Blue ray and DVD's sale mattered that much

@AltN To be fair, one thing that has become more increasingly common in the industry is committees greenlighting projects as multiple cours from the start, but marketing them as "second seasons". Which is why you get things like Tales of Wedding Rings getting a "second season" before a massive hit like Frieren, even though that would make no logical sense.

Apr 8, 2024 9:08 PM

#41

FlamingMangos

Offline

Sep 2012

1174

Who cares. Season 2 is already planned, and it's rumored that we're getting 6 seasons. I'm pretty sure the producers are completely aware that the blu-ray numbers would be low considering it's a korean story being animated...

Apr 8, 2024 9:55 PM

#42

IWatchAnimeBruh

Offline

Apr 2020

76

low bd sales were expected, jp isn't even the main audience lol

Apr 8, 2024 11:13 PM

#43

Avicebrons

Offline

Jul 2019

928

Reply to Oongbuh

@Avicebrons You can literally see that the BDs for Hidden Inventory in JJK sold way more than Shibuya's, and a large reason for that is the fujoshi audience, them Geto x Gojo shippers are way more passionate than you'd think. You can literally see for yourself most of the series that sold large BD numbers and they usually tend to be either gacha adaptations, or series that try to capitalize on pandering to a specific part of the audience to sell.

So are you literally saying that Hidden Inventory, hell JJK in general as well as stuff like Demon Slayer and One Piece, only sold well because of fujoshi audience?

Subarashii

Apr 19, 2024 8:57 AM

#44

Holy_Momo

Offline

Jan 2023

26

Animaticide said:
So the Japanese only want to see cute girls doing cute or lewd stuff...

This only signals to production comittees that the formula to success lies in funding the low-hanging fruit that baits through only having those things superficially.

To each their own, I guess. It is their industry after all and it self-sustains within the country, but as someone who appreciates the riskier but much more interesting shows like CSM and Tengoku Daimakyo that don't seem to get much attention there, I am worried about the future of my favorite medium.

Either someone finds a way to capitalize off of foreign audiences other than just through streaming rev or this might be the end of the second golden era of anime. I guess all that remains is for big western studios to increase the funding of shows that do find success overseas and aggressively market it so that their fans can actually support them through buying merch and stuff directly without having to import said stuff through intermediaries or depend on shady knock-offs passing off as the real deal.

that's wrong bruh. Japanese don't like the generic typical anime. there was nothing worth buying dvd for csm, solo leveling. they like more well written anime. the TYBW sold well pretty well in Japan. Maybe solo leveling s2 will work pretty well cuz that's where the good part starts. also yk that Japanese and koreans pretty much hate each other and there are some negative Japanese things in the manhwa

Apr 19, 2024 11:26 AM

#45

xZabuzax

Offline

Nov 2016

4032

As someone who loved this anime, it pains me to know that it's not selling well, this is a quality anime IMHO, and I only hope the low sales don't affect the production of S2.

Apr 19, 2024 2:51 PM

#46

SkyhighCFC

Offline

May 2021

856

Reply to Radical_Orion

@Angglio_1 I see a pattern here. People seem to don't like poorly written action animes, but seem to appreciate well written action anime.
Who would have thought?

@Radical_Orion I can understand this take for Solo Leveling...but Chainsaw man? Be serious pls.

Apr 19, 2024 11:17 PM

#47

Hurtingjuice991

Offline

Dec 2023

174

No surprise. The anime had very bad writing

Apr 20, 2024 6:21 AM

#48

Zimmu

Offline

May 2021

1716

Nothing even happened in S1 so Im not surprised people aren't paying money to buy "nothing". Hope S2 will be better.

Itsuki >

Apr 21, 2024 3:39 PM

#49

Carpal_Tunnel69

Offline

Sep 2019

285

Reply to Angglio_1

Is this a trend? Chainsaw Man failed, Hell’s Paradise double failed, Undead Unluck…it’s not looking good and now Solo Leveling. Is every action anime not doing good in BR/DVD, well except Jujutsu Kaisen.

@Angglio_1 chainsaw man didn't fail. It sold like 10k discs tho

Apr 21, 2024 3:46 PM

#50

Carpal_Tunnel69

Offline

Sep 2019

285

hope they actually landed a proper deal for this one instead of your usually anime stuff with streaming. I still think the anime industry is so anticuated that DVD sales make a difference in if you get the funding for a second season or not.

Don't get me wrong, i actually dislike this manwha quite a lot, i think it was pure hype that couldn't end it in a hype note but rather a wimp instead, but it would be legit braindead if they didn't land a deal with streaming services to get a cut of the streaming instead of the deals i've seen crunchy do that they just give a set amount and keep all the profit to themselves.

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) ChizuruNakamura - Mar 30, 2024	536	by Chroma26 »» Sep 24, 7:05 AM
Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 23, 2024	338	by GentleIce »» Sep 17, 9:39 PM
Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Mar 16, 2024	189	by GentleIce »» Sep 13, 9:51 PM
Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 9, 2024	251	by GentleIce »» Sep 13, 8:51 PM
Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) ChizuruNakamura - Feb 10, 2024	451	by GentleIce »» Sep 8, 9:13 PM

Solo Leveling Anime Records Surprisingly Poor Sales

More topics from this board

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Poll: » Ore dake Level Up na Ken Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters