Anime & Manga News

Japan's Yearly Manga & Light Novel Rankings for 2015 (First Half)

by Snow
May 31, 2015 3:05 PM | 174 Comments
Here are the Manga and Light Novel sales rankings for the first half of the fiscal year of 2015. (November 17, 2014 - May 17, 2015)

Manga Sales by Series
*1. 7,059,400 Nanatsu no Taizai
*2. 7,046,066 One Piece
*3. 5,231,158 Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
*4. 5,047,725 Shingeki no Kyojin
*5. 3,588,366 Haikyuu!!
*6. 2,640,791 Tokyo Ghoul
*7. 2,459,918 Naruto
*8. 2,326,507 Ao Haru Ride
*9. 2,303,931 Terra Formars
10. 1,956,019 Yowamushi Pedal

11. 1,901,130 Diamond no Ace
12. 1,822,201 Fairy Tail
13. 1,774,654 Nisekoi
14. 1,712,817 Tokyo Ghoul:re
15. 1,654,498 Shokugeki no Souma
16. 1,536,516 Detective Conan
17. 1,494,501 Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
18. 1,470,232 Kuroko no Basket
19. 1,460,897 World Trigger
20. 1,425,554 Owari no Seraph

21. 1,409,131 One Punch-Man
22. 1,380,603 Kiseijuu
23. 1,214,859 Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
24. 1,180,388 Bleach
25. 1,156,132 Gintama
26. 1,122,671 Kingdom
27. 1,098,863 Strobe Edge
28. 1,085,942 Neon Genesis Evangelion
29. 1,060,179 3-gatsu no Lion
30. 1,054,186 Hoozuki no Reitetsu


Manga Sales by Volumes
*1. 3,079,249 One Piece Vol.76
*2. 2,735,955 One Piece Vol.77
*3. 1,831,800 Shingeki no Kyojin Vol.15
*4. 1,561,770 Shingeki no Kyojin Vol.16
*5. 1,204,059 Naruto Vol.72
*6. *,904,661 Haikyuu!! Vol.14
*7. *,903,947 Ao Haru Ride Vol.12
*8. *,894,596 Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Vol.12
*9. *,884,010 Tokyo Ghoul:re Vol.1
10. *,859,449 Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Vol.13

11. *,850,540 Nanatsu no Taizai Vol.12
12. *,834,523 Kimi ni Todoke Vol.23
13. *,828,807 Tokyo Ghoul:re Vol.2
14. *,817,169 Nanatsu no Taizai Vol.13
15. *,763,866 Sakamoto desu ga? Vol.3
16. *,744,719 Kuroko no Basket Vol.30
17. *,721,444 Nanatsu no Taizai Vol.14
18. *,720,254 Haikyuu!! Vol.15
19. *,709,375 Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Vol.14
20. *,689,076 Haikyuu!! Vol.16

Rank 21 - 100


Light Novel Sales by Series
*1. 624,815 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
*2. 592,084 Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
*3. 528,617 Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka
*4. 451,359 Naruto Hiden
*5. 354,259 Sword Art Online: Progressive
*6. 322,987 Kagerou Daze
*7. 314,775 Sword Art Online
*8. 245,373 Haikyuu!! Shousetsu-ban!!
*9. 245,006 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Side Stories
10. 227,314 Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

11. 209,615 Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
12. 205,604 Kokuhaku Yokou Renshuu Series
13. 187,250 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index
14. 182,068 Shinmai Maou no Testament
15. 179,886 Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku
16. 176,175 Seiken Tsukai no World Break
17. 165,836 Tokyo Ghoul
18. 159,655 Ao Haru Ride
19. 151,798 Absolute Duo
20. 142,853 Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Gaiden: Sword Oratoria

21. 128,690 Owari no Seraph: Ichinose Guren, 16-sai no Hametsu
22. 127,020 Hataraku Maou-sama!
23. 118,972 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Side Stories
24. 118,001 Arslan Senki (Kadokawa)
25. 113,538 Log Horizon
26. 112,658 Amagi Brilliant Park
27. 108,329 Noushou Sakuretsu Girl
28. 108,130 Madan no Ou to Vanadis
29. 107,557 Durarara!!
30. 105,602 Ansatsu Kyoushitsu: Koro-tan


Light Novel Sales by Volumes
*1. 512,362 Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou Vol.6
*2. 311,059 Sword Art Online: Progressive Vol.3
*3. 231,261 Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Vol.15
*4. 221,310 Kagerou Daze Vol.6
*5. 199,400 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Vol.10
*6. 176,150 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Vol.10.5
*7. 170,053 Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Vol.16
*8. 166,219 Naruto Hiden Vol.1
*9. 148,223 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Vol.12
10. 125,596 Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Vol.1

11. 116,194 Naruto Hiden Vol.2
12. 113,586 Haikyuu!! Shousetsu-ban!! Vol.5
13. 109,406 Shinrei Tantei Yakumo Vol.9
14. *96,776 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Vol.12.5
15. *95,318 Naruto Hiden Vol.3
16. *91,849 Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Vol.7
17. *89,302 Hataraku Maou-sama! Vol.12
18. *85,673 The Last: Naruto the Movie
19. *84,019 Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Vol.2
20. *83,389 Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Vol.1

Rank 21 - 57

Source: Oricon Youtaiju

20 of 174 Comments Recent Comments

I wish Orange was more appreciated
Instead, garbage like Kimi ni Todoke sells like water

Jun 12, 2015 5:28 PM by deactivated106

Oh Kiseijuu there :/

Jun 7, 2015 2:26 AM by Etherealis

^Good point (about shounen movies). But that's not always the case.

Jun 7, 2015 2:05 AM by Agafin

Agafin said:
metsujin said:
SnK was doing well before the anime, yes. Plus take Nanatsu for example the anime boosted the sales a lot. Same happened with SnK, but it was doing well before it too.


Yeah and it's even more impressive since it's not a Jump title (which means less exposition).

Vol 3 of AoT sold 895,000 copies in 2011 without an anime, second highest sales I've seen after AssClass vol 2's 910,000 in 2013 without an anime ( though technically, AssClass had and OVA and and to be fair, more exposition)
metsujin said:
Did the Strong World movie really boost the sales so much for One Piece?

Yes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece_Film:_Strong_World

"The promotions surrounding Strong World boosted the sales of the One Piece manga during the week of December 7 through 13, causing all 56 then published volumes to be listed in Oricon's Top 200 chart of weekly Japanese manga sales."

It received a lot of advertisement and promotion and was very succesful at every level.

Personally, Strong World wasn't good, the ending especially was very stupid.

I generally dislike battle shonen movies, the only ones I consider above average are Film Z, Road to Ninja and maybe Battle of gods.


Woow that's a lot. Yeah in 2011 SnK sold over 3 million copies, 2012 over 2 million, and in 2013 received that huge boost because of the anime. But as the number show it did quite good without the anime, I don't know why people "pick" on it so much.

Personally I like it, and most battle shounen movies are stupid haha, they're for fun.

Jun 7, 2015 1:57 AM by metsujin

metsujin said:
SnK was doing well before the anime, yes. Plus take Nanatsu for example the anime boosted the sales a lot. Same happened with SnK, but it was doing well before it too.


Yeah and it's even more impressive since it's not a Jump title (which means less exposition).

Vol 3 of AoT sold 895,000 copies in 2011 without an anime, second highest sales I've seen after AssClass vol 2's 910,000 in 2013 without an anime ( though technically, AssClass had and OVA and and to be fair, more exposition)
metsujin said:
Did the Strong World movie really boost the sales so much for One Piece?

Yes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece_Film:_Strong_World

"The promotions surrounding Strong World boosted the sales of the One Piece manga during the week of December 7 through 13, causing all 56 then published volumes to be listed in Oricon's Top 200 chart of weekly Japanese manga sales."

It received a lot of advertisement and promotion and was very succesful at every level.

Personally, Strong World wasn't good, the ending especially was very stupid.

I generally dislike battle shonen movies, the only ones I consider above average are Film Z, Road to Ninja and maybe Battle of gods.

@kera, you're welcome ;) The good thing about numbers is that they never lie.

Jun 7, 2015 1:52 AM by Agafin

Agafin said:
keragamming said:
And then you have the nerve to say you don't see any arc in snk that would bring up any hype, even though you don't even follow the series anymore.


Funny thing is that SNK has already proven that it can generate hype on its own without the push from an anime or a movie like One Piece.

http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=276495
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=277574
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=278618
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=280521
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=281561
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=282420
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=283431
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=284549

After the release of volume 3 in Dec 2010 (the one containing
), all the 3 volumes of SNK available made the Top 30 list for 8 straight weeks selling 40-50k per week each (and they would have lasted more weeks if it was Top 50 instead of Top 30 like we currently have) basically what you would expect from a manga having a huge anime or movie boost except SNK didn't have any of that, just the sheer (mouth to ear) hype from that arc.

I don't think I've ever seen One Piece just all of a sudden having that type of boost just because of an arc. There's always either the anime boost (1999) or the movie boost (2009-2011).

So yes, Dragon88 is bullshitting, he probably can't get hyped for SNK but thinks it's the same for everyone.


Agafin, you've done it again. Hopefully dragon88 won't bully poor me anymore.

Jun 7, 2015 1:27 AM by keragamming

tsudecimo said:
Yeah unfortunately it did. Without it one piece would be in 120 million prints range, probably.

Fuck you toei


Always wondered why the sales those years were so ridiculously high. Then Film Z gave it a good boost too huh. For shounen movies, they were enjoyable.

Jun 7, 2015 12:46 AM by metsujin

Yeah unfortunately it did. Without it one piece would be in 150 million prints range, probably.

Fuck you toei

Jun 7, 2015 12:43 AM by tsudecimo

Agafin said:
keragamming said:
And then you have the nerve to say you don't see any arc in snk that would bring up any hype, even though you don't even follow the series anymore.


Funny thing is that SNK has already proven that it can generate hype on its own without the push from an anime or a movie like One Piece.

http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=276495
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=277574
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=278618
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=280521
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=281561
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=282420
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=283431
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=284549

After the release of volume 3 in Dec 2010 (the one containing
), all the 3 volumes of SNK available made the Top 30 list for 8 straight weeks selling 40-50k per week each (and they would have lasted more weeks if it was Top 50 instead of Top 30 like we currently have) basically what you would expect from a manga having a huge anime or movie boost except SNK didn't have any of that, just the sheer (mouth to ear) hype from that arc.

I don't think I've ever seen One Piece just all of a sudden having that type of boost just because of an arc. There's always either the anime boost (1999) or the movie boost (2009-2011).

So yes, Dragon88 is bullshitting, he probably can't get hyped for SNK but thinks it's the same for everyone.


SnK was doing well before the anime, yes. Plus take Nanatsu for example the anime boosted the sales a lot. Same happened with SnK, but it was doing well before it too.

Did the Strong World movie really boost the sales so much for One Piece?

Jun 7, 2015 12:15 AM by metsujin

keragamming said:
And then you have the nerve to say you don't see any arc in snk that would bring up any hype, even though you don't even follow the series anymore.


Funny thing is that SNK has already proven that it can generate hype on its own without the push from an anime or a movie like One Piece.

http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=276495
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=277574
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=278618
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=280521
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=281561
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=282420
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=283431
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=284549

After the release of volume 3 in Dec 2010 (the one containing
), all the 3 volumes of SNK available made the Top 30 list for 8 straight weeks selling 40-50k per week each (and they would have lasted more weeks if it was Top 50 instead of Top 30 like we currently have) basically what you would expect from a manga having a huge anime or movie boost except SNK didn't have any of that, just the sheer (mouth to ear) hype from that arc.

I don't think I've ever seen One Piece just all of a sudden having that type of boost just because of an arc. There's always either the anime boost (1999) or the movie boost (2009-2011).

So yes, Dragon88 is bullshitting, he probably can't get hyped for SNK but thinks it's the same for everyone.

Jun 6, 2015 11:59 PM by Agafin

ichii_1 said:

-bleach in the top 20
-toriko back on the list, if it manages to keep the upward trend it's been on

You're being too optimistic mate.

Jun 6, 2015 11:05 PM by Agafin

Koko de quiz desu!:)

What will I be doing now?

Predictions for the full year list XD

-One Piece will be nr. 1
-Nanatsu no Taizai will be nr. 2
-Shingeki no Kyojin will be nr 3
-Ansatsu Kyoushitsu will be nr. 4
-Haikyuu!! will stay nr. 5

-kimi ni todoke on the list
-kuroshitsuji on the list
-kiseijuu and strobe edge off the list
-Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso off the list
-Neon Genesis Evangelion off the list
-naruto and tokyo ghoul out of the top 10
-tokyo ghoul re in the top 10
-shokugeki no souma in the top 10
-bleach in the top 20
-toriko back on the list, if it manages to keep the upward trend it's been on

Jun 6, 2015 8:14 PM by ichii_1

^ I said attack on titan would become number 1 next year? That's a lie. I only said its a possibility with s2 coming out next year. Key word possibility. I didn't say snk would become #1 next year.

I thought I made that very clear. Also if you were not paying attention, I wasn't the one who brought up this topic about snk possible beating one piece when the 2nd season is released. Another user did.

I was simple replying to the discussion between that user and a few op fans. That it's indeed possible for snk to beat op next year. That's all.

You are the one that misunderstood everything, you came in without even properly reading what I said.

And then you have the nerve to say you don't see any arc in snk that would bring up any hype, even though you don't even follow the series anymore. Like how the hell can you know if the series will have a brilliant arc in the future when you don't even follow the series yourself? Unless you are a time traveller.

Next time make sure you read a person comment properly so you don't misunderstand what the person has said. And also don't assume.

Jun 6, 2015 8:07 PM by keragamming

keragamming said:
Dragon88 said:

Look if you are talking about next year or much later in the future, then its too hard to tell anything. For all we know Oda could become sick and can't sale too much volumes next year. I am just looking at 2015. After the end of 2015 sales then I would talk about 2016 sales, not now. And its possible that AOT becomes much more popular by the time next year rolls around but its too early, we just had 1st half manga sales of this year. I am just talking about the end of this year not the far future. And my prediction for the end of this year is OP #1 and NNT #2. #3 is Assassination classroom. Then most likely AOT.


So all this time you thought I was talking about this year? Even though I brought up season 2 which comes out in 2016? Ok.........

Anyways the point is, me and the others were just putting this possibility out there. Nothing else, nothing more. So you were getting all worked up for nothing.

Why do you keep on saying that I am getting worked up, I am not. You are the one that brought the topic up. Also usually people don't talk about the next year's sales, they talk about the current year's sales so I automatically assumed you were talking about this year's sale. And I don't watch or read AOT anymore so really don't know when the anime was coming out. When you said the anime was coming out I thought it was coming out this year and you were saying that AOT would become #1 this year. Next year is way too early to tell anything. I am just curious as to what the sales would be at the end of this year, next year for next year.

Jun 6, 2015 7:31 PM by Dragon88

geralt said:
So I just saw this article from ANN and it made me wonder, do volumes usually get more than one printing?


Almost always, yes. If it doesn't it means that the publisher very badly overestimated the number of copies that it would sell. I own several manga volumes with print run numbers in the 20s.

Other than that, that list just goes to show how popular Sheisha is. One Punch Man, which is in ranked 15th in the magazine, outsells anything lower than the top 9 in both Kodansha and Shogakukan. And speaking of OPM, if it gets a significant boost from the anime it should do wonders.


Shueisha is a company, not a magazine. As are Kodansha and Shogakukan.

Jun 6, 2015 5:02 AM by kuuderes_shadow

geralt said:
So I just saw this article from ANN and it made me wonder, do volumes usually get more than one printing?


Of course, the earlier volumes of long runners like OP or Naruto have been reprinted several times over the years. But it is more common when a manga gets an anime adaptation like Haikyuu, TG, Agk or even Kiseijuu.

An interesting case is BnHA whose first volume was heavily underestimated and received an initial print of 150,000 copies which were all sold by the second week obliging them to reprint that volume. They didn't repeat that mistake though since vol 2 received an initial printing of 600,000 copies.

Jun 6, 2015 4:41 AM by Agafin

Thanks, i fixed it

Jun 6, 2015 3:58 AM by geralt

geralt said:
So I just saw this article from ANN and it made me wonder, do volumes usually get more than one printing?

You posted the wrong link, it goes the http://myanimelist.net/panel.php

Jun 6, 2015 3:55 AM by Champ

So I just saw this article from ANN and it made me wonder, do volumes usually get more than one printing?

Other than that, that list just goes to show how popular Sheisha is. One Punch Man, which is in ranked 15th in the magazine, outsells anything lower than the top 9 in both Kodansha and Shogakukan. And speaking of OPM, if it gets a significant boost from the anime it should do wonders.

Jun 6, 2015 3:51 AM by geralt

it makes me really happy to see that haikyuu!! is doing so well
like the haikyuu!!-biased piece of shit that i am

Jun 5, 2015 10:51 PM by Bird

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