Japan's Weekly Light Novel Rankings for Apr 25 - May 1

by Snow
May 4, 2016 1:44 PM | 57 Comments

Here are the weekly light novel rankings for April 25 - May 1

Rank / This week's sales by copies / Cumulative sales / Titles

*1.　23,121　228,950　Sword Art Online Vol.17
*2.　21,863　*41,443　Hidan no Aria Vol.22
*3.　18,558　*18,558　Tensei shitara Slime datta Ken Vol.7
*4.　16,509　*16,509　Owari no Seraph: Kyuuketsuki Mikaela no Monogatari Vol.2
*5.　*9,647　*81,077　Kokuhaku Yokou Renshuu Vol.4 "Koi-iro ni Sake"
*6.　*9,244　*24,053　Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai desho! Vol.8
*7.　*8,683　*15,481　Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. Vol.11
*8.　*8,586　**8,586　Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? Vol.22
*9.　*8,258　*25,426　Meitantei Conan: Junkoku no Nightmare
10.　*6,975　*82,079　Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Vol.15

11.　*6,345　*88,584　Movie Ansatsu Kyoushitsu: Sotsugyou-hen
12.　*5,829　**5,829　Takumi-kun Series Vol.3
13.　*5,750　**5,750　Cheat Majutsu de Unmei wo Nejifuseru!! Vol.2
14.　*5,626　**5,626　Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja Vol.5
15.　*5,606　*80,637　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.1
16.　*5,388　*56,208　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.2
17.　*5,353　**5,353　Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Vol.5
18.　*5,227　**5,227　Monster no Goshujinsama Vol.6
19.　*5,159　**5,159　7th Vol.2
20.　*4,912　*23,884　Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai

21.　*4,827　*59,805　Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu no Nyuusha Shiken
22.　*4,739　*45,717　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.3
23.　*4,669　**4,669　Isekai Teni shita node Cheat wo Ikashite Mahou Kenshi Yaru Koto ni Suru Vol.2
24.　*4,666　**4,666　Murabito Tensei: Saikyou no Slow Life Vol.3
25.　*4,364　**4,364　LV999 no Murabito Vol.1

Separated by Specific Ranking

Bunko
*4.　23,121　228,950　Sword Art Online Vol.17
*5.　21,863　*41,443　Hidan no Aria Vol.22
15.　*9,647　*81,077　Kokuhaku Yokou Renshuu Vol.4 "Koi-iro ni Sake"
19.　*8,683　*15,481　Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. Vol.11
20.　*8,586　**8,586　Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? Vol.22
25.　*6,975　*82,079　Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Vol.15
34.　*5,829　**5,829　Takumi-kun Series Vol.3
35.　*5,750　**5,750　Cheat Majutsu de Unmei wo Nejifuseru!! Vol.2
38.　*5,606　*80,637　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.1
41.　*5,388　*56,208　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.2

42.　*5,353　**5,353　Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Vol.5
44.　*5,227　**5,227　Monster no Goshujinsama Vol.6
46.　*5,159　**5,159　7th Vol.2
47.　*4,827　*59,805　Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu no Nyuusha Shiken
48.　*4,739　*45,717　Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Vol.3
(cut-off 4,632)

Book
*5.　20,262　*20,262　To LOVE-ru Darkness Artbook: Harem Gold
*8.　17,467　*17,467　TV Anime Osomatsu-san Official Fanbook: Warera Matsuno-ke 6-kyoudai!
*9.　16,509　*16,509　Owari no Seraph: Kyuuketsuki Mikaela no Monogatari Vol.2
24.　*9,244　*24,053　Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai desho! Vol.8
29.　*8,258　*25,426　Meitantei Conan: Junkoku no Nightmare
42.　*6,345　*88,584　Movie Ansatsu Kyoushitsu: Sotsugyou-hen
(cut-off 5,839)

Literature Books Genre (duplicates removed)
12.　*5,626　**5,626　Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja Vol.5
13.　*4,912　*23,884　Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai
14.　*4,669　**4,669　Isekai Teni shita node Cheat wo Ikashite Mahou Kenshi Yaru Koto ni Suru Vol.2
15.　*4,666　**4,666　Murabito Tensei: Saikyou no Slow Life Vol.3
17.　*4,364　**4,364　LV999 no Murabito Vol.1
(cut-off 3,841)

Source: Oricon Youtaijou

← Previous Week

Light Novel Sales

20 of 57 Comments Recent Comments

Toradora wants pushing up - even the very last volume sold over 150k. 200k average is possible there but it definitely wants to be on the 150k one at least.
Saiunkoku Monogatari is at least 150k+
Boukyaku Tantei series is known to be 100k+ and is almost certainly 150k+
Kokuhaku Yokou-Renshuu is known to be 100k+ and is probably 150k+

Other than that, and ignoring hit series that ended before the sales data started like Slayers, manga spin-offs, and things of questionable status, that looks reasonable at least.

edit: Kotenbu series is almost certainly in the 200k+ category - 929k known sales from 5 volumes, and the sales from the first few years after release aren't included.
edit again: removed mention of CSR - I didn't realise how many volumes it ran on for. Still very likely 100k+ though

May 10, 2016 6:42 AM by kuuderes_shadow

Here are the list for all LN series that I estimate had sold above 100k per main volume based on all the data I found:

300k+
SAO (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Haruhi Suzumiya series (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, Kadokawa Shoten)
Kagerou Daze (KCG Bunko, Enterbrain)

200k+
Mahouka (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Index series (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
OreImo (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Haganai (MF Bunko J, Media Factory)
Yahari (Gagaga Bunko, Shogakukan)
Monogatari series (Kodansha BOX, Kodansha)
Baka to Test (Famitsu Bunko, Enterbrain)

150k+
Durarara (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
No Game No Life (MF Bunko J, Media Factory)
IS (MF Bunko J, Media Factory & Overlap Bunko, Overlap)
DanMachi (GA Bunko, Softbank Creative)
Kotenbu series (Kadokawa Shoten)

100k+
Accel World (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Toradora (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Kino’s Journey (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Shakugan no Shana (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Spice & Wolf (Dengeki Bunko, ASCII Media Works)
Hidan no Aria (MF Bunko J, Media Factory)
Zero no Tsukaima (MF Bunko J, Media Factory)
Date A Live (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Fujimi Shobo)
Full Metal Panic (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Fujimi Shobo)
Seitokai no Ichizon series (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Fujimi Shobo)
KonoSuba (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, Kadokawa Shoten)
Overlord (Enterbrain)

May 10, 2016 6:01 AM by AP24

If Aria is 7m then I'd expect Haganai to be close to 10m by now.

UNLESS, that is, Aria's figure includes AA, which sells about as well as the Aria manga, and would mean that it's likely that more of Aria's sales aside from during the anime boost have come from manga than novels, whereas for Haganai the sales would be relatively heavily skewed towards the novels (almost certainly triple as many sales for the novels as for the manga even now), and we don't have any sales data for Zero no Tsukaima's manga, which would indicate at least a 6:1 novel:manga split when you factor in the number of volumes.

The fact that Aria was only 5m just 2 years earlier would suggest that AA is included. Either that or there are a heck of a lot of Aria volumes sitting in some warehouse somewhere.

If your figures for ZnT and HnA are correct, and AA is included in HnA, then I would speculate at about 4m for novels and 3m for manga for Aria, and about 5.5-6m for novels and 600k-1m for manga for ZnT. Haganai probably about 6.5-7m for novels and 2-2.5m for manga. If AA isn't included then it's hard to make Aria's figure for the last couple of years make sense (it isn't a series that shows signs of having an extremely strong tail, which it would need).

I would agree that those three are likely MF Bunko J's biggest titles, but I'm pretty sure Aria is third of the three, and likely by quite some distance.

May 10, 2016 4:24 AM by kuuderes_shadow

^It is my estimate based on some data I found. At the very least Hidan no Aria is definitely one of MF Bunko J's 3 most successful series along with Haganai and Zero no Tsukaima.

Hidan no Aria and Zero no Tsukaima LN probably average around 100k per main volume and have over 20 main volumes. Few months ago Zero no Tsukaima LN and manga reached 6.6 million copies total and Hidan no Aria reached 7.0 million copies last month.

Haganai sold 200k+ per main volume but only had 11 main volumes. When Vol 9 was released 3 years ago the entire LN and manga series had 6.2 million copies total in print. By now it should be over 7 million copies maybe even 8 million copies.

So I guess Haganai is MF Bunko J's most successful series of all time but the series is finished (though the manga is still ongoing). Hidan no Aria is the current best-selling series with LN and manga of the main series and AA series all still ongoing.

May 10, 2016 2:13 AM by AP24

AP24 said:

Konoetan said:
I'm curious.
Did Hidan no Aria always sell this much?

Yes, in fact Hidan no Aria is considered MF Bunko J's best-selling LN series having the most number of copies in print.

Source for that?

Most recent source I could find put Haganai on top, which matches what would be expected from the sales figures (it has half as many volumes but the average volume sold well over twice as much as the average Aria volume), and I don't think there's any data for Zero no Tsukaima since 2011, when it was only 10% below Aria's tally as of more than 3 years later.

May 9, 2016 11:58 PM by kuuderes_shadow

Konoetan said:
I'm curious.
Did Hidan no Aria always sell this much?

Yes, in fact Hidan no Aria is considered MF Bunko J's best-selling LN series having the most number of copies in print.

May 9, 2016 9:42 PM by AP24

I'm curious.
Did Hidan no Aria always sell this much?

May 9, 2016 9:09 PM by Konoetan

ZoroZoldyck said:
Actually Conan's movie has been doing extremely well and it's topping the rankings of Japan's box office.

No wonder the LN is also doing well.
However, is it exactly the same as the movie?

Isn't it usually just supplementary material?

May 6, 2016 4:03 AM by NeoAnkara

Actually Conan's movie has been doing extremely well and it's topping the rankings of Japan's box office.

No wonder the LN is also doing well.
However, is it exactly the same as the movie?

May 6, 2016 4:01 AM by AlexandricLeo

Fappa said:

eromangasensei said:

plus re:zero was already popular in japan's ranobe community (the web novel has 23 million hits)

Oh you mean

Yeah I saw that. Talk about a boost, huh?

yep, quite a bit. Most people have this huge boner for time loop & dark suspense stuff anyway (myself included)

ichii_1 said:

eromangasensei said:

ichi might be hinting that because it's covering new material that wasnt on web version.

Nah, because it's been nr 1 on amazon jp's LN list for about a month until recently.
Yeah and I know what you want to say "don't use amazon only for a prediction".
Maybe 150K then.

hey, I have no idea how amazon works for LN sales xD but yeah, overlord always ranks well on amazon since boost started

May 5, 2016 10:48 AM by JetNoir

Damn Good
59,805　Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu no Nyuusha Shiken

May 5, 2016 9:47 AM by chrisbj

eromangasensei said:

ichi might be hinting that because it's covering new material that wasnt on web version.

Nah, because it's been nr 1 on amazon jp's LN list for about a month until recently.
Yeah and I know what you want to say "don't use amazon only for a prediction".
Maybe 150K then.

May 5, 2016 9:09 AM by ichii_1

Snappynator said:
The Owari no Seraph LN is doing far better than I first suspected :o

I already expected it since the LN in my opinion gives off a more heavy dark fantasy vibes. And as off now, is far more interesting.

Anyway, congrats to it. It would be good if this will have a movie or something specially the Guren's LN

May 5, 2016 7:18 AM by zilch16

I'm interested in LV999
Might start reading the LN, or should I just read the WN?

May 5, 2016 6:41 AM by Xenocrisi

eromangasensei said:

plus re:zero was already popular in japan's ranobe community (the web novel has 23 million hits)

Oh you mean

Yeah I saw that. Talk about a boost, huh?

May 5, 2016 3:43 AM by Fappa

Fappa said:

Fai said:
Great to see SAO ln doing this well. Just waiting for the adaptation announcement that will most likely come with the movie now.

Sad to see Re;Zero so low but I guess it is too complex of a work to "grab" the generic audience. Still at least it is doing decently enough.

I don't know what do you see as "so low"? O.o

It has 3 volumes in the rankings and is overall the best selling novel last week. As a series who just gets its first advertising ever this more than solid. Also Re:Zero has the advantage of having 25 weeks of active advertising. Even If it was low, it would still be a solid amount over the course of its airing time :o.

plus re:zero was already popular in japan's ranobe community (the web novel has 23 million hits)

May 5, 2016 2:45 AM by JetNoir

May 5, 2016 2:42 AM by Fappa

SAO on top again , need alicization badly ...
Hidan no aria over 20K , liked the show in its 1st season but not the 2nd season.
Bungou stray dogs has a novel too . I thought it was just the manga . Didn't know about it till now .

May 5, 2016 2:40 AM by Shishou_23

Great to see SAO ln doing this well. Just waiting for the adaptation announcement that will most likely come with the movie now.

Sad to see Re;Zero so low but I guess it is too complex of a work to "grab" the generic audience. Still at least it is doing decently enough.

May 5, 2016 2:33 AM by Ahenshihael

*3.　18,558　*18,558　Tensei shitara Slime datta Ken Vol.7

One of the stupidest series I've ever read, it has a somewhat unique plot but that doesn't make it a good series. I'm also surprise on how high it's rated on mal.

May 5, 2016 2:22 AM by keragamming

See All Comments