Japan's Yearly Manga & Light Novel Ranking for 2009

by dtshyk
Dec 3, 2009 4:58 PM | 36 Comments

Here is the yearly manga & light novel rankings for 2009 (Nov 17 2008 - Nov 22 2009).

Manga Ranking
Volume by volume
*1, 2,057,528 One Piece vol.53
*2, 1,963,696 One Piece vol.54
*3, 1,952,551 One Piece vol.52
*4, 1,810,410 One Piece vol.55
*5, 1,505,575 NANA vol.21
*6, 1,277,733 Fullmetal Alchemist vol.23
*7, 1,271,340 Fullmetal Alchemist vol.21
*8, 1,238,354 Fullmetal Alchemist vol.22
*9. 1,222,356 Naruto vol.45
10, 1,186,478 Naruto vol.47
11, 1,184,722 Nodame Cantabile vol.22
12, 1,119,917 Naruto vol.46
13, *,996,398 Naruto vol.48
14, *,955,085 Bleach vol.36
15, *,944,066 Bleach vol.37
16, *,888,622 Bleach vol.38
17, *,879,612 Saint Young Men vol.3
18, *,850,059 Bleach vol.40
19, *,841,028 Bleach vol.39
20, *.790,656 Kimi ni Todoke vol.8
21, *,741,831 Kimi ni Todoke vol.9
22, *,738,404 Bleach vol.41
23, *,692,649 Saint Young Men vol.4
24, *,659,512 Kuroshitsuji vol.6
25, *,642,263 Detective Conan vol.64

26th - 50th

Series by series
*1, 14,721,241 One Piece
*2, *6,836,494 Naruto
*3, *6,471,021 Bleach
*4, *5,810,522 Fullmetal Alchemist
*5, *4,733,511 Gintama
*6, *3,694,323 Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
*7, *3,076,659 Mei-chan no Shitsuji
*8, *2,886,942 Fairy Tail
*9, *2,655,379 20th Century Boys
10, *2,614,269 Saint Young Men

Light Novel & Picture Book Ranking
*1, 293,181 La Maison en Petits Cubes
*2, 186,132 Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Kakushidama vol.3
*3, 181,539 Saiunkoku Monogatari Extra vol.4
*4, 177,435 Summer Wars
*5, 177,232 Saiunkoku Monogatari vol.14
*6, 175,766 Gintama 3 Nen Z Gumi Ginpachi-sensei vol.4
*7, 151,322 Toradora! vol.10
*8, 150,556 Toaru Majutsu no Index vol.17
*9, 136,787 Toaru Majutsu no Index vol.18
10, 124,210 Zero no Tsukaima vol.16
11, 121,815 Gake no Ue no Ponyo
12, 116,238 Chrome Shelled Regios vol.12
13, 114,679 Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World vol.13
14, 112,154 Shakugan no Shana vol.18

Source: Oricon Yearly Ranking

20 of 36 Comments Recent Comments

I've generally found for most shonen that you have to get through at least a few volumes before you really become a huge fan of a series. (as opposed to just thinking it's good). And also, things usually take a while to become worthy of the praise it gets. (hell, Detective Conan barely even had a plot until volume 18)

Also, about the multiple volumes for a series, obviously the people who buy the 37th or whatever volume will buy the 38th.

Dec 6, 2009 1:09 PM by kkslider5552000

NANA *.*
i hope ai-sensei gets better already

Dec 6, 2009 4:11 AM by enixela

One Piece can not be stopped.

Bleach and Fairy Fail are selling way too much though. Granted, Bleach's sales appear to be decreasing by the volume which is a good thing.

Dec 4, 2009 9:36 PM by Hakumen

YoungVagabond said:
Why not mention Pluto, for instance?

Shortly--I've not read it. Same with 3 Gatsu no Lion, which looks like a strong new series. I like when new serializations sell because it encourages new works versus stuff that has been around forever. There's not many publishing series I've been actively reading for 5+ years that I still like. Gets old. Maybe my attention span needs work. I guess that's why I'm reading over 300 current series too. Plenty of new series are derivative of course, so that's another thing to watch out for and I'll drop them if I don't think they are entertaining.

Dec 4, 2009 7:46 PM by shinkeikaku

Not enough One Piece

Dec 4, 2009 4:13 PM by JusticeGundam

huzzah for xxxHolic! X3

Dec 4, 2009 3:36 PM by SoneAnna

shinkeikaku said:

Sigh.. Vol 4 versus Vol 50+.. whether you think it's a lot like something else, it's still fresher to me because it wasn't publishing over 10 years ago. Are you saying that it's fresh and there's no formula, filler, or patterns at all in One Piece? After 50+ volumes? In a Jump manga? This I gotta see..

I'm more forgiving of those things in series that only have so many volumes and haven't dragged on forever. I could have just as easily picked Kuroshitsuji since it's also in the single digits, but I was over it before people even discovered it.

Okay, I see what you're saying. You mean the specific recent volumes as opposed to the overarching plot/aesthetic of the work as a whole. But even there, I don't see anything new or creative in Saint Young Men. It's a strange example to use for originality.

Why not mention Pluto, for instance?

Dec 4, 2009 1:30 PM by YoungVagabond

Kimi ni Todoke looks so out of place in the top 25 but I am glad to see it there, no big surprises but OH MY GOD 14 million copies in one year.

Dec 4, 2009 7:42 AM by mitamaking

Happy to see Gintama,One Piece and Kimi Ni Todoke on the list.Now to wait for Dengeki Daisy to appear:]

Dec 4, 2009 6:17 AM by Shiroyuki30

YoungVagabond said:
Except Saint Young Men isn't anything new. Even setting aside my opinion that the humor is tepid and uninspired, it's a less unique version of Lucu Lucu.

One Piece, if nothing else, was a relatively new concept and approach when it came out, and even in 2009, continues to be more unique than most other megahits. I feel weird defending it considering I'm not a big fan, but I recognize its strengths.

Sigh.. Vol 4 versus Vol 50+.. whether you think it's a lot like something else, it's still fresher to me because it wasn't publishing over 10 years ago. Are you saying that it's fresh and there's no formula, filler, or patterns at all in One Piece? After 50+ volumes? In a Jump manga? This I gotta see..

I'm more forgiving of those things in series that only have so many volumes and haven't dragged on forever. I could have just as easily picked Kuroshitsuji since it's also in the single digits, but I was over it before people even discovered it.

Dec 4, 2009 5:08 AM by shinkeikaku

HawthorneKitty said:
NANA! Heck yes, now I just want it to start up again...

indeed, missing more NANA badly!

Dec 4, 2009 12:40 AM by ashura

We can't help it. One piece is badass. It's too good. Hence, I can't complain it being top.

But somehow, my eye hurts, seeing same titles over and over on the same list.

Dec 4, 2009 12:12 AM by ringoo4

Pretty expected, although I WOULD like to see more variety.

Dec 3, 2009 11:58 PM by BasakaNZ

i see lot's off one piece and bleach there, you fans >_>

glad to see to aru was there but i was a bit surprise about
la maison was there O.o it's a great one though :D

Dec 3, 2009 9:21 PM by villains

shinkeikaku said:

YoungVagabond said:

To be fair, denouncing One Piece while praising Saint Young Men in the same sentence (far more cliche and less imaginative) is downright silly.

You're confusing silly with personal taste and opinion. Particularly, wanting something new. And publishing since the late 90s isn't so fresh, while Saint Young Men is (at this point).

Except Saint Young Men isn't anything new. Even setting aside my opinion that the humor is tepid and uninspired, it's a less unique version of Lucu Lucu.

One Piece, if nothing else, was a relatively new concept and approach when it came out, and even in 2009, continues to be more unique than most other megahits. I feel weird defending it considering I'm not a big fan, but I recognize its strengths.

Dec 3, 2009 9:05 PM by YoungVagabond

YoungVagabond said:
And I'll give One Piece credit; it's a great, fun adventure story...for kids. I don't think the author ever envisioned it being so popular with full-grown adults.

I"m sure there's a bunch of reasons for that, but the way I see it, for a story that's been going on for 10+ years, the kids who read it at the beginning are now adults. And if one has already kept up with the series to such a degree, you might as well see it to the end. That's how I would feel about it anyway.

Dec 3, 2009 8:32 PM by VK11

YoungVagabond said:

To be fair, denouncing One Piece while praising Saint Young Men in the same sentence (far more cliche and less imaginative) is downright silly.

You're confusing silly with personal taste and opinion. Particularly, wanting something new. And publishing since the late 90s isn't so fresh, while Saint Young Men is (at this point).

Dec 3, 2009 8:31 PM by shinkeikaku

shinkeikaku said:

Holy_KnightXIX said:

shinkeikaku said:
Mostly uninspired and/or long running series.. at least Saint Young Men is doing well.

Are you implying One Piece is uninspired?

Heresy, my good man, heresy.

At 50+ volumes, I have a hard time imagining it pioneering new, exciting trends in manga still. That's why I gave up on Jump titles.

To be fair, denouncing One Piece while praising Saint Young Men in the same sentence (far more cliche and less imaginative) is downright silly.

And I'll give One Piece credit; it's a great, fun adventure story...for kids. I don't think the author ever envisioned it being so popular with full-grown adults.

Dec 3, 2009 8:27 PM by YoungVagabond

Holy_KnightXIX said:

shinkeikaku said:
Mostly uninspired and/or long running series.. at least Saint Young Men is doing well.

Are you implying One Piece is uninspired?

Heresy, my good man, heresy.

At 50+ volumes, I have a hard time imagining it pioneering new, exciting trends in manga still. That's why I gave up on Jump titles.

Dec 3, 2009 8:19 PM by shinkeikaku

Beatnik said:
Pretty boring list. Manga needs a new sensation to kick off the next decade methinks.

There are plenty of those already, Beatnik. People just aren't as excited about reading them as they used to be.

Dec 3, 2009 8:18 PM by YoungVagabond

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