New Manga Report Confirms U.S. Sales Are on the Rise
In the last ten years, the anime and manga industries have become absolute beasts. Once considered niche products outside of Japan, these mediums have grown bounds thanks to technology. From digital libraries to streaming services, reading manga online has never been easier, and the industry is selling volumes like mad. And now, a new report confirms manga is still growing in the United States.
The information comes courtesy of IVc2 as the website has long tracked the U.S. comics market. Of course, this means their data has shown time and again that manga is dominating the sector, and that held true in 2022. After all, manga readers pushed the medium's sales up 9% year over year. And when talking about sales at comic book stores, figures increased 12.5% from 2021 to 2022.
This increase in manga sales is in line with what reports have counted in recent years. Between 2020 and 2021, the pandemic put manga center stage with readers looking to expand their entertainment horizons. Manga sales rose over 171% in a single year, and BookScan said graphic novel sales in the U.S. were dominated by manga. More than 76% of total sales were thanks to the industry, and manga is only continuing to grow. For those who read manga digitally, more volumes than ever are available on readers, and companies like Viz Media continue to sell out of top-performing titles like Chainsaw Man.
Of course, there are other venues where manga is succeeding that aren't reflected in these sales numbers. If you like to read manga free, more and more libraries are popping up offering that very service. The Shonen Jump app allows readers to access so many chapters free each month, and its annual membership is under $30 USD. There are also services like Manga Plus that allow fans to read manga free during certain promotions, and you can also access full backlogs at a discount.
Clearly, manga has carved itself an impressive spot in the publishing industry as sales continue to rise. Anime is also doing the same as market estimates expect the global industry to produce revenue of $60 billion USD by 2030. So if you ever wanted to get into the market, now would be the time!
Are you reading any manga series right now...? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.