Manga Sales Hit an All-Time High Stateside in 2020

The last year has been challenging for industries across the world, but some have thrived amidst [...]

By Megan Peters

The last year has been challenging for industries across the world, but some have thrived amidst the pandemic. If you did not know, manga did very well during 2020 as billions were staying at home and eager to read something new. Now, it seems the numbers are in from the last year, and it turns out manga sales in North America hit an all-time high.

The report comes from ICv2 as the sales organization released a report on North American manga sales last year. It was there the organization found that 2020 knocked the previous 2007 record out of the water as ICv2 has tracked manga sales stateside since 2002.

Demon Slayer Manga Complete
(Photo: Shueisha)

As the report notes, the previous record in 2007 saw manga sales hit over $200 million USD which is very impressive. Those numbers plummeted until 2012 before a comeback was made in the United States. Yearly sales have been rising steadily since then, and they grew exponentially in the last year. That is why 2020 saw nearly $250 million in sales alone!

As for why the manga industry exploded last year, well - there are a good few reasons. Obviously, sales have been trending upwards since 2012, and manga has become more accessible than ever in North America. Publishers like Viz Media, Yen Press, and more have made it their mission to make manga available for readers whether it is in-store or online. The sales boost is also spurred by anime trends, and the medium is also on a hot streak these days.

"Now that there's a dedicated billion-dollar anime streaming powerhouse providing a permanent pipeline from Japan to American viewers... it seems unlikely that anime will ever again experience drops in visibility like those in the late 00s. That portends big opportunities for manga to continue to grow, as long as the content continues to resonate with American audiences, and reports from the first half of 2021 indicate that it is," ICv2 reports.

Clearly, manga is doing well for itself these days, and it seems unlikely that will change anytime soon. So if you have yet to find a manga that suits you, well - I promise there is one out there. You can hit me up at Twitter @MeganPetersCB for any and all recommendations!

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