It’s no surprise that manga sales have been increasing in North America, as the anime medium is seeing serious growth in recent years. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, many anime fans in quarantine increased their manga and anime consumption. In a surprising twist, most of the numbers that saw an increase during this time frame have not gone down, but instead, continued to increase. In a new report, one outlet took the opportunity to reveal which manga series were the top selling in North America in 2023.
While North American manga sales have been on the uptick, they still have some major ground to cover in the West if they want to hit the same numbers as Japan. The top-selling manga in 2023 for the Eastern country was Blue Lock, selling over ten and a half million copies during last year. The soccer anime franchise was then followed by Jujutsu Kaisen at eight and a half million, One Piece at over seven million, Oshi no Ko at around five million four hundred thousand, and Chainsaw Man trailing at over five million three hundred thousand copies. The top-selling manga of the US differ wildly from Japan as Blue Lock didn’t make top five.
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The Top-Selling Manga of North America in 2023
Demon Slayer and One Piece have been at war with one another in North America, Japan, and around the world. Unfortunately for Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps were once again able to claim the top spot for top-selling manga. While One Piece came in at number two, it still pulled in some big numbers, followed by some familiar properties in the anime world.
1.) Demon Slayer – 2,050,000
2.) One Piece – 1,900,000
3.) Chainsaw Man – 1,235,000
4.) Jujutsu Kaisen – 1,080,000
5.) My Hero Academia – 900,000
Surprisingly enough, Demon Slayer was able to become the number one hit thanks to many manga readers diving into the series for the first time. The first volume of the manga was the highest selling volume of any manga in North America, bringing in close to 150K at retailers. While One Piece didn’t make the top ten for any of its individual volumes, the sheer glut of volumes that the Straw Hats have pushed it close to the top.
What do you think of the top-selling manga in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.