The world of manga continues to permeate fans’ interest in North America, with the New York Times recently listing the top-selling graphic novels for the month of May so far, with the likes of My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and more Japanese published comics making the list. With anime franchises spawning out of Weekly Shonen Jump remaining some of the most popular manga series around the world, it’s clear that American comic books have their fight cut out for them when it comes to competing with the overall sales of these anime characters.
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While manga took a number of the top spots for “Graphic Books and Manga“, there were plenty of other comics published in North America that overcame them, with the likes of Dog Man: Weathering Heights, Cat Kid Comic Club, Dog Man: Grime and Punishment, FGTeev Saves The World, and Claudia and the New Girl being able to overtake the Shonen publications. Needless to say, the popularity of manga in America was put on display here, with it being clear that the audience purchasing these volumes continues to grow in the West, thanks in part to anime, in general, becoming a hot ticket item thanks to streaming services such as Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and more.
It’s definitely no surprise that the likes of My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer have hit the top of the charts in this list, considering the fifth season has been released for the former and the first feature-length film, Mugen Train, has been tearing up box office charts after hitting theaters in the West. Surprisingly, Chainsaw Man was able to hit similar heights, even though the bizarre manga has yet to have an anime adaptation. However, that may change this year as Studio MAPPA is hinting that we’ll get our first look at the anime this summer.
Manga takes a decidedly different approach for its stories over North America comic books, normally releasing on a weekly schedule with a smaller team of creators, thanks in part to the series normally being drawn in black and white rather than full color. While several anime series were delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, manga featured far fewer delays as a result of the small number of contributors to the stories.
What do you think of manga taking some of the top spots for the highest selling graphic novels in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
