The year is coming to an end, and it is time to go over the best-selling manga series in Japan of 2023, according to Oricon. The following list ranks the top 10 manga series that sold the most amount of physical copies in Japan. Let’s dive into it!
Quick note: Oricon does not include digital sales. It only accounts for physical copies sold within the Oricon year beginning on December 5, 2022 and lasting until November 27, 2023.
| Rank | Series | Author(s) | Estimated Sales |
| 1 | Blue Lock | Muneyuki Kaneshiro (Story) & Yusuke Nomura (Art) | 10,527,146 |
| 2 | Jujutsu Kaisen | Gege Akutami | 8,541,411 |
| 3 | ONE PIECE | Eiichiro Oda | 7,197,532 |
| 4 | [Oshi No Ko] | Aka Akasaka (Story) & Mengo Yokoyari (Art) | 5,413,091 |
| 5 | Chainsaw Man | Tatsuki Fujimoto | 5,348,618 |
| 6 | SLAM DUNK | Takehiko Inoue | 4,968,484 |
| 7 | SPY×FAMILY | Tatsuya Endo | 4,326,425 |
| 8 | My Hero Academia | Kohei Horikoshi | 3,528,423 |
| 9 | Tokyo Revengers | Ken Wakui | 3,218,117 |
| 10 | Kingdom | Yasuhisa Hara | 3,207,691 |
1. Blue Lock – 10,527,146 copies sold
Blue Lock by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura claims the top spot in 2023 after seeing a monumental increase in sales. After nearly tripling what it sold in 2022, the series has become the first Kodansha manga series to top the ranking in Oricon history! The hit anime adaptation produced by 8bit undoubtedly contributed to its meteoric surge in popularity, especially since it was timed to air in parallel to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where the Japanese men’s football team had a great run.
Blue Lock, a story revolving around a controversial football training program, is serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine and a second season of its anime has been announced. Also, an anime movie adaptation of the Blue Lock spin-off, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, is set to premiere on April 19, 2024. Its English print release by Kodansha has 22 volumes, and the series can be read in Kodansha’s manga reading app, K Manga.
2. Jujutsu Kaisen – 8,541,411 copies sold
After two consecutive years at the top, Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami fell to second place after seeing a 30% decrease in sales compared to the previous year. Even so, it remains a powerhouse in the manga industry with Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 21 being the second best-selling volume of 2023 with 1,777,867 copies sold. The ongoing success of season 2 of the anime covering the fan-favorite Shibuya Incident arc has extended the series’ strong presence in the manga market. The supernatural sorcery battle manga is serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and VIZ Media’s English print release of Volume 22 is set to hit stores in April 2024.
3. ONE PIECE – 7,197,532 copies sold
One Piece has not been the same ever since it lost its monopoly of the No. 1 position in the Oricon sales rankings to Demon Slayer in 2019. The manga by Eiichiro Oda retains a spot in the Top 3, even with a 31% decline in manga sales. The anime reached the long-awaited climax of the Wano arc in 2023, and the One Piece Film: Red finished its theatrical run earlier this year. Both factors boosted the series’ popularity, raising One Piece Vol. 105 as the best-selling manga volume of 2023 with 1,912,008 copies sold. The pirate adventure manga is serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and the English print release of Volume 105 is currently available to pre-order from VIZ Media.
4. [Oshi No Ko] – 5,413,091 copies sold
One of the most notable entries in the 2023 rankings is [Oshi No Ko] written by Kaguya-sama: Love is War author Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime adaptation of the idol drama surely captured the attention of the masses, catapulting the series to new heights by selling almost four million copies more than it did in 2022. In the final episode of the anime, a second season of the series was announced and is set to air next year. The series is serialized in Weekly Young Jump, and its first four volumes are available in print by Yen Press. It can be also read in MANGA Plus.
5. Chainsaw Man – 5,348,618 copies sold
Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto continues to make waves in the manga world. In Japan, the devil hunting series rose three spots to take fifth place after a more than 50% increase in sales. On the other side of the world, Chainsaw Man Vol. 1 was the best-selling manga volume in the U.S. according to NPD BookScan (now Circana). Part 2 of the manga series began in August 2022, and the momentum kept going strong after the first season of the anime ended in December 2022. The series is currently serialized in Shonen Jump+, and Volume 14 of the series’ English print release by VIZ Media will come out in February 2024.
6. SLAM DUNK – 4,968,484 copies sold
The biggest surprise in the list is most definitely SLAM DUNK. The 1990s Weekly Shonen Jump basketball manga by the legendary mangaka Takehiko Inoue saw a resurgence of interest thanks to the anime movie The First Slam Dunk, which debuted in Japanese theatres in December 2022. Last year, the manga by Vagabond and REAL creator saw incremental rises in manga sales as the theatrical premiere date drew closer. This year, the series enjoyed a skyrocketing increase in sales as the anime movie reignited the passion of old fans series and introduced this iconic basketball series to a new generation.
The First Slam Dunk was a massive success earning over 10 billion yen (approximately 71.6 million dollars) in box office revenue in its first 67 days. The success of this classic is supported by the release of the reader’s guidebook THE FIRST SLAM DUNK re:SOURCE, which placed 30th on the Oricon best-selling manga volume ranking with 473,852 copies sold. The movie was released in July earlier this year in the U.S. All 31 volumes of the manga are available in print by VIZ Media. Unfortunately, the movie reader’s guidebook is not yet available in English.
7. SPY×FAMILY – 4,326,425 copies sold
After being one of the big shots of 2022, SPY×FAMILY by Tatsuya Endo dropped out of the podium as it sold less than half of what it did last year. Despite the fast decline, the traction generated by Season 2 of the anime currently airing and the upcoming anime movie SPY×FAMILY: Code: White set to debut in December 2023 indicates that its popularity remains strong. Even so, such a significant fall in sales is not a good sign for the series’ long-run sales. The series is serialized in Shonen Jump+, and the first 10 volumes are currently available in print by VIZ Media.
8. My Hero Academia – 3,528,423 copies sold
A disappointing year for My Hero Academia as it struggles to stay in the Top 10. The manga by Kohei Horikoshi saw a 34% decrease in sales, even with Season 6 of the anime airing until March of this year. Unlike 2022, the series did not release an anime movie this year, and the standalone anime season was not enough to keep the pace up.
2023 is the worst-selling year for My Hero Academia since its first-year ranking in Oricon back in 2015, where it ranked 27th and sold 2,190,845 copies. One could argue Horikoshi’s constant breaks may have hindered its sales performance. However, considering the series released the same amount of volumes as Chainsaw Man this year (three volumes), the argument does not hold well. My Hero Academia backlog sales strength is getting weaker, and the individual volume sales are less and less leggy with every new release. The superhero manga is serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and Volume 36 can be pre-ordered from VIZ Media’s website.
9. Tokyo Revengers – 3,218,117 copies sold
Tokyo Revengers by Ken Wakui saw a considerable sales drop in 2023, selling less than a third compared to last year’s 11 million copies. However, the drop is only natural as the manga released the final volume of the series in January earlier this year.
Tokyo Revengers Vol. 31 is the 10th best-selling manga volume of 2023 with 914,042 copies sold. This means that the remaining two million copies were purely from backlog sales, showing the continued popularity of the series. Such a feat can be attributed to the airing of Season 2 and the ongoing Season 3 of its anime throughout the year, in addition to the manga finale. The time-traveling juvenile gang series was serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine and is available in English by Kodansha.
10. Kingdom – 3,207,691 copies sold
Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara takes up the last place in the Top 10. Continuing its steady and slow decline, the manga only saw a 16% decrease in sales. The Chinese historical war manga reached 100 million copies in circulation earlier this year with the release of Volume 70. Kingdom is the first Weekly Young Jump series to achieve the milestone. Despite its staggering success in Japan, the series still has not been licensed in English.
And that is it for the Top 10! Now, there are a few series that were left out worth mentioning. Kaiju No. 8 and Don’t Call It Mystery ranked in the Top 10 in 2022, yet their sales disappointingly decreased by more than half this year. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and The Apothecary Diaries both released their debut anime in October 2023 and saw success too late to make it in the ranking. Even so, their excellent sales will surely continue next year, making them strong contenders for the top spots!
And last, Sakamoto Days is the manga series without an anime (or anime in the works) with the strongest sales. Sadly, no anime has been announced yet for this amazing assassin manga.
Next year will be interesting with many anticipated anime adaptations taking place. My prediction? In no particular order, I believe we will see One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, The Apothecary Diaries, Chainsaw Man, SPY×FAMILY, My Hero Academia, Blue Lock, Kaiju No. 8, and Blue Box. Okay, maybe not Blue Box (I’m just extremely biased and mostly manifesting Blue Box anime success) so in its place let’s say [Oshi No Ko].
Of course, many things can happen, in particular with those with new anime without a specific release date announced. And My Hero Academia or Jujutsu Kaisen may end during the year as well. Who knows? Nothing is set in stone. Let’s wait and see what 2024 brings us!
The best-selling manga by volume in Japan of 2023 can be found in Oricon News (in Japanese) or the linked @WSJ_manga X/Twitter post.
