In recent years, manga has risen is popularity and it has become a common occurrence for a manga to make it to a best-selling book chart. That made us ask which manga have sold the most all time?
What is Manga?
Before we dive into the best-selling manga of all time, we need to address what manga is. Even as it has become a normal sight in a Barnes and Noble, many people still have not given in much thought or realized that it was a manga.
A manga is a Japanese comic book and graphic novel that is made for either adults or children depending on the contents of the manga. Manga can be short or very long such as One Piece that has over a 100 manga volumes published. Sometimes the manga can be written and drawn by the same person and other times, there is an illustrator.
You can buy manga separately or buy Shonen Jump, a collection of manga serialized published in a magazine format. In the past, getting your manga into the weekly Shonen Jump was the best way to make it big but now with a lot more exposure and new technology, it has become much easier to create a successful manga.
The Best-Selling Manga of All Time
Coming in at first is One Piece by Eicchiro Oda. The manga has gone one to sell over 500 million copies since 1997. It holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published by one series written by one author. It has a big lead and as it is still going strong, don’t expect to be dethroned anytime soon.
The second best-selling manga of all time is Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama with over 300 million copies sold. It was first serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984 and was inspired by the Chinese novel Journey to the West as well as Hong Kong martial arts films.
Other notable manga on the list include Naruto and Slam Dunk. They were both first published in the 1990’s and have gone on to sell over 250 million copies. Both of those manga as well as the anime have inspired many that have come after it.
Lastly, Demon Slayer needs to be mentioned because of how fast it has risen in popularity. It was first published in 2016 and has gone on to sell over 150 million copies. Its success has translated to the anime adaption of the same name as it has been critically acclaimed.
Conclusion
These are the ten best-selling manga of all time. Were you surprised by any of the manga on the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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