Top 10 Best-Selling Manga of All Time

While manga is considered a niche in the UK for comics and graphic novels, it is popular in its native Japan. 

France makes up around 40% of the European manga market, and it’s growing in popularity in Germany, too.

We predict that manga will continue to grow in popularity in the West, so we compiled a list of the best-selling manga of all time, so you can get an idea of how popular manga is and what titles sell the best.

1. Elichiro Oda – One Piece (480 million)

One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. 

With his crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of the world’s ultimate treasure known as “One Piece” to become the next King of the Pirates.

2. Golgo 13 – Takao Saito (300 million)

Golgo 13, also known as Duke Togo, is an assassin. His age, birthplace and other identity revealing information are unknown. He is a mystery. Most of his jobs are carried out with a customised M16 rifle.

He carries out various killings and is wanted by the CIA, FBI and United States Army. He also has to watch his back as other assassins are out to kill him in creative and various ways.

3. Dragon Ball – Akira Toriyama (250-300 million)

Many of you may know Dragon Ball as the famous animated TV series that was popular around the time Pokemon started achieving mainstream popularity, but its roots are in the manga.

Dragon ball was inspired by Hong Kong martial arts films and the film Journey to the west and followed the adventures of Son Goku, who trains in martial arts so he can find seven dragon balls – magical orbs that summon wish-granting dragons.

4. Naruto – Masashi Kisimoto (250 million)

Naruto follows the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who wants recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. His story is told in two parts – the first set in Naruto’s pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. This manga is well-known for its strong character development, storylines and fight scenes.

5. Detective Conan – Gosho Aoyama (230 million)

Hitting the midpoint is Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, a Japanese detective manga series. The story is about high school detective Shinichi Kudo (or Jimmy Kudo in English translations), who was transformed into a child while investigating a mysterious organisation and solved various cases impersonating his childhood best friend’s father.

6. Black Jack – Osama Tezuka (176 million)

Black Jack is set in the 1970s and follows the medical adventures of the title character, ‘Black Jack’. Most of the storylines involve the doctor performing a good deed, where he usually doesn’t get much recognition. He’ll often help the poor or teach the arrogant a lesson or two, and sometimes the stories involve a humane person dying or enduring hardship to save others.

7. Slam Dunk – Takehiko Inoue (157 million)

Slam Dunk is a sports-themed manga series that follows a Japanese basketball team from the Shōhoku High School in Japan’s Shōnan area. There’s romance, team rivalries, and struggles as the team try to become one of the best teams in Japan.

8. KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops – Osamu Akimoto (157 million)

KochiKame is a comedy manga series that takes place in the present day in and around a neighbourhood police station in Tokyo. It focuses on the misadventures of a middle-aged policeman called Kankichi Ryotsu. 

Most of the storylines revolve around Kankichi creating a new gadget or money-making scheme, only for things to turn sour and lose all his fortune in the end. The characters are known for their distinct lack of policing knowledge, which isn’t explained in any context.

9. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Koyoharu Gotouge (150 million)

This manga series follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young man who wants to become a demon slayer after his family were murdered. His younger sister Nezuko was turned into a demon. Tanjiro and his sister become involved with a secret society called the Demon Slayer Corps, which have been slaying demons for centuries. 

10. Crayon Shin Chan – Yoshito Usui (148 million)

Shina Chan follows the adventures of 5-year-old boy Shinnosuke Nohara and his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbours and best friends. The manga series is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture of Japan.

Many jokes in the series stem from Shin Chan’s weird and ill-fitting language to a particular situation. Many of the gags aren’t translatable and are only understood by Japanese readers.

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If you need to make way for more manga or your collection is taking over your living space, you can sell your manga to WeBuyBooks for cash! All you have to do is enter your ISBNs online or use our app to scan your barcodes, accept our offer, send your items for free, and we’ll pay you the day after we’ve checked them!

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