In a surprising turn of events, the upstart soccer manga Blue Lock has booted two legendary series, One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, from their shared perch to claim the crown as best-selling manga for the first half of 2023.
Oricon's Yearly Comic Sales Ranking 2023 – Top 10 pic.twitter.com/2On5sejXp0
— Shonen Jump News (@WSJ_manga) November 29, 2023
According to Oricon charts, the Blue Lock manga, a relative newcomer on the scene, has managed to outpace manga titans One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen to seize the top manga sales spot for early 2023, selling over 8 million copies in Japan.
First published in 2018, the series has seen a sharp rise in popularity thanks to well-timed anime coinciding with the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile, stalwart shonen series like One Piece and JJK continue their steady mainstream success.
Bro blue lock over One piece and JJK? How?
— Milkgod69 (@Milkgod691) November 30, 2023
For this snapshot in time, Blue Lock has pulled off a staggering sales comeback, kicking its way past manga royalty. Let’s take a look at how this Cinderella story unfolded.
Why Blue Lock managed to outsell One Piece and JJK in 2023:
- A smash hit anime adaptation in 2022 kicked Blue Lock mania into overdrive. The hype surrounding the anime’s October debut dovetailed perfectly with soccer fever during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
- This influx of new fans hungry for more soccer action after the World Cup led to skyrocketing manga sales at the close of 2022. Riding this wave into 2023, Blue Lock maintained its momentum while long-running hits like One Piece and JJK slowed between new volume releases.
We’ve seen this pattern play out before with series like Demon Slayer. Anime adaptations have immense power to drive manga sales and capture new audiences.
Blue Lock demonstrates this to an extreme degree. Before the anime premiered, Blue Lock manga sales sat around a respectable 1 million. Solid for a newer series, but a far cry from the behemoths of the industry.
After the anime finished its cour in December 2022, manga sales exploded to over 8 million copies sold in early 2023 alone, per Oricon charts.
In contrast, One Piece and JJK enjoy steady sales between new volume releases.
One Piece and JJK still won the individual volume sales records, though:
You have to admit, the lack of major volume releases from both One Piece and JJK definitely helped with Blue Lock’s success. No doubt both series will retake the lead when they return with new volumes next year.
You can see evidence of this in the individual sales record for both mangas:
- One Piece saw strong sales despite only having released three volumes this year. One Piece Volume 105 sold a staggering 1.7 million copies in Japan. Similarly, JJK took second and third place in individual volume sales with volumes 21 and 22, which sold around 1.5 million copies combined.
One Piece had the highest selling manga volumes of 2023 in Japan, but ranks at #3 in total sales due to only selling three volumes this past year pic.twitter.com/x1AT93CFre
— Artur – Library of Ohara (@newworldartur) November 29, 2023
Still, as underdog stories go, Blue Lock manga has already claimed legendary status. Dethroning the likes of One Piece and JJK for any period of time seemed an impossible dream just one year ago.
Yet thanks to a perfectly timed anime and insatiable soccer hype, the series has managed to do just that. We’ll see if soccer mania continues fueling this sports manga or if the titanic empires of One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen eventually reclaim their rightful seats on manga’s iron throne later in 2023.
Why One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen are still the top contenders for the title:
While Blue Lock may have momentarily surged ahead in sales, legendary series One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen remain the critical darlings of manga fandom for their epic storytelling and enduring popularity.
- Both shonen series set new records in 2022 for copies printed, underscoring their unmatched commercial success over decades. One Piece crossed a staggering 530 million copies printed worldwide. JJK surpassed 150 million in circulation in just 4 years since its 2018 debut.
We've really had 1100 One Piece chapters. Eiichiro Oda is the greatest author of all time man. Thank you for genuinely changing my life positively.
— Luffy 🇸🇴🇵🇸🇸🇩🇨🇩🇾🇪🇱🇧🇸🇾 (@StrawHatShonen) December 2, 2023
- And 2023 looks to bring even more monumental moments, with One Piece barreling towards its final saga and Jujutsu Kaisen finally nearing the Yuji vs. Sukuna battle.
One Piece in particular just reached a major landmark in 2023 with its Egghead Island Arc, revealing genius inventor Dr. Vegapunk and the scientific secrets of Devil Fruits. After over 25 years, the series continues unveiling groundbreaking worldbuilding and high-stakes plots.
Likewise, JJK made waves in 2023 by first unsealing everyone’s beloved, Gojo Satoru after years, and then “apparently” killing him off. This shocking twist generated endless discourse and theorizing across manga fandom.
JJK 2023 was something else.
The ENCHAIN ch, Gojos unsealing, the entirety of the Gojo vs Sukuna fight.
Ch236 with my goats farewell ch. A phenomenal year for us JJK fans, especially with the anime running in the meantime as well. We're blessed. https://t.co/eaWZlfqfK8 pic.twitter.com/PtgX1vDYJh— Nate #ThankyouGege (@Itadori52) November 28, 2023
And while Blue Lock may have the momentary manga sales edge, One Piece and JJK remain supreme in another key metric—online discussion and buzz.
Both iconic shonen series continue dominating manga discourse on Twitter and online forums. One Piece in particular trends almost daily, a testament to its unmatched worldbuilding and storytelling that keeps fans passionately engaged 25 years after its debut. Likewise, JJK trends weekly if not daily as fans theorize plot points, gush over characters, and analyze intricate power systems.
Conclusion:
Blue Lock certainly seized its shot in early 2023 to rise from upstart to upper echelon of manga sales. Its underdog soccer story connected perfectly with anime fans hungry for sports drama in the wake of the 2022 World Cup.
But when it comes to all-time sales, critical acclaim, and mainstream legacy, One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen remain the manga icons to beat. Their rich universes and sustained fan resonance keep JJK and One Piece the pacesetters year after year, even decades into their storied runs.
Still, the explosive success of Blue Lock proves room remains for new contenders to rise up and challenge the manga throne in this age of unprecedented fandom. Soccer’s gritty antihero has put the establishment on notice. And if its meteoric growth continues, 2023’s Cinderella could cement itself as a perennial powerhouse and fan favorite for years to come.
