Feb 10th, 2017, 11:40 AM

Big in Japan

By Ofir Ben Dor
Image credit: Flickr/Connie Ma
While some popular manga is internationally known, many best-selling series have missed the attention of a Western audience.

Manga is a Japanese comic book, usually in black and white and commonly released either weekly or monthly. Manga, like any other medium, has a variety of genres that range from silly series for children like Doraemon to serious dramas like Oldboy (which is particularly well known for its movie adaptation). Manga is a very large market in Japan; in 2012, sales reached about $5 billion. That is not to say that they are not a hit outside of Japan as well; sales in America reached $120 million, while sales in Europe and the Middle East reached $250 million, according to Viz Media Europe's President Hyoe Narita. France is actually number one when it comes to sales in Europe, accounting for 50% of the European market. While Japan is still the biggest consumer of the medium, manga is clearly making its way overseas. Manga admittedly remains a bit of a niche in Western society; however, there is, at least, a strong recognition of many of the main household names among the greater population. The list of best selling manga of all time includes:

1. One Piece
2. Golgo 13
3. Dragon Ball
4. Naruto
5. Kochikame
6. Case Closed (aka Detective Conan)
7. Pokemon Adventures
8. Oishinbo
9. Slam Dunk
10. Astro Boy
11. Doraemon
12. Fist of the North Star
13. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
14. Touch

Due to the strange sense of nostalgia many non-Japanese readers may associate with this list, it can be assumed that many of these titles do ring a bell. However, this list of the manga that sold more than 100 million volumes total features some titles relatively unknown in the Western world. Many of the more well-known titles were exposed via their successful anime adaptations, yet some of the series never even made it outside of Japan. Despite their obscurity, many of these titles are definitely worth a look.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1987-present ) ~100 million volumes sold


Image credit: Hirohiko Araki

Starting with Hirohoko Araki's JoJo could be considered cheating, as it has recently broken through into the mainstream due to its anime adaptation. Prior to the anime's release in 2012, it was fairly unknown in the west outside of a small cult following. The series's title is incredibly apt: JoJo follows the bizarre adventures of the Joestar family. Every volume focuses on a different member of the family, each with the sound "jo" in their first name (such as Joseph, Jolyne and Johnny). The series is a melange of pop culture references, supernatural abilities, outlandish poses, complex action sequences and great villains—and really needs to be read to be truly appreciated. The manga is legally available in English up to part three and is currently being translated by Viz; there is also a French version translated by Delcourt/Tonkam that is only a few volumes behind the official Japanese version.

Touch (1981-1986) ~100 million volumes sold

Written and drawn by Mitsuru Adachi, Touch is a manga that is half high-school drama, half baseball; its balance of the two aspects of its story is where the series truly shines, and has served as an example for the many sports manga that followed it. The story follows twins Kazuya and Tatsuya as they play in their high school's baseball team, working towards the championship; of course, it is not that straightforward, as there is surely a lot of teen drama and comedy involved. Written by one of the most prolific authors in the industry—with about 15 original series and dozens of shorter stories under his belt—Touch follows Adachi's sports-oriented trend. It was never officially translated into English, but there is a complete French translation done by Glénat.

Golgo 13 (1968-present) ~280 million volumes sold


Image credit: Takao Saito

Holding the record for the oldest, still ongoing manga, Takao Saito's Golgo 13 is an episodic tale about Togo, a hit-man for hire and the best assassin in the business. Each story is fairly standalone, which means that it is not necessary to read all of the stories to enjoy just one. Like many of the other series on the list, Golgo 13 was adapted into an anime, several live-action films and even video games. Golgo is one of the only series on the list that is specifically aimed at adults. Unfortunately, most of the series remained in Japan; only some chapters were translated by Viz into English and even fewer were translated into French by Glénat.

Oishinbo (1983-present) ~130 million volumes sold

Following a journalist and his assistant as they search for the "ultimate menu"; Oishinbo, written by Tetsu Kariya and drawn by Akira Hanasaki, is a more mature cooking manga, aimed squarely at adults The manga mostly investigates Japanese food, but does diverge into other countries's cuisine as well. Since 2014, the manga has been on hiatus following a somewhat controversial chapter which depicted illnesses caused by the radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown. In March 2016, the author posted on his blog that when he returns from the hiatus he intends to finish the series. Very few chapters were ever translated into English by Viz; there are no known translations in French.

Kochikame (1976-2016) ~156 million volumes sold


Image credit: Osamu Akimoto

Osamu Akimoto's Kochikame, or Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo ("this is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward") is the proud owner of the record for the highest amount of volumes sold, with 200 volumes at the time of its completion. Running for 40 years straight and accumulating nearly 2,000 chapters, Kochikame is a juggernaut of a series. It tells of the strange everyday misadventures of a group of cops in a small local police station—of course, many shenanigans ensue. The manga is could be compared to The Simpsons — it is an episodic comedy with a bumbling adult male for the protagonist, and for a while, it seemed as if it would never finish. Unfortunately, the manga was never translated into English or French; even though it was a massive hit in Japan, it never made it overseas.