It's been a while since I posted a weekly recap of the New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List, but with the New Year, I thought this would be as good a time as any to start fresh, and get this going again.
To do this, I went through all the charts of the past year to see what the sales trends were like, which books have consistently hit the top 10, and which ones are up-and-coming titles. I'm not sure if it's due to the loss of Borders Books & Music, or that VIZManga.com has been offering several popular titles in digital format weeks, or even months before the print editions are available, but I'm noticing that it's been rarer to see titles stick around on the NYT Manga Top 10 for more than 5-6 weeks lately, where in prior months, it wasn't unusual to see multiple volumes of popular series like Naruto, Black Butler and Vampire Knight be ensconced in the top 10 for 10+ weeks in a row. Is this a temporary trend, or a sign of a changing market? Hard to say.
It has made for a more interesting array of titles cycling through the top 10, though. Sure, the latest volume of Naruto is on top, but Kodansha Comics has laid claim to much of the rest of the slots. 7 out of 10 titles in the top 10 are from Kodansha, including the latest volumes of fan faves like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Air Gear, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Tokyo Mew Mew, along with two new-ish series, Bloody Monday and Animal Land.
Meanwhile, on the NYT hardcover graphic novels bestseller list, the second volume of Twilight: The Graphic Novel by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim from Yen Press is enjoying its 12th week in the top 10, comfortably chilling out in the #5 spot.
Here's the rest of the New York Times Graphic Books Manga Top 10 for January 15, 2012, reflecting sales for the week ending December 31, 2011.
| This Week | Last Week | Weeks on List | Title | Author/Artist | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 ↑ | 4 wks | Naruto Vol. 53 | Masashi Kishimoto | Shonen Jump / VIZ Media |
| 2 | NEW | 1 wk | Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Vol. 3 | Kenji Kuroda and Kazuo Maekawa | Kodansha Comics |
| 3 | NEW | 1 wk | Air Gear Vol. 21 | Oh! Great | Kodansha Comics |
| 4 | NEW | 1 wk | Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Vol. 12 | Koji Kumeta | Kodansha Comics |
| 5 | NEW | 1 wk | Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus Volume 2 | Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi | Kodansha Comics |
| 6 | NEW | 1 wk | Bloody Monday Vol. 3 | Ryou Ryumon and Kouji Megumi | Kodansha Comics |
| 7 | 5 ↓ | 3 wks | Maximum Ride Vol. 5 | James Patterson and NaRae Lee | Yen Press |
| 8 | 1 ↓ | 2 wks | Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 27 | Hiromu Arakawa | VIZ Media |
| 9 | 6 ↓ | 5 wks | Sailor Moon Vol. 2 | Naoko Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics |
| 10 | NEW | 1 wk | Animal Land Vol. 3 | Makoto Raiku | Kodansha Comics |
NOTE: "RET" means that a title has returned to the Top 10 after an absence of a week or more. Weeks on the chart are counted as weeks on the Top 10.
Image credits: NARUTO © 1999 by Masashi Kishimoto/SHUEISHA Inc.
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