Oricon conducted a survey with 10,564 Japanese people to determine which are the most popular mangas of the first half of 2026. There is one winner who even surpassed the best anime of all time.
Who is the most popular manga of 2026? At the top of the survey by Oricon is the manga series “The Pharmacist’s Diaries.” The manga received exactly 1,200 votes, with 82% of these votes coming from women.
In the next place is “Frieren – After the Journey Ends.” The currently best anime comes in at 2nd place with 1,118 votes. Overall, the top 10 looks as follows:
- Place 1: The Pharmacist’s Diaries, 1,200 votes
- Place 2: Frieren – After the Journey Ends, 1,118 votes
- Place 3: Spy x Family, 831 votes
- Place 4: Demon Slayer, 685 votes
- Place 5: Do Not Say Mystery, 653 votes
- Place 6: Jujutsu Kaisen, 587 votes
- Place 7: One Piece, 557 votes
- Place 8: Detective Conan, 535 votes
- Place 9: Anata no Oshiro no Kibito-san, 514 votes
- Place 9: Kingdom, 514 votes
What stands out? Place 9 is represented twice because two mangas received exactly the same number of votes.
It is also noteworthy that well-known works like Jujutsu Kaisen or One Piece appear only in lower ranks. Even Demon Slayer did not manage to secure a place on the podium. Shonen mangas are clearly behind the more peaceful slice-of-life mangas in this ranking.
Oricon is considered the gold standard in Japan
How significant is this survey? Oricon is regarded as a benchmark in the Japanese entertainment industry, comparable to the Billboard charts. When sales figures for music, manga, or similar are discussed in Japan, the industry refers to Oricon.
Almost equal numbers of male and female participants were surveyed, and all age groups from 10 to 60 years were considered. Moreover, only individuals who actively used digital manga apps or websites in the past year were surveyed.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the survey has a very high level of significance. The only drawback is that only a selected catalog of 131 of the best-selling manga titles was available. Hidden gems or purely niche works had no chance of appearing in the ranking.
What do you think of this ranking? Do you agree with it or would you have placed them differently? Feel free to tell us in the comments.
Last year, it was revealed on the same platform that Demon Slayer now stands in league with Dragon Ball and Naruto in terms of manga. It has indeed sold over 220 million copies last year: A manga from the Gen Alpha era reaches the league of the greats, achieving something only Dragon Ball and One Piece have done
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