The Best-Selling Manga of Every Month in 2026, Ranked

Manga sales in 2026 have already delivered a few plot twists worthy of a weekly Shonen Jump cliffhanger. While giants such as One Piece continue to obliterate sales records, Kingdom has repeatedly reclaimed the monthly throne, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime has pulled off major victories, and One Piece side material has even crashed the party.

For this ranking, the decisive metric is Oricon‘s estimated physical manga sales in Japan, rather than popularity polls, anime hype, or internet buzz. So, which manga actually ruled each reporting period, and what does that reveal about Japan’s manga market in 2026?

1 January — Kingdom

Monthly sales: 465,950

The year opened with Kingdom taking the throne. Volume 78 was released in January and topped the Oricon weekly comic ranking for the January 19–25 sales period, with 207,881 copies according to the supplied Oricon figure. Oricon subsequently reported that the volume remained No. 1 for a second consecutive week, showing that its launch was not simply a one-week flash in the pan.

Plus, the manga made monthly sales of 465,950 copies. Yet Kingdom cut through the noise with the sheer consistency of a veteran warlord. The series, which has been running in Weekly Young Jump since 2006, was also approaching its 20th anniversary, giving its latest volume an unusually strong milestone backdrop.

2 February — That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Monthly sales: 351,514

February belonged to Rimuru Tempest. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Volume 31 took No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly comic ranking for February 9–15, the same period in which the manga’s latest volume was released. Oricon specifically identified it as the week’s comic leader.

The timing was almost suspiciously perfect: the volume arrived shortly before the franchise’s latest theatrical push, giving the long-running isekai series another wave of attention. Volume 31 eventually accumulated 208,794 copies during Oricon’s first-half ranking period and 351,514 in a month, placing it among the ten best-selling individual manga volumes of the first half of 2026.

3 March — One Piece

Monthly sales: 1,015,303

Then came the pirate-sized flex. ONE PIECE Volume 114 launched on March 4 and immediately dominated the Oricon chart, selling 612,629 copies in its March 2–8 reporting week. Oricon noted that it defeated a simultaneous wave of 13 new Jump Comics releases.

By the end of Oricon’s first-half tracking period, Volume 114 had reached 1,015,303 copies, making it the first-half’s No. 1 individual manga volume. Even more absurdly, Oricon reported that all 114 collected volumes of ONE PIECE had now exceeded one million cumulative copies sold.

4 April — Detective Conan

Monthly sales: 425,972

April brought one of manga’s most enduring mystery franchises back to the top. Detective Conan led the Oricon weekly comic ranking for the April 6–12 reporting period, selling 181,644 copies. The result is another reminder that Gosho Aoyama’s long-running detective saga remains a formidable force in Japan’s physical manga market decades after its debut.

Detective Conan began serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 1994 and has continued to turn elaborate murders, impossible alibis, and Conan Edogawa’s increasingly complicated attempts to hide his identity into reliable blockbuster material. By the end of April 2026, the manga had sold around 425,972 copies.

5 May — Kingdom

Monthly Sales: 356,559

Kingdom reclaimed the throne in May with Volume 79. The volume was released on May 19 and sold 289,292 copies in its May 18–24 Oricon reporting week, comfortably taking the comic No. 1 position.

Volume 79 moves into the enormous Complete Conquest Strategy battle, giving readers exactly the sort of large-scale military escalation that has kept Kingdom commercially potent for two decades. Oricon also had Volume 79 appearing among the year’s strongest sellers beyond its launch week with 356,559 copies sold in the entire month. Its return to No. 1 is significant because it came only two months after ONE PIECE 114’s blockbuster launch.

6 June — That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Monthly Sales: 270,780

June belonged to Rimuru Tempest once again, as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime became the month’s best-selling manga series with 270,780 copies sold for Volume 32, according to Oricon’s June monthly sales data. Unlike a huge single-week launch, this figure captures the title’s performance across the full Oricon monthly tracking period, making the victory a useful snapshot of sustained demand rather than just opening-week hype.

Slime was already one of 2026’s major manga sellers after Volume 31’s strong February performance, and its return to the top in June shows that the series was not simply benefiting from one big release week. It had become a consistent presence in Japan’s physical manga market, proving that Rimuru’s reign was far from a one-volume wonder.

7 July — One Piece

Monthly Sales: 1,020,422

July technically became a continuation of the same blockbuster rather than a brand-new champion. ONE PIECE Volume 115 remained No. 1 for the July 6–12 reporting week, posting 241,644 copies according to the supplied figure. Oricon again lists Volume 115 as the week’s comic leader.

The second-week number is naturally lower than its explosive launch, but the fact that Volume 115 continued to control the weekly chart demonstrates sustained demand rather than a single release-day spike. By the end of July, Oricon’s actual monthly series ranking also placed ONE PIECE at No. 1 (monthly sales of 1,020,422 copies), confirming that Volume 115 had become the month’s dominant manga product.

8 August — Kingdom

Monthly Sales: 365,379

August saw Kingdom pull another royal coup. Volume 80 was released in August and sold 280,215 copies during the August 17–23 Oricon reporting period, taking the weekly comic chart’s No. 1 position. By the end of the month, the numbers reached 365,379. The interesting part is the sheer staying power of the franchise. Kingdom had already taken January and May, and now its 80th volume was back at the top before the summer was over.

Oricon subsequently recorded Volume 80 as No. 1 again for the August 24–30 week, making the victory even more substantial. For a manga approaching its 20th anniversary, repeatedly overpowering newer, heavily promoted titles is quite the flex. Kingdom may not always dominate the headlines, but its readership clearly knows where the throne is.

9 September — Kagurabachi

Monthly Sales: 50,941 (So Far)

September finally handed the spotlight to a younger challenger. Kagurabachi Volume 12, released on September 4, debuted at No. 1 for Oricon‘s August 31–September 6 reporting period with 50,941 copies sold.

There is, however, an important caveat: September 2026 is still ongoing, so this cannot yet be called the definitive September monthly winner. What can be stated confidently is that Volume 12 currently owns the latest published Oricon weekly comic ranking and has started the month at No. 1. It also beat Dandadan Volume 25, which opened with 43,453 copies in the same period.

Which 2026 manga winner surprised you the most? Comment down.