Best-selling mangas of all time

Hello, how are you? In this article, we will see a list of the best-selling mangas of all time, along with the series that Western lists usually skip, and a separate note on what sells in Brazil.

Unfortunately, most of the best-selling manga rankings on the internet make the mistake of not listing them in order. They exclude mangas that are less famous in the West and simply create rankings with the names everyone already knows.

We will not make such a mistake. The list below follows circulation totals the publishers have announced, and I will mark a figure when it is old. These rankings are not 100% accurate. A copy in circulation can include reprints and, for a few recent series, digital editions. Where two series sit on the same round number, I am not going to invent a winner. I hope you enjoy the article.

Contents 9

Ranking of best-selling mangas

Place	Manga	Author	Run	Volumes	Copies in circulation
1	One Piece	Eiichiro Oda	1997-present	115	over 600 million
2 (tie)	Doraemon	Fujiko F. Fujio	1969-1996	45	over 300 million
2 (tie)	Golgo 13	Takao Saito	1968-present	past 200	300 million
4	Detective Conan	Gosho Aoyama	1994-present	108	270 million
5	Dragon Ball	Akira Toriyama	1984-1995	42	260 million
6	Naruto	Masashi Kishimoto	1999-2014	72	over 250 million
7	Demon Slayer	Koyoharu Gotouge	2016-2020	23	220 million
8	Slam Dunk	Takehiko Inoue	1990-1996	31	over 185 million
9	Kochikame	Osamu Akimoto	1976-2016	202	156.5 million

1st place - One Piece

The series follows a young boy who dreams of being a pirate, and for that he boards a ship to find the treasure called the One Piece and to proclaim himself the king of the pirates. Along the way he meets all sorts of people and gathers a crew of friends.

Yes, the manga that always has more things to show is rightly at the top of our list, after all it has been running since 1997. Created by Eiichiro Oda and published by Shueisha, it passed 600 million copies in circulation worldwide when volume 114 came out on March 4, 2026: more than 450 million in Japan and more than 150 million overseas. Volume 115 was set for July 3, 2026, so the series is already past the volume count attached to that announcement. The 600 million figure belongs to that day.

I believe it is unmatched by the other best-selling mangas. The next totals on the record sit around 300 million, so the gap down to that pair is about 300 million copies.

About 300 million - Doraemon

Doraemon is the series Western shonen lists keep leaving out, even with a print total this large. Fujiko F. Fujio's robot cat ran from 1969 to 1996 and was collected in 45 volumes by Shogakukan. As of 2024, the compiled figure is over 300 million copies worldwide. Golgo 13 sits on the same round number, from an older listing, so I am leaving the two of them tied instead of crowning one.

About 300 million - Golgo 13

Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional assassin. His age and place of birth are unknown, and there is no consensus in the global intelligence community regarding his true identity.

Duke Togo has a very calm personality and only speaks when necessary, shows little or no emotion when carrying out an assassination, and is willing to kill anyone who threatens to expose him. He accepts many different assassination jobs from anyone who can pay for his services.

I believe this is the only one on this list of best-selling mangas where the anime adaptation did not achieve great success. However, I cannot assert anything about the quality of the work. What I know is that Takao Saito started it in 1968, in Shogakukan's seinen magazine Big Comic, and Saito Production has kept it going after his death in 2021. Shogakukan's listing for the spinoff Gunsmith Dave put the whole franchise at 300 million copies in circulation. The collected edition was already past 200 volumes by 2022 and has kept adding them, so I will not freeze a count the next volume will change.

5th place - Dragon Ball

The series follows the adventures of Son Goku, from his childhood to adulthood, as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven spheres known as Dragon Balls, which summon a dragon that grants wishes when gathered. Goku makes many friends and faces various villains during his journey.

When we talk about an influencer of generations, I believe this is the first that comes to anyone's mind. The success created by Akira Toriyama in 1984 became a classic hit.

However, it still maintains its success from past generations to the present and attracts people of all ages. Also published by Shueisha, the first series has 42 volumes and finished in 1995. Toei Animation's May 2021 press release put the manga at 260 million copies in circulation worldwide. That count is the 42-volume series.

6th place - Naruto

A boy who has a dream that everyone believes is impossible, the dream of becoming Hokage, the most important figure in the village. But he never gives up, and to become the most powerful and respected ninja of all in the village, he will spare no effort. Thus, everyone will have to recognize him and look at him with respect, unlike what they did before.

I believe this one could not be missing, after all it was the foundation for one of the most influential animes of all time and one of the best-selling mangas in history. Created by Masashi Kishimoto and also published by Shueisha, the manga started in 1999 and finished in 2014. It has 72 volumes. The official site puts worldwide print copies above 250 million, which puts Naruto sixth on this list, behind Dragon Ball.

Black Jack, off the top five

Most of the stories are short and involve the actions of a doctor named Black Jack. In the manga, he performs various types of feats, such as a good deed, for which he rarely receives recognition. He often heals the poor and needy for free or teaches the arrogant a lesson in humility.

I personally have never heard of this manga. It may be because I am very young and not particularly drawn to mangas (I prefer light novels). Osamu Tezuka created it in 1973, and Akita Shoten published it until 1983. It later gained adaptations as a series and as OVAs. The original tankobon edition runs to 25 volumes. A later collected edition has 17, which is the smaller count on the old page. Tezuka Productions put the Japanese comics at about 47.7 million copies as of January 2020. Overseas editions are said to add a large number, and there is no clear count behind the 176 million that used to hold fifth place. I don't believe it is as successful as One Piece, Doraemon or Dragon Ball, so I am leaving that old fifth place out.

Other best-selling mangas

Detective Conan, by Gosho Aoyama at Shogakukan, is still running. The February 2023 figure of 270 million copies in circulation puts it fourth, above Dragon Ball, and the collected edition had reached 108 volumes by April 2026. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, by Koyoharu Gotouge, ended in 2020 at 23 volumes. On July 17, 2025, Shueisha put the series at 220 million copies in circulation, 164 million in Japan and 56 million overseas, digital included. Slam Dunk, by Takehiko Inoue, runs to 31 volumes from 1990 to 1996, and the worldwide circulation is over 185 million. Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, Kochikame for short, ended its weekly run in September 2016 at 200 volumes, with 156.5 million copies in circulation as of June 2016. Two later volumes have come out since, bringing the book count to 202, and no newer cumulative total has been published, so the table stays on that 2016 number.

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter is the series people ask about when this ranking comes up. It does not sit in the group above, and I would rather say that than repeat a sales guess from 2020.

The best-selling mangas in Brazil

It is somewhat complicated to make a sales ranking for Brazil, since the three publishers JBC, Panini, and New Pop do not disclose their sales rankings and bring new mangas every week. Many buyers are also unstable, buying only one volume.

I will list popular mangas in Brazil according to my research, and I will not put them in ranking order, since many old mangas continue to be sold in stores while new volumes are still coming out.

• One Piece
• Fairy Tail
• Bakuman
• Air Gear
• Evangelion
• Claymore

Between 2019 and 2020, the best-sellers according to Amazon were:

• Akira
• My Hero Academia
• Saint Seiya
• Goodnight Punpun
• Battle Angel Alita
• Fruits Basket
• Fist of the North Star

That Amazon snapshot is from 2019 and 2020. Over time other titles can enter a Brazilian list, but JBC, Panini, and New Pop still do not publish their rankings. If you want the ranking of a favorite manga, leave a comment below and we will clarify your doubts.