New Anime Report Reveals Japan's Most-Read Manga of 2024, And the Results Aren't What You Expect

With the year just about over, and a slew of new and exciting anime and manga to come, there is no better time to look back at the most popular and impactful series of 2024. In a year that saw massively popular Shōnen Jump manga like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia to their conclusions, many would suspect that the buzz surrounding certain series approaching their end points would result in popularity spikes. And a new report from GEM Partners revealing Japan's most-read manga of the year showcases just that, along with a few newer titles rising through the ranks.

While the aforementioned conclusions of wildly popular series, alongside sudden hiatuses for others, have made this past year a tumultuous one in the world of manga, several different titles enjoyed steady and sizable growth. The usual heavy hitters are all represented in the report, while some newcomers have begun their push to the top of their genres. Regardless of the reasons for their placements, fans will surely be both pleased and surprised at some of the results.

Japan's Most-Read Manga List Features Both Old and New Entries

A New Generation of Manga Is Slowly Joining Other Long-Running Series

To the surprise of what is likely a very small number of anime and manga fans, One Piece was the most-read series of 2024. Despite a somewhat irregular release schedule in the latter half of the year, the titan of the industry has shown no signs of slowing down, and is seemingly incapable of shedding any of its well-deserved popularity. Jujutsu Kaisen has enjoyed another incredibly successful year, finishing in second due in large part to the manga's completion and overall series acclaim.

Oshi no Ko scored surprisingly high on the list, coming in at fourth after also finishing its serialization in 2024. The manga's ending was incredibly divisive, which may have caused readers to flock to the series. The biggest riser, however, was Frieren, which finished just behind Oshi no Ko in the report. The series saw a massive boom in popularity during the airing of its anime adaptation earlier in the year, and remains one of the more popular series months after the show's completion.

Popular Anime Adaptations Gave Many Series Bumps in Readership

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Frieren was not the only series to receive a huge boost in readership following its anime adaptation. Demon Slayer's ongoing TV series has kept the manga incredibly popular, despite ceasing publication all the way back in May 2020. Kaiju No. 8 cracked the top 20 following its own new adaptation garnering praise from fans and critics alike. Surprisingly, My Hero Academia barely managed to crack the top 10 in readership, despite all the attention surrounding its conclusion and ongoing anime. The most impressive entry, however, has to be Dandadan, which finished the year by just scraping into the top 20.

The manga, though relatively popular in its own right, has never brought in the readership of many of the other top series in past years. However, its anime adaptation, which only began airing in October 2024, has brought a new level of popularity to the manga, and gave a sizable jolt to its readership. 2024 was a year of ups and downs in the manga world, though both old and new series saw massive success. The report is predictably filled with Shōnen Jump titles, yet it seems a new era of manga is eager to compete with the old guard.

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