Manga made a big showing on the latest New York Times Best Sellers list. Five iconic franchises topped the chart, which ranks the 15 highest selling “graphic books and manga” for the month of October 2021.
Leading the manga was Chainsaw Man. Vol. 7, reaching number two on the list, a collection that includes chapters 53 through 61. The chapters comprise the first half of the manga’s International Assassins arc that includes chapter 59, famously made unavailable on VIZ Media and Shonen Jump’s iOS apps due to sexual content. (You can still view that chapter on Android or the web with a VIZ Media subscription.)
11 print volumes of Chainsaw Man are planned to release through 2022, making up the first part of the ongoing series. Part one concluded in December 2020 alongside news of an anime adaptation. Studio MAPPA released a trailer for the adaptation in June. While fans hoped for a 2021 debut, we can expect to see the show by next year.
Attack on Titan Vol. 34 follows Chainsaw Man in the third spot, while Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 7 comes in at number eight. Demon Sayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Vol. 1 was ranked at number nine and Spy x FAMILY Vol. 6 made the cut at number 15.
This isn’t the first time manga have recently dominated the list. My Hero Academia Vol. 29 came in at number two last month, while the first volume in the series ranked sixth. Chainsaw Man’s print publications have also featured heavily on the list. Vol. 6 reached fourth place on September’s Best Sellers list (reflecting sales for Aug. 2021).
Leading the list is Dave Pilkey’s graphic novel Dog Man: Mothering Heights, a comedic graphic novel aimed at kids. The ten-volume series is published by Scholastic.