Rocket Bomber - manga

Oooo… a comment! Comments are [almost] always rewarded.

soysauce commented on the recent rankings :

“I was expecting one piece to be in the top 5 at least.”

##

Going back six weeks, we can see One Piece doing quite well:

[series ranking]
20 June 4. ↔0 (4) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [607.9] ::
27 June 4. ↔0 (4) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [568.9] ::
4 July 8. ↓-4 (4) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [459.6] ::
11 July 8. ↔0 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [484.7] ::
18 July 7. ↑1 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [503.9] ::
25 July 12. ↓-5 (7) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [415.9] ::

What explains the drop? Well, there is the way the series score is calculated, first:

Previously when figuring out the top 50 series I took the top ranked volume of a given series as a base, then added one tenth of the scores for all remaining volumes in the series. The thinking behind that method was to account for a popular series like Naruto (with 33 ranked books) without creating an unsurmountable barrier to other series that might have one or two equally highly ranked volumes — but only 4-5 volumes total

The trouble with this method is that a highly ranked one-shot (that not-quite-manga vampire/lycanthrope/romance abomination Dark Hunger, for example) is going to beat any number of other, perhaps more qualified series because of its high score and a quirk of the math.

The fix in place this week is to use the combined score of the top two books in a series as the base series score (and then add 1/10 of the rest, as before) which doesn’t change anything really when comparing series (as long as they have at least two books in them) but automatically puts any one-shot or single volume at a disadvantage.

This is, in my opinion, a good thing. And since it’s my chart, that’s what we’re going to see from now on.

[that’s from 2 years ago, and I haven’t changed the formula since.]

So performance of individual volumes can make a big difference, and even with 50+ volumes ranking (though some are way down the list) the primary factor is the relative ranking of the top 2 volumes.

It’s not a complete picture, but let me go through the spreadsheet and break out the rankings of select One Piece books to give you an idea of where it was, where it is, and where the series is going.

Obviously, there is Viz’s speed-up, 5 volumes a month over six months, starting in January [with a new story arc] with volume 24; the last batch (49-53) landed on 1 June. There is the new volume (54) which released 6 July — and also the (rather nice) 3-volume value omnibuses that collected volumes 1-12. Sales of these have been more modest, but still solidly in the midlist; let’s look at not just the first of those, but also volume 13, which will give us an idea of how many folks are ‘graduating’ from the cheap intro to the series into collecting single volumes.

The Blitz:

20 June
24. ↑1 (25) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [215.1] ::
25. ↓-1 (24) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [214.4] ::
28. ↑7 (35) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [199.4] ::
36. ↑4 (40) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [186.2] ::
38. ↑6 (44) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [183.8] ::

27 June
21. ↑4 (25) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [213.3] ::
30. ↓-6 (24) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [199.2] ::
35. ↓-7 (28) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [182.3] ::
45. ↓-7 (38) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [162.9] ::
46. ↓-10 (36) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [162.6] ::

4 July
43. ↓-22 (21) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [163.1] ::
48. ↓-13 (35) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [158.4] ::
57. ↓-12 (45) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [146.3] ::
62. ↓-32 (30) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [141.5] ::
69. ↓-23 (46) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [136.7] ::

11 July
80. ↓-32 (48) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [125.5] ::
96. ↓-53 (43) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [113.4] ::
115. ↓-53 (62) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [103.9] ::
119. ↓-62 (57) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [101.8] ::
124. ↓-55 (69) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [99.8] ::

18 July
142. ↓-46 (96) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [87.4] ::
158. ↓-78 (80) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [81.6] ::
182. ↓-58 (124) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [73.0] ::
183. ↓-68 (115) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [73.0] ::
299. ↓-180 (119) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [39.8] ::

25 July
144. ↓-2 (142) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [77.5] ::
185. ↓-3 (182) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [58.7] ::
194. ↓-11 (183) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [56.6] ::
219. ↓-61 (158) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [49.9] ::
456. ↓-157 (299) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [16.0] ::

Strong sales throughout June softened over the course of July; and I think we can see why I use the arrows [assuming your browser is displaying the characters correctly] plus the number of ranks gained-or-lost each week. When I do a pull like this of a single series, or volume, its a handy easily-read visual cue.

The Latest:

20 June [One Piece 54 not yet ranked]
27 June 639. ↑new (0) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [8.8] ::
4 July 161. ↑478 (639) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [77.8] ::
11 July 18. ↑143 (161) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [226.5] ::
18 July 9. ↑9 (18) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [300.9] ::
25 July 12. ↓-3 (9) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [251.6] ::

Reminder: the official street date for 54 was Tuesday, 6 July. So, not much pre-ordering going on but as soon as it actually hit shelves we were lining up to buy: it went from #161 into the top 20, and will likely still be a top 25 title for another couple of weeks.

Starting Points:

20 June 357. ↑4 (361) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [31.2] ::
27 June 290. ↑67 (357) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [42.2] ::
4 July 263. ↑27 (290) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [49.0] ::
11 July 298. ↓-35 (263) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [42.6] ::
18 July 249. ↑49 (298) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [51.4] ::
25 July 191. ↑58 (249) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [57.2] ::

Net gain over 6 weeks of 26 points and 170 ranks — For a 7 year old book

20 June 423. ↓-2 (421) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [24.8] ::
27 June 314. ↑109 (423) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [38.0] ::
4 July 316. ↓-2 (314) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [38.9] ::
11 July 425. ↓-109 (316) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [24.9] ::
18 July 436. ↓-11 (425) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [24.2] ::
25 July 408. ↑28 (436) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [20.1] ::

Net movement here might as well be flat, though there was a spike two weeks before 54 came out. General rule: a new release moves the backlist

Jumping On Points:

20 June 182. ↔0 (182) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [71.7] ::
27 June 172. ↑10 (182) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [71.4] ::
4 July 203. ↓-31 (172) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [62.8] ::
11 July 242. ↓-39 (203) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [54.0] ::
18 July 190. ↑52 (242) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [71.1] ::
25 July 160. ↑30 (190) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [68.7] ::

20 June 385. ↑1 (386) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [28.6] ::
27 June 450. ↓-65 (385) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [23.5] ::
4 July 345. ↑105 (450) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [33.5] ::
11 July 204. ↑141 (345) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [63.1] ::
18 July 187. ↑17 (204) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [71.6] ::
25 July 264. ↓-77 (187) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [38.7] ::

One Piece vol 1 was ranking in the high 200s, the vols.1-3 omnibus in the 300s to 400s, but the speed-up jumping-on point, volume 24—six months after release—is hovering around 200 and the “I just gotta have it” resumption volume after the 4 value collections—vol 13—seems to match the sales of the first omnibus easily, and out-ranking it 4 weeks out of 6.

##

Since the series ranking is a composite score, even a top 10 single volume might not be enough to vault your favourite into the “top 5”.

But I don’t compile rankings to find a top 10 — OK, fine, I post the top 10 lists because that’s what garners hits and I love my readers; I’d love for there to be more of you — but for me the point of the exercise is the midlist and the long tail.

Starting points, jumping in, new releases, and the 30-volume product dump that was Viz’s ‘speed-up’: Lots and lots of books, and all selling online [I should note here: my rankings are based on online sales, discovered by loading up sites and looking at their ‘bestsellers’; there is no secret knowledge, just publicly available info and a massive investment of time].

In actual fact all but 4 volumes of One Piece rank, just not in the top 50 or top 500:

Here’s all of One Piece from 25 July:
12. ↓-3 (9) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [251.6] ::
144. ↓-2 (142) : One Piece 53 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [77.5] ::
160. ↑30 (190) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [68.7] ::
185. ↓-3 (182) : One Piece 52 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [58.7] ::
191. ↑58 (249) : One Piece 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2003 [57.2] ::
194. ↓-11 (183) : One Piece 51 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [56.6] ::
216. ↑6 (222) : One Piece 25 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [50.6] ::
219. ↓-61 (158) : One Piece 50 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [49.9] ::
252. ↑102 (354) : One Piece 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [41.7] ::
264. ↓-77 (187) : One Piece 13 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2007 [38.7] ::
274. ↑110 (384) : One Piece 42 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2010 [36.5] ::
284. ↑162 (446) : One Piece 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2010 [34.2] ::
323. ↓-44 (279) : One Piece 11 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2006 [28.6] ::
347. ↓-46 (301) : One Piece 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [25.9] ::
355. ↑9 (364) : One Piece 40 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2010 [25.0] ::
370. ↑75 (445) : One Piece 41 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2010 [24.1] ::
373. ↑85 (458) : One Piece 37 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [23.2] ::
408. ↑28 (436) : One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [20.1] ::
424. ↑56 (480) : One Piece 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [19.1] ::
432. ↑113 (545) : One Piece 23 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [18.2] ::
440. ↑58 (498) : One Piece 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [17.5] ::
452. ↓-51 (401) : One Piece 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [16.3] ::
456. ↓-157 (299) : One Piece 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [16.0] ::
502. ↓-10 (492) : One Piece 26 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [12.5] ::
509. ↔0 (509) : One Piece 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2003 [12.0] ::
533. ↑14 (547) : One Piece 34 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [10.7] ::
542. ↓-52 (490) : One Piece 27 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [10.1] ::
558. ↑6 (564) : One Piece vols 4-6 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [9.6] ::
567. ↓-91 (476) : One Piece 29 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [9.1] ::
595. ↓-148 (447) : One Piece 30 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [7.8] ::
623. ↓-47 (576) : One Piece 35 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [6.4] ::
624. ↑45 (669) : One Piece 28 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [6.4] ::
633. ↓-155 (478) : One Piece 14 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2007 [6.1] ::
635. ↓-66 (569) : One Piece vols 10-12 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, May 2010 [6.0] ::
644. ↓-180 (464) : One Piece vols 7-9 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [5.7] ::
679. ↓-34 (645) : One Piece 39 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2010 [4.9] ::
682. ↓-11 (671) : One Piece 3 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2004 [4.8] ::
699. ↑78 (777) : One Piece 36 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [4.4] ::
722. ↓-226 (496) : One Piece 10 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2006 [4.0] ::
723. ↓-82 (641) : One Piece 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [4.0] ::
760. ↓-125 (635) : One Piece 38 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2010 [3.5] ::
780. ↑149 (929) : One Piece 5 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2004 [3.3] ::
826. ↓-126 (700) : One Piece 16 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2007 [2.8] ::
884. ↓-102 (782) : One Piece 15 – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2007 [2.1] ::
905. ↑71 (976) : One Piece 9 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2006 [1.9] ::
1051. ↓-21 (1030) : One Piece 8 – Viz Shonen Jump, Sep 2005 [0.8] ::
1075. ↓-89 (986) : One Piece 33 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [0.7] ::
1090. ↓-537 (553) : One Piece 32 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [0.6] ::
1104. ↓-385 (719) : One Piece 22 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2009 [0.5] ::
1138. ↓-170 (968) : One Piece 4 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2004 [0.3] ::
1200. ↓-291 (909) : One Piece 21 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2009 [0.2] ::
1247. ↑14 (1261) : One Piece 18 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2008 [0.1] ::
1338. ↑21 (1359) : One Piece 17 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2008 [0.1] ::
1382. ↓-204 (1178) : One Piece 12 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2006 [0.1] ::

“Missing” are volumes 6, 7, 19, & 20 — though these just fall outside my data collection methods, it’s not like no one is buying them.

Your take-away:

• One Piece was a top 5 series, back in June when it had five new volumes and was basking in the tail-end of Viz’s six month long marketing promo. It was in the top 10 right up until last week.
• 54++ volumes still add up: One Piece is a top 25 property and is going to stay there for years to come.
• Fans aren’t obsessively pre-ordering One Piece: they wait for the books to come out. One Piece is popular, but doesn’t have the same hungry fans as say, Hetalia, Berserk, or some of the OEL titles
• You may only read the top 10, but I post a top 500 volumes and top 50 series each week, and I track the weekly movement of 1200+ individual manga.
• I have a lot of data, and a lot of ways to sort the data; I’m just waiting for somebody to pay me for this.
• …but so long as I have to work another job to make the rent, these charts aren’t going to be all they could be. It’s a fun hobby, but ‘hobby’ is where it stays. I’m happy to run a “breakout” chart & analysis like this for one of My Dear Readers, especially one who takes the time to comment [thank you, soysauce] but it takes time.
• you should all be grateful that I like math and have an odd hobby.

last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 25 July 2010

Internet Archive link: http://www.archive.org/details/MangaRankingsWeekEnding25July2010

Manga Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [427.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [397.3] ::
3. ↑10 (13) : Fullmetal Alchemist 23 – Viz, Jul 2010 [385.0] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [372.7] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [355.1] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [347.0] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Naruto 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [323.4] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [311.6] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [309.4] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Alice in the Country of Hearts 1 – Tokyopop, Feb 2010 [264.9] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Manga 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 102
Tokyopop 67
Viz Shojo Beat 48
Yen Press 48
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 36
Vizkids 27
Del Rey 24
Dark Horse 21
HC/Tokyopop 15
Viz 15

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [931.4] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [759.8] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [679.6] ::
4. ↑7 (11) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [567.7] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [554.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [515.2] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [492.8] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Alice in the Country of Hearts – Tokyopop [472.5] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Negima! – Del Rey [431.1] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Black Butler – Yen Press [424.3] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [427.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [397.3] ::
3. ↑10 (13) : Fullmetal Alchemist 23 – Viz, Jul 2010 [385.0] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [372.7] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [355.1] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [309.4] ::
11. ↑14 (25) : Black Lagoon 9 – Viz, Jul 2010 [256.6] ::
12. ↓-3 (9) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [251.6] ::
14. ↑2 (16) : Haruhi Suzumiya The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya (novel) – Little, Brown & Co., Jul 2010 [239.7] ::
19. ↑34 (53) : Inuyasha 50 – Viz Shonen Sunday, Jul 2010 [211.5] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

21. ↑1 (22) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [210.9] ::
36. ↑15 (51) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [173.0] ::
48. ↑26 (74) : Return to Labyrinth 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [152.1] ::
53. ↑35 (88) : Hetalia Axis Powers 1 – Tokyopop, Sep 2010 [142.7] ::
78. ↑53 (131) : Berserk 34 – Dark Horse, Sep 2010 [113.2] ::
87. ↑151 (238) : Black Bird 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2010 [108.8] ::
159. ↑66 (225) : Alice in the Country of Hearts 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [68.7] ::
174. ↑131 (305) : Bleach Color Bleach+: The Official Bootleg – Viz Shonen Jump, Aug 2010 [63.8] ::
196. ↑61 (257) : Negima! 28 – Del Rey, Oct 2010 [55.1] ::
206. ↑58 (264) : Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Adventures 8 – Vizkids, Nov 2010 [53.7] ::

[more]

An awful lot of digital ink has been spilled, and a furious back and forth no doubt still continues, over the latest iteration of Publishers vs Pirates, 2010 Manga Death Match Edition – News recently broke out all over that Seeming #1 Scanlation Site, OneManga.com, is getting out of the content business [currently they hope to continue as an online forum and community; best of luck with that, kids]

If you haven’t read any of the numerous articles & opinion pieces on the move, I’ll refer you to the two links above, which will take you to appropriate Google searches.

Working in a bookstore, I have a privileged position, in that I sit atop a multi-billion dollar distribution chain that includes not just a mammoth corporately-owned warehouse that serves 800+ book superstores but also a network of affiliated distributors—including Baker & Taylor, Bookazine, Partners West, and Ingram—not to mention direct-to-store weekly shipments from Macmillan, Random House, Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster — and if I even look crosswise at a title, or sneeze, I can have it actually in the store in 4 business days. Maybe 5 if it has to ship from the opposite coast.

So as a manga fan, I have unprecedented access to books [that I could, you know, order into the store just because I’d like to sample ‘em regardless of whether I plan to buy them or think they might sell] that might make some of the rest of you drool, or perhaps foam at the mouth in a fit of envy.

Damn, but it’s good to be a bookseller.

Despite that, and because I know unsold books cost me twice (once to order, once to return – even though the stock is returnable it incurs additional costs) I don’t actually order all that much unless I plan to buy it. Last time I did the math, fully one-third of all manga sold through my bookstore was in fact just me buying the books for myself.

Major bookstore chain outpost. One manga fan. One Third. — I bring this up to point out that, yeah, well I’m a big ol’ geek fanboy and a collector besides but also: my store just doesn’t sell much manga.

[We’re in more of an art- and coffee-table book market. $80 hardcover full-colour clay-paper heavily-illustrated interior design books? some titles we’re selling in the hundreds]

##

My point, and I do have one, is that as a fan I never felt the need to go to an online scanlation aggregator site because, hell, I can’t even get around to reading all the damn books that are available.

What, 1000 volumes a year released in English isn’t enough for you? Used to be more, and of course the backlist grows each and every year. & I don’t know which year you’d care to pick for the manga “revolution” but we’re not even 10 years in yet.

I’ve an—incomplete—database with [checking…] 8,872 titles in it, as of last Sunday, and I expressly don’t include a lot of older stuff that is out-of-print (technically; but still in warehouses) which just hasn’t sold in quantity in the last 3 years; My personal best guess is that there are 10,000 manga volumes available in licensed, translated English editions [most new, some used] and that at a book a day it’d take you 27 years to read them all.

If you read a book an hour for 16 hours a day, you still wouldn’t exhaust the amount of legal, licensed manga for another 20-21 months or so.

##

Of course, copyrights and actual availability of physical books in a language you can read are a loser’s argument in the scanlation community, where the licensing of a title is mourned rather than celebrated—by those who maintain the fig-leaf-fiction of “promoting” unlicensed manga—and the whole business activity of publishing is actively ignored by the rest.

My favourite argument so far is that “Well, if the Japanese publishers had only embraced digital downloads and the fast translations provided by the scanlation community five years ago, we’d all have cheap translated manga, scanlators would get paid for their noble efforts, and Everyone Would Make Money”

I won’t call out individuals on this, but I’ve seen this argument (and subtle variations on it) quite a bit recently.

Here’s the thing:

Say I own a retail outlet. Shoplifters steal my merchandise, maybe to sell locally, maybe to sell just over the border because my stuff just isn’t available in Quebec.

Still theft.

Then say an accomplished shoplifter says, “Hey, your stuff isn’t available in Montreal; I’ll cut you a deal: me and my crew, we’ve lifted a tonne of stuff off you already, we’re selling it for just a few bucks apiece out the back of a lorry just off Saint Laurent Boulevard – and business is good. Say, I know know you’re mad about the whole ‘theft’ thing but let’s say I cut you in for a share of the profits if you just call off the cops?”

But I’m not selling things in Quebec. I’m not printing books in French, let alone Québécois and had no real desire to do so.

It’s my fault if people steal from me?

Consumer demand is there. Granted.

And demand not met through legitimate channels is fulfilled by ‘black’ and ‘grey’ markets

— doesn’t make it any more legal, and economic demand doesn’t excuse anything (so far as I know) — “free manga” advocates are now in the same realm as those advocating for legal marijuana and prostitution — except of course, advocates of those pastimes are ready and willing to spend money [and at a premium over market costs] if only it were possible to do so legally, and with whatever restrictions the government [or say, international copyright treaties —in a different context] might impose on their use of these products and services.

Just because you want it, doesn’t make it legal. Just because you want it, doesn’t make your acquisition of stolen goods moral. Just because you want it, doesn’t mean you get it.

And don’t rationalize or even glorify illegal means to procure it.

Sure, now you have what you want. Feel some shame. If you’re going to be a pirate, get an eyepatch and a parrot and some rum, and glory in your illegal status, but don’t expect companies to nod-and-wink at your activity, and when the force of law finally makes it to your secluded outpost, be prepared to be hanged [metaphorically]. It was a great run, but there are no Pirates in modern New Orleans, in the Chesapeake, in the Carolinas — and I’m pretty sure the Pirates of the Caribbean were sued by Disney out of existence in the 80s.

##

Points:

1. Right now, Japanese publishers of [unlicensed] manga aren’t making any money on the vasty hoards of cheap-ass american otaku who download scanlations for free.

2. Scanlation sites make “no” money [though, personally, I’d love to have the “no” income from ad revenue on a Top 1000 ranked website] and they’re only supplying a service to fans who [not knowing what a comic shop or bookstore is] have ‘no other way’ to read manga.

3. See, here? I’m willing to cut some folks a break: Scanlators may in fact be trufans who make manga available to others merely because they have a love of the art, and the form, and the works. However, their efforts get wrapped up and subsumed by scanlation aggregators who most decidedly are in it for the money. And that’s the problem. But that’s a point most ignore, willing to conflate charitable scanlators with the [mercenary] sites where they find scanlations…

4. So, the argument goes, if only Aggregators* and Publishers could reach some sort of compact, both would profit and everyone wins. QED.

Here’s the thing: Publishers (Japanese originals or licensees of whatever stripe) own the property.

They don’t have to share.

And, most especially: Free markets go both ways. You can chose to buy or not buy based on whatever criteria you’d care to use: print quality, translation quality, price, online extras, post-purchase support, whim.

And sellers can choose not to sell based on whatever criteria they’d like: profit margins, profit vs cost, cost of localization, perceived problems with local moral standards, legal issues, or merest whim. No one has to sell you anything, or make available for sale of anything through alternate channels. That’s the seller’s choice in a free market. You’re entitled to nothing. They own it and can choose not to sell it. What? You have to have access, or be able to buy whatever you want? What are you, a socialist?

[As an anarcho-socialist myself, I’d love to hear your arguments, but as a person who has to earn a paycheck in a capitalist society, I’m also going to force you to make those arguments yourself — no way I’m doing it for you]

Some have argued: if only publishers would cooperate, I could make money, And they could make money, if only they weren’t so stiff

That is to say: If you and I agree, we both benefit.

That’s the crux of the common situation in game theory described as The Prisoners’ Dilemma

In the case of manga: if publishers would just stand shoulder-to-shoulder with scanlators, both could make a profit.

Yeah. But:

If scanlators [or more typically, their agents] screw over publishers, they retain all ad revenue. Actually, the aggregators screw over both publishers and scanlators so I don’t see why manga ‘fans’ support any of these sites except that they’re both lazy and stupid.

If creators & publishers stand by their legal, centuries-old rights, they miss out on whatever potential profits might be online, but they also guarantee their print profits and royalties – plus whatever additional profits might be gained through justified recourse in the courts.

So aggregation sites have no incentive to cooperate with publishers, and publishers have no logical reason to cooperate with fuckwads who steal content [steal from both publishers and volunteer scanlators] to post to the internet for ad revenue.

While game theory predicts that an ‘optimal’ solution might be reached if only the two parties co-operated, so long as each side has both motivation and economic incentives to ‘defect’ there is no possibility of any collaborative effort unless a major player in the market behaves irrationally.

[Crunchyroll is my best example of an irrational player, to say nothing of the deals they’ve effected in a short time — so I’m not saying it can’t happen, just that it likely won’t]

##

I don’t have the answer. [if I had the answer, I’d also have a startup company] but lamenting what was ‘lost’ while ignoring the embarrassment of riches published each and every month smacks of both laziness and an ingrained contempt for the many professionals who work to translate and localize manga for your benefit.

And: How many fans complain that a translation is ‘wrong’ just because it differs from the first [hasty, occasionally incorrect] translation they read? Is this why scanlators and fan-subbers work so hard to post first? Not to satisfy artificial demand, but to register in the fanbase as the first, “real” translation? If you think ego and recognition have nothing to do with the fan community than I salute your commitment to naïveté but I also fear for the day when your illusions crash down around your ears.

last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 18 July 2010

Internet Archive link: http://www.archive.org/details/MangaRankingsWeekEnding18July2010

Manga Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [437.1] ::
2. ↑5 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [409.5] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [385.8] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [381.7] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [364.0] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Naruto 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [342.6] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [337.6] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [309.3] ::
9. ↑9 (18) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [300.9] ::
10. ↓-2 (8) : Negima! 26 – Del Rey, May 2010 [295.6] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Manga 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 108
Tokyopop 68
Yen Press 48
Viz Shojo Beat 46
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 32
Vizkids 27
Del Rey 24
HC/Tokyopop 17
Viz 15
Dark Horse 14

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [1,008.9] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [811.0] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [723.9] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [611.5] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [533.3] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Alice in the Country of Hearts – Tokyopop [521.2] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [503.9] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [495.4] ::
9. ↑2 (11) : Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [486.8] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : Negima! – Del Rey [476.8] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [437.1] ::
2. ↑5 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [409.5] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [385.8] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [381.7] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [309.3] ::
9. ↑9 (18) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [300.9] ::
13. ↑50 (63) : Fullmetal Alchemist 23 – Viz, Jul 2010 [266.5] ::
16. ↓-4 (12) : Haruhi Suzumiya The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya (novel) – Little, Brown & Co., Jul 2010 [255.2] ::
17. ↑18 (35) : Nana 21 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [247.0] ::
20. ↑2 (22) : Maid Sama! 5 – Tokyopop, Jun 2010 [230.8] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

22. ↑17 (39) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [223.4] ::
51. ↑19 (70) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [154.5] ::
74. ↑49 (123) : Return to Labyrinth 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [131.8] ::
88. ↑153 (241) : Hetalia Axis Powers 1 – Tokyopop, Sep 2010 [120.6] ::
131. ↑72 (203) : Berserk 34 – Dark Horse, Sep 2010 [95.2] ::
211. ↓-49 (162) : Naruto 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2010 [61.7] ::
225. ↑102 (327) : Alice in the Country of Hearts 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [58.2] ::
238. ↑84 (322) : Black Bird 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2010 [54.0] ::
253. ↓-25 (228) : Spice & Wolf (manga) 3 – Yen Press, Nov 2010 [50.8] ::
257. ↑66 (323) : Negima! 28 – Del Rey, Oct 2010 [49.1] ::

[more]

Even though the most recent NYT manga bestsellers seem brand new because they posted 3 days ago, in fact their charts as posted are the same vintage as mine, posted yesterday.

Don’t confuse ‘newly posted’ with ‘new’.

Oh, and I’m still waiting for the Times to both name their sources and explain their methods. If you click on those two links you’ll see my posts spelling out my methodology used to develop the charts… but the Times still reports “bestsellers” as Fact when in fact they themselves report the system can be gamed.

Just sayin’.

enjoy your NYT charts.

“Bestsellers” — For an author and publisher, the New York Times Bestseller imprimatur is money in the bank. They proudly emblazon said status on the cover of the book, and the lucky wordsmith will forever bear the sobrequet of “New York Times Bestselling Author”.

In the publishing world, this is a big deal.

Other papers-of-record (The USA Today list, for example, which is not only longer but more inclusive and — on it’s face, at least — much more democratic) and even major retailers also maintain bestseller lists, but they’ll never be able to conjure the same magic as the New York Times. Something about old New York’s status as a publishing centre, and the 70 years that the NYT has published their charts, are what make their bestsellers ‘the’ bestsellers, but even Wikipedia can point you to older charts, and the controversy surrounding the term, and the different ways the term ‘bestselling’ is used depending on context, region, and even things like the format of the book and the venue in which it is sold.

##

Some reading and references for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestseller#The_making_of_a_bestseller
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32336521/ns/business-us_business/page/2/ “Secrets of the Amazon best-seller list”
http://image.examiner.com/x-49044-Book-Publishing-Examiner~y2010m5d18-The-Bestseller-List

Via Google Books, an excerpt from the New York Times Book Review on manipulation of the charts in 2000. Or you can read about how it was done in 1995. Or you can read about it on the Freakonomics blog, hosted by the New York Times.

(And I should note it was a recent post by Seth Godin, Payola, that prompted me to do this additional research.)

It’s all hokum and snake oil. Hell, any wonk with a blog and too much free time on his hands can compile a chart. [*ahem*]

##

Hi, my name is Matt. This is RocketBomber.com, and this is where I post a bestseller chart for manga.

I attepted a reckoning of all graphic novels last year (2009) and managed to keep it up for a couple of months, but in order to continue that I’d have to quit my job and do nothing but data entry, number-crunching, and database maintenance for a full 40-50 hours each week.

So I’m going back to my roots [2007] and concentrating on manga, which really helps as it’s a fairly well defined subset of the larger problem, and also full of books I like (which keeps me engaged in an otherwise dull activity)

So what’s manga? Well, “I know it when I see it” and also most online retailers already use the category so with few exceptions, I just click a link. There are some books which many retailers lump in with the manga (and Amazon’s sorting scheme or search hueristics are just plain silly sometimes) so I often skip some books, currently including but not limited to Usagi Yojimbo, Scott Pilgrim, Avatar comics, Twilight comics, and the Odd Thomas graphic novels from Dean Koontz & Queenie Chan — Some of these are great books, just not manga.

The core of the charts is made up of data from three sites: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

Once a week, I visit each site to check their Graphic Novel categories, and I sort the search results by ‘bestselling’. The links above will pull up exactly that.

I then click through, page after page, and type the titles into a spreadsheet in the order that they are ranked on the sales site. [this is the hard part]

And once I have a full list, I assign points to the books depending on how highly they rank. Add up the points each title earns (and add on similar data from a half-dozen second-tier sales sites) to get a composite score, and there’s your ranking.

In concept, it’s that simple. If you’d like to go in depth into the process click here

##

Right now I use nine source sites

• Online Bookstores: Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Borders, Hastings, & Powell’s
• Plus Amazon’s Manga Category Listings & their Manga Hourly Bestsellers
• with some additional input from Buy.com & Deepdiscount.com

The bestsellers from each site are scored, compiled, and ranked in a Top 500, and the data is also used (occasionally with a smidge of extra math) to compile a Top 50 Series chart and rankings for new releases and preorders.

##

boilerplate © and CC:

Manga estimated online sales rankings compiled by Matt Blind for the benefit of the Manga Fan, Creator, and Publishing Communities and posted in the rankings category at RocketBomber.com. Derived from publicly available information; if you feel your intellectual property has been infringed upon then I’d advise you to chill, consult your lawyers again, maybe grow a thicker skin, and then also recognise that you’re getting a free, weekly link directly to your lovely offerings [right at the top of each archived chart, in case you missed it] on a blog that specifically caters to fans of the medium. Maybe you should be sending me money, or free manga, as opposed to getting your boxers/panties in a bunch over imaginary copyrights.

All data as posted released back for your re-use under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike license (be free, little numbers, go frolic and prosper) with merely a humble request that you link to this blog rather than steal, and that any derivative works include an attribution and also remain free to all.

##

If you have questions, corrections, or concerns that should be addressed in the body of this post, please send an email to matt [at] rocketbomber [dot] com. Questions, corrections or concerns placed in the comments below will be addressed in a more casual manner after I’ve downed a few beers and am feeling saucy.

The Core of the Charts is made up of data from three sites: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

Once a week, I visit each site to check their Manga categories, and I sort the search results by ‘bestselling’. [The links above will pull up exactly that.]

I then click through, page after page, and type the titles into a spreadsheet in the order that they are ranked on the sales site. [this is the hard part]

And once I have a full list, I assign points to the books depending on how highly they rank. Add up the points each title earns (and add on similar data from a half dozen second-tier sales sites) to get a composite score, and there’s your ranking.

In concept, it’s that simple.

##

not all sources are treated equally:

Class 5

Overstock.com & Buy.com

These two sources have one (annoying) thing in common: their book listings have a Comics/Graphic Novel Category, but do not break the listings down any further than that. So, while a researcher knowlegeable in manga and related books can certainly go through dozens of pages to find manga mixed in here and there, it’s almost not worth the effort. [and yet, I make that effort…] The current iteration of buy.com has another limiter: their bestseller list for ‘graphic novels’ only goes out 10 pages (20 per page) — when I can’t find enough manga mixed into the GNs to fill out a top 100, I have to stop.

Given these limitations, I’ve discounted these two sources — such that a book that garnering #1 honours only merits 5 points, and I only look up a [maximum] 100 titles from each.

Distro:

[yeah, those poor little numbers seem all but lost in the bottom corner — that’s because all charts in this post were made to the same scale, so very soon you’ll see that yes, in fact the numbers here are kinda insignificant]

Class 4

Hastings.com, Powells.com, and DeepDiscount.com

These are still small fry, relatively speaking, and so I only consider and score a top 100 to match the Amazon spot checks (and the two Class 5 sites) — but they each have a usable manga category listing [*angelic chord, with sunbeam*] and so we’re able to stretch a search just a bit further into the backlist:

For each of these three sites I log and score 100 titles, plus 30 more. The extras at the end are only scored at one-tenth of a point each (minus another really miniscule fraction as we go down the list, to aid in breaking ties) — but, given the quality of the source data the #1 ranked title gets 10 points.

The flat line hugging the bottom of the graph at the right are the ‘extras’ — not quite zero, as each extra is scored at one-tenth point. —It’s not enough to move an individual title more than one spot up or down in the rankings (if that) but it does add up for the series ranking, and this +30% a great way delve deeper into the mid- and backlist.

Class 3

Books-a-Million

Not quite in a class by itself [I’m currently re-evaluating Chapters of Canada for inclusion in these charts] but still not-ready-for-prime-time and also just a regional bookstore (and marginal online) player — that said, I like the Books-a-Million site, it gives me results I can use, and also reflects a portion of the business that isn’t covered by the Amazon/B&N oligarchic hegemony.

I double up on BAM, looking into a top 200 (and out an additonal 33%, another 70 or so titles scored at just one-tenth of a point) and the scores are also doubled [#1=20 points] though there is a slightly different distro:

Class 2

Amazon Hourly Bestsellers

Amazon doesn’t just get counted twice, I actually check in to Amazon five times a week. The first four are quick checks: The 100 Manga Bestsellers for a given [mostly random] hour on each of four consecutive days — typically Thursday-Sunday each week, though it can shift depending on my work schedule.

Theoretically: For each of Amazon’s Hourly lists, #1 should get 10 points, with a now familiar slide down from there.

Since Amazon doesn’t know any actual books from its asshole elbow and relies on user tags, half-assed keyword searches, and guesswork advanced hueristics to determine category placement and search results, often I have to discard 15-25% of Amazon’s posted list because it’s just not manga. Sometimes it’s not even comics, let alone manga related.

So a chart would look like this:

except the Hourly Bestsellers are a top 100 — no more, no less — so any skipped titles affect our imputs: the area shaded in green on the chart above represents the 25% [max] of each list that wasn’t manga and so can’t be scored. Actually, it’s 4 charts, so let’s multiply that out

And suddenly we’re looking at up to 4 points dropped. Big deal, right? 4 whole points?
Actually, that can be the difference between #10 and #11 — between making the chart everyone reads and just missing it, to end up as background data.

What’s a math geek to do?

Well, in this case, I overcome Amazon’s deficiencies by running the Hourly Bestsellers [as scored above] through their own mini-spreadsheet to get a transitional ranking, usually ending up with 150-190 titles (though I’ve made allowances for up to 250 unique listings using this method) and scored like this:

with a #1 equal to 30 points (there are 4 source charts rolled into this one) and an all-new, much improved points distribution that approximates what would have been the sum of four top 100 charts [though discounted at the top by 10 points, because Amazon pissed me off, making me do extra work]

Class 1

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

Again, these are the biggest sites, my best sources, and [well, Borders gets a pass…] the only online retailers of books doing Hundreds of Millions of dollars in biz. It’s the big time; this is main show.

Amazon was counted above (4 times!) with their hourly bestsellers, but I also load up their manga category listings once a week for a deeper look into how the wanna-be-monopolist is doing with manga sales. Along side, I load up B&N and Borders listings for the same books, and together, these 3 sources make up half the books (52% by number plus or minus 1%)(plus or minus because the total number of books can vary due to insufficient data from sources) but 80% of the total points (81.675% as weighted – for those math freaks who really must know).

I pull a top 300, each, from The Big Three — +33%, another 100 titles at one-tenth point each, to track the head of the long tail — and the results are also given greater weight, given the greater sales volume of these sites. #1 scores a full 60 points, & the following distribution looks something like this:

##

Assuming all sites were not only comparable, but interchangable — with the same titles in the same order on each ‘bestseller’ list — then given the points & weighting as assigned above, the chart would look something like this each week:

[itsonlyamodel]

[/itsonlyamodel]
[please note the extra zero added onto the y-axis; now we’re talking hundreds of points, not dozens.]

Of course, the differences are the point of the exercise.

instead of the same 400 titles every week, the spreadsheet tracks many, many more — and the actual distribution looks like this

[from the charts as posted, week ending 11 July 2010]

you might have to scroll right for a bit to catch all that.

So, even with very crude constructs to shape it, once the real world data is shoe-horned into my spreadsheet we get results that seem to match much more complicated models of the retail market. If anything, I assign too much weight to the midlist titles (say, from #30 on down to #500 or so) but this ‘error’ or distortion is fine by me, as it helps differentiate and sort a lot of same-same-y seeming titles past Naruto, Bleach, and Maximum Ride.

##

For me [at the moment] this is just a fun hobby. (Yes, math is fun.) (…back off)

So if you’re about to send me an email objecting to this point or that about my method and why I’m wrong, wrong, wrong please consider:

• I do this part time.
• I do it for free.
• I’m at the mercy of my sources. Don’t complain to me: take it to Amazon.
• My charts are not meant to be authoritative or even correct. I compile comparative rankings of manga titles and series based on online sources (as discovered, and publicly available) and while I hope to approximate actual sales numbers, I don’t have access to that data and never will. These aren’t even estimates, as I only know that “title A beat title B” for a given week, and only if the sales sites I reference are being honest with their reporting. I’m doing the best with what I have, folks.
• That said, this twice-removed approach brings up some really interesting starting points for discussion, analysis, and debate.

##

Additional inquires about the charts can be emailed to me: the contact info is lying around somewhere and genuine questions will be answered with genuine responses.

This is the latest iteration of a long experimental process; additional info on methods and procedures can be found here[v2] and here[v1]

last week’s rankings

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 11 July 2010

Internet Archive link: http://www.archive.org/details/MangaRankingsWeekEnding11July2010

Manga Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [441.7] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [411.5] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [399.8] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [366.6] ::
5. ↓-3 (2) : Naruto 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [354.6] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [350.5] ::
7. ↑27 (34) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [349.8] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Negima! 26 – Del Rey, May 2010 [336.2] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [293.2] ::
10. ↓-2 (8) : Vampire Knight 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Feb 2010 [285.1] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Manga 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 108
Tokyopop 65
Viz Shojo Beat 44
Yen Press 42
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 31
Vizkids 26
Del Rey 25
Viz 25
Dark Horse 17
HC/Tokyopop 17

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [1,035.6] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [851.4] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [734.0] ::
4. ↑12 (16) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [555.7] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [516.5] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [497.6] ::
7. ↑2 (9) : Alice in the Country of Hearts – Tokyopop [489.5] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [484.7] ::
9. ↓-3 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey [482.4] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Haruhi Suzumiya – Yen Press [480.9] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [441.7] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [411.5] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [399.8] ::
7. ↑27 (34) : Ouran High School Host Club 14 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2010 [349.8] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [293.2] ::
12. ↑11 (23) : Haruhi Suzumiya The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya (novel) – Little, Brown & Co., Jul 2010 [258.0] ::
16. ↓-3 (13) : Soul Eater 3 – Yen Press, Jun 2010 [231.1] ::
18. ↑143 (161) : One Piece 54 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2010 [226.5] ::
19. ↓-8 (11) : Samurai Deeper Kyo vols 37-38 collection – Del Rey, Jun 2010 [216.1] ::
22. ↑24 (46) : Maid Sama! 5 – Tokyopop, Jun 2010 [205.8] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

39. ↑93 (132) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [169.7] ::
70. ↑4 (74) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [135.0] ::
123. ↔0 (123) : Return to Labyrinth 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [100.3] ::
162. ↓-37 (125) : Naruto 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2010 [80.2] ::
198. ↓-31 (167) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 8 – Seven Seas, Aug 2010 [65.5] ::
203. ↑24 (227) : Berserk 34 – Dark Horse, Sep 2010 [63.2] ::
228. ↓-24 (204) : Spice & Wolf (manga) 3 – Yen Press, Nov 2010 [57.0] ::
241. ↑160 (401) : Hetalia Axis Powers 1 – Tokyopop, Sep 2010 [54.1] ::
256. ↓-63 (193) : Yotsuba&! 9 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [52.0] ::
317. ↓-91 (226) : Finder Series 1 Target in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Sep 2010 [39.3] ::

[more]

last week’s rankings

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 4 July 2010

Internet Archive link: http://www.archive.org/details/MangaRankingsWeekEnding4July2010

Manga Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [440.6] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [423.4] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [421.1] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [393.4] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [361.8] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 26 – Del Rey, May 2010 [353.6] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [344.8] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Vampire Knight 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Feb 2010 [301.0] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [279.7] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Alice in the Country of Hearts 1 – Tokyopop, Feb 2010 [266.5] ::

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Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Manga 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 100
Tokyopop 61
Viz Shojo Beat 46
Yen Press 41
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 29
Dark Horse 28
Viz 26
Del Rey 25
Vizkids 25
HC/Tokyopop 15
Viz Signature 15

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Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [1,115.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [870.8] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Maximum Ride – Yen Press [715.4] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [519.2] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Warriors – HC/Tokyopop [506.8] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Negima! – Del Rey [469.8] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Black Butler – Yen Press [464.8] ::
8. ↓-4 (4) : One Piece – Viz Shonen Jump [459.6] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Alice in the Country of Hearts – Tokyopop [445.6] ::
10. ↑7 (17) : Haruhi Suzumiya – Yen Press [439.0] ::

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Top 50 New Releases:
(Titles releasing/released This Month & Last)

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto 48 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [440.6] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Vampire Knight 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2010 [421.1] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Hellsing 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2010 [393.4] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Bleach 31 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2010 [279.7] ::
11. ↑23 (34) : Samurai Deeper Kyo vols 37-38 collection – Del Rey, Jun 2010 [265.0] ::
13. ↔0 (13) : Soul Eater 3 – Yen Press, Jun 2010 [247.8] ::
15. ↓-3 (12) : Spice & Wolf (novel) 2 – Yen Press, Jun 2010 [241.9] ::
16. ↑34 (50) : Fairy Tail 11 – Del Rey, Jun 2010 [230.4] ::
22. ↓-8 (14) : Battle Angel Alita Last Order 13 – Viz, Jun 2010 [211.9] ::
23. ↑35 (58) : Haruhi Suzumiya The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya (novel) – Little, Brown & Co., Jul 2010 [210.0] ::

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Top 50 Preorders:

74. ↑1 (75) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [131.0] ::
123. ↑64 (187) : Return to Labyrinth 4 – Tokyopop, Aug 2010 [93.3] ::
125. ↑14 (139) : Naruto 49 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2010 [91.9] ::
132. ↑20 (152) : Maximum Ride 3 – Yen Press, Aug 2010 [88.9] ::
167. ↑69 (236) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 8 – Seven Seas, Aug 2010 [75.1] ::
193. ↓-15 (178) : Yotsuba&! 9 – Yen Press, Dec 2010 [65.4] ::
204. ↓-2 (202) : Spice & Wolf (manga) 3 – Yen Press, Nov 2010 [62.4] ::
226. ↑25 (251) : Finder Series 1 Target in the View Finder – DMP Juné, Sep 2010 [57.7] ::
227. ↓-9 (218) : Berserk 34 – Dark Horse, Sep 2010 [57.3] ::
311. ↓-5 (306) : Junjo Romantica 12 – Tokyopop Blu, Aug 2010 [39.4] ::

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