TSUTAYA's 2015 Annual Book & Comic Rankings Announced! The book "Hibana" and the paperback "Forbidden Magic" take the top spot!
2015.12.28
Press Releases
TSUTAYA Co., Ltd.
--This is the best-selling book at TSUTAYA in 2015!--
TSUTAYA Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Masuda Muneaki / hereinafter referred to as "TSUTAYA"), which operates approximately 1,450 TSUTAYA stores nationwide, will compile and analyze its own database and announce its annual TSUTAYA rankings at the end of the year.
TSUTAYA has compiled and analyzed the rankings from its own database, and we have also researched the gender ratio and average age of the top 5 titles, so we would like to share them with you. We will also share this year's overall review and predictions for next year from merchandisers (MDs) who listen to thousands of songs throughout the year. In addition, we will also introduce excerpts from "kakikome," supportive comments from customers regarding books, comics, and other works. These supportive comments are a part of the "Kakikome" campaign (※1) being held at TSUTAYA this winter, where customers can express and share their impressions about their favorite movies, music, books, and comics. This ranking is published on the TSUTAYA official website.
■ [General Book Ranking] 1st Place: Naoki Matayoshi's "Sparks"
The top-ranked book in the 2015 overall ranking was the pure literature novel "Hibana" (Bungeishunju/released in March 2015) by Naoki Matayoshi, winner of the 153rd Akutagawa Prize and the most talked about novel of the year. Since its release, it has been popular with a wide range of age groups and has taken the top spot. Also in 2015, books that explore new ways of living and family, such as "Bloom Where You Are Planted," "What I Learned at 103," and "The Disease Called Family," became increasingly popular. In recent years, keywords such as "not owning things" and "simple life" have been reflected in book rankings.
TSUTAYA also offers lifestyle suggestions for women in the Happy Style Rankings, covering genres such as cooking, beauty, and essays. Among them, "French People Only Own 10 Pieces of Clothing: Secrets to Improving the Quality of Life Learned in Paris" has been ranked since its release and came in third place for the year.
In character-related books, "Yokai Watch" dominated the market in 2015, and in 2016 "Pokémon" will celebrate its 20th anniversary, which is expected to be a big hit.
In addition, we are proposing the sale of new literary genres such as the "Okitegami Kyoko's Memorandum" series, which has become a hot topic after being made into a TV drama, as light novels. We will continue to propose the appeal of books through always new reading experiences.
Book Overall Rankings (calculation period: January 1, 2015 to November 30, 2015)
| Ranking "Title" | author | Publisher | Male to female ratio (%) | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place: "Fireworks" | Naoki Matayoshi | Bungeishunju | Male: 37.41% Female: 62.59% | Men: 41.3 years old Women: 44.7 years old |
| 2nd place: "Yokai Watch 2: Original/Main/Master Official Complete Strategy Guide" | Level-5 | Shogakukan | Male: 33.51% Female: 66.49% | Men: 39.4 years old Women: 39.3 years old |
| 3rd place: "CD book that will help you regulate your autonomic nervous system just by listening" | Hiroyuki Kobayashi | Ascom | Male: 28.12% Female: 71.88% | Male: 47.3 years old Female: 47.1 years old |
| 4th place: "French people only own 10 pieces of clothing" | Jennifer L. Scott | Yamato Shobo | Male: 13.26% Female: 86.74% | Men: 40.3 years old Women: 39.6 years old |
| 5th place: "The Family Disease" | Akiko Shimoju | Gentosha | Male: 26.59% Female: 73.41% | Male: 53.5 years old Female: 52.0 years old |
| 6th place: "A book that doesn't make you emotional" | Hideki Wada | Shinkosha | ||
| 7th place: "Bloom Where You Are Planted" | Kazuko Watanabe | Gentosha | ||
| 8th place: "Lose weight with pickled onions! Cure your illness! I lost 34kg and 18kg! The director's tinnitus also disappeared!" | - | Makino Publishing | ||
| 9th place: "Just wear this magical pad and walk to lose weight! I lost 20kg just by wearing it and walking!" | Yoshinori Oyama, Shufunotomosha | Shufunotomosha | ||
| 10th place: "Everyday, Shuzo! Daily Calendar" | Shuzo Matsuoka | PHP Institute | ||
| 11th place: "Syunkon Cafe Food (5)" | Yuri Yamamoto | Takarajimasha | ||
| 12th place: "What I learned at age 103" | Toko Shinoda | Gentosha | ||
| 13th place: "The Way of Thinking of Successful People (Complete Edition)" | Jerry Minchinton, Takashi Yumiba | Discover 21 | ||
| 14th place: "Yokai Medal Complete Collection "Extreme"" | Yo-kai Watch Production Committee | Shogakukan | ||
| 15th place: "Yo-kai Watch Busters Red Cat Corps/White Dog Corps Official Complete Strategy Guide" | Level-5 | Shogakukan |
[TSUTAYA Ranking by Age 2011-2015]
| Target year | title | Author Name | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | spark | Naoki Matayoshi | Bungeishunju |
| 2014 | Yo-kai Watch 2 Original/Main Official Strategy Guide | Level-5 | Shogakukan |
| 2013 | The Man They Called Pirate (Part 1) | Naoki Hyakuta | Kodansha |
| 2012 | Ryosuke Miki's Long Breath Diet: The Ultimate Weight Loss Press Program | Ryosuke Miki | Tokuma Shoten |
| 2011 | Calm your mind. | Makoto Hasebe | Gentosha |
■ [Overall Paperback Ranking] 1st place: Keigo Higashino's "Forbidden Magic"
Three of Higashino Keigo's works, "Forbidden Magic," "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store," and "The Clown of Illusion," which are immensely popular among men and women of all ages, ranked in the top 10! Even now, six months after its release, "Forbidden Magic" remains a long-selling work, consistently ranking high in the weekly rankings.
The year 2015 saw a wealth of works being adapted into films, with top-ranking titles including Inui Kurumi's "Initiation Love," Tsubota Nobutaka's "The Story of a Girl Who Was the Bottom of Her Class but Raised Her Score by 40 Points in One Year and Got Accepted into Keio University," Hosoda Mamoru's "The Boy and the Beast," Shigematsu Kiyoshi's "Shooting Star Wagon," and Ikeido Jun's "Downtown Rocket."In particular, "Initiation Love" has sold over 200,000 copies at TSUTAYA BOOKS in the eight years since its paperback release (April 10, 2007) thanks to its film adaptation, and its shocking twist ending has continued to grow through word of mouth.
2016 is also packed with notable film adaptations, including Naoko Uehashi's "The Guardian of the Spirit," Hiro Arikawa's "Botanical Encyclopedia," Genki Kawamura's "If Cats Disappeared from the World," and Hideo Yokoyama's "64.""I'm Quitting My Job Right Now" (Kitagawa Megumi/KADOKAWA) is a book that everyone working today should read, and has been developing it since its release. Thanks to its long-running popularity, it has made it to 13th place in the annual rankings! We are confident that it will be a book we can recommend again in 2016.
Character paperbacks with illustrated covers featuring attractive characters, such as "Biblia Antiquarian Bookstore's Case Files" and "Coffee Shop Talleyrand's Case Files," have seen their market share grow in recent years, and in 2015, the popular series "There's a Corpse Buried Under Sakurako's Feet" was made into an anime, and "Detective Higurashi Tabibito's Search" was made into a special drama. Starting in January 2016, the drama "Kaitou Tantei Yamaneko" starring Kaminaga Manabu will begin airing! As the number of popular series is increasing, we hope that the drama adaptation will lead to the spread of the series to other works.
Overall Paperback Ranking (calculation period: January 1, 2015 to November 30, 2015)
| Ranking "Title" | Author Name | Publisher | Male to female ratio (%) | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place: "Forbidden Magic" | Keigo Higashino | Bungeishunju | Male: 49.24% Female: 50.76% | Men: 42.8 years old Women: 44.3 years old |
| 2nd place ``Motherhood'' | Kanae Minato | Shinchosha | Male: 21.67% Female: 78.33% | Male: 38.5 years old Female: 36.9 years old |
| 3. "Initiation Love" | dried walnuts | Bungeishunju | Male: 48.48% Female: 51.52% | Male: 35.2 years old Female: 35.8 years old |
| 4th place: "Tomorrow I'll go on a date with yesterday's you" | Takafumi Shichigatsu | Takarajimasha | Male: 29.41% Female: 70.59% | Male: 31.6 years old Female: 32.0 years old |
| 5. "The story of how a girl who was the worst in her class raised her standard score by 40 points in one year and got accepted into Keio University (special paperback edition)" | Nobutaka Tsubota | KADOKAWA | Male: 31.54% Female: 68.46% | Male: 38.9 years old Female: 39.9 years old |
| 6. The Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Keigo Higashino | KADOKAWA | ||
| 7th place: "The Clown of Illusion" | Keigo Higashino | Bungeishunju | ||
| 8th place “64 (upper)” | Hideo Yokoyama | Bungeishunju | ||
| 9th place: "Weaving a Boat" | Shion Miura | Kobunsha | ||
| 10. The Boy and the Beast | Mamoru Hosoda | KADOKAWA | ||
| 11. "Alex" | Pierre Lemaitre, Akemi Tachibana | Bungeishunju | ||
| 12th place “64 (lower)” | Hideo Yokoyama | Bungeishunju | ||
| 13th place: "I'm going to quit my job now" | Megumi Kitagawa | KADOKAWA | ||
| 14th place: "Ryusei Wagon" | Kiyoshi Shigematsu | Kodansha | ||
| 15th place: "Shitamachi Rocket" | Jun Ikeido | Shogakukan |
[TSUTAYA Ranking by Generation (General Paperbacks) 2011-2015]
| Target year | title | Author Name | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Forbidden Magic | Keigo Higashino | Bungeishunju |
| 2014 | Eternal Zero | Naoki Hyakuta | Kodansha |
| 2013 | Eternal Zero | Naoki Hyakuta | Kodansha |
| 2012 | 1Q84 BOOK1〈April-June〉(Previous) | Haruki Murakami | Shinchosha |
| 2011 | God's Medical Record | Sosuke Natsukawa | Shogakukan |
■ [Comic Sales Ranking] 1st Place: Ishida Sui's "Tokyo Ghoul:re"
The new series of "Tokyo Ghoul," "Tokyo Ghoul:re," which was released at the same time as the anime aired in January 2015, ranked first in the sales rankings for the series, as all of the books were new releases during the collection period. Many titles that have been made into films also ranked second and below, and just like with books, being made into a film is a major factor in making comics a hit.
One upcoming title to watch for in 2016 that will be adapted into film is My Hero Academia, which is ranked 11th (scheduled to air in April 2016). It was already gaining popularity even before the anime adaptation was announced, and is sure to attract even more attention when it is adapted into a film this spring.
Also, among the titles that have been adapted into films, "Dungeon Meal" is doing very well, coming in 8th place. From the moment it was released, it became a hot topic among manga-loving bookstore employees, and was truly loved by them. Continuing this momentum, it won various awards, including first place in the "Comic Natalie Awards 2015" and first place in the "This Manga is Amazing! 2016" Men's Edition. This momentum is far from slowing down, and we can expect it to win a top prize at the Manga Awards 2016, which are announced every March.
Additionally, TSUTAYA is running a "Recommended Books on the Verge of Breaking Out" project, where they are discovering and suggesting comics that they truly recommend. In 2016, a high school girl fell in love with the manager of the store where she worked part-time. "Love is Like After the Rain" is a love story that adults will also want to read, set in Hokkaido during the pioneering era. We wholeheartedly recommend "Golden Kamuy," a manga packed with entertainment elements, and "Takamine to Hana," a love battle between an elite heir and a high school girl! We will continue to recommend works that comic fans will love.
Comic Sales Rankings (Calculation period: January 1, 2015 to November 30, 2015)
| Ranking "Title" | Author Name | Publisher | Male to female ratio (%) | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place: "Tokyo Ghoul:re" | Ishida Sui | Shueisha | Male: 65.08% Female: 34.92% | Male: 25.6 years old Female: 30.0 years old |
| 2nd place: "The Seven Deadly Sins" | Nakaba Suzuki | Kodansha | Male: 60.99% Female: 36.40% | Male: 29.5 years old Female: 34.1 years old |
| 3rd place “orange” | Takano strawberry | Futabasha | Male: 26.87% Female: 73.13% | Male: 26.8 years old Female: 29.4 years old |
| 4th place: "The Heroic Legend of Arslan" | Hiromu Arakawa and Yoshiki Tanaka | Kodansha | Male: 61.76% Female: 38.24% | Male: 32.1 years old Female: 33.3 years old |
| 5th place “Assassination Classroom” | Yusei Matsui | Shueisha | Male: 43.40% Female: 56.60% | Men: 30.1 years old Women: 35.2 years old |
| 6th place: Attack on Titan | Hajime Isayama | Kodansha | ||
| 7. One Punch Man | Yusuke Murata, ONE | Shueisha | ||
| 8th place: "Dungeon" | Ryoko Iikui | KADOKAWA | ||
| 9th place “MAJOR 2nd” | Takuya Mitsuda | Shogakukan | ||
| 10th place: "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" | Io Sakisaka | Shueisha | ||
| 11th place: My Hero Academia | Kohei Horikoshi | Shueisha | ||
| 12th place: Haikyu!! | Haruichi Furudate | Shueisha | ||
| 13th place: Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma | Shun Saeki, Yuto Tsukuda, and Yuki Morisaki | Shueisha | ||
| 14th place: "Seraph of the End" | Yamamoto Yamato, Kagami Takaya, Furuya Daisuke | Shueisha | ||
| 15th place: "Ace of Diamond act 2" | Yuji Terashima | Kodansha |
■ [Comic Goods Ranking] 1st Place: "Standing Acrylic Keychain Attack on Titan Levi Assorted Goods"
Comic Goods Ranking (Counting Period: January 1, 2015 - November 30, 2015)
| Ranking "Title" |
|---|
| 1st place: Standing Acrylic Keychain - Attack on Titan - Levi Assorted Goods |
| 2nd place: Square Can Badge - Attack on Titan - Levi Assorted Goods |
| 3rd place: Standing Acrylic Keychain - Attack on Titan - Eren Assorted Goods |
| 4th place: "Openable Long Holder Haikyu!! Hinata Shoyo & Kageyama Tobio" |
| 5th place: Wheel Rubber Coaster Yowamushi Pedal Yasutomo Arakita Assorted Goods |
■ [Comic Rental Ranking] 1st Place: Takano Ichigo "Orange"
In the comic rental category, 14 of the top 20 titles have been adapted into films, and some of these, such as "My Love Story" (5th place) and "Assassination Classroom" (9th place), have been adapted into both anime and live-action films, resulting in a media mix. The rankings also clearly reflect the recent trend of adapting popular comics into films. This boom is sure to continue next year, with live-action film adaptations of "Terra Formars" and "Chihayafuru" already in the pipeline, and many other popular works have been announced for film adaptation.
Not only has it been adapted into a film, but the 8th-ranked "Kingdom" was also featured on the TV program "Ame Talk!", becoming a hot topic among viewers and through word of mouth, and has once again become popular. Additionally, this year's number one manga, "Orange," and number 16, "A Silent Voice," were highly ranked in Takarajimasha's "This Manga is Amazing!" and gained popularity. Recently, there have been more opportunities to learn about recommended comics outside of their film adaptations, which has contributed greatly to sales.
Comic Rental Rankings (Counting period: January 1, 2015 to November 30, 2015)
| Ranking "Title" | Author Name | Publisher name | Male to female ratio (%) | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place “orange” | Takano strawberry | Futabasha | Male: 22% Female: 78% | Male: 30.0 years old Female: 32.0 years old |
| 2nd place: "Attack on Titan" | Hajime Isayama | Kodansha | Male: 53% Female: 47% | Men: 32.2 years old Women: 30.9 years old |
| 3rd place: "Tokyo Ghoul" | Ishida Sui | Shueisha | Male: 54% Female: 46% | Male: 28.4 years old Female: 29.6 years old |
| 4th place: "Tokyo Ghoul:re" | Ishida Sui | Shueisha | Male: 53% Female: 47% | Male: 31.3 years old Female: 32.3 years old |
| 5th place: My Love Story!! | Arco, Kawahara Kazune | Shueisha | Male: 45% Female: 55% | Male: 32.1 years old Female: 33.4 years old |
| 6th place: "It's your fault that my heart is beating" | Risa Konno | Shogakukan | ||
| 7th place: "Ao Haru Ride" | Io Sakisaka | Shueisha | ||
| 8th place: "Kingdom" | Yasuhisa Hara | Shueisha | ||
| 9th place “Assassination Classroom” | Yusei Matsui | Shueisha | ||
| 10. Strobe Edge | Io Sakisaka | Shueisha | ||
| 11th place: "The Seven Deadly Sins" | Nakaba Suzuki | Kodansha | ||
| 12th place: Ajin | Gamon Sakurai | Kodansha | ||
| 13th place: "The Heroic Legend of Arslan" | Hiromu Arakawa | Kodansha | ||
| 14th place: Terra Formars | Kenichi Tachibana | Shueisha | ||
| 15th place: "The Ancient Magus' Bride" | Yamazaki Kore | Mag Garden |
・Collection period: Thursday, January 1, 2015 to Monday, November 30, 2015
・Purchase and rental survey source: DBWatch (same collection period as above)
The "Comments" are repurposed from the "Kakikome" (written comments) that customers wrote as part of the "Kakikome" campaign currently being run at TSUTAYA stores nationwide (December 11, 2015 - January 11, 2016), in which they shared their thoughts about the works and artists they wanted to support. The "Kakikome" campaign is a campaign in which the first 1 million customers who write a "support comment" on the comment card they receive at checkout and bring it to the register will receive a free TSUTAYA brand rice "Kakikome" (packaged cooked rice). For more information, please check out the special website here. http://tsutaya.jp/kakikome/
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Materials related to this matter
TSUTAYA's 2015 Annual Book & Comic Rankings Announced! The book "Hibana" and the paperback "Forbidden Magic" take the top spot!
Inquiries regarding this matter
TSUTAYA Co., Ltd.
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TEL: 03-6800-4764
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