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NEWS: Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Series: 2011

assume 30% go goes to the manga authors

One Piece is a solid manga but its hardly the best in the storytelling department when it comes to Shonen manga that honor goes to Fullmetal Alchemist without a doubt a close second would be Bleach.

Soundmonkey44 wrote:

But yes all of the top sellers are overrated, I'll be honest...While I can fully respect the populartiy One Piece has attained, I find it Highly undeserving, its really no better then most other shonen, it seems to get buy off of its "Fun factor" alone, and while thats fine & dandy there are many other anime & mange out there that are overall better then it.

That's pretty much why it's so big. It's aiming at a purely casual crowd, since it is a very zero-commitment series with a very basic and comedic premise and doesn't take itself seriously. It's fairly easy to get into and read since it's very fluffy and formulamatic.

They mention multiple times that OP is about 'a link between people'. Again, 'the great secret to connecting people' is another way to read the Japanese for 'One Piece'.
The researcher from Kansai College notes that in all the links of OP (yes, she [expletive] linked every character) the one characteristic she found between the core (the crew) is steadfast trust.
She said it's essentially the pattern of the story. Someone they trust is taken away and (in the process) may betray them. But believing in the individual, they will return them to their inner circle. Extending the pattern to individuals outside their circle and repeating in the essence of the story.
Odas infusion of fiercely Japanese themes in his most powerful figures (the high-ranks of the Marines are essentially ALL Japanese legends or forms of religion) his intention is to 'draw' the 'Japanese spirit'
Suzuki says that the old movies which inspired Oda were all about doing something for the sake of someone else even if it included dying. He thinks today it's more about what people want to do for themselves
They're talking about how OP isn't just a manga, it's a'message'. The professor suggests it's so powerful because it came out just as the fallout from the bubble bursting (Google bubble economy japan) hit and many parts of professional society were falling apart and only the very elite of the elite graduates were able to succeed which meant an end to thoughts like, "If you do your best, you'll succeed." This also meant 'the end of dreams' and people starting looking at reality instead of thinking about what COULD be possible.

He takes an extremely long time to say that similar to regular people's problems, each of them has regret from their past, but due to the support of the group (crew) which is by no means 'elite', they're able to move beyond it.

"I am very interested in entertainment that recreates that era. I want to depict the soul of Japanese people."

Such feelings thrill Japanese viewers. Suzuku (Toshio Suzuki, Producer for Studio Ghibli) believes the characters embody good old Japanese values which are also reflected in One Piece. Suzuki says the main characters in such films risk their lives for the sake of others and some of the films end with the characters dying. He says that in contrast, people tend to think only about themselves in the real world and they don't really consider others. He finds it interesting that a manga, whose motif is thinking about others, is popular these days.

-----

The manga could influence how people live. Takahiro Sasaki is a 40-year old resident of Ibaraki Prefecture. He managed to pull himself out of despair with the help of the words of a character from One Piece. He shows us his collection comic books. One Piece is his guiding light. He has read the story over and over, tagging the phrases he finds most meaningful. He says his favorite scene is one which features the simple phrase, "I want to live."

Sasaki was once a confident sales man working the front lines of his field for many years. But things changed drastically after the economy worsened. His performance became sluggish and he was forced to work overtime until late at night. He was also abused by his boss. But Sasaki put up with it and continued slogging away in desperation. But one day four years ago, he suddenly became unable to go to the office. He had fallen into a depression. He became withdrawn at home and went for days without meeting anyone except his family. Sasaki recalls that he saw himself as totally worthless. He thought that everything he had achieved until then was pointless. His younger brother recommended that he read One Piece.

Sasaki was fascinated by the situation of a female character. Robin grew up being rejected by others because of a certain extra sensory talent. She was living a soul-less life, but after meeting Luffy and others, she came to trust in friendship. She then cried out the words she had kept inside. "I want to live."

Sasaki, who felt he was not worthy of living, says he burst into tears at these words. Sasaki too says he wants to live. He repeats it with emphasis. But it's not just a question of wanting to. He says he has to, to accomplish what he has failed to do so far. He tells himself there's no need to bite off more than he can chew, but just to do what he does best. Instead of competing with others he wants a job in which he can help people. He began studying with the aim of becoming a physiotherapist. He has enrolled in a vocational school and is now moving in a new direction. Sasaki says that when he finally gets qualified in physiotherapy, he wants to use what he has learned to heal people. He wants to make himself of use to society. Sasaki says that to him, One Piece, is much more than a manga. He takes the messages that come through in the work deeply to the heart.

-----

Anchor: Joining us is Professor Nobohiko Baba of the Konan Woman's University. As we just saw there are people like Mr. Sasaki who was influenced so deeply in One Piece that it changed the course of his life. It was first published 14 years ago. Many of its readers are now in their 20's and 30's. What's the reason for this mega hit success?

Professor Nobohiko Baba: I believe it has a lot to due with social conditions. The first volume of One Piece appeared in 1997, during the post-bubble economy period, when Japan was on the brink of recession. Against this backdrop, young Japanese were increasingly struggling to find jobs. Firms began cutting back, doing away with lifetime employment. Children also felt trapped. Japan, like other developed countries, was caught up in the rapid surge of cellphones and internet. As net users became engrossed in back worlds, they also became more isolated. They began to fear such new phenomena as internet bullying by anonymous attackers. The collapse of lifetime employment and job cuts for the middle-aged and elderly may have reconfigured society into a form where only graduates of elite universities or those with higher degrees get social status. In the past, people were told that those who did their best would be given opportunities and individuality was emphasized and respected. But from the late 1990's, people began feeling that individuality had become meaningless. The hit song about it being better to be the only one rather than number one seems to confirm that this value is already of the past. While insisting that individuality was not meaningless, adults began urging young people to face reality rather than pursue their dreams. One Piece was published around the time people were growing increasingly conflicted between ideals and reality and one's real intentions and stable reasons.

Anchor: Society virtually stopped rewarding people who tried hard. Indeed in this manga many of the characters have endured setbacks and are traumatized. How does One Piece resonate with readers who have suffered at the hands of society or in a distressed mental state?

Professor Nobohiko Baba: Of course not everyone has been the victim of major setbacks, but any active member of society might always carry some sort of vague fear. And likewise, Luffy, the hero of the manga, and his comrades, all secretly harbor regret. A sense of failure. An inferiority complex. And a sense of loss from what they've experienced in the past. The characters feel helpless and in order to feel positive about themselves, they adopt an outsider role - namely pirates. In some ways you could say pirates are the diametric opposite of the social elites, those with the elite schooling and such degrees. The characters may be powerless over what's happened in the past, but their comrades are with them, supporting them. And the reader is regularly reassured that the past cannot suddenly return and assault them. This, together with the sense of mate-ship, enables the characters to step into the future as one. This element of the tale appeals very much to readers.

Anchor: In the survey we conducted, many One Piece readers wrote that they were deeply inspired by the value of having friends. They were moved by how the character is showed complete faith in each other. They also wrote that in today's society mate-ship is a rarity, but is there any denying that the real world is different from the world portrayed in manga?

Professor Nobohiko Baba: We are often taught these days about being able to take hints or read between the lines. School students bad mouth fellow students who can't take hints, while businesses insists that communication skills are a must, but what exactly does taking hints imply? It's the ability to quickly grasp how others are feeling in order to ensure communication in a smooth and efficient way. Corporations have long demanded that job seekers have good communication skills, but what does this really mean? That could be that job seekers shouldn't convey their true feelings anymore. In other words, if one speaks from the heart, it can create fiction or people may think one is strange. To avoid this, people maintain a facade. In such an environment, how does one nurture mate-ship in which friends can speak their minds. It could be that our present environment has encouraged us to crave comradeship.

Anchor: In One Piece, Luffy and his friends clash all the time and act quite rashly, but it's because they clash with one another that their bonds deepen and this may touch readers. Because so many people obviously empathize with this manga, can you explain how they view present-day society? And what could be done to improve this society for such people?

Professor Nobohiko Baba: Ultimately, the reader's want to narrow the gap between how one feels and what one says. That's not to say we should accept these two things are totally separate, but rather that society could become a place that doesn't scoff at people who reveal their dreams or express their inner thoughts. That's the society One Piece readers want to belong to.

Anchor: A world that supports dreams.

Professor Nobohiko Baba: Yes.

Anchor: Thank you very much.

Soundmonkey44 wrote:

Oh my, it seems my comment started an argument..I'm sorry..that wasn't my intent, I was just being silly. But yes all of the top sellers are overrated, I'll be honest...While I can fully respect the populartiy One Piece has attained, I find it Highly undeserving, its really no better then most other shonen, it seems to get buy off of its "Fun factor" alone, and while thats fine & dandy there are many other anime & mange out there that are overall better then it. And to those who think I'm being bias, I can admit Bleach & Naruto are overrated as well, most long running shonen are, just not to as much the extent as OP, thats why personally bothers me. I love long running shonen, I truly do. But it drives me batty that OP is so undeservingly popular. But again thats all just my personal opinion & bias. Factually nothing is better or worse then anything, it mearly is...but thats irrelivant, so i digrese.

your are clearly don't know what are you talking about.. dude.. i feel sorry for you.

Spotlesseden wrote:

assume 30% go goes to the manga authors

Rooky Manga Artists/Authors get 10% per printed Volume and Veteran ones get 15%.

I AM THE VAST UNIVERSE wrote:

One Piece is a solid manga but its hardly the best in the storytelling department when it comes to Shonen manga that honor goes to Fullmetal Alchemist without a doubt a close second would be Bleach.

I nearly chocked when I read Bleach. Please tell me how someone is good at storytelling when the author himself said that he doesn’t plan ANYTHING. He does his Manga from chapter to chapter and doesn’t even think two chapters ahead. When he killed Aizen in the Soul society arc he didn’t even know who “killed” him. He came with the “reveal” literally out of his ass. It was pure coincidence that it did make sense. Bleach is a Manga that absolute doesn’t make any sense anymore because the author doesn’t plan anything and this is also why the pace is so bad.
I am really stunt how someone can see the greatness of Full Metal if he thinks Bleach has good “story telling” and to boost as the “second” best

TitanXL wrote:

Soundmonkey44 wrote: But yes all of the top sellers are overrated, I'll be honest...While I can fully respect the populartiy One Piece has attained, I find it Highly undeserving, its really no better then most other shonen, it seems to get buy off of its "Fun factor" alone, and while thats fine & dandy there are many other anime & mange out there that are overall better then it. That's pretty much why it's so big. It's aiming at a purely casual crowd, since it is a very zero-commitment series with a very basic and comedic premise and doesn't take itself seriously. It's fairly easy to get into and read since it's very fluffy and formulamatic.

I have a few questions for you.
Why isn’t Fairy Tail as popular as OP? I mean it is very similar to One Piece in many aspects. It is even more for the casual crowd with much shorter arcs etc. It is fairly popular and did made the third spot on the list but lost 1 million sales and it is nowhere near OP sales.
Why are there so many diehard fans of OP(who also read a lot of other Manga) who think that OP is one of the best Manga ever created while MOST people who read Fairy Tail will tell you that it is only “average”.
You can see here the publich opinion, which is kind of like rotten tomatoes for Manga:
http://myanimelist.net/topmanga.php
Why are 9/10 of the readers over 18? I mean look at Kochikame. Kochikame it the oldest Manga which is still ongoing. It is like the Simpsons over there. Very loved by a lot of people, beause of its age read by mostly adults, meant for the causal crowd and yet you don’t see it on the TOP 50 list.

I will tell you ONE of many reasons why, because it MOVES people on the emotional level. I could also write about story writing, characters etc but I think this is fairly pointless because you have read OP and are for some crazy reason disagreeing with me.

However, Japanese themselves have asked why OP is as popular as it is. Spoileralert, the answer that came out was BECAUSE IT MOVES PEOPLE!

There is a NHK documentation about why OP is as popular as it is. By the way NHK is basically the PBS of Japan. They're extremely conservative of Japanese values and reserved. It doesn't run the crazy as hell Japanese variety shows you see elsewhere, mainly news, educational programming and traditional morning drama
Here are the links:
First Half:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQyODY5MzI4.html
Second Half:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQyODY5NDIw.html
Because it is on Japanese it will be difficult to understand for most people so I searched a transcript but found only one for the last few minutes. So here are the important details about the first half:

Quote:

They mention multiple times that OP is about 'a link between people'. Again, 'the great secret to connecting people' is another way to read the Japanese for 'One Piece'. The researcher from Kansai College notes that in all the links of OP (yes, she [expletive] linked every character) the one characteristic she found between the core (the crew) is steadfast trust. She said it's essentially the pattern of the story. Someone they trust is taken away and (in the process) may betray them. But believing in the individual, they will return them to their inner circle. Extending the pattern to individuals outside their circle and repeating in the essence of the story. Odas infusion of fiercely Japanese themes in his most powerful figures (the high-ranks of the Marines are essentially ALL Japanese legends or forms of religion) his intention is to 'draw' the 'Japanese spirit' Suzuki says that the old movies which inspired Oda were all about doing something for the sake of someone else even if it included dying. He thinks today it's more about what people want to do for themselves They're talking about how OP isn't just a manga, it's a'message'. The professor suggests it's so powerful because it came out just as the fallout from the bubble bursting (Google bubble economy japan) hit and many parts of professional society were falling apart and only the very elite of the elite graduates were able to succeed which meant an end to thoughts like, "If you do your best, you'll succeed." This also meant 'the end of dreams' and people starting looking at reality instead of thinking about what COULD be possible. He takes an extremely long time to say that similar to regular people's problems, each of them has regret from their past, but due to the support of the group (crew) which is by no means 'elite', they're able to move beyond it.

Here is the transcript for the last few minutes:
http://one-piece.livejournal.com/1303920.html
I will quote it completely just that everyone see it:

Quote:

"I am very interested in entertainment that recreates that era. I want to depict the soul of Japanese people." Such feelings thrill Japanese viewers. Suzuku (Toshio Suzuki, Producer for Studio Ghibli) believes the characters embody good old Japanese values which are also reflected in One Piece. Suzuki says the main characters in such films risk their lives for the sake of others and some of the films end with the characters dying. He says that in contrast, people tend to think only about themselves in the real world and they don't really consider others. He finds it interesting that a manga, whose motif is thinking about others, is popular these days. ----- The manga could influence how people live. Takahiro Sasaki is a 40-year old resident of Ibaraki Prefecture. He managed to pull himself out of despair with the help of the words of a character from One Piece. He shows us his collection comic books. One Piece is his guiding light. He has read the story over and over, tagging the phrases he finds most meaningful. He says his favorite scene is one which features the simple phrase, "I want to live." Sasaki was once a confident sales man working the front lines of his field for many years. But things changed drastically after the economy worsened. His performance became sluggish and he was forced to work overtime until late at night. He was also abused by his boss. But Sasaki put up with it and continued slogging away in desperation. But one day four years ago, he suddenly became unable to go to the office. He had fallen into a depression. He became withdrawn at home and went for days without meeting anyone except his family. Sasaki recalls that he saw himself as totally worthless. He thought that everything he had achieved until then was pointless. His younger brother recommended that he read One Piece. Sasaki was fascinated by the situation of a female character. Robin grew up being rejected by others because of a certain extra sensory talent. She was living a soul-less life, but after meeting Luffy and others, she came to trust in friendship. She then cried out the words she had kept inside. "I want to live." Sasaki, who felt he was not worthy of living, says he burst into tears at these words. Sasaki too says he wants to live. He repeats it with emphasis. But it's not just a question of wanting to. He says he has to, to accomplish what he has failed to do so far. He tells himself there's no need to bite off more than he can chew, but just to do what he does best. Instead of competing with others he wants a job in which he can help people. He began studying with the aim of becoming a physiotherapist. He has enrolled in a vocational school and is now moving in a new direction. Sasaki says that when he finally gets qualified in physiotherapy, he wants to use what he has learned to heal people. He wants to make himself of use to society. Sasaki says that to him, One Piece, is much more than a manga. He takes the messages that come through in the work deeply to the heart. ----- Anchor: Joining us is Professor Nobohiko Baba of the Konan Woman's University. As we just saw there are people like Mr. Sasaki who was influenced so deeply in One Piece that it changed the course of his life. It was first published 14 years ago. Many of its readers are now in their 20's and 30's. What's the reason for this mega hit success? Professor Nobohiko Baba: I believe it has a lot to due with social conditions. The first volume of One Piece appeared in 1997, during the post-bubble economy period, when Japan was on the brink of recession. Against this backdrop, young Japanese were increasingly struggling to find jobs. Firms began cutting back, doing away with lifetime employment. Children also felt trapped. Japan, like other developed countries, was caught up in the rapid surge of cellphones and internet. As net users became engrossed in back worlds, they also became more isolated. They began to fear such new phenomena as internet bullying by anonymous attackers. The collapse of lifetime employment and job cuts for the middle-aged and elderly may have reconfigured society into a form where only graduates of elite universities or those with higher degrees get social status. In the past, people were told that those who did their best would be given opportunities and individuality was emphasized and respected. But from the late 1990's, people began feeling that individuality had become meaningless. The hit song about it being better to be the only one rather than number one seems to confirm that this value is already of the past. While insisting that individuality was not meaningless, adults began urging young people to face reality rather than pursue their dreams. One Piece was published around the time people were growing increasingly conflicted between ideals and reality and one's real intentions and stable reasons. Anchor: Society virtually stopped rewarding people who tried hard. Indeed in this manga many of the characters have endured setbacks and are traumatized. How does One Piece resonate with readers who have suffered at the hands of society or in a distressed mental state? Professor Nobohiko Baba: Of course not everyone has been the victim of major setbacks, but any active member of society might always carry some sort of vague fear. And likewise, Luffy, the hero of the manga, and his comrades, all secretly harbor regret. A sense of failure. An inferiority complex. And a sense of loss from what they've experienced in the past. The characters feel helpless and in order to feel positive about themselves, they adopt an outsider role - namely pirates. In some ways you could say pirates are the diametric opposite of the social elites, those with the elite schooling and such degrees. The characters may be powerless over what's happened in the past, but their comrades are with them, supporting them. And the reader is regularly reassured that the past cannot suddenly return and assault them. This, together with the sense of mate-ship, enables the characters to step into the future as one. This element of the tale appeals very much to readers. Anchor: In the survey we conducted, many One Piece readers wrote that they were deeply inspired by the value of having friends. They were moved by how the character is showed complete faith in each other. They also wrote that in today's society mate-ship is a rarity, but is there any denying that the real world is different from the world portrayed in manga? Professor Nobohiko Baba: We are often taught these days about being able to take hints or read between the lines. School students bad mouth fellow students who can't take hints, while businesses insists that communication skills are a must, but what exactly does taking hints imply? It's the ability to quickly grasp how others are feeling in order to ensure communication in a smooth and efficient way. Corporations have long demanded that job seekers have good communication skills, but what does this really mean? That could be that job seekers shouldn't convey their true feelings anymore. In other words, if one speaks from the heart, it can create fiction or people may think one is strange. To avoid this, people maintain a facade. In such an environment, how does one nurture mate-ship in which friends can speak their minds. It could be that our present environment has encouraged us to crave comradeship. Anchor: In One Piece, Luffy and his friends clash all the time and act quite rashly, but it's because they clash with one another that their bonds deepen and this may touch readers. Because so many people obviously empathize with this manga, can you explain how they view present-day society? And what could be done to improve this society for such people? Professor Nobohiko Baba: Ultimately, the reader's want to narrow the gap between how one feels and what one says. That's not to say we should accept these two things are totally separate, but rather that society could become a place that doesn't scoff at people who reveal their dreams or express their inner thoughts. That's the society One Piece readers want to belong to. Anchor: A world that supports dreams. Professor Nobohiko Baba: Yes. Anchor: Thank you very much.

and whilst I don't quite get why OP is so much more popular than any other shounen, it's certainly not bad and I do enjoy it.

I enjoy Kubo's work and I always will..the man gets an undeserved bad rep among manga readers..this may be just me but your comment comes off a bit pretentious..opinions are opinions not undisputed facts or the truth..now you may want to tone down the melodramatic rant of yours..its simply manga and nothing more.

One Piece is a solid manga but its hardly the best in the storytelling department when it comes to Shonen manga that honor goes to Fullmetal Alchemist without a doubt a close second would be Bleach.