Most popular manga volumes in France 2021, by sales value

In 2021, the first volume of the adaptation of the popular South Korean novel series Solo Leveling was the best-selling manga title in France in terms of sales value. Despite selling more manga volumes, the 15th volume of the manga series Demon Slayer came in sixth position with a sales value of about 840.000 euros.

A rising industry

While manga have been constantly hitting French shelves, the industry has experienced an unprecedented boom over the past five years. The first half of 2021 in particular recorded a sharp sales volume increase in comparison to the year prior, so much so that almost one in two comics sold in France was a manga. The ever-increasing number of anime adaptions available on video on demand platforms further increased the popularity of manga franchises in bookstores.

Digital consumption

If French readers generally still prefer to read manga in print format, digital is an attractive alternative to many. Scanlation, or the fan-made scanning and translation of manga, are an illicit method of consuming manga online in parallel with legal platforms such as Izneo or Manga Plus. On top of that, the emergence of online-exclusive comics or webtoons is proof that the industry can adapt itself and meet their readers’ demand.