The manga industry is one that just keeps getting bigger with every year, and there are naturally some manga that end up becoming best-sellers. While anime tends to be the field that gets the most attention, manga is just as big of an industry, if not bigger. Naturally, many of the most popular anime wouldn’t exist if they didn’t have a manga to be adapted from, and that creates a symbiotic relationship where the success of a manga helps make its anime more successful which, in turn, helps make the manga even more successful.

Many of the best-selling manga have the benefit of being around for decades and accumulating massive amounts of sales accordingly, but in some cases, a relatively new manga was able to resonate with people so well that it would sell an unbelievable amount in a short amount of time. Whatever the case, it’s not unheard of for a manga to sell hundreds of millions of copies during its run, and that’s led to a select few ranking among the most successful of all time. These rankings are based on volumes sold, not on the chapters published in weekly or monthly magazines.

The sales numbers reported here are based mostly on MangaCodex, plus other sources reported at the end of the list.

20 Fist Of The North Star (1983)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

In Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s Fist of the North Star, after the world has been ravaged by nuclear war, the only hope of salvation lies in Kenshiro, the surprisingly emotional master of the Hokuto Shinken, the world’s greatest martial art capable of destroying people from the inside out. With the power of Hokuto Shinken, Kenshiro strives to bring about peace wherever trouble may arise, even when it forces him to confront his sordid and tragic past.

Fist of the North Star's gorgeous artwork and action made it a massive hit from day one, and at the time of writing, Fist of the North Star is the 20th best-selling manga of all time with over 100 million books sold worldwide. It's one of the most iconic manga in history, and with a Fist of the North Star reboot in development, it's bound to become more popular than it's ever been before.

19 Kingdom (2006)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom is a fictional of the life of Li Xin, the general of the future legendary Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang. Much like in real life, their relationship, alongside various other historical figures, paved the way for the end of China's Warring States period and all of China being united under the Qin dynasty, one of the most important eras in the history of the nation.

The gripping action and historical drama have made Kingdom one of the biggest manga in Japan for nearly 20 years, and sure enough, Kingdom is currently the 19th best-selling manga with over 100 million books sold worldwide. Oddly enough, the manga has never been officially licensed in English, despite its outstanding success, but if it ever is, it's sure to become even more successful than it already is.

18 The Kindaichi Case Files (1992)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

Yozaburo Kanari, Seimaru Amagi, and Fumiya Sato's The Kindaichi Case Files is a long-running mystery series starring Hajime Kindaichi, the grandson of legendary fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Much like his grandfather, Hajime has a knack for solving mysteries and uses his talents to solve any that he happens to stumble upon, most of which end up being some sort of gruesome murder.

With over 30 years of serialization and multiple spinoffs and sequels, The Kindaichi Case Files is one of the oldest and most popular manga of the mystery genre, and sure enough, The Kindaichi Case Files currently stands as the 18th best-selling manga of all time with over 100 million books sold worldwide. There are few mystery stories quite like The Kindaichi Case Files, and as it keeps releasing one new story after another, that's unlikely to change anytime soon.

17 Hajime No Ippo (1989)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

George Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo stars Ippo Makunouchi, a shy boy who's constantly bullied as he struggles to help with the family fishing business. One day, Ippo is saved from his bullies by a boxer from a local gym, and after discovering a hidden talent for boxing, Ippo decides to become a boxer, himself, thus beginning a long relationship with the sport filled with plenty of highs and lows.

Hajime no Ippo served as direct inspiration for Creed III.

Hajime no Ippo has long since been a staple of sports manga thanks to its great action, artwork, and thoughtful character writing, and sure enough, Hajime no Ippo is the 17th best-selling manga with over 100 million books sold worldwide. With 141 volumes, it's also one of the longest-running manga of all time, and even after so many decades, it's not showing any signs of slowing down.

16 Baki The Grappler (1991)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

Keisuke Itagaki's Baki the Grappler stars Baki Hanma, a powerful fighter who's dedicated his life to becoming strong enough to defeat his father, Yujiro Hanma, the strongest and most vile being on the planet. That's hardly an easy task because of just how much of a monster Yujiro is, of course, and with all the other powerful and deranged fighters getting in Baki's way, it's a challenge just to close to him.

Keisuke Itagaki is the father of Beastars creator Paru Itagaki.

Thanks to the absurd way in which it illustrates martial arts combat coupled with Keisuke Itagaki's stellar artwork, Baki the Grappler has maintained incredible popularity for over 30 years across six different stories, and as of 2024, Baki the Grappler is the 16th best-selling manga with over 100 million books sold worldwide. The sixth installment, Baki Rahen, is only a year old, and as it goes on, the series is sure to only get even bigger in popularity.

15 My Hero Academia (2014)

Approximate Sales: 100 Million

My Hero Academia takes place in a world where becoming a superhero has long since been a feasible goal thanks to the emergence of superpowers called Quirks. Izuku Midoriya is one such boy who dreams of becoming a hero, even though he was born Quirkless, but after a chance meeting with the world's greatest hero, Izuku finds himself on the path toward becoming the world's greatest hero.

Thanks to coming out when the popularity of superhero media was at its peak, My Hero Academia was quick to become one of the most iconic stories in modern anime and manga, and very recently, My Hero Academia's manga has sold approximately 100 million copies worldwide to become the 15th best-selling manga of all time. The manga recently came to an end, and it's more than solidified itself as one of the biggest stories of the past decade.

14 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1987)

Approximate Sales: 120 Million

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is focused on the appropriately bizarre adventures of the Joestar family, most of whom have names that allow for the nickname “JoJo”. The Joestars always find themselves against one form of evil after another, with most of their conflicts revolving around the supernatural abilities called Stands, and throughout the story, their battles end up spanning multiple generations across multiple universes.

With almost 40 years of serialization, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the oldest and most iconic manga of all time, and at the time of writing, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the 14th best-selling manga of all time with approximately 120 million sales worldwide. Even with the series in its ninth part, The JOJOLands, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure shows no signs of slowing down, and it's sure only become even bigger over the years.

13 Bleach (2001)

Approximate Sales: 130 Million

Tite Kubo’s Bleach stars Ichigo Kurosaki, a boy whose odd ability to see ghosts leads to him learning about the existence of man-eating monsters called Hollows and Soul Reapers, the only people with the power to fight them. A Hollow attack on his family forced Ichigo to become a Substitute Soul Reaper, and now Ichigo must hone his newfound abilities to protect his loved ones from Hollows and any other threats that arise, of which there are many.

As one of the "Big 3" of shōnen manga, Bleach is one of the biggest manga franchises of all time, and sure enough, Bleach's manga has sold approximately 130 million copies to be the 13th best-selling manga of all time. The popularity of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has done wonders to renew interest in the franchise, and there's no telling how much more success it will bring the manga before it ends.

12 Oishinbo (1983)

Approximate Sales: 135 Million

Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki's Oishinbo stars Shiro Yamaoka, a cynical journalist tasked with writing an article discussing the "ultimate menu" of Japanese cuisine for the centennial anniversary of the newspaper Tozai News. His quest to do so not only has him going through a wide assortment of Japanese cuisine, but also puts him in conflict with his abusive father, a famous gourmand working to publish a similar article for a rival newspaper.

Not only is Oishinbo one of the longest-running manga of all time at over 40 years, but at the time of writing, Oishinbo is the 12th best-selling manga of all time with approximately 135 million volumes sold worldwide. In 2014, Oishinbo went on indefinite hiatus after the author used the manga to express controversial opinions about the Fukushima nuclear accident, but if it does ever return, it's sure to gradually become an even bigger success.

11 Attack On Titan (2009)

Approximate Sales: 140 Million

Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is set in a world where the remnants of humanity have spent a century living behind giant walls to protect themselves from giant monsters called Titans. When the Titans break through the walls one day, the young Eren Yeager, forced to watch his mother be devoured by a Titan, swears to kill every last one of them, and his journey to do so reveals truths about himself and the world he never could have imagined.

Ever since the anime's debut, Attack on Titan has become a cultural phenomenon and one of the biggest anime franchises of the past decade, and as of November 2023, Attack on Titan's manga has sold approximately 140 million copies worldwide, making it the 11th best-selling manga of all time. Both the anime and the manga ended by 2023, but the series is unlikely to waver in popularity anytime soon.