If you were told to guess the highest-selling manga in America in Fall 2023, your answer would most likely be One Piece, Blue Lock, and Jujutsu Kaisen. However, the manga franchise that took the #1 spot in America surprised everyone, and it was none other than Kentaro Miura’s magnum opus Berserk, which outsold Demon Slayer and grabbed the first spot.
Although Kentaro Miura is no longer here to guide his beloved story to success, his successor, Kouji Mori, and Studio Gaga paid their respects to him by taking his beloved series to the top of the charts for Fall 2023, beating many prominent names.
Berserk outsells Demon Slayer and many other mangas in Fall 2023
Ever since COVID-19 occurred, anime has become widely popular among the masses, and each year, its popularity keeps reaching new heights. It simultaneously increases manga sales as fans get impatient after they finish the anime and want to know what happens next.
2023 was a very successful year for manga franchises, as they sold millions of copies. Topping them all was Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura’s magnum opus, Blue Lock, which sold a staggering 10.5 million copies. However, if we break down the sales by season, we come across something unique and amazing.
As you may know, there are several seasons in a year, and one of the most adored is Fall. ICv2 has released its Top Manga Properties Fall 2023 rankings, and it managed to shock everyone as the number one spot was not occupied by many famous series such as One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and others.
You have heard it right: the #1 series in the Fall of 2023 was Berserk, which only released nine chapters in 2023, compiled in volume 42, and outsold other series. It beat Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer, which sold the second-most copies in Fall 2023, followed by One Piece.
After the passing of Kentaro Miura, the series was expected never to continue. Still, to everyone’s surprise, his close friends Kouji Mori and Studio Gaga took over the franchise and decided to continue it further.
Now, there is a catch here: The prominent reason why Berserk overtook the other franchise might be its cost factor. To put it into perspective, One Piece volume 104 costs $11.99, and Berserk‘s volume 41 costs $14.99, with the popular deluxe version being as high as $59.99. This would make even fewer sales and earn more profits.
More on Berserk
Berserk is the best pick if you want to read a story that will change you forever and has stunning artwork that one might even refuse to believe is hand-drawn. The series provides the reader with a storyline that will greatly impact you and will forever change your perspective on the world.
The story revolves around Guts, who can easily contest for the most tragic childhood in manga history. The misery of Guts knows no limits, from being born from a corpse to living his life constantly surrounded by death.
As if that weren’t enough, he was raped by one of the mercenaries as a child. Growing up, he didn’t trust anyone until he met the Band of the Falcon, led by Griffith, a group he could rely on for the first time.
However, he wasn’t aware it’d make his life even more miserable. You can read the manga series if you want to know what happened that changed Guts forever and learn more about him. Just a heads-up, though: the anime adaptation omits many things from the original manga due to censorship.
Watch the journey of Guts, also known as Black Swordsman, on Crunchyroll.
