Yeah, just because the other mangas are ending/on its final arc. It's not like OP magically gaining new readership.
Doesn't need to gain new readership. Just look at where it is on the list.
How much longer can they milk having AoT and Demon Slayer there?
For my two cents on both, Cowboy Bebop is something I think I could have enjoyed a bit if I hadn't seen the original. But as it is, it's just a pale, disappointing imitation. I haven't finished the whole season yet and I don't know if I will, but there was basically no point in my viewing so far where I wasn't thinking "I was I was just watching the anime." It's got some nice visuals, but it can't help feeling padded trying to turn the original 20 minute episodes into 40 minute ones, and asking real live actors to mimic the line delivery of a 90's dub was asking for trouble (except for Jet, he made a really graceful transition to 3d). It does nothing better and nothing to set itself apart, but it's probably not the soulless affront to the original its biggest detractors are making it out to be.
On the other hand, Wheel of Time is pretty good watching. First episode is a bit rushed (you can kinda tell they planned for 10 episodes and only got 8) but it finds its feet quickly after that and has only gotten better with each new episode. The cast are all great in their roles and I think the writers made smart choices in what parts of the first book to streamline and what things from later in the series to pull forward. Some of the reactions from hardcore book fans have made me feel like I'm losing my mind, because I think it's coming along great.
One Piece's live action will probably avoid Cowboy Bebop's 'the same thing but worse' vibe by way of the original series being almost completely inimitable in the real world. The producers are going to have to recapture the soul of the character designs, powers and battles from a totally new angle out of sheer necessity. Whether they succeed or fail I'm interested to see what their take is.
Interesting and good to know! Bebop is one of my favorite anime series so that does seem like a reasonable concern. I was personally hoping they were going to tell primarily new episodic stories with the general tone and atmosphere as the original series.
The Wheel of Time, I'm going in fresh. I have always wanted to read the books, but never got around them.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
@Zik:
Doesn't need to gain new readership. Just look at where it is on the list.
How much longer can they milk having AoT and Demon Slayer there?
JJK is still in the midst of its hype. Yep KnY and SnK are probably gonna lose places next year, the latter probably won´t make it to top 10, but it´s not like the success of JJK and KnY is because they are that incredible.
They just fit the taste of the newer generation more, have their basics right, and are much shorter. And the industry after SnK understood that adapting such mangas early with a higher budget can lead to dramatic increase in manga sales, hence why you see far more adaptations post-SnK. Before that, Light Novels were the go to for adaptations for similar reasons.
Next year two mangas that are already in the top 10, Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family, are going to get adaptations from big studios.
I doubt this trend is going to stop anytime soon. The individual titles might get switched out, but every year a new title will get hyped.
Nevertheless, not a bad place to be whatsoever, basically staying consistently in top 5 regardless of the newest hype.
JJK is still in the midst of its hype. Yep KnY and SnK are probably gonna lose places next year, the latter probably won´t make it to top 10, but it´s not like the success of JJK and KnY is because they are that incredible.
They just fit the taste of the newer generation more, have their basics right, and are much shorter. And the industry after SnK understood that adapting such mangas early with a higher budget can lead to dramatic increase in manga sales, hence why you see far more adaptations post-SnK. Before that, Light Novels were the go to for adaptations for similar reasons.Next year two mangas that are already in the top 10, Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family, are going to get adaptations from big studios.
I doubt this trend is going to stop anytime soon. The individual titles might get switched out, but every year a new title will get hyped.Nevertheless, not a bad place to be whatsoever, basically staying consistently in top 5 regardless of the newest hype.
Well I specifically named those manga cuz they were done. Once they're gone the list changes. Just like when new manga rise up the ranks.
Obviously JJK has not and remains popular.
Not worried at all about where One Piece will end up.
@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Interesting and good to know! Bebop is one of my favorite anime series so that does seem like a reasonable concern. I was personally hoping they were going to tell primarily new episodic stories with the general tone and atmosphere as the original series.
The Wheel of Time, I'm going in fresh. I have always wanted to read the books, but never got around them.
I had the same hopes for Bebop, but yeah it's just old episodes drawn out. They even tried to make them less episodic and more serialised with an ongoing Vicious b-plot running through the back of every episode. I know that heavily serialised dramas is what the tv market wants so badly these days, but it still has me like 'no one was asking for this.'
Hope you enjoy WoT though! I'm a big fan of the books - they've got a whole lot of undeniable flaws, but also some of the highest highs that fantasy lit has to offer. I think the worldbuilding, Jordan's ability to craft unique cultures, and cast size of the series all make it a good match for One Piece fans.
@Zik:
Doesn't need to gain new readership. Just look at where it is on the list.
How much longer can they milk having AoT and Demon Slayer there?
So basically you're saying that OP doesn't need new readers? One thing that make both Demon Slayer super big is that they bring a new generation of manga readers. Without new readers, a series will stagnate. And that is happening to OP right now. I'd expect the sales forward to decline even more…
"No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.." - Venat
Well new young readers probably won't buy the manga if they can read their parent's ones :-)
So basically you're saying that OP doesn't need new readers? One thing that make both Demon Slayer super big is that they bring a new generation of manga readers. Without new readers, a series will stagnate. And that is happening to OP right now. I'd expect the sales forward to decline even more…
Stagnate does not mean decline…
Really glad to see the new generation of Shonen Jump IPs doing so good sales wise. This proves to me that having a good and short anime(seasonal) for a series might work better than a never ending series, like One Piece or Naruto had. Each coming season will create a new hype for those IP's. I can't wait for future series to get anime's, looking at you Kaiju No.8. Also a bit sad to see that One Piece isn't at the top anymore, won't change the fact that I still love the series. I wonder which IP will be the next big hit.
So basically you're saying that OP doesn't need new readers? One thing that make both Demon Slayer super big is that they bring a new generation of manga readers. Without new readers, a series will stagnate. And that is happening to OP right now. I'd expect the sales forward to decline even more…
With the 7 to 8 million readers it consistently has, no it doesn't need new readers.
If you got a core fan base of several million, new readers are only a bonus.
For instance, take Star Wars. It doesn't "need" new fans/viewers. They've amassed enough fans who will follow the franchise in various mediums for decades. Its only a bonus that they get their kids in to it or that new Star Wars movies or TV shows gain a whole new generation.
This will be abundantly clear when One Piece is finished (just like Dragonball) where new groups of manga/anime fans are able to discover the popular story again and again.
So yeah I think you're wrong OP stagnating and declining. As far as sales go, heading towards the end, I expect the opposite. Just like a great tv show that has consistently high ratings when it comes to the final arc and chapters OP there's gonna be some of it's highest sales ever.
For my two cents on both, Cowboy Bebop is something I think I could have enjoyed a bit if I hadn't seen the original. But as it is, it's just a pale, disappointing imitation. I haven't finished the whole season yet and I don't know if I will, but there was basically no point in my viewing so far where I wasn't thinking "I was I was just watching the anime." It's got some nice visuals, but it can't help feeling padded trying to turn the original 20 minute episodes into 40 minute ones, and asking real live actors to mimic the line delivery of a 90's dub was asking for trouble (except for Jet, he made a really graceful transition to 3d). It does nothing better and nothing to set itself apart, but it's probably not the soulless affront to the original its biggest detractors are making it out to be.
On the other hand, Wheel of Time is pretty good watching. First episode is a bit rushed (you can kinda tell they planned for 10 episodes and only got 8) but it finds its feet quickly after that and has only gotten better with each new episode. The cast are all great in their roles and I think the writers made smart choices in what parts of the first book to streamline and what things from later in the series to pull forward. Some of the reactions from hardcore book fans have made me feel like I'm losing my mind, because I think it's coming along great.
One Piece's live action will probably avoid Cowboy Bebop's 'the same thing but worse' vibe by way of the original series being almost completely inimitable in the real world. The producers are going to have to recapture the soul of the character designs, powers and battles from a totally new angle out of sheer necessity. Whether they succeed or fail I'm interested to see what their take is.
Yeah, I'm still cautiously optimistic about the live action One Piece series. That's great to hear about Wheel of Time. I'm really looking forward to checking it out! Disappointing about Bebop. It really seemed like a series that could be done well in live action. Hopefully they'll be able to make some improvements in the second season.
Yeah give the wheel of time show a shot. Don't judge it too harshly by its first episode, its the one they most clearly had to compromise to higher ups and they'd clearly expected originally for that episode to be longer or to be two episodes, but its finding its footing very quickly..
I'm surprised and disappointed that there's such a huge gap between One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Tokyo Revengers. Especially since I thought JJK was mediocre and I've only heard of Tokyo Revengers in the past couple of months.
People on here have always talked about how One Piece is among the best selling manga in Japan, so I expected much higher numbers tbh. Even ignoring the new "Big 3", I would've thought One Piece could outsell AoT or MHA at the very least.
Very good numbers for a 20+ old series. Depending on how the live action goes, if it goes well, I see sales increasing otherwise sales will continue to stay steady if the other forms of media for One Piece don't attract new potential readers. OP has a ton of backlog that if the live action is successful, that's potentially millions of potential readers willing to get into the series with a ton of backlog. OP is basically competing with very popular series' anime who are buying all the backlog. OP is still a beast after all these years still standing strong.
The real conclusion is that One Piece's anime has really hampered the global appeal of it. If it was seasonal, the arcs would be condensed, the material would blow people away, and you would get seasonal hype cycles to help feed into the manga sales.
Yeah the Manga is very healthy but it's other forms of media are lacking. The anime blowing up could make the Manga blow up as well. I'd be down for it to be seasonal if animation can stay good and pacing improved. The anime needs to help elevate the Manga like what happened with the other popular series.
Just to bring in some perspective, Shounen Jump+ which is basically digital format, clocked in 44 billion (500m usd) yen just last year and probably a lot more since its introduction back in 2014.
The weeklies are still selling like crazy and even more so with JJK running, and One Piece being consistently good. I presume that the books revenue is where the tankobons money make up and it seems to dwarf in comparison to the magazine sales and overall digital sales.
Which, kind of makes a lot of sense. I can go on and on about how a significant of their population prefers physicals but that's a drag so I'll pass. The only physicals I collect of One Piece is volumes that I really like and the color walks, I love the series but they take up too much space. Japan do still have a strong magazine culture (despite the fact that it is declining) and considering that it releases weekly, the numbers seems all right. Jujutsu and Kimetsu pretty much doubled the sales of Jump, with JJK season 2 and Chainsaw-man likely to continue that. It's actually pretty insane about what happened with the Kimetsu + JJK wave that was carried both by their quality and luck (pandemic and ufotable).
Yeaaah, that's what you get when the higher ups finally understand that animation series is not just an extension of a manga and should be treated with a level of standard. Don't get me wrong, it still is an overly extended advertisement to get people to buy the volumes but it is one of the most important one, especially in an international space(the internet). No one will bother investing more time if it doesn't look good or is poorly directed, there's literally a thousand more alternatives of entertainment to consume. Anime series are still seasonally produced like fast food, animators are literally dying while drawing, but the money some corporations get because they actually bothered to do it right and reach mainstream audience is crazy and all this money is a positive for the industry, I guess.
Visuals and money runs the world, I'm shallow and most of us are but it doesn't matter because depth won't feed the industry.
One Piece, was an example of how not to market to an international audience and how not to pace an adaption. The budget they gave to arcs like Fishman and Punk was hilarious (it was NOT style or color preferences, it genuinely looks hogwash at times) for the money they were making and I still feel like Toei only cared once they saw KnY bringing more money than them, which was a slap in the face considering how they ran the giant that is One Piece but got kicked in the ass by a newbie series. But that's my view and the animation is One Piece is getting back to what it should be due to this trickle down effect from KnY. The only thing nerfing One Piece production, which trickles back to the volume sales, is One Piece production team themselves. The weekly prime timeslot strategy is no longer the most revenue generating one, no matter how much stability it might seem to bring. Only in Japan will you see one of the best fictional story paced like a kids show.
Accessibility is one thing but if you actually gave a shit, it shows and rewards you.
I feel like this is pure thread derailment at this point, but why not?
Basically, I read the first chapters of both JJK and KnY. You definitely can't judge a shonen manga by its first chapter, but it strikes me as odd how incredibly amateurish KnY's art looks. JJK has its own style and looks crisp and unique (even if not mindblowing), but KnY looks straight up bad. Again, only read the first chapter of each, but the way they are JJK feels like it'll be more rewarding in the long run. Weird choice to make the protagonist kind of an already established badass, since these mangas usually go for the underdog, but interesting none the less.
Now, KnY did go for something a bit different in terms of drama and tragedy, which I guess was its main pull for audiences, but again, it's shocking how bad the art looks.
Just random thoughts that mean nothing since these are just the first chapters. Didn't feel a massive urge to keep on reading any of them, but I might in the future, who knows.
Art style is too subjective to be criticized in my opinion.
Most people find Souma very well drawn when I really have no interest in it since you can find hundredth of mangas which are drawn the same. I definitely prefer an author which has their own style like One Piece or Kimetsu.
A manga like Ousama Ranking which has (from what I read) a very good anime adaptation this season is also more visually interesting to me than "well drawn" mangas
I feel like this is pure thread derailment at this point, but why not?
Basically, I read the first chapters of both JJK and KnY. You definitely can't judge a shonen manga by its first chapter, but it strikes me as odd how incredibly amateurish KnY's art looks. JJK has its own style and looks crisp and unique (even if not mindblowing), but KnY looks straight up bad. Again, only read the first chapter of each, but the way they are JJK feels like it'll be more rewarding in the long run. Weird choice to make the protagonist kind of an already established badass, since these mangas usually go for the underdog, but interesting none the less.
Now, KnY did go for something a bit different in terms of drama and tragedy, which I guess was its main pull for audiences, but again, it's shocking how bad the art looks.
Just random thoughts that mean nothing since these are just the first chapters. Didn't feel a massive urge to keep on reading any of them, but I might in the future, who knows.
My theory: KnY drew a lot of people in due to the anime´s great animation (it´s really incredible) and with that animation hooked them on the story.
After being invested in the story, the artstyle of the manga did not matter.
both KnY and JJK are both mediocre, but that tokyo revengers manga is straight up trash. sales aren't an indicator of quality
Well not the best numbers… I get the Demon Slayer hype but seeing another series above OP is strange and maybe Oda will see it the same way
Yeah give the wheel of time show a shot. Don't judge it too harshly by its first episode, its the one they most clearly had to compromise to higher ups and they'd clearly expected originally for that episode to be longer or to be two episodes, but its finding its footing very quickly..
Oh cool, also good to know. I can definitely imagine a scenario like you described for the pilot episode being either cut down in length or condensed from multiple planned episodes. I'm happy to hear any issues were worked out very quickly. Very excited to give the show a try. I'm just deciding if I'm going to wait for it to finish 'airing' before starting.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
KnY was pretty mediocre last I read. I do agree art was sub par as well. It's popularity is clearly from the anime. It's a much better product than the Manga.
I wouldn't worry about it though. Sales of KnY from last year to this year was reduced by about 50 million volumes. If it continues dropping year after year, it'll fade away soon. Or it gets a bump again with the next season.
OP has been steady mainly through the force of its current content. The closer we head to the ending, we should see an increase otherwise that's when I'd be worried and sad if sales dip. And depending on the success of its other forms of media, it'll surely increase even higher. It's an amazing accomplishment even if it's no longer selling the best. You can't expect to always be number one. Others can shine while still being in decent shape after all these years.
@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Oh cool, also good to know. I can definitely imagine a scenario like you described for the pilot episode being either cut down in length or condensed from multiple planned episodes. I'm happy to hear any issues were worked out very quickly. Very excited to give the show a try. I'm just deciding if I'm going to wait for it to finish 'airing' before starting.
First season is only 8 episodes and they're already halfway through, so you may as well wait.
Unless you want to interact with the community while its going.
Though right now the community is split between people that are enjoying it and "its biggest fans" who hate it for not being a scene for scene 300 episode 15 year recreation.
One Punch Man is still the greatest indication that you don't need art style to succeed but only if an animation studio sees the worth in your series and adapt it accordingly.
Similarly, no matter how good your art style and content might be, if the studio screw that up you can say goodbye to a great boast in sales.
Ahem, berserk, for instance. The sales could be alot more and there's a lot of reasons why it should be more popular but the anime being average was surely a detriment.
First season is only 8 episodes and they're already halfway through, so you may as well wait.
Unless you want to interact with the community while its going.
Though right now the community is split between people that are enjoying it and "its biggest fans" who hate it for not being a scene for scene 300 episode 15 year recreation.
Ah, yeah, then I'll definitely wait a few more weeks until the end of the season. That discourse sounds…. fun lol. I'm worried that's what the OP Live action conversation will be like even if the show is good, which Captain M also alluded to earlier in the topic.
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I feel like this is pure thread derailment at this point, but why not?
Basically, I read the first chapters of both JJK and KnY. You definitely can't judge a shonen manga by its first chapter, but it strikes me as odd how incredibly amateurish KnY's art looks. JJK has its own style and looks crisp and unique (even if not mindblowing), but KnY looks straight up bad. Again, only read the first chapter of each, but the way they are JJK feels like it'll be more rewarding in the long run. Weird choice to make the protagonist kind of an already established badass, since these mangas usually go for the underdog, but interesting none the less.
Now, KnY did go for something a bit different in terms of drama and tragedy, which I guess was its main pull for audiences, but again, it's shocking how bad the art looks.
Just random thoughts that mean nothing since these are just the first chapters. Didn't feel a massive urge to keep on reading any of them, but I might in the future, who knows.
I read all of KnY last year after it ended; I enjoyed it. And that's about it. Not that much stuck with me. It was a very familiar shonen battle structure. Fights are used to propel the story forward. Basically all character and plot development is centered around a string of battles and the final set of battles takes up a much, much larger chunk of the series than I expected.
The anime is extremely high quality which works particularly well for the series because it's so battle driven. I would say KnY's story structure is much more similar to Dragon Ball Z (specifically Z; post-Saiyan arc). There is very little space in the story between battles / fights. I would say by comparison, though there are many battle scenes in One Piece, at its core, One Piece isn't really a battle manga. Oda more heavily builds on adventure and mystery story structure. Evidenced by the amount of time between battles, particularly past the East Blue. By comparison, KnY has a very simple story structure which demands very little of its audience in terms of investing in lore, remembering details from hundreds of chapters earlier, etc.
KnY is very well suited to the fast-paced fluid animation style UFOable uses because so much of the story is compris. Also, it's short and easy for people to buy the entire series. I would say each of its individual strengths were done better by other series. Fullmetal Alchemist was a much richer story about siblings going to the ends of the earth to rescue each other for example. But that doesn't really matter because the story is perfectly enjoyable.
Sales are all about reaching the widest possible audience. I would say KnY is a series that a LOT of people could easily enjoy. It's very easy to get into, has no glaring weaknesses. The plot is simple, particularly compared to One Piece - but even when compared to other WSJ manga like Naruto and Bleach. There is much less lore and worldbuilding. Even My Hero Academia is high-concept by comparison because the nature and distribution of quirks becomes a focal point fairly early and Horikoshi attempted to build a larger cast of characters.
JJK isn't bad; I have read the first 10 chapters and watched the first few episodes of the anime. But it also strikes me as very familiar. It's very much in the same vein as Bleach and YuYu Hakusho before it - and YuYu remains my favorite of the three. Again, I think the anime is what's' primarily responsible for driving sales of the manga. It's no small coincidence they're now animating the Thousand Year Blood War arc in Bleach and potentially reviving the manga based on he one-shot from earlier this year.
One Punch Man is still the greatest indication that you don't need art style to succeed but only if an animation studio sees the worth in your series and adapt it accordingly.
Except for however popular OPm was, it didn't really take off until an actual artist came in and did an amazeballs version of it. Where the art was SO good everyone said there was no point in trying to animate it, so the studio took that as a challenge and did an aamzeballs adaptation.
But then the second season was by a different studio and not as good and no one cared.
Ahem, berserk, for instance. The sales could be alot more and there's a lot of reasons why it should be more popular but the anime being average was surely a detriment.
Not really. As good as Berserk is, and as deserving as it is of a better adapataion, anything that hyper violent and graphic is always going to be a niche audience… no matter how good the story and characters are.
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Ah, yeah, then I'll definitely wait a few more weeks until the end of the season. That discourse sounds…. fun lol. I'm worried that's what the OP Live action conversation will be like even if the show is good, which Captain M also alluded to earlier in the topic.
Oh that's 1000% what's going to happen.
I'm expecting a Cowboy Bebop situation. Where its maybe fine if you've never seen the original, and the acting and main character chemistry is good, but ultimately ends up being not as good.
Hopefully it has nice visuals and fight scenes, that's all I'm really hoping for from it. I had much higher hopes before Bebop hit.
The one thing they MAYBE have going for them is that Bebop looked grounded so they tried to recreate it exactly… that won't be an option for OP so they'll NEED to take it another direction. SInce they won't be able to condense without REALLY condensing, I'm hoping they actually mostly do their own thing.
ONE other title Mob Psycho may have been a better example of serie that does not need good art. Although its animation also helped
Oh that's 1000% what's going to happen.
I'm expecting a Cowboy Bebop situation. Where its maybe fine if you've never seen the original, and the acting and main character chemistry is good, but ultimately ends up being not as good.
Hopefully it has nice visuals and fight scenes, that's all I'm really hoping for from it. I had much higher hopes before Bebop hit.
The one thing they MAYBE have going for them is that Bebop looked grounded so they tried to recreate it exactly… that won't be an option for OP so they'll NEED to take it another direction. SInce they won't be able to condense without REALLY condensing, I'm hoping they actually mostly do their own thing.
Yeah, I think you're right about the grounded aspect. I think the episodic nature of Bebop also lends itself more to trying to recreate the story. Like, in Bebop's case, if it goes 2 - 3 seasons on Netflix, that's actually more screentime than the original.
Even with just the East Blue, they've got about half the amount of time in one season. And the fantastical elements definitely demand they do a lot more to adapt to a new medium. At the very least, Bebop indicates SFX budget won' be a big issue.
About the action movie, can it really have an impact on Japan sales ? I don't inow the audience of netflix in the country but if it has an impact it would rather be on export sales and we won't see it in oricon figures
Only the next movie will have a noticeable effect on sales if it can pull off another Strong World scenario.
Except for however popular OPm was, it didn't really take off until an actual artist came in and did an amazeballs version of it. Where the art was SO good everyone said there was no point in trying to animate it, so the studio took that as a challenge and did an aamzeballs adaptation.
I agree that Yusuke Murata played a huge role but I think even if he did not pick it up, some other studio would have saw the value in ONE's work and done the same. I mean if you replace "Yusuke Murata" with any competent studio, its basically the same thing. Although I get your point that him reworking the art probably has helped Madhouse tremendously but then again, they took it up as a challenge and obviously wants to show off.
But then the second season was by a different studio and not as good and no one cared.
Which was kind of my point that had the season still have been done by Madhouse, it would have been veru different because no matter how good the content is, a shit adaption will still kill off anyone's interest.
This, by the way, is also what happens for One Piece viewers first binging the series and reaches a point where the animation becomes lifeless and pacing becomes miserable, and their interest is easily diverted into other series such as demon slayer. It's not that the content is bad, the adaption just fail to hold interest and stimuli as compared to other titles. It's not uncommon for people to jump in and then out of the series before jumping in again after a while because of some kind of hype. Completely different story if it was a manga thing though.
Not really. As good as Berserk is, and as deserving as it is of a better adapataion, anything that hyper violent and graphic is always going to be a niche audience… no matter how good the story and characters are.
Except Chainsaw-man will prove that wrong soon. The niche audience thing is less of a thing now, a lot of gruesome stuff is going mainstream and is quickly being popularized. I would even argue that Jojo, especially part 1, would have had difficulty reaching worldwide recognition when it was first adapted but look at how that went. It's really a manner of proper direction and having the competency to properly translate the source material onto screen. Unless you are talking about the rape and the inter species aspects, then yeah but even then I'll argue that the imagery can be approached different as opposed to dropping the idea out right.
Edit: Just to get this off my mind, the popularity of KnY, JJK and Chainsaw-man share similar traits such as how dark the setting is and how easy the characters die. It's not exactly cheap deaths either. This could be a new age and new wave of readers thing but the 3 series do have no qualms killing off characters when it matters (a high stake arc or when a threatening character appears). Similarly, there are mature themes littered across the manga. KnY might be your "average" slice of shounen but
! half of the cast pretty much died at the end, with the MC dying shortly, and the main character had his family killed in the first chapter. Oh and there was a cult and the last boss was a giant baby monster. . Then there is JJK with a very devastating recent arc. Chainsaw-man is, well, Chainsaw-man. This all runs oppose to Oda who rarely kills anyone (twice in 20 years) and high stakes arc usually end with a predictable banquet. Even series like TPN had death, mature themes and a pretty dark setting that drew in a ton of interest and sales before it slowly declined. Audience are now more inclined to, and actually favor, stories that are darker and more mature. I mean, not like it wasn't a thing with YYH and Chimera but those were by the one chad Togashi and it was an exception. Now, the bar has been pushed further. I don't exactly think that One Piece is less mature but there is this pseudorealism that newer series have that One Piece lacks, probably because their authors set out to do respectively different things.
It's an observation, i don't have data and I'm not spewing any opinions as truth but yeah, that's cool.
This is overall a very good net benefit to the industry. Can you imagine a world where in order for you to be the top selling manga, you have to meet One Piece's criteria of running 20 years and being able to hit all the right notes? It's way better to come in, tell a cohesive and quality story and let it sell like hotcakes and then leave. Kimetsu was an exception until it wasn't. JJK then came in and followed by Chainsaw-man. The next "One Piece" is ironically not supposed to be like the next One Piece at all.
While it's nice to see some new styles of story succeeding from the pages of Jump, it's not like this was the never before tried manga storytelling revolution the magazine was waiting for all along. These things come and go in cycles with each generation. Though I haven't read a whole lot of pre-big three Jump titles, I know things like Fist of the North Star and Jojo had a much different tone, atmosphere and willingness to brutally and permanently kill off characters than the titles that defined shonen when I first discovered the genre. And even then, fifteen-odd years ago, there were titles trying the things that have brought JJk and KnY so much success today. I've been thinking for a while that something like D.Gray-Man - with its softboy protagonist who fights to save his enemies as much as he does to save his friends and bittersweet arc endings where you sometimes can't save everyone and the best you can do is ease their pain a little before the end - would have been a hit with the Kimetsu audience. But they just aren't the ones who were reading back then. Give it another decade and tastes will change entirely another time. Maybe back to the old 50 volume high-energy beat 'em ups where no one ever properly dies, or maybe to something else entirely different with whole other expected lifetime.
One Piece definitely bears signs of the times it was started in, but that's definitely part of its charm. People fret about it losing readers over time, but it would have lost a lot more if it had bent over backwards to imitate every new series that takes off. Even the relatively small transition from main crew stories to current island ensemble cast ones since the timeskip, even without a major change in tone or style, seems to be hard to swallow for some old-guard fans The series long-term consistency is a healthy trait, and one that's definitely still working for it.
With shonen manga at least there's a before Dragonball and after Dragonball. That one title singlehandedly changed the entire market and the series that followed it in the next generation. One Piece and Naruto wore that influence on its sleeve but you also saw it in basically every battle manga.
One Piece came a few years after Dragonball ended and recaptured that spirit. But it casts such a long shadow now though that nothing is going to try to be "the next One Piece" while its still running.
We're right now getting a generation of creators that… grew up on One Piece and are reacting to it. But since its still running they're not trying to be the next one, they're trying to be the opposite. Why there's so much random death in the more popular new titles.
We're never going to get another One Piece with an author that runs their story for 30 years and holds the crown for a decade... but we are going to get a lot more MHA, JJK, KnY imitators and stories that were influenced by them.
SHorter runs with bigger more expensive (but shorter!) anime adaptations are clearly the way to go now... the old method of running a show all year with lots of filler is probably done for.
I'm very late to this thread, but Oricon is not the only metric for sales^^
One Piece has been selling around 7-8million copies for the past 2 years in Japan. I would like to divert everyones attention a bit more to France.
Last Year OP sold over 2 million copies there.
This year it sold around 3-4 million. That's literally a whooping 10.5 million sales in total, not even counting USA and other countries which would probably bring it closer to 11-12 million.
What I wanna say is, French is estimated to see another 200% increase in Manga sales next year, which of course reflects onto One Piece sales' as well since that's by far the biggest manga over there. We might very well be looking at a market that will run head to head with Japan in terms of sales in just 2-3 Years when it comes to OP lol. They are really crazy there. Wouldn't be surprised if they get close to 4 or even 5 million in sales for 2022.
Just counting One Piece's sales in France would bring it into this years Oricon Top 20 (considering Haikyuu placed 10th with 4.3 million sales)
The future is looking bright! Just not in Japan but somewhere else
A bit more optimism people 
DruMzTV
Thanks for the heads. I wonder if there's a site that's collecting worldwide sales of OP.
With these news, i guess we could see another announcement (500 million worldwide) even before summer next year!
And how if both netflix and OP film Red both released in 2022.
Plus whatever big enemy awaiting after kaidou defeated or run, the continuation of sabo and shichibukai. 2022 certainly gonna explode.
