While overall manga sales went up about 10% last year, Kodansha Comics’ sales grew three times faster, and 2025 was Kodansha’s best year of all time in comic shops, Ben Applegate, who heads up the Kodansha USA publishing team at Penguin Random House, told attendees at the ComicsPRO Annual Meeting. “Every year, we’ve spent more time and money strengthening our relationships with comic shops, because that investment has always paid off,” he said.
Kodansha’s best-selling books in comic shops in 2025 were Vols. 1 and 2 of Blue Lock, Vols. 1 and 2 of Gachiakuta, and Vol. 1 of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, all series that have anime adaptations. Applegate noted that according to BookScan the top-selling manga of 2026 is Vol. 1 of Gachiakuta.
Kodansha moved Blue Lock to a monthly schedule in July 2025 (see “Kodansha’s ‘Blue Lock’ Soccer Manga to Go Monthly”). A new remix, Blue Lock Full Color Selection, will be a compilation of colorized Blue Lock chapters published in the same format as a comics trade paperback. Each of the three volumes will spotlight a different character from the series, and Applegate announced that all three volumes will be available in time for the holidays, with the first volume coming out in October, the second in November, and the third in December 2026. Kodansha’s Comics Giveaway Day selection will be a two-in-one preview of Blue Lock Full Color Selection and Dragon Circus.
Applegate and Senior Marketing Director Ivan Salazar showed off a number of deluxe products, including the first look at Attack on Titan Definitive Edition, hardcover three-in-one omnibi with textured faux leather covers featuring two different colors of foil stamping and deboss. With the Witch Hat Atelier anime set to debut in April 2026, and over 540,000 volumes of the series in print in English, Kodansha is following up with the deluxe Witch Hat Atelier Grimoire Edition (see “Witch Hat Atelier, Attack on Titan Premium Editions”). The oversized hardcover will be available in May 2026. Other special editions highlighted in the presentation included the Gachiakuta box set, the first ten volumes of the series in a dumpster-shaped slipcase with an exclusive tote bag (see “‘Gachiakuta’ Box Set”), and Ghost in the Shell Legacy Edition Box Set, available now in anticipation of the upcoming anime (see “‘Ghost in the Shell’ Teaser”).
Attendees also got a first look at the first volume of Cells at Work Picture Book, a five-volume adaptation of Cells at Work for young readers. Each volume will cover two topics, from bumps and scrapes to the flu to stomach bacteria (“Busy, Busy Gut Bug Buddies”). The books are in full color and include comics, information, and activity pages.
For more great manga features, see “ICv2 Manga Week 2026.”
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Source: ICv2
