Jujutsu Kaisen and The Summer Hikaru Died on New York Times August Bestseller List
The first volume of Jujutsu Kaisen, the manga written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, rose to 7th place on the New York Times August Graphic Books and Manga bestseller list. This achievement once again highlighted the series' strong sales performance in the U.S. market. The manga The Summer Hikaru Died also appeared on the same list, demonstrating the continued international popularity of Japanese manga.
This monthly list published by the New York Times is considered an important indicator of the mainstream success of manga and graphic novels. The fact that the first volume of Jujutsu Kaisen is still on the list shows that the series continues to attract readers not only through its anime adaptation but also through its source material. The series began in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2018 and quickly reached millions of sales worldwide.
On the other hand, The Summer Hikaru Died is another notable series written and illustrated by Mokumokuren. This supernatural horror story, which began serialization in Kadokawa's Comic Gene magazine in 2022, revolves around mysterious events between two friends. The series' English translation is handled by Yen Press, and it quickly built a cult following among Western readers. Its presence on this list proves that manga pushing the boundaries of the genre can also achieve mainstream success.
This development can be seen as a reflection of the global growth of the manga industry. In particular, the anime adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen being produced by MAPPA and gaining a massive fanbase worldwide directly contributes to the series' sales. Additionally, the fact that even more niche genres like The Summer Hikaru Died find a place on the NYT list shows that readers are seeking diversity. New volumes of both series are expected to be released in the coming months, which raises curiosity about whether they can maintain their positions on the lists.
