Manga fever never ceases to delight bookstores.
With 23 million copies sold in the first half, sales of Japanese comics have more than doubled in France in three years, appearing as the
"most dynamic"
publishing sector, according to figures released on Saturday by the specialist firm GfK.
Over the first six months of the year, manga sales grew by 14 million copies compared to the same period in 2019, an increase of 168%.
Compared to the first half of 2021, a record year for the book market in France, manga sales increased by 15% (+3 million copies), even though all the other categories recorded a drop over the period. (-3% for modern fiction or -10% for genre comics, for example).
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Berserk
manga continues after the death of its creator Kentaro Miura
In total, all genres combined,
“143 million new printed books”
were sold in the first half of 2022 for a turnover of more than 1.6 billion euros, down slightly, both in volume and in value, by 5% compared to the first half of 2021.
“However, the market remains more than 10% higher than the level of activity in 2019”
, specifies a consultant from Gfk, Casseline Rosello, quoted in the press release from the firm.
Novels also remain the most popular genre in France, with 29.8 million copies stamped
"modern fiction" sold between January and June 2022. As proof, eight
"modern fiction"
titles
make up the Top 10 most popular books .
purchased in the first semester, dominated by
The Alaska Sanders Affair
by Joël Dicker, followed by the novel
The Big World: The Glorious Years
by Pierre Lemaitre and Anéantir by Michel Houellebecq.
