Blu-ray and DVD sales in Japan have revealed a surprise for fans of the popular anime “Solo Leveling“. Despite its enormous popularity worldwide, official Oricon data shows surprisingly low sales for the first Blu-ray and DVD volume of the series. According to Oricon data for the period from March 25 to 31, 2024, the popular anime “Girls Und Panzer Final Chapter Part 4” topped the chart, with 32,614 copies sold. In second place was “Gushing over Magical Girls Vol. 1” with 8,114 copies, followed by “Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror (Limited Edition) Vol. 7” with 3,380 copies.
On the other hand, “Solo Leveling” failed to achieve a prominent position in sales, and no concrete figures were even published. Lowest ranked Blu-ray/DVD volume, “Mashle: Divine Visionary Selection Exam Arc Vol. 1“, he indicated that “Solo Leveling Vol. 1” (released March 27) must have sold less than 634 units in its first week. The low sales figures for “Solo Leveling” came on top of those of other popular anime, such as “Undead Unluck” and “Shangri-La Frontier“.
Although fans often consider Blu-ray/DVD sales as a sign of whether an anime will receive future seasons, both “Shangri-La Frontier” and “Solo Leveling” have already announced second seasons. “Undead Unluck” has also confirmed that it will make a big announcement on August 1, 2024, and many suspect it will be a sequel.
Although it’s unclear why “Solo Leveling” hasn’t been as successful in Japan, comments from Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini suggest this was always a possibility. In an interview with The Verge, he highlighted that “sometimes certain stories may not be something that our partners can create and produce primarily for the Japanese audience.” He later cited this franchise as a series worth Crunchyroll investing in given its broader audience.
Internationally, “Solo Leveling” has been much more successful. On MyAnimeList, the largest anime database in the world, which also has 95% of users outside Japan, “Solo Leveling” was among the highest-rated series of the season. Additionally, it had a surprisingly low abandonment rate among viewers who had started the series. The poor sales of “Solo Leveling” in Japan may be disconcerting to some, but they demonstrate that the success of an anime can vary significantly depending on the region and the audience it targets.
Fountain: Oricon News
