2025 is only around the corner and light novel statistics for 2024 are here.
In 2023 the light novel A Certain Magical Index was the number 1 selling light novel of all time. It has been for decades.
Novels like Slayers and Shakugan No Shana, which are OGS, are still on the top sellers list so many years later, including the “hated for no reason” Sword Art Online franchise.
But things have changed with the positions of many top sellers in 2024.
Let’s focus on genres from this year and see what’s changed in detail.
Here’s a list.
M in this article represents “millions”.
The top-selling light novels by sales (2024):
1. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (40M+)
2. The Apothecary Diaries (38M+)
3. Guin Saga (33M+)
4. A Certain Magical Index (31M+ including spin-offs)
5. Sword Art Online (30M+)
6. Haruhi Suzumiya (20M+)
7. The Irregular at Magic High School (20M+)
8. Slayers (20M+)
9. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (17M+)
10. Kagerou Project (15M+)
11. Sorcerous Stabber Orphen (14M+)
12. Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World (13M+)
13. Mushoku Tensei (13M+)
14. The Twelve Kingdoms (12M+)
15. Overlord (12M+)
16. Full Metal Panic! (11M+)
17. The Rising of the Shield Hero (11M+)
18. Ascendance of a Bookworm (11M+)
19. My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected (10M+)
20. Record of Lodoss War (10M+)
21. Konosuba (10M+)
Honorable Mentions:
- Classroom of the Elite (9.5M+).
- Aria the Scarlet Ammo (9M+).
- Shakugan No Shana (8.6M+).
- Kino’s Journey (8.2M+).
- Baka and Test (7.3M+).
Breaking down the results:
- Sword Art Online is still the 5th best selling light novel of all time, despite all the “western” hate train attempts.
- Money talks.
- The #1 best-selling light novel WAS A Certain Magical Index, but Tensei Slime has taken its spot in 2024 which is a surprising feat.
- A Certain Magical Index held its spot for so many years but is now #3 best selling.
- Shakugan No Shana is still in the top 30, but not the top 20 or top 10.
- Apochaery Diaries is now the #2 best seller of light novels, a big increase since 2023.
- Slayers, released in the 1990s, is still dominating the top 10 light novel sales charts annually for 2024.
- Danmachi is in the top 9 best selling light novels, which continues to increase bit by bit.
- Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei are basically neck and neck with their sales figures, competing against each other.
- Both are also considered two of the best Isekai of all time.
- Guin Saga is also a surprising entry at #3, all things considered.
- Shield Hero and Ascendance Of A Bookworm have made BIG leaps to make it into the top 20 best selling anime light novels.
- Out of the two, Ascendance Of A Bookworm has received the best reception overall.
Sales percentages:
Source: Wikipedia Light Novel Sales Breakdown
And that’s all there is to it.
I’ll break down another post like this soon, so keep an eye out for that.
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