One Piece Outselling Jujutsu Kaisen in 2025 Isn’t Impressive — Here’s Why
One Piece topped Oricon’s 2025 manga charts, but the real headline isn’t the win — it’s how Jujutsu Kaisen nearly stole the year.
If you saw One Piece at the top of 2025 Oricon manga sales and treated it like an earthquake, dial it back. The real story is that Jujutsu Kaisen almost snatched the year while basically napping.
What actually happened
Yes, One Piece finished No. 1. But JJK, with no anime airing and just two new volumes in 2025, still ended up right on its heels. That is not normal. One Piece had fresh volumes, final-saga drumbeats, nonstop discourse, and Luffy everywhere. JJK had leftover shockwaves from Shibuya, the occasional Gojo/Sukuna trend cycle, and... that’s about it. And it still nearly tied the most mainstream juggernaut in Japan.
The numbers everyone keeps posting
These are the widely shared final estimates for Oricon’s 2025 yearly manga ranking. Context matters, so keep that JJK downtime in mind while you look at this:
- 01. One Piece - ~4,220,000
- 02. Jujutsu Kaisen - ~3,925,000
- 03. Dandadan - ~3,510,000
- 04. Blue Lock - ~3,010,000
- 05. Kingdom - ~2,520,000
- 06. Blue Box - ~2,360,000
- 07. Sakamoto Days - ~2,335,000
In a year where One Piece had the full machine behind it, JJK was basically idling and still almost matched pace. Even the Straw Hats couldn’t sail that far ahead.
Why that’s a big deal
This blows up the old idea that JJK could never press Demon Slayer-level numbers. If JJK can push nearly 4 million copies with minimal new material and zero broadcast oxygen, imagine the spike once the anime is back. The brand power is already there: Sukuna is a global menace meme, Gojo is a cultural event whenever he blinks, and the fanbase shows up like it’s a mission briefing.
"Give us the movie. We will show up."
That’s the mood, and these sales back it up. Anyone saying a Gojo vs Sukuna movie couldn’t sniff Demon Slayer’s box office should at least re-run the math after this year.
So what’s coming next? Quick spoiler note
Season 3 is set to tackle the Culling Game - think multiple colony battles with Hakari, Yuta, Megumi, and Yuji all getting their time. Gojo re-enters the story near the end of that arc. The heavyweight stuff people constantly talk about - Gojo vs Sukuna and Yuji’s full spotlight - happens after the Culling Game in the Shinjuku Showdown arc. Expect that to get its own space, either as Season 4 or a major movie play. If they go theatrical and nail the emotions, JJK has a real shot at matching (or beating) the energy Demon Slayer brought with its big arcs.
One more datapoint
If you care about ratings: One Piece sits around 9.0/10 on IMDb; Jujutsu Kaisen hovers near 8.5/10. Both stream on Crunchyroll. Not definitive, but it does show both series are broadly loved and easily accessible worldwide.
Bottom line
Sure, One Piece won 2025. But it was the marathoner in racing shoes. JJK showed up in flip-flops and almost outpaced it anyway. With Season 3 coming in 2026, this year feels less like a loss for JJK and more like a heads-up to everyone else: when it actually presses the gas, the ceiling gets scary.
Do you think JJK’s next anime push makes the box office conversation a two-horse race? I’m leaning yes.