The manga market in Japan declined by about 1.7% in 2025, after seven consecutive years of growth. This figure, reported by several industry analysts, marks a turning point for an industry long perceived as a record-breaking machine. The manga and anime universe is undergoing a profound restructuring, where digital platforms are reshuffling the cards among publishers, platforms, and creators.
Print manga in decline: the end of one-million-copy magazines
The average circulation of Weekly Shonen Jump fell below the symbolic threshold of one million copies in spring 2026. This is the first time since the beginning of modern statistics from the Japan Magazine Publishers Association.
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Between the end of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, the magazine lost about 3.7% of its circulation, accelerating a decline that began in the 1990s. No print manga magazine in Japan now exceeds one million copies.
This decline does not reflect a lack of interest in manga. It reflects a structural shift towards mobile applications. The Shonen Jump+ app has surpassed 30 million downloads, and series like Spy x Family or Kaiju No. 8 first found their audience there before being published in print volumes. The magazine is becoming a niche product, while the app becomes the main entry point for Japanese readers.
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Manga and webtoon apps: the business model redefining creation
The shift to digital is not just a change of medium. It alters how mangas are conceived, published, and monetized.
On platforms like Shonen Jump+ or webtoon apps (Piccoma, LINE Manga), the model relies on free reading funded by advertising, supplemented by purchases of chapters in advance. This system favors series that hook readers from the first pages, with systematic cliffhangers at the end of chapters.
The consequences for creation are concrete:
- The vertical format of webtoons is gaining ground, including among traditional Japanese publishers experimenting with this format to capture a mobile audience
- Series that do not generate enough traffic in their first weeks are canceled faster than in the magazine model, where a mangaka could have several months to build their readership
- Independent authors publish directly on these platforms without going through a publisher, which multiplies the offerings but fragments readers’ attention
The domestic Japanese market is entering a maturity phase where growth will come from digital, not print. Analysts identify 2025 as the turning point.
Anime adaptations in 2026: between expected sequels and new licenses
On the anime side, the 2026 season confirms two parallel trends. Studios continue to exploit established franchises with sequels and spin-offs. Titles like From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman or Hell Mode are returning with new seasons announced by Crunchyroll during the summer of 2026.
The other movement, less visible but significant, concerns adaptations of licenses from video games. The announcement of the anime adaptation of Kingdom Hearts illustrates this growing convergence between the gaming and Japanese animation industries. This type of project targets an already established audience, reducing commercial risk for studios.
Global anime production continues to grow in volume. Streaming platforms (Crunchyroll, Netflix, Disney+) are directly funding original productions or exclusives, which fuels an inflation of the number of titles each season. The downside of this abundance: series have less time to find their audience before being replaced by the next wave.
Artificial intelligence and manga: the fault line in Japan
Japan held official manga competitions in 2026 incorporating the use of generative artificial intelligence tools. These initiatives, notably reported by Automaton Media and analysts on note.com, reveal a divide in the creative community.
On one side, some publishers and organizers see it as a way to reduce production times and assist mangakas with backgrounds or coloring. On the other hand, some authors and members of the public believe that using AI to generate visual elements undermines the artistic value of manga.
The question goes beyond aesthetic debate. It touches on the business model: if an AI-assisted mangaka produces faster, the pressure on publication deadlines increases for those working without these tools. The Japanese legal framework remains unclear on copyright applied to works partially generated by AI, creating uncertainty for both publishers and creators.
French manga market: editorial maturity and selectivity
The French market, the second largest in the world for manga consumption after Japan, is following its own trajectory. French publishers (Pika, Kana, Glénat, Ki-oon) are publishing a stable volume of new releases, but the selection of licenses is becoming more strategic.
The mooks, these hybrid works between magazines and art books, illustrate this evolution. Pika announced in August 2026 a mook dedicated to Dreamland, the French series by Reno Lemaire. This type of publication targets a loyal readership, willing to invest in a premium editorial object rather than just an additional volume.
The profitability of a manga license in France increasingly depends on its ability to exist across multiple platforms: print manga, streaming anime, merchandise, events. Series without anime adaptations struggle more to break into bookstores, reinforcing the dependence between the two industries.
The manga and anime market in 2026 is characterized by this dual dynamic: an ever-increasing production, but an audience’s attention that is becoming increasingly difficult to capture. The winners will be the publishers and studios capable of combining editorial quality, digital presence, and coherence across platforms.