Solo Leveling flops in Blu-ray/DVD sales

Blu-ray and DVD sales in Japan have revealed a surprise for fans of the popular anime "Solo Leveling." Despite its enormous popularity globally, official Oricon data shows surprisingly low sales for the first Blu-ray and DVD volume in the series. According to Oricon data for the period of March 25-31, 2024, the popular anime "Girls Und Panzer Final Chapter Part 4" topped the list, 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 not even concrete figures were published. The lowest-rated Blu-ray/DVD volume, "Mashle: Divine Visionary Selection Exam Arc Vol. 1," indicated that "Solo Leveling Vol. 1" (released March 27) must have sold fewer than 634 units in its first week. The low sales figures for "Solo Leveling" added to 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, with many suspecting that it will be a sequel.

While it's unclear why "Solo Leveling" hasn't been as successful in Japan, comments from Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini suggest that 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 then cited this franchise as a series worth Crunchyroll's investment in given its wider audience.

Internationally, "Solo Leveling" has been much more successful. On MyAnimeList, the world's largest anime database, which also boasts 95% of users outside of Japan, "Solo Leveling" was among the highest-rated series of the season. In addition, it had a surprisingly low dropout rate among viewers who had started the series. The low sales of "Solo Leveling" in Japan may be disconcerting to some, but they show that the success of an anime can vary significantly depending on the region and the audience it is targeting.

Source: Oricon News