[According to Nippan]Bestsellers for the first half of 2024 announced: Overall No. 1 is “Henna Ie 2: 11 Floor Plans” (Asuka Shinsha)

■For details on the rankings, please see below.

■ Overall ranking trends

1. A hit among “light readers”; awareness of “type” and “cost-effectiveness” continues
Many of the works ranked in the top 10 have easy-to-read content and structure, making them a hit among young people in their teens and twenties, as well as “light readers” who don't usually read many books.
In addition, perhaps due to a desire to choose something interesting to read in a short amount of time and cost-effectiveness, there has been a noticeable trend for works that have gained popularity and reputation due to being made into films or winning awards to show a large increase in popularity.
② “Empathy” and “sympathy” are the keys
Readers were drawn to works that they could “empathize” with, either in terms of the content or the protagonist, and the resulting “empathy” tended to generate more buzz and buzz about the work.
Additionally, because works that have become hot topics among readers' posts on social media are ranked highly, it is believed that the nature of social media, which displays topics that people are particularly interested in, tends to create “empathy” and is what creates “buzzworthy works.”

■ Trends by genre

[General]You too can get lost in a “strange house”!? Once you start reading, you can't stop, and this unusual real estate mystery is ranked high
The latest book in the popular series, “Weird House 2: 11 Floor Plans,” which unravels mysteries that arise from house floor plans, was the number one bestseller in the first half of 2024.
This work is an occult mystery by Amana, a horror writer and YouTuber, in which the reader is tasked with deciphering mysteries and tricks from floor plans. The large number of diagrams in the work makes it easy to pick up even for people who don't usually read books, and it gained even more attention when it was made into a movie in March 2024. The first book in the series, “Henna Ie” (Strange House), has sold over 940,000 copies of its printed version (as of May 30, 2024).
Coming in fourth was the already published “Weird House,” and in seventh place was “Weird Pictures.” With “Weird House Paperback Edition” coming in first in the paperback genre, the “Weird House” series has created a huge sensation.
Coming in at number 5 is “Naruse wa Tenka wo Tou Ni Iku,” a refreshing story about a female junior high school student who uses her unique character to get her friends and those around her involved in making her dream come true. The story is set in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, but has since become popular across the country, and despite it being the author's debut work, it has won many awards, including the grand prize at the 21st Booksellers Awards. The sequel, “Naruse wa Shinjyita Michi wo Iku,” published in January 2024, came in at number 16, and was popular for its refreshing depiction of Naruse, who has grown up and become a university student, believing in his own path and forging ahead. This fresh story, which attracts people who don't usually read books and the younger generation, has also resulted in book purchases.
On the other hand, popular works that are sure to remain popular also made the list, just like last year. Coming in second and third are “Big Pinch Picture Book 2” and “Big Pinch Picture Book,” which are popular with people of all ages and genders. This popular series classifies various crises in the world into “big crisis level” and “likelihood of occurring,” and describes ways to deal with them. “Big Pinch Picture Book” also became a hot topic after winning eight picture book awards. Other popular picture book series such as “The Bread Thief and the Hot Pot” and “What Smart People Think Before They Speak” also made the list, and works that have continued to gain popularity since last year also made the list. In these days when people want to buy good products reliably, with a focus on “value” and “cost-effectiveness,” there is a tendency for products that are already well-established for their entertainment value and popularity to be read more often.

[Fiction Books]Amaana! Naruse! Novels that “deeply appeal to the casual reader” are on the rise
Amana's “Henna Ie 2 ~11 Floor Plans~” and “Henna Ie” came in first and second place. In the 2023 annual bestselling fiction genre, “Henna Ie” won first place, and this time the new work won first place, making it the second consecutive win for the series. Due in part to the effect of “Henna Ie” being made into a movie in March 2024, related works are all ranked high. In third place is “Naruse wa Tenka wo Tou Ni Iku.” It is a coming-of-age novel set in Shiga Prefecture, and the uniqueness of the title and the main character, Naruse, became a hot topic. Its popularity further accelerated after it won the grand prize at the “21st Bookstore Awards,” and the sequel “Naruse wa Shinjyita Michi wo Iku” also ranked in sixth place. Other works by popular authors and celebrities on the list include Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's “Totto-chan: The Second Story of the Little Girl at the Window,” Nagira Yu's “A Study of the Stars,” and Keigo Higashino's “You Killed Someone.” One that stood out was No. 8 “Even if All Love Ends: 140-Character Love Stories.” This ultra-short collection of heartbreaking love stories, each completed in 140 characters, became a hot topic on social media for making people cry in 30 seconds, and a related video introducing the book was posted on TikTok and became popular.

[Book Business]”What smart people think before they speak” is number one!
“What Smart People Think Before They Speak,” which has been a hot topic on social media since its release, has ranked first in the business genre of annual best-selling books in 2023, and also became the number one best-selling book in the first half of 2024.
Perhaps reflecting the current social climate, products related to asset formation and management are also doing well. “My First New NISA & iDeCo,” an introductory book on the new NISA that will be launched in January 2024, features full-color introductory manga and other content that is easy to understand for those who are just starting to manage their assets, and has been popular. Other books that made the list include “Who is Your Money for” and “The Teachings of Shigeru, an 87-Year-Old Active Trader.”

[New Fiction Books]”Haikyu!!” dominates the top rankings! Products that have become popular due to their film adaptations are selling well
“Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle at the Dump” came in first place. It is a novelization of the movie that was released in February 2024 and caused a big stir, and depicts one of the most popular matches in the series. Also, the “Haikyu!! Showsetsuban!!” series ranked second and below. This work was a collaboration with the sports magazine “Sportiva” to coincide with the timing of the movie adaptation as part of the 30th anniversary project of the founding of “JUMP j BOOKS”, and all volumes were given a full-length obi replacement and a ticket-style bookmark as a bonus. It became a big topic on SNS, and many fans re-purchased in order to purchase the special obi of their favorite character, and the series has achieved a total of 3.39 million copies in circulation. In fourth place is “Oshi no Ko: Spica, the First Star”, which depicts the events before the start of the main story of “Oshi no Ko”, which became a hot topic due to the popularity of the anime and the accompanying music. Most of the top rankings are works that became popular due to being made into movies and anime, and there was a tendency for purchases to be driven by the buzz caused by the video adaptation.

[Paperback]”The Strange House” tops the paperback rankings! Popularity due to its film adaptation and digging up past masterpieces
The paperback edition of the popular series “Weird House” took first place, and the “Weird House” series achieved a triple crown in the overall, hardcover fiction, and paperback genres. In second place was “Black Showman and the Murder in a Nameless Town.” This is the first work in the popular series, and it is set in a rural town that has become depopulated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is about the truth behind a murder case that occurred in that town. In third place was “If I Could Meet You Again, at the Hill Where Those Flowers Bloom.” It is a love story about a high school girl who travels back in time to wartime Japan and a kamikaze pilot. It initially became a hot topic among junior and senior high school students as a “tearjerker” after being posted on TikTok, and its popularity was rekindled with the success of the movie released in December 2023. There was also a trend of past masterpieces being re-examined due to the film adaptations and excitement on social media, such as “Flowers for Algernon (New Edition)” and “At a Closed Snowy Lodge.”

[Photobook]Nogizaka46 5th Generation's first photobook “Ano Koro, Nogizaka Ni Ita” takes first place
Nogizaka46's 5th generation member's first photobook, “Nogizaka46 5th Generation Photobook: Back Then, I Was in Nogizaka,” ranked first. The photobook features 11 5th generation members who joined in February 2022, and attracted attention with its school trip-like shots and homage shots to the photobooks of earlier members. In second place is Nogizaka46 Yamashita Mizuki's 3rd generation member, Yamashita Mizuki's photobook, “Nogizaka46 Yamashita Mizuki 2nd Photobook: Heroine.” This book is the culmination of Yamashita Mizuki's idol career after her graduation concert in May 2024. In third place is Matsumoto Jun's first solo photobook, “JUN MATSUMOTO 20220830-20231026 THE RECORDS OF DAYS OF LIVING AS IEYASU.” The film contains records from August 30, 2022, her 39th birthday, to October 26, 2023, when the taiga drama “What Will Ieyasu Do?” wrapped up filming.

■Nihon Shuppan Hanbai is a publishing and sales company (publishing distributor) responsible for the distribution of books and magazines.
■Our bestseller information is compiled based on POS sales data from approximately 3,000 bookstores, taking into consideration the sales situation at bookstores across the country.
■The collection period is from November 22, 2023 to May 20, 2024.

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