Frieren Holds the Top Spot on the Billboard Japan Book Hot 100 for Two Weeks in a Row
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Volume 15 of Soso no Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe continues to dominate the Billboard Japan Book Hot 100, retaining the No. 1 position in the chart released on January 1.
The Japan Book Hot 100 is a comprehensive ranking that combines sales from physical books, e-books, library loans, subscription-based consumption, and social media engagement. This week, Volume 15, released on December 18, marks its second consecutive week at the top after debuting last week. The volume leads in physical-store sales and ranks No. 3 for e-books, No. 15 for e-commerce, while maintaining a presence within the top 50 on social media platforms across all metrics.
Holding steady at No. 2 is the latest installment of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries), adapted from the Monthly Sunday GX manga. Debuting at No. 3 this week is the comic adaptation of the light novel Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru (From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman) Volume 8, which received an anime adaptation last year.
During the final chart week of 2025, novels observed significant gains, likely driven by year-end retrospectives among both bookstores and individual readers, along with heightened demand for binge reading during the holiday season. Kanae Minato’s Ningen Hyouhon (Human Specimens), recently adapted into a live-action drama on Prime Video, and Mina Miyajima’s Naruse wa Tenka wo Toriniiku, the inaugural volume in the Naruse series, each moved up one position. Notably, Ryo Asai’s In the Megachurch made a remarkable leap from outside the top 20 last week to No. 13.
Here are the top titles on this week’s JAPAN Book Hot 100:
JAPAN BOOK HOT 100 Top 10
(Numbers in parentheses indicate the title’s metric placements for physical stores, e-commerce, e-books, subscriptions, and social media. Only top 20 are listed.)
1. Soso no Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) Vol. 15, Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe (1・15・3・-・-)
2. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto ~ Maomao no Kokyu Nazotoki Techo ~ (The Apothecary Diaries) Vol. 21, Hyuuganatsu, Minoji Kurata, Touko Shino (3・5・7・-・-)
3. Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshi-tachi ga Ore wo Hotte Kurenai Ken (From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman) Vol. 8, Shigeru Sagazaki, Tetsuhiro Nabeshima, Kazuki Sato (2・-・11・-・-)
4. Honey Lemon Soda Vol. 30, Mayu Murata (6・-・2・-・-)
5. Ore dake Level Up na Ken (Solo Leveling) Vol. 23, DUBU (REDICE STUDIO), Chugong, h-goon (4・-・6・-・-)
6. Masshiro na Choucho, MAYA (-・1・-・-・-)
7. Ningen Hyouhon (Human Specimens), Kanae Minato (8・-・-・-・6)
8. Naruse wa Tenka wo Toriniiku, Mina Miyajima (-・-・-・1・3)
9. Taiyou yori mo Mabushii Hoshi (A Star Brighter Than the Sun) Vol. 13, Kazune Kawahara (-・-・1・-・-)
10. Bakudan (Bomb), Katsuhiro Go (-・-・-・18・2)
