Fuyumi Ono’s ‘Yumei no Kishi: Juni Kokuki’ Tops Billboard Japan Book Hot 100 for 2nd Week, ‘Nanji, Hoshi no Gotoku’ Climbs Ahead of Film

Fuyumi Ono’s Yumei no Kishi: Juni Kokuki holds atop the Billboard Japan Book Hot 100 for the second week on the list released Oct. 1.

The title is the first new installment in seven years of the popular fantasy novel series Juni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms), celebrating its 35th anniversary. It continues to generate buzz this week, dominating brick-and-mortar and e-commerce (EC) while hitting No. 4 for social media.

Yama Wayama’s Onna no Sono no Hoshi Vol. 5 holds at No. 2, logging its third straight week in the top three. The title remains near the top in both digital and print, placing No. 2 in e-books and No. 4 in brick-and-mortar. Coming in at No. 3 is Pan Dorobo to Sasurai Ramen, the eighth installment in Keiko Shibata’s popular picture book series Pan Dorobo, up a notch from No. 4 where it debuted last week.

The tracking week included an extended holiday and saw few new releases, and perhaps with demand for reading also running high, long-selling novels gained points across the board. Yu Nagira’s Nanji, Hoshi no Gotoku rises 9-6, possibly because many readers “studied up” ahead of the highly anticipated live-action film adaptation due in theaters Oct. 9, starring Ryusei Yokohama and Suzu Hirose.

The Billboard Japan Book Hot 100 is a comprehensive chart combining physical books, e-books, subscriptions such as library loans, and social media buzz. Below are the top 10 titles on this week’s list, tracking the week from Sept. 21 to 27.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate the title’s metric placements for brick-and-mortar, EC, e-books, subscriptions, and social media, top 20 only. English title given if translations or adaptations exist.)

1. Yumei no Kishi: Juni Kokuki, Fuyumi Ono (1/1/–/–/4)

2. Onna no Sono no Hoshi Vol. 5, Yama Wayama (4/–/2/–/–)

3. Pan Dorobo to Sasurai Ramen, Keiko Shibata (2/–/–/–/–)

4. The JOJOLands Vol. 9, Hirohiko Araki (3/–/5/–/–)

5. Taiyo yori mo Mabushii Hoshi (A Star Brighter Than the Sun) Vol. 15, Kazune Kawahara (–/–/1/–/–)

6. Nanji, Hoshi no Gotoku, Yu Nagira (–/–/–/1/3)

7. In The Megachurch, Ryo Asai (–/–/–/2/1)

8. Eien no Kioku, Keigo Higashino (9/–/–/10/7)

9. Hakobune (The Ark), Haruo Yuki (–/–/–/–/2)

10. Hakucho to Komori (Guilt) Part 1, Keigo Higashino (5/–/–/–/–)