The Seven Deadly Sins manga sales: 55 million and Oricon peak years
Nakaba Suzuki's fantasy series was Kodansha's biggest yearly manga seller for part of the mid-2010s, with cumulative circulation now including a sequel spin-off.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: The Seven Deadly Sins has printed over 55 million copies in total, including its sequel The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse, according to Kodansha's licensing site. In Oricon's 2015 yearly manga ranking, the series placed second with 10,304,112 copies sold in Japan between November 17, 2014, and November 22, 2015.
How many copies has The Seven Deadly Sins sold?
Kodansha's English licensing page states that The Seven Deadly Sins, including its sequel Four Knights of the Apocalypse, has printed over 55 million copies in total. The series has been published in more than 18 countries.
The 55 million figure is cumulative circulation for the franchise as a whole. Kodansha does not break out how much of that total belongs to the original series versus the sequel.
The original manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine from October 2012 to March 2020 and was collected into 41 tankobon volumes.
The 2015 Oricon peak
Oricon's 2015 yearly manga ranking, reproduced by the nbakki blog, lists The Seven Deadly Sins at number two with 10,304,112 copies sold. The tracking period ran from November 17, 2014, to November 22, 2015.
That was more than double the series' 2014 sales of 4,633,246 copies. The jump coincided with the first television anime season, which aired from October 2014 to March 2015.
Number one on the same chart was One Piece, with 14.1 million copies, giving a sense of the gap between a top-tier franchise and a strong secondary hit.
The Seven Deadly Sins Oricon yearly sales in Japan. Source: nbakki blog / Oricon.| Year | Oricon rank | Copies sold | Tracking period |
|---|
| 2014 | Not in top 10 | 4,633,246 | Nov 2013 to Nov 2014 |
| 2015 | 2 | 10,304,112 | Nov 2014 to Nov 2015 |
Publication and anime timeline
The Seven Deadly Sins was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine from October 2012 to March 2020. The first anime season aired from October 2014 to March 2015, followed by additional seasons and a Netflix game, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross.
The sequel manga, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse, began after the original series ended and has also received an anime adaptation.
Kodansha's licensing page highlights the Grand Cross mobile game, which achieved top-grossing positions in multiple countries shortly after release, though game revenue is separate from manga circulation.
What the 55 million figure means
The 55 million total is a publisher circulation figure. It counts volumes printed and shipped to retailers, plus digital editions, across all markets. It is not the same as the 10.3 million Oricon retail sales figure for 2015.
Because the total includes the sequel, readers comparing The Seven Deadly Sins to other manga should note that some competing series do not include sequel circulation in their headline numbers.
For example, Fairy Tail's reported 72 million copies apply to the original series, while Kodansha bundles the original Seven Deadly Sins with Four Knights of the Apocalypse.
Including the sequel: Kodansha explicitly says the 55 million total includes The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse. Without the sequel, the original series total would be lower, but Kodansha has not disclosed that split.
Franchise and licensing footprint
Beyond manga, the franchise includes multiple anime seasons, films, games, and merchandise lines. Kodansha's licensing page highlights collaborations with Netmarble and Good Smile Company, among others.
These extensions increase the franchise's total revenue but do not change the manga circulation figure. The 55 million number remains the best available public measure of the manga's commercial scale.
For licensors, the value proposition is the combined audience across manga, anime, and games, even though only the manga circulation is publicly quantified.
Frequently asked questions
How many copies of The Seven Deadly Sins have been sold?
Kodansha reports over 55 million copies printed, including the sequel Four Knights of the Apocalypse.
Did The Seven Deadly Sins top Oricon's yearly chart?
No. It reached number two in 2015 with 10,304,112 copies sold, behind One Piece.
How did the anime affect manga sales?
The 2015 Oricon total of 10.3 million copies was more than double the 2014 figure, following the first anime season's broadcast.
Is the 55 million figure print only?
Publisher 'printed' figures typically include both print and digital circulation, but Kodansha does not provide a public split.