Viral Hit's Character Chart Takes the Top Spot
The live-action Netflix series Viral Hit (喧嘩独学), adapted from the hit Korean webtoon, has been streaming worldwide since June 11. Japanese manga and anime news site Comic Natalie's feature article covering the show's episode 1 opening footage and character relationship chart grabbed the #1 position on the site's weekly access ranking. The character chart also drew heavy traffic on gallery pages.
MAPPA Turns 15 with Chainsaw Man and Attack on Titan
MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man) celebrated its 15th anniversary this month after being founded on June 14, 2011. The studio released a series of commemorative key visuals, and two of them landed on Comic Natalie's weekly top 10.
The first visual, ranked #3, shows Reze from Chainsaw Man stepping out of a dark alley toward light. The second, at #9, depicts Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan walking toward the hilltop tree, wearing her red scarf. Comic Natalie noted that both articles drew enough attention that either could have taken the #1 spot in a different tracking period.
More From the Top 10
The rest of the week's most-read articles covered a wide range of manga and anime news.
Record of Lodoss War creator Ryo Mizuno published a new one-shot called Elder Fall in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine, illustrated by River Slane. The story follows a boy named Rat who encounters Eswil, the last surviving elf. It landed at #2.
A crossover visual brought together characters from Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier and Ascendance of a Bookworm, with Coco and others meeting across series for the first time (#4). The Dr. STONE anime unveiled a climax visual assembling all its astronaut characters (#5).
On the lighter side, Baki's Hanayama got a phone stand where the towering fighter "carefully supports" your device (#6), and fashion label LAD MUSICIAN released shoegaze-styled Doraemon t-shirts (#8). A new manga called Realtor debuted its first volume with the premise of an old man rising from a small-town real estate agent to the world's greatest villain (#7).
Rounding out the list at #10, animator Kayoko Ishikawa released her first art collection, compiling over 500 illustrations from Aikatsu! and various MAPPA productions.
The week also featured a special interview for the 25th anniversary of Shinchosha's Comic Bunch manga label, with creators Junya Inoue and Yuya Kanzaki reflecting on the imprint's past and future.
Looking Ahead
Viral Hit is currently streaming all episodes on Netflix worldwide.
MAPPA's anniversary celebrations are continuing. A third key visual featuring Nobara Kugisaki from Jujutsu Kaisen has been revealed, and the studio announced MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary, a commemorative exhibition. A 15th anniversary video with a song by PEOPLE 1 has also been released.
The Record of Lodoss War one-shot Elder Fall is available to read for free on Young Animal's web platform.