Kingdom volume 79 topped the Oricon May 2026 monthly manga chart with 356,559 copies sold, while Mamoru Nagano's Five Star Stories volume 19 debuted at No. 3 with 173,809 copies.
Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom volume 79 claimed the top spot on Oricon's monthly comic chart for May 2026, selling an estimated 356,559 copies during the tracking period of May 4–31. The chart, released on June 4, also saw a standout debut from Mamoru Nagano's The Five Star Stories volume 19, which landed at No. 3 with 173,809 copies.
Published by Shueisha and released on May 19, Kingdom volume 79 extended the historical epic's commanding presence on the Japanese sales charts. The series, which chronicles the Warring States period of China through the eyes of the young warrior Xin, has been a perennial chart fixture for years. Kingdom's sustained commercial power is notable given its long serialization in Weekly Young Jump, and the franchise continues to expand its reach internationally Viz Media began releasing the manga in English in November 2025, opening the series to a broader Western audience for the first time in an official capacity.
With over 350,000 copies moved in a partial month of tracking, volume 79 reinforces Kingdom's position as one of the best-selling seinen manga in active publication.
The most striking entry on the May chart was The Five Star Stories volume 19 at No. 3. Published by Kadokawa on May 9, the volume sold 173,809 copies a remarkable figure for a series that releases volumes on an irregular, years-long schedule. Created by Mamoru Nagano, The Five Star Stories is a sprawling mecha and science-fiction epic that has been serialized in Newtype magazine since 1986, making 2026 the manga's 40th anniversary year.
Nagano's meticulous art style and dense world-building have cultivated a devoted readership that turns out in force whenever a new volume appears. The nearly 174,000 copies sold in under a month confirm that enthusiasm has not waned over four decades. Adding to the milestone, Titan Manga announced plans to release The Five Star Stories in English starting on September 1, which will mark the first official English-language edition of the long-running series.
The No. 2 position went to Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo volume 3, the spinoff manga illustrated by Yuji Iwasaki with the story by Gege Akutami. The volume, published by Shueisha on May 1, sold an estimated 204,299 copies. Notably, this was the final volume of the Modulo spinoff, giving it a natural sales boost as completionist readers picked up the conclusion.
Rounding out the top five were two more Shueisha titles. Kagurabachi volume 11 placed at No. 4 with 92,011 copies, while Blue Box volume 25 secured No. 5 with 79,492 copies. Both series continue to be reliable mid-tier sellers in Weekly Shonen Jump's current lineup, with Kagurabachi in particular showing consistent chart presence since its breakout debut in late 2023.
The May 2026 rankings underscored Shueisha's overwhelming dominance of the compiled-volume market. Four of the top five slots belonged to the publisher, with only Kadokawa's Five Star Stories breaking through. The top-20 chart featured titles across Shueisha, Kodansha, Kadokawa, and Square Enix, but the sheer volume gap between the No. 1 and No. 5 entries Kingdom's 356,559 copies versus Blue Box's 79,492 illustrated how top-heavy the market remains.
The June tracking period will likely see another reshuffle as summer releases from major franchises hit shelves. For now, Kingdom's reign at the top and Five Star Stories' triumphant return are the defining stories of the spring sales cycle.
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