"Dragon Ball" Takes the Gold in Oricon Ranking of Top 10 World Class Anime and Manga
General public ranks anime's Olympian global appeal
In time for the Olympics and the World Cosplay Summit, Oricon, best known for monitoring and reporting on the sales of entertainment media, conducted a scientific survey asking what were the real world class anime/manga... the ones with Olympian global appeal that carried the flag for anime in the march of global media.
A field of the general public, not necessarily anime fans, ranked the following...
Dragon Ball
More than a decade and half after the anime ending, Dragon Ball was the overwhelming top pick. It was the flagship of Shonen Jump during its Golden Era, driving it to a circulation of 6,530,000 copies. Beyond that, the surveyed couldn't help but notice its immense popularity around the globe.
One Piece
The surveyed said that One Piece currently carries the flag for the principles of Shonen Jump - "victory", "effort", "friendship", and that its fundamentals have universal appeal... regardless of nationality or gender.
Doraemon
Doraemon was identified as a work that parents can share with their children. The surveyed also spoke of their pride in Doraemon's international popularity.
4. Naruto
5. Pokemon
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion
7. Captain Tsubasa
8. Mobile Suit Gundam
9. Akira
10. (tie) Astro Boy
10. (tie) Slam Dunk
Even though Astro Boy is only 10th, what matters is that the series actually made the list. Remember that the people could have said any anime and manga for this poll.
Regardless, I am pleasantly surprised that Astro Boy made the list. It's clear that, at least in Japan, Astro Boy is still very relevant.