Comici Survey Finds Only 6.7% of Manga Readers Stopped Reading Over Five Years

Digital manga service provider Comici released its 2026 Manga Awareness Survey, challenging narratives about a sharp decline in readership. The poll surveyed 3,000 Japanese adults aged 15 to 69 regarding their consumption habits and format preferences. Results indicate that 51.5% of respondents are active manga readers, defined as those who consumed physical volumes, magazines, e-books, or digital apps within the last year. Conversely, nearly half of non-readers had never engaged with the medium previously.

Among current readers, only 6.7% reported abandoning manga entirely compared to five years ago. This figure relies on self-reported recollections rather than longitudinal data tracking the same individuals over time. Physical volumes remain slightly more popular than digital apps at 34.4% versus 34.1%, while e-books account for 28.8%. Nearly half of all readers utilize both physical and digital formats, suggesting stable engagement across multiple mediums despite shifting trends.