‘The Apothecary Diaries’ Comic Vol. 17 Tops Japan Book Hot 100 as Works by the Late Keigo Higashino Chart in Wake of Author’s Passing

Vol. 17 of the Square Enix manga adaptation of Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) hits No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Book Hot 100, on the chart released Aug. 6.

Climbing from its No. 2 debut last week, the comic version of the popular title moves 2-1 for brick-and-mortar while adding points in e-commerce (EC), e-books and social media.

Last week’s No. 1, Chuya Koyama’s final volume of Uchu Kyoudai (Space Brothers), swaps places with the new chart-topper at No. 2. Tsurumaikada’s Medalist Vol. 15 stays at No. 3. Haruo Yuuki’s new novel Rakuen, which debuted at No. 12 last week, makes its first top 10 appearance at No. 6, scoring No. 1 in social media and No. 11 in EC, with points across all five metrics.

Nagano’s Chiikawa: Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu Vol. 8 jumps 64-8, buoyed by the anime movie adaptation that opened July 24 and has since surpassed 4.4 billion yen at the box office. The film’s soundtrack also places No. 2 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart, making it a double top 10 presence across both books and music.

Following the July 23 death of novelist Keigo Higashino at age 68, several of his titles rise on the chart. The highest-placing is Majo to Sugoshita Nanokakan (Seven Days He Spent with the Laplace’s Witch) — whose paperback edition was released in June — at No. 7, followed by Byakuyako (Journey Under the Midnight Sun) at No. 11, Yogisha X no Kenshin (The Devotion of Suspect X) at No. 12 and Hakucho to Komori (Guilt) Vol. 1 at No. 16, giving Higashino four titles in the top 20. His latest Galileo series novel, Eien no Kioku (Eternal Memory), was released Aug. 5.

The Billboard Japan Book Hot 100 is a comprehensive chart combining physical sales, e-books, library loans, subscription data and social media activity. Below are the top 10 titles on this week’s list, tracking the period from July 20 to 26.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate the title’s metric placements for brick-and-mortar, EC, e-books, subscriptions, and social media, top 20 only. English title given if translations or adaptations exist.)

1. Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Vol. 17 (Comic Edition), Hyuuganatsu, Nekokurage, Itsuki Nanao, Touko Shino (1/2/–/–/–)

2. Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers) Vol. 46, Chuya Koyama (2/8/5/–/–)

3. Medalist Vol. 15, Tsurumaikada (8/–/1/–/–)
4. Present, Various Authors (5/5/–/–/10)

5. Super no Ura de Yani Suu Futari (Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You) Vol. 9, Jinushi (3/6/–/–/–)

6. Rakuen, Haruo Yuuki (–/11/–/–/1)

7. Majo to Sugoshita Nanokakan (Seven Days He Spent with the Laplace’s Witch), Keigo Higashino (9/–/–/–/–)

8. Chiikawa: Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu Vol. 8, Nagano (4/–/–/–/–)

9. In The Megachurch, Ryo Asai (–/–/–/1/3)

10. HUNTER×HUNTER Vol. 39, Yoshihiro Togashi (12/–/11/–/–)