Japan has the world’s third-largest economy and a large portion of it comes from its anime & manga industry. It’s not a matter of fact to be hidden, but as of 2022, the anime industry has a market value of US $25 billion.

That’s a huge sum of amount and half of its credit goes to the manga artists who put their utmost effort to make the industry bloom. But, wait for doing such extraordinary work how much they make and who’s the richest manga writer in 2022?

Well, in this article we’re gonna take a look at this question and find out who is the richest manga writer in the history of the Japanese industry.

So, let’s get started.

10. George Morikawa (Net Worth: $3 Million)

George Morikawa is best-known for his iconic boxing-themed sports manga Hajime no Ippo. The manga started serialization in the late 80s and it was one of the most influential works by a manga artist at that time.

The story of Hajime no Ippo is collected into more than 132 tankōbon volumes and it is still ongoing. An anime television series consisting of 76 episodes was also aired in 2000 which was later adapted into two more seasons due to huge demand by its fans.

As of 2020, Hajime no Ippo has sold more than 100 million manga copies and it is displayed in the net worth of Morikawa as well. With a personal net worth of around $3-4 million, Morikawa has even won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category for Hajime no Ippo.

9. Keisuke Itagaki (Net Worth: $5 Million)

Baki The Grappler, a martial arts-based manga is famous for its breathtaking moments and bloody fight visuals. It is one of the first anime series of Netflix original and has been renewed into a series of different story arcs. And, the man behind this manga is, Keisuke Itagaki.

Itagaki’s net worth is estimated to be around $5-6 million and a big part of his income came from the manga sales of Baki The Grappler. As of 2022, Baki has sold more than 85 million manga copies including all its sequels sales as well.

The inclusion of Netflix slightly increased the series popularity as well making its manga sales rise further. Other than manga & anime adaptations, different video game adaptations are also available in the market eventually adding more to Itagaki’s net worth.

8. Yoichi Takahashi (Net Worth: $6 Million)

Yoichi Takahashi is the manga author of Captain Tsubasa. In the early 80s, Captain Tsubasa was a very popular sports manga based on football and it is widely recognized for its great contribution to Japan’s football history.

Captain Tsubasa has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide and it is one of the best-selling manga series. Other than Captain Tsubasa, Takahashi is also known for his other soccer manga series ‘Hungry Heart: Wild Striker’.

In 2016, the football club FC Barcelona invited him as a guest and he has received many awards for his excellent work in the anime industry as well. Takahashi’s personal net worth is estimated to be around $6 million.

7. Hirohiko Araki (Net Worth: $13 Million)

Hirohiko Araki is a renowned manga artist in the Japanese industry known for his popular series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. As of the current date, Hirohiko’s manga has more than 100 million copies in print and is one of the best manga of all time.

The franchise of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure consists of a series of nine manga sequels, one-shots, light novels and video games taking the tally of Hirohiko’s net worth to around $13-15 million.

Various live-action films and anime adaptations have been produced since 2005 and it’s not over yet. Fans are crazy about this series and in the next few years, the show will reach new heights.

6. Masashi Kishimoto (Net Worth: $25 Million)

One of the top mangaka and most influential people of Japan, Masashi Kishimoto is a well-known face among anime fans. He’s behind the creation of the most loved anime series Naruto.

Naruto is the fourth best selling manga series in the world, selling 250+ million copies in almost 47 different countries. It has won several awards and has featured several times in US Today and The New York Times bestseller list.

Kishimoto’s exact net worth is not publicly known but according to reports his personal fortune is around $25-27 million. Currently, he’s working on the sequel of Naruto titled “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” which is also turning out to be a successful series.

5. Yoshihiro Togashi (Net Worth: $30 Million)

Yoshihiro Togashi is best-known for not just one but two of his iconic manga, Hunter X Hunter and Yu Yu Hakusho. Both these manga are very popular and has been adapted into anime as well which became successful later.

On one hand, Hunter X Hunter has 80 million copies in circulation while on the other Yu Yu Hakusho has sold more than 50 million copies alone in Japan. These two were critical hits in the 90s and were well received by the fans.

Togashi worked on several other manga’s as well in his initial days but these two made him financially the richest manga writer of all time. As of 2022, Togashi’s net worth is estimated to be around $30 million.

4. Hajime Isayama (Net Worth: $45 Million)

When Hajime Isayama started working on Attack On Titan in 2005, he would have never imagined that his creation can lead him to become the richest manga writer of 2021.

Even after getting rejected by Weekly Shonen Jump, Isayama didn’t give up on his storyboard and took Attack On Titan to Kodansha. Today, it’s one of the most favorite series among anime fans.

For his brilliant work, Isayama received several awards including the Kodansha Manga Award and Harvey Award. Till now, Attack On Titan has sold more than 100 million copies and the numbers keep rising.

Isayama’s net worth is estimated to be $45-46 million which includes the royalties from manga sales & anime production.

3. Gosho Aoyama (Net Worth: $50 Million)

Gosho Aoyama is the creator of the mystery & case-solving manga series Detective Conan. Also known as Case Closed, Detective Conan is a manga about a boy who deals with tricky cases and school life at the same time.

With more than 1000+ anime episodes and 240 million copies sold, Case Closed is one of the best selling manga series. Aoyama’s net worth is close to $50 million and a big part of it comes from manga sales.

Aoyama started drawing at a very early stage and apart from Case Closed he has drawn other manga as well in the late 80s. Magic Kito and Yaiba are his other manga series.

2. Akira Toriyama (Net Worth: $55 Million)

Akira Toriyama is said to be the Godfather of the manga industry and it is extremely true. Due to his extra effort in the Japanese industry, anime & manga got exposure in the West. People get to know about anime, thanks to the legendary manga Dragon Ball.

For the first time, people came to know about anime was because of Dragon Ball. It was the most popular series in the 90s. His manga sales through various Dragon Ball sequels is calculated to be around 300 million out of which a large portion is sold in the West.

Akira Toriyama’s net worth is estimated to be $55-57 million and it’s not just because of the Dragon Ball franchise. He’s also responsible for the character design in Dragon Ball Quest video game series. And, he has created several other mangas as well which including his first hit comedy series Dr. Slump.

1. Eiichiro Oda (Net Worth: $230 Million)

In the history of the anime & manga industry, no one ever reached the top of the richest manga writers of all time like the way Eiichiro Oda did. He’s the most wealthiest mangaka with an estimated net worth of over $230 million.

His biggest creation, One Piece is one of the best shōnen anime series fans ever witnessed and it’s still entertaining its fans for the last 22 years. In terms of manga sales, One Piece has sold more than 490 million copies making it the 2nd best selling comic series just behind Superman.

At the age of only 17, he became a manga artist and developed such a fabulous story like One Piece that changed the history of the manga industry. The feat Oda achieved in the last 20 years is almost impossible for someone else to get even close to it.

With this, our list of richest manga writers of 2022 comes to an end. We hope you liked it. Let us know in the comments section, which is your favorite manga artist and why?

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