Oh yeah, factually. Hmmmmmmmmm.
I think most of us can agree with this fact that the TOC is the most important metric, so let's stick with that then! After all, it is what the EiC is giving to all of us as the final result of everything they know. Like you also say, we don't know the (likely high) impact of digital sales, but that means we also don't know which series are succeeding or failing more digitally to make any arguments that would validate our biases on our favourites.
Correct, Nue's Exorcist ranked 10th, one place higher than Kagurabachi's 11th. Both are in the bottom 5 this week along with two flops and a staple gag manga above it.
Since magazine positions matter more than sales then it should be fair game to mention that the last time Nue's Exorcist ranked above Kagurabachi in the TOC was
17 weeks ago (Issue #8) - mind you they both have had a lot of CPs but that's still 8 weeks where neither had a colour page and were directly comparable to each other if you want to be even stricter. But I guess this one week where it ranked above it is when you chime in about TOC rankings and their importance after ignoring Nue's poor TOC rankings every other week? In fact, the last time Nue's Exorcist didn't rank with a double digit (ie 10th place or lower) was 14 issues ago (#11). And from what I've seen my past few years of wrap up data on TOC rankings, if a series is ranking, on average, in the double digitals then that's when it's in danger.
True. Kagurabachi also just had two colour pages back-to-back as well. In fact, both series have had a lot of colour pages this year so far, both getting five in 2024 as of this issue. Both seem to be getting pushes and rewards beyond solely their rankings.
Since you seem to agree that TOC placements are more important than sales (except when you want to convince yourself that Stealth Symphony or Agravity Boys or Shadow Eliminators or X series you like is in the bottom for some special reasons that mean it could never
actually be unsuccessful, instead of the fact they are unpopular and going to be cancelled) we can measure Nue's Exorcist by that metric then:
- In the past 22 issues (all of 2024) it was the 14th best ranked series (average 9.1 TOC ranking) of the 22 series that had ranked in this period
- In the past 15 issues it was the 15th best ranked series (average 10.7 TOC ranking) of the 22 series that had ranked in this period
- In the past 10 issues it was the 15th best ranked series (average 11.4 TOC ranking) of the 20 series that had ranked in this period
- In the past 5 issues it was the 15th best ranked series (average 12.3 TOC ranking) of the 19 series that had ranked in this period
Nue Exorcist's average rankings are actually getting worse as time goes on. It's staying at an even 14/15th place overall but with the amount of ranked series in each range decreasing that puts it closer to the bottom. It's 9.1 TOC ranking is better than Kagurabachi's overall for the year (9.6) thanks to Nue's two top 3 spots at the start of the year (which now look like outliers compared to where it is now) and Kagurabachi's lowest performance at the same time period. Since then Kagurabachi found a decent/good run of better rankings in the middle of the magazine and once in the top 5 before going back to where it is now, while Nue's Exorcist has been in a steady decline and stayed at the back of the magazine for most of the year.
tldr: Nue's Exorcist is not doing 'incredibly well' in the magazine so far this year. At best it's surviving, with a push by the editorial department.
Kagurabachi was literally in the bottom 3 (12th) and bottom 5 (11th) the week the consecutive colour pages. This isn't a sudden collapse but a return to what was/is the norm.
Sale pace 'slowing down' when then it continues to outpace not just Nue Exorcist but more than half the magazine? Including eight series that are older than it? That doesn't make sense and you know it. Kaburabachi should be approaching the max print run limit that was announced not long ago, if you want to bring that up, even though V1 is still doing great, for the most part even better than it was before V2 came out.
Are you just going to now ignore the growth when you feel like it, even after you were complaining about the daily notifications of its continued sales success? Ok.
Nue's Exorcist was in the bottom 3 last week and bottom 2 the week before. By your own logic you must agree that it's not acquiring new buyers? Especially if we use what data we do have showing Kagurabachi outselling Nue Exorcist's month of sales in a under a week?
To that, I say:
If anything the only thing that was closest to bait was rampant speculation from folks lying in bed with people who dislike Kagurabachi downplaying the manga's achievements to try to convince Kagurabachi fans that the manga would be cancelled during the next batch.
It isn't unreasonable or bait if we Kagurabachi fans are taking a victory lap for the series's continued success in volume sales as it goes on to become the 7th (or 6th if you discount RuriDragon) best selling ongoing series in the magazine. It's been a very exciting few months, indeed.
Mind you, I'm not even a big Kagurabachi fan. I like it more than Nue's Exorcist obviously but it's firmly middle of the magazine for me and if I have even voted for it in my top 5 week-to-week here this year it's maybe once or twice total. But you get my point, hopefully? Your argument about who the real baiters are here can be flipped right back at you. You can try and make this about how Kagurabachi fans are actually the ones in the wrong (fans of both are capable of being very annoying about the other) but if you (specifically) are cherry picking your talking points each week with tunnel vision of what fits your best version for your favs then it becomes an easy target for others to latch onto. Especially when your self professed truths are, actually, not true. Don't act shocked when people come at you for bringing in data and facts on the single week where you think it helps your case rather than every other week where it doesn't.
Anyways, in the short term this isn't even a fight between fandoms for which newgen series is better for whatever reason (like peak Big 3 era - grim), this is fans of the two worst battle series in the magazine right now desperately hoping the other doesn't outlive their favourite.
At the end of the day I think the situation is clear:
- Green Green Greens and Dear Anemone are the two worst ranking series still ongoing, they are going to end soon.
- My Hero Academia is wrapping up, it's also going to end soon.
- We'll likely get another batch of 2/3 series when the time comes depending on timings for MHA.
- After Green Green Greens and Dear Anemone are gone, going off of current TOC performance Nue's Exorcist and Kagurabachi are the lowest ranked of the magazine. After them are three pretty safe middle series that aren't in danger of cancellation (The Elusive Samurai, Me & Rococo, Undead Unlock).
- For now, both are getting editorial pushes and rewards in other ways because they're clearly invested - for now - in having both in the magazine and be potential successes. This may change depending on...
- The performance of the latest batch, and how well/poorly they rank will ultimately decide if Nue's Exorcist or Kagurabachi are in any real danger. It was clear neither are in danger for this upcoming cancellation but for the one after they might, we'll see.
On a final note:
Several weeks ago after yet another round of scrutiny by people on here Sharkbait
directly acknowledged the trolling claims (for what felt like to me the only time in a decade, maybe?) rather than going about his business and ignoring it while others raged around him and the staff of this website continue to rally around and shield him. He claimed he was being sincere and genuine and just loves the series he loves, so I'm going to take that at face value. Which makes his incorrect claiming of facts and how he warps them to fit his feelings about Kagurabachi as reason enough to respond.
