Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is one of the most famous manga series of this generation. The first Frieren season attracted hoards of new fans and the manga has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. Frieren Season 2 seems to be doing even better, with the first two episodes both earning a 9.0 on IMDb. In another impressive turn of events, Frieren also became the first anime to have two seasons ranked top 2 on MyAnimeList.
Before Frieren, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood held the number 1 spot for years. Then 2 years ago, Frieren season 1 dethroned it with a 9.28 score. Frieren Season 2 is now beating its predecessor, having already gained a 9.31 rating with only two episodes released. However, despite the series’ domination on this front, it’s actually failing to keep up with Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo on the manga side of things.
JJK Modulo’s Launch Week Dominates Frieren in Sales
Despite Frieren’s immense success, a new manga series that has only one volume as of January 5th, 2026 has outsold Frieren by a staggering 160,000 for the week of January 12th to January 19th. This manga series is Jujutsu Kaisen: Modulo, which sold 190,432 copies, while Frieren Volume 15 sold 26,221. Unfortunately, Jujutsu Kaisen: Modulo 1 did not maintain these numbers for the next week, and the sales for January 19th to January 26th dropped to 39,500, quite the difference in only 7 days.
Frieren, on the other hand, over a month after its release on December 18th, 2025, sold 26,221 copies in the week from January 19th to January 26th. Of course, it should be noted that weekly sales can’t always determine the long-term popularity of a manga because of extreme fluctuations. JJK Modulo, for example, went from nearly 200,000 weekly sales to barely 40,000 weekly sales in a week.
Early Fan Reception Positions Modulo Against JJK’s Legacy
Image via TOHO Animation Studios
Due to how recently it was released and how it hasn’t yet been animated, JJK Modulo doesn’t have any official ratings on sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes for now. Fans’ responses, however, suggest a strong reception, with some even claiming that the new series is even better than the main Jujutsu Kaisen.
Jujutsu Kaisen has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.5 on IMDb. Jujutsu Kaisen also sold over a staggering 100 million copies and even appeared in the Guinness World Records book as the most in-demand animated TV show in the year 2023. Needless to say, fans comparing Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo with Frieren gives the new series a very good look.
What Frieren’s Sales Resilience Reveals About Long-Term Success
Frieren meets Himmel in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 Episode 2Image via MADHOUSE
This comparison of both manga volumes’ sales shows why Frieren is one of the best anime and manga series of the 2020s. The data also simultaneously highlights the success of JJK: Modulo, which, despite only having one volume to compete with Frieren’s 15, reached over half of the latter’s sales, and while the numbers show it has lost traction, it may still surprise us in the upcoming weeks’ rankings.
Nevertheless, it is also important to note that JJK: Modulo had the backing of Jujutsu Kaisen, arguably one of the top 3 shonen series of this decade. At the same time, Frieren is on an indefinite hiatus since the release of its 147th chapter in Japan due to health concerns of author Kanehito Yamada and illustrator Tsukasa Abe. Frieren also went on hiatus in January 2025 and returned in July 2025. These frequent breaks can hurt a manga’s sales, so the number of copies Frieren sold is still very impressive.
Frieren’s Hiatus Threatens the Anime’s Future
Frieren and Macht – Frieren Manga Golden Land ArcImage via Shogakukan
On a different note, the hiatus has already affected Frieren’s anime adaptation. Frieren Season 1 had 28 episodes while Season 2 will only have 10, even less than the standard 12. Madhouse likely made this decision to avoid catching up to the Frieren manga and to give animators sufficient time to work on the project and preserve the beautiful animation style that made the first season such a success.
However, this slower pace also means that if Madhouse wants to continue adapting Frieren for a third season and beyond, they may have to wait years for content to pile up. Fortunately for fans of manga, despite the slow updates and frequent hiatuses, Madhouse will likely produce a third season for Frieren based purely on the immense popularity of the animated series.
All in all, despite concerns for Frieren’s creators and its storyline, the series’ popularity and success is only expected to increase as Season 2 airs. Frieren’s Volume 15 held No.1 on Billboard Japan’s Book Hot 100 for 3 consecutive weeks. Whether Jujustu Kaisen: Modulo can overtake it or not, many agree that, with a solid base and a great story, Modulo is the new-gen shonen here to take over the genre.
