Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World has emerged as KADOKAWA’s biggest-selling franchise during the first half of fiscal year 2027, with estimated sales of approximately ¥3 billion (US$19.3 million). The series comfortably secured the top position in the publisher’s latest franchise sales rankings, generating more than twice the estimated revenue of the next-best titles.
KADOKAWA released its financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027 on November 12, 2026. Alongside its financial performance, the company also disclosed rankings of its highest-performing franchises across its overall business, publishing and anime and live-action segments.
According to the rankings published by Otaku Soken, Re:ZERO generated approximately ¥3 billion in sales between April and September 2026. That puts it well ahead of Classroom of the Elite and Pan dorobo, both of which recorded approximately ¥1.2 billion each.
The figures are estimates based on KADOKAWA’s published ranking chart rather than separately disclosed exact sales figures for each franchise.
Re:ZERO Dominates KADOKAWA’s Overall Sales Ranking
The success of Re:ZERO comes during a particularly significant period for the franchise, with its fourth TV anime season airing during the first half of the fiscal year.
The series has maintained a strong presence among anime fans, while its latest season has helped drive interest in the original light novels and other related products.
Its estimated ¥3 billion performance places it considerably ahead of other popular KADOKAWA properties, including Classroom of the Elite, The Saga of Tanya the Evil and A Certain Magical Index.
Here is the estimated top 10 ranking across KADOKAWA’s overall business:
| Rank | Franchise | Estimated sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World | ¥3.0 billion |
| 2 | Classroom of the Elite | ¥1.2 billion |
| 3 | Pan dorobo | ¥1.2 billion |
| 4 | The Saga of Tanya the Evil | ¥900 million |
| 5 | A Certain Magical Index Project | ¥900 million |
| 6 | Bungo Stray Dogs | ¥800 million |
| 7 | The Eminence in Shadow | ¥800 million |
| 8 | Oshi no Ko | ¥700 million |
| 9 | Clevatess | ¥700 million |
| 10 | Overlord | ¥600 million |
Interestingly, Pan dorobo, a popular Japanese children’s picture-book franchise, managed to secure third place, demonstrating that KADOKAWA’s strongest intellectual properties extend well beyond anime and light novels.
Re:ZERO Also Leads KADOKAWA’s Anime and Live-Action Ranking
The franchise’s performance is even more notable when looking specifically at KADOKAWA’s anime and live-action segment.
Re:ZERO secured first place in this category as well, followed by Classroom of the Elite and Oshi no Ko.
The top 10 ranking is:
- Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World
- Classroom of the Elite
- Oshi no Ko
- The Saga of Tanya the Evil
- Clevatess
- A Certain Magical Index Project
- The Warrior Princess and the Barbarian
- Bungo Stray Dogs
- Overlord
- Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games
The ranking highlights the importance of established anime franchises to KADOKAWA’s entertainment business. It also shows how new adaptations and ongoing popular series contribute to the company’s wider intellectual property portfolio.
Pan dorobo Leads KADOKAWA’s Publishing and IP Creation Ranking
While Re:ZERO dominated the overall and anime-related rankings, it couldn’t secure the top position in every category.
In KADOKAWA’s publishing and IP creation segment, Pan dorobo took first place, followed by Re:ZERO.
The top 10 were:
- Pan dorobo
- Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World
- Kadokawa Manga Learning Series
- Sword Art Online
- Classroom of the Elite
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
- The Eminence in Shadow
- The Five Star Stories
- The Saga of Tanya the Evil
- Fate Series
This is an interesting result because it demonstrates that the franchises generating the most revenue through anime and the ones performing best in publishing are not necessarily the same.
Pan dorobo has built a particularly strong position in Japanese publishing, while Re:ZERO benefits from its presence across multiple entertainment categories.
KADOKAWA’s Anime and Live-Action Revenue Rises by 27.7%
Beyond the individual franchise rankings, KADOKAWA’s financial results also revealed growth in its anime and live-action business.
For the first half of fiscal year 2027, the segment recorded revenue of approximately ¥26.849 billion, representing a 27.7% increase compared with the same period last year.
KADOKAWA attributed the growth to popular franchises such as Re:ZERO and The Saga of Tanya the Evil, alongside newer anime projects and their domestic and international licensing and secondary distribution activities.
However, the segment continued to report an operating loss.
Its cumulative operating loss reached approximately ¥804 million, improving slightly from the ¥895 million loss recorded during the corresponding period last year.
The second quarter alone showed a more significant improvement. The segment recorded an operating loss of approximately ¥143 million between July and September, compared with a loss of ¥1.032 billion during the same quarter last year.
KADOKAWA attributed the improvement to a relatively stronger lineup of hit titles, better financial performance from its production studios and differences in the accounting periods of major projects.
At the same time, rising anime production costs continue to put pressure on profitability.
The company is working to improve its production structure and reduce certain costs while expanding the commercial value of its anime intellectual properties.
These developments show that although KADOKAWA is generating greater revenue from anime, turning that growth into consistent operating profits remains a challenge.
The company plans to continue developing new anime adaptations and popular franchises while strengthening its domestic and international licensing business. Bookmark Otaku Mantra for more amazing news.
For Re:ZERO, however, the latest ranking is another major milestone. With its fourth season contributing to the franchise’s commercial performance, the series has established itself as KADOKAWA’s strongest overall property during the first half of fiscal year 2027.
Source: Kadokawa
