Rakuten Announces 2017 Top Rankings

Tokyo, November 28, 2017 - Rakuten, Inc. today announced the “Rakuten 2017 Annual Rankings.” The rankings this year are compiled from Rakuten Ichiba; Rakuten Books; Rakuten Kobo; Rakuten GORA; consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace mobile apps Rakuma and FRIL; and Rakuten TV.

The year’s rankings for each service are provided below.

Survey period: September 25, 2016 to September 24, 2017
*Calculated using Rakuten’s own method based on the sales total in Rakuten Ichiba, data on the number of items sold, the number of shops at which the item is handled, trend information, etc.

Observations
The plant-derived Botanist hair-care product line fell to 2nd place after finishing 1st for two consecutive years, while Crystal Geyser mineral water returned to the number 1 spot after a four-year absence. ReVIA 1day COLOR colored contact lenses (3rd) and Ever Color 1 Day Natural (4th) ranked ahead of Medalist 1day Plus (6th) and 1dayPure moisture (10th) daily contact lenses, showing the popularity of contact lenses as a fashion item. Two sparkling water beverages known for their strong carbonation also made the list (KUOS strong sparkling water in 7th and Kokusan Tennensui Shikomi no Tansansui sparkling water made from natural Japanese spring water in 9th spot).

Survey period: January 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017
*Calculated using Rakuten’s own method based on the numbers sold on Rakuten Books.

Observations
The top spot went to the greatest hits album “Finally,” by Namie Amuro, who announced her retirement from the music industry this year. There was a rush of pre-sale orders for the album following her announcement. The album struck a chord with Rakuten Books users for whom the singer represented their youth. “It’s too bad she retired. Without her, there’s no one to speak about my youth,” and “The album is full of memorable songs from when I was in elementary school and junior high school,” were purchaser comments indicative of the mood. The latest installment of the Dragon Quest video game series, “Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age” (PlayStation 4), popular since 1986, entered the Top 10 at number 3, while the Nintendo 3DS version finished 6th. Popular comic “ONE PIECE,” celebrating its 20th anniversary and showing signs of its strong popularity, with various installments claiming the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 9th spots.

Survey period: January 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017
*Calculated using Rakuten's own method based on the numbers sold on the Rakuten Kobo eBook Store.

Observations
Continuing a trend from the first half of 2017, all entries in the annual Top 10 are comics. “Shingeki no Kyojin” (Attack on Titan) maintains its popularity, holding on to the top spot for four straight years since 2014. The third season of the animated series is slated to start from July 2018. 5th place “HUNTER×HUNTER” gained popularity among its fans who waited for about a year for the newest edition. Also, the 8th installment of single-story comic “[Love Coffre] Manga-ka to Yakuza” (The Artist and the Beast) made its debut at 8th place. Sales of the latest edition have become popular, with the comic switching to single-story paper and digital versions. There was also much interest in TV and movie versions of comics as evidenced by “Tokyo Tarareba Musume” (Tokyo Tarareba Girls) in 3rd place, “Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu” (The Full-Time Wife Escapist) in 4th place, “Tokyo Ghoul: re” in 9th place, and “Boku dake ga Inai Machi” (Erased) in 10th place.

Survey period: January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017
*Calculated based on the number of customers from January 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017, and the number of expected customers as of October 31, 2017 for the period from November 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 in Rakuten GORA.

Observations
For the fourth year running, Kazusa Country Club in Chiba Prefecture topped the rankings. It continues to be a hit for being a mere 7 minutes by car from the Ichihara Tsurumai Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway and for being reasonably-priced. The country club has modern facilities that include the latest cart navigation, and is known for having hosted golf tournaments. Higashi Tsukuba Country Club (Ibaraki Prefecture) placed 2nd, climbing one spot up from last year, thanks to its challenging course layout and excellent reviews for its customer service and dining. Sano Golf Club (Tochigi Prefecture) climbed from 4th place last year to 3rd for its reasonable pricing and strategic course layout.

Survey period: January 1, 2017 to October 20, 2017
* Calculated by the number of times a keyword is searched within Rakuma or FRIL
* Calculated by the total number of times multiple keywords are searched when multiple keywords are used to search the same target.

Observations
Street style fashion brand Supreme, popular among the fashion-conscious, took top place. The spotlight was on hard-to-get products with Nintendo Switch in 2nd spot, which has been in short supply ever since the game console’s launch in March 2017, followed by Blythe fashion dolls in 7th spot, and the IQOS heat-not-burn tobacco system in 8th spot. The popular card game Dragon Ball Heroes (Super Dragon Ball Heroes) made its debut on the list in 3rd spot. There was a tendency to search for a wide range of fashion brands, as illustrated by the high rankings for luxury fashion brands CHANEL (4th) and Louis Vuitton (9th), as well as yeezy (YEEZY BOOST), a collaboration between renowned rapper Kanye West and Adidas that came in 5th, and the women’s fashion brand Rady which was in 10th spot.

Survey period: January 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017
*Calculated using Rakuten’s own method based on the numbers sold in Rakuten TV.

Observations
Following its success at the box office, the animated film “Your Name” ranked No. 1 after retail distribution started from May 2017. Second place “Shin Godzilla” created a big buzz with its depiction of contemporary Japan and even a trend for “pilgrimages” to the locations around Tokyo and Kanagawa where the film had been shot. 2017 was characterized by popular international film series hits, such as 3rd place “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” in which TV personality Rola makes an appearance in the series' final installment, and the Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which ranked 5th.