Looking Back At pixiv's 2021 Through Illustrations And Manga - What tags were the most popular, both within and outside of Japan?

Among female users, the top tags were Kimetsu no Yaiba and Jujutsu Kaisen, two Jump titles that have gathered a great following also thanks to their respective manga, anime series, and movies.

Among male users, the most popular tag was Hololive. Many works were also tagged with Virtual YouTuber and VTuber, hinting at the everlasting success of the phenomenon. Touhou ranked 2nd, followed by Uma Musume Pretty Derby in 3rd place.

The newest game in the series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, is going to be released in January 2022.

Okada, from pixiv's manga team, commented: "Even though seasonal posts have always been quite popular, in 2021 we have gotten even more works dedicated to festivities such as Valentine's Day. Perhaps because of the lack of real-life events, it seems like many decided to enjoy this kind of occasion through online posts."

The new features released on pixiv in 2021 include a Watchlist feature for manga, available both on mobile and PC, which comes with notifications that alert you whenever one of the series you have added to your Watchlist gets updated. Keeping up with your favorite works has never been easier!

Moreover, the new manga viewer has been released. On PCs, you can now display manga in landscape mode, which makes reading double-page spreads way more convenient. By all means, give the new viewer a try!

Other additions to the pixiv app include a Sticker feature and an overhaul of the Notifications page for a more comfortable user experience.

In 2021, more than 50 between illustration and manga contests were held on pixiv. To encourage people to post their work, we also held monthly contests like pixiv SUKI1, with a different theme every month, and a Monthly Manga Challenge.

As for illustration contests, notable mentions include the Evangelion Battle Illustration Contest to celebrate the release of the movie Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, and the hololive English Art Battle which received over 5000 entries.

pixiv's 2nd "To Aru Nichijō Manga Shō" manga contest called for slice-of-life manga and gathered more than 500 entries. The winning work got the chance to be serialized on pixiv Essay and published as a tankōbon book!

Other contests offered winners the opportunity to debut by being assigned an editor and serialized in a manga magazine; these include the "Asahi Horror Comic Awards" and the "pixiv Student Manga Awards".

Many illustration and manga contests are currently underway, so you can post your entry right now! Check them out at the link below.

＞＞Check out pixiv's ongoing contests＜＜

Yamada: "With the TV anime adaptation of Chainsaw Man and the start of the second part of the series, I believe we can expect great things from the fandom. Also, idols of the 6th generation of Hololive who have debuted in November, like Laplus Darkness and Sakamata Chloe, have been gaining momentum and already entered pixiv's search rankings: I think they're both worth keeping our eye on in the future."

Okada: "Content from outside Japan is rising in popularity: just look at Blue Archive, Genshin Impact, and Mo Dao Zu Shi. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next big hit from abroad will be."